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Has your paper trail run dry?
Do you wonder if you’ll ever conquer that seemingly insurmountable brick
wall? If you answered in the affirmative to any of these questions, then you
might benefit from genetic genealogy (DNA testing).
Family Tree DNA, a Houston-based company has to date
(October 30, 2009) a total of 266,195 records in its database, involving
5,636 different surname projects. See
http://www.familytreedna.com
One of
these is the MacPherson-McPherson DNA Project.
We are looking for men to test their Y-DNA. Either men or women can
additionally test their mtDNA, which traces the direct female line, but it
won’t provide information about their male Macpherson line. It is preferable
when testing Y-DNA to purchase a test that is at least 37 markers.
Sixty-seven markers are even better.
To date we have a total of 79
individuals either tested or being tested. I am from the Black River
(Blackstone) MacPhersons (Inverness County, Cape Breton), and my brother was
tested as part of this surname project in 2006, when only a few MacPhersons
had been tested. As the database grows so too will the potential for a close
match with another person. Indeed, the benefits of DNA testing aren’t
limited to obtaining close matches. I have learned a lot about my own line
just by having my brother tested. For example, I was puzzled for years about
what link, if any, we had to the Clan MacPherson chief’s line. Comparing DNA
results from that line with ours reveals that although we share a long-ago
common ancestor, that common ancestor predates the formation of the chiefly
line of Clan MacPherson by hundreds of years. In short, we are not descended
from the Clan MacPherson chief’s line.
If you would like to learn more
about the MacPherson-McPherson DNA Project, our website is at
http://www.familytreedna.com/group-join.aspx?Group=McPherson
and you are very welcome to
contact either the Administrator at the e-mail link posted there, or me at
agoforth@moscow.com. If you decide to be tested or to have a male relative
tested, be sure you do it through the surname project. Ordering a test
directly from FTDNA outside a surname project is more expensive.
Allene MacPherson Goforth
Co-Administrator
MacPherson-McPherson DNA Project
Please note that the FTDNA
Surname Group Administrators are not FTDNA employees. They do not receive
any form of financial payment or any other incentive or reimbursement. The
administrators of the project are members of the International Society of
Genetic Genealogy.
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