I am researching the family of Robert and Margaret McConnell (nee Nichol) who lived in the Ballymoney area of County Antrim, Ireland, in the 1830s-1850s. They had at least one son Robert and daughter and my greatgrandfather, William, born in 1845. The rural area they lived in was Ballynagg-Ballyrashane-Seacon - towards County Londonderry. William went to sea in 1860 and apparently had relatives in Scotland. Margaret McConnell was still alive in 1872 when William married Rebecca Scott, in Glasgow, where they lived. William ws a merchant seaman. He and Rebecca came to New Zealand in 1875, after the birth of my grandfather, Robert, in 1874. I have extracted many McConnell details from parish registers around Ballymoney and will put them on this site later in the year. The Clan McDonald notes are interesting as the one piece of information my father passed on was that the family's name was not always spelt McConnell. Robin McConnell m wrote: I think that the DNA groups are going to be very helpful.? But there are going to be such families as ours that only have female McConnell's left.? My aunt who is 77 years old agreed to the DNA testing,? she was a granddaughter to the McConnell who was born in Glasgow in 1862.? I've contacted each and every match that comes to my e-mail and so far no close matches.? I like reading from the McConnell rootsweb.com.? I'm in Kansas and know that my Sarah McConnell must of left a family somewhere before she came to Kansas.? I'll just keep searching like everybody else.? Jean -----Original Message----- From: gc-gateway@rootsweb.com To: MCCONNELL-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Sun, 23 Mar 2008 1:59 pm Subject: Re: [McConnell] McConnell - Ireland - This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: ksaxe Surnames: McConnell Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2505.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Hi Jean, Thank you for your kind reply. The same Robert C. McConnell who has wondered whether his line traces to immigrants from Dumfriesshire has also considered the possibility that his line traces to Donegal. He has been in touch with a researcher of a line from Donegal which has many of the same given names as his own McConnell family. It would be very interesting to get DNA results for a member of that family to compare with those of Robert and others in the Clan Donald project. Warm regards, Kirsten Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. ********* Visit the threaded archives of this list: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/MCCONNELL ********* Messages posted to the RootsWeb/Ancestry MCCONNELL Message Board are gatewayed to this Mailing List. Remember that the author of gatewayed messages may not be a list subscriber so please reply to gatewayed messages by clicking on the link and replying on the board. ************ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MCCONNELL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ********* Visit the threaded archives of this list: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/MCCONNELL ********* Messages posted to the RootsWeb/Ancestry MCCONNELL Message Board are gatewayed to this Mailing List. Remember that the author of gatewayed messages may not be a list subscriber so please reply to gatewayed messages by clicking on the link and replying on the board. ************ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MCCONNELL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message --------------------------------- Rise to the challenge for Sport Relief with Yahoo! for Good

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: ksaxe Surnames: McConnell Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2505.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Hi Jean, Thank you for your kind reply. The same Robert C. McConnell who has wondered whether his line traces to immigrants from Dumfriesshire has also considered the possibility that his line traces to Donegal. He has been in touch with a researcher of a line from Donegal which has many of the same given names as his own McConnell family. It would be very interesting to get DNA results for a member of that family to compare with those of Robert and others in the Clan Donald project. Warm regards, Kirsten Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

Jean- I never found *my* Charles McConnell on any ship list...or should I say I never found him with his family on any ship list. Therefore, I can't say which of the many Charles McConnells is mine. I've also not found him in the Index of Alien Declarations in Salem County. I DO know that my McConnells settled in Salem County in Southern New Jersey when they arrived in America. I know that the first US census they appear on is 1860 in which they indicate that all children born prior to daughter Anna/Annie born in 1859 were born in Ireland but Anna was born in NJ. I've scoured the 1855 NJ State census for Salem County but many entries for the townships in which they most likely were living at the time are illegible and faded. The 1860 census record can be backed up with the fact that while NJ had reliable birth records from 1848 on up there are no NJ birth records for Mary McConnell born 28 Feb. 1842 (which there wouldn't be) or Catharine "Kate" born in 1851 (which there SHOULD be if she was born in NJ). Lizzie born 1863 and Emma born in 1865 were born in NJ and have birth records. I've