Douglas in Scotland

DNA is being be used to profile the great lines of the Douglas Clan. We can now prove our link to the earliest Douglases and to each other.

This is done by testing males who can trace their lines right back to William Douglas (c1174). These males carry the Y DNA of William (c1174) almost unchanged since the 10th century. The mutations which have occurred will show the divergence of these lines.

For those modern lines of Douglas who have lost their links to the old Douglas lines, this DNA may provide the means of re-establishing their roots. They can test the DNA of their families and compare to the DNA of those known to descend from William. This will establish which lines have the matching DNA. Conventional Genealogy can then be focused into the correct area to find the individuals making the link.

Testing is currently underway for the descendants of the 1st Earl of Queensberry, and, we hope, descendants of the 1st Earl of Morton.

Haplogroup testing

With detailed examination of the DNA test results it can be determined where your family (males) originated, and how they came to the British Isles . Were they Vikings? Or were they peasant farmers? Could they have been from the Roman occupation of the British Isles or the archers of Hadrian’s Wall ?

If enough Douglases do the test we will be able to determine where William (1100s) was among the above groups.

For more information or to participate: [1]

On this site, you will find links to FT DNA, who can carry out the analysis. Their FAQ section is worth a look if you are uncertain what this is all about.

Although FT DNA is a US laboratory it ships testing materials to the UK every day. It does seem to me to be the best lab for the job. In addition we get a group discount on tests done through this site. This is because each surname project has a volunteer group co-ordinator, taking some of the workload away from the DNA experts at the lab.

If Douglases test all over the place we will not be able to collate the informaton and actually define the lines. Comparisons between labs is not straightforward. But, for details of DNA testing in the UK, [2]

Since a Surname Project in essence traces members of a family that share a common surname, and females (a) don't carry their father's Y-DNA, and (b) acquire a new surname by the way of marriage, in order to be relevant to the Surname Project, the tested individual must be a male that wants to check his paternal line (father's father's father's...). The test to be ordered is either the Y-DNA12, Y-DNA25 or Y-DNA37, and females should look for a brother or cousin with that surname to be tested. Females [3] can also order a test for themselves, which will be the mtDNA or mtDNAPlus, but the results of this test cannot be tied to the Surname Project.