McConnell - Family History & Genealogy Message Board

Re: Major Update of Clan Donald DNA Project Website

KirstenSaxe — 2009-11-09 01:06:46Z

Well, I would say that the Connell match is one of the most interesting. It would be good to obtain results for more markers. Connell has 67 marker results, so you might want to consider testing at FTDNA at some point, because Ancestry does not test all of the markers in the 67 marker set. Since you have test results from Ancestry, you would be eligible to order your testing at a discount to the normal price, even during periods when FTDNA is not running sales, so be sure to ask me or someone with the project about getting that discount if you decide to order.

I have not checked the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF) database for matches for you. Have you done that and found matches there?

In terms of trees, you probably already know about some of the larger websites with free trees, like Worldconnect here on Rootsweb and Gencircles. I am not a member of Clan Donald, but members can consult the clan genealogist, and I have seen some Clan Donald trees posted on a site for Clan Donald in the UK. There are also very good McConnell websites created and maintained by Robert C. McConnell. Here are links to those.

http://www.mcconnell.com/

http://www.dsolar.com/mcconnel/

Kirsten

Re: Kentucky McConnell's

KirstenSaxe — 2009-11-08 03:21:41Z

I see that your 12 marker results are a perfect match to the typical results for men who are M222+, but you have some unusual results at the 25 and 37 marker levels. For the marker DYS447, which doesn't mutate very often, most men in R-M222 have 25 repeats just as most other men in the more inclusive R-L21 haplogroup do, while you have just 23. Only one other men in the project with results for that marker matches your 23 repeats. He is a MacDonald, and is closer to you than most of the other R-M222 men in the project, but he is not all that close. You also have 16 repeats instead of 17 on DYS464d. That's not really unusual, but it's not a typical result, either. Your result of 12 repeats on GATAH4 is unique in the R-M222 subgroup of the project. Your results on the fast markers DYS576, DYS570, and CDYa don't match the typical results for the subgroup, but they are not unusual, either. Finally, your DYS442 value of 9 is extremely unusual. 12 is the norm for that marker, and two of the men in the group have 11 repeats, while none other than you have 10 or fewer repeats. Now I think you're right that so far, the project has not identified any really close family members for you.

There are some interesting possibilities with 12 marker results, including a McConnell. It would be nice to see additional results for him and for some of your other perfect 12 marker matches that have not upgraded.

Another approach that might really help at some point is to get another known cousin to test if you have any. Another man descended from a different son of your James McConnell born 1845 would be best. If some of the mutations in your line are recent, the two of you would probably differ on those markers, with his results equal to or at least closer to the ancestral results for those markers, and you might use his results for those markers when doing comparisons to identify the other project members closest to the results your James would have had if tested. My McConnell line is another one that doesn't match other lines outside my own family at all closely, but I found that when another cousin did a 37 marker test, that cousin had a more typical result on DYS464c than the first of my McConnell cousins to test, so now I use the second, more typical value for that marker when doing comparisons. When yet another cousin was tested on 67 markers, he also matched the typical value for that marker, giving me a little extra confidence that my first line tested is the one that has the mutation. There is another marker in the 67 marker set where the first of the cousins to test and the third of the cousins to test don't match, and the third one tested has more typical results. So it looks the first of my cousins to test has had 2 mutations in his line since the time of my 3rd great grandfather McConnell, while the other two have had no mutations on the markers that they had tested.

When I look at the closest matches in ysearch to my McConnell cousins, I see that they have other surnames and all are at least 9 steps away on 67 markers and have other surnames. So I don't think that any McConnell men outside my known family have been tested yet. By identifying their near-matches, I was able to detect a geographic pattern to the results, which point to County Down, so I am hoping to get a County Down McConnell or two to test.

I see that you do have a ysearch entry, and I will try to see whether I can figure out any sort of geographical pattern to your results.

I do have one practical word of advice for you. It would be a good idea to e-mail Doug McDonald, who maintains the project website, to let him know that you have a ysearch entry, letting him know that your ysearch ID is 6YQRW and asking him to post it on the project tables. That way if anyone else joins the project who wasn't tested by FTDNA and therefore you don't appear on each other's match pages, that person would be able to reach you without help from a third party. Another very real possibility in your case would be having a borderline match that is not close enough to be reported with a real relative even though the relative was tested at FTDNA. Statistically speaking, these sorts of borderline matches do occur, and in the case of someone who doesn't have close matches, it's more likely to happen, because they are more likely to have recent mutations in their line that prevent them from matching actual relatives.

You can contact Doug using the address at the bottom of the project's Join page:

http://dna-project.clan-donald-usa.org/DNAjoin.htm

It's generally a good idea for all of us with relatives in the project to use the tables to look for matches from time to time so that we don't miss matches with men tested by organizations other than FTDNA or borderline matches with men who are related.

