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FT229475 in the Alexander Y DNA Project
Within the Alexander Y DNA Project[1], there are currently (Aug 2020) a total of thirty-five test takers, of which, four (kits # 109883, 124835, 854149, and 922896) have have tested to FT229475 (and the remaining thirty-one will likely test to FT229475 or a yet-to-be-discovered subclade, if they test at the Big Y-700 level). A fifth test-taker, and not Alexander in surname, has also tested to FT229475.
FT229475 Families
- Line of James Moore, b. 1745, Virginia; d. 1846, Illinois
- Line of Thomas Alexander, 1630-1708
- Line of James Alexander, 1749-1835
Alexanders of Menstrie
Though only speculation at this time, it is believed this line may be descended from the Alexanders of Menstrie. The Alexanders of Menstrie, however, are said to be of the Highlands. In a personal memoir, William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling (c. 1567–1640), cited a "misty Highland genealogy" in tracing his family origin, in which he claimed descent from Somerled, Lord of the Isles (died 1164), through his descendant John MacDonald, Lord of the Isles (Eoin Carrach MacDomhnaill, 7th Lord of the Isles) of Clan MacDonald. According to Alexander's family history, John married Princess Margaret Stewart, daughter of King Robert II; their son Alexander MacDonald was the father of Angus, who founded the Clan Macalister of Loup Castle. Another son of Angus, also Alexander MacDonald, was given a grant of lands of Menstrie in Stirlingshire from the Earl of Argyll and settled there, and his descendants assumed the English name Alexander as a surname.
A similar account is found in The Peerage of Scotland: A Genealogical and Historical Account of all the Peers of the Kingdom (1767), although it stated it was Alexander MacDonald, son of Lord of the Isles and Princess Margaret, who was given the grant for Menstrie from the Argyll family and from whom the family first took its name. It has also been stated that the original family name was Alschoner, a modified form of the patronymic Alexanderson, and that the Alschoners migrated from Angus to Stirlingshire in the 14th century.
However, in his authoritative work The Scots Peerage, Sir James Balfour Paul stated that there was no evidence supporting the "general assertion" that the Alexanders of Menstrie took their name from Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross, son of Donald of Islay, Lord of the Isles. Balfour Paul states that the Alexander surname is found in many places in Scottish history, particularly in eastern Scotland.[2] This aligns with the fact that FT229475, rooted in BY3368, represents Lowland families.
FT229475 Age Estimation
- Per FTDNA, Haplogroup R-FT229475 emerged between 990 CE and 1459 CE.
Phylogenetic Children of FT229475
Phylogenetic Parent of FT229475
Sources
- ↑ Alexander Y DNA Project; Retrieved 15 August 2020
- ↑ Alexanders of Menstrie, from Wikipedia; Retrieved 15 August 2020