The Milligan/Milliken DNA Project is open to all families, of any spelling variation, and from all locations.  
(If your surname is not included please contact the Project Administrator.)   We will also accept persons whose DNA indicates they are a Milligan/Milliken, etc., regardless of surname.

This Milligan Family Project was started to:

1. Help researchers from common or related families work together to find their shared heritage.
2. Identify how the participant's families are connected, both genetically and through paper trails.
3. Identify and confirm genetic Lineages of ancestral families.
4. Ultimately catalog pedigrees and genetic connections of all of the known project families.

Participating in a Surname DNA Project provides:

• The participant's genetic DNA, which is very close (and sometimes identical) to his earliest known ancestor.
• The participant's "deep" ancestry (Haplogroup), which identifies the paternal ancestor's prehistoric origins.
• A sense of camaraderie, which is particularly strong for those who share a genetic ancestry
• Stimulation to family research and renewed sharing of information
• A wider sense of identity and relationship, as we begin to realize how much we are a World Family.
• A chance to compare your genetic ancestry with those of your Surname and the spelling variations
• Your genetic matches who do not share your common surname

Testing

For those males considering Y-DNA testing, either the 37 or 111 marker test is available. The 37 marker test will give usually be enough to show if you appear to match other project members.  It would be a good starting point, but there is a good chance you would eventually want to upgrade to the 111 marker test.. If is is in your budget, you might want to start with the 111 marker test.

There have been new developments in haplogroup studies.  New SNPs have been discovered and are continuing to be discovered.  There are several options for those who want to work on your haplogroup positioning.  There is Next Generation Sequencing, including FTDNA’s Big Y, that searches your Y chromosome for both known SNPs and variants that are unique to you.  We have been trying this with the two M222 subgroups and a few ungrouped members have also tried it.  I would suggest that you contact me if you are thinking of trying the Big Y.   I would have an idea of who has already ordered these tests as additional testing by somewhat closely related people may not offer much, if any, benefit.  SNP packs are also available.  These determine your position among currently known SNPs, but do not identify SNPs that are unique to you.  Single SNP testing is also possible. For suggestions, you can check with me or, if you are in a haplogroup project, with the administrator of that project.  

Other Projects

There are additional projects you can join.  I encourage everyone to join the project for their haplogroup and/or its subgroup.  There are also geographic projects you can join.  Included among these are ones for Ireland, Ulster and Scotland.  It is interesting to compare your results to others and joining the groups also helps people who may be conducting studies. .

Other testing companies

Persons who have already tested their Y-DNA at companies other than FTDNA are encourage to transfer your results to FTDNA and take advantage of their offer to convert to the equivalent of their 37 marker test.  There are some markers in that conversion package that are very useful to the project.  In the past we were able to manually enter results from other companies, but this has been discontinued for the foreseeable future. 

FamilyFinder and mtDNA tests

We have quite a few project members whose Milligan/Millikens are not in their direct male line, but who have taken a Family Finder or mtDNA test.  We’re still trying to figure out how to best make use of this information, but I want you to know that you are welcome in the project.  Some of the Y-DNA groups that look like there might be a common ancestor within 250 years or so may benefit from the members adding a Family Finder test to see if it can predict the cousinship level.  It’s not a guarantee, but it might be worth a try.