Each member of the Annal family has been assigned to a particular group according to their earliest known ancestor.
There are two main areas where the name Annal is known to have originated; South Ronaldsay (Orkney) and Fife. I am quite sure that the two groups are completely unrelated. I am equally sure that all the South Ronaldsay Annals are related to each other, but I have not been able to establish the relationships of the various branches before the parish registers start in the mid-to-late eighteenth century. There are therefore a number of separate groups in South Ronaldsay.
Since first identifying them, I have discovered that certain groups are related to others. I soon found out that the Liverpool and Gravesend Annals came from South Ronaldsay and I have been able to prove that the Yorkshire Annals came from Fife. There are therefore a number of missing group letters. The only significant group which I have not (so far) been able to trace back to either Orkney or Fife is the Annals of Deal in Kent.
| Group A | South Ronaldsay – East Side, Lythes, Mossetter, Stane, Myre etc. Edinburgh |
| Group B | South Ronaldsay – Linklater, Mossetter etc. USA; Argentina |
| Group C | South Ronaldsay – Mossetter Edinburgh; Canada |
| Group D | South Ronaldsay – Sandwick Wick – Keiss; Holm |
| Group E | South Ronaldsay – Papley, Grimness Gravesend; Greenwich |
| Group F | South Ronaldsay – Papley Aberdeen; Rossyth; Australia; USA |
| Group G | South Ronaldsay – Grimness Edinburgh; Goodwick (Pembrokeshire); Leicester; Melksham USA; Canada |
| Group H | South Ronaldsay – Holland Oswego, NY |
| Group M | St Andrews, Fife; Dundee; Dalry, Ayr; Kilwinning; Well, Yorkshire; Leeds; Bradford |
| Group P | Deal, Kent |
