A question regarding looking for Clan affiliation in my genealogy....

[Steve Ashton]

The thing to keep in the back of your mind when doing your genealogy is - first, DNA cannot tell you nationality or language or social connections.

And second that you do not have just one line of ancestry. You have 2 parents - who each have 2 parents - who each have 2 parents.

If you go back just 5 generations you have 32 grandparents. 32 different and separate lines.

And it all comes down to where your ancestors lived. If they lived in Glasgow, Edinburgh or anywhere south of Stirling. Or on the East coast south of Aberdeen. They may not have considered themselves as affiliated with a Highland Clan and may not have felt that they had a Clan Tartan.

[Lallans]

The thing to keep in the back of your mind when doing your genealogy is - first, DNA cannot tell you nationality or language or social connections.

And second that you do not have just one line of ancestry. You have 2 parents - who each have 2 parents - who each have 2 parents.

If you go back just 5 generations you have 32 grandparents. 32 different and separate lines.

And it all comes down to where your ancestors lived. If they lived in Glasgow, Edinburgh or anywhere south of Stirling. Or on the East coast south of Aberdeen. They may not have considered themselves as affiliated with a Highland Clan and may not have felt that they had a Clan Tartan.

It's nice when DNA confirms family traditions though. As far as attitudes go, did my Scots ancestors consider themselves highlanders? For the great majority, almost certainly not.