CONTENTS 1. Study Participants 2. Genetic Families using the Irwin Surname (or variants thereof) 3. Comments on individual gentic families, including Border Irwin L555 haplotree LATEST UPDATE OF ANALYSIS OF TEST RESULTS (No. 30 May 2021)
The following analysis is of the Latest Main Results Table as of end April 2021. This analysis will be next updated in November 2021.
1. STUDY PARTICIPANTS Our Study includes participants from the Erwin, Genographic and Irish Heritage projects, and participants with other surnames who appear to be close genetic matches. It also includes a few participants with yDNA test results obtained from companies other than FTDNA. As of end April 2021 the CL:na Irwin Surname DNA Study has 564 participants with yDNA test results. This total is less than the 619 "Members" of the Irwin Clan Surname Project advertised by FTDNA as the latter figure includes kits that have not been returned, kits undergoing initial analysis, and some participants who have taken atDNA or mtDNA tests but no yDNA test!
Details of participants’ year of joining and country of residence are:
To place these figures in context, our participants represent about 0.16% of all Irwins alive today (or about 0.3% of all Irwin men); and while at least 86% of our participants reside in the New World, only 82% of the total population of Irwins etc. live there (see section 2 and Appendices A and B of the accompanying Supplementary Paper No.1 ("Towards Improvement ...."), and Supplementary Paper No.2 ("Surname Statistics").
Participants have volunteered the name, date of birth and place of origin of their earliest confirmed paternal ancestor:
The “Other” spellings are participants with surnames unlike Irwin but whose DNA indicates their ancestors were genetically related to an Irwin genetic family (see below).
Some participants have given more specific details about their earliest confirmed paternal ancestor, or where their ancestors first settled after migrating, from which the following was derived in 2016:
These distributions can be interpreted as representative of a general trend of migration from the Scottish Borders to Ulster in the 17th century and migration from Ulster to Eastern America in the 18th century.
No. of STR markers tested:
i.e. 95% of participants have tested to 37 markers or more. Analysis to 37 markers has proved the most popular and cost effective. Lower resolution tests, i.e. with less than 37 markers, have been found to be inadequate for most participants. The 67-marker and 111-marker tests have yielded little additional benefits, and the new Panels 6 and 7 (markers 112-838) which now accompanies the BigY tests also have little value.
Upgrading to 37 markers is recommended for all participants with less than 37 markers. Upgrading to 67 or 111 markers is not recommended without prior consultation with the Study Administrator. For members of our Borders genetic family (see below) who have not taken a BigY test, the new BigY700 test (or the cheaper L555 SNP Pack test) would be a much better investment. 77 (13%) have BigY test results, of which 65 (11.5%) are BigY700. A further 65 (11.5%) have SNP panel test results. 56% of Border Irwins can now be placed on the L555 haplotree (see section 3.1 below).
2. GENETIC FAMILIES (aka SURNAME BRANCHES) USING THE IRWIN SURNAME (or variants thereof) At end April 2020, SNP tests and FTDNA's predictions based on STR data show the 564 participants to be members of the following haplogroups:
However of more significance, on the basis of STR data it has been possible to identify 45 genetic families using our surname that are apparently unrelated to each other during the surname era (i.e. roughly the last millennium):
*: SNPs are introduced in "Interpreting yDNA Test Results", section 3. All but 7 of these genetic families have representatives living in North America today. Although these genetic families are unrelated during the surname era, all men are descended from a "genetic Adam", and the enormous haplotree of all his descendants, continuously evolving, can be simplified to show only how these Clan Irwin genetic families are related to one another, thus:  The short "codes" in red and green shown in this table represent the genetic families (aka Sunrame branches) indicated by similar codes in the Summary table immediately above and in our Main Results Table. The dates and the Surname/Pre-surname threshold on the right only relate to the L555 ancestral line and are only indicative (experts differ on the exact dates). The purpose of this figure is not an exercise in "deep ancestry", but simply to show that the 45 Irwin genetic families are not related to one another within the surname era. 3. COMMENTS ON INDIVIDUAL GENETIC FAMILIES 3.1 Borders genetic family. This is thought to be the largest such families in all the DNA surname studies. It includes nearly two thirds of all our participants. All of the Study participants included in this family share a single paternal ancestor whose identity is unknown but who apparently lived in the Scottish Borders, probably Dumfriesshire, during the 14th century. Although few genealogical records survive from this period, we know he lived there because a few participants in this genetic family are still living in Dumfriesshire today. We know roughly when he lived from the absence of hereditary surnames of amongst low-ranking Scots in the 13th century and some contemporary records of Irvings in Dumfriesshire in the 14th century. Many of the Study participants living in USA and who were previously unsure of their distant paternal ancestry are gratified this link to the Scottish Borders has now been established. Most of these American participants are probably “Scots-Irish”, i.e. they had an ancestor who migrated from Dumfriesshire to Ulster, typically in the 17th century, and a later ancestor who migrated from Ireland to USA, typically the eastern seaboard states from Pennsylvania to the Carolinas, and typically in the 18th or 19th centuries. Both these migrations were