The Weisel Surname Project at familytreedna.com is a study of the Y-chromosome which is passed from father to son unchanged. However, every so often, there is a mutation in one of the alleles, or segments. Therefore, taking the average rate of mutation as the standard, an estimate can be made of how far back two individuals are related with a common ancestor. This estimate of Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) is the heart of a DNA study. The tests at FamilyTreeDNA provide a genetic fingerprint consisting of Y-37 or Y-111 markers or the Big Y-700, the most comprehensive Y-DNA test which compares 700+ STRs and 500k+ SNPs for matching.
The Ydna male chromosome tracks the patrilinear descent from genetic Adam who lived about 80,000 years ago. Adam is considered to be the most distant common ancestor. The Big Y-700 test helps connect deep ancestry with recent genealogy. Results will be compared with the results of other participants in the study or the FamilyTreeDNA Y-DNA database. If two people have a close match, that means they have a common male ancestor somewhere up the line. The test won't tell you specifically who that ancestor was, but it can narrow down a time frame of when the most recent common ancestor lived.
As of January 2024 four male descendants of three of the four sons of
Geo. Michael Weisel (1690-1770) and his wife Susanna Beyerle, 1732 immigrants to PA, have joined the
Weisel Group Project at familytreedna.com.
An interesting result is there is also a close match (closer to the George & Anna Maria Cressman descendant) with a Myers/Meyer and Moyer test. I've been in contact with the submitter of the Meyer test, but it will not be possible to trace records back far enough to determine when and where the two lines share a common ancestor. The four Weisel test takers are about 7-9 generations of descent from Geo. Michael Weisel. Calculating from 2020 - 1690, their known MRCA was about 330 years ago. Given the 5 test takers who are a close match, it could be assumed the MRCA could have been about 350-500 years ago.
Two of the four tested descendants have upgraded to the Big Y-700 test. To go back further in time with more data, it will be necessary for at least one of the Moyer or Myers test kit to upgrade to the Big Y-700.
The success of the Weisel Group Project at familytreedna.com depends on the number of participants who join the study. FamilyTreeDNA has been doing Y-STR testing since 2000 and with the more recent Big Y-700 test, has the largest Y-STR and SNP database in the world. Ideally the study would consist of 2 sons representing each of the four sons of immigrant Michael Weisel. As of 2024 we have 2 results for Michael(1717-1796), 1 result for the eldest son Frederick(1716-1782) and 1 result for son George(1820-1802). Completing the testing would ideally require:
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