Clan MacGregor DNA Comparison

In order to further test the family legend of one of our Wright ancestors having been the leader of Clan MacGregor in Scotland, I compared the Y-DNA results of the three Gabriel Wright descendants who have tested to date with the two official DNA modal signatures of the Clan Gregor Society of Scotland I recently found at Family Tree DNA (http://www.familytreedna.com/public/macgregor,macgregor,macgregor/default.aspx?section=news). As I suspected was likely the case, in another apparent nail in the coffin of the family legend, the DNA test results of the three Gabriel Wright descendants are dramatically different from both of the official Clan MacGregor signatures, with a difference of twelve markers out of thirty-seven for my uncle’s test (kit number 280291) against each of the official signatures. Attached below is a screenshot of the comparisons.

Based on this comparison, along with the several matches (http://www.danstone.info/wrightdna.htm) of the three test participants to men having the Wright surname (including at least two who trace their Wright lineages back to Long Island, New York, in the latter half of the 1600s), it seems very unlikely that the family legend is accurate. This still leaves the question of where did Gabriel Wright originate from, however, and I’m hoping that the Wright descendant DNA testing I’m continuing to seek participants for may soon provide an answer.

Gabriel Wright (Maternal 6th Great Grandfather)

The upgraded DNA results I received yesterday for my uncle in the Wright line have proven to be quite a revelation. For quite some time, I have believed that our Wright line is descended from Gabriel Wright (died 20 June 1803 in Ross County, Ohio). This is based on the work of other researchers, historical records, and biographies of Gabriel contained in a few books. One of the books (Four Revolutionary soldiers and their descendants : Alexander Sleeth, Gabriel Wright, David Smith, John Hacker by Eloise M. Roberts) relates a family legend about Gabriel being descended from a Scottish clan leader with the surname of MacGregor, and coming to America to live under the disguise of a new surname of Wright.

As I learned more about Gabriel during the course of my research, I began to doubt the accuracy of the Scottish clan story, but I still thought it likely that the family originated in Scotland or Wales. These new DNA test results have turned that belief on it’s head. It turns out my uncle very closely matches (35 and 36 of 37 markers) several Wrights who are descended from Wright ancestors that were located in Flushing, Queens, New York City around the late 1600s. This will necessitate a full review of our lineage going back to Gabriel. Either Gabriel was not from Scotland/Wales. as I had thought, or somewhere in the line I have the wrong father/son combination.