I hope this helps a little. Some of us have to wait longer than others to find McConnell cousins, but we do have one advantage with our families' unique results. When a real cousin comes along and is tested on 37 or 67 markers, it should be relatively easy to identify him as a cousin. Some of the men with lots and lots of close matches have to struggle a bit to figure out which are closest to them.

I will see if I can figure out something by looking for your ysearch matches this weekend.

Kirsten Saxe

Re: Major Update of Clan Donald DNA Project Website

kcmblm1 — 2009-11-08 02:20:33Z

Thanks for reply. I contacted Clan Donald as suggested, and they added my information quickly. What can you tell me about the 30/33 marker? Also is there any family tree that might show the ancesters of Morris McConnell, b.1742 Tyrone Co, Ire. wife I believe ?? Elizabeth Irvcin. He is the top of my McConnell Tree.
Thanks for your attention.

Re: Kentucky McConnell's

bigmacHou — 2009-11-08 00:32:24Z

I am in the Clan McDonald project.

I'm in there listed as C. D. McConnell. But it hasn't done much to help me find my family.

Anything you can do to help I would appreciate.

Carl D. McConnell

Re: Kentucky McConnell's

KirstenSaxe — 2009-11-07 21:49:57Z

I can help with some things. Are you already in the Clan Donald DNA project? I could look at your results on the tables and see what they tell me first. I wonder if you are the guy who posted recently. I think I already found his results on the tables, and he is also M222+. I know some of the other McConnell and Connell researchers in the project, so if you are close to any of them, I can help you get in touch with them to compare notes.

If you do not already have a ysearch entry, I can help with that, too.

Kirsten

Kentucky McConnell's

bigmacHou — 2009-11-07 21:04:04Z

My family is from Kentucky. I'm looking for information about the McConnell's from the Shelby County area of Kentucky. My Grandfather was Wallace Middleton McConnell and my G-GF was James S. McConnell. I know that his father was from Scotland but I don't have a "good" first name. It was listed on a death certificate as "Jno"...but I think its an abbreviation for "Jms" that the author couldn't read very well.

I've had my DNA tested and I'm a R1b1b2a1b5b with SNP's L21+ and M222+ which they say is Northern Ireland.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

Re: Major Update of Clan Donald DNA Project Website

KirstenSaxe — 2009-11-07 20:47:23Z

Hi K.C., I think you are already on the project results tables. It looks like you are part of the Northwest Irish cluster. With your 30/33 marker results posted, your closest matches are a Connell, an Alexander, and a MacDonald. You may already have seen that your Connell match has a ysearch entry that you could use to make contact with his family genealogist:

http://www.ysearch.org/search_view.asp?uid=W5MZ6&viewuid...

Re: Major Update of Clan Donald DNA Project Website

KirstenSaxe — 2009-11-04 20:01:25Z

If you contact Doug McDonald, the co-administrator of the project who does most of the work with the results, he will accept your data. He cannot add it to the Family Tree DNA database, but he can add it to the Clan Donald DNA project database that he maintains, and your results will be posted on the project results tables.

Since you don't have a personal page with FTDNA, you won't have a match page listing e-mail addresses for your matches, but you may be able to contact some matches conveniently by searching for your matches on the Clan Donald DNA project results tables. Some have links in the second column to entries in the Ysearch database. You can click on the links to see those entries, and it is possible to send messages through ysearch. You can and should create a ysearch entry for yourself and share your ysearch ID with Doug so that he can post a link to your ysearch entry on the project tables, making it easier for others who find that you match them to contact you. Some of your results may need to be adjusted before entry into ysearch, so you should get help from Doug or someone else with the conversion before creating a ysearch entry.

You can contact Doug by using his e-mail address as posted near the bottom of the Clan Donald DNA project Join page:

http://dna-project.clan-donald-usa.org/DNAjoin.htm

Although I am not an administrator for the Clan Donald DNA project, I have had contacts with a number of its members, so I may be able to help you get in touch with some matches, and I can also help you try to make sense of your results.

Re: Major Update of Clan Donald DNA Project Website

kcmblm1 — 2009-11-04 00:50:14Z

My McConnell DNA tests are final and I have my results.
I am really confused as in the 250 links in Ancestry there are no McConnell's and 6 generations until the first Mc *** appears. There is a 4th gen. link to a M L but he cannot be found. My Tree has solid links to Morris McConnell, b. abt 1735/42 Tyrone Co. Ire. it appears none of this family have been tested. Will Clan Donald pick up my information?

Re: Randy/Randolph McConnell

AWWARD — 2009-10-19 19:40:59Z

Kirsten,

Thank you for the information. That is him.

Andrew

Re: Randy/Randolph McConnell

KirstenSaxe — 2009-10-19 00:17:09Z

The Social Security Death Index has an entry for a Randy McConnell b 12 Feb 1911 d 5 Dec 2006, last residence Calhoun, Gordon, Georgia.

