The History of the Ryburns     -:  THE RYBURN DNA PROJECT  :-

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Roger Ryburn, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Glenn Ryburn, a descendant of Diana Powell's Kintyre-born ancestor Mathew Ryburn, Eric Ryburn, of Alvin, Texas, and myself have all joined the Raeburn/Rayburn R165 DNA Project and obtained 37-marker Y-DNA test results. These Y markers, which follow the male line of descent, are changed only by sporadic mutations.  They allow probability estimates of a common ancestor within n generations. Roger's 12-marker results exactly match Glenn and Eric's, but all are at a genetic distance of one from me.  The 25-marker results have Roger exactly matching Eric, and me distanced one from Roger and Eric, and at least three from Glenn. The 37-marker level has everyone at a distance of four from each other.  In each case, the 37-marker results yeild a probability of only 26-28% of a shared ancestor within 10 generations, assuming no common ancestors within six generations. These results are not as definitive as we would have liked, but they do indicate a high probability of a common ancestor going back some further generations.  Mutations can occur at a higher rate than average, so the connections can be closer than the probabilities suggest.  There are no matches with any Raeburn/Rayburn participants who are not spelt 'Ryburn'. The hypothesis for Roger and me has Roger's last Kintyre ancestors as John Ryburn and Ann Langwill, 9 generations ago.  Our earliest possible common ancestors were 10 generations back (but only 7 generations back for me) -- that is, Mathew and Elizabeth Ryburn, my probable great x 5 grand parents.  More likely connections, though, are a generation or two            My Recent Ancestral Origins Results before that.  It now seems we may need to go back even further, but accurate records peter out this long ago.  Glenn's (and Diana Powell's) earliest known Kintyre ancestors were Mathew Ryburn and Mary Galbreath, who married in 1747.  The common ancestor between Roger and Glenn Ryburn is likely to have been at least 9 generations ago, and between me and Glenn a generation or two before that.  We originally though Eric would join Roger less far back, possibly at the early Pennsylvania Ryburns, or one generation before that, but that scenario seems less likely now. One surprise that has emerged from all our DNA tests is the strength of the Irish matches in the 'Recent Ancestral Origins' results.  There are three times as many Irish matches as there are Scots.  This I had not expected, and it raises the possibility that many of the Ryburns who joined the Duke of Argyll's Kintyre Plantation Scheme in the 17th century may  have come from Ireland rather than Scotland.  The John Ryburn that fled to Ireland from Ayrshire after being declared an outlaw in 1603 may have left an Irish legacy!  On the other hand, there may have been other Ryburns who joined the protestant plantations in Ireland in even earlier times.  This may explain the Patrick Ryburns that crop up from time to time, and also the origins of people like Edward Ryburn of Kilwhipnach farm in Kintyre, who seemed to spring from nowhere. However, the dominance of the Irish influece appears to require that the ancestors of the early Ayrshire Ryburns were in fact Irish. At present we only have four sets of DNA results at the Y37 maker level, and that is insufficient to build a convincing picture of ancestral connections.  What we need now are some more Ryburn volunteers that are on a direct male line of descent.  In particular, we need male volunteers from both the US and NZ lines, in order to estimate the chronology of common ancestry.  In New Zealand we need one or two volunteers from the James Ryburn side, and one more from Robert McNair Ryburn's side would no go astray either.  In the USA we need male volunteers who directly descend from Diana Powells ancestor, Mathew Ryburn, but other male Ryburns are also welcome. A few results from the descendents of Thomas and David Ryburn. Illinois, would be useful to determine if they are really Ryburns, rather than 'Reyburns', and if a common ancestor existed.  Are there any descendants in Canada from Kintyre-born Andrew and Margaret Ryburn? And last, but not least, we have not forgotten there are a few male Ryburns left in Scotland. To obtain a DNA test go to 'Family Tree DNA' and sign up for a Y12, or Y37 DNA test.  The Y37 test would be best, but costs about $260 US.  The Y12 test is $150 US.  Don't forget to join the 'Raeburn/Rayborn' project.  You will be sent some swabs that you just rub against the inside of your cheek, and which you send back in the supplied vials.  The samples take some weeks to be processed.  Family Tree DNA seems to be a well-established and respectable company, and you have nothing to worry about when it comes to privacy.  Their science appears to be first class, and new developments appear at regular intervals. Last updated 14 February, 2010