There is a McLea/Livingston DNA project that has numerous participants and it is helping to reunite and connect the numerous families with these and similar surnames all over the world. In addition, the project hopes to untangle and distinguish relationships between the various Celtic families and clans who had blood relationships in the homelands of the MacLeas and Livingstons.

More will be written on this subject at a later point, but you can read more at Andrew Lancaster's DNA project website. Our family is among the "R1b" haplotypes, which is one of the most common signatures in Europe and especially the British Isles.

At the moment, DNA analysis of the Y-chromosome of Kyle and his cousin Glenn McLea have helped to identify related families among the Western Scottish and Northern Irish families of McLin, McAulay/McColly, McCain, Gay/McKay, and Henry. Determining what this may mean in terms of the heritage and genealogy of the MacLea family has yet to be discerned.

DNA markers of two male descendants of James Brown McLea (1859-1926)
NameY-chromosomal Markers
39339019391385a385b426388439389-1392
Kyle1324141114111212121313
Glenn1324141111141212121313
Name389-2458459a459b455454447437448449464a
Kyle29169911112515193115
Glenn29169911112515193115
Name464b464c464d460GATA-H4YCAIIaYCAIIb456607576570
Kyle1516161111191917152018
Glenn1516161111191917152117
NameCDYaCDYb442438461462A10C41B07441444
Kyle3939121212111423101313
Glenn39391212
Name445446452463531578395S1a395S1b590537641
Kyle12131221119161781010
Glenn119161781010
Name472406S1511DYF371x-ab(425)cd 413a413b557594
Kyle810101012--1423231610
Glenn810101223231610
Name436490534450481520617568487572 640
Kyle121214824221211131112
Glenn1212148242211131112
Name492565434435436643714716717725ab
Kyle121291112102526193132
Glenn1212
Name725cd726485495DYF385abDYF397abcd
Kyle----12161611--11--1414
Glenn
NameDYF399abcDYF401abDYF411abDYS408abcd
Kyle22--25.115--1111188--815
Glenn
Name522589575638549494533636556505
Kyle
Glenn
NameAutosomal Markers
CCR5-1CCR5-2
Kylenormalnormal
Glenn

The MacLea DNA in both Kyle and Glenn is a very close match, however, and this indicates that both men and their families retain the same DNA signature from their common ancestor James Brown MacLea, our Scottish immigrant ancestor.

Learn about DNA and genealogy in some webisodes from KTLA in LA here.