I've been interested in genetic genealogy for a few years and have had my y-chromosome testing done in the Arnold surname study (my surname). However, I'm a Dinwiddie through my great-grandmother. Unfortunately, since this is not a direct male line, I couldn't have my Dinwiddie DNA tested. But, I have just discovered that a Dunwoody has tested, and uploaded his results onto the ysearch public database http://www.ysearch.org/ . The results were quite surprising. He came out in haplogroup J1, which is very unusual for Scotland, where most folks are in haplogroup R1b, and to a lesser degree in haplogroup I. Haplogroup J1 may suggest a Roman-Sarmatian or Jewish background, but this is just speculation for now. It would be interesting to see more male surnamed Dunwoodies (including variant spellings) have their y-DNA tested. I've long wondered if all Dinwiddies were descended from a single Dinwidde man back in Applegarth, or whether several unrelated locals adopted the name when surnames were first adopted in that part of Scotland.

After learning of this Dunwoody J1 result, I found several other individuals with surnames common in that part of SW Scotland and NW England to also be J1: Graham, Nelson, Robinson, Dalton, Austin. I posted this information on another list and someone suggested a Sarmatian background. Apparently after the Romans abandoned Britain, their Sarmatian contingent moved to the area around Solway Firth. Supposedly there were over 5000 of them, which could have left a significant genetic legacy. The Sarmatians by the way were -before the Romans recruited them-a loose affiliation of tribes located around present-day Ukraine, but originally from Persia.

I encourage other Dunwoody males to add to this initial tantilizing result. Several testing companies exist, but the largest (and the one the first Dunwoody used) is Family Tree DNA - http://www.ftdna.com/
Others are:
Ethnoancestry
Relative Genetics
DNAHeritage
Oxford Ancestors

--Rick Arnold