I'm a Vance - but I hope we're not related

Linda Galloway - who was Linda Vance before she married - thinks it is possible she is a distant relative of JD Vance but she's not a fan of the US vice-president

Depending on which branch of his family he belongs to, JD Vance's ancestors may once have owned the Aberdeenshire estate where Donald Trump has one of his Scottish golf courses.

Alternatively, the man some have tipped to become the next occupant of the White House could be related to the former owners of a ruined mansion, 60 miles from the plush country estate where he's enjoying a Scottish holiday.

Barnbarroch House was built five years before the American declaration of independence and was destroyed by fire in 1941.

In a village near Barnbarroch, Linda Galloway, nee Vance, cracks a wry smile when she's asked whether she's related to the Republican who calls himself "a Scots-Irish hillbilly at heart."

"We have been remarking about his eye colour when we see him on television" said Mrs Galloway, who admits she's not a fan.

"There are quite a few Vances round here that have that prominent blue colour in their eyes.

"It seems to have been passed down the generations, so when I look at him sometimes I think maybe you are related to us, but I hope you're not!"

The ruined Barnbarroch House could be the ancestral home of JD Vance but nothing has been firmly established

Mrs Galloway has researched her family's history and says the vice president shares a surname with many people in her part of Dumfries and Galloway.

"In this area there are still a lot of Vance connections. I was one of 10 and I've got lots of cousins and they all farm round here."

"More than likely he's from round here because that's where they came from.

"We sort of keep it on a low key. As soon as folk say, oh you're a Vance, are you related to the vice president? I say, not as far as I know."

The alternative potential connection to the land at Donald Trump's Menie golf course in Aberdeenshire has been unearthed by the Vance Family Association, which has been researching their history for 40 years.

The association says JD Vance is correct in his belief that before they came to the US, his ancestors were of a Protestant Ulster origin dating back to before the 1800s.

A number of Vances in Southern Scotland are said to have similar blue eyes to the US vice-president

His use of the phrase "Scots-Irish" is therefore justified but the association says it doesn't yet know whether his ancestors originally came from Scotland.

The association says it's established DNA lines for the Vaus who owned land at Menie and the Vans of Barnbarroch – names which later morphed into Vance - but they haven't found out if the vice president is linked to either of them, or another branch on the family tree.

"Barnbarroch was the family seat but there obviously were Vances from that lineage," said Mrs Galloway.

"It was always the oldest that inherited and the rest were told to go and make your own way in life, so a lot of them emigrated, trying to find a better life.

"I don't know if they all achieved that, but quite a few of them did. I think there's actually a town in the USA that's called Vanceville.

"I do know some of the Canadian ones are connected to us. I think JD isn't quite so closely connected."

Tracing their roots is a common pastime for Americans visiting Scotland but with a 20 vehicle motorcade and "ring of steel" security, JD Vance could struggle to get around the peaceful countryside where his ancestors may or may not be from.