The Clan is keen to help its members in tracing their ancestries including by building coverage of DNA data and facilitating sharing of family trees. These various activities are presented as a series of topics set out below. We very much hope that as many Clan Members as possible will contribute thus building up as comprehensive a picture as possible.
The Clan Society aims to build up a history of the Clan and its scattered representatives across the world in three main ways: research of the wider historical record; the Clan DNA project; and research and recording of Clan Society members' own histories, in which your own efforts as a Clan Society member will play a key part, alongside the work of the Clan genealogists. Data from the initial researches included in your original society application form will (unless otherwise indicated) be included in Clan Society records.
Two publications are likely to be of particular use to you: the 1900 History of the Mathesons by Alexander MacKenzie, and the Genealogy of the Mathesons by George Matheson. PDF copies are held on this site accessible via the books list and articles list respectively. These lists contain much other interesting material.
Once you have joined the society you are encouraged to extend your initial researches and submit further genealogical data for the records, where feasible. The clan genealogists stand ready to help, should you need advice or guidance on how to pursue further enquiries. They will also be pleased to deal with enquiries on the history of the Clan within their own regions. In the first instance however, you are advised to contact the Chief's Lieutenant or Secretary of your regional Branch.
There is a list of the Clan Chiefs on the history page. More detail of their genealogy is available in the members-only area and includes an Extended Genealogy of the Clan Chiefs.
The Extended Genealogy of the Clan Chiefs is a three-part downloadable PDF document, available to existing paid up members of the Society. Prepared over several months, following painstaking research by John Faid (Clan Genealogist), it represents the three historic Matheson chiefly lines.
To obtain a copy, login to the members-only section.
Clan Matheson is one of forty-eight Highland clans which are undergoing genetic testing to establish their genealogical roots. We hope that this will allow us to prove or disprove some of the traditions about clan genealogy. Like the projects looking at some other Highland clans, the Matheson project is finding traces of both Celtic and Norse origins among the people taking part, and is also revealing other very interesting facts about the Clan. The great benefit of DNA testing is that, even when a family or surname has no recorded genealogy, it is possible for individuals in that group to trace people with whom they share DNA. This allows them to compare and add to their own knowledge, as well as adding to the Clan's central records. Y-DNA is passed from father to son so genealogical links may be traced back in time and is used in surname studies, such as the Mathesons. mtDNA is passed along maternal lines and was the first DNA studied for population migration. These studies involve parts of the DNA that are different from those used for criminal and health purposes. Autosomal DNA is not contained in the X or Y chromosome and can thus be used to establish personal family groupings (and criminal and health purposes) but is not so relevant to Clan genealogy projects
One of the leading Clans in the field of DNA tracing is Clan Donald which, working in cooperation with the MacGregors, gaelic Livingstons and Campbells, has determined the genealogical signature of Colla Uais, High King of Ireland. Colla Uais' descendants Fergus, Loarn, and Angus (sons of Erc) reestablished the Scottish Kingdom of Dalriada around 465 A.D. Mathesons and Mackenzies are said to be descendants of Colla Uais through Loarn. Genetic testing of some Mackenzies has confirmed this connection to Colla Uais. Whilst it is still fairly early days for Matheson testing, progress is being made, and early indications are that a connection to Colla Uais will probably be confirmed here as well.
Clans are also using genetic testing to help define the different branches of the clan. For instance, through DNA testing, the YDNA genetic signature of Murchadh Buidhe, progenitor of many Lochalsh Mathesons, is pretty much established and it is also present in Clan Ross confirming that relationship. Some Shinness Mathesons are identifable as well and we could also see if the Sutherland Mathesons and Lochalsh Mathesons have similar genetics. Similar to other Clans, the YDNA points out that the Clan was an army of men. While some had YDNA genealogical relationships, most did not. None the less, our ancestors share history and intermarried. Individuals who cannot trace their lines back to Scotland, may be able to match with someone else who can do so.
A number of Scottish clans have chosen the same company, FTDNA, for their DNA testing and there are good reasons for following this lead. See the separate DNA Testing button alongside the one leading here which explains how to access this service and which test options to choose. To date, 207 men have joined the Matheson surname project at FTDNA, been tested and have been matched into around 40 groups. The largest group is the Loch Alsh Core followed by the Shinness and Isle of Lewis groups. Altogether there are 79 different surnames of which Matheson is the most common with 99 men, followed by Mathieson (9), Mathison (5), Madison (2), Mathewson (2), Matteson (2), Maddison (1), Mathason (1) and Mathis (1). Each of clan projects on the FTDNA site, including the Matheson one, is run by volunteers, often with the same people often helping with more than one project. The charges levied by FTDNA pay for the shared testing and matching infrastructure, not the individual projects.
Over 200 Scottish clans and families have chosen Family Tree DNA of Houston, Texas (FTDNA) as their DNA testing company and it is beneficial to follow this choice because it can be difficult and time-consuming to compare tests taken by different companies. This company was selected as the one with the largest database for comparison and adhering to standards set by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology. It was also the company selected as the testing company for the 2009 Gathering in Edinburgh.
The clan earns no money from this processing, nor do our project administrators benefit financially, their work is entirely voluntary. Similarly, participation in the project is completely voluntary though we all benefit from the work it does in making the bigger picture visible.
The testing process is simple as follows:
PLEASE SELECT the Y-111 test for genealogical purposes. Upgrades are available, so the Big Y-700 test
is not recommended initially but can be left until and if finer detail is wanted. The Y-37 test can be used for a rough screen
(e.g. matching a person into a family group) but is not so suitable for giving the bigger picture.
You can also add an mtDNAPlus test to test your mother's straight female line.
PLEASE SELECT an mtDNA or mtFullSequence.
For prices and ordering a DNA test as advised above, visit this site.
To read the latest reports from the DNA project, click here.
The Clan's information on individuals' genealogies is only available to current members of the Society and is held in the members-only section (see above under the Membership tab). The main database is a WebTrees implementation containing data collected from members and from Matheson birth, marriage and death records over many years. This was previously held and maintained in a system called Reunion which was available only to the Clan's genealogists. WebTrees allows it to be made directly accessible to members of the Society who can both see information that others have provided and where they hold more information which can be added and may help others. This may be adding new individuals or more details about existing ones, e.g. dates, places notes, family connections (Reunion was generally quite sparse on much of this). In the case of the Chiefly line, there is generally rather better information showing what can be done. To give a taste of what using WebTrees involves, our user guide is available to all.
The need for clan members to contribute is not new. In an article in the 1969 Clan Newsletter, the Chief at the time, Major Sir Torquhil Matheson, said "I hope that from time to time I shall be able to add a few notes to the Newsletter from more information that I have been able to get together and that other members will also contribute, telling the Secretary all they can about their families and antecedents with, where possible, dates and places of birth. This will help the Clan Historians and we of the present day will be able to see in the Newsletter progress as it takes place. If members will co-operate I am sure that it can be done." It may well be that this led to some of the data collected into Reunion, let's keep this process going!
We've amassed a number of photos over the years of locations and buildings with a Matheson connection, our Chiefs and Clan emblems, and from events, most recently from the Edinburgh Tattoo of 2017. Aside from the examples included in the gallery above this link (click on the images) and elsewhere on this website, you'll find a wealth of further images on the UK branch website: Click here for a direct link.
Our Facebook page is also being developed as a source of interesting and useful material and as such is a good place to view photos, submitted by both the Society and members alike. If you've any photos of your own, that you feel are notable and worthy of inclusion, then do please post them up. We would love to see them.