FTDNA is coming out with new tests all the time, and because of this our "results" page finds itself out of date on occasion as we research new haplogroups and insure we are doing the best we can with the groupings of the results.  Your patience is appreciated!!  If you ever have a question on why you are placed within a certain group, please do not hesitate to reach out to the admins and ask questions.  We are unpaid volunteers, please keep that in mind if there's a delay in getting a response.  Accuracy and integrity are very important to us, and therefore if we are unsure about a connection or link it may appear that we are behind in the groupings when in fact we are further researching that connection or hypothesis.

For example, we have a large contingent of participants in Group A and have basically subdivided the group into two parts, based upon the DSY490 marker, which either shows a value of "12" or "13".  This difference appears to split Group A in half, with the "12's" being slightly more closely related to the Clan Chief than the "13's".  But in no way does solely having a "12" at DYS490 make you a no doubt descendant of a Clan Chief.  This marker works in relation to many others, some of which mutate faster than others, to determine a kit holder's "signature."  The DNA can sometimes bring more questions than it does answers, so don't be discouraged if your results aren't exactly what you expected.  If you have questions, please email one of the projects administrators as we would love to hear from you and will help out any way we can.  Speaking of Group A.....

The Descendants of the Clan Chiefs and related septs.

Those of you who are indeed genetically related to the Clan Chiefs can be found in Group A and its subgroups (see the Y-DNA Results link at the top of the homepage for DNA groupings).  Several known Chiefly descendants have been tested, and the following Chiefly families are now represented within the Project (with family specific SNPs noted where possible):

Z17274 & Z21133 positive & DYS620=8:

Freuchie

Corriemonie (R-A578)

Shuglie (R-A578)

Glenmoriston (R-A1226 & R-A1227)

Craskie/Duldreggen (R-A1226 & R-A1227)

Blairfindy (Longueuil) 

Kilgraston

Z17274 positive & DYS620=8:

Dalvey 

Z17274 positive & DYS620=9:

Tullochgorm

Inverlochy (R-A1327 & R-A1324)

The Clan's SNP signature is R-Z17274, which is a branch of the R-DF88 tree (which is part of R-P312 if you go deeper into time).  All descendants of the earliest historically-reliable Clan Chiefs test positive for this marker.  Fruechie, Corrimonie. Glenmoriston, Blairfindy (Longueuil) & Kilgraston all share the R-Z21133 SNP, suggesting it first occurred in John Grant, 2nd of Fruechie or by his father.  Almost all of the R-Z21133 kits also have a 13 at STR marker DYS490, which also likely first occurred in John Grant. 

Descendants of earlier Chiefs, such as the Dalvey, Tullochgorm, and Inverlochy lines, share a 12 at STR marker DYS490.  Dalvey is a younger line than Tullochgorm, and Inverlochy is an early branch of the Tullochgorm tree.

If you suspect you are a yDNA descendant of a Clan Chief, a R-Z17274 will confirm that connection without doubt.  This is one of the fruits of our research - you can test that SNP for $40 and get a reliable answer while avoiding the much more expensive Big Y test.  All of the above-mentioned markers are available at YSEQ as well (in case you want to test for them privately outside of the FTDNA environment).

For those of you who are interested in various Clan Grant origin theories, such as the Norman vs Viking debate, the DNA will likely never be able to clear this up.  The Vikings could be considered the grandfathers of the Normans genetically, so you would expect to see the same DNA signatures in each population.  

The Andrew Stewart theory of the Monymusk Text is much less clear.  What is known is that the Royal Stewart/Stuart is P312+ but not DF88+.  And since DF88 is known to be approx 1800 years old, this proves that the current Chiefs are not related to the Stewart/Stuart family that were the original Stewards of Scotland and rose to power as the Stuart Kings of Scotland and later England too.  But this doesn't remove Andrew Stewart from consideration as it could be that he was not of the same Stewart family or a product of a NPE.  He definitely wasn't the son of the Sheriff of Bute as the timing doesn't work out.  We have found two Stewarts that have tested extensively enough to prove that they share an ancestor with the current Grant Clan Chief approximately 800-1000 years ago.  This would support part of the Andrew Stewart theory, but not prove it.  More data is needed. 

