Following new results which have added to our knowledge of Scaife and the E3b haplogroup, this is a response to the latest update posted recently comprising some comments and personal views:
1. The relationship between Leonard Scafe of Thirkleby and William Skaife yeoman of Darley remains the closest (1 marker, 1 mutation). This is due to the fact that the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) is known to be per-1550 from the historical record.
2. Whilst the 18th Century MRCA of William Skaife of Darley and John Skaife of Iowa is closer, the number of markers tested in the latter is insufficient to be conclusive as this test was done by a different company testing fewer markers.
3. The null allele issue at GGAAB1T07 for the descendant of Thomas Scaif and Ellen Thompson does not concern me as four of the five now tested who produced a result at this marker came out at the same number of repeats (12).
4. The microvariant of 15.3 for Thomas Scaif/Ellen Thompson and Jonathan Scaife of Bury suggests a close relationship between these two branches.
5. The Timothy Skaife of Killinghall is an outlier and surprisingly does not hint at a close relationship with Jonathan Scaife of Bury as the historical record hints at.
6. The historical link between William Skaife yeoman of Darley and the Braisty Woods Scaifes would benefit from confirmation via the DNA testing route.
Next steps:
1. Mutation rate analysis is now being conducted by various DNA studies as a way of improving upon the rather generic guidelines with regard to proximity of relationship supplied by the majority of genetic DNA testing labs. We should investigate this route further.
2. Further testing is required in order to confirm earlier tests and link untested groups to the others. To this end I shall update the "Are you Related to a Scaife?" chart in the light of our new findings and other groups of Scaifes which have cropped up in recent years.
Bernard Scaife.