> > > >This is a message from Lauren Boyd, administrator for the Scot- DNA testing. I think it explains DNA testing so very well. Marilynn. > > Only males carry the Y-DNA that is used in testing for > the Surname projects. Y-DNA is inherited from fathers > by their sons. Surnames are inherited from fathers and > kept only by their sons as women's names change when they > marry. > > It goes like this..... your brother got his name from your > father, who got his name from your grandfather, who got his > name from your great-grandfather, who got his name from your > great-great-grandfather, who got his name from your > great-great-great-grandfather, who got his name from your > great-great-great-great-grandfather, who got his name from your > great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, who got his name from your > great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, and on to the > beginning of time of your line's surname. And like the surname > that never changed, the Y-DNA was inherited by this same line > of men, and on to the beginning of time of your line. > > Unless the surname is historically known to have changed, > the DNA from the males in your family will only track to > one surname --- provided there are no non-paternal events. > [adoption, sperm donor, infidelities, "bastardy"] > > In the Stewart line, the Boyds are purportedly also descended > from Walter, 1st High Steward; there is a Douglas line that > was originally Stewart until there was a name change in the 1200s; > there was a change in name of the Kilmarnock Boyds to Hay 1759 and > back again to Boyd 1941. Therefore, it is possible that some male > descendants of these 4 lines, even though they do not share the > Stewart name, could share the Stewart DNA. > > If one suspects or there is family legend suggesting a name > change or a non-paternal event, then it may be warranted to > check the results of the Y-DNA testing against the results > of others from the purported family lines or surnames. > > With regard to mtDNA of women, it will only track against the > varied surnames that women choose or had chosen for them when > they married. One cannot track a woman's mtDNA through her > father's line. We give our DNA to our children. However, it > is ONLY our daughters who can pass it along to their children. > And we women inherited our mtDNA from our mother, > who got it from our grandmother, who got it from our great-grandmother, > who got it from our great-great-grandmother, who got it from our > great-great-great-grandmother, who got it from our great-great-great-great-grandmother, > who got it from our > great-great-great-great-great-grandmother, who got it from our > great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother, who got it from our > great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother, and on to the > beginning of time for our line. Our surnames changing, likely, > with each new generation. > > An interesting bit of trivia that will add "excitement" to the > genetic genealogical studies is related to the Welsh lines. I > don't know what time frame is involved, however, I read an > article years ago by William Dollarhide that explained the > Welsh tradition of naming. Seems the first born son always > carried his mother's surname, in order that her name not die > out. Therefore, the first born son of each generation inherits > the maiden name of his mother and will not track to the male > surname. The second and later sons of a first born son will > track to the maiden name of the mother of the original first > born son of that line as well as his father's surname. > > And if you have Norwegian lines, you will be familiar that > typically, the surname was the farm name. And each time they > moved to a new farm, the surname changed. > > Even though we may curse the naming convention of the Scots > that has us wading through cousins with the same first names > in several branches and generations of the families [Walter, > Robert, James, Alexander, Mary -- anyone?] at least the > surnames remained constant for about the last 1,000 years. > > There is another project that all participants of all the > surname projects re Scottish descent may contribute to or > participate in. That is the Scot DNA project. John Hansen > began it in March of this year, if memory serves. You can > read more on the Scot-DNA-L@rootsweb.com regarding the aims, > objectives, theories, etc. of this project. > > Yours Aye, > > Lauren > List Admin > Stewart/Stuart/Steward > Stewart-DNA > Boyd-DNA > Scot-DNA > > > ==== SCOT-DNA Mailing List ==== > Need to contact the list admin? > Send your email to Scot-DNA-admin@rootsweb.com > Want to post? > Send your email to Scot-DNA-L@rootsweb.com > Scot-DNA list is a flame free zone. > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >