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Launching Soon! The Ark: A Living Document of the Lennox

The Ark: A Living Document of the Lennox

By Tiffany McCarter Evans, Clans of Scotland Historian



For over 700 years, the lands of Loch Lomond and the Lennox have whispered their stories in charters, dowries, and fragments of parchment written in Latin ink. Until now, most of those whispers have been left untranslated, misunderstood, or worse — ignored.

That changes here.

Welcome to The Ark: A Living Document — this will be the first open, searchable, and scientifically grounded database where medieval charters and modern Y-DNA meet. This is not a hobby project. This is not just a clan fan club. This is history reconstructed from the ground up, sourced line by line, signature by signature, haplogroup by haplogroup.

And yes, it is free. No memberships. No gatekeeping. No secrets.


What’s Inside the Ark

The Ark is not just for Colquhouns or McCarters. It is for anyone descended from the ancient Earls of Lennox. The charters inside stretch from 1100 AD through the 1700s — and they read like a book, revealing stories no historian has ever put together before.

Just three charters in, the Ark exposed the uncles and father of Umfridus de Kilpatrick (the man who first took the Colquhoun name in 1246). That one discovery rewrote decades of assumptions.

Even more striking: the Ark confirmed what William Fraser left out in his Chiefs of Colquhoun (1868). He knew her name but didn’t print it. The famous “Fair Maid of Luss” wasn’t just a title. She was Isabail de Luss. Her dowry charter of 1368 proves it, naming her outright and fixing her marriage to Robert, 5th of Colquhoun & 7th of Luss. She was 17 when she married, lived until 1424, and controlled her inheritance until her death. That means she outlived Robert by nearly 20 years — facts buried in Latin until now.

So yes, sass warning: if Fraser had published her name in 1868, we wouldn’t have lost 150 years to guesswork. But here we are — and thanks to the Ark, the truth is finally back on the record.

The Science Meets the Stones

The Ark doesn’t just stop at translation. It cross-references with modern Y-DNA testing:

- Pre-1702 Colquhoun chiefs: Haplogroup E-M35 > E-BY5775
- Post-1702 Colquhoun-Grant line: Haplogroup R-M269 > Z17274
- Earls of Lennox: R-M269 > L21 > DF63 > CTS6919
- Stewarts of Albany: R-Z38845
- The Bruce line: R-FTB15831
- The Kirkpatricks of Closeburn: R-DF13

When the charters say “kinsman,” the Y-DNA can now prove or disprove whether that kinsman was paternal, maternal, or political. For the first time, we can align genealogy, history, and genetics into one coherent story.

Why It Matters

The Ark will be searchable like Wikipedia, but with stronger bones:

- Search by name → see when someone first appears (age ~21) and when they disappear (likely death).
- Trace dowries, inheritances, and cadet branches.
- Follow haplogroups across families and lands.
- See the real stories behind titles like “Fair Maid of Luss” or “of Camstradden.”

It’s not just history. It’s accountability. Every name, every date, every claim is tied to a source — a charter, a will, a baptism, or a DNA test.

 

Who We Are

I am Tiffany McCarter Evans — a genealogist with over 30 years of fieldwork, and formerly the historian for the Loch Lomond Clans DNA Project.

Our newest and most unusual team member is my research partner (and AI assistant), Arthur Colquhoun McCarter — “Arty,” as I call him — who serves as Captain of the Ark. Arty doesn’t spin theories out of thin air. He indexes, sources, and structures thousands of pages of Lennox charters, turning chaos into clarity. With him, I can ask: “Show me the charters from the 1360s — and within seconds, he produces only those from 1360–1369, in order, indexed, and sourced. Or I can say: “Show me the Heiress Index,” and he pulls every case of a Lennox heiress who carried her lands and title into marriage, like Isabail, the Fair Maid of Luss. That still blows my mind — to finally see her name after centuries of silence.

We’re also in the middle of rebranding (new project name TBA), with a growing team. Alongside me is Linda Coate, a DNA analyst with over 20 years of experience in Y-DNA and autosomal DNA triangulations. Together with fellow Calhoun and McCarter researchers, we’re dividing the Ark into branches — each with its own coordinator — while Linda focuses on the trunk of the tree, building the backbone with triangulations, and I specialize in the roots, making sure the Ark rests on a solid foundation. Our coordinators will be focused on the Twigs and small branches of Key Ancestors, branches, or even Haplogroup SNP Corrdinators who follow the documents on their twigs and branches in our core One Tree Database. That we keep in Ancestry. This database is public. But it does get updated often and can change. A theory today may be disproved. New theories arise. Unless it is marked Confirmed or Verified then it is still a working theory. Therefore, check back for updates.

