Deep Ancestry - Lower Delmarva Bradfords

Subclade Description 

There is a high correlation between the rare marker values 492=14 and 464d=19 among men who have 

tested positive for U106 or its descendant SNP L48: 

• In the U106 project at FTDNA there are 21 men who are 492=14. Of these, 12 (57%) also have 

464d=19. This is in contrast to U106 as a whole, in which only 33 out of 706 (around 4.7%) have 

the value 19 at 464d; it is also in contrast to L48, in which 464d=19 is present in only 10 out of 

227 individuals (around 4.4%). 

• In the U106 project, there are 23 individuals who are 464d=19 and who have also tested 492. Of 

these, 12 (52%) are 492=14. This is in contrast to U106 and L48, in each of which 492=14 runs at 

only 4%. 

The high correlation between these two rare values is most likely the genetic signal of a founder whose 

descendants appear to constitute roughly 4% of the R-L48 haplogroup. This subclade shares some of the 

key modal values associated with L48: 

Value R1b Freq. U106 Freq. L48 Freq. Subclade Frequency 

390=23 22% 56% 85% 79%/86% 

447=24 17% 31% 56% 85%/90% 

The subclade is characterized by another unusual modal value that further differentiates it within U106 and 

L48. 


442=13 12% 15% 23% 73% 

Thus, it appears that the 492=14/464d=19 subclade is probably an offshoot of a descendant branch of L48 

whose founder had 447=24 and 442=13. 

The subclade is also characterized by a strong presence of 446=14: 


446=14 15% 11% 11% 42%-58% 

The bimodality on 446 indicates the likely presence of a descendant branch of this subclade, the founder of 

which had the value 14 at 446. 

Finding subclade members: 

To find subclade members, I searched for all those in Ysearch within a genetic distance of 1 from the 

following haplotype, which includes the 5 defining markers of the subclade plus 3 markers common to 

R1b: 

492=14 

464d=19 

390=23 

447=24 

442=13 

426=12 (98% of R1b) 

388=12 (98% of R1b) 

472=8 (100% of R1b) 

This search yielded 121 individuals. Only 41 of these were 492=14, yet virtually the entire group were 

442=13 and 447=24. This provides a further indication that the 492=14/464d=19 population is likely a 

subset of a descendant branch of L48 characterized by 447=24/442=13. 

Adam M. Bradford, 2009

Age Estimates 

ASD calculations for the 67 marker haplotypes in this subclade using Tim Janzen’s excel utility yield age 

estimates ranging from 43 to 49 generations, or about 1075 to 1470 years using a generation length of 25 to 

30 years. Thus, the subclade progenitor may have lived roughly between 500 to 900 AD. However, this 

may be an underestimate, since the sample from which it was deduced does not contain those who may 

have experienced mutations away from the ancestral values on several of the key markers that define the 

subclade. 

Subclade Members 

The attached spreadsheet contains 109 individuals who may be identified as likely members of this 

subclade. Identification was based on having the value 14 at 492 and two out of the other three defining 

markers: 464d=19, 447=24, and 442=13. I also included those who are a tight match on at least 25 markers 

with someone of the same surname whose 67-marker results warranted their inclusion. If an individual has 

been SNP tested, the most downstream SNP for which they have tested positive is listed. I have also 

included SNP results for those who have the same surname as those who have been SNP tested and who are 

a close match with them. 

Spreadsheet of Subclade Haplotypes 

Sources for clade members were Ysearch and FTDNA’s U106 project, supplemented by public results from 

various FTDNA surname projects. 

Walk The Y 

The Middlebrook man who is a member of this clade is participating in the L48 Walk the Y project 

currently being undertaken with FTDNA. The L48 WTY Project is a concentrated effort to find SNPs to 

help further subdivide the L48 haplogroup. With the exception of the SNP L47 and its descendants L44, 

L45, and L46 (members of this subclade do not have the L47 SNP), the branch structure of L48 is currently 

only guessed at by analyzing STR results. There is a Wade man in the WTY who is not a member of the 

492=14/464d=19 clade, but who does have 447=24/442=13. 

Bimodality on 446 

As noted above, there is a bimodality in this group on marker 446, with a roughly even split between the 

values 14 and 13. 13 is likely the ancestral value, since it is the modal of L48 and its ancestor R1b clades. 

The following chart shows which surnames have which value. Penningtons and Ratcliffs fall on both sides. 