scoured ship lists and the closest I can find that I suspect might be parts of my McConnells in is the ship list for JJ Cooke ship Superior Second Trip 1852 from Londonderry to Philadelphia (which would make perfect sense as the destination since it is the closest port to Salem County, NJ). The ship list includes: Catherine McConnell of Moville Daniel McConnell, age 4 Moville Kate McConnell, age 1 Moville Also on the ship but listed separately are: Rebecca McConnell Strabane Mary Ann McConnell Strabane My best guess is that Charles may have come to America first (alone) and worked to afford to bring his family over. He couldn't have come too much earlier since daughter Kate was born in 1851. I never knew of a son Daniel in my McConnell family but if they did have a son he most likely would have been named Daniel after Charles' father (Irish naming patterns). So it is quite possible that these are my McConnells and that Daniel died at some point before the family appears on any US census listing. I don't know who the Rebecca McConnell is either but she could be a relative and Mary Ann living with Rebecca could be the oldest child of the family my great-grandmother Mary A. McConnell. It wouldn't all that unusual for her to have been living apart from the family by age 10 (possibly with a relative)--at age 17 on the 1860 census she's living on a farm working as a maid and not with the rest of her family either. At least this is the closest I can come to finding anything resembling my McConnells on a ship list. For whatever reason, after the 1860 census, the McConnell daughters all began claiming they were born in NJ on later census records and even Mary's obituary in 1915 states that she was born 28 Feb. 1842 near Mannington, Salem County, NJ (which where she was living at the time of the 1860 census). Three of the five girls died at a young age. Emma McConnell died 20 Oct. 1886 and her obit. says she was a member of the Elmer (Salem County) M.E. Church. Anna McConnell died 17 Dec. 1886. Lizzie marred on 10 Jan. 1883 to Oliver Hughes, had one child who survived childhood, and died before 24 Jan. 1889 when Oliver Hughes remarried to Olive Baldwin. All three of them -- Emma, Lizzie, and Anna died of "arthritis pulminalis" which I'm told is most likely a complication of having previously had TB. Mary McConnell married Job Kiger (a 4th generation American of Alsatian/German/Swedish descent) in 1861 and Kate married Martin Schnetzler (a Swiss immigrant). I have tried searching any and all records available for Strabane and Moville and surrounding areas but never located a family matching my McConnells. So the hunt continues. By the way, Moville is in County Donegal and Strabane is in County Tyrone -- right on the border with County Donegal. So reading your message--County Tyrone enters the picture for both of us as does the Methodist religion and family identity as Scotch-Irish. Joan ----------------------------- Joan, My McConnell was born in Glasgow, (per obituary) but married a Kerr from County Tyrone Ireland, so they too must of traveled back and forth at sometime. And they attended a Methodist Episcopal Church when they arrived in Ellsworth Kansas in about 1880. And they too called themselves Scotch-Irish. When did your Charles McConnell immigrate? Jean **************Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL Home. (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15?ncid=aolhom00030000000001)

Can someone send me the link to the McConnell DNA group? Thanks, Sharon wilcoxphoto@verizon.net

Joan, My McConnell was born in Glasgow, (per obituary) but married a Kerr from County Tyrone Ireland, so they too must of traveled back and forth at sometime.?? And they attended a Methodist Episcopal Church when they arrived in Ellsworth Kansas in about 1880.? And they too called themselves Scotch-Irish.? When did your Charles McConnell immigrate?? Jean -----Original Message----- From: JYoung6180@aol.com To: mcconnell@rootsweb.com Sent: Sun, 23 Mar 2008 2:35 pm Subject: Re: [McConnell] McConnell - Ireland - Hi, Jean- I'm not sure whether Kirsten is subscribed to the list or not and if she isn't she won't see your reply when posted directly to the list. If you want Kirsten to see your reply click the link in her gatewayed message and reply on the board. That said--I'm in the same boat you are. My McConnell side is my mother's mother's mother's father's side and there are NO male descendants of this McConnell line that I'm aware of. My 2nd great-grandparents had five daughters--so no males coming down from any of the line that immigrated from Ireland to America. All I know from actual research is that my 2nd great-grandfather Charles McConnell's death certificate (he is my immigrant ancestor) says that his parents are: Daniel McConnell and Mary Ward and that they were all from Ireland. Kind of hard to find the townland with common names like Daniel and Mary when all you know is "Ireland." My only other clue is that they appear to have been Protestant (Methodist Episcopal) from the time of their arrival in America and referred to themselves as Scotch-Irish rather than Irish--so I assume they were from Northern Ireland. Joan ------------------------- I think that the DNA groups are going to be very helpful.? But there are going to be such families as ours that only have female McConnell's left.? My aunt who is 77 years old agreed to the DNA testing,? she was a granddaughter to the