July of 2016: As can be seen at: U106 Tree Abraham Miller (184607) is in the same small haplogroup subclad (Z2>S9342>PF5143) as James Watson (449894) the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA in 1953 along with Francis Crick.

March of 2013: SNP testing by FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe, and Genographic 2.0, show that Abraham Miller is of the R-Z2 haplogroup (U106+ (aka S21+) and L48+). 23andme.com lists his haplogroup as R1b1b2a1a1d*.  He tests negative for markers S26, S28 and S29 and Z7.   Additionally there are 2 mutations below Z2 for which Abraham Miller has unique values:

SNP: P302 G <> A
SNP: PF5143 C <> T

The STR results in the table above show a distant but significant matching with participants who have different surnames but trace back to Scotland and Northern Ireland. That he is German is still very possible, however. 

To see Abraham Miller's full 67 markers see UserID: SBN8K at www.ysearch.org

In August of 2012, Michael Harkins, who tested with Ancestry.com matched Abraham on all 12 of the first 12 markers. It turns out Michael's father was adopted and his surname at birth was Miller. His Miller line traces back to Samuel Miller born 1847 in Rapho Twp, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Since this Samuel Miller is not a descendant of Abraham Miller it opens up an exciting possibility that we may be able to connect via a brother or close cousin of Abraham Miller. Records from Lancaster and Lebanon County have been ordered. Hopefully this will lead to a break through on the parentage of Abraham Miller.......

FamilyFinder by FamilyTreeDNA.com

FamilyTreeDNA has released a new test called FamilyFinder which looks for matches across all 22 chromosomes (all but the 23rd XY chromosome).   This valuable new DNA tool allows a comparison among cousins regardless of the gender of the ancestors linking them to their common ancestor.     With Y-DNA we only find matches from our direct paternal line -- father to son all the way back.     However, with FamilyFinder we are able to match cousins who share Abraham Miller as a common ancestor even if the ancestral trail is mother to son or father to daughter.       Since Abraham Miller has thousands of descendants (a small fraction of whom are direct paternal descendants), we now have a powerful new tool to find matches. 

Those descendants who have taken the Family Finder test are listed in diagram below. Marion's test is especially exciting because of the 20,000+ living descendants of Abraham Miller she is the only one known to be a 4th generation descendant.   She likely receives 1/16th of her DNA from Abraham Miller, compared to 1/64th for 6th generation descendants who tested)   In addition, her X DNA is likely about 12% the same as Abraham Miller's mother's X chromosome.    X DNA matching is up and coming and having this on file now could help in the future when X chromosome matching becomes more common.

Any other FamilyFinder participants who match all or most of the people in the diagram below would themselves be related to Abraham Miller.    If they are not his direct descendants then they may be descended from one of his siblings -- the best of all findings.   The reason this works is because the only single known ancestor that all 5 people above have in common is Abraham Miller  (Abraham married twice and since the above represent descendants from each wife -- he is the only common ancestor of all the above 5 descendants).     The downside of FamilyFinder is that DNA is distributed from mother and father randomly each generation.    While siblings and first and second cousins are sure to share a significant amount of DNA in common, more distant cousins are increasingly likely to have less and possibly no DNA match from this test.     The upper limit to this test is basically said to be 5th cousins.    The above are all 4th cousins once removed or 1/2 4th cousins.    Therefore, they are near the limit of the tests ability to make a match.     In fact Mary Hess only matches Ross Miller (they are 1/2 4th cousins once removed).     Royce Hunt only matches Lewis Earl (they are 4th cousins once removed).   Lewis, Ross and Phil all match each other but they are 1st and 3rd cousins.     Royce Hunt and Mary Hess are each 3rd great grandchildren of Abraham Miller.    Lewis, Ross and Phil are 4th great grandchildren of Abraham Miller.

So far we have the following:

DNA FAQ

1.  How do you know the Y-DNA of someone who died almost 200 years ago?

The Y chromosome is passed down unchanged from father to son every generation.   The only exception being occasional mutations. All the other human chromosomes are a mix of the chromosomes of both parents.    Therefore as the 5th great grandson of Abraham Miller I carry his exact same Y DNA, except for whatever mutations may have occurred over the last 6 generations.  We currently have DNA results from myself, Cody Miller, and Lavelle Miller.    By comparing those results we can determine with reasonable confidence the Y DNA markers of Abraham Miller and thus learn which in our own lines are mutations.  Where 2 of 3 people match, we conclude that the mutation was on the odd man out -- it would be unlikely for 2 people to have the same exact mutation.   The values above in blue are the mismatches.    Comparing those the original markers for Y DNA of Abraham Miller are listed above.   update: Hal Miller is a descendent of Isaac Miller, another son of Abraham Miller, and his January 2007 results are an exact match with the other descendents of Abraham Miller.

