Clan Donnachaidh DNA Project

www.familytreedna.com

Genealogy Links

The Robertsons of Muirton

One of the participants in the DNA project has compiled a paper on the Robertsons of Muirton, to help him in his research.

The paper was compiled from a range of different resources. It attempts to continue the work contained in some of the earlier accounts of the Muirton and Gladney families.

The report has been made available for the purposes of encouraging dialogue on these families, with the goal of identifying all descendants, and helping identify a living direct male descendant to participate in the clan DNA project.

A declaration by Alexander Robertson of Struan in 1714 indicates that the Robertsons of Muirton founded a number of northern families of the name of Robertson living in Elgin, Inverness and Aberdeen. To date the focus has been on identifying those in Elgin and Fife. Consequently, research has not yet begun on potential families from Inverness and Aberdeen.

To contact the author, please e-mail:   robbierumbos@yahoo.co.uk

Click here to access "Robertsons of Muirton" in a pdf

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LOCATING DESCENDANTS OF ROBERTSON CADET FAMILIES

Undoubtedly the most important project created during the past few years is the
Clan Donnachaidh DNA Surname Project. Everyone at some time or another has
wondered about his or her origins, but until recently family history research relied
on oral tradition and written records, both usually in short supply.  Now, however,
the new and rapidly expanding science of genetic genealogy has created an explosion
of Mitochondrial and Y-DNA testing.  The Clan Donnachaidh DNA project, administered by Family Tree DNA of Houston, Texas, presently numbers more than 400 participants, and many have identified other participants with whom they share a Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA).  The program includes an estimate, based on test results, of how many generations ago the MRCA probably lived.

Group Administrators of the Clan Donnachaidh DNA Program are Stephanie Robertson, a member of the Society Council, and Tim Duncan of the Southern California Clan Donnachaidh Branch.

Last year Gordon MacGregor, author of the "Red Book of Perthshire", was engaged to research cadet families of the Donnachaidh chiefly line in the hope of identifying living descendants.  The term "cadet" refers to children, other than those who become chief, of the Robertsons of Struan.  The list of Robertson cadet families includes:

Robertson of Balnacree & Easter Auchnagie

Robertson of Eastertyre

Robertson of Killiechangie

Robertson of Faskally

Robertson of Auchleeks

Robertson of Blairfettie

Robertson of Calvine

Robertson of Dalcapon

Robertson of Blairchroisk

Robertson (alias) Reid of Pitnacree, Eastertyre and Derculich

Robertson (alias) Reid of Straloch

Robertson of Lude (2nd family)

Robertson of Lude (1st family)

Robertson of Stronamuik

Robertson of Pitagowan

Robertson of Guay 

The 61 page list of known cadet family descendants can be viewed by clicking on this link...

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Gordon MacGregor has this to say:

"Given the number of male descendants now accurately placed within many of these families, it's only a matter of time before contact is made with living descendants. When this happens, the information that they can supply will prove invaluable.  Advertising on the internet will, I'm sure, bring responses.

"As things stand, there are branches of the present Chief's family, descendants of Duncan nan feusaig, who settled in Nova Scotia in the early 19th century that I've been able to bring down to the first decade of the 1900s.

"Although the senior line of the Lude family failed in the 1800s, research on a cadet of this family, Robertson of Kincraigie, has identified several male members alive in the 1900s. As research continues into other cadets of the Lude family I'll be researching descendants of John Robertson, Tutor of Lude, and others.

"Another family whose descendants have been identified into to the 19th and 20th centuries is the Robertsons of Trinafour, a cadet of Auchleeks. While the senior members lived in England in the late 19th century, younger members have been identified as emigrating to Canada. Some of these are known to have served in WWII.

"Robertson of Faskally, another family which failed in the senior male line in the late 18th century, has been shown to have numerous male descendants from a younger son of Robert Robertson, 6th of Faskally, alive in the 19th and late 20th centuries.