Kirsten

Randy/Randolph McConnell

AWWARD — 2009-10-18 19:04:31Z

Looking to confirm the passing of Randy McConnell late of Gordon, Georgia. The info I have lists his death around Dec of 2006 in Gordon. Any assistance will be appreciated. Newspaper notice, funeral program...

Thanks.

Re: Archibald McConnell

jeanbarrynella — 2009-10-13 06:49:28Z

Hi
Did any of your McConnells, come from Ireland and Scotland
My grandfather John McConnell his father was Robert and his father was William .
Kind regards jean

Re: Archibald McConnell

razorjack — 2009-10-12 12:35:05Z

My London GEDCOM includes over 4000 individuals with many McConnel, Bills, Houston and other closely related families. Extensive notes are included, and I'm happy to share.
Jack London
razorjack1@aol.com

looking for Alex McConnell who may have married Sarah Jane Lake in NY

bcoug — 2009-10-11 23:41:52Z

Sarah Jane, born 1850 daughter of Schuyler Lake and Caroline Morse may have married Alex McConnell about 1870 or a bit earlier, likely in Ulster County, NY. Any information would be appreciated.

Re: Lost Mcconnell cousins in California

karenmilliorn — 2009-10-11 23:28:09Z

Kathy,
Thanks. I've been working recently on my dad's family (German and Swedish), rather than my mother's McConnell family. With all the new incoming info, I think I need to switch back to her family for awhile.
KM

Re: Lost Mcconnell cousins in California

kdefoster — 2009-10-11 21:28:43Z

Karen,

It certainly wouldn't hurt to look. Thank you for the offer. My email address is:

khudson888@aol.com

I'll let you know if there's anything that looks like a connection.

Thanks again.

Kathy

Re: Lost Mcconnell cousins in California

kdefoster — 2009-10-11 21:26:21Z

Dennis,

My emigrant ancestor settled in eastern PA, his last place in Turbot, Northumberland co., PA, before leaving about 1795 for central New York.

A tree online indicates that a Dennis McConnell married to a woman named Bridget lived in Washington co., PA in 1790 but moved to Lawrence co., PA in 1792. There was no Lawrence county in 1792, so where he settled was either Beaver or Mercer county. Lawrence county was formed in 1850 so I would look for him in either of these counties.

There were county histories written on all four of these counties. Even though most county histories were written in the 1880s, many contain information about early settlers. These histories can be found in most large libraries or go to usgenweb.com, find the county and see if it is available online.

Good luck.

Kathy McConnell Hudson
khudson888@aol.com

Re: Lost Mcconnell cousins in California

dmcbuilder — 2009-10-10 16:48:57Z

Kathy,

Can you tell me anything about you emigrant ancestor - location, name age, spouse name - the usual. I am looking for family connections about that time for Dennis & Bridget McConnell b abt 1756 and found in the 1790 census in Washington County, Pa.

Dennis McConnell

Re: McConnell family in Marshall Co, TN

PTaylor9754 — 2009-10-11 18:13:30Z

You might look for the name Samuel Patton McConnell. i found that this Samuel P McConnell died im Marshall Co. Tenn in 1907 and had a son Archibald McConnell. This might be what you are looking for.

Re: Results of 67 marker test in for Bob McConnell

kdefoster — 2009-08-27 21:42:11Z

Kirsten,

What does "your lines are outliers" mean? Not that I understand much of the rest of this, anyway, but this is a new term to me.

Do you know how to contact Leland's family genealogist? Is that Chad?

Have I given you the password for Bob's kit? If not, would you like it so that you can look at the results directly?

You can contact me at kdefoster@aol.com.

Thanks.

Kathy

Results of 67 marker test in for Bob McConnell

kdefoster — 2009-08-27 18:20:36Z

The results of the upgrade for my brother's (Robert Alan) test came in yesterday. It shows a 67 marker match to Leland McConnell.

I'm not sure what that means.

Kathy

Re: Lost Mcconnell cousins in California

karenmilliorn — 2009-10-10 17:33:41Z

My McConnell immigrant ancestor was Alexander McConnell, born about 1670 in Rostrevor/Postrevor, County Down, Ireland. He died 21 Nov 1766, in Octorara Creeek, Lancaster, PA. His son was Alexander Franklin McC., who was born in 1704,in Down, County Down, Ireland, and died 1 November 1753 and died in Drumore, Lancaster, PA. I don't have any information yet about any brothers for wither one, but if you send me you email address, I can invite you to look at the tree and see if you can find any further links. I haven't looked at that part of my tree in several months, but if your ancestors were in PA, there is at least a decent chance that they are somehow related.
K. Milliorn

Re: 50 Men with McConnell, McConnel, or MacConnell surname DNA results

jrmc42 — 2009-08-25 22:03:39Z

Kirstin;
Would you or someone explain the usefulness of a 12 marker test? I find 99% of the "match" goes bye-bye if the test is expanded at all.

