Mr Alasdair Macdonald
Lead Tutor
Centre for Lifelong Learning
Personal statement
Alasdair is a Teaching Fellow and Lead Tutor in the department of Genealogical Studies within the Centre for Lifelong Learning. He has been involved in family history research for over 30 years and has a particular interest in the Scottish Highlands. He completed his MSc on Scottish baronies. He was previously employed for many years within the defense and aerospace industry. His research interests focus on the use of DNA in genealogical research. He is currently researching the origin and linkage of male lineages in the British Isles using Y-chromosomal DNA. He also specializes in Scottish land records and palaeography. Alasdair is one of the administrator of the Scottish DNA Project.
Qualifications
Alasdair is a Fellow of The Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
Publications
- , ,
- Genealogy Vol 9 (2025)
- , Cleary John, Leonard Michelle, McDonald Iain,
- Tracing Your Ancestors Tracing Your Ancestors (2025)
- ,
- West Highland Notes and Queries Vol 5, pp. 2-6 (2023)
- ,
- (2020)
- ,
- (2020)
- ,
- 2020 (2020)
Teaching
- Genetic genealogy
- Lineage research
- Medieval and early modern genealogy
- Scottish Clans and Families
- Other genealogical topics for the English speaking world would be considered
Professional Activities
- Speaker
- 7/6/2024
- Speaker
- 2/9/2022
- Speaker
- 26/10/2019
Projects
- Holton, Graham (Principal Investigator) Macdonald, Alasdair F (Principal Investigator)
- Research into the individuals associated with the Declaration of Arbroath and their families and genetic genealogy research to discover previously unknown descents from these individuals through DNA testing.
- 12-Jan-2018
- Macdonald, Alasdair F (Principal Investigator) Holton, Graham (Principal Investigator)
- The Project commenced in 2013 with the initial aim of throwing light on the participants in the Battle from a genealogical point of view. The two strands of the Project consisted of firstly research into the lives of participants, their genealogies and their coats of arms, and secondly a genetic genealogy strand. The first strand involved student work and concluded in 2015. The genetic genealogy strand, carried out by staff members, has continued, and aims to discover previously unknown medieval descents for living individuals through DNA testing. The focus has been particularly on the Stewarts, with some work on the Macdonalds, Berkeleys and Greys.
- 02-Jan-2013
Contact
Mr
Alasdair
Macdonald
Lead Tutor
Centre for Lifelong Learning
Email: alasdair.f.macdonald@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 4352