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
- DNA : A Guide for Family Historians
- Holton Graham S, Cleary John, Leonard Michelle, McDonald Iain, Macdonald Alasdair F
- Tracing Your Ancestors Tracing Your Ancestors (2025)
- Who are the Glenorchy Campbells?
- Macdonald Alasdair F, Holton Graham S
- West Highland notes and queries Vol 5, pp. 2-6 (2023)
- Declaration of Arbroath Family History Project
- Holton Graham, Macdonald Alasdair F
- (2020)
- DNA and the Declaration of Arbroath
- Holton Graham, Macdonald Alasdair
- (2020)
- The Declaration of Arbroath : new research on stories of the signatories
- Holton Graham, Macdonald Alasdair F
- 2020 (2020)
- Was your ancestor a signatory of the Declaration of Arbroath?
- Holton Graham S, Macdonald Alasdair F
- Nov - Dec 2019 (2019)
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
- Advancing Genetic Genealogy
- Speaker
- 7/6/2024
- "Humble and devout sons" – the men of the Declaration of Arbroath and their families: the role of documentary and genetic genealogy research in medieval genealogy
- Speaker
- 2/9/2022
- Exploring your Scottish genealogy using Y-DNA
- Speaker
- 26/10/2019
Projects
- Declaration of Arbroath Family History Project
- 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
Contact
Mr
Alasdair
Macdonald
Lead Tutor
Centre for Lifelong Learning
Email: alasdair.f.macdonald@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 4352