Hello all,
Lindsay alerted me to this thread of posts and thought I might be able to add some perspective. I am administrator of two DNA surname projects, one of them the Morrison project that Lindsay mentioned. I am also Historian of Clan Morrison Society of North America, and the board of directors of our organization has approved our project.
Over the years I have tried to help many Morrisons with their genealogical research and have accumulated files on hundreds of Morrison families. I have a special interest in trying to learn more on the origins of my own Morrisons, my mother's family, and that is one major reason why I started the Morrison DNA Project. For those considering DNA testing, I'll give a little case history.
My earliest Morrison here in South Carolina was an orphan. It took me years of traditional research to trace him from South Carolina back to Pennsylvania. Then only from the records in Pennsylvania did I learn that his grandfather came from somewhere in Ulster. Further research into the family of his grandmother told me that the family probably lived near Coleraine in the early 1700's, but I was unable to find any definite record of the family there.
That was until a certain other Morrison joined our project out of the blue. He was an exact DNA match with my Morrison uncle! What did he know about his family? Very little. They were more recent immigrants to America. However, I was able to use American vital records to trace his family back to Johnstone, Scotland, in the 1860's. And then I was able to use Scottish vital records to take the family back another generation, only to learn that they had moved there from Ireland.
It seemed that I was stuck again, but it turned out that the unusual given names in the two earliest generations were only found in one parish in Ireland. And that parish was only about 8 miles from Coleraine. If it had not been for the DNA match, I would never have had this confirmation of my research.
Pressing my luck, I contacted a Morrison family still living in this parish, explained my research and asked if they would be willing to participate in the DNA matching project at my expense. Fortunately, they agreed and I found that this Morrison family was also a match with mine. I still don't know where my Morrisons lived in Scotland, but I'm confident that there will be DNA matches in Scotland, too, given more time and more DNA project participants.
So in summary, DNA research has been a great benefit to me in tracing my family. Not everyone will have the same success right away. Over 60% of the Morrisons in our project have matches, but that means that almost 40% do not. I suspect that the percentage of matches will go up as more Morrison families are represented in the project.
I'm convinced that DNA research is most effective when used in combination with traditional research. If your research tells you that you might be related to a particular family with the same surname, DNA can be used for confirmation. Some people do join our project without doing any research, and some of these get lucky and are able to connect up with other Morrisons right away. Others do all kinds of research, but still have not found a connection. DNA is a powerful tool for family research, and the benefits from it are real, but it is just a tool and not a magic wand.
25-marker Y-chromosome DNA tests currently cost about $140-$175 US depending on the testing company, but there are also tests available at no charge. This cost may seem like less when one considers the cost of a weekend trip to do traditional research or the time it can save by not researching the wrong family. Many of the participants in our project have sponsored tests for other families, particularly those who still live in an ancestral homeland. We are most grateful to those who have agreed to participate in this way to help us all unravel the history of our families. All of the testing companies that I am aware of have strict privacy procedures so that DNA results and identities of testees are not released to others without permission. In any event, the DNA marker results that we use in our surname projects are specific to families, and not individuals.
I hope this answers some of the questions that have been raised. I'll be glad to try address any others. More information can be found at the Morrison DNA Project website, or I can be reached by e-mailing morrisondna at mindspring.com.
Edwin Holcombe
