Scots-Irish DNA Project Update 2 Jan 2016

'Young Frontiersman' by H. David Wright

The Scots-Irish DNA project has reached 1,000 participating families.  This list below shows families participating in the Scots-Irish DNA project.  It is NOT a comprehensive list of all Scots-Irish surnames; it is a list of those Scots-Irish families that are participating to date in the Scots-Irish DNA project.

 

The families participating show very typical Scots-Irish surnames.  The surnames originate from around Scotland, but the majority of the families are from the western Lowlands and the southwest Highlands. The majority of the haplogroups (circa 86%) show most Scots-Irish are the descendants of the Cumbric and Gaelic Celtic people of southern and western Scotland, with about 10% being of Norse or Norman ancestry. 

 

The majority of the Lowland surnames continue to be from Ayrshire, Wigtown, Kirkcubright, Dumfries, Lanark, and Renfrew (using pre 1975 nomenclature).   Many of the families participating in the project are descendants of the first wave of Scottish settlers in Ireland and the surnames of Cunningham, Hamilton, Stewart, Montgomery, Graham, etc., are well represented.   

 

The Highland families are from the southern Hebrides, Argyll, Lennox, and Dumbartonshire.  Two Highland clans that sent many families to Ireland in the mid to late 1500s are Clann Dhónaill and Clann Chaimbeul and both are well represented in the Scots-Irish DNA project participants. Those surnames associated with Clann Dhónaill tend to be from County Antrim and northeast Ulster in general and those associated with Clann Chaimbeul are usually from west Ulster, from Donegal, Tyrone, and Londonderry.

 

While most Scots-Irish families are of 'Ulster Scots'  ancestry and are from one of the nine counties of Ulster; Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, in  Northern Ireland and Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan, in the Republic of Ireland.  However, there are a number of Scots-Irish families from other parts of Ireland such as County Mayo, Sligo, from urban areas such as Cork, Galway, and Dublin.  Most of these families migrated to the New World in the 1700s and became what we now call the Scots-Irish and self identify themselves as being Scots-Irish.   

 

The Scots-Irish DNA project is run through Family Tree DNA.  The goals are to help Scots-Irish families in the Diaspora re-establish contact with their kinspeople in Ireland and Scotland, and to confirm genealogies and recover lost family history using DNA testing.

 

Surnames that have multiple listings indicate the number of families with that surname that have joined the project.   

To view, click on a page and this will bring that page up in a larger format. 

To view the DNA results, visit the Scots-Irish DNA project results page.

All families that identify themselves as Scots-Irish are welcomed participate in the project:  Join Scots-Irish DNA project.

Scots Irish Surnames

Below is a list of families participating in the Scots-Irish DNA Project as of November 2015.  There are now over 900 participating families. 

 

The surnames are very typically 'Scots-Irish.'   The Lowland Scottish names draw very heavily from the western seaboard counties of the Lowlands, with many families from Ayrshire, Wigtown, Kirkcudbright, and Renfrew (using the older county names).   Most of the Lowland Scottish families migrated to Ireland post 1609.  

 

Many of the surnames, about 35% are of  Highland Scots ancestry.  The majority of these are from mid Argyll, Lennox, and the southern Hebrides.  Many of the Highland families migrated to Ireland in the mid to late 1500s. Mid Argyll and Lennox were areas influenced by the Reformed faith and this fact influenced their relationship with the Lowland Scots migrating to Ireland in the 1600s.

 

There are several native Irish families that became Scots-Irish, most of these were from the Bann valley and had converted to the Reformed faith or to the Establish Church by the late 1600s.   

 

The deep ancestry of these Scots-Irish families reveal that a large majority of them descend from the indigenous Celtic tribes of Scotland, over 84%, while the Norse and Norman origins coming in at about 10%. 

 

The Scots-Irish DNA Project is open to families of Scots-Irish ancestry.  The project has several goals, including reconnecting Scots-Irish in the Diaspora with their families that remained behind in Ireland.  Another goal is to locate a family's point of origin in Scotland and recover lost or forgotten family history.  