McConnell who was born in Glasgow in 1862.? I've contacted each and every match that comes to my e-mail and so far no close matches.? I like reading from the McConnell rootsweb.com.? I'm in Kansas and know that my Sarah McConnell must of left a family somewhere before she came to Kansas.? I'll just keep searching like everybody else.? Jean **************Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL Home. (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15?ncid=aolhom00030000000001) ********* Visit the threaded archives of this list: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/MCCONNELL ********* Messages posted to the RootsWeb/Ancestry MCCONNELL Message Board are gatewayed to this Mailing List. Remember that the author of gatewayed messages may not be a list subscriber so please reply to gatewayed messages by clicking on the link and replying on the board. ************ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MCCONNELL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hi, Jean- I'm not sure whether Kirsten is subscribed to the list or not and if she isn't she won't see your reply when posted directly to the list. If you want Kirsten to see your reply click the link in her gatewayed message and reply on the board. That said--I'm in the same boat you are. My McConnell side is my mother's mother's mother's father's side and there are NO male descendants of this McConnell line that I'm aware of. My 2nd great-grandparents had five daughters--so no males coming down from any of the line that immigrated from Ireland to America. All I know from actual research is that my 2nd great-grandfather Charles McConnell's death certificate (he is my immigrant ancestor) says that his parents are: Daniel McConnell and Mary Ward and that they were all from Ireland. Kind of hard to find the townland with common names like Daniel and Mary when all you know is "Ireland." My only other clue is that they appear to have been Protestant (Methodist Episcopal) from the time of their arrival in America and referred to themselves as Scotch-Irish rather than Irish--so I assume they were from Northern Ireland. Joan ------------------------- I think that the DNA groups are going to be very helpful.? But there are going to be such families as ours that only have female McConnell's left.? My aunt who is 77 years old agreed to the DNA testing,? she was a granddaughter to the McConnell who was born in Glasgow in 1862.? I've contacted each and every match that comes to my e-mail and so far no close matches.? I like reading from the McConnell rootsweb.com.? I'm in Kansas and know that my Sarah McConnell must of left a family somewhere before she came to Kansas.? I'll just keep searching like everybody else.? Jean **************Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL Home. (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15?ncid=aolhom00030000000001)

I think that the DNA groups are going to be very helpful.? But there are going to be such families as ours that only have female McConnell's left.? My aunt who is 77 years old agreed to the DNA testing,? she was a granddaughter to the McConnell who was born in Glasgow in 1862.? I've contacted each and every match that comes to my e-mail and so far no close matches.? I like reading from the McConnell rootsweb.com.? I'm in Kansas and know that my Sarah McConnell must of left a family somewhere before she came to Kansas.? I'll just keep searching like everybody else.? Jean -----Original Message----- From: gc-gateway@rootsweb.com <gc-gateway@rootsweb.com> To: MCCONNELL-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Sun, 23 Mar 2008 1:59 pm Subject: Re: [McConnell] McConnell - Ireland - This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: ksaxe Surnames: McConnell Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2505.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Hi Jean, Thank you for your kind reply. The same Robert C. McConnell who has wondered whether his line traces to immigrants from Dumfriesshire has also considered the possibility that his line traces to Donegal. He has been in touch with a researcher of a line from Donegal which has many of the same given names as his own McConnell family. It would be very interesting to get DNA results for a member of that family to compare with those of Robert and others in the Clan Donald project. Warm regards, Kirsten Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. ********* Visit the threaded archives of this list: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/MCCONNELL ********* Messages posted to the RootsWeb/Ancestry MCCONNELL Message Board are gatewayed to this Mailing List. Remember that the author of gatewayed messages may not be a list subscriber so please reply to gatewayed messages by clicking on the link and replying on the board. ************ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MCCONNELL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: jeanbarrynella Surnames: MCCONNELL CLARKE Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2505.