Re: McConnell records need adopting

DaleBryan73 — 2009-10-03 03:02:07Z

If McConnell records include Thomas McConnell of Washington co IL, or Burwell McConnell of Jefferson co IL (1840s+/-), I would like contact with whoever ends up with these.
DaleBryan73 AT yahoo DOT com
Dale Bryan

Mc CONNELL Walter and Roberta

t42MountOlivet — 2009-09-29 16:27:27Z

McCONNELL Walter and Roberta

I photographed this gravestone in the Mount Olivet Cemetery, Fort Worth, Tarrant Co., Texas. Feel free to use this picture for your personal records. This is one of the 207,650 cemetery photos free at http://teafor2.com

If you know more about this person please reply here instead of contacting me because this is most likely not my family.

McConnell records need adopting

RobertaEstes13 — 2009-10-02 21:49:37Z

I was “gifted” with a box of genealogy having to do with one of my family lines after a researcher passed away. In the box is also a lot of other family lines that aren’t mine. I’ve sorted them into folders as best I can and here are the surnames and a little about them if I can tell much.

Buttrey – Wilkes Co NC (small file – letters)
Bailey – Topeka Kansas, New Castle, Pa, Youngstown, Ohio (small file, letters)
Loveless – Columbus Ohio, Washington Co., Va (small file, letters)
Wilderich – Henry Wiederick or Wilderick, b Germany 1858, pedigree chart (small file)
Hildebrand – Morgan County, Missouri, John Hildebrand b 1822 in Baden Germany m Victoria Anhauser or Enghauser – (thick file, quite a bit of research)
Trabuc/Trabue – Edward Trabue b 1764, son of John, married Martha Haskins, Jessamine Co., Ky and Va.
King – Joseph King m 1819 to Frances, Lincolnshire England
Nichols – Abner JeffersonNichols b 1837 probably Alabama, poss Missouri or Ark. (one letter only)
Swallow – from England, possible Liverpool (one letter only)
Brown – a few pages of general research
Burton/Cecelia – Philadelphia Pa, research log only
Rouse/Buler – Geoge Rouse and wife and grandfather Daniel Barlow born in Va near Culpepper Court house and moved to Boone Co Ky. (2 pages)

The ones below seem to be grouped together as I've grouped them. I would presume that these files in the groups would go to a researcher as a unit.

Group 1:
Smith – Thomas Leslie Smith, Missouri, born Pittsylvania Co, Va to John Wesley Smith and Sally Saunders Claytor Leftwich
Leftwich – Bedford Co., Va.
Gregory – includes Minter, Adair Co., Ky, other Ky counties, Powhatan Co, Va., John Gregory Rev War Vet, (quite a bit of research)
Minter – Fayette County, Ky, Powhatan Co, Va. (also in the Gregory file)

Group 2:
Bolander – Stephen Bolander b 1756 Lancaster Co Pa m Magaretha Shinkle (small file, letters)
Shinkle – Colorado, South Dakota, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa and Illinois
Bush – Catherine Bush m Philip Jacob Shinkle in Brush Valley, Center Co., Pa. (one letter only)
McConnell – Arthur in Washington Pa, then to Ky, Ohio and Indiana and then his children and grandchildren to Illinois and Iowa, John McConnell served in War of 1812 from Ohio Militia, Brown Co. Ohio
Luing – intermixed in other files
Watson – two lines, one from Oxford who never left England and one from York and Lincoln who came to the western US in the 1920s (small file, letters)
Wyatt – intermixed in other files
Logan – in the same file as Gregg, Pennsylvania, Jefferson Co., Indiana
Gregg – in the same file a Logan, Pennsylvania, Jefferson Co., Indiana

Group 3 – the familes below are all intermingled in one file – Kittaning, Armstrong Co., Pa, Mercer Co., Pa, various Pa, Va and NC counties, also Missouri,
Hellam – George Curtis Hellam m Mary Ellen Hawk
Peat – Oran Peat b 1899 m Gutherie Faye in Pa
Hawk – Daniel Hawk m Magdalena Bricker
Welton – intermarried with the above families

Group 4
Godley – Quaker, Farquier Co, Va, Georgia, Anderson Co., Tx (much research) – also see Peacock
Peacock – from Nottingham England, never came to America, Elizabeth m George Godley and their dau Sarah came to the us in 1924.

These are yours for the price of postage. First to e-mail me, first to get the file. Let me know which files you want.

Roberta Estes

Re: McConnell records need adopting

RobertaEstes13 — 2009-10-03 00:19:48Z

E-mail me at robertajestes@att.net.

I think we know each other.

