It's been a while since I last posted here but I have recently found out some interesting information.
I found out that my father's Y-STRs were tested and using the values for his 12 Y-STRs, I inputted them into Ysearch. I did not get back any 0 step matches or even 1 step matches. The closest genetic matches I got were two men: one with the surname Foster (earliest paternal ancestor from Germany) and the other Atwell (earliest paternal ancestor from Northumberland, England). They were 2 steps away from me, which FTDNA and Ysearch denote as "Probably Not Related." They go on to say that "you are unlikely to share a common male ancestor within the genealogical time frame." So does that mean we share a common male ancestor, just really long ago?
Using the patterns seen in between the generations to the MRCA for 25 and 37 STRs, I calculated that there is a 95% probability that I share a common male ancestor with them some 66 generations ago. I am not sure if the math of the whole system was predictable enough for me to go on to do that but I did it anyways. Afterwards, I then predicted that since the average age men have had children is roughly 20-25 years, that 66 generations ago is between 1,320 to 1,650 years ago (or 364-694 CE). I cannot accurately interpret what this means, for I have a tendency to go down a slippery slope of assumptions.
Also, the next closest matches (3 steps) were 5 individuals: 4 from the US (Frush, Atwell, Curtiss, Owens) and 1 German (Frush).
Furthermore, the individuals that have tested CTS8862+ from FTDNA and CTS11984+ were all 5-6 steps away from me (Pretotto, Knox, and Espinoza).