Alasdair Macdonald, Department of Genealogical Studies, Strathclyde University
Alasdair Macdonald began his lecture by giving an overview of the Scottish DNA project. He stressed that it was not concerned with population genetics, or population structure and ancestry, for example to answer the question ‘Who are the Scots?’
The project began as the Scottish Clan DNA Project in 2001, hosted by Family Tree DNA in Houston, Texas. In 2012 it merged with the Scottish DNA Project. There are two distinct project areas – one for male and one for female lineage. The project provides a database of test results useful for personal and academic research, enabling individuals to identify their genetic origin and connect to their genetic kin.
The speaker described the different types of DNA tests, pointing out that these involved gathering DNA by taking simple mouth swabs, rather than blood samples as was sometimes presumed. Several commercial companies offer testing services, but Ancestry.com currently provides most testing in the UK and globally.
Autosomal DNA testing includes data from an individual’s parents and grandparents. This allows identification of genetic cousins within the last 200 years. This test can be useful for adopted individuals to identify their genetic families. This technique was also used to identify the remains of Richard III, used in conjunction with known ancestral data. Y-Chromosome DNA is passed on intact from father to son. This makes it useful for lineage and surname research, but only for males.
In family history research DNA testing can be of particular benefit used in conjunction with the typical documentary sources, particularly where these may be incomplete. It also allows a researcher to link in to the documentary research of others. However, surnames have to be treated cautiously as they can have multiple origins and may have been adopted in the past, for example within a clan. DNA testing can confirm an actual genetic connection of an individual’s surname with that of a known clan or family or otherwise.
Y-Chromosome haplogroups, or simply family groups, have been charted from DNA data. The most common in Scotland is the broad R1b group, which comprises around 70% of the population of Scotland. It is difficult to use the data to trace ethnicity, but it can be used on a case-by-case basis to identify migrant routes over time periods. The R1b-L1065 group includes many clans and families, for example the Campbell clan. Tests on individuals with that surname show that around 30% belong genetically to this group, but the majority do not, rather their ancestors have adopted the surname, perhaps when tenants of a laird of that name. The speaker has been involved in gathering ancient DNA from excavated burials at Longniddry, dating to around 2000BC, which belonged to the L1065-BY411 sub-group.
The speaker gave an account of some recent family history findings from research, looking at the distribution of surnames over Scotland. The Graham family from the Borders belong to the J1 haplogroup, the McLellans and Galbraiths to the N haplogroup linked to the Baltic (Norse origins?), and intriguingly, the Elliots of the Borders to the A haplogroup indicating an origin in Mongolia! It was suggested that this might be related to the Roman occupation of the Hadrian’s Wall frontier. Case studies involving recent detailed research on the Stewart, Dunbar and Seton families were also presented, in all of which DNA testing had been used successfully in combination with traditional documentary records.
The speaker ended his presentation with reference to the courses which Strathclyde University currently offers on Genetic Genealogy. For further reading on the topic, he recommended the book Tracing Your Ancestors Using DNA: A Guide for Family Historians (2019), edited by Graham Holton with contributions from the speaker and others.
D.F.D.