Know any McNeils? Could be our kin.

Cousin Arnold enjoys tracing our geneology, using DNA markers. (Our fathers were brothers). He's got an Excel spreadsheet that's quite impressive. From time to time Arnold files a report on his latest findings. Yesterday he shared new information about our relatives, turns out our Viking forefathers got around a lot. Here's a portion of his detailed report:

Outer Hebrides (marked with "A")
Norway on the upper right.

He writes:

The Rolfsruds have 15 exact matches at the 12 marker level.   They consist of 1 Norwegian, 1 Northern Irishman, 1 Scot, 1 Irishman, 1 Finn and  10 SWEDES!  That reminds me of the American Express commercial that showed a son taking his son to Norway to explore ancestral origins and when they discovered that they were REALLY SWEDISH, they went to Stockholm, with their American Express card in hand!

One family name which occurs over and over in the larger match sample is that of the Scottish McNeils!  They originated in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, [see map] in an area held by the Norwegian Vikings for 400 years.   From the frequency of the name in our larger sample, it appears that you and I are fully qualified to claim membership in the McNeill clan, whether they want us or not!   Those Vikings really got around, and they were particularly busy in Scotland and England, although they were also active along the coastal regions and Shannan River of Ireland as well.   I love it when I tell an Irishman that the Norwegian Vikings founded Dublin, Ireland--as well as Waterford, Wexford and Limerick. 

Is this our tartan? A United Kingdom company
that markets kilts hope so. Found this on their
web site.

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Up until now, Stan has always traced his Scottish roots through his mother, progeny of the Jackson clan, who immigrated to the U.S. in the mid-19th century. Jacksons came from the midlands and thus don't have a highland tartan. Now we'll have to check out the McNeils on Dad's side and see about the colors.