McConnell in Londonderry, IRE

QuebecDuncan — 2009-09-24 22:49:54Z

James DUNCAN [born abt 1800] & Mary Ann McCONNELL [born abt 1805]
John McLAUGHLIN [born abt 1801] & Catherine DUNCAN [born abt 1803]
John DOHERTY [born abt 1801] & Rebecca DUNCAN [born abt 1804]

Some of their children were baptized at the First Derry Presbyterian Church, Londonderry, Ireland from 1826 to 1830.

Does anyone have knowledge of these families in County Londonderry?

Re: McConnell from Donegal to Canada 1830

DenisPye — 2009-09-17 15:47:03Z

Hello
My McConnell's were also from Donegal and Antrim. Great grandfather Henry McConnell left from Derry in 1864 and landed in Philadelphia. He married Ann McCain in County Donegal in 1863. His father was Scott McConnell and he had a twin sister Ann or Annie who married a Wilkinson. Also an older brother John who went to North America along with other children with just the parents being left behind in Ireland.Any connection or information would be gratefully received. Thanks Linda

James H McConnell

KathyinTN — 2009-08-28 21:02:04Z

I'm looking for James H McConnell married to Elizabeth.
Anderson, South Carolina. He was a sheriff there according to 1880 census. Had at least 3 children: Johnnie b. abt 1860; Mattie b. abt. 1865; and Maggie b. abt. 1870.

Re: McConnell from Donegal to Canada 1830

jmyoung365 — 2009-09-17 05:49:37Z

Most McConnells that I've run across were Protestant. Oddly, for Scotch-Irish, many were Methodists. Do you know whether your McConnells were Methodists or another Protestant faith?

My McConnells settled in New Jersey in the 1850s and I don't know much about where they came from in Ireland--other than that they were Methodist from the time they arrived in NJ and identified as being "Scotch-Irish."

Joan

Re: McConnell records need adopting

songman67 — 2009-10-03 00:38:00Z

I am interested in the McConnell information. I see that another person is, too. Would either of you be willing to copy the McConnell information to share with me? I'd be willing to pay for the price of the copies and the postage.

Steve McConnell
songman67@bellsouth.net

Mc CONNELL Bobby James 1936-1951

t42RoseHill — 2009-10-05 17:05:50Z

McCONNELL Bobby James 1936-1951

I photographed this gravestone in the (Shannon) Rose Hill Cemetery, Tarrant Co., Texas. Feel free to use this picture for your personal records. This is one of the 207,650 cemetery photos free at http://teafor2.com .

If you know more about this person please reply here,instead of contacting me because this is most likely not my family.

Mc CONNELL William E 1903-1988

t42RoseHill — 2009-10-03 13:32:29Z

McCONNELL William E 1903-1988

I photographed this gravestone in the (Shannon) Rose Hill Cemetery, Tarrant Co., Texas. Feel free to use this picture for your personal records. This is one of the 207,650 cemetery photos free at http://teafor2.com .

If you know more about this person please reply here,instead of contacting me because this is most likely not my family.

McCONNELL Sue Q 1929-1979

t42RoseHill — 2009-09-14 15:45:17Z

McCONNELL Sue Q 1929-1979

I photographed this gravestone in the (Shannon) Rose Hill Cemetery, Tarrant Co., Texas. Feel free to use this picture for your personal records. This is one of the 207,139 cemetery photos free at http://teafor2.com .

If you know more about this person please reply here,instead of contacting me because this is most likely not my family.

McCONNELL Thomas Grady and Vena Elizabeth

t42RoseHill — 2009-09-03 12:55:32Z

McCONNELL Thomas Grady and Vena Elizabeth

I photographed this gravestone in the (Shannon) Rose Hill Cemetery, Tarrant Co., Texas. Feel free to use this picture for your personal records. This is one of the 206,332 cemetery photos free at http://teafor2.com .

If you know more about this person please reply here,instead of contacting me because this is most likely not my family.

Re: Archibald McConnell

ucjb62 — 2009-10-11 00:10:54Z

Have a look at my tree, we have common relatives. My Reat grandfather was Samuel Patton McConnell.

http://71.87.195.89/phpgedview/index.php?ctype=gedcom

Re: McConnell records need adopting

KirstenSaxe — 2009-10-03 01:07:43Z

Dale, I'll let you know if they are listed as soon as I receive the originals.

Re: McConnell records need adopting

KirstenSaxe — 2009-10-03 01:06:16Z

Steve, I'll be happy to send you copies as soon as I receive the originals. I'll e-mail you to get your address.

Re: Major Update of Clan Donald DNA Project Website

KirstenSaxe — 2009-09-20 01:52:00Z

After making my earlier post, I found the time to find where the haplotypes of the two men in the R1b unclassified group that I had thought might be part of the Null 425 (Magenta) group of the project were plotted on the network charts. It looks like they are not Null 425s, but are related to the members of the Dark blue-green subgroup. So if either of them was tested further, I suppose that they might end up in that blue-green group.

