Few of us are entirely comfortable with the genealogical research we and others have done.  Many of our findings have words like “probably”, “may”, “perhaps”, and “assumption” inserted because of our doubts.  We've exhausted all the traditional research tools and all that remains is using simple, painless DNA testing to provide the answers for which we've been hunting, and sometimes some surprises.

DNA testing is the newest tool available to genealogists, but there are different tests to be aware of.  Y-DNA testing helps genealogists verify their patrilineal ancestry (father's father's father, etc.) in a quick and easy way.  It saves time, prevents mistakes,and provides invaluable data that can be obtained in no other way.  The only cost is for the testing itself and it is a bargain when compared to many of the research trips we have made that produced far less information — consider the costs of gasoline, tolls, parking, photocopying, meals, and perhaps an overnight stay.

Y-DNA testing enables us to discover whether our separate Bradner family trees should connect at some ancestor in common, or whether the same surnames were derived separately.  It also validates our conventional research by showing whether the links as we have them correlate with the DNA results.

Family Tree DNA, the company we recommend for Y-DNA testing, will also determine your Y Haplogroup, even to the extent of performing additional tests on your DNA sample if it becomes necessary.  This will indicate your paternal line's ancient ancestry and will show the migration routes of your ancestors of thousands of years ago through different geographic regions on a map that Family Tree DNA will provide, and also on the various genographic and haplogroup maps available on the web.

Another advantage of providing a DNA sample is that some companies will store it for many years — Family Tree DNA stores it for 25 years at no additional charge.  So as new testing methods evolve, further testing can be performed on that same sample, and this is extremely valuable when the person originally tested has since died.

You simply swab the inside of your cheek a few times in the comfort of your home.  Mail the sample to the testing company, and then sit back and wait about six weeks for the results.  You will receive a handsome on-line certificate, ready for printing, which displays your genetic profile — a series of numbers that are meaningless by themselves, but they hold the key to your paternal ancestry and, when matched against the profiles of others, can yield information that can be obtained in no other way.  Those numbers will be compared against fast-growing databases, and you will likely find other individuals whose results match yours — if not immediately then in future years.  You will be notified as new matches occur.

Note that only a male with any of the subject surnames may participate in Y-DNA testing but, if you have this ancestry, you can be represented by even a distant cousin whose name is Bradner, or similar.  Matrilineal ancestry (mother's mother's mother, etc.) testing can also be performed and is termed Mitochondrial or mt-DNA testing, but obviously it is used to verify other than the surname line — see below.  For further information about DNA read the ISOGG Wiki, a very informative site of the International Society Of Genetic Genealogy containing almost everything you need to know about DNA testing.  Further questions and concerns are answered at Family Tree DNA's Frequently Asked Questions' page.

We used to show the four main trees below where we knew we had living male individuals that were prime candidates for Y-DNA testing but those trees didn't display well on smart-phones so we have removed them rather than have different copies of this page depending on the viewer's device.  We do however still need more male Bradners and Breadners to take a Y-DNA test.  We need to determine if the trees as we have them are correct, and DNA analysis is the only way remaining for us to do this.  DNA analysis has already proven the connections of one tree back to County Wicklow, Ireland.  We now need to test more individuals from the other trees to verify their origins.

Our Discoveries so far . . .

Our Y-DNA testing has shown that the County Wicklow Irish Bradners have an R1b1b2 haplogroup which is the predominant haplogroup in Ireland with some areas having 98% of their population with it.  But the biggest surprise was discovering close matches between those Bradners and McGuirk/McGurk individuals that have had their Y-DNA tested.  This means there has to be a connection someplace between our surnames.  An Australian, a Canadian, and an English Bradner have participated in testing and our common Y-DNA haplotype proves our connection back to John Bradner and indicates that the McGuirk/McGurk connection is either within his family or an even earlier generation than him (1783).  Unfortunately we don't even know his wife's surname.  Due to lack of records we may never discover who was adopted or whatever else happened.

The surprises continue . . . so far only three Bradners from the other trees have participated in Y-DNA testing but we've discovered that their DNA match each other along with a Breadner.  All four have the same haplogroup, however it is haplogroup J2 which is more of a Mediterranean Europe DNA as well as being totally different from the County Wicklow Bradners.  So now the questions are . . . how did we end up with two groups of totally unrelated Bradners, and why do the County Wicklow Bradners have a McGuirk/McGurk connection?  Were there (J2) Bradners in County Wicklow that adopted and raised a McGuirk as their Bradner child, or is it the other way around?

We know now that two of those J2 trees connect somehow, but where?  We've been unable to discover this with conventional genealogy due to a lack of records and an overabundance of Bradners in the same era named "John"!  But DNA testing can tell us where they are most likely to connect with each other.  However, to do this and to prove the connections, we desperately need more living male Bradners that fit into those trees to have their Y-DNA tested.  Descendants of Gilbert, John and Benoni (the Ohio and Michigan Bradners) would be the best candidates for proving the validity of one of those trees; and the descendants of William H., William G., Robert Carr, Albert, and Henry (1804) for the other tree.  This testing will add much to our understanding of how we all fit together.  If you know someone that's a candidate for this and would be willing to have their DNA tested then please contact us.

If you would like to participate by having your Y-DNA tested then order a test kit and mail your sample to Family Tree DNA.  Note: we recommend having a minimum of 37 markers tested initially, but if testing 111 markers is do-able then go for it — it will eliminate the need for later upgrades.  In return you will validate your position in the overall Bradner/Breadner Family Tree and will receive comprehensive details of the results of your test.

If you would be willing to provide a donation to support our DNA project then please contribute to the BRADNER Surname Project.  Payments can be made securely via credit card or PayPal.  All funds received will be used to test the DNA of Bradner and Breadner individuals who cannot afford the cost.

Other types of DNA testing:

Autosomal DNA (at-DNA) testing is today's most popular test and is available from different companies — FT-DNA's Family Finder, 23andMe's Relative Finder, Ancestry.com's AncestryDNA.  These tests are all similar but there are subtle differences in what's provided later to the testee.  The biggest advantage of the autosomal test is that it can be taken by both males and females, and it is not necessary to have a Bradner surname to see your match to these families.  The only problems with it are that (unlike Y-DNA) it's only usable 7 or 8 generations back from the testee and many more participants are needed to supply DNA samples.  In the absence of your parents, aunts and uncles, it is to your advantage to test as many first- and second-cousins as possible because their matches to you will identify the lineage origin of that matching portion of DNA.  Analysis of the resultant data can be time-consuming because that DNA comes from a mix of at least 256 ancestors but they are not identified for you.  On the plus side... it does permit females to participate in DNA testing, and it also provides information about all ancestral lines (not just the patriline).  Even if you don't have the time to expend on detailed analysis it's still worthwhile getting tested as soon as possible because that will permit other testees to research your connection to themselves, thereby doing your research for you!

If you have taken an autosomal test at any company then please create a free account at GEDmatch.com and upload a copy of your test results (the raw data) into the GEDmatch database so it can be compared to others who tested elsewhere.  Please contact us if you have any doubt or concerns about this.

Mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) testing provides the female line (matriline) haplotype.  While this is not normally used in a "Surname" project, it can be used to validate the parents of female Bradners of long ago.  Doing this is however quite complicated as it entails discovering living descendants of those females via a pure female line (except for the person being tested) — so the tested person's mother must be related through her mother, and so on, back to the female of interest.

All information about living individuals is kept in the strictest confidence.

Y-DNA Results
Click here to see a spreadsheet of the allele values of the various markers for the individuals that have been tested so far.