Y-DNA has rendered an answer to the Travis Theorem! The results are clear in some respects and not in others. So, before I go into detail, let’s step into the wayback machine to March 2024 when I first started researching this theory. My words as we started this journey were:

Travis, my copilot for this journey, has a theorem. He believes that he has swiftly found substantive evidence that will link the Maryland Babbs to the VA/NC Babbs….

We are going to put that theory to the test and see where it leads. If there is anything I’ve learned about the NC/VA Babb(s) is that they are dogmatic in their beliefs that these two lines of similarly plural-ed Babbs have a direct connection.

To be up front, I am highly suspect of this theory. The standard of proof is going to be exceptionally high as the Y-DNA evidence is against them. To date we have two connections in the Maryland Babb line that match perfectly. We also have 9 connections in the VA/NC Babb lines that all match to each other in an exacting fashion.

Yet, this plucky line of Babbs descendants will not be deterred from their goal of proving some form of connection between the two lines. I disagree, but I wish them well in convincing me.

My original post is here for full details:

The Travis Theorem

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I’ve never seen a real rhyme or reason as to why the plural form of our surname exists in one place and not another. My first-grade teacher always called me Mr. Babbs, but that was never my actual name. Some lines still honor the “s” and others that lost it through time. Still others never had an “s” to lose. Some have it recorded multiple ways throughout their lives and for the illiterate their spellings were only as good as the transcriber.

But I digress.

Travis found a descendant of the “other” family of Babbs who occupied Clay County in Illinois, and we have conducted a Y-DNA test on her father to find out if this was a crossroads or a coincidence.

Crossroads or Coincidence: Clay County, IL

Y-DNA says this is a coincidence

There is no genetic relationship between the White Stags of VA/NC and this line of Babbs who appear to landed in Clay County, IL and appear to have come from Maryland.

Long ago I learned to never anticipate the results of a Y-DNA test. Whenever I do, the answer always surprises me. The answer of “None of the Above” is still the predominant winner as we explore our genetic roots. Yet, that really just means there is another thread in the Babb(s) tapestry to be uncovered and rewoven into the fabric of our collective surname.

The Travis Theorem has failed to prove it’s intended theory. But it did something else too!

It pointed out some errors I had made when creating the Y-DNA associations for the Green Men of Maryland lineage. There are 4 test candidates involved here and the chart below shows the first 12 markers of each person’s test. A result with only 10 of 12 markers matching is not considered a match at all. Each shaded box indicates a divergence in the result of that marker. 8 markers are shared by all 4 candidates, but that isn’t a close match at all. Testing additional markers will only yield additional points of separation as these are the slowest moving of the bunch.

Just to demonstrate the problem, let me show you the same set of markers for the Lions of the Sea, which is our largest sample of test candidates. Out of 15 test candidates we see only a single variant in the first 12 markers.

So, going back to our Maryland Babbs we have what appears to be 3 lineages, instead of 1. Candidates 1 & 3 are 11 of 12 marker matches, which is solid. Their trees appear to collide above the currently available paper trail. But we can demonstrate a connection through this.

The 2nd candidate is from one of the earliest tests I had conducted in this effort and the individual has since died. So, I’m unable to order additional tests on his behalf. He is a 10 of 12 marker match with the 4th candidate, which as I said isn’t considered a match.

However, candidate #4 is closely aligned via the paper trail with candidate #1. <sigh>

So, What Now?

I am still unsure of how to treat this in the DNA record, but all the paper trails appear to collide in Maryland. There is another documented bunch of Babbs in a county outside of Annapolis, but their tree has never been linked and might have died out. It is also possible that people might have migrated to Maryland surrounding the American Revolution. There is no proof of this that has been presented to me, but there is much hearsay about it. Shy of proof, I’ll stick to the first known location of each line.

That appears to be Annapolis, MD. For the time being, I’m not going to change the Green Men markers from any of these three lines, but I will mark them as A, B & C to promote better understanding. Infidelity and adoptions can play tricks on your Y-DNA trails and my primary focus is to do no harm while continuing to further our research. Perhaps we will find more information that will shed light on these relationships in the future.