probably for reasons that were primarily economic, although some migrations to Ulster may have been by Border reivers fleeing the courts, and some migrations from Ulster may have been by Presbyterians seeking less discrimination. Several participants using surnames unlike Irwin are included in this genetic family as they evidently share this common ancestry, and so are NPE's (see sections 2.6 and 2.7 of Interpreting yDNA Test Results); Armstrong, Elliot, Graham, Johnston and Little are common Borders surnames, while Byers was a common name in Annan. Errand is probably not a name change but a different surname. The Cahill, Hamblen and Hutchinson participants know their relevant recent ancestry included such events. However all participants with a surname unlike Irwin but whose STR signature matches than of the Border Irwins should take a L555 test (single or Pack Test) if they have not already done so, to confirm they are NPE's rather than False Positives. In early 2011 a tentative division of most of the participants in the Borders genetic family into 14 sub-groups was attempted using cladograms and FTDNA's TiP tool. The modal DNA signatures of these sub-group were denoted thus: BA (modal), BB (Bonshaw), BD (Dumfries), BE (Eskdale), B9, B10, B15, B16, B17, B23, B29 and BX (for the "left overs"). The background to these sub-divisions was addressed in Supplementary Paper No.3 ("Identifying Sub-groups ...."). This tentative division of our large Borders genetic family into these sub-groups represented a significant development at the time and served well for five years, even though it placed some known close cousins in different sub-groups. With the arrival of BigY tests in 2015 we initially got one such test for each sub-group. This development did not it itself confirm or disprove the reliability of these sub-groupings, but with the advent of the cheaper SNP Pack tests in spring 2016 it became apparent that most of these tentative sub-groupings were incompatible with the new and much more reliable SNP test results (see below). The test results for the Border Irwins in the Main results table are thus now split into two categories: B(1), for those Border Irwins who can now be placed on the L555 haplotree, and B(2), for the remainder. Participants in B(2) can "graduate" to B(1) and be placed on the L555 haplotree by taking a L555 Pack test or, preferably, a BigY test (now down to $379 in FTDNA's periodic Sales. Thanks to the investments of an increasing number of L555 participants in BigY tests and Pack tests, and more recently in the BigY700 test, the L555 section of the Clan Irwin haplotree above can now be expanded downstream into what I have called a Genetic Family Tree, thus:  Click here for the more legible Excel version. If desired, this can be printed on a legible scale on five portrait sheets of A4/letter-size paper, and if the narrow left-hand margins of sheets 2 and 3 are trimmed then the three sheets can be selotaped together. If you can't get a format that suits you please e-mail the Administrator! Note that this genetic family tree is essentially the same as the haplotree presented in the B(1) section of the Main Results Table, but turned through 90 degrees and with the participants sequenced in a different order: in the Main Results Table the participants are sequenced as per the FTDNA haplotree; in the L555 haplotree above some have been resequenced to improve the clarity, showing of the non-Irwin branches of L555 on the left and the Bonshaw SNPs on the right. The column numbering in blue across the L555 haplotree are inserted in column "R" of the Main Results Table. The upper left portion of this haplotree shows the context of the L555 SNP. The upper/middle right portion shows how the haplotree mirrors the early genealogy of the Bonshaw branch. The histogram shown bottom left quantifies the randomness of "young" / "downstream" SNPs , and shows why precise dating of these SNPs is so difficult. The box bottom centre summarises specific conclusions that can be drawn for this data. The box bottom rights summaries the data included in the tree. The bottom third of this table attaches some participants who have been added to relevant branches of the haplotree on the basis of STR predictions, Family Finder tests or previously known genealogical relationships, meaning that the expanded haplotree, which I have called a genetic family tree, now includes 56% of all the 368 participants who are tested or predicted to be L555 positive and can be placed on this tree. An abbreviated genealogy/pedigree of the Bonshaw, Castle Irvine and Killadeas lines is included on the right. The "triangulations" of the SNP data for the representatives of the Bonshaw, Castle Irvine, Killadeas and other lines shown in bold font show the clear correlation between their pedigree and their relevant SNPs in the haplotree. Very few other surname projects have been able to achieve such genetic confirmation of traditional pedigrees. Alas the available pedigrees of other descendants of Border Irwins shown on this haplotree do not extend back far enough in time to enable them to be connected with the contemporary 14th-17th century records of the other Border Irwin branches that have been identified in Chapter 16.2 of The Irwin Surname: its Origins, Diaspora and Early Branches. Please note that details in this haplotree are liable to change as furhter tees results become available and intgerpretation and presentation are improved. However already many interesting and
important points emerge that relate to the Border Irwins:
3.2 Aberdeenshire participants are members of the senior line of Drum. One of the prime objectives of this Study has been to test the tradition recorded by Dr.Christopher Irvin in c.1680 that William de Irwyn, to whom Robert the Bruce gave the forest of Drum in 1323, was a son of Bonshaw. At face value these DNA results now imply the present senior male representatives of the Bonshaw and Drum lines do not share a common male ancestor. Expressed another way, these results mean that either:
