John, I got the impression from my YDNA results that FTDNA uses personalized predictions of the time to the MRCA using their Tip calculator. Do you know if they use "personalized" years per generation (YPG) in their calculations or do they use a fixed 25 YPG? If they use personalized figures it seems like it would be possible if Vickie's brother was @ the upper extreme of 30 YPG & Gail's brother was @ the lower end of 25 YPG you would end up with roughly 300-325 yrs to their MRCA. If they use a fixed 25 YPG you would end up with a 250-325 yrs range. If the Vickie & Gail's brothers were born c1950, the personalized approach could make their MRCA born 1625-1650 or possibly James W's dad, while the fixed 25 yr approach could make their MRCA born 1625-1700 or possibly EITHER Jame W.or his dad. Oh what a wicked web we weave--it gets confusing but damn interesting. Jack