Initial Results

Kits 25760 and 33168 match exactly with each other for a 12/12 match. This generally means a very close relationship. The earliest ancestor for 25760 is a James Mullenax b c 1761 in VA and for 33168 is John Mullinax b c 1770 in SC.

Two others, Kits # 32065 and 32862 also match exactly for a 12/12 match. James W. Mullinax, b c 1803 SC is the oldest known ancestor for 32065 while Matthew Mullinax b c 1755 in Ireland is the oldest known ancestor for 32862.

The two pairs of results are 11/12 matches with each other. They differ at marker 385b in that 32065 & 32862 have 17 repeats at that point while 25760 & 33168 have 18. At least initially, this suggests that all four men shared a common ancestor in the past.

From the lineages submitted by the participants it appears that 32065 and 32862 share an ancestor, James W. (Wooford?) Mullinax, b c 1803. However, the women listed are different: 32065 has Mary Ellendra Caps as the wife (marked as a first marriage) while 32862 has Eliz. "Polly" Moore listed as the wife.

Perhaps these two men (James W. Mullinax and James Wooford Mullinax) are actually the same man who had two wives?! If this should be the case and the two participants are aware of it, it would be helpful for the rest of us to have more information.

If either of our participants has additional information on their Mullinax ancestors and are willing to share it, I will post it to the website if they will send that information to me. Remember, Y-DNA testing is only a tool; but it can be a very valuable tool.

However, please remember also that these are initial results. Markers 13-37 may indicate other differences which would make any potential MRCA (most recent common ancestor) much farther back in history.

Sharon Bryant, April 21, 2005

South Carolina, Virginia & Ireland Connection

Rev. James L. Mullinix (1857-1935), a direct descendent of the John Mullinax (brn.1770 in S.C. (kit 33168) is the subject of a biographical sketch of S.C. Methodist ministers listed among a listing of such sketches in a publication of the South Carolina Conference in the year, 1942. In that sketch, it was reported that the late minister had related that his family migrated from Ireland to South Carolina BY WAY OF ROCKINGHAM, VA. A photo copy of that article is being mailed to me which I will post to this site when it arrives. It seems to me that if this holds true, it could prove to be a most valuable piece of information. At least it may provide a clue.

W. Gordon Mullinax, April 26, 2005

Possible Ireland to VA to SC Immigration

The following is a quote from a publication of the South Carolina Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 'Twentieth Century Sketches', being biographical sketches of their ministers. This particular sketch was of a Rev. James Lloyd Mullinax (1857-1935)

The Rev. J.L. Mullinix was born in Anderson County, S. C. Aug. 28th, 1857. His parentage was of Irish descent. The family came from Ireland about 1790, and first settled in Rockingham County, Virgina, and about 1810 moved to South Carolina and settled in what was then known as the Old Pendleton District. this district being divided in 1828, became Pickens and Anderson Counties. He was reared on the farm near old Pendleton, and denied the advantage of a collegiate training, only having a common school education. He was married to Miss E. Maggie Hopkins of Pickens County in 1875. .............

Note: Rev. James L. was the son of William C. Mullinax (born 10-2-1835)
William C. Mullinax was the son of Rev. Wm. G. Mullinax (1805- 1865)
Rev. Wm G. Mullinax moved from the Kings Mountain Area with his parents to Old Pendleton area in 1809. He is buried in Central, S.C.
He was married to Philadephia B. Gaines in 1823
He was a Methodist Circuit Rider Preacher.
Rev. Wm. G.'s parents were John Mullinax (around 1770) and Alsey John's parents possibly John Mullinax and Sarah Donnally (Earliest known Mullinax's of South Carolina)

Contact me with corrections and questions. Some of my information came from the book by Otto Mullinax. (The part that was right.)

W. Gordon Mullinax, May 17, 2005

More Mullinax Results

I want to look at the five men who are I -- the last five in the chart.These men are all related but to varying degrees. We have already established that 32065 and 32862 are third cousins, once removed as they are descended from the same man, with two of that man's three wives. You can click on the kit number in the first column to see the line of descent. We do not have a 37/37 match between any two or more of these five men.

Matthew Mullinax is believed to be the immigrant but it has not been proved that he is the ancestor of James W. Mullinax b 1803, SC; d 1879, SC. The last two men, 33168 and 25760, are also related but we're not sure how at this point. We can make the comparisons by looking at the numbers in specific positions. 32065, 32862, 33168, and 25760 each show a 14 at DYS 385a. 31450 shows a one step mutation at that marker with a 13 instead of a 14.

Likewise, three of the men, 31450, 32065, 32862 show a 17 at DYS 385b. 33168 and 25760 show an 18 at that marker. Again this is a one step mutation. Both 385a and 385b are fast-moving markers and can be expected to mutate before up and down in related individuals.

