DNA Results |

↖️↗️ Divergent Lineages

Our research has revealed multiple distinct, unrelated lineages of all variations of the “Ralston” surname, with connections to Scotland, Ireland, and England. None of these lines are relateed, even thoough may are of the same general Haplogroup I-M269.
To organize these lines at FTNDA, we have broken them into numbered groups loosely based on size, with additional groups numbered as added.

🧪 New Testers Needed

Additional participants help refine connections and timelines. Higher-level tests like the Big Y-700 provide massive amounts of data. However, that data is most useful when compared. Additional testers act like a "lens," sharpening the focus on exactly how your "Ralston" line is realted to others. If you are interested in Y-DNA testing, click the "Start Here" link in the menu above.

🧬 Genetic Genealogy

Phylogenetic trees (based on SAPP trees from www.jdvsite.com © J. DAVID VANCE) have been added for groups with enough members to produce meaningful SAPP trees. These trees are the algorithm's "best guess" as to how each member connects to the group's common ancestor (MRCA). Projected dates are presented as "circa" and actually represent a range of time. These dates may have been adjusted from the dates shown on the produced SAPP tree to reflect logical placement on the tree in accordance with haplogroup and known genealogical dates.

1️⃣ Group 1 - Ulster - I-BY61820

Group 1 is the only project group within the major “upstream” haplogroup I-M223. It encompasses all of haplogroup subclade I-BY61820, which had a common ancestor around 1100 CE. It is speculated that if this ancestor had a surname, it was not consistently passed down, as there are no uniform surnames among his descendants.

The Ralston surname and its variants appear to have originated from a common ancestor around 1550 CE. This common ancestor was likely the originator of haplogroup I-BY194140, a subclade of I-BY61820. This line includes descendants with surnames such as Ralston, Roulston, Rolston, Raulston, Roulstone, and Rolleston. Most can trace their ancestry to Ireland, particularly Ulster.

Group 1 Subgroups:

1a – Subclade I-BY61820 (excluding I-BY194140 “Ralstons”)

1b – Subclade I-BY194140

Many members of Group 1, especially those in Ireland and Northern Ireland, bear the surname Roulston. FTDNA sponsors a separate Roulston Surname Project, but we recommend joining the more actively managed and inclusive Ralston Project.

Group 1 is currently the largest group in the Ralston Surname Project.

1a Tree

1b Tree

2️⃣ Group 2 - Paisley - R-BY1542

This line of Ralstons (Group 2 - Paisley) originated in the western lowlands of Scotland around Renfrewshire and is associated with the historic lands of Ralston located just east of Paisley, Renfrewshire. Some of this family is also associated with Beith, nearby in Ayrshire. There is a major branch that developed after settlement in Kintyre, Argyllshire in the mid 17th century. Other branches developed in Ayrshire and Galloway in the 18th century.

Modern yDNA matching suggests that all current Scottish-origin (Group 2) members of the project may have arisen from ancestor John Ralston of that ilk (c1450-1506), as the most recent common ancestor (MRCA).

It is impossible, at this point, to prove or disprove the contention that this John Ralston had an intact male lineage back to the earlier Ralstons of the Paisley region. There is a gap in the record corresponding to the Black Death (mid 1300's), when Brits and Scots were more fixated on surviving rather than tracking genealogies, writing books, and recording family trees.

Descendants of this group are Haplogroup R-M269, Subclade R-BY1542, believed to have a common ancestor born approximately 1500 CE. The Kintyre branch separated almost 400 years ago and further branched to subclade R-FTA58491.

Group 2 Tree

3️⃣ Group 3 - Armagh - R- FT365926

Group 3 Tree

4️⃣ Group 4 - Scotland Ralton - R- FTA49702

Group 4 Tree

5️⃣ Group 5 - Midlands Rolleston - R- FTC42414

This line (Group 5 - Midlands Rolleston) includes descendants of Christopher Rolleston (1669–1736) Nottinghamshire, England. Watnall Hall in Nottinghamshire, England, built around 1690, was home to some of this family for many years. Several also held the office of High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire.
Descendants of this group are Haplogroup R-M269, Subclade R- FTC42414. The two in this group are descendants of Rev John Rolleston (1705–1770) Derbyshire, England.
Of note, the few Rollestons we’ve found in Ireland are unrelated to the Scottish Ralstons or English Rollestons, but instead align with the I-M223 Irish Group 1. Since there isn’t yet a separate Rolleston Surname Project, and because the name overlaps so much with Ralston and its variants, we actively recruit Rollestons into our project.

6️⃣ Group 6 - West Country Roulstone

7️⃣ Group 7 - Sligo - R- FTC19785

❓ Unmatched Participants

Not matching others with your surname might happen for various reasons. Many times, it is because of a non-paternity event (NPE). An NPE is a situation where the person who is presumed to be a child's father is not the biological father. This can be caused by a number of factors, including adoption (or foundlings), infidelity, and medical mistakes.

However, an NPE should not be presumed. Not matching others of your surname might happen for other reasons:

Surname change. A person or whole families might change their name for social acceptance, an inheritance, a man taking his wife’s name, etc.
A son taking his mother’s name,
Your particular line has had unusually high mutation rate, (sometimes testing at a higher level will show matches, depending on where the mutations occurred), or
Simply because no one else of your line has been yDNA tested.