About the British Monarchy DNA
DNA of the British Royal Family Early in 2014, it was shown that a body found in a construction site in Leicester, England was that of King Richard III. I thought I might bring up some interesting details about the research that followed up this amazing discovery, since so many people arrive at my site by searching for my family tree on the British monarchy. The research in question concerns the DNA of Richard III and yields questions about the British monarchy DNA. Now Richard III left no descendants, and so testing for the Y-chromosome was done on other descendants of Richard’s...
Read MoreDNA Explained
We have a few posts on the use of DNA in genetic genealogy, and we understand that all of the detail can be very confusing. So if you want DNA explained in the context of genealogy, you’ve come to the right place. Sometimes, getting your first (or second or third) report raises more questions than it answers. What does it mean that the report says you’re in the “Western Modal Haplotype” or the R1b1a1b1* haplogroup? Maybe you’re in R1b1a1b1* and U5a; and what does that mean? Well, there is someone who can assist you in working through the details of your DNA...
Read MoreScottish ancestors Jacobites?
Were my Scottish ancestors Jacobites? Since the trail of my Angus ancestors of Banffshire becomes murky for times before the 1790s, I had often puzzled as to whether they were mixed up in any of that Jacobite Rising nonsense. On the one hand, it seemed rather unlikely to me, since my grandfather was about as protestant and dour a Scot as ever lived. Since the Jacobite cause supported the restoration of a Catholic king with a “divine right of kings” policy, that didn’t line up with the grandfather’s dour protestantism in my mind. Of course, there could have been other...
Read MoreStatistical Accounts of Scotland for genealogy
Perhaps you are looking for a more “intimate” view of what life was like for your Scottish ancestors. Whether they lived in the Highlands or the Lowlands, look no further than the Statistical Accounts of Scotland. While the Wikipedia article gives some background on their history, there is nothing quite like just starting to read these volumes. Honestly, the Statistical Accounts of Scotland for genealogy information are amazing sources. With just an exception or two, one is unlikely to encounter one’s family by name unless you’ve descended from the landed nobility of...
Read MoreClans and Families of Ireland and Scotland, a book review
In this post, I offer a brief review of the book Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland by C. Thomas Cairney, Ph.D. This volume is available for order at Amazon, and I assume other resellers. The book is subtitled, An Ethnography of the Gael A.D. 500-1750. You can also find it in its entirety online at Electric Scotland. The author has a family web site and may be contacted here. I’m not sure how I first heard about this excellent book. It may have been at the Electric Scotland site at the link I posted in the previous paragraph. In any case, I quickly acquired my own copy; and I...
Read MoreForensic Genealogy, a book review
In this post, I’m going to do a review of the book, Forensic Genealogy, by Colleen Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., published in 2005 by Rice Book Press. The volume has three major sections entitled The Digital Detective, The Database Detective, and The DNA Detective. As ties in with the book’s title, each section involves the use of some special techniques to resolve some question of genealogical research. The Digital Detective section explores the analysis of old photographs, such as anyone might have in their family records, in order to uncover where and when they were taken, who they were...
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