"Research has also begun on the Robertsons of Newbigging and Gladney, in Fife, as being traditionally descended from Alexander Robertson of Struan who died in 1505 and whose descendants in the male line are confirmed down to the 18th century.

"As things stand, information is still being gathered on many families who have yet to be positively placed in any of the main lines, but there is little doubt that ongoing research will eventually provide the necessary evidence."

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James Irvine Robertson, former Council Chairman and editor of the Clan Annual, adds that "those with the Robertson surname very probably descend from these families, provided they are Perthshire in origin".

Y-DNA analysis has established that there are millions of living descendants of Genghis Kahn; probably almost as many living descendants of the early Irish King Niall of the Nine Hostages; and more than 500,000 living descendants of Somerled, Lord of the Isles.  Since it has now been established that Stout Duncan descended from the Earls of Atholl, and thus from King Duncan I, it's exciting to contemplate that some of us will eventually be proven to descend from one of these cadet families and therefore also the great Scottish king himself. Others may eventually be able to claim Robert the Bruce as an ancestor...this because the fourth Donnachaidh chief, Robert Riabach, married the great granddaughter of King Robert I.

Those who recognize a known ancestor in the list of cadet family members are urged to contact one of the following:

Gordon MacGregor:          gordon@perthshireheritage.co.uk

Tim Duncan:                     MITnacnuD(at)aol.com

Stephanie Robertson        dna(at)pt.lu

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GENETIC GENEALOGY AND THE CLAN DONNACHAIDH
DNA PROJECT

The DNA project was set up in 2002 to cover the names associated with the clan. It currently has 606 members representing the most numerous clan surnames – Robertson, Reid and Duncan – with some associated surnames, including Donnachie, Inches, McRobbie, Roy and Stark. The project has been established with Family Tree DNA of Texas, one of the leading companies in the field of genetic testing.

 THE AIMS OF THE PROJECT

Ø  determine which ancestral lines are related

Ø  help participants to confirm family trees

Ø  help participants to obtain clues to help in research, such as clues about migration, and use them to search for paper records.

Ø  discover more about the adoption of surnames in clan history

Ø  determine the number of points of origin of the surnames.

 GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION

There are various sites that explain the science and how to understand results. 

 PARTICIPANTS’ RESULTS

http://www.familytreedna.com/public/ClanDonnachaidh/

Click here to access the public website provided by Family Tree DNA, with the Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA results.

 The majority of Clan Donnachaidh participants tested so far belong to the largest population group in Europe (Haplogroup R1b), which expanded throughout Western Europe after the last Ice Age and which was the first to recolonize Britain about 11 500 years ago.

 About 6% of Clan Donnachaidh participants belong to Haplogroup I, which is associated with Denmark and the adjoining area of Germany. Recent books published by Bryan Sykes and Stephen Oppenheimer claim that some Haplogroup I populations entered Britain from the east in prehistoric times, before the arrival of Anglians and Vikings; it would appear that this includes Haplogroup I communities in the Highlands. A very small number of participants belong to Haplogroups E, G, J and R1a.

 Within the Donnachaidh project, results are arranged by surname, then by haplogroup. Family groups that have been identified are listed by letters of the alphabet.

 At the beginning many Duncan results were derived from extensive coordinated testing commissioned by people researching the Duncan name in North America. Because of this a number of family groups emerged early and the results have been arranged somewhat differently from those of other participants. 

Some Robertson family groups have been formed but, pending the formation of groups, other Reid and Robertson results have been grouped in clusters according to matches on a certain number of markers. These groupings are based on Kevin Campbell’s analysis of the R1b results in the Oxford Genetic Atlas Project (OGAP) [1]. The Oxford Genetic Atlas Project provided the basis of Professor Bryan Sykes’ book Blood of the Isles[2] which analyses the genetic history of the British Isles. The Project data can be seen online[3].