 

Multiple listings of a surname indicate the number of families with that surname participating.  You will see a lot of Highlanders with Campbell and MacDonald the two most numerous.  Several of the participating families are descended from famous Scots-Irish men, such as David Crockett (who turned about to be from Ayrshire ancestry, not Huguenot as often report in older history books).

Families interested in participating can do so by contacting the Scots-Irish DNA Project.

Click on a page to enlarge:

Families in the Scots-Irish DNA Project June 2015

The Scots-Irish DNA Project now has 761 participating families.  Below is a roster of the participating families.  As you can see the families are a combination of Lowland and Highland Scottish surnames with a few native Irish surnames.  All these families self identify as being Scots-Irish.  Most of these families participated in the 18th Century Ulster Migration to English Colonies and early Republic, or in the 19th Century Ulster migration into Canada.

The majority of the Lowland Scottish families are from Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, and Gallowayshire, and most of these families migrated to Ireland during the Ulster Plantation (1609-1720).  The Highland Scottish surnames from Argyll, Lennox, and the Southern Hebrides; many of these families migrated to Ulster circa 1550-1600).

The dominate haplogroups are Insular Celts (85%) and there is about 12% of the haplogroups of Norse/Norman ancestry.   The native Irish surnames come from certain families that converted to the reformed faith and became part of the Protestant Irish community in the 1600s. 

Click on image to enlarge:

 

Scots-Irish DNA Project Update 23 April 2015

For members interested in a case study of a Family Tree DNA family project that located their cousins in Ulster and eventually located their progenitor in Argyll, Scotland, we suggest the new book  'Finding the McCains'  (on Amazon).   The book shows how a Y-DNA match group can be used to focus research on specific geographic area and the use of the primary sources there.  It is a familiar tale to many researchers.  A 40 year search for family history, the brick wall, then the DNA testing with dramatic results.  It can be a complex task, but it can be done and 'Finding the McCains' is an excellent example of how one Ulster family accomplished this.  The McCains include Senator John McCain, the Canadian family of Wallace and Harrison McCain of New Brunswick, and James McKeen, co-leader of the 1718 Ulster fleet that began the Ulster migration.

I have received several emails concerning ‘genetic convergence’  which can produce a false match:  There was a rapid population expansion in the last 4000-5000 years and some of the lineages within R1b1a2 have experienced convergence of STR values.  This is due to the random mutation process. Some of the more distant lineages have moved closer together producing coincidental matching haplotypes.  This phenomenon is called “convergence” (also known as evolutionary convergence) is the term we use in genetic genealogy to describe the process when two different haplotypes mutate over time to become identical or near identical resulting in an coincidental match. Coincidental matches will often be in different subclades and the common ancestor will have lived several thousand years ago rather than within a genealogical timeframe.   A convergence can produce a “false positive" match.


This is one reason we recommend you test at least 67 markers.  There has been only one case of a convergence match at this level.  The 111 marker level is the best test to filter out any possible convergence match.  This is particularly important for participants Ulster and Scottish ancestry, because surnames were often not fixed until very late, circa 1500 to 1700.  In many cases your non-surname matches are just important as your surname matches, but only if they are bona fide matches.  In our geographic area many clans and families used different surnames as these groups followed patronymic naming customs.  An example of this: a Mac Dónaill family circa 1520 has an illustrious son named Alastair and by 1570 his line uses the surname Mac Alastair.  When a descendant tests he will find anglicized forms of both Mac Dónaill and Mac Alastair present in his match group.  In this example the match group could contain numerous anglicized forms, Alexander, Alastair, Daniels, Donaldson, McDaniels, McDonald, McDonnell, etc.

 

Address for our blog below; news of the project is posted there.    Best of luck with your genetic genealogy project.

