Because Connell is one possible variant of the McConnell and MacDonald surnames, the huge Clan Donald DNA project functions as a surname project for men with the Connell surname who participate in DNA testing. The Clan Donald DNA project is one of the oldest genetic genealogy projects in existence, and was the first family-based project to reach the 800 member milestone. Project results show that men with the Connell surname and other surnames that are variants of MacDonald come from many genetically distinct families. Genealogists with family members in the project can use the results to sort out the possible cousins from the majority of members that are not related through their surname lines. Most project members do have significant matches with other project members indicating that their lines are related.

Knowing which men are related can lead to paper trail breakthroughs. Another interesting benefit of having test results is that they reveal something about the ancient history of a family.

To learn more about this project, I recommend starting with the following pages on the Clan Donald DNA Project website:

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

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

Kirsten Saxe
especially interested in my McConnell family from NJ