 Kevin Campbell assigned OGAP designations sequentially, in decreasing frequency of occurrence. These provide convenient subdivisions pending the establishment of family groups. OGAP designations have been added to some R1b classifications, indicated by O and a number indicating the frequency of the haplotype (thus O01 indicates the haplotype most frequently found in the Oxford Genetic Atlas survey, O02, the second most frequent, and so on).

 Family groups are indicated by two letters at the end: AA, AB, etc. These groups are also indicated by a colour.

 PROJECT CLASSIFICATIONS – Oxford Genetic Atlas Project           

GENE POOLS AND EMERGING RELATIONSHIPS

The larger gene pool for particular surnames in Britain means that it will take longer and require more extensive testing to identify relationships between families with the same surname than in settlements outside Britain. Testing on a local and regional basis will probably yield the best results. Nevertheless some local relationships are beginning to emerge in Scotland and some Duncans and Robertsons in the United States have found a good genetic match with participants in Scotland.

 We have results from several participants whose origins in various parts of Scotland are known. Two Robertson families from the same area in Aberdeenshire have genetic matches and it is very probable that we could link other families with ancestral origins in nearby towns and villages in this way.

 Because of extensive testing in the United States, a number of Duncan groups and several Robertson groups have emerged with good matches. These reflect descent from one man or possibly brothers who entered the United States in the 17th or 18th centuries. As the gene pool for surnames of British origin is smaller in the United States, genetic identification of the descendants of these ‘founder’ ancestors can play a significant role in establishing which families with the same surname are related.

 JOINING THE PROJECT

Participants include Clan Donnachaidh Society members and others who are interested in discovering more about their remote or more recent origins. There is no requirement to be a member of the clan society to take part but if you would like to join or find out more about the society, please see the home page of this website.

 More participants from all clan surnames are very welcome, particularly those who have a documented family tree in Scotland or those who know where their ancestors originated in Scotland. Participants must be men who have a direct male-line descent from a Clan Donnachaidh surname; others interested have to ask a suitable male relative to take a test. Even a distant cousin can be invited to take the test on behalf of your family, provided he has the appropriate direct male-line ancestry.

 Tests can be ordered from the Family Tree DNA website (http://www.familytreedna.com) by going to the list of surname projects and selecting ‘D’ and then ‘Donnachaidh’. We recommend the 37-marker test for genealogy but it is possible to order a 12- or 25-marker test and upgrade as required. A 12-marker test is usually sufficient to show whether someone is related to a particular group and whether it is worth upgrading the test for more detailed results. 

The Clan Donnachaidh DNA project is based with one of the leading companies in the field of genetic testing: Family Tree DNA of Texas, which now hosts nearly 4000 projects.

 Testing simply involves taking a mouth swab, using the kit provided by the genetic testing company.

 To join the Donnachaidh project go to the Family Tree DNA website and look for Donnachaidh under the projects. You can select and pay for the test online. The recommendation for genealogy is at least 37 markers. However, you can start with 12 markers and upgrade later.

 The kit will be sent to you within a few days. It simply involves a mouth swab and currently consists of three sample brushes so you can provide three samples to ensure good results. After completing the test and returning the kit, you should receive 12-marker results in about four weeks and any additional results in about six weeks.

 The details of your test results will be sent to you by e-mail with a link to your private home page. If you have signed a release form you will be given the names of the men whose results match yours.

ADVERTISING FLYER     

This flyer has been devised to advertise the project. Those interested are cordially invited to circulate it to genealogy societies, events and individuals. Results from men who can identify their place of origin in Scotland, particularly in the wider clan area – Perthshire and the adjoining counties – are particularly welcome.