 

http://thescotsirish.blogspot.com/  (The Scots-Irish Blog)

--
McCain's Corner:    http://barryrmccain.blogspot.com/
Ulster Heritage:  http://uhblog.ulsterheritage.com/p/books.html
Barry R McCain website:   http://www.barryrmccain.com/



Haplogroup R-S1051 Project

(Many Scots-Irish are in R-S1051 haplogroup.  A lot of research going on with this haplogroup; they appear to be indigenous to central Scotland.  Those men that have the R-S1051 haplogroup are encouraged to participate in the research.  One can join by using your 'manage projects' link on your Family Tree DNA page.)


Recently many new SNP's have been discovered for this unique haplogroup which is located below DF13.

The majority of this family group have 5 main Patriarch SNP's (S1051, FGC9655, FGC9661, FGC9658 and FGC9657). The current age estimate for these Patriarch SNP's is approximately 3,200 to 4,500 years old and likely originated within what is known as the Bell Beaker culture. When examining other haplogroups of a similar age the S1051 people are very few by comparison
.
Evidence suggests that the geographic origin of this family group could have been from what is now modern Scotland.
https://www.familytreedna.com/public/R-S1051/default.aspx?section=results
 S1051 Project SNP results spreadsheet page 1 of 2.  
 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E1iiiFeUgXGA-Trg_whSqbK_sTZI5csja4dRFWZ5-bE/edit?usp=sharing 
S1051 Project SNP results spreadsheet page 2 of 2 - FGC17906+
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YsOmg_EaoSh3QVKn9u_216ZtN3nI8LO5-NRA5Oscg4s/edit?usp=sharing

On the above spreadsheet links I've placed "SNP dates" which are an approximation as these mutation rates can vary. So far on average there is 1 Sanger SNP verified per 139 years so it's important to stress that these dates could change slightly as more research needs to be completed. There are instances like the single defining McCeney SNP which likely exceeds 200 years since it's mutation and other examples which were fewer than 139 years. Other factors to consider are the number of SNP's captured from the various sequencing types and the number of raw SNP's which are culled due to reliability issues. The age estimate 139 years per SNP was calculated by using known genealogy, full Y testing, Sanger verification, STR calculations and averaging the number of raw SNP's located below DF13. It's also important to understand that chronology of many of the SNP's (including the 5 main oldest ones) are still unknown.
The following link is to a 64 page paper written by Ronald Henderson that I recently discovered online. Although some concepts found within may stir debate within the historical or scientific community I believe it was well written and worth adding to project page.
http://www.thesonsofscotland.co.uk/Rex%20Pictorum.pdf



Link: R-S1051 Project

AncestryDNA and 23andMe (V3) transfer offer from Family Tree

(additional information of the transfer offer from Family Tree to people who test with AncestryDNA and 23andMe)

Family Tree DNA is now allowing people that have taken an AncestryDNA™ or 23andMe© (V3) test to transfer their raw data to the Family Finder database for FREE by visiting www.familytreedna.com/AutosomalTransfer!

 

That’s right!  Pass this news along to your friends and family members that have tested with Ancestry.com or 23andMe so they can discover new matches in the world’s largest genetic genealogy database for FREE!  

 

Note: Autosomal raw data cannot be transferred to an account that already has Family Finder

 

What’s in it for You?

After transferring, you’ll get your top 20 matches, complete with their surnames and relationship predictions.  You don’t have to do anything after uploading your data to see these matches.  You’ve got nothing to lose!

You can unlock ALL of your matches and myOrigins results for free by recruiting 4 other relatives or friends to transfer their results using a link we’ll provide!

Unlock Right Away for Just $39 If you do not want to wait for 4 others to transfer, we are also permanently reducing the price to unlock all of your matches and myOrigins results to just $39!     Once a transfer has purchased or referred 4 others they will unlock the full Family Finder experience!   How Does it Work? New customers must enter their name and email address to get started.  If you already have an FTDNA account, just click Already have a Family Tree DNA account?

Next, click ‘Upload Raw Data’ to select and upload the raw data file from AncestryDNA™ or 23andMe© (V3) from your computer.  It is not necessary to unzip the file prior to uploading it.  If you don’t have your raw data file handy, instructions on how to download it will be available.

The first round of results processing will take about an hour and an email notification will be sent to the registered email address after we are done processing the raw data.