Since 25760 has only tested to 25 markers we can not make comparisons with the other four participants who have tested to 37 markers. My recommendation would be that kit holder 25760 order an upgrade from 25 to 37 markers.

Kit 32065, 32862, 33168, and 25760 all show a 12 at DYS 392 while 31450 shows a 13.

The final differences for four of these men appear at DYS CDYa and CDYb. I tend to ignore these two markers as they are extremely volatile. However, given that three of the four at counted as 33 repeats again leads me to believe these men are related.

Only by making a traditional genealogy paper trail connection will we be able to determine the common ancestor for these five men.

Sharon Bryant, May 24, 2005

Differences at DYS464b and DYS464c

Michael Mullinax asked "You did not mention the differences between 32065 and 32862 at 464b (14 and 15) and 464c (15 and 16). Any ideas as to what this may mean?"

Mike and everyone,

There has been quite a lot of discussion lately about 464a-d. There are a few markers which will show multiple peaks instead of the normal one peak. Others are 385a-b, 389-1, -2, 459a-b, YCA IIa-b and CDYa-b. With the exception of 389-1, -2, these are all fast moving markers.

I wasn't particularly concerned about the differences in the 464a-d markers on the five men previously mentioned as they all had combinations of 14, 15, and 16.

31450 14-14-15-16
32065 14-14-15-16
32862 14-15-16-16
33168 14-15-16-16
25760 14-15-16-16

They all start with 14 and end with 16 while the middle two numbers are either 14-15 or 15-16. To me it's just one more indication that all five men are related to each other. It's still up to the five of you to figure out who the most recent common ancestor is.

Sharon Bryant, May 25, 2005

I1c Isles or Continental?

I had told you that I would get back with some interpretation of the latest set of results. I have been in contact with Dr. Ken Nordtvedt (he has a Molyneaux female in his line so is interested in what we're finding). Ken is studying the Haplogroup I which about half of our participants belong to.

I have moved participants until I am nearly cross-eyed trying to make these results make sense. We have only two who have paper trail connections to each other and I have moved them to the top of the Group C section.

The one other distinguishing factor shown here is the presence of two men who have an 18 at DYS 385b. I would say they are descended from the same man but am hampered by the fact that kit 25760, Edgar Mullennex, was only tested to 25 markers. I have attempted to contact the young woman who ordered this test for Edgar -- her name is Christy Cooper, and she apparently lives in WV. If anyone knows how to get in touch with her will you please let me know.

The newest results belong to 48424, Mark Alan Mullinax, and 48803, Charles B. Molineaux. Mark's results are very similar to those of 32862, Joseph L. Mullinax, Jr., and 32065, James M. Mullinax, who are our only known paper trail participants descended from the same man. Now having said that I think it's time to tell you what Dr. Nordtvedt had to say about this group.

Ken: "It is a remarkable group. They are well-separated, indicating no very recent common ancestor, but I believe they are related several hundred years ago. It is an (old) I1c group, and it could be either Isles or Continental."

I then asked for a reminder of what the terms "Isles" and "Continental" referred to.

Ken: ""Isles" I1c means a variety of I1c which has now been connected with also being M284+. It has been found in the databases to be almost exclusively found with ancestral roots in the British Isles, and Scotland more specifically. It does not show up in northern continental Europe as the present databases sample Europe I suspect that "Isles" I1c was brought to the British Isles prior to the AngloSaxon invasions, and probably prior to the Roman era. Continental I1c, on the other hand, when found in the British Isles is probably easily explained as having come with the AngloSaxons or the Scandinavian invader/immigrants".

The next step really depends on what you want from this study. If you would like to know where the bloodlines came from, then Ken suggested having a I1c haplogroup subpanel of tests run. This can be done from Ethnoancestry for $184 -- this breaks down to $49 to break down the sample and $135 for the subpanel analysis. Ken also stated "The group is sufficiently related, they will have all the same SNPs. They might share the cost of a single comprehensive test."

If your desired results is to know whether or not you related to one another, other than the obvious one we already know about, Ken suggested testing additional markers. There were several companies that he indicated would be able to do those tests (FTDNA does not do them). My recommendation from his list would be DNA-Fingerprint, a German company, from whom testees have been getting very good results.

For this company, it is possible to get a discount based on the number of people ordering tests at the same time. They usually order once a month and shoot for a 50% discount rate.

If additional markers are tested, you would all need to have the same additional markers tested and I would have to get some advice on the best ones and the cost to each of you. It would mean a new sample/samples.

Please let me know what you would like to do if you are interested in any of these additional tests. Please also remember that I have no financial interest in any of these companies. My dawg is still lying on the porch and is not inclined to join this hunt (since I am female and at least three generations removed from my Mullinix ancestress).

Sharon Bryant, January 28, 2006