Category Archives: DNA

WHITELAW DNA: WE’RE CELTS!

Recently, my brother, John Moreland Whitelaw, Jr., had his DNA analyzed by the genetic testing company, 23 and Me. I wrote earlier about one finding  concerning our Neanderthal heritage (click here).

The three men are John Moreland Whitelaw (1911-1974), his father John Whitelaw, Jr. (1870-1961), and John Moreland Whitelaw, Jr. (1939-).   All three carry the Whitelaw y-chromosome DNA. In front is John Whitelaw Rieke, whose mother is a Whitelaw. He does not carry the y-chromosome DNA because it only passes from father to son, but, like all the Whitelaw family, he has inherited Whitelaw genes in other parts of his DNA.

The three men are John Moreland Whitelaw (1911-1974), his father John Whitelaw, Jr. (1870-1961), and John Moreland Whitelaw, Jr. (1939-). All three carry the Whitelaw Y-chromosome DNA. In front is John Whitelaw Rieke (1953-), whose mother was a Whitelaw. He does not carry the Y-chromosome DNA because it only passes from father to son, but, like all the Whitelaw family, he has inherited Whitelaw genes in other parts of his DNA. Picture taken in Portland, Oregon, 1955.

The analysis also revealed our family’s deep past through examination of John’s Y-chromosome DNA.   Y-chromosome DNA is passed down from father to son over generations. The analysis places our family in a “haplogroup,” which, according to the 23 and Me website:

“is a family of y-chromosomes that all trace back to a single mutation at a specific place and time. By looking at the geographic distribution of these related lineages, we learn how our ancient male ancestors migrated throughout the world. “

This DNA information supplements and extends the information we have from family records. In this article, I will first trace our Whitelaw family back in time using written records, and then explore how the DNA analysis allows us to go back further to place the Whitelaws in history and even pre-history.

 

Our History from Written Records

James Whitelaw, Glasgow, Scotland

James Whitelaw, Glasgow, Scotland

Our written records on the Whitelaw family extend back to James Whitelaw.  From his death certificate we know that he was born in 1784-85, in Ayrshire, Scotland, and died in 1866 in Glasgow. He was a cotton weaver by trade. He and his wife, Jane Turnbull, had two daughters and five sons, including our direct ancestor, William Whitelaw, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1856.

The written record takes us back a little further. From James Whitelaw’s death certificate we know that his father’s name was William Whitelaw. We can assume that William was born sometime around 1750, since he had a son born in 1785.

 

 

Robert Whitelaw, Portage, Wisconsin

Robert Whitelaw, Portage, Wisconsin

We can even go back a little further.   One of James’s two sons who immigrated to the U.S. was Robert Whitelaw (1819-1918), brother to our direct ancestor, William Whitelaw (1807-1887).   In a newspaper interview Robert said that he could:

“trace his ancestry to the time of the covenanters in Scotland when all but one of the four Whitelaw brothers were killed at Bothwell Bridge and the estates confiscated by the crown.” (Milestone, 1916.)

 

 

 

A banner commemorating the execution of Covenanter prisoners in Edinburgh.

A banner commemorating the execution of Covenanter prisoners in Edinburgh.

The Covenanters were Scots Presbyterians who fought the Scottish government and the English crown over religion. The Battle of Bothwell Bridge, near Glasgow, occurred in 1679. The Covenanters lost the battle to Scottish royalist forces, and many were killed or taken prisoner. If Robert Whitelaw’s memory of ancestral involvement in the Battle of Bothwell Bridge is substantially correct, we can place Whitelaw ancestors in the Ayrshire and Lanarkshire regions of Scotland as far back as the seventeenth century.

An interesting side note: one notable person in this battle was a John Whitelaw, known as the Monklands Martyr. He was taken prisoner, tried and hanged along with other Covenenters at the Grassmarket area of Edinburgh. A transcript of his trial still exists.

 

Map of Scotland. The Ayrshire-Lanarkshire region is dark blue. This area was historically called Strathclyde.

Map of Scotland. The Ayrshire-Lanarkshire region is dark blue. This area was historically called Strathclyde.

The Whitelaw surname is found mainly in the central and southern regions of Scotland and in northern England. The name means “White hill” and was probably adopted by various families who resided near a hilly area. So the name by itself does not necessarily imply a family connection, and so far I have not found a family link to the Monklands Martyr.

In summary, the written record places the Whitelaws in southwestern Scotland, in the regions of Lanarkshire and Ayrshire, from as far back as the 1600s.  This area was historically called Strathclyde, and is shown as the dark blue region on the map at right.

 

Our Scottish DNA

Map showing the major haplogroups of Europe. The red areas, which include Western Europe and the British Isles, are dominated by R1b.

Map showing the major haplogroups of Europe. The red areas, which include Western Europe and the British Isles, are dominated by R1b.