GENERAL FUND – DONNACHAIDH PROJECT

http://www.familytreedna.com/contribution.htm

There is a general fund for the project set up under the auspices of Family Tree DNA. The funds are used for further testing and support for the project; all contributions are gratefully received. If you would like to assist, would you use the link above, stating that you are contributing to the Donnachaidh project.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Please contact the project administrators:

Tim Duncan                   MiTnacnuD(at)aol.com

Stephanie Robertson    dna(at)pt.lu 


[1] Geographic Patterns of Haplogroup R1b in the British Isles, Kevin D. Campbell, Journal of Genetic
         Genealogy, Spring 2007; ttp://www.jogg.info/31/campbell.pdf.

[2] Blood of the Isles: exploring the genetic roots of our tribal history, Bryan Sykes, 2006.

[3] http://www.bloodoftheisles.net/results.html.

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CLAN DONNACHAIDH Y-DNA

To view the test results (alleles) of those tested so far in our Clan Donnachaidh Y-DNA Surname Project, click the button below.

When viewing, bear in mind that the FamilyTreeDNA testing laboratory has determined that the markers in red have shown a faster mutation rate than the average. These markers, therefore, are helpful in splitting lineages into sub sets, or branches, within your family tree.

Which means that if you match exactly on all of the markers except for one or a few of the red markers, then, despite the mutation, the mismatch only slightly decreases the probability of not sharing a recent common ancestor with people in your surname group who match your results on 11 out of 12 or even 23 of 25 alleles.

This opens in a new window and takes time to load....please be patient. 

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CLAN DONNACHAIDH MITOCHONDRIAL DNA

During conception, the sperm and the egg contribute equally to the formation of a zygote (fertilized egg), with two exceptions. The sperm does not contribute to mtDNA, and half of the time the sperm contributes a Y-chromosome, creating a male. The other half of the time it contributes an X, creating a female. The egg always contributes an X, so that males have an XY chromosome pair and females have a XX  pair. 

All children receive mtDNA from the mother, but only males inherit a Y-chromosome, and that can only come from the father. These two types of  DNA are non-recombinant, that is, they remain virtually unchanged as they are passed down the generations, with the exception of very occasional mutations. These mutations are used to track exclusively female and exclusively male genetic heritage. 

Mitochondria carry their own DNA, different and separate from the DNA found in chromosomes in the cell nucleus. mtDNA is a circular structure only 16,569 bp long. It was first sequenced in 1981, creating the Cambridge Reference Sequence (CRS). In a slightly modified form, the revised CRS is used as a master template against which to compare all other mtDNA profiles. 

Mitochondrial DNA is divided into the coding and the control regions that have different mutation rates. A mutation occurs somewhere in the coding region on the average every 5,138 years; a mutation occurs in the control region on the average every 20,180 years. The slow mutation rate of the control region (also called the D-loop) is useful for defining deep female ancestry. The higher mutation rate of the coding region allows more detailed analysis of maternal lineages. The control region was used by Bryan Sykes in his book The Seven Daughters of Eve, where he showed that 98% of all people of Western Europe descend from only seven women who lived in Europe within the last 50,000 years. These “clan mothers” themselves descend from a common ancestor “Mitochondrial Eve” who lived in Africa about 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.  

Excerpted from “DNA AND GENEALOGY” by Colleen Fitzpatrick and Andrew Yeiser and available through Rice Book Press. We highly recommend this book for all those struggling to understand the new science of DNA as applied to genealogy.

                                 
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                                  DNA READING MATERIAL

For those with a thirst for knowledge, we suggest three new books on DNA and Genealogy. Unlike many books on DNA research, they’re easy to read, and we recommend them highly:

1:       DNA & GENEALOGY”
By: Colleen Fitzpatrick & Andrew Yeiser
Rice Book Press, Fountain Valley, CA

2:      “TRACE YOUR ROOTS WITH DNA”
By: Megan Smolenyak & Ann Turner

3:       “A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING”
By: Bill Bryson 

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                              FOR MOTHERLY X CHROMOSOME, GENDER IS ONLY THE BEGINNING


As May dawns and the mothers among us excitedly anticipate the clever e-cards that we soon will be linking to and the overpriced brunches that we will somehow end up paying for, the following job description may ring a familiar note:

Must be exceptionally stable yet ridiculously responsive to the needs of those around you; must be willing to trail after your loved ones, cleaning up their messes and compensating for their deficiencies and selfishness; must work twice as hard as everybody else; must accept blame for a long list of the world's illnesses; must have a knack for shaping young minds while in no way neglecting the less glamorous tissues below; must have a high tolerance for babble and repetition; and must agree, when asked, to shut up, fade into the background and pretend you don't exist.