Major Update of Clan Donald DNA Project Website

KirstenSaxe — 2009-09-19 02:11:40Z

The results tables of the project were updated last weekend, and a number of men in the project were moved from catch-all groups to classified groups. The network charts showing the most likely relationships between men in the project have also been updated, and you can use the following links to look at two of the charts that include results for large numbers of participants:

http://dna-project.clan-donald-usa.org/R1a37treewrapper.htm

http://dna-project.clan-donald-usa.org/R1b31treewrapper.htm

To find and view the network charts for Haplogroup I-M307 and for 67 marker R1a and R1b haplotypes, use the links from the main results page of the project:

http://dna-project.clan-donald-usa.org/DNAresults.htm

You can also reach the project results tables from the main results page, or by using the following link:

http://dna-project.clan-donald-usa.org/tables.htm

One thing that I think is especially helpful about this particular update is the fact that some of the men who were reclassified did not have a lot close matches, but Doug McDonald was able to figure out their connections to some of the existing groups, and their placements in those groups and on the network charts should help clarify their relationships to other project members. Two McConnells were reclassified, and they are both good examples of this.

One is D. W. McConnell. He has been placed in the R1b Green group that is part of the well-known Northwest Irish cluster associated with Niall of the Nine Hostages, along with A. L. McDaniel Sr. and D. R. McDonald, whose haplotypes are plotted close to his on the network charts. Another McConnell, M. J. McConnell, has 37 marker results and has not been reclassified, but the chart for men with 37/31 marker results shows the two most closely connected to each other. Their genetic distance on 37 markers is in the borderline range at 5, so together with the close connection on the chart, this is a good indication for these two men that they are related. There is also an M. S. McDonald with 37 marker results that has not been reclassified, but he is close to the others on the network chart, and I think that M. J. McConnell and M. S. McDonald would both be reclassified if they had 67 marker results.

The other reclassified McConnell is J. L. McConnell, who has been placed in the R1b Magenta group. The men in this group are known to have what is known as a null on the marker known as DYS425. This means that the DYS425 test normally used does not show any result for these men. J. L. McConnell does not have a DYS425 result, but he has a 33/37 match with an M. J. McDonald who has 67 marker results and therefore does have a DYS425 result which is a null result. There are two McConnell men remaining in the unclassified R1b group who have 37 marker results and match each other perfectly. I wonder if they also have nulls at DYS425.

So this reclassification has directly affected two McConnell men, but it seems clear that at least one other McConnell could also be reclassified based on additional test results, and it's possible that another 2 could be reclassified into the Magenta group if one of them had further testing.

The R1b unclassified group still includes several McConnell men, but most of them can be placed into very small family groups of 2 or 3 men who match closely enough that placing them in a subgroup is probably not necessary to alert researchers of their lines to their connections. It's my understanding that some of these men will be reclassified as the numbers of tested men in their family groups grow and as research into younger haplogroups (groups of men carrying an unusual mutation inherited from a common ancestor) makes it easier to develop an easily understood system of classification with many different subgroups.

Kirsten Saxe

Re: McConnell records need adopting

KirstenSaxe — 2009-10-03 00:17:52Z

Roberta, I am interested, but I am not an Ancestry subscriber, so I can't directly e-mail you unless you are the same Roberta Estes that I know from elsewhere on the web.

I'll look for you there now.

Kirsten Saxe

Re: Results of 67 marker test in for Bob McConnell

KirstenSaxe — 2009-08-27 22:05:23Z

Kathy,

I just meant that your lines are outliers in the statistical sense, meaning that they are relatively far above the typical number of mutations that you would expect to see for lines with a common ancestor who was born less than 300 years ago. They are also close enough that we should not reject the paper trail, and I wanted you to know that the descriptions of the likely degree of relatedness in that chart might be a little bit off for your family. For instance, it's conceivable that Bob might differ from Leland on one or two of the markers in the 38-67 marker set and be considered to be a genetic distance of 5 or 6 from him. Then the chart says that your ancestor is not very recent. Well, OK, maybe about 300 years ago is not very recent, but to me that is cutting it close. You probably are at least that close, but if Bob's genetic distance from Leland came out as 7, I would not worry about finding an in-betweener as the chart suggests is necessary to establish a connection. You already have one via a paper trail, and the chances of matching each other as closely as they do and not matching anybody else at a high level other than John is really tiny if you are not really related.

Yes about Leland's family genealogist. I did mean Chad.

I just realized how mixed up I was when it comes to the last message. You have the new results, not Chad. So of course you can compare them now. Oops! I will contact you via e-mail.

Kirsten

Re: Results of 67 marker test in for Bob McConnell

KirstenSaxe — 2009-08-27 21:04:09Z

It's a good confirmation that Bob and Leland are related. I know that they are a genetic distance of 3 on 37 markers from each other according to the project results tables, which do not yet show Bob's 38-67 marker results, and that is definitely a match. I think that they are probably counted as a genetic distance of 4 from each other on their match pages, because FTDNA counts the difference of 2 on DYS576 as 2 steps, while the project results tables count it as 1 step.

