Unlike autosomal DNA, which is inherited from both parents, Y-DNA is passed directly from fathers to sons. This means Stancil men who descend from the same male line will share nearly identical Y-DNA.
Y-DNA testing can trace ancestry into the distant past, but only through the maternal line.
Modern Y-DNA testing can identify genetic connections among Stancil men who share a common ancestor from hundreds of years ago, including those who lived in North Carolina in the 1700s or Virginia in the 1600s or possibly earlier in England. This gives us a powerful tool to trace our continuous male lineage across centuries and continents.
The Y chromosome passes from father to son with very few changes across generations. Those rare, traceable mutations act like time-stamped markers. By following them, FamilyTreeDNA can place each male lineage on the larger human family tree — a tree that ultimately traces back to a single paternal ancestor who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago.
This branching tree makes it possible to explore how male lines moved through time and place, revealing both the modern history of your surname and the ancient history of shared ancestors. For the Stancil family, these Y-DNA markers help us connect distant branches, identify early colonial origins, and push our paternal line back toward England and beyond.
Recently, Vann Stancil (Alvin Branch) and distant cousin Eli Stansel completed the advanced Big Y-700 test through FamilyTreeDNA. Their matching results show both men share a continuous line of Stancil fathers stretching back nearly 400 years, pointing to a common ancestor born around 1653.
Our John Thomas Stancil line traces back to immigrant John Stansall (1662-1713), who arrived in southeast Virginia in 1683 and raised five sons. While Vann and Eli's exact connection among these early branches is still being refined, the Big Y-700 test confirms a deep foundation to our shared heritage.
To uncover even earlier roots, we need Stancil men from John Thomas Stancil's brothers' lines or more distant relationships to take the Big Y-700 test. The test is $449 at regular price, though it often goes on sale.
Tom's siblings include James Henry Stancil (1838-1922), Josiah Stancil (1843-1921) and Jacob Astor Stancil (1844-1905).
Technicians extract the cheek cells, isolate the Y-DNA, and sequence over 700 markers. After 6-8 weeks, results appear online and are automatically compared against thousands of other testers.