The Gillespie DNA Project has been collecting DNA samples for over 15 years from Gillespie born males.

From the head of this project “If Gillespie men want to order a YDNA test at Family Tree DNA for the Gillespie DNA Project, they  provide the info on their direct male Gillespie ancestors, ask to join the Gillespie project and when accepted, order at least a 37 marker YDNA test – 67 markers is better.  It is highly likely that I will recommend advanced SNP testing after they do the YDNA test.”

My own MALE Gillespie line  through DNA profiling (thanks to my brother) is listed with others identified as IM223 ID 405083, on the Classic Chart (click on this link) as William Gillespie, Clogher, Northern Ireland to John Gillespie, Ontario, Canada, listed about half way down the page.

Listed by itself and although many other IM 223 matches, no one else matches fully the DNA profile of my family roots just yet. I get notices of others that do, so the links are there but may need further clarification. That my family line is linked to Scotland is very obvious from personal research.  William Gillespie is my paternal grandfather who came to Canada by1828.

Apparently my line of IM223 is linked to James Gillespie Jr b 1749 from Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland who immigrated to Washington Co, PENNSYLVANIA, and George Gillespie b 1740 Northern Ireland and d 1827 in OHIO. He married Jane Allen.   Now George is definitely a Scottish name, not Irish, indicating Scottish origins in Ireland. Most of all, my Gillespie line has a strong link to Sir Robert Rollo Gillespie of India fame, whose parents came from Perthshire and close to Fife, SCOTLAND.

My family links also to the early family in America of Thomas Gillespie and Naomi of Rowan Co, North Carolina, from which this DNA project originated.

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Autosomal DNA tests are performed by Family Tree DNA (called Family Finder), 23andMe and Ancestry. They do nothing to help identify male Gillespie lines and their haplogroups.  Autosomal DNA tests may find close cousins (1st through 3rd, and sometimes 4th cousins and once in a while 5th cousins.)  

A recent report from my autosomal Ancestry DNA on my female, saliva sample submitted in early 2021 indicating cousin links across the world.

My Ethnicity Estimate 

Scotland (& Northern Ireland)         49%

The March 2021 issue of Consumer Reports has an interesting article, Read This Before You Buy a Genetic Testing Kit, page 34-39

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VIDEO – Am I Jewish?

An interview with  a Jewish DNA expert Bennett Greenspan who explains in wonderful detail about DNA testing and  collection, and answers for me if I am Jewish or not. Even though I am Irish on five lines of my father’s family, I found a female in the 5th generation from my mother whose name sounds very Jewish.  From research I had already discovered that to be a Jew one’s mother has to be Jewish, but even that may be obscured.  A fascinating explanation of DNA testing for any nationality

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MEDICAL RESEARCH

Gillespie Syndrome: Gillespie syndrome is a disorder that involves eye abnormalities, problems with balance and coordinating movements (ataxia), and mild to moderate intellectual disability.  It is named to honour the man who discovered this in 1965.

Gillespie syndrome is characterized by aniridia, which is the absence of the colored part of the eye (the iris). In most affected individuals, only part of the iris is missing (partial aniridia) in both eyes, but in some affected individuals, partial aniridia affects only one eye, or the entire iris is missing (complete aniridia) in one or both eyes. The absence of all or part of the iris can cause blurry vision (reduced visual acuity) and increased sensitivity to light (photophobia). Rapid, involuntary eye movements (nystagmus) can also occur in Gillespie syndrome.