It would be good to know how well the two men match on markers 38-67. If their genetic distance on 37 and 67 markers are the same, then they must match perfectly on those markers. If not, you can figure out the genetic distance on 38-67 by subtracting the GD on 37 markers from the GD on 67 markers. Where they mismatch could turn out to be important later when others in the family have results.

If Bob and Leland match perfectly on markers 38-67, then you can be pretty sure that they also match their most recent common ancestor, Guien. If not, you can hope that when John's results are available, they match one of the others at each of these markers. If two men descended from different sons match, chances are that they match their most recent common ancestor. It is good to establish a probable modal haplotype (set of results) for the most recent common ancestor. Then when others who match closely are tested, it can be a little easier to figure out how those not connected by paper trails are likely to be related.

The following table is generally helpful to people trying to figure out the significance of their 67 marker matches. There are also 12, 25, and 37 marker versions of this table:

http://www.familytreedna.com/genetic-distance-markers.aspx?t...

Keep in mind the fact that your family appears to have had an above average number of mutations during the last 300 years or so, so statistically, your lines are outliers.

You can get in touch with Leland's family genealogist to compare results, or you can use the project results tables to do that after they are updated.

Kirsten

Statistics Re: 50 Men with McConnell, McConnel, or MacConnell surname DNA results

KirstenSaxe — 2009-08-23 15:22:12Z

I thought it would be good to share some basic statistics on the 50 men in the Clan Donald DNA project with the surname McConnell, MacConnell, or McConnel. It is possible to group male lineages into groups of men who share descent from a common ancestor. These groups are called haplogroups, and the major haplogroups are thousands of years old. Here is a listing showing the proportion of these 50 men in different haplogroups:

Haplogroup I-P37.2 2%
Haplogroup I-M233 4%

Haplogroup I has been present in Europe for a very long time, making the deep ancestry of these lines especially interesting. Results for the I-M233 men suggest that they may be related.

Haplogroup R1a 16%

Most or all of the men in Haplogroup R1a probably descend from Somerled, the ancestor of the chieftains of the MacDonald clan. Some of the McConnell men in this group seem to be quite closely related, and at least one has found his paper trail research aided by the use of his DNA results.

Haplogroup R1b 78%

Doug McDonald of the project has looked at the variation in test results for participants in Haplogroup R1b, and has subdivided them into groups of more closely related individuals.

R1b Red group, associated with the Dalriadic Scots, 10%

The McConnell and MacConnell members of the R1b Red group match each other very closely.

R1b Green group, associated with Northwest Ireland and the ancient Irish king Niall of the Nine Hostages, 8%

One of the R1b Green McConnell men joined the project recently, and his results and results for the other McConnells tend to match, suggesting that these men belong to just one or two McConnell families.

R1b Yellow green group, associated with the Irish province of Leinster and the kings and chieftains of the Laigin people, 10%

McConnell members of the Yellow green group match each other quite closely and lived near each other in the Lancaster County, PA area.

R1b Yellow group, others not classified into specific subgroups, 50%

Most of the 25 men in the R1b Yellow group have matches within that group, and could be grouped into smaller subgroups. For instance,

L. J. McConnell matches S. H. McDonnieal. Results for both of these men are similar to results for members of the R1b Magenta group created by Doug.
J. L. McConnell matches M. J. McDonald.
E. R., M. F., and R. H. McConnell match.
R. B. and B. K. McConnell do not match each other, but both have exact 12 marker matches with J. A. McDonald and B. H. Donald.
M. J. McConnell matches a Lundell 12 for 12 and has a borderline match with D. W. McConnell.
J. A. and J. H. McConnell match each other and have a borderline match with P. E. MacDonald.
L. S., J. C., and R. A. McConnell match each other.
R. McConnell matches W. K. MacDonald and D. C. McDonald.
J. R. McConnell matches J. G. MacConnell, S. McConnell, Z. M. McDaniel, W. R. MacDonald, and C. S. McDonald.
D. E. and W. L. McConnell match.
S. C. and S. W. McConnell match.
R. C. McConnell has results which match results for a Connell in the database of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation. Members of a family that traces their line to the same Connell recently contacted me about joining the project. Results for these men are similar to results for men in the Magenta subgroup.

Kirsten Saxe

Re: 50 Men with McConnell, McConnel, or MacConnell surname DNA results

KirstenSaxe — 2009-08-26 02:11:27Z

It is true that most matches at the 12 marker level are not listed at higher levels. There are two main reasons for this. One is that some people who match at the 12 marker level are only very distantly related, and the other is that many people who have tested at the 12 marker level have not tested beyond that level. So even if they really do match, they won't be listed as higher level matches.

