About us
This project was started in February, 2006 with a small group of Moffats related to Robert Moffitt and Margaret Stewart (who lived in County Donegal, Ireland in the 1700s). It was originally founded as the Moffat Colonial DNA Project with a focus on early American Moffat DNA lines. The project was expanded in 2007 to include all variants of the Moffat surname and was renamed the Moffat DNA Project. This project differed from the Clan Moffat DNA Project by assigning project members to historic British population groups. By March, 2014 the project had grown to 52 members and included many variants of the surname.
The results of that project showed that 52% (27 of 52) of the project participants descended from a single ancestor whose Y-chromosome DNA is formally classified as R1b1b2a2g defined by the single nucleotide polymorphism U152 (or S28). In other words, more than half of the Moffats in that project were descended from a single male whose ancestors had originated in Alpine Germany. This male was likely an Anglo-Saxon warrior or settler who was among the influx of Germanic tribes to Britain from the 5th to 8th centuries AD. It is likely that his descendants lived in the Kingdom of Bernicia before moving into Dumfriesshire prior to the adoption of surnames in the medieval period.
The second largest group of members in the Moffat DNA Project were all descended from an Irish migrant whose ancestors probably came to Lowland Scotland from northwest Ireland during the Dalriadic migrations from the 6th to 8th centuries AD. The 11 members in that group represented 42% of that project's membership and all shared a rare DYS marker value of 7 at location 385a. SNP testing of the group in late 2009 confirmed that its members had the R-L21 mutation that characterises haplogroup R1b1b2a1a2f. This group was featured in a Wall Street Journal Article in 2006 exploring the links between some early American Moffats and a Rutherford family.
Advances in genetic testing combined with significant price reductions for testing kits in late 2013 created a surge in project membership. The administrative demands associated with an active and growing membership resulted in the decision in March, 2014 to return to the project's original focus of sorting out the related lines of the project's foundation membership. It was felt that the role of managing the many different Moffat haplotypes could be left to the Clan Moffat project while this project should focus on the related Irish-Scottish line of the Moffat and Rutherford families. As a result, the 11 members of the Irish-2 cluster from the Moffat DNA Project were retained and the project renamed the Moffat & Rutherford DNA Project.
The Moffat & Rutherford DNA Project welcomes all members who have an R1b haplotype and a DYS marker value of 7 at location 385a.
This project uses DNA testing of the Y-chromosome. Because males inherit the Y-chromosome from their fathers, the DNA acts like a surname, passing from father to son and allowing for the reconstruction of family lines. The results of this project are dependent upon some genealogical knowledge. As a result all members are encouraged to upload a GEDCOM of their paternal family line and provide their most distant known male ancestor.
The results of that project showed that 52% (27 of 52) of the project participants descended from a single ancestor whose Y-chromosome DNA is formally classified as R1b1b2a2g defined by the single nucleotide polymorphism U152 (or S28). In other words, more than half of the Moffats in that project were descended from a single male whose ancestors had originated in Alpine Germany. This male was likely an Anglo-Saxon warrior or settler who was among the influx of Germanic tribes to Britain from the 5th to 8th centuries AD. It is likely that his descendants lived in the Kingdom of Bernicia before moving into Dumfriesshire prior to the adoption of surnames in the medieval period.
The second largest group of members in the Moffat DNA Project were all descended from an Irish migrant whose ancestors probably came to Lowland Scotland from northwest Ireland during the Dalriadic migrations from the 6th to 8th centuries AD. The 11 members in that group represented 42% of that project's membership and all shared a rare DYS marker value of 7 at location 385a. SNP testing of the group in late 2009 confirmed that its members had the R-L21 mutation that characterises haplogroup R1b1b2a1a2f. This group was featured in a Wall Street Journal Article in 2006 exploring the links between some early American Moffats and a Rutherford family.
Advances in genetic testing combined with significant price reductions for testing kits in late 2013 created a surge in project membership. The administrative demands associated with an active and growing membership resulted in the decision in March, 2014 to return to the project's original focus of sorting out the related lines of the project's foundation membership. It was felt that the role of managing the many different Moffat haplotypes could be left to the Clan Moffat project while this project should focus on the related Irish-Scottish line of the Moffat and Rutherford families. As a result, the 11 members of the Irish-2 cluster from the Moffat DNA Project were retained and the project renamed the Moffat & Rutherford DNA Project.
The Moffat & Rutherford DNA Project welcomes all members who have an R1b haplotype and a DYS marker value of 7 at location 385a.
This project uses DNA testing of the Y-chromosome. Because males inherit the Y-chromosome from their fathers, the DNA acts like a surname, passing from father to son and allowing for the reconstruction of family lines. The results of this project are dependent upon some genealogical knowledge. As a result all members are encouraged to upload a GEDCOM of their paternal family line and provide their most distant known male ancestor.