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Hi My gg grandfather was a Robert McConnell he was born about 1867 in Letterkenny Donegal as far as i know he went live in Scotland where he married a Eliza Clarke 1890 in Govan they also had a son Robert which i dont know where ended up living. Kind regards jean Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: ksaxe Surnames: McConnell, Kelsey Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2505/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Hi Carol, After my post last weekend mentioning one of the other McConnell families from PA and their suspicion that they descend from McConnell brothers who came from Dumfriesshire, Scotland to Philadelphia, I wondered how many other McConnell families suspect that they are connected to the two brothers. I know that Robert C. McConnell in the clan chiefs subgroup of the Clan Donald DNA Project has also wondered if his family connects to the immigrant brothers. Since his line is in Haplogroup R1a and the Lancaster County families are in Haplogroup R1b, they can't both descend from the same line. Your family's R1b line is another possibility, at least as far as I know. It certainly would be nice to find known descendants of the immigrant brothers who could test through the project. Kirsten Saxe, McConnell researcher Carol wrote on the mailing list: Still looking for the parents of Guien (various spellings) McConnell born in Ireland, married Martha KELSEY of Chester, PA died 19 Aug 1807 in Fayette Twp, Seneca County, NY. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

Looking for the family of James McConnell b abt 1762 in Co Tyrone, Ireland and died in 1817 in Columbiana Co., Ohio. He married Rachel Antram b 1759 ? and died in ? Columbiana Co., Ohio. Hope some one can help me! Liz Stookesberry Myers

Still looking for the parents of Guien (various spellings) McConnell born in Ireland, married Martha KELSEY of Chester, PA died 19 Aug 1807 in Fayette Twp, Seneca County, NY. **************Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL Home. (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15?ncid=aolhom00030000000001)

The William with wife Abigal is my gg grandfather. There are no Elizabeth Corbins in our family. Bill Mc ----- Original Message ----- From: <brewerwr@aol.com> To: <gc-gateway@rootsweb.com>; <mcconnell@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008 11:02 AM Subject: Re: [McConnell] William McConnell and Elizabeth Corbin > > I have Heritage Quest and checked the IN census for 1860, found two William? McConnell's: > > 1860 M653 roll 256 page 231, daughter Mary is 17 but Mother is Abigal.? > > 1860 M653 rool 279 Page 243, daughter Mary Ann is 20 and Mother's name is Elizabeth.? You can? get Heritage Quest at most Libraries.? > > > -----Original Message----- > From: gc-gateway@rootsweb.com <gc-gateway@rootsweb.com> > To: MCCONNELL-L@rootsweb.com > Sent: Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:28 am > Subject: [McConnell] William McConnell and Elizabeth Corbin > > > > > This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. > > Author: rkcoow > Surnames: McConnell Corbin Shake > Classification: queries > > Message Board URL: > > http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2503/mb.ashx > > Message Board Post: > > I'm looking for any information about William McConnell and Elizabeth Corbin who > are the parents of Mary McConnell, Born 17 Nov 1846 in Sullivan, IN, and married > Thomas Martin Shake 18 Jan 1866 in Sullivan, IN. Our family line stops with > William and Elizabeth and we have no other information about them other than > their names. Any information would be greatly appreciated. > > Important Note: > The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like > to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond > on the board. > > > > > > ********* > Visit the threaded archives of this list: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/MCCONNELL > ********* > Messages posted to the RootsWeb/Ancestry MCCONNELL Message Board are gatewayed > to this Mailing List. Remember that the author of gatewayed messages may not be > a list subscriber so please reply to gatewayed messages by clicking on the link > and replying on the board. > ************ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MCCONNELL-request@rootsweb.com > with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of > the message > > > > ********* > Visit the threaded archives of this list: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/MCCONNELL > ********* > Messages posted to the RootsWeb/Ancestry MCCONNELL Message Board are gatewayed to this Mailing List. Remember that the author of gatewayed messages may not be a list subscriber so please reply to gatewayed messages by clicking on the link and replying on the board. > ************ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MCCONNELL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > -- > Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. > Checked by AVG. > Version: 7.5.518 / Virus Database: 269.21.6/1318 - Release Date: 3/7/2008 2:01 PM > >

