The MyBRAZELL Y-DNA Project is part of a larger study, the BRASWELL Y-DNA Project, hosted by Family Tree DNA. The project covers all the surname variants that are of interest to me, including BRAZELL, BRAZIL, and BRASELL.
As of December 2023, the project counts 518 participants.
Unfortunately, only one other member of the BRASWELL Y-DNA project has a Y-DNA haplogroup that comes anywhere close to mine, which is J-Z1297.. Most other members of the group fall under the R1b1a sub-category (see project breakdown here).
However, almost one fifth of the project surnames share haplogroup R-M269, which is the same as four of the seven participants in my sub-project who probably go back to my paper ancestor Thomas BRASELL, baptised in 1629 in Whitchurch, Bucks.
So my sub-project is probably still in the right place, even though the U.S. branch of the project is dominated by the surname BRACEWELL (and BRASWELL), which, at least in a UK context, are not surnames I would normally want to consider.
When I began exploring my Y-DNA some ten years ago, I hoped the project would expand to include other BRAZELL lines and help answer questions that I have been pursuing through more traditional paper-based research – for instance, whether the BRAZELLs of Buckinghamshire and the BRAZILs of Oxfordshire in England, close neighbours over centuries, share the same origin; or whether the same lines are related in any way to other BRAZELL lines in the British Isles, such as those in Wales, Norfolk, North-East England, and Ireland.
However, my enthusiasm waned considerably after I discovered my Y-DNA was not that of a Bucks BRAZELL at all. As a result, my part of the project is currently on hold pending either an exciting Y-DNA discovery or finding an Oxfordshire-born BRAZIL who would agree to test.
If you would like to join the project or discuss any of the above, please drop me a line using the contact page and I’ll be in touch.