Please understand that this is a collaborative research project.

Many people contribute their research, knowledge, and insights into this larger project.  This project recognizes that all material here is from a collaborative process.

We require the active participation of each member to further this genealogical and genetic study of our surnames and their place in history.

Visit our new project website at www.clandonnachaidhdna.org for much more information on the Donnachaidh DNA Project and results.


We now have over 1150 participants in the Donnachaidh DNA Project. Many new connections have been made between men who before testing did not know of one another.

The Duncans are coalescing into some well defined subgroups and the Robertson's and Reid's have started to do the same. We now have four cases of different Duncan groups jumping the pond back to Scotland. We now have confirmed four Scottish matches for these Duncan male lines in the US. These men share the same Y-DNA male line and it leads back to Scotland:) Results are divided by surname and haplogroup. We are also getting a number of Robertson, Reid lines linked back to Scotland.

Please understand that There is not one single Y-DNA test to take but a series of DNA tests to continually dig deeper into our histories.

Visit our project website for our Isle of Bute research which explores how using all of our Tools we are able to connect the Diasporas back to their homeland.

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Below is a Welcome Greeting that we send to each new participant but we have found out that not everyone is receiving this email with important information.

Greetings,

Thank you for joining this great Clan Donnachaidh DNA research project. We are testing the DNA of the men with the surnames of our Clan.  We have been making some great progress in connecting previously unknown male lines and helping families through some brick walls. 

This is a worldwide research project involving men of the clan surnames. You may have matches from Scotland, Ireland, North America, New Zealand,Australia, Caribbean, and South Africa.  Anywhere the Diasporas of our surname have traveled.

Please understand that this is a collaborative research project.

We need the active participation of each member to further this genealogical and genetic study of our surnames and their place in history.

Visit our project website at www.clandonnachaidhdna.org to view and find out much more information on the project.  The two main websites you need to stay on top of are the Family Tree DNA website to access your "myFTDNA" page and the above DNA project website.

Here are a few points about this research project that are important to ensure its success:

1. Be sure to collect a good DNA sample (this is the leading source of delays and not having enough DNA to preform additional tests) first thing in the morning before any liquid, rub the cotton portion of the swab on the inside cheeks firmly.

2. Send a male line pedigree to the administrators and add a GEDCOM file to your 'myFTDNA' personal page.

3. Fill in the information block on your most distant known ancestor.  Give name, dates and list locations for the mapping program.

4. This project works best with everyone corresponding with one another to share family trees and compare results and data.

5. Keep you’re housekeeping up-to-date on your FTDNA "myFTDNA" page i.e., email addresses, oldest known ancestor, oldest know ancestor location, etc.

6. This project only works when data is not marked 'private'.

7. Please include your kit number in all of your correspondences.  This help us to manage our communications with you as we have a number of men using the same names i.e.James or John Robertson, Donald or David Duncan, Robert Reid etc.:)  

By participating in this pioneering research you are an important contributor to the sciences.  As this research is moving fast a lot of information is learned which enables us to test additional STRs and SNPs.  This is all helping us to find our place within the human family tree!

This is  a very active field of science and research so do not get alarmed as some of the terms change as more information comes on line.

DNA samples are stored for later test upgrades.  The 12-marker test is the very, very basic Y-DNA STR test and men will need to promptly upgrade their Y-DNA test (37,67,111) to obtain better resolution in matching. 

After the STR test men will need to consider testing the second phase of Y-DNA testing which is SNP testing.

By actively participating in this research you are helping all researchers in this field to learn more.  There are a lot of educational resources on this research, which can help you gain a deeper understanding of the use of DNA for genealogical purposes. We all must spend time reading and updating our understanding of this field of research.

Feel free to contact us at any time with any questions that you may have.

Again, Welcome aboard this great research project.

Kind Regards,

Tim Duncan,
Stephanie Robertson,
Administrators: Donnachaidh/Duncan/Robertson/Reid Surname DNA Projects
email: tim@clandonnachaidhdna.org, dna@pt.lu
Website: www.clandonnachaidhdna.org

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All participants will be included in the ongoing studies and by joining the project; you are giving consent for your information to be anonymously included (via your kit #) in ongoing genetic genealogy research.  Your personal identity will not be revealed, but your results will be used to better understand the surnames of Clan Donnachaidh as a people and the history of our ancestors.

PLEASE NOTE: The Donnachaidh DNA Project volunteer administrators have no commercial affiliation with any profit making organization and receive no compensation for services or expenses involved with the Donnachaidh Y-DNA project.