This may be too complicated to work on the list but we can start here. The Wilson Co TN McClains did come from Guilford Co NC as part of a mass migration to that area in the 1790's. The Donnell family was a part of that migration. William McClain b.1773 d. abt 1818 was the father of most of the McClains in Wilson Co. He did have a brother, John, who moved to Wilson Co with him but he disappears after 1804. There were several distinct lines (at least I think they were distinct) in Guilford Co. William came from the Moses McClain line. I am unaware of the name, Jane, ever being used in this family. William did have a son, Alexander Foster McClain, who did move to Weakley County TN betweebn 1835 and 1840. He settled just NW of Dresden. He had a large family and there are members of that line in the area today. As best I can tell, these McClains have no connection to the Rockingham County NC McClains who are the ancestors of most of the McClains in the Weakley-Henry-Graves-Calloway Co area. Another distinct line in Guilford Co was the John McClain line. One of the early Johns married Jane Marshall and the name Jane is used extensively in that line. Some of this family pioneered Franklin Co IL in the early 1800's. I hope this helps a little. E-mail me if we need to discuss further. Garry Brown gsbrown4@yahoo.com Albuquerque, NM > > > You mentioned Weakley County, TN in your McClain query. I have been > looking for years for a McClain connection in the Henry County, TN area. > In the late 1820s, John Marcellous Donnell m. Jane McClain, b. March 1807, > in the Nashville, TN area according to family history. Their first > children may have been born in Henry County, TN. They along with his > father (James M. Donnell and second wife , Margaret Maxwell,who may have > been a sister of John's mother, Louisa Maxwell) and several siblings moved > to Greene County, MO in the early 1830s. The Donnell's had come from > Guilford Co, NC to Wilson Co, TN area according to a Greene County, MO > history. > Children of John M. Donnell and Jane McClain were: > James Monroe, Mary Ann, George Washington, William Maxwell, Margaret R., > Robert D. John Martin, Frances Jane, Nancy Caroline, Sarah Clementine, > Columbus Williamson and Francis Marion. > I would appreciate hearing from you about your McClain's in Weakley > Co as they may be connected. Thanks in advance. Alice >