About the Douglas family
It is now clearly established that the families known as the Black Douglases and the Red Douglases do not in fact descend from the same male line ancestor. Genetic genealogy research shows that the Black Douglases belong to the haplogroup R1a, while the Red Douglases descend from the quite distinct haplogroup R1b. For the Black Douglases, confirmation of this has come from the Y-DNA test results of two documented descendants of William Douglas, 1st Earl of Queensberry (d 1640). Similarly, for the Red Douglases, results from two documented descendants of John Douglas (1756-1818), son of James Douglas, 14th Earl of Morton (1709-1768) provide confirmation.
This research also shows that the Red Douglases are part of the same kindred group as the Clan Sutherland. Although the dating of their common male line ancestor is not yet sufficiently refined, it is possible that he lived in the 12th century and may have been Freskin, who was granted lands of Strathbroc and Duffus around the middle of the 12th century, by King David I. Such a conclusion is still fairly speculative, with the branching of the Douglases possibly occurring from a slightly earlier generation, but further research may help to narrow down the timescale.