Civil War General and President Ulysses S. Grant
As of now, there are a number of kits that identify the line of Matthew Grant (President Grant's immigrant ancestor as documented by multiple sources, including himself & the US Library of Congress), all of which can be found in Group D: R-U106 Haplogroup U106>Z381>Z310>L48>L47>Z160>s3251>FGC8590 - Matthew Graunt Descendants.  We currently have 7 kits in this group, all of which claiming descent from Matthew and all being matches to each other.  Two of the kits, 115576 & 163611, have taken Big Y tests and are proven to be R-FGC8590+ (this SNP is still a bit old though, and new SNPs that both kits share are being researched at this time, such as R-A15177 which will likely become the SNP for this family).  Interestingly, this group contains no close Grant DNA matches outside of North America, making its origins before the Puritan Migration somewhat hazy.  If you want to confirm a suspected connection to Ulysses Grant, test for FGC8590 or A15177 through either FTDNA or YESQ to get your answer.

The Peter Grant Subgroup of Group C
These are descendants of Peter Grant who was exiled to America by Cromwell (along with several other Scots) and ended up living in South Berwick, Maine, as an indentured servant.  This group has done extensive deep ancestry testing and is currently designated as  CTS3655+, which is quite a bit downstream from P312.  Peter was one of the first Scottish Grants to show up in America, and he has many descendants living today.  

More info on Peter Grant can be found here:  https://scottishprisonersofwar.com/peter-grant/ 

Group C: R-P312 Haplogroup P312>L21+ The "Cameron Grants" Subgroup
This group contains several Grants, some of which with ties to the Inveravon area of Scotland.  They appear to be L21+, although further testing needs to be done to put this group further down the haplotree.  They are also very closely related to several members of Clan Cameron who claim descent from John Cameron the 18th Clan Chief.  There is an interesting mystery developing with this group, as it is known that Clan Cameron & Clan Grant were close neighbors in the Highlands and were known to raid each others lands.

Group B: R-P312 Subgroup 1 - R-S668 Grants of Scotland & Ireland

This is another interesting subgroup within the R1b Grants of Group C.  They appear to have immigrated from the Highlands to America in the 1700's.  Three kits are very closely related to each other - 192950, 149774, & 43215, and probably descend from the same Grant immigrant to America.  The other kits are less-closely related, although they all share a likely early Grant ancestor.  M222+ used to be the Niall of the Nine Hostages signature, but new research is suggesting this SNP is in fact older than that.  It is a downstream SNP of P312.  More information can be found here: http://regarde-bien.com/scottish-m222.htm

The other Group B members, such as Group B: R-P312 Subgroup 3 

The majority of the Scottish Grants that are non-matches to the known descendants of the Clan Chiefs are overwhelmingly L21+.  L21 is a very common SNP that is downstream from P312 and is sometimes called the "Atlantic Celtic" branch of R1b.  More info on this branch as well as the others downstream of R1b can be found here:   http://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_R1b_Y-DNA.shtml.  These Grants were likely in Scotland long before the Clan was created and assumed the surname of their feudal lord at some point.  Includes a unique group of Grants who are genetic matches to the Clan Cameron Chiefs (there's an interesting story waiting to be discovered in this group's history).

Group E: R-L23 Haplogroup M269>L23>Z2103>CTS3937>M64 - Beriah Grant (b.1698)                    

This group is mostly made up of descendants of a Beriah Grant born 1698 presumably in CT.  He has several surviving family lines today, some of which are unable to connect back to Beriah yet are definite matches to those who can.  Many of these Grants have family histories in NY and NJ before moving south after the Revolutionary War to Sumter County, GA. This is a developing mystery.

Group D: R-U106 Haplogroup U106 Seton/Gordon Grants

This small group are very close matches to the well-known Seton-Gordon family that includes the Earls of Huntly.  They are currently U106+ but could possibly test further downstream.

Group I-M253+ and Group I-P109+

These groups are likely Viking descendants living in Northeast Scotland that assumed the surname of their feudal lords at some point in their history.  They make up the 2nd largest group of Scottish Grants not related to the Clan Chiefs.  More info on this DNA 

signature can be found here: http://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_I1_Y-DNA.shtml

(this is a work in progress, and your patience is appreciated!  Last updated April of 2017)