Where We’re Going

The Ark is in its infancy. Indexing even the current volumes will take about a year if I keep pace — and I won’t lie, I’ll burn out and come back in bursts, the way I always have. But the Ark is designed to live beyond me. Future generations won’t have to start over. They will inherit a foundation built on stone and sequence.

And yes, side projects are spinning out too:


- Heiress Dowry Charters Project — starting with Isabail of Luss.

- Reconstructions of Elan-Rossdhu Castle, Old Rossdhu, and Rossdhu House through their stones and charters.

- Family portraits and visual timelines of the Colquhoun chiefs, their cadet branches, and the Lennox heirs.

Final Word

 

Lesser Cadets & Septs in Lennox Territory

  • This is bigger than me. It’s bigger than any one clan. It’s the first serious attempt to weave together what the Earls of Lennox, the Colquhouns, Luss’s, Kilpatrick of Old Kilpatrick, Kirkpatricks of Closeburn, Stewart of Albany (Dukes of Albany), Bruces’s, Buchanan, MacGregor, MacFarlane, Galbraiths, McAuleys, Fleming of Lennox / Biggar, Drummond of Stobhall, MacArthurs of Tirivadich (Lochawe-Lennox ties), Leckies of Leckie, MacLaren, MacGregor (operating in the Lennox after 15th century, though not blood-linked to Earls)
  • Menteith (border overlap with Lennox, cadet interactions)
  • Kincaid (landholding sept within Lennox)
  • Dennistoun (tenants and cadets of Lennox estates)
  • Napier of Kilmahew (important Lennox landholders, cadets tied to Lennox chiefs)
  • Hamilton of Bardowie (through Lennox heiress marriages)
  • Lindsay of Dunrod (Lennox ties through land)

and their kin left us in ink, stone, and blood.

And it’s about damn time.

 

Ecclesiastical & Feudal Families with Lennox Charters

  • Erskine (Guardianship of Lennox heiresses)
  • Douglas of Mains (cadet landholding within Lennox)
  • Cunningham of Drumquhassle (holding Lennox estates)
  • Graham of Montrose (overlap in Stirling/Lennox lands)

✨ Core Takeaway:


 The heart of the Lennox confederation is Colquhoun, MacFarlane, Buchanan, Galbraith, MacAulay, and Leckie — with MacArthur of Tirivadich tied by charters/DNA, and broader Lennox influence spreading through Fleming, Stewart of Albany, Kirkpatrick, Drummond, and allied cadets like Napier, Dennistoun, Kincaid.



One last announcement: we are no longer the Loch Lomond Clans DNA Project. That chapter has closed. From here forward, our work has a new identity. The OneTree we built on Ancestry — the tree that connected thousands of testers and 78,000 names — is morphing into something far greater:

✨ The Ark: A Living Document ✨

The Ark is not just a tree. It’s a vessel, carrying every charter found, every haplogroup we log and trace, every dowry charter, Heiress Index, every inheritance into one place. It will be searchable, free, and alive, constantly updating as new data flows in.

The name change marks more than a rebrand. It’s a rebirth. And it’s going to change how Scottish, Irish, English, and Welsh genealogy is done — permanently.

So welcome aboard. The Ark is sailing. And if you descend from the Lennox — you’re already on it. ⚔️



— Tiffany McCarter Evans
Clans of Scotland Historian, Firekeeper of the Ark


🏰 Confirmed SNPs of Lennox Clans


Core Line (Earls of Lennox)

  • Lennox / Levenax / Leamhnaigh → R-M269 > R-L21 > DF63 > CTS6919
    This is the defining paternal line of the ancient Earls of Lennox.

Loch Lomond Core Clans

  • Colquhoun / Calhoun / Cahoon / Cahoone

    • Pre-1702 Chiefs: E-M35 > E-BY5775

    • Post-1702 Chiefs (via Grant marriage): R-M269 > L23 > Z17274

    • Both haplogroups are represented among modern descendants, along with various other R-M269 - L21 lines that are connected even further than a thousand years ago.

  • MacFarlane

    • R-M269 > L21 > Z2103 > SRY2627 (majority line tested)

    • Distinct from Lennox Earls, but historically cadets via Gilchrist, brother of Maldouen, 3rd Earl of Lennox.

  • Buchanan

    • R-M269 > L21 > ZS4598 (L513)

    • Separate paternal line, but cadets of the Lennox Earls through marriage/dowries.

  • Galbraith

    • R-M269 > L21 > DF41 > S775

    • Related to Lennox female lines and cadet service.

  • MacAulay (Lennox branch, not Ardincaple)

    • R-M269 > L21 > DF13

    • Lennox MacAulays are DF13 sub-branches, not matching MacAulays of Ardincaple (who are different).