3.3 Fourteen participants claiming descent from ‘Orkney’ ancestors apparently represent two genetic families having different paternal ancestries. A possible relationship between these two lines is shown in slide 36 of Supplementary Paper No. 9. Contrary to tradition, it is now clear that neither of these two lines is descended from either Bonshaw or Drum. This in turn means that the American author Washington Irving (1783-1859) is not a descendant of Drum. 3.4 Shetland now has three small genetic families genetically unrelated to one another, or to Orkney or other genetic families. However despite the excellent genealogy Shetlands now have access to (www.bayanne.co.uk/Genealogy), no genealogical links have yet been identified. 3.5 Four participants whose DNA signatures confirm they are distant cousins from a ‘Perthshire’ genetic family. It is still unclear whether this family is an NPE or adopted their name from a laird, perhaps the laird of Drum. 3.6 One participant whose ancestors came from 'Forfarshire'. As with the Perthshire name, the origins of this family are unclear. 3.7 The Newton family is another branch of the family whose origins are unclear. 3.8 NPEs. Although participants in the 16 small NPE genetic families (Beattie, Bell, Carruthers, Dodd, Elliot (2), Fleming, Graham, Johnston, Kerr, Kincaid, Latimer, Little, MacFarland, Napier, Todd) today all use the surname Ervin/Irvin/Irvine/Irving/Irwin, their DNA tests show they share a common ancestor with many in the Borders clans of these surnames, implying a NPE in their ancestral lines, probably in the 13th-17th centuries. To quote the Borders Reivers website: “The intermingling of peoples along the Anglo-Scottish border produced a tough, hybrid culture claiming many lines of descent. It is unlikely that all the members of any Border family were descended from the same ancestor. The pervasive social upheaval increased the chances that men sired by members of one clan might be born or raised under the surname of another. So did the matrimonial customs of Border families, which encouraged trial marriages and allowed wives to keep their maiden names. Moreover, the clans themselves were political entities as much as families, and many men adopted the surnames of other clans to obtain their protection and a franchise on their power. There is [also] particular uncertainty in the case of the Scotch-Irish, as much of their genealogy was lost or scrambled when they were forced to resettle in Ulster.” 3.9 Eleven other small genetic families have been identified (UE, UI, UJ, U4, U5, U6, U7, U8, U9, U10 (formerly Nixon) and U11) but their origins are still Unknown; most are probably Scots or Scots-Irish; some may be recent NPEs. One of these families, U4, now has two BigY700 testers and I have been able to construct a mini-haplotree for these two men. 3.10 Uniquely to this Study the small Ireland - Drumcarney genetic family share the R1a haplogroup, but do not match any other surname that has tested with FTDNA. They are probably a Scots-Irish family. 3.11 The 'Ireland - ?Leinster' genetic family share a common ancestor whose haplogroup 'I1a' is quite different to other participants. The origin of this group may be the gaelic family O'Hirewen from Leinster in Ireland, that was later anglicised to Irwin, but further evidence is needed to substantiate this possibility. 3.12 The small ‘Ireland - Munster’ genetic family, formerly thought to be three separate genetic families, share the same SNPs and so are now regarded as a single family. The paternal ancestors of one member, Terrance Irwin, came from Co. Limerick and their gaelic surname O’Ciarmhachain was anglicised to Irwin. His excellent story at https://www.irwin-ociarmacain.com/surname-irwin is a "must read" for all members of this branch of our surname. It is clear this family never had Scottish connections, but in contrast have a proud celtic history. https://mccarthydna.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/ailill-olom-progeny-alignment-2020-10-19.pdf
may also be of interest, especially pp21, 42 and the bottom left corner of figure 4b. Members of this genetic family are recommended to join the Munster Irish DNA Project (http://www.familytreedna.com/public/MunsterIrish/ ). 3.13 Two small 'Ireland - Roscommon' genetic families have been identified. The Roscommon - Rathmoyle family includes the senior representative of this line, which was settled there in 1584, i.e. before the "Plantation" of the early 17th century. Their DNA suggests the line is a NPE of the Rutledge family, a Borders surname. The Roscommon - Roundfort family is also apparently a NPE of the native Leinster family of Reilly. 3.14 The small ‘Germany/Netherlands’ genetic family share a common ancestor who evidently had the surname Arwine or Arnwine and migrated from Germany or the Netherlands (see www.jowest.net/Genealogy/John/Arnwine/Arnwine.htm). Subsequently, perhaps in the 18th century in New Jersey or SE Pennsylvania, it seems the name became confused with unrelated neighbours named Erwin. It seems likely none of these participants ever had Scottish connections. We also have what appears to be a NPE of this branch. 3.15 An 'Africa' genetic family is represented by an African-american whose ancestors were slaves, and probably took their surname from their slave-master. 3.16 About 7% of the participants are classified as Singletons until a closely matching participant joins the study. Some of these Singletons may turn out to be recent NPEs. NB Not included in these statistics are several individuals, known as False Positives, participants whose surname does not sound like Irwin but who have a genetic distance of 4/37 or less and who have tested, or are expected to be, L555-. Such “matches” can probably be attributed to "convergence" of random mutations, and are unlikely to have a genealogical relationship with any Irwin etc. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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