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: z395 Surnames: McConnell Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2504/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I am looking for information on the family of Peter McConnell born April 7, 1850 at Allumette Island, Quebec. His wife's name was Mary Jane. A son George was born in Renfrew County, Ontario on May 20, 1879. He lived in Radisson Saskatchewan in 1906 and died in Chilliwack, BC in 1936. dmh51@hotmail.com Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: rkcoow Surnames: McConnell Corbin Shake Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2503/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I'm looking for any information about William McConnell and Elizabeth Corbin who are the parents of Mary McConnell, Born 17 Nov 1846 in Sullivan, IN, and married Thomas Martin Shake 18 Jan 1866 in Sullivan, IN. Our family line stops with William and Elizabeth and we have no other information about them other than their names. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: JeanBrewer123 Surnames: McConnell/ Kerr Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2502.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Please, do you have any other info on Charles McConnell? I will check census to see if I can find him. The name Charles fits, and the 1908 is close, and the fact that he was in Oklahoma which is close to Kansas is good too. Thank you for the heads up. Jean Brewer Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

I have Heritage Quest and checked the IN census for 1860, found two William? McConnell's: 1860 M653 roll 256 page 231, daughter Mary is 17 but Mother is Abigal.? 1860 M653 rool 279 Page 243, daughter Mary Ann is 20 and Mother's name is Elizabeth.? You can? get Heritage Quest at most Libraries.? -----Original Message----- From: gc-gateway@rootsweb.com <gc-gateway@rootsweb.com> To: MCCONNELL-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Fri, 21 Mar 2008 10:28 am Subject: [McConnell] William McConnell and Elizabeth Corbin This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: rkcoow Surnames: McConnell Corbin Shake Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2503/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I'm looking for any information about William McConnell and Elizabeth Corbin who are the parents of Mary McConnell, Born 17 Nov 1846 in Sullivan, IN, and married Thomas Martin Shake 18 Jan 1866 in Sullivan, IN. Our family line stops with William and Elizabeth and we have no other information about them other than their names. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board. ********* Visit the threaded archives of this list: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/MCCONNELL ********* Messages posted to the RootsWeb/Ancestry MCCONNELL Message Board are gatewayed to this Mailing List. Remember that the author of gatewayed messages may not be a list subscriber so please reply to gatewayed messages by clicking on the link and replying on the board. ************ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MCCONNELL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: maryachtrh Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2502/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Appears in "The Ravia Herald" 22 February 1908, Ravia, Johnston County, Oklahoma While a freight train was switching at the Frisco station at Holdenville, Charles McConnell, a brakeman, was caught between the draw bars of two cars and his foot horribly mangled. He will lose his leg. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: ksaxe Surnames: McConnell, MacConnell, McDonald, MacDonald, Mack, McDonnieal, McBride, Kilmer, McQuesten, Macgregor Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2501/mb.ashx Message Board Post: Results for 25 McConnells now on the Clan Donald project tables Five more McConnells have been added to the project tables since late October, bringing the total number of McConnell men in the project to twenty-five. Based on kit counts for the project and for McConnell men on the FTDNA website, I think that about four additional kits for McConnell men are in the early stages of testing now. The Clan Donald DNA Project as a whole has also experienced good growth recently going from 500 men on the project tables as of November 2 to 565 men on the tables as of Friday. The McConnell men in the project are members of many different lines, and they have been classified into a number of different family groups. Three of those groups are quite large and well-known, and nearly a third of the McConnell men in the project are members of one of these well-known families. One of those large groups is the group of male line relatives of Somerled, the founder of Clan Donald. One of the recently added McConnell men is a member of this group, bringing the number of McConnell men in this group to three, or 12% of the McConnell men in the project. The most recently added man is a close match with Robert C. McConnell, whose case I profiled on this board last year. Both men trace their lines to Pennsylvania, and they are exploring the possibility that their earliest known McConnell ancestors were closely related. Another group is known as the Dalriadic Scots group, and contains descendants and male line relatives of the kings of the old kingdom of Dalriada. Two McConnells are in this group, and they match each other and the two MacConnells in that group quite closely. Another McConnell in the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation database would also be classified in this group if he were in the project. The two men in the project comprise 8% of the McConnells in the project. The third of these large groups is the group of male line relatives of the famed Irish king Niall of the Nine Hostages. Last year, I profiled the case of the lone McConnell in the group at that time, Keith McConnell, referring to the case as Belinda's Brick Wall, because Keith's cousin Belinda is an avid genealogist and has found their ancestor James McConnell to be one of her most difficult brick