Don Anderson, who is an adoptee from Oregon, has released a book which is a must read for all adoptees wishing to uncover the identities of their birth parents. Its also a must read for anyone contemplating using their DNA to explore their origins! He describes in detail the clever use of both traditional papertrail genealogy and more modern commercial ancestral DNA testing to uncover a fascinating family history. Within a few years Don went form knowing absolutely nothing about his origins, to (in the case of his paternal line), linking the area identified by his paternal DNA with that of his earliest known paternal ancestor, something which only a handful of people have achieved, and which is now the ultimate challenge of modern genealogy! His book 'Paper and Spit'  is available for purchase from Amazon click here.

I recently met Don at the begining of his tour of the places associated with his ancestors (pictured). Back in 2014 when Don first contacted me for a free consultation I was still working on my Irish and Scottish maps (now fully completed here and here). Don had a very distinct set of genetic surname matches and using the limited resources available back then, I was successful in pinpointing an origin for his paternal ancestor within Southwest Scotland an estimated 1,000 years ago. The Scottish link came as a complete shock to Don, as he believed that his paternal ancestors were Irish. In truth, it can be difficult to distinguish between the Scots and Irish (there's a lot of shared ancestry) and it turns out that Don carries an paternal Y-DNA marker common within both Scotland and Ireland; a true 'Scots-Irish' DNA marker. 

BUT the story does not end there, as more and more people have participated in commercial ancestral Y-DNA testing, more and more matches have appeared in Don's results, and they have revealed a more recent location within Scotland  associated with his paternal ancestors. Recent DNA matches have revealed that Don’s paternal ancestor migrated from the Scottish Lowlands into the Scottish Highlands where he adopted a (new) distinctly 'Highlander' surname! But why his paternal ancestor migrated, and why his ancestor changed his surname remains a mystery (I'm sure there will be a part II to Don's story). Don Anderson’s fully updated Y-DNA Case Study can be downloaded and studied by CLICKING HERE.

As always, if you would like a FREE CONSULTATION on your commercial ancestral DNA results (Y-DNA, autosomal, or mtDNA) then contact me by clicking here. Or if you want to find out about a suitable DNA test for you the then click here to contact me. What will YOUR DNA reveal and where will your DNA journey take YOU?

Remember folks, your DNA test results are generated in a scientific lab, using complex scientific equipment and trained scientists. Interpretation of your scientific results should always be left to a professional scientist. ALWAYS CHECK THAT YOUR GENETIC GENEALOGIST HAS A SCIENTIFIC QUALIFICATION! IT WILL SAVE YOU BOTH TIME AND MONEY!

Author; Dr. Tyrone Bowes, Updated November 2017