2.  What is meant by "% of general population matching"?

Some markers mutate at faster rates than others and some are common than others.    The values in that row represent the percent of people in the general population with that value for that marker.  The values in pink are under those markers in which 11% or less of the general population match.  They are of special significance because they are the unique identifiers of Abraham Miller's unique DYS values.

3.  What is the value of the Y DNA results?

The Miller surname is a common one, there were 26 thousand Miller's in the 1990 U.S. census.   (They can probably be traced back to about 500 unique Miller families in 1700.)  When searching paper records like the U.S. census for family history connections a Miller researcher is quickly overwhelmed by the number of Miller's out there -- the problem is compounded when, as in my case, one is searching for a William Miller (both the first and last name being very common).    Y-DNA is like having a second last name.    Some Y DNA value sets are very common (just like a common surname would be) and others are relatively rare.   In this case descendents of Abraham Miller have lucked out in that his Y DNA values are very unique.    So far all those matching near to Abraham Miller's  (out of the over 90,000 individuals tested) have been his descendents.    The hope is that some day we will find a match from someone who descends from Abraham Miller's father or grandfather or great grandfather, thus allowing us to try and make a paper connection to an earlier ancestor than Abraham.

4. How does Elmer K. Miller fit in the equation?

Elmer Miller is the author of the book, Gayen Miller an Irish Quaker and his Descendents.   According to a newspaper query in 1948 (and later printed from that source in the book, Richard Haines and his Descendents, 1961), our Miller is supposed to be descended from Gayen Miller through Gayen's son Robert Miller and grandson Jacob Miller.  Elmer Miller is descended from Gayen Miller through Gayen's son Robert Miller and grandson Solomon Miller.  If the above 2 sentences are accurate Elmer's Y-DNA should be a close match to Abraham's. Unfortunately, the results do not match.   

January 2007 update: A descendent (Ralph Miller) of Gayen Miller's supposed brother, John Miller (born about 1666, husband of Mary Ignew), also tested.  Ralph and Elmer do not appear to be a match (2% probability).   Therefore, if the paper trails of Elmer to Gayen and Ralph to John are correct, then John Miller (husband of Mary Ignew) and Gayen Miller were not brothers. 

November 2007 update: another descendent, Scott Miller, from this line, that of John Miller and Ann Clibborn, is also not a match with Abraham Miller.  The DNA from Scott and from Ralph both match and are descended from James Miller (b. 1745).    That confirms that James Miller (b. 1745) is their common ancestor.    Three possible explanations are:

1. The trail from James Miller (b. 1745) to John Miller (b. 1633) is not correct.
2. Gayen Miller and John Miller (b. 1655) are not brothers (this is the most likely explanation)
3. The DNA test is wrong.   (the mismatch allows about 1% chance that they are related)

Ralph and Scott Miller both descend from: James Miller (b. 5/28/1745  d. 1809; of New Garden Tp, Chester, PA) marr.Jane Elliott (b. 1748; d. 1813 New Garden Tp, PA)

1. John Miller (b. 1633) marr. Ann Clibborn (b. 1630) (Supposed father of Gayen Miller)
2. John Miller (b. 1665; d. 1714) marr. Mary Ignew
3. James Miller (b. 1693 d. 1774 New Garden Tp, Chester, PA)
4. James b. 1745

December 2008 update:  Francis Guion Miller, a direct descendant of Gayen Miller through his son Robert and grandson Warwick, has tested and is an exact match with Elmer Kenneth Miller, therefore there is no chance that Abraham Miller was descended from Gayen Miller, as the DAR applications of his great grandchildren claim..

5.  What is the goal now?

The goal now is to find participants who are descended from William Miller (of the 1800 Bloom Twp., Northumberland County census) and Frederick Miller (of the 1810 Bloom Twp., Northumberland County census).    Miller's from Berks County, Chester County, Delaware County, Philadelphia and Delaware State would all be of interest.    Also, Miller's from Western Europe would be of great interest.   Finally, the more Miller's in general who test the greater of the odds of finding a match.   Miller's from New York, Virginia and Ohio are also of interest.

6.  How do I sign up?

If you are descended from Miller lines from Chester County, Lancaster County, or  Berks County Pennsylvania in the 1700's, please e-mail me directly at gary@millerfamilyhistory.com    If you come from another Miller line please sign up to the Miller surname project at FamilyTreeDNA.com.

 

Copyright 2006 - 2013 by Gary Miller