14 13 

Bowen 

Brooks 

Burch 

Griffin 

Haworth 

Holland 

Middlebrooks 

Morris 

Pennington 

Pickett 

Ratliff 

Stephenson 

Struthers 

Walker 

Bradford 

Braidwood 

Crumpler 

Dawson 

Delise 

Disbrow 

Holder 

Horrell 

Mitchell 

Pennington 

Pope 

Ratcliff 

Reed 

Reynolds 

Van Camp 

Ratliff/Radcliff-Pennington/Pinnington Match 

A sizeable portion of this subclade appear to be descendants of Nicholas de Radeclive of Lancashire 

(b.c.1097-1100). The standard genealogy claims he was a great-grandson in the direct male line of Ivo de 

Taillebois of Anjou, who came to England with William the Conqueror. Nicholas was apparently the son of 

Gilbert de Lancaster and was given the manor of Radeclive in Lancashire, after which he went by Nicholas 

de Radeclive, whence the surname Radcliff and variants. Nicholas’ great -grandson Hugh de Radeclive 


(b.c.1192, Lancashire) married the heiress Margery de Pininton and adopted her name (whence the surname 

Pennington and variants). This shared ancestry for Ratcliffs and Penningtons is borne out by the DNA 

evidence. 

A group of at least 29 Radcliff (and variants) men are members of this subclade and they are a close match 

with 5 men named Pennington/Pinnington. The MRCA of this branch may be narrowed down to the three 

generations from Nicholas de Radcliff (b.c.1097/1100), the first to adopt the name Radcliff, on down to 

William de Radeclive (b.1164), whose son adopted the name Pennington. The genetic distance between 

the Penningtons and Radcliffs (about 9 on 67 markers) is largely consistent with an MRCA in this period. 

The Ratliff/Pennington group all have the relatively rare 572=10, which is found in 8% of R1b and in 8% 

of U106. This value is shared by the Haworth/Howarth family, which also hails from Lancashire. It is also 

held by a man named Morris who traces his origins to Lancashire. Two men named Bowen are also 

572=10. 

It would be interesting to see if any men with the surname Lancaster turn up a match, since Nicholas de 

Radeclive’s older brother William went by “de Lancaster” and apparently had descendants who kept it as a 

family name. 

Five of the seven Ratcliffs who have tested 67 markers are 481=24, which could be a tag for a specific 

branch of Ratcliffs. 

Brooks 

There is a Brooks family in this clade that hails from Manchester, a city in south Lancashire. They do not 

have the 572=10 shared by the Penningtons and Ratcliffs, though they do have 446=14. This family is an 

extremely close match (from 0 to 4 on 67 markers) with a man named Holland whose earliest known 

ancestor lived in Bavaria. Brooks and Holland are distinguished by 458=15 and 442=12. 

The following map illustrates some of the locations in Lancashire which contained subclade members: 

Bradford/Braidwood Branch 

The Bradfords and Braidwoods clearly share a relatively recent common ancestor. They also appear to be 

more distantly related to the rest of the cluster due to values on certain STRs which are not present in the 

rest of the cluster, but which they all share. These include 390=24, 389i=12, H4=10, YCAII=22, 413b=24, 

and 442=14/15. The surname Braidwood is unique and appears to have once been confined to Lanarkshire, 


Scotland, where there is a town of the same name. There is evidence that at least two of the Bradford 

lineages are of Scots-Irish descent, so that name is likely an Anglicization of a Scottish surname, possibly 

Braidwood or Braidfute, which was also present in Lanarkshire. Despite being found earliest in Scotland, 

the Braidwood surname seems ultimately to be of Anglo-Saxon derivation. 

Holder-Disbrow 

Men of the Holder and Disbrow surnames are close matches on 37 markers and share certain rare values: 

389i=14 

458=16 

460=10 

464c=16 

* * * 

The following tree depicts a best guess as to how this clade is descended from L48 and a tentative grouping 

of some of the more visible subdivisions of the subclade, based on the shared mutations outlined above. 


The following network diagram of the 67 marker haplotypes was generated using Fluxus: 

The diagram tends to confirm certain aspects of the hypothetical descendant chart listed above. Note the 

presence of distinct branches for Bradford/Braidwood, Holder/Disbrow, and Brooks. 

Observations on Origin 

There are only 2 men of proven Continental ancestry in this sucblade: a Holland from Bavaria and a Van 

Campen from the Netherlands. Other than these 2 Continental men, the surnames in the subcluster are 

mostly of English or Norman derivation. Even those of Scottish descent - Braidwood/Bradford and 

Struthers - have Anglo-Saxon rather than Gaelic surnames. There are two Irish lines – Pickett and 

Stephenson/Steenson; as with the Scottish lines, the surnames suggest an Anglo-Saxon/Norman rather than 

Celtic/Gaelic origin. 


The earliest known locations of those who are able to trace their origins to Europe are plotted on the 

following map. Note the thick cluster of locations in Lancashire.

Deep Ancestry - Lower Delmarva Bradfords

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