Our genes today connect families whose descendants have emigrated around the world. Comparing Y-chromosome markers can clarify and corroborate traditional genealogy. Every male receives his Y-chromosome virtually unchanged from his biological father. While males who are closely related in their fathers’ lines generally have identical Y-chromosome “markers,” because of random mutations Y-DNA does occasionally change very slightly. Distant relations are more likely to have additional genetic variations. These slight variations make Y-DNA extremely useful in genealogical studies of surname groups.

“Pettigrew” is considered to be an essentially Scottish surname from the area around Glasgow. “Petticrew” is a common variation. Beginning in the mid-seventeenth century members of several different Pettigrew and Petticrew families migrated from Scotland, England, and Ireland and dispersed throughout North America and other locations. Over time the various branches moved to overlapping geographic regions. For many decades descendants speculated about their specific ancestral lines, but censuses, wills, pension applications, family Bibles and letters, land records, and other tools of traditional genealogy proved insufficient to differentiate clearly among these branches. In 2002 Pettigrew family members began to collect Y-DNA samples in the hope that DNA analysis might add insight to their pedigrees as derived from traditional genealogy research. 

Several men with totally different surnames were surprised to discover they are genetic Pettigrews. While it is possible that independent random mutations may have brought this about, causing the participant merely to appear close to the Pettigrew/Petticrew cluster, the probability of that happening is low. It is more likely that at least some of these different lines shared a common ancestor about the time of the English Renaissance. Either way, we welcome you to the project.

While the initial motivation of many participants may have been to learn more about their own individual pedigrees, a second major purpose quickly developed, that is, to clarify and corroborate relationships between family branches. FTDNA’s “Advanced Matching” feature has led to the discovery of many near-matches between the members of the previously separate Pettigrew and Petticrew Y-DNA Surname Projects. Upon request, in May 2012 FTDNA management reviewed the two projects and approved their merger based on genetic similarities and the overlap in the history of the surnames. Most of the Pettigrew and Petticrew descendants who have participated in Y-DNA testing have very similar Y-DNA, indicating a high probability they shared a common ancestor several hundred years ago, prior to emigration from Europe. Men in the British Isles who participate in Y-DNA testing can greatly aid descendants of emigrants who are seeking to pinpoint their origins. At the same time, they might learn where elusive emigrants of their family line settled in North America and elsewhere.