The Burnett Y-DNA Project

Burnetts of Barns, southern Scotland (I‑M253C)

The Burnetts of Barns are an ancient Scottish family established near Peebles on the River Tweed since the early 1400s. This area of Scotland is known as the Scottish Borders since it is near the English border. They were earlier associated with the Burnets of Faringdoun and were originally known as the Burnets of Burnetland. They acquired the lands of Barns following the marriage of John Burnet to Marion, daughter of George Claverhill, in the early 1400s. The estates were sold in 1838. There are currently 8 Y-DNA testers, located in Scotland, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

Until about 2019, it was believed that this paternal line may have “daughtered out”, meaning there were no direct paternal-line male descendants. A few Burnett descendants of New Zealand and Australia however, believed themselves to be descended from this family. Y-DNA testing linked them to a match in the US who had successfully traced his line back to Burnett of Barns, enabling the Burnett Y-DNA Project to successfully identify the second well-known ancient Scottish Burnett paternal line.

This family is documented in the book Genealogical Account of the Family of Burnett, of Burnetland and Barns by Montgomery Burnett. Copies are available to read for free online or the book can be purchased from various retailers.

Several of the testers have successfully traced their lines all the way back to John Burnett born 1390 of Burnetland, but most members of this group descend from Alexander Burnett born 1729 in Selkirkshire who married Margaret Murray. Alexander’s father has not yet been identified, but the Y-DNA results prove that Alexander was a paternal descendant of the Burnett of Barns family.

Major Haplogroup: I‑M253 dated 10000 BC. This is a very common haplogroup and is considered the original paternal lineage of Nordic Europe.

To date, five testers in this group have upgraded to the Big Y‑700. All five share the more recent haplogroup I‑FT8780 dated 1659 +/- 80 years.

Two subordinate haplogroups descended from I‑FT8780 have also been created from Big Y testing. The first, I‑FT7435 dated 1719 +/- 80 years, was created by the upgrade of testers who have traced to John Burnet b. 1390 of Burnetland. The second, I‑FT21194 dated 1794 +/- 80 years, was created from the upgrade of three testers who trace to Alexander Burnett b. 1729 and Margaret Murray mentioned above. The descendants of Alexander Burnett b. 1729 do not share the haplogroup I‑FT7435, revealing that these two descendant lines of Burnett of Barns split sometime between ca. 1659 and ca. 1794.

Earliest Known Ancestor: John Burnet, born about 1390, the father of John Burnett who married Marion Claverhill.

Famous Descendants

William Burnet of Barns, born about 1546, became perhaps the most famous of the branch. He was known as the “Hoolet of Barns”, due most likely to his keenness of sight. He is said to have been of great stature and great bodily strength and lived to the age of 107. His children became prominent in local and national affairs. His son James graduated from the College of Edinburgh in 1609 and became Minister of Lauder in 1615. Another son, Alexander, served as Treasurer-Clerk of Scotland until 1639 and also served as HM Advocate-Deputé. A third son, Robert, also became an advocate.

Captain William Burnett, great-grandson of the Hoolet, joined the army with the Earl of Mar’s Scottish Fusilier Regiment, “The Gray Breeks”. He was wounded at the Battle of Steinkirk in 1692 and died four months later, unmarried. His brother Walter was killed in Flanders, also unmarried. With no other males in the direct line, William Burnet of Kailzie and Barns, first cousin to Captain William and Walter, succeeded to the estates. His great-grandson, James Burnet of Barns, born 1776, sold the Barns estates in 1838.

Y‑DNA‑verified Paternal Ancestors

From the family trees of our testers, the paternal ancestors listed below are confirmed members of this paternal line. If your Burnett ancestor is listed below, it means you also descend from this paternal Burnett line. Many of the birth and death years are estimated. All places are in Scotland unless otherwise stated.