Ulster Heritage Magazine: Transfer your 23andMe©(V3) or AncestryDNA™

Family Tree DNA is offering free transfers from 23andMe and AncestryDNA.  This is an excellent opportunity to upload your existed data into Family Tree's data base. 

Link:  23andMeV3 and AncestryDNA Transfers

Scots-Irish DNA Project Update 21 October 2014

Scots-Irish DNA project update 21 October 2014

The Scots-Irish DNA project has 504 participants as of this date.  Family Tree has added many new haplogroups and our project is now updated to include this.  The many new haplogroups are downstream from the major designations and represent more recent genetic mutations.  Many of the new haplogroups are linked to geographic locations.  The research is so new it is hard to post news of them as the data is still coming in.  But, eventually, those participants that have done extensive SNP testing should gain a much better understanding of their family's point of origin.

Some notes: non-surname matches are very important at the 67 and 111 levels.  In parts of Scotland surnames were not fixed until the 1600s and creation of new surnames from nicknames, aliases, or clan based surnames was common.  I have even observed several adoption of maternal surnames in paternal lines that married prominent women from another clan.  An example of a nickname being turned into a surname, Seamus Mac Dónaill Glass (the grey McDonald) living early 1700s and his sons just being known as the 'Gray' family.

One key to successful family research is observing geographic clues.  Look at the "Paternal Ancestor Names" of your match group for any geographic information.  The reason this is some important, families were in general very static and tending to stay in the same area of centuries.  Even among the Ulster Scots, this would be true in Scotland and then after migration to Ireland, they tended to stay in the district they initially settled. This pattern changed after the industrial age, but still there is general a cluster of matches where the family initially settled.

If you locate a geographic point of interest, you will want to look at the primary sources for that area.  Often you will find your surname, or some variation of it, at that location.  Some very good records for Scots-Irish families are the 1630 and 1642 muster rolls.  There function as a type a census as each family was expected to have their able bodied men report to the muster.

 

I also would ask everyone to go on your Family Tree page in enter your Paternal Ancestor Data. Make sure it is your direct paternal line (we have some that have enter maternal lines, again, the Y chromosome follows a man's direct paternal line, it is only passed from father to son, it cannot go through a maternal line).

 

If you are interested in your "Ancestral Origins"  make sure you have your 12 and 25 level results turned on.  This will show you your distant match group by geographic location.  The higher the percentage the greater the relevance.   Most of the Scots-Irish participants are descendants of the Insular Celts, these are the indigenous Celtic tribes of both Highland and Lowland Scotland.  We do have a fair number of Norse/Norman participants, and the a few haplogroups that are associated with parts of Europe that suggest a Roman Empire connection or in some cases medieval trading families.

 

For those of you with Highland Scot origin, Amazon has the Ulster Heritage book 'The Laggan Redshanks' on sale at present.  This book concerns the Highland Scots that settled in east Donegal and northwest Tyrone in the late 1500s.  We hope to get out a similar book on the Highland Scots that settled in north Antrim, which is the other major source of Highland Scots, or Redshanks as they were called, in Ulster.

Our blog address is:

http://thescotsirish.blogspot.com/  (The Scots-Irish Blog)

Anyone that has a family history update, interesting Scots-Irish news, and short articles on Scots-Irish people, society, culture, food, etc., are urged to submit to the blog.  You may also post news of your own personal Family Tree surname project.  It is an excellent way to get the word out and encourage men with your surname to test.  Many of our participating families have located their cousins in Ireland and Scotland by "getting the word out."

 

The best of luck with your research. 

 

Scots-Irish DNA Project Update 18 June 2014

Of this morning, the project has 384 families participating.  The results page is current and most kits have been grouped by haplogroup designation.  As many know, Family Tree recently expanded and revamped their haplogroup nomenclature and added many new designations.  On the results page the kits are listed under both the shorthand and full haplogroup name.  For those members that have tested various SNPs this has the potential for providing a lot of new data for your family history.

