Welcome to the Grant DNA Project homepage! This project was initiated in Spring 2004 as a means of helping to uncover the various Grant genetic lines that make up the overall Clan Grant. It should be noted that this project has no official association with the worldwide Clan Grant Societies.

It is the hope of the administrators and contributors to this project that we will unlock not only the secrets of our individual family lines, but also that our shared data may help to uncover the true history of Clan Grant, a history that has been distorted and suppressed for over a century.

How It Works

The project data is based on testing "alleles" from certain "loci" on the Y-Chromosome (called Y-STR values, for Short Tandem Repeats - a recurring pattern at that position). The Y-STR "count" at each position is displayed as a number. These allele numbers are rendered for anywhere from 12, to 25, to 37 different loci positions on the Y-Chromosme that have been determined to have very low mutation probabilities, meaning that these values will be passed on along a given biological line with relatively few if any mutations for thousands of years.

The Grant DNA Project has chosen Family Tree DNA, a company out of Houston, TX, and the leader in the genealogy DNA field, as the host company for our project. Information on joining the Grant DNA Project can be found here at Family Tree DNA.

When you join the project, Family Tree DNA will send you a testing kit. NO BLOOD is involved. The kit consists of a couple of "cheek scrapers" which you rub around inside your mouth a few minutes to collect cells. Two vials of preservative solution are included with the kit. You pop off the ends of the cheek scrapers into the vials of solution and then mail the vials (in a self-addressed envelope included with your kit) back to Family Tree DNA's laboratories at the University of Arizona. Results from the testing take about 6 to 8 weeks.

Family Tree DNA offers testing of 12, 25 or 37 markers on the Y-Chromosome. Each test is priced differently, with 37 being the most expensive. However, 12 markers offers little to go on, especially for refining matches, and we recommend you choose the 25 marker test. 37 markers is the best, and we highly recommend you choose this test if you can afford it.

Some existing members initially expressed privacy concerns about having their DNA taken. All concerns about privacy of the information gathered can be found here at Family Tree DNA's own site. Bottom line, if you are that concerned about privacy, contact the Project Administrators and we may be able to address your concerns. We feel the benefits of the information and the project far outweigh concerns one would have about privacy. But YOUR PARTICIPATION IS UP TO YOU.

Also, because only males have a Y-Chromosome, the participation in the project is limited to males of the Grant surname only. While the project supports Mitochondiral DNA (mtDNA) values, which are passed from mother to child (male or female), this data is not the primary focus of the Grant DNA project.

The Septs

Over the years, many surnames have come to be associated with that of Grant. Such traditions have probably arisen from individual families with these names living in Grant territory during clan times. However it is clear that some such names (eg Cairns, Bisset, Suttie) are those of respectable families independent in their own right from very early times. It must be made clear, therefore, that having such a name does NOT, by itself, imply any connection with the Clan Grant at all.  The matter is dealt with in detail in an announcement from our Chief, Lord Strathspey, published in Standfast and Craigellachie (Summer 2005 issues).

To accommodate the descendants of Grant-territory-based families referred to above, to assist clarification of individuals' backgrounds and in the spirit of inclusion, the Grant DNA project is also open, nevertheless, to those with the following surnames:

While you do NOT need to be a Society member to be a part of this project, any other member of any of the Clan Grant Societies is also welcome to participate with us.

Below is a link to a website authored by Donald Cameron Grant Gill which includes a substantial section devoted to the Grant of Strathspey from William Grant 1733 to Cheeryble Grants and today:  http://www.gillfamily.co.za

Contact the Project Administrators: Jon Grant and Allen Grant.