 John’s y-chromosome DNA analysis reveals the major “haplogroup” to which we belong and also a series of ever smaller sub-haplogroups created over millenia by a subsequent, intermittent process of gene mutation. At a general level, John’s DNA places us in the haplogroup R1b, the most common haplogroup in Western Europe today.   R1b had its origins in southwestern Asia and spread to Europe in pre-historic times.  Science has not yet been able to definitively determine the timing and process by which people of this haplogroup settled Europe.  (Busby, 2011).

 

 

 

 

Map showing distribution of L-21. It shows that over 60% of men in the western areas of the British Isles carry this genetic marker.

Map showing distribution of L-21. It shows that over 60% of men in the western areas of the British Isles carry this genetic marker.

The Whitelaws are also part of a smaller sub-haplogroup L21 (also known as S145 and M529), created by a series of gene mutations subsequent to the creation of R1b. This sub-group is very common in the British Isles, particularly in the western areas, including Ireland, Wales, and the west of Scotland. According to Scottish geneticists Alistair Moffat and James F. Wilson, the L21 marker:

“probably originated in southern France and northern Iberia [Spain] and people carrying it came to Ireland and western Scotland. This was not a wave of migration but a series of small movements over time, probably in the millennium between 2,500 BC and 1,500 BC.” (p. 89).

 

The combination of the written record and the DNA evidence supports the conclusion that the Whitelaw family’s origins are in Scotland. They may have arrived in the British Isles around 4,000 years before the present time. At some point they settled in the southern area of Scotland historically known as Strathclyde, probably living as small homesteaders, sheep herders, and weavers.  There we find them when the written record of their existence begins in the 17th century.

We Are Celts

Thanks to Jeff Whitelaw for sending this image of a Celtic Whitelaw hoodie.

Thanks to Jeff Whitelaw for sending this image of a Celtic Whitelaw hoodie.

The Whitelaw DNA places us squarely in the ethnic, linguistic, and cultural grouping known as Celts. According to Moffat and Wilson (p. 158), scientists have characterized the S145 marker (also known as L21) as the quintessential marker of Celtic language speakers on both sides of the Irish Sea, including Ireland, western England and Wales, and western Scotland.

Celtic people are generally thought to include members of clans and tribes who inhabited Europe in ancient times.  These people had a distinctive, highly decorative style of art, characterized by flowing, sinuous lines, and stylized animals and human faces. Their religion was Druidism. They lived as small

The Gathering of the Whitelaw Clan, Oysterville, Washington, 2006.  Everyone in the picture was descended from James (1784/5-1866) and Jane Turnbull, of Ayrshire and Glasgow, Scotland.

The Gathering of the Whitelaw Clan, Oysterville, Washington, 2006. Everyone in the picture was descended from John (1835-1913) and Mary Neill Whitelaw.  The t-shirt colors signify descent from three of their children.

homestead farmers and herders in family groups. Both men and women adorned their bodies with tattoos. They were fierce and brave warriors, but, after a long series of battles around 2,000 years ago, they were finally defeated by the Roman army’s superior organization and engineering skills. Today, Celtic traditions live on in the survival of Celtic languages in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and in popular culture, such as music, handicrafts, spirituality that connects to nature and the seasons, and Renaissance fairs.

 

 

Thanks John, for having your Whitelaw DNA analyzed.

John Whitelaw, Celt,wearing plaid and playing golf in Ireland, 2004.

References

Busby, George B.J. et al.  (2012)  The peopling of Europe and the cautionary tale of Y chromosome lineage R-M269.”  Proceedings of the Royal Society B. , 279, 884-892.  First published online 24 August 2011.

 James, Simon. (1993) The World of the Celts. London: Thames & Hudson.

Moffat, Alistair, and James F. Wilson. (2011). The Scots: A genetic journey. Edinburgh: Berlinn Limited.

“Milestone of Life: The Remarkable Vitality Shown by Robert Whitelaw”, published in 1916. No name of the newspaper on the clipping I have, but it was probably the local Portage, Wisconsin paper.)

Sykes, Bryan.  (2006)  Blood of the Isles. London:  Random House.

Wikipedia. Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA).

For More Information

Click here for a complete copy of:  The Life of John Whitelaw (1835-1913), A Documentary Biography with an Appendix of Whitelaw Family Documents, by Susan Love Whitelaw, 2006.

Click here for a complete copy of:  The Life of Mary Neill Whitelaw (1840-1925), A Documentary Biography with an Appendix of Neill Family Documents, by Susan Love Whitelaw, 2004.  Note:  Mary does not carry the Whitelaw DNA, but was married to John Whitelaw and is an ancestor of many Whitelaws living today.