As it happens, the above precis refers not only to the noble profession of motherhood to which we all owe our lives and guilt complexes. It is also a decent character sketch of the chromosome that allows a human or any other mammal to become a mother in the first place: the X chromosome.

The X chromosome, like its shorter, stubbier but no less conspicuous counterpart, the Y chromosome, is a so-called sex chromosome, a segment of DNA entrusted with the pivotal task of sex determination. A mammalian embryo outfitted with an X and Y chromosomal set buds into a male, while a mammal bearing a pair of X chromosomes emerges from the maternal berth with birthing options of her own.

Yet the X chromosome does much more than help specify an animal's reproductive plumbing. As scientists who study the chromosome lately have learned, the X is a rich repository of genes vital to brain development and could hold the key to the evolution of our particularly corrugated cortex. Moreover, the X chromosome behaves unlike any of the other chromosomes of the body — unlike little big-man Y, certainly, but also unlike our 22 other pairs of chromosomes, the self-satisfied autosomes that constitute the rest of our genome, of the complete DNA kit packed into every cell that we carry. It is a supple, switchbacking, multitasking gumby doll patch of the genome; and the closer you look, the more Cirque du Soleil it appears.

Although the precise details of its chemical structure and performance are only just emerging, the X chromosome has long been renowned among geneticists, who named it X not because of its shape, as is commonly presumed — the non-sex chromosomes also vaguely resemble an "X" at times during cell division — but because they were baffled by the way it held itself apart from the other chromosomal pairs. "They called it X for unknown," said Mark T. Ross of the X Chromosome Group at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge. (When its much tinier male counterpart was finally detected, researchers simply continued down the alphabet for a name.) Many of the diseases first understood to be hereditary were linked to X's span, for the paradoxical reason that such conditions showed their face most often in those with just a single X to claim: men.

Scientists eventually determined that we inherit two copies of our 23,000 or so genes, one from each parent; and that these genes, these chemical guidelines for how to build and maintain a human, are scattered among the 23 pairs of chromosomes, along with unseemly amounts of apparent chemical babble.

Having two copies of every gene proves especially handy when one of those paired genes is defective, at which point the working version of the gene can step in and specify enough of the essential bodybuilding protein that the baby blooms just fine and may never know its DNA is hemi-flawed. And here is where the Y's petite stature looms large. Because it holds a mere 50ish different genes against its counterpart's 1,100, the vast majority of X-based genes have no potential pinch-hitter on the Y. A boy who inherits from his mother an X chromosome that enfolds a faulty gene for a bloodclotting factor, say, or for a muscle protein or for a color receptor won't find succor in the chromosomal analogue bestowed by Dad. He will be born with hemophilia , or muscular dystrophy, or color-blindness. But, hey, he will be a boy, for male-making is the task to which the Y chromosome is almost exclusively devoted.

In fact, it is to compensate for the monomania of the Y that the X chromosome has become such a mother of a multitasker. Over the 300 million years of evolution, as the Y chromosome has shrugged off more of its generic genetic responsibilities in pursuit of sexual specialization, the X has had to pick up the slack. It, too, has pawned off genes to other chromosomes. But for those genes still in its charge, the X must double their output, to prod each gene to spool out twice the protein of an ordinary gene and thus be the solo equivalent of any twinned genes located on other, nonsexy chromosomes.

