28/03/2020 - Fleming ancestry DNA analysis

During 2019 I started to analyse DNA links to see what light they could shed on my paternal ancestry – the Fleming line. My siblings and I submitted DNA samples for analysis by laboratories that focus on genealogical research; four DNA tests altogether:

• 2019 – MtDNA test through Family Tree DNA;
• 2019 – yDNA test on 700 locations through Family Tree DNA;
• Years ago – yDNA test on 44 locations; and
• 2019 – Autosomal DNA test through Ancestry.com.

The point of analysing DNA matches is to look for clues that may help in finding a common ancestor. So, for each match, I compared their earliest known ancestor (EKA) to ours. Our Fleming ancestry in Scotland is as follows:

• Charles Taylor Fleming b 1878 Glasgow d 1937 Australia
• Charles Fleming b 1854 Coatbridge, Lanark d 1928 New Zealand
• Angus Fleming b 1883 Cambuslang, Lanark d circa 1882 Scotland
• Angus Fleming b 1800 Cambuslang, Lanark d 1837 Cambuslang, Lanark
• James Fleming b 1761 Stonehouse, Lanark
• Robert Fleming who married Janet Hamilton at Avondale on 7 Apr 1752

So, our earliest known Fleming ancestor is Robert Fleming of Stonehouse Lanark who was probably born there around 1720-25. Unfortunately, most of the baptism records for this area name the father but not the mother, which makes conclusions difficult. Also, there were a LOT of Flemings in this district; at least 300 were recorded there on the 1841 census.

I have contacted numerous people whose DNA sample has matched one of ours. While some ancestral links were identified (and summarized in a chart in my report below), there is still further work needed to identify a common ancestor between our line and any of the matches. Hopefully, the circulation of my report will lead to that further work and, eventually, a breakthrough or two!

Click below to access a copy of my research report:

• Fleming ancestry DNA analysis – (research report)