Welcome to The Rattray, Perthshire, Scotland Family Tree DNA Group. This group has been established for anyone with familial links to Rattray. We will approve all last names, all genders in this group because our goal is to unite families together utilizing yDNA, Mitochondrial DNA, Autosomal/Family Finder DNA...etc. Our purpose is to run a geographic project focused on location, and not on one particular lineage. Please take your time to explore all the matches you can populate in our group. The town of Rattray is "Raitear" in Gaelic, and may derive from an English language cognate of Gaelic ràth meaning "fortress" plus a Pictish term cognate with Welsh tref meaning "settlement". It is a twin city with Pleasanton, California, U.S.A. Rattray has been occupied continuously since the Neolithic, as evidenced from the Cleaven Dyke, a cursus monument 2 miles south-southwest of the town,[as well as a Neolithic long mortuary enclosure 4 miles west-southwest at Inchtuthil. Several stone circles of this age can also be found in the area, notably the circle bisected by the road at Leys of Marlee, 1 mile west of Blairgowrie & Rattray, Scotland. Pictish remains are in abundance in this part of Scotland and one of the largest collections of Pictish sculptured stones is housed 5 miles east of the town at the Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum. The size of the collection, all of which were found in Meigle, suggests this was an ecclesiastical centre of some importance in the 8th to 10th century, and was a center location for Pictish Society. Craighall-Rattray Castle is North-West of the town, located perched upon a cliff 400 feet above the River Ericht, is within 10 miles and was seat to Clan Rattray until approximately 2010. The Castle was seat for 29 generations of Lairds. The current Clan Chief is Alexander Rattray of Rattray, 30th Chief of Clan Rattray. Craighall-Rattray is currently owned by the Reynold's family, who have taken well care of her for generations to come. Mr. Reynold's is of Scottish descent himself, and who's family fought in Bannockburn has yielded great pride in carefully restoring old Craighall-Rattray to her former glory.