It's time for an another update on the Clan MacLaren Surname DNA Project. Both the Clan MacLaren Society (Scotland) and the Clan MacLaren Society of North American have now endorsed this DNA project. Hopefully the Clan MacLaren Society (Australia) will soon do the same. Genetic genealogy can be a powerful tool and provide help in building our genealogies. My purpose is to use the DNA results as a tool to help sort out the many different MacLaren (and other surnames of the Clan) lines in the Clan files. The results can also be useful to MacLarens in pointing the way toward possible connections and perhaps help indicate where you need to search for paper evidence. The database of results is slowly growing, but I would like many more MacLarens/McLarens (or any of the other surnames of the Clan including spelling variants) to join the project. The more we have in the database, the more likely it is that we will get matches between members. I am especially interested in getting members from the documented MacLaren lines that are in my files; however, I am also interested in any MacLaren who wants to join. This, of course, includes all the spelling variants of MacLaren. Lawrence, if Scottish, may be one of the surnames associated with Clan MacLaren. Therefore, I especially welcome any Lawrence who may be Scottish or of Scottish descent. If you have already tested with the Lawrence Surname DNA Project, you can join the Clan MacLaren Project at no extra cost. Just go to your personal page. At the top of the page is a square blue join button. Click on that button. This takes you to a new page that shows the Surname projects you can join. One of them will be MacLaren. Click on MacLaren. This takes you to a page that explains the Clan MacLaren Surname DNA Project. At the bottom of the page is another square blue join button. Click on that button and you have joined the Clan MacLaren project. If you haven't had your DNA tested, I encourage you to consider it. By comparing your DNA results with others, we can determine if you are related to othe Lawrences. Go ahead and join either the Clan MacLaren or the Lawrence DNA project. And, after you get your results back, join the other project. If you do test, I encourage doing the 37-marker test. There are now 94 people in the Clan MacLaaren Surname DNA Project: 83 with results back, four with partial results back, three who have submitted their kits and are waiting on their results, and four who are either waiting for their kits or haven't returned them yet. There have been several successes. One member in Scotland matches a member in California 33 out of 37 markers. Another member in New Zealand matches a member in Canada 35/37. Another success is a 25/25 match between a McLaren and a McLaurin. The McLaurin is a member of the B MacLaren family (as denoted by previous Clan Genealogists). The McLaren had tested to 37 markers; the McLaurin is upgrading to 37 markers to see if the match holds. The most recent success is a 25/25 match between two Pattersons. One Patterson has tested to 37 markers, the other is upgrading to 37 markers. Surnames in the project include MacLaren (11 spelling variants), McFeaters (2 spelling variants), Lawrence (2 spelling variants), Law, Low (2 spelling variants), Lawrie, Lowry (3 spelling variants), Lawson, MacIntyre, Wright, McClary, Patterson (2 spelling variants), Patrick, and Petrie. We have members from the United States, Canada, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand. I encourage anyone who bears one of the surnames above, or any of the other surnames of Clan MacLaren, to join (if you haven't had a relative closer then second cousin already test). For those who are concerned about how the DNA sample is acquired, it is just a cheek swab -- very painless. If you are interested, or have questions, contact me at bobmclaren@earthlink.net Bob McLaren Chairman, Genealogy Committee, Clan MacLaren Society of North America Administrator, Clan MacLaren Surname DNA Project Robert McLaren bobmclaren@earthlink.net Why Wait? Move to EarthLink.