The geneticists are identifying more haplogroups downstream from the major groups. This will allow us to classify kits with more precision.  The end result is your kit will be in a haplogroup from a more recent genetic event.  In layman's terms, it will allow you to locate your family's geographic point of origin and identify your kinship group in historical times.  For Scottish origin families this is particularly useful information. (that clan and blood thing)

Many of the kits in the major haplogroups such as R-M269 or R-L21 would benefit from testing for downstream SNPs.

Some analysis of the Scots-Irish: 

The majority of the participants are as expected of Atlantic Zone Celtic origin. This will be a combination of Cumbric and Gaelic Celts native to Scotland.  The participants are running about 65% of Lowland Scottish origin and 35% Highland Scottish origin,.  There is a stereotype of all Scots-Irish being from 'the Lowlands' but many were from Argyll and Lennox in the southwest Highlands. This is showing up in the DNA results.

One interesting aspect, we have more I haplotypes than expected.  Some of these I subgroups are Scottish Norse/Norman in origin and others are indigenous to ancient Scotland.  It is a very complex group and I have not had time to read the latest research on the I subgroup origins.  We are dealing with a lot of very new material.

I highly recommend the books 'Britain Begins' and 'Celtic from the West 2' by Dr Barry Cunliffe for those who would like to read the latest research and thinking about the people who became the 'Scots-Irish.'   

DNA Testing For Scots-Irish

The basics:  The Scots-Irish DNA project recommends the 111 marker Y chromosome DNA test.  If this is not within your budget, the 67 will do and the 37 is an acceptable start.  We use the Family Tree DNA lab in Houston, Texas.

Who are the 'Scots-Irish?'  Or Scotch-Irish?  Generally speaking the Scots-Irish are the descendants of settlers to Colonial and early Republic America from the nine counties of the province of Ulster, in Ireland.  As a group the Scots-Irish were majority Presbyterian, though not all were and most descended from Scots families that had migrated to Ireland.  Also of note, some 'Scots-Irish' migrated to the Colonies from other parts of Ireland outside of Ulster.

The main migration of Scots to Ireland came during the Ulster Plantation (circa 1609 to early 1700s).  These Scots came primarily from the Scottish Lowlands. There is also a substantial number of Highland Scots that became Scots-Irish.  Most of these Highland Scots descend from families from Argyll, Lennox, and the Hebrides, that migrated to Ulster in the 1500s. 

There are other components of the Scots-Irish which include French Huguenot, Manx, and Border English, who settled in Ulster and migrated to the New World in the Ulster Migration.  They married into and became part of the people and society we now call Scots-Irish.

There was also a large migration of Presbyterian Irish into Canada in the nineteenth century. They went mainly to New Brunswick and Ontario.  Many of these families were of 'Ulster Scots' ancestry from both Lowland Scottish and Highland Scottish ancestry.  In the past the term Scots-Irish has not been applied to this group, but increasingly the term has expanded to include the descendants of the Canadian migration. Nomenclature has been problematic in regards to the Scots-Irish for a long time.  The term today reflects a better awareness of the descendants of Ulster Scots in the Diaspora.

Most families 'know' or self-identify as Scots-Irish.  These are the families that are participating in the Scots-Irish DNA project.

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The Laggan Redshanks

Mongavlin, the Castle of Iníon Dubh


 In the sixteenth century Scottish Highlanders settled in the Laggan district of east Donegal. They were called Redshanks.  The history of the Laggan Redshanks has many fascinating elements which include Clann Chaimbeul and their dynamic leader the fifth Earl of Argyll, Gaelic sexual intrigues, English Machiavellian manoeuvres, and the Redshanks themselves.  This book not only tells the fascinating story of how a Highland Scottish community became established in the Laggan, but also includes the surnames of the Redshanks and notes of their origins in Scotland, which will be of interest to family historians and genealogists.

 

This book has the complete Portlough Muster roll taken in 1630 and includes notes on each of the surnames.  It is available from Amazon as a paperback and Kindle version.

