Campbell DNA Project
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Project Background:
The Campbell DNA Project was launched in October of 2002 with the purpose of trying to help genealogy researchers break through brick walls. The goal of the project was to attempt to get DNA samples of several Campbell reference lineages and to look at opportunities to link current genealogy research to these lines.

The Campbell DNA Project was initiated to augment genealogical research and to provide general insight concerning our Clan’s overall history and genetic composition. DNA testing is not a substitute for genealogy research. Instead, it is a companion tool to prove or disprove research, determine relationships, and to provide clues for further research. DNA testing can be an extremely powerful tool when combined with your genealogy research. DNA testing can uncover information that was not previously known, as well as confirm your research, and get leads for further research.

From elementary genetics we learn that the Y-chromosome is passed down through the male line, essentially unchanged, from generation to generation. These chromosomes "mutate" or change slowly over time allowing identification of specific families and surnames. The rate of change is extremely slow, being measured in terms of tens or hundreds of generations. The reader might want to read an excellent article about the Y-chromosome written by Dr. Mark Jobling of Leicester University entitled "The Y Chromosome as a Marker for the History and Structure of Human Populations". Additional articles and journals have reported the examination of the STRs (Short-Tandem Repeats) on the Y-chromosome to trace and analyze surnames. A well-publicized case involved the question as to whether or not President Thomas Jefferson fathered any slave children by Sally Hemings.

Many other articles such as "The Y-Chromosome in the Study of Human Evolution, Migration and Prehistory" by Dr. Neil Bradman and Dr. Mark Thomas as well as a review article by Dr. Mark Jobling entitled "In the Name of the Father: Surname and Genetics", volume 17 of Trends in Genetics are worth reading for background information as they deal with this specific subject. There are many web sites now dedicated to this subject that provide links to many excellent articles and the results from other surname projects. Thus, it has been well demonstrated through university research that an analysis of the male Y-chromosome can be used to trace the male descendants of a progenitor through many generations, all of which share a common surname.

This project has been underway several years

October 31, 2002 - The Campbell DNA surname project was conceived and males with the Campbell surname (or spelling variants) were actively solicited by letter and e-mails.

February 2002 – Becky Waltier volunteers to help me create Project Web Site and gets a terrific site up in 2 weeks.

June 2003 - Since the initial project was launched in October of 2002, 21 men have submitted DNA samples for the Campbell Surname DNA Project. Results have been received for 17 men with 4 samples awaiting analysis. Having achieved “critical mass, the first version of our analysis was created.

October 2003 - On the one-year anniversary of the project we have approximately 30 participants. The project also organized reference information on the 20 Campbell Houses with the idea of obtaining as many samples as possible from living descendants of these lines.

February 2004 - Clan Donald distributed a press release asserting that they had defined the genetic signature of Colla Uais, father of Dalriada. The proposed signature is a distance of 3 away from the Campbell modal value.

May 2004 - Samples were received from several well documented historical lines. A paper speculating on the DNA signature of Sir Colin "Iongantach" Campbell, who lived in the 14th century was drafted and submitted to the Journal of the CCSNA for printing in the summer issue.

Summer 2005 - The Campbell project exceeds 100 participants and establishes itself as one of the largest Surname projects in the world. (top 4%)

Fall 2005 - A paper is published that hypothesizes the DNA signature of a 5th-century warlord known as "Niall of the Nine Hostages" (Niall established a dynasty of powerful chieftains that dominated Ireland for six centuries.) This information is used to distinguish the Campbells with deep Irish roots from those whose roots may be Scottish or Scots-Irish.

June 2006 - The Campbell project has 165 participants and is tied for the 21st in terms of size among surname projects. The project includes participants from Scotland, Ireland, America, South Africa, Canada, Mexico, and New Zealand

Winter 2006 - An article was published in the winter 2006 issue of the Journal of the Clan Campbell society of America speculating on the DNA signature of the Campbells of Lochawe. The article analyzed three historic Campbell lines and based upon a 23/25 match of the samples postulated a DNA signature for the mythical Diarmid O'Duibne and his grandson Sir Cailean Mor Cambel (a/k/a Mac Cailein Mor) who lived in the 13th century and founded Clan Campbell.

January 2007 - The Project Administrator’s analysis of Bryan Sykes data from his book, “Blood of the Isles” and Stephen Oppenheimer’s data from “Origins of the British yield some interesting results. Conclusions derived from this data are planned to be published in an upcoming paper. However, it appears that the bulk of the R1b Campbells fit into Oppenheimer gene cluster (R1b-9) that he nicknames “Rox”. Rox was the main male gene cluster that moved into the British Isles after the last Ice Age over 15,000 years ago and represents the earliest male hunter-gatherer re-expansion from the south-west European. The gene flow follows the ancient extended coastline, favoring Ireland and Scotland.

Spring 2007 - An article the Journal of the Clan Campbell Society whimsically speculates about the presence of a unique, distinguishable “Campbell gene”. While neither technically a gene nor truly a unique discriminator, it has been discovered that while allele DYS458=20 appears in 2% of the overall R1b population, it occurs with a frequency of 31% among Campbell R1b participants.

May 2007 - My technical article entitled "Geographic Patterns of Haplogroup R1b in the British Isles" is published in the Journal of Genetic Genealogy. This article attempts to deconstruct Bryan Sykes analysis in his book "Blood of the Isles" (UK Title), also known as "Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland" (US Title). The study identifies a haplotype designated OGAP4 that makes up 34% of the Campbell project -- by far the largest portion. OGAP4 is ubiquitous across all areas of Scotland and exceptionally strong in Grampian, Tayside, and Strathclyde. If we discount the Irish influx in Argyll and the Hebrides, it is also among the strongest haplotypes present in these regions. It would not be too much of a stretch to label OGAP4 the quintessential Scottish haplotype and the single closest identifier to whatever is considered the indigenous Scottish population.

November 2007 – A second article entitled "Geographic Patterns of Haplogroup R1b in the British Isles – Deconstructing Oppenheimer” is published in the Journal of Genetic Genealogy. This article attempts to recreate Professor Stephen Oppenheimer’s analysis and decipher his definition of R1b sub-clans. My private analysis shows that approximately 60% of all the Campbells tested are likely to be members of Oppenheimer’s R1b-9 sub-clan. This sub-clan is the oldest branch of R1b in the British Isles and the progenitor of other R1b lines including the Celts. This finding is consistent with the finding that most Campbells are members of the indigenous Scottish genotype concluded from my May 2007 analysis.

The latest list of major surname projects ordered by the number of participnts can be found at the following URL.
Surname Project Statistics - June 2007

Please Note: This website is the official Campbell DNA Project Website. Though there may not be a recent update posted in the paragraphs above, the data under the “Y Results” tab is automatically posted by FTDNA and by definition is always current.

For more background information, see the original, but out-of-date Campbell DNA web site at:
Campbell Surname DNA Project PLEASE NOTE: This site has sporadic availability.


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