Fortunately, it is possible to tell from the project results tables or the match listings how many of the standard markers have been tested. If you have matches with men with your surname McConnell or a variant, such as McDaniel, MacDonald, or McDonald, and they only have 12 marker results, then it would be wise of them to upgrade if possible, and wise of you to express your interest in comparing higher level results with them in a low key way. 12 marker matches with other surnames are usually not as significant for recent genealogy.

So what are the uses of a 12 marker test?

One is that it can be used to sort suspected relatives into 3 categories, related, possibly related, and unrelated. Generally speaking, DNA results for a McConnell will eliminate most other McConnell lines as possible cousins, because there are many distinct McConnell lines. This power of the 12 marker test to eliminate most other tested lines as possible relatives probably holds for most surnames, but it does not hold for all of them. There are some families that have found that the 12 marker test has saved them a lot of money, because they were paying for the testing of lines that might or might not have been related to them. There are a lot of McConnell lines that lived in the vicinity of my McConnell family, so it's possible that I will one day order some 12 marker tests myself.

Of course families that match on 12 markers and have the same surname or a variant are worth some extra scrutiny when it comes to paper trail research, and it's helpful if they upgrade.

A lot of people find the deep ancestry information provided by DNA tests interesting, and those doing a 12 marker test do find out what haplogroup they are in, even if the 12 marker results are not considered sufficient to predict the haplogroup, because FTDNA will do an extra test to determine the haplogroup in such cases. Usually, those tests are done automatically, but sometimes a request is needed to trigger the test, which is performed at no additional charge.

FTDNA performs the 12 marker tests for the Genographic Project, which is all about deep ancestry, and participants can order through the Genographic Project and then request that their results be added to the FTDNA database, so I do recommend that anyone ordering the 12 marker test consider doing it through the Genographic Project.

In rare cases, a 12 marker test can be used to confirm a paper genealogy or a family affiliation. This can happen if a family's haplotypes (results) are sufficiently unique. Maybe I should not use the word rare, but unusual. A 12 marker match for my McConnell cousins with the McConnell surname would be related. I'd say the probability would be over 99.5%. There is a surname project administrator who really knows what she is doing who has posted about how one of her families is able to use 12 marker results in this way.

One really important advantage of doing the 12 marker test is that it can get testing for a line started, and FTDNA stores samples for 25 years. So maybe the money is not there for a 37 marker test now for a certain line, but 12 marker results are useful, and generally, FTDNA is extremely successful on running additional tests from stored samples. If you are thinking about testing a man who is among the last of his line, or is the last of his line, this is an extremely important advantage. Those participating in the Genographic Project can also enjoy the benefits of sample storage, so long as they request to be included in the FTDNA database before the Genographic Project winds down.

Bottom line: If you can afford it, it's probably better to start with a 37 or 67 marker test, and this will probably be cheaper in the long run unless the person doesn't match and no upgrade is desired. In some cases, 12 marker results may be somewhat misleading if there have been some recent mutations in related lines which don't match as a result, and this is probably the greatest risk of relying too heavily on the 12 marker test, because in those cases, comparisons at higher levels will normally show the relatedness. On the other hand, the 12 marker test definitely has its uses.

For those interested in starting by testing beyond the 12 marker level and in joining the Genographic Project, it is possible to order testing through FTDNA and later enroll in the Genographic Project for a nominal fee which goes to support that worthy project.

Re: McConnell from Donegal to Canada 1830

ehaddix186 — 2009-09-17 20:23:20Z

Joan--Thanks for replying to my posting. I can't say what denomination, thought Presbyterian is a possibility. There apparently are many McConnell searchers who have as little information about their family's backgrounds as I do. This means we have our work cut out for us, though there are always new things being posted on the Donegal sites. Best of luck with your "tree." Eva

McConnell from Donegal to Canada 1830

ehaddix186 — 2009-09-16 21:59:12Z

Have come to a halt after a couple of years searching for John and Catherine McConnell who left Donegal by way of Derry on a ship for Saint John, New Brunswick. They had two young sons with them, John and William. Protestant; parents ages about 35 and 30 and sons 7 and 6 on arrival. Names passed on the in the family include Joseph and Walter. Do not have townland, but apparently not far from Derry. Any ideas on how to ferret out this family welcomed or would be very interested in other Saint John arrivals in the year 1830 since emigrants most often travelled in groups.

Sgt. Andrew H. McConnell of Carlisle, Pa. d. 14 Sep 2009

RIP_09 — 2009-09-16 20:30:32Z

On the Web:
http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=1...

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 721-09
September 16, 2009
DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device Sept. 14 in southern Afghanistan. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

Killed were: (see link for complete release)

Sgt. Andrew H. McConnell, 24, of Carlisle, Pa.

For more information media may contact the Fort Lewis public affairs office at (253) 967-0152, (253) 967-0147 or after hours at (253) 967-0015 (ask for the Public Affairs Officer on call).