walls. Keith and Belinda have many DNA matches because Niall and his family were so prolific, but many of those bear different surnames since Niall lived long before the adoption of surnames. Recently a 12 for 12 matching McConnell appeared on the R1b Green table, giving Belinda and Keith a new possibility to explore, and bringing the percentage of McConnell men in this group to 8%, exactly matching the percentage of Clan Donald men in the project as a whole in this group. Other men in the project are members of smaller or less well-known groups. Ray McConnell, another man profiled last year, is a member of a group known as Haplogroup I1b2a or its older name of I1c. His results from National Geographic's Genographic Project suggest that he is a member of a subgroup of this group that is found almost exclusively in Britain, and is believed to have been among the earlier male lines to colonize Britain after the last Ice Age. Ray comprises 4% of the McConnells in the project, and members of his subgroup comprise about 1.4% of the project's members. Members of the larger Haplogroup I which contains Ray's subgroup comprise about 7.8% of the members of the project as a whole. Most of the McConnell men in the project are currently classified in a catch-all group called the R1b Unclassified subgroup. R1b is another haplogroup like Haplogroup I. Most men in the British Isles are members of Haplogroup R1b, which is the most common haplogroup in Europe. Most of the earliest male line settlers in Britain to leave male line descendants living today were members of the R1b subgroup, and many later settlers of Britain were also members of this group, which expanded in numbers dramatically after the last Ice Age. Three McConnell men in the R1b Yellow (Unclassified) subgroup match each other very closely. Two are known cousins, one is a long-suspected cousin, and these three all trace their lines to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They also match a McDonald who traces his line to Wilmington, Delaware and knows that one of his earliest known McDonald ancestors used the name McConnell when he was in the military. They match another McDonald with 12 marker results and a Mack whose name may be a shortened form of MacDonald, along with some other men in the project whose names are not MacDonald variants. These include a McBride, a Kilmer, a McQuesten, and a Macgregor. They have large numbers of matches outside the project as well, suggesting that their family expanded very successfully over a long period of time starting before the adoption of surnames. Researchers of this McConnell family have long suspected a connection to immigrant McConnells from Dumfries, Scotland, and some of thei! r DNA matches trace to that area. Members of this family happen to be very close to the ancestral values of the very large group of men matching the Western Modal Haplotype, and this probably helps explain the high number of matches, but I wonder if some of the numbers are the result of a high social status and resulting higher rate of reproduction for their family at some point in the past. It will be very interesting to follow this group as more men are tested, and a new subgroup including these men will probably be created sometime this year. There are other men in the R1b Yellow subgroup with close matches, and some without close matches. There is even one who has no close matches in the project, but does closely match a participant in the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation study. Some of the closest matches for these McConnells are with known cousins, but there are some other interesting examples. There are two McConnell men who both match a Donald man with 12 marker results perfectly, but the two McConnell men don't match each other well on more markers. It's possible that one of these men is closely related to the Donald man, but the 12 marker results aren't enough to determine whether this is true. One of those McConnell men has a distant match with a McDonald who may share a common line. One McConnell in the R1b Yellow subgroup matches a McDonnieal and a McDonald and they may be members of the same family. There are a few McConnell men in the group who have no close matches. They are J. L., D. E., P. J., and D. B. McConnell. As more men are tested, I expect matches to start showing up for these men along with more matches for others in the project. Kirsten Saxe, McConnell researcher Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: ksaxe Surnames: MacDonald, McDonald, McConnell Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2468.2.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: If you navigate to the Clan Donald project page and order through that, the price will be lower than the price for a test not ordered through any project. I will reply to you privately with more details. Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: bigmac1x Surnames: McDonald/MacDonald Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2468.2/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I saw your comment in this message: "FTDNA offers discounted pricing to members of the projects it hosts, including the Clan Donald project." I was considering doing this but cannot find any 'special' pricing on their website. Am I looking in th wrong place? Thanks, Stephen MacDonald Toronto, Ontario, Canada bigmac1x@sympatico.ca Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.