As reported in the Winter 2024 edition of the Journal of the Clan Campbell Society (North America), the Society has successfully developed three different projects on WikiTree, a collaborative genealogy website that allows users to research and to contribute to their own family trees while building a singular worldwide family tree. Here are the highlights of that article.
WikiTree is a genealogy website that allows users to research and to contribute to their own family trees while building and collaborating on a singular worldwide family tree within the same system. Similar to Ancestry, My Heritage, and FamilySearch, WikiTree has its issues. However, unlike Ancestry and My Heritage there is only one tree to fix. More importantly users can apply Y-DNA results to validate and correct the lines.
Established in 2008, the Clan Campbell Society WikiTree now includes 35,730,082 profiles (12,195,369 with DNA test connections) edited by 1,040,611 members from around the world. The Society currently maintains three major projects:
Campbells of … Projects: The project identifies various Campbell families that settled or passed through colonial North America. The long-term goal of this project is to collect male Y-DNA from Campbell male descendants of these Campbell male settlers to help resolve the Campbell colonial lines and their migration to other states. The projects are in various levels of construction. So far, we have started projects for Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island.
Campbell Patriot Project: The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) are organizations whose members have proven blood lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution. The Campbell Patriot Project on WikiTree focuses on documenting Campbell patriot ancestors and their descendants. The long-term goal of this project is to collect Y- DNA from male Campbell descendants of these ancestors.
Campbell DNA Group Project: This project was initiated to augment genealogical research and to provide general insight concerning our Clan’s overall history and genetic composition. DNA testing is not a substitute for genealogy research. Instead, it is a companion tool to prove or disprove research, determine relationships, and to provide clues for further research. DNA testing can be an extremely powerful tool when combined with your genealogy research. DNA testing can uncover information that was not previously known, as well as confirm your research, and get leads for further research.
The Society is encouraging all members of the clan to document their Campbell ancestors in WikiTree. Members start by going to WikiTree.com and creating an account, which is 100% free. The Society’s goal is to connect with other known Campbells whenever possible. Members can also attach their DNA test results.
If you are a Delegate or Alternate of a COSCA Organizational Member, you can learn more about these projects and find the contact information for the Clan Campbell WikiTree Mentors here: https://www.cosca.scot/wikitree