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 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 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 Lawrence surname can be a MacLaren -- especially if your Lawrences are from Scotland. 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/Pat(t)son/Lawson/Law/Lawrence, etc. who wants to join. This, of course, includes all the spelling variants of MacLaren, Lawrence, and the other surnames. There are now 78 people in the project: 69 with results back, two with partial results back, two who have submitted their kits and are waiting on their results, and five who are either waiting for their kits or haven't returned them yet. Five members of the project are Lawrences. 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. For those who are concerned about how the DNA sample is acquired, it is just a cheek swab -- very painless. If you have already tested under the Lawrence Surname DNA Project, and your Lawrence is Scottish or you believe them to be Scottish, I encourage you to join the Clan MacLaren Surname DNA Project as your second project. This can be done at no cost. Go to your personal page. At the top of the page is a square blue join button. Click on this button. This takes you to a new page that gives the project that you can join. MacLaren is one of them. Click on MacLaren. This takes you to a page that describes the MacLaren Project. At the botton of this page is another square blue join button. Click on this button and you have joined. If you haven't tested yet, and no close male Lawrence relatives have tested, I encourage you to consider testing. First, test under the Lawrence Surname DNA Project. Then if you think your Lawrence is Scottish, follow the paragraph above to join the Clan MacLaren Surname Project. 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.