Durham Soldiers DNA Project

On Sunday I had the opportunity to attend a talk about the Scottish soldiers who were captured at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650. These soldiers were force marched down to Durham Cathedral. Several hundred died in captivity. Those that survived were shipped to the Colonies - the first lot were shipped to Boston. Later groups were sent to Boston, the Virginia plantations or to Barbados. 

The group Scottish Prisoners of War are working to re-unite the descendants of these soldiers in the US with their Scottish families in Scotland. There are large numbers of people in the US database, but the DNA project is looking for more Scottish people to join by having a yDNA test done and then, hopefully, being matched up with their American family members. 

To this point, there are 75 surnames of potential prisoners. These are the surnames of descendants who have contacted the project and are looking to connect with their Scottish heritage. It is not, as yet, a comprehensive list of soldiers: 

Abernethy
Adams
Anderson
Andrews
Bean
Blacke
Bow
Brown
Bruce
Calhoun/Colquhoun
Clark
Cleghorn
Coehon/Cowan/Cahoon
Cone
Cooper
Cragon
Cragon/Craggen
Daniels
Darling
Doughty/Dowty
Dunbar
Eager
Edminsteire
Fassett (M'Pherson)
Ferguson
Findley
Forbes
Fresell/Frizzell/Fressell
Furbish
Gibbs
Gowen
Grant (from Inverness area)
Gray
Hamilton
Hanoman
Henderson
Hume/Holmes
Jackson
Mackane/McKenney
Mackholme
Magoon/MacGowan/MacGown/MacGoun
Maxcy
Maxwell
McAlister
McCall
McCone/McCoon/Maccount/McEntire/McIntyre
McIntosh
McLachlan
McPherson
McRorie
Monroe/Monrow
Moody
Moore
Neale
Pattison/Pattinson/Paterson
Rankin
Ranney
Robinson/Robins
Ross
Sinclair/Sinkler
Sterling
Stewart
Taylor
Thomson/Thompson
Toish/Tosh
Upton
Valentine
Warren
Watler
Webster
Woodell/Wattles
Wyer

If you are Scottish and have one of the surnames listed above, the Scottish Prisoner of War DNA Project wants to hear from you! You can contact them at: SPOWS@scottishprisonersofwar.com