Y‑DNA‑verified Paternal Ancestors

Name	Birth	Birth Location	Death	Death Location	Spouse
John Burnet	1390	Burnetland, Scotland		Scotland	Unknown
John Burnet	1430	Burnetland, Scotland	1472	Burnetland, Scotland	Marion Claverhill
John Burnet	1470	Burnetland, Scotland	1502	Burnetland, Scotland	Sibilla Veitch
William Burnet	1501	Burnetland, Scotland	1564	Peeblesshire, Scotland	Elizabeth Veitch
William Burnet	1530	Peeblesshire, Scotland	1575	Peeblesshire, Scotland	Isobel Hay
William Burnet	1553	Peeblesshire, Scotland	1646	Peeblesshire, Scotland	Margaret Stewart
John Burnet	1577	Peeblesshire, Scotland	1642	Peeblesshire, Scotland	Margaret Scott
John Burnet	1620	Peeblesshire, Scotland	1659	Scotland	Helen Baillie
William Burnet	1642	Peeblesshire, Scotland	1712	Peeblesshire, Scotland	Jean Baillie
Andrew Burnet	1651	Berwickshire, Scotland	1764	Fife, Scotland	Marion Spotswood
Andrew Burnett	1683	Roxburgshire, Scotland		Scotland	Isabel Scott
James Burnett	1685	Peeblesshire, Scotland	1771	Peeblesshire, Scotland	Anna Veitch
Alexander Burnett	1729	Selkirkshire, Scotland	1794	Selkirkshire, Scotland	Margaret Murray
James Burnett	1737	Peebleshire, Scotland	1820	Peebleshire, Scotland	Janet Moir
Andrew Burnett	1761	Scotland		Hawick, Scotland	Isabel Nichols
Arthur Burnett	1762	Selkirkshire, Scotland	1843	Selkirkshire, Scotland	Janet Scott
James Burnett	1776	Edinburgh, Scotland	1855	Ayrshire, Scotland	Christian C Lee
William Burnett	1788	Peeblesshire, Scotland	1858	NSW, Australia	Marjorie Brown
Alexander Burnett	1802	Selkirkshire, Scotland	1872	Invernesshire, Scotland	Helen Stoddart
Andrew Burnett	1805	Etrick, Scotland	1882	Hawick, Scotland	Marion Walker
John Alexander Burnett	1817	Argyll, Scotland	1853	Melbourne, Australia	Margaret McDonnell
Fullarton C Burnett	1822	Peebleshire, Scotland	1876	Pender, NC	Mary C Larkins
Arthur Burnet	1826	Selkirkshire, Scotland			Mary McRae
Andrew Burnett	1829	Traquair Knowe, Scotland	1904	Hawick, Scotland	Helen Johnstone
James Burnett	1830	Ross-shire, Scotland	1904	Ross-shire, Scotland	Jane McKenzie
William Burnett	1843	NSW, Australia	1824	Otago, New Zealand	Elizabeth Keokeo
Alexander Burnett	1845	Ross & Cromarty, Scotland	1923	Canterbury, New Zealand	Agnes Linton
Alexander Burnett	1850	Scotland			Margaret Dalziel
Alexander Burnett	1854	Ross-shire, Scotland	1931	Ross-shire, Scotland	Christina Cameron
Kenneth Burnett	1855	Invernesshire, Scotland	1925	Hamilton, New Zealand	Sarah Jane Caulfield
Lynn Hall Burnett	1869	New Hanover, NC	1931	St Louis, MO	Emma Platt
Thomas Burnett	1870	Roxburgshire, Scotland	1913	Delhi, New York	Sarah Jackson
Walter John Burnett	1879	Southland, NZ	1963	Canterbury, NZ	Ethel J Saunders
Charles Alexander Burnett	1882	Otago, NZ	1935	Dunedin, NZ	Adeline Hamilton
William James Burnett	1887	Invercargill, NZ	1970	Thames, NZ	Helen Netta Holmes
Alexander Arthur Burnett	1890	Invercargill, NZ			Minerita Meade
Murdoch Burnett	1891	Ross-shire, Scotland	1966	Kishorn, Scotland	Isabella Mackay
Lynn Fowler Sr Burnett	1893	New Hanover, NC	1969	San Bernardino, CA	Ellen V Buchanan

Family Chart

This chart illustrates the paternal lineage of the Burnetts of Barns subgroup, showing ancestral relationships and Y‑DNA marker connections.