Link to Amazon:  The Laggan Redshanks

I have been asked many times about Highland Scottish surnames among the Scots-Irish.  Over the years as I worked with primary sources I did indeed notice within early Scots-Irish settlements there was a considerable Highland Scot presence.  One part of the story concerns the migration of Highlanders from mid-Argyll and Lennox to east Donegal circa 1569 to 1600.  This migration was sponsored by Clann Chaimbeul.  After the Plantation began in 1609 these Highlanders remained on their lands in the Laggan district.  Their experiences with the New Order in Ulster was different than other Redshank (Highland Scots) communities living in Ireland.  One reason was these particular Redshanks were of the Reformed faith.  Clann Chaimbeul, under the fifth Earl of Argyll were early converts to the Reformed faith.  While they retained their Gaelic language and culture they did in time become part of the general Ulster Scots community in the Laggan. When the Ulster Migration began in 1718 they were on the first ships that left for the Colonies and throughout the eighteenth century they continued to migrate in great numbers.  In the New World they were part of the people that became what we call today, the Scots-Irish.    

 

Ulster and the Scottish Lowlands Genetic Link

The Niall of the Nine Hostages haplogroup (genetic signature) was one of the first large family groups discovered by DNA testing.  It was designated as the Northwest Irish modal, because so many Irish in northwest Ireland have this paternal ancestry. It genetic short hand it is called the R-M222 family.

The R-M222 branch of the Y-DNA tree  has a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) called M222. As more men participate in DNA testing an interesting pattern has developed.  This diagnostic marker is not only found in many individuals whose roots lie in the counties of Northwest Ireland and Ulster in general, but it is also found in the Scottish Lowlands.

The map above shows the area where this profile is most often found. In the county of Donegal an incredible 20% of the population share this paternal ancestry.  The map shows where the R-M222 is found in significant numbers, but it is also found throughout Ireland and Scotland, from the Orkney islands south to the shires of northern England.  It even shows up in Iceland and Norway.

Mid Argyll Kinship Group

 

The research into the Mid Argyll Kinship Group picking up pace with the creation of the Mid Argyll Group DNA project.  The project will collect DNA results from those men are in the group. The project is only open to men that are a paternal DNA match to the group, which is a Gaelic paternal kinship clan indigenous to mid Argyll.

The project's goal is to research the Mid Argyll Kinship Group circa 1300 to late 1500s. . The geographic area of the study is the parish of Kilmichael Glassary and the immediate surrounding districts.

The surnames in the group are Duncan, Gay, McGay, Gray, Henry, Henrie, McAlpin, McCain, McCane, McKane, McKain, McKean, McKeen, McDonald, and McLea.  In Gaelic, Mac Donnchaidh, Mag Aodh, Glass, Mac Eanruig, Mac Ailpín, Mac Eáin, Mac Dónaill, and Mac an Leagha.   Another surname of interest in the research are McLachlain (Mac Lachlainn) and the project is open to any male that is a high level DNA match to the group.

The reason are so many surnames in the group is because surnames were not fixed in Argyll in the 1500s.  Gaelic families often followed traditional patronymic customs of mid Argyll.  This generated several surnames within the same family during that century.

The surnames in this DNA match group were in use in Kilmichael Glassary in the 1500s.  Most of these surnames appear in records connected to the Mac Lachlainn 'clan'  of Dunadd.   It is speculated that the Mid Argyll Kinship group is actually the Mac Lachlainn of Dunadd family.

The families of the Mid Argyll Kinship Group played an important role in the history of Ulster.  Many of the families in this kinship group migrated from mid Argyll to the Foyle River area from 1569-to the late 1590s.  They were Redshank soldiers connected to the Ó Dónaill and Ó Neill clans.

This project will have Dr Kyle MacLea as a co-administrator;  he is a graduate of Dartmouth College and teaches at Linfield College, Portland, Oregon.   Barry R McCain will be a co-administrator; he is a graduate of Ole Miss and is a writer living in Oxford, Mississippi.  Mr McCain will working with the primary source research and Gaelic language elements.

Link to Join the Mid Argyll Kinship Group DNA project:   Mid Argyll Group