Results
Clan Matheson DNA Project Results Report as of 3 August 2009
Y-DNA Results:
Location of DNA results of groups with at least two testers. 
Haplogroups are DNA signatures that are used to look at migrations of man. A resource on this topic is Spencer Wells, Deep Ancestry. To see research and graphics of the Y-DNA tree, go to go to ISOGG YSNP Tree.
The Y-DNA Haplogroups in Clan Matheson as of 3 August 2009 are:
I = 4%
R1a = 23%
R1b = 73%
The four largest related groups of Matheson men in the project are:
Lochalsh, Ross-shire R1a Vikings at 18.9%
Shiness, Sutherlandshire R1b Celts at 14.9%
Isle of Lewis Celts at 6.8%
Dalriada House of Lorn Celts at 5.4%
• Y-DNA Haplogroup I overwintered in the Balkans during the last Ice Age and some members of this group also overwintered in Iberia. The subgroup I1 today is found mainly in northwestern Europe; some I1’s are Norse Vikings, and others are Anglo-Saxons.
There are two Haplogroup I groups shown in the Y Results. The first is from a DNA group identified as Ultra-Norse (in other words a Viking from Scandinavia). The second is identified as Isles which may have come from Spain to the Western Isles prior to Roman times (43 A.D. to 383 A.D.).
• Y-DNA Haplogroup R1a is thought to have originated in the Eurasian Steppes north of the Black and Caspian Seas in the Kurgan culture and is associated with the domestication of the horse.
There are three different Haplogroup R1a groups shown in the Y Results. The first group of R1a's, identified as Lochalsh Viking, have a related set of DNA which says they are descended from sons or close kin of Murchadh Buidhe, Chief of the Matheson clan located in Lochalsh, Ross-shire, Scotland in the 1500's. This line has the Eastern Viking signature rather than the Western Viking signature associated with Somerled, progenitor of Clan Donald. 73442 is related to Somerled through the MacDonalds of Sleat on the Isle of Skye. E1829 is a Viking who went to Germany. The Vikings were world traders whose settlements are found from Newfoundland to Russia.
• Y-DNA Haplogroup R1b is the most prolific haplogroup in Europe and its frequency changes in a cline from west to east. It reaches a saturation point of almost 100% in areas of Western Ireland and becomes uncommon in parts of Eastern Europe and virtually disappears beyond the Middle East.
HapR1b Dalriada House of Lorn has been identified due to cooperation across clans. The overall DNA pattern was discovered by Mark MacDonald in 2005 and this DNA pattern is spread through various clans. Matheson traditions state that at least some of our very early chiefs were from Gilleon na h’Aird, Prince of the House of Lorn who lived about 950. The Irish Dal Riata King Erc (d. c. 474) had two sons, Fergus Mor and Loarn Mac Eric who established the kingdom of Dalriada in Scotland. This group of Mathesons fits into the Dalriada DNA pattern. The main territory of descendants of Loarn was in northern Argyll around the first of Lorn. The chief place of the kingdom was likely near Oban. Loarn has 4 variants in spelling: Lorne, Lorn, Loarn, Loairn. Our testers trace to Argyll, Aberdeenshire, Edinburgh, and Norway.
HapR1b Group A came from Scotland and settled in Nova Scotia. HapR1b Group B is from the Isle of Lewis. HapR1b Group C is from the mainland in Ross-shire. HapR1b Group D is from the mainland in Golspie, Sutherlandshire. HapR1b Group E is from the Isle of Skye. HapR1b Group F is another group from Sutherlandshire. HapR1b Group F is from Dornoch, Sutherlandshire. HapR1b MacWho is part of a small cluster of distinct numbers that is being researched.
HapR1b- Matheson/Dunbar is likely descended from a younger son of the Dunbar chiefly line, a branch of which resided in Aberdeenshire. Patrick Dunbar was Chancellor of Aberdeen and also owned Bennetsfield before the Mathesons. This particular DNA signature is one of the earliest to come to the British Isles and is heavily found in Wales and in parts of Scotland.
HapR1b – NW Irish/Scotland is often referred to as Niall of the 9 Hostages, a famous Irish King, who was a member of the Ui Neill tribe of Ireland. This group is found scattered among many Scottish clans, including the Mathesons and MacKenzies.
HapR1b - Shiness comes from the line that owned Shiness, near Lairg, Sutherlandshire, Scotland. Some members have a paper trail to Col. George Matheson, Chieftain of the Shiness branch of the clan. The chiefly line from Lochalsh and the chieftain line from Shiness are not related genetically through the male line since they are in different haplogroups, but could have been related through the female line in the distant past.
The large Haplogroup R1b unmatched grouping shown in Y-Results includes people who are not closely related. People who moved into a Chief or Chieftain's territory often took on that clan name, so it is not surprising to find many unrelated Mathesons. When found in Scotland these R1b people are usually considered of Celtic descent.
mtDNA Results:
Twelve people with Matheson ancestry have tested their mtDNA. None of them have a common female ancestor. mtDNA is traced along the straight female line which changes surnames with every generation. It is extremely unusual to find mtDNA matches even if the person has tested both HVR1 and HVR2 since with both tested the match can range back 700 years. All of the mtDNA haplogroups reported in these tests are found in the British Isles and are discussed in Bryan Sykes. The Seven Daughters of Eve. All of these haplogroups are also discussed in Spencer Wells, Deep Ancestry.
The mtDNA Haplogroups in Clan Matheson as of 3 August 2009 are:
H = 50%
J = 8%
K= 17%
M=8%
U = 8%
V = 8%
mtDNA haplogroup H (also known as Helena) comprises 40 to 60 % of the mtDNA gene pool in Western Europe and as such is considered the most successful of the mtDNA haplogroups in reproducing itself. It also comprises about 20 % of southwest Asian lineages, 15 % of central Asian lineages and 5 % of northern Asian lineages.
mtDNA haplogroup J* (also known as Jasmine) has a very wide distribution, being common in eastern and northern Europe, and is present as far east as the Indus Valley bordering Indian and Pakistan and as far south as the Arabian peninsula. mtDNA haplogroup J is largely considered one of the main genetic signatures of the Neolithic expansion and is associated with the spread of agriculture.
mtDNA Haplogroup K (also known as Katrine) has a wide distribution including areas of Europe, northern Africa, India, Arabia, the northern Caucasus Mountains and throughout the near East. Today, mtDNA haplogroup K has three of the four most common mtDNA signatures in Askenazi Jews, but our members do not have one of these specific K signatures.
mtDNA Haplogroup M is considered primarily an Asian lineage, as it is found in high frequencies east of the Arabian peninsula It is also found in Pakistan and northwest Indian where it constitutes 30-50% of the gene pool and there are low frequencies in east Africa. mtDNA Haplogroup M is thought to be about 60,000 years old.
mtDNA Haplogroup U (also known as Ursula) includes the specific group U5 that broke off from the rest of the group and headed north into Scandinavia and is estimated to be 50,000 years old. It is quite common in Finland. There was a back migration to the Near East where it is relatively rare.
mtDNA Haplogroup V (also known as Velda) tends to be restricted to western, central, and northern Europe. It is found in 12% of Basques and is thought to have been established within the European refuge during the last Ice Age.