Seel and Youell family information page

This is the index page for information about members of the Seel and Youell families.

1. Family Trees

2. Personal Details

• Fred Seel
• Beryl Seel
• Nigel Seel
• Wendy Payne
• Joyce Seel
• Maisie Cook
• Shirley Porter
• Francis Youell

Haplogroup Tree Mutation Map (from 23andMe)

See here for background to this entry which analyses my Y-DNA haplotype within the R1b haplogroup tree.

The call column indicates what was found in my sequencing (not all bases may have been tested for or derived, resulting in a blank); anc means the ancestral form; der means the derived form via the specific SNP (mutation) at this Y-chromosome locus.

My Paternal line (Y chromosome)

R1b1b2a1a2f* defining mutations
variant	call	anc		der
N/A
R1b1b2a1a2f defining mutations
variant	call	anc		der
rs11799226 (L21)	G	C		G
R1b1b2a1a2 defining mutations
variant	call	anc		der
rs34276300 (P312)		C		A
R1b1b2a1a defining mutations
variant	call	anc		der
rs13304168 (L52)	T	C		T
rs9785659 (P311)	G	A		G
rs9786076 (L11)	C	T		C
rs9786283 (P310)	C	A		C
R1b1b2a1 defining mutations
variant	call	anc		der
rs9786140 (L51)	A	G		A
R1b1b2a defining mutations
variant	call	anc		der
rs9785971 (L23)		G		A
rs9786142 (L49)	A	T		A
R1b1b2 defining mutations
variant	call	anc		der
rs877756 (S3)	C	T		C
rs9786153 (M269)	C	T		C
R1b1b defining mutations
variant	call	anc		der
rs9785702 (P297)	C	G		C
R1b1 defining mutations
variant	call	anc		der
rs150173 (P25)		C		A
R1b defining mutations
variant	call	anc		der
rs9786184 (M343)		C		A
R1 defining mutations
variant	call	anc		der
rs1118473 (P286)	T	C		T
rs17307070 (P225)	T	G		T
rs2032624 (M173)	C	A		C
rs7067478 (P242)		G		A
rs9785717 (P238)	A	G		A
rs9785959 (P236)	G	C		G
rs9786197 (P234)	C	T		C
rs9786232 (P233)	G	T		G

R1b1b2a1a2f*: the Seels and Niall of the Nine Hostages

In the steps of my ancestors: practising the T'ai Chi Sword Form

23andMe sequenced both my (paternally inherited) Y-chromosome and my (maternally-inherited) mitochondrial DNA - but I have largely ignored this information up to now.

Big mistake!

My paternal haplogroup is R1b1b2a1a2f* and I have a related post linking this with the SNP Haplogroup Tree Mutation Map (in 23andMe/Ancestry Tools).

The dedicated Facebook entry has this to say about it (text also on 23andMe/Ancestry Tools).

Haplogroup R1b1b2a1a2f2

R1b1b2a1a2f2 reaches its peak in Ireland, where the vast majority of men carry Y-chromosomes belonging to the haplogroup. Researchers have recently discovered that a large subset of men assigned to the haplogroup may be direct male descendants of an Irish king who ruled during the 4th and early 5th centuries. According to Irish history, a king named Niall of the Nine Hostages established the Ui Neill dynasty that ruled the island country for the next millennium.

Northwestern Ireland is said to have been the core of Niall's kingdom; and that is exactly where men bearing the genetic signature associated with him are most common. About 17% of men in northwestern Ireland have Y-chromosomes that are exact matches to the signature, and another few percent vary from it only slightly. In New York City, a magnet for Irish immigrants during the 19th and early 20th century, 2% of men have Y-chromosomes matching the Ui Neill signature. Genetic analysis suggests that all these men share a common ancestor who lived about 1,700 years ago. Among men living in northwestern Ireland today that date is closer to 1,000 years ago. Those dates neatly bracket the era when Niall is supposed to have reigned.

Outside Ireland, R1b1b2a1a2f2 is relatively common only along the west coast of Britain.

If you want to dig deeper, Delaney Henretty (from the comments below) suggested this site:

 "Eupedia Home > Genetics > Haplogroups (home) > Haplogroup R1b"

Take a look at 'subclades'.

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We know the Seels in Bristol migrated (on the male line) from Oldham back in the nineteenth century. It now appears that at some earlier time a male ancestor came across from Ireland. At an even earlier time, there was a male ancestor who shared descent with the High King of Ireland, Niall of the Nine Hostages (maybe!).

I mentioned this to my mother on my visit yesterday and she enquired as to whether I would be using the title HRH in future.

On the maternal side, my mitochondrial haplotype is H which is pretty common in Europe. The Wikipedia article states that "haplogroup H probably evolved in West Asia c. 25,000 years ago. It was carried to Europe by migrations c. 20-25,000 years ago, and spread with population of the southwest of the continent. Its arrival was roughly contemporary with the rise of the Gravettian culture."

Obviously not so coincidentally, we had a family outing to the new Greek taverna in Wells on Saturday and enjoyed an excellent Greek meal. Although strictly speaking, only I can tentatively put this down to deep genetics ...

My 23andMe results

The results of my genetic screening at 23andMe have now come back - almost a million SNPs analysed.

The human genome SNP database currently has around 20 million known SNPs but most have unknown consequences.

So, here are the highlights: overall I guess I was pleased and relieved! The impact on family? Well, I share half of my alleles with my siblings, my parents and my children (and I'm uncorrelated with my wife). So extrapolate with care .. we're none of us clones.

I was a bit surprised to find that my paternal lineage appears to be from Ireland! We had traced my great-great-grandfather up to Oldham, Lancs where he was a Hatter (see here also). I think we had supposed the Oldham Seels were Anglo-Saxon, but the Y-chromosome is pointing instead to Ireland. On the maternal side, it seems my mother's maternal ancestors are solidly Atlantic coastal celts.

Click on images to make them larger.

Clare says just by appearance - Neanderthal is obvious!

The site itself has masses of detailed results and research reports which will keep me occupied for a while.