 

 

WE ARE ALL NEANDERTHALS

Recently my brother John had his genome analyzed by 23 and Me, a commercial laboratory for family genetic research. The results showed that about three percent of his genetic inheritance, and by extension that of my sister and me, comes from Neanderthal ancestors. We had heard that new evidence from the quickly developing field of human genetics suggested that non-African populations often had an admixture of Neanderthal blood, and we wondered if our own Whitelaw line could claim this heritage. Our three percent puts us in the mainstream; it now appears that most European and Asian people have between one and five percent Neanderthal inheritance.

A Neanderthal Man, about 70,000 BC; John Whitelaw, 2007 AD

A Neanderthal Man, about 70,000 BC; John Whitelaw, 2007 AD

Learning that I was biologically connected to Neanderthals made me want to learn more about them, and how their history is intertwined with that of modern humans. It is likely that Neanderthals evolved in the Near East, after their ancestors left Africa, so people of African descent do not have any Neanderthal inheritance.   Fully evolved Neanderthals populated Europe starting in about 200,000 BC.

About sixty thousand years ago, a small band of African humans also left Africa, following the footsteps of their very distant forbears. When they reached the Levant (modern day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.), about 40,000 years ago, they encountered Neanderthals. Until recently, it was thought that sexual unions of Neanderthals and modern humans, if they had even happened, would not produce offspring. However, now both the human genome and the Neanderthal genome have been mapped, so comparisons are possible. And the evidence suggests that Neanderthals and modern humans created descendants who exist to this day – us!
cavemen-painting
We know from fossils that Neanderthals looked somewhat different from modern humans. They were well adapted to conditions of the ice age, with their internal organs protected from the cold by their heavily muscled torsos and short limbs. They lived around the edges of forests, where they hunted large game animals such as deer, horse, and large, wild cattle. They made spears with stone points, that were probably too heavy and clumsy to throw. Scientists believe that they waited in ambush for animals to pass close by, and then attacked them with spear thrusts. This was a dangerous business. Neanderthal fossil bones show many fractures and other injuries; interestingly, they are similar to the types of injuries suffered by modern rodeo cowboys, who also have frequent close encounters with wild animals.

Reconstruction of Neanderthal Woman, National Geographic.

Reconstruction of Neanderthal Woman, National Geographic.

This direct, brutal hunting method does not mean that Neanderthals were unintelligent savages. In fact, their brains were 20 percent larger than modern humans, and their skulls were anatomically similar. The areas of the brain responsible for complex thought were just as advanced as ours.   The construction of the Neanderthal’s throat suggests that they had the anatomical equipment for speech, and thus probably communicated with language. From archaeological evidence, we know that they produced art in the form of painted shells. They carefully buried their dead, suggesting that they formed close human bonds. They built shelters of large animal bones for protection from the cold; they had fire; they sewed clothes from animal skins. Studies of fossils shows that they tended those who had been injured. In other words, they thought and acted much like our homo sapiens ancestors did in the Stone Age.

A Neanderthal clan about 40,000 BC; The Whitelaw clan on the Isle of Islay, Scotland, 2007 AD.  From left to right:  Susan, Carol, Jan, Nancy, John.

A Neanderthal clan about 40,000 BC; The Whitelaw clan on the Isle of Islay, Scotland, 2007 AD. From left to right: Susan, Carol, Jan, Nancy, John.

Neanderthals disappear from the fossil record about 30,000 years ago. Why, with their bodies well adapted to ice age conditions, and their cognitive and social strengths, did the Neanderthals become extinct? This is a question that is currently engaging much scholarly debate. An older theory looks to the coincidence that Neanderthals disappeared about the same time that modern humans first appeared in Europe. The implication is that modern humans, who were presumably smarter and more advanced, overcame them in the struggle for survival, either by genocide or by taking over their hunting ranges.

More recently, scientists have been considering the effects of changes in climate. About 40,000 years ago, the earth underwent a series of rapid climate changes, which had the overall effect of reducing the wooded forests which had been the home of Neanderthals and increasing vast expanses of open grasslands. The Neanderthal strategy of ambushing game was less successful in open fields, and so their numbers dwindled as they retreated to the shrinking forest areas. Some scientists think that they never encountered the newly arrived modern humans at all, since populations were small and Europe was vast.

Scientific research is ongoing, and is sure to provide more fascinating discoveries about our Neanderthal inheritance, including perhaps the Neanderthal influence on our susceptibility to various diseases.

References

BBC. Neanderthal.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/neanderthal_prog_summary.shtml

Edwards, Owen. Smithsonian Magazine, March, 2010. The Skeletons of Shalimar Cave.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-skeletons-of-shanidar-cave-7028477/?all

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Homo Neanderthalensis
http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-neanderthalensis

Vergano, Dan. National Geographic. April 22, 2014. Neanderthals lived in small isolated communities, Gene analysis shows.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140421-neanderthal-dna-genes-human-ancestry-science/

Zimmer, Carl. PBS, Nova Science Now. Sept. 20, 2012. Are Neandethals Human?
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/are-neanderthals-human.html