Ah, but women, who have two X chromosomes, two copies of those 1,100 genes: What of them? With its usual Seussian sense of playfulness, evolution has opted to zeedo the hoofenanny. In a girl's cells, you don't see two pleasantly active X chromosomes behaving like two ordinary nonsex chromosomes. You see one hyperactive X chromosome, its genes busily pumping out twice the standard issue of protein, just as in a boy's cells; and you see one X chromosome that has been largely though not wholly shut down, said Laura Carrel, a geneticist at Penn State College of Medicine.

Through an elaborate process called X inactivation, the chromosome is blanketed with a duct tape of nucleic acid. In some cells of a woman's body it may be the chromosome from Dad that's muffled, while in other cells the maternal one stays mum.

Every daughter, then, is a walking mosaic of clamorous and quiet chromosomes, of fatherly sermons and maternal advice, while every son has but his mother's voice to guide him. Remember this, fellows: you are all mama's boys.

By NATALIE ANGIER
Published: New York Times May 1, 2007

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GENETIC TESTING TERMINOLOGY

For those of us still struggling to understand the terminology of genetic testing, such as “haplotype”, “haplogroup” and “SNP”s, the following excerpt from FamilytreeDNA’s latest newsletter might help.


Genetic Genealogy: Haplogroups

When you take a Y DNA test for 12, 25, or 37 markers, your test result is called a haplotype. Different, although similar, haplotypes descend from a common yet potentially distant ancestor and both of you descend from a common haplogroup.

Haplogroups represent the branches of the tree of Homo Sapiens. Every male in the world can be located on one of the branches of the tree. The branch of the tree is identified by a SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) test, which is pronounced as "snip."

The branches of the tree of Homo Sapiens are labeled A through R.

If you have taken a Y DNA test, there is a tab on your Personal Page called "Haplogroup." When you click on this tab, the proprietary system at Family Tree DNA will predict your haplogroup, based on your 12 marker haplotype. This prediction algorithm compares your 12 marker Y DNA result with our database of Y DNA 12 marker results and in over 90% of the cases makes a prediction.

On your Haplogroup page your 12 marker matches with the haplogroup database are shown, along with your prediction. At the bottom of the page is a description of your haplogroup.

If exact and close matches on the Haplogroup page all show the same haplogroup, then your prediction is solid, and testing is not required to confirm your haplogroup. If more than one haplogroup is shown for these matches, then your haplogroup prediction is conflicting, and a test Y-backbone test is needed to confirm your haplogroup.

Your haplogroup prediction can be confirmed by a SNP test. An individual SNP test looks at a specific location on the Y chromosome to determine if a mutation occurred. A haplogroup is defined by a mutation that occurred some thousands of years ago. These mutations are called Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, or SNPs.

The major branches of the Y-DNA tree of Homo Sapiens are labeled A through R. These major branches have additional branches, where a haplogroup is broken down into sub-haplogroups. For example, perhaps you belong to haplogroup J. Haplogroup J is broken down into J1, J2, and J*. The system for identifying the branches of the Y DNA tree alternates letters and numbers. An asterisk is used to denote those who do not fit a defined branch. If you belong to haplogroup J, and are not J1 or J2, then you belong to J*.

Some haplogroups have more branches and twigs than other haplogroups. The level of break down of a haplogroup is based on the SNPs found and published upon by (usually) some team of molecular biologists and population geneticists.

Anthropologists follow SNPs to determine ancient migratory patterns and deep ancestral dating, such as when Europe was settled.

Your haplogroup is defined by a mutation that occurred thousands of years ago, and was passed down to subsequent generations. Additional mutations also define the branches on the tree, the sub-Haplogroups. SNPs are tested to identify your sub-branches too.

The SNP test will confirm or deny the predicted haplogroup. If it occurs that the predicted Haplogroup is not confirmed, we will continue to test your sample until a SNP confirmation is found for your sample.