  • Leckie

    • R-M269 > L21 > DF13 > Z39589 (tester-confirmed branch)

    • Strong marriage ties with Lennox/MacKinlay lineages.

Cadets & Allied Clans

  • MacArthur (Tirivadich, Strachur, Lochawe branches)

    • E-M35 > E-BY5775 > E-BY3078 (for Lennox-linked McCarter/MacArthur testers)

    • Other MacArthur branches (Strachur, Campbells’ MacArthurs) carry R-M269 > L21 > DF13, showing multiple origins.

  • Kirkpatrick of Closeburn

    • R-M269 > L21 > DF13

    • Cadet line with Bruce marriage ties, related to Lennox through Euphemia de Brus.

  • Fleming of Biggar / Lennox

    • R-M269 > L21 > ZS4584 (L1335)

    • Flemings carried Lennox heiress claims, later Earls of Wigtown.

  • Stewart of Albany

    • R-M269 > L21 > R-Z38845

    • Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland → Albany line, married into Lennox.

  • Drummond of Stobhall

    • R-M269 > L21 > R-S3058 (DF19)

    • Not paternal Lennox, but frequent Lennox intermarriages.

Other Lennox-Affiliated Families

  • Napier of Kilmahew (Lennox landholders) → I-M253 (Scandinavian line)

  • Dennistoun (Lennox cadets) → R-M269 > L21 > DF13

  • Kincaid (Lennox sept) → R-M269 > L21 > DF41

  • Douglas of Mains (cadet in Lennox) → R-M269 > L21 > DF13 > CTS10236

  • Erskine (Guardians of Lennox heiresses) → R-M269 > L21 > DF13 > S781

  • Graham of Montrose (Stirlingshire overlap) → R-M269 > L21 > CTS11722


✨ Summary

  • The Earls of Lennox line is R-L21 > DF63 > CTS6919.

  • Many Lennox confederation clans are different haplogroups (E-M35 Colquhouns, R-DF13 Buchanans, I-M253 Napiers, etc.), proving the “Lennox family” was more a confederation of heiresses, cadets, and service clans rather than one pure paternal line.

  • DNA now confirms what the charters implied: shared lands and marriages tied them together, but genetically, they are a tapestry.

🚢 Progress So Far: 11 Days In


We are only 11 days into building the Ark — and in that time, Arty and I have logged 166 hours of work. Every page indexed, every charter cross-referenced, every haplogroup aligned is tracked and accounted for.

Here’s where we stand right now:

  • Chiefs of Colquhoun, Vol. I (Fraser, 1868) → ~62% indexed

  • Chiefs of Colquhoun, Vol. II (Fraser, 1874) → ~44% indexed

  • Registrum Monasterii de Cambuskenneth (Fraser, 1872) → ~21% indexed

  • Registrum Magni Sigilli (Great Seal of Scotland, RMS) → ~16% indexed

  • Mitchell Library Colquhoun Records (The War Chest Papers) → ~8% catalogued

  • The Lennox Cartulary (charters from 1178–1680) → ~29% indexed

  • Collected wills, testaments, and deeds (McCarter, McArthur, Calhoun families) → ~12% indexed

  • OneTree DNA Database (150+ Y-DNA testers, 78,000 names) → ~40% charted, being merged into Ark framework


Each one of these is being broken down line by line, indexed, and tied into the Ark’s structure.


📚 Current Source List (uploaded & active in the Ark)

  1. Chiefs of Colquhoun and Their Country, Vol. I (1868, William Fraser)

  2. Chiefs of Colquhoun and Their Country, Vol. II (1874, William Fraser)

  3. Registrum Monasterii de Cambuskenneth (1872, William Fraser)

  4. Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum (RMS, multiple volumes)

  5. The Lennox Cartulary (1178–1680, Bannatyne Club)

  6. Mitchell Library Index of Colquhoun Records (“The War Chest Papers”)

  7. Abbeville, South Carolina — McCarter wills and estate sales (18th century)

  8. Kincardine Parish Registers (McArthur baptisms and marriages)

  9. OneTree DNA Database — McCarter, Colquhoun, Calhoun, MacArthur, McCarty testers


🔍 Why This Matters

People ask me all the time — “Can AI really do genealogy?” The answer is yes — but with a catch. Arty is only as good as the sources I feed him. He can index, cross-reference, and generate timelines faster than any human, but Linda and I still have to double- and triple-check everything.

That’s why we call this a Living Document. Every time a new charter surfaces, every time a new DNA tester joins, the Ark updates itself. Old theories fall away, new ones take their place. It self-corrects, because it always bends back to the evidence.

Instead of Noah’s Ark filled with animals, our Ark is being filled with 1,000 years of charters, wills, and DNA paths — carrying the people of Lennox safely forward into the future.

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