It is important to remember that only one SNP test is necessary for a group of persons in a Surname Project who match. For those who take a SNP test to confirm their haplogroup, the results of your test also apply to the others in your Surname Project who are a match or close match. Therefore, only one SNP test needs to be taken by a member of a group whose results match or are a close match. There are situations when a SNP test is not necessary: when the results of a haplogroup search predict a single haplogroup.

For an understanding of your deep ancestry and the SNPs that have occurred as humans have populated the earth, consider the book or video "The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey" by Spencer Wells, listed on our resource page:

Video and Books we recommend

http://www.familytreeDNA.com/books.html

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                                Y DNA: SNPs MADE SIMPLE

There are two types of SNP tests:

- Backbone
- Deep Haplogroup

The Backbone SNP tests looks at all branches of the tree from A to R to determine which haplogroup, or major branch of the tree, a male belongs to. For more information on haplogroups, see the article above, titled: "Genetic Genealogy: Haplogroups."

Once your general haplogroup is known, you can then use Deep Haplogroup test to identify the other SNP mutations that have occurred in your specific line…placing you on your twig of the Y DNA tree. This can resolve your deeper (deep!) ancestry to within a tighter time frame better than 20,000-40,000 years commonly associated with the major branches of the tree.

The SNPs we offer have been culled from the scientific literature. These SNPs have been verified to have occurred at some frequency in the male population. Perhaps most importantly tests have been performed to verify that these SNPs do not occur in other populations, therefore identifying a unique branch on the Y DNA tree!

This is an evolving science and new discoveries are being made regularly. Therefore we will provide you both the name of the SNP tested and the present corresponding nomencaltute i.e. test: M172 + (positive) current corresponding Y tree: J2. We’ll also tell you which SNPs you were not, or – (negative), for all branches in the panel of tests run on your specific sample.

The process of verifying the SNP involved testing a large population of males and determining a corresponding time frame which identifies the age of the different sub-groups of the branch.

Family Tree DNA, which introduced the concept of haplogroups to the genetic genealogy community in 2003, provides the most comprehensive Deep Haplogroup Panel available in the world today. The Deep Haplogroup test is available for Haplogroups E3b, G, I, J, Q, and R1a and R2 (India sub-continent), and further tests will be announced in 2006.

The value of a Deep Haplogroup test is to identify your twig on the Y DNA tree and then to use this information along with the reams of scientific literature to determine the geographic locations, and potentially the migration path for your lineage. As research progresses, more geographical specificity associated with SNPs will emerge.

To view all of the Deep Haplogroup branches tested by Family Tree DNA please see:

http://www.familytreedna.com/deepclade.html

To order a Deep Haplogroup test log in to your personal page and click the Haplogroup tab to see if you may order the ttest!

* GEnealogical Data COMmunication standard format.
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                                   TO JOIN OUR DNA PROJECT


We invite you to join by clicking here       and completing the information form and ordering your Y-DNA and/or mtDNA kit from Family Tree DNA. Roughly six weeks after you send the test kit back to Family Tree you’ll receive your results.

Bill Robertson, Administrator

Both men and women can join the mtDNA maternal lineage project.

Those with questions are encouraged to contact me evenings (eastern time zone) at 207-892-6350 or at either
email address below.

www.familytreedna.com     (fax: 832-201-7147)

Administrators:

Tim Duncan:                    MITnacnuD(at)aol.com

Stephanie Robertson       dna(at)pt.lu

Home    *   Current News   *    Youth Program   *    Clan History   *    Contact Us   *    The Society

New Articles:

1. Location of Clan Donnachaidh surnames  

2.  The Robertsons of Muirton  

3. GENETIC TESTING TERMINOLOGY

4. TO JOIN THE Y-DNA SURNAME PROJECT

5. Y DNA: SNPs MADE SIMPLE 

6. HIRING A RESEARCHER IN THE UK 

7.  GENETIC GENEALOGY and the Donnachaidh DNA Project