Hi Queen list New results have been posted for a member of the Group 4 Queens (Charles Queen descendants). Perhaps one of the group participants could shed some light one what the DNA study has accomplished for this group so far. And where does this group think it needs to head in terms of future DNA studies to help answer questions or solidify relationships. I am also curious, since this group matches one of the European Quinn group participants perfectly at the 12 marker level, if any of you have tried to send an email to this individual and find out the status of his DNA study and what he knows about his family history. We also now have one new test in process at the FTDNA lab. Let's keep beating the bushes, their are more participants out there just waiting for a cheek swab! Don't hold me hostage to specific historical facts, but now that I have had my pilgramage to Ireland, I think I can state pretty firmly that there are no Queens in Ireland that are native to Ireland. So if you are a Queen who claims ancestry from Ireland, as do I, one is faced with a couple of prospects. You either are descendant from the Irish Quin/Quinn (O'Cuinn, Coyne, etc) clan, or you are a Queen (McQueen or variant) descendant from Scots that were settled in Ireland during the plantation period, and whose ancestors quickly moved on from Ireland to America, probably as a result of continuing Anglican oppression against both Cathlolics and other non-conformist religious groups, such as the Presbyterians, and whose migration make up much of the Scots-Irish settlement in the North Carolina and the Appalachians prior the American Revolution. And it is possible that any Queens that may have stayed in Ireland morphed their names into the more acceptable Quinn variant. I looked at every phone book in every town, and talked to lots of friendly Irish folks, and to a person they would agree that Queen was not Irish, it had to be originally Quinn or it had to be someone passing through. I did come across a Mulqueen, however. I was sort of curious about this name and its origin. Has anyone heard this name, and might it be some old variant of McQueen? Inquiring minds. In reading some of the literature while there, and I think this has probably been discussed on the list before, the differences in spelling between Quin and Quinn may have been a convenient device employed by the Anglican church, or other record/census keepers, to distinguish the Catholics, usually spelled Quinn, from the Protestants, usually spelled Quin. In either case, the Irish O'Cuinn, or Ui Cuinn clans (translated as I understand to mean "Chief" or "leader") were dominant historically in the County Tyrone, County Longford, and County Mayo areas, but are spread just about over every nook and cranny of Ireland these days. Since sooner or later, some of us Queens looking for "deep" ancestry must turn our sights towards the Quin/Quinn connection. This is exciting and it makes the DNA studies even more critical. Sooner or later, as the number of DNA participants from Europe and other countries in search of their roots increases, some of us are going to hit the mother pot-of-gold, with both European descendants and American descendants tracing back lines of descent from a common ancestor that may have split 300-400 years ago. It will be a fantastic experience when it happens. When families or individuals emigrated to America, not everyone came. So with luck, some of the folks that stayed behind had male descendants and they are now looking for the ancestors too. It is just a matter of time. When I get some time, I'll tell you about my experiences tracing my mother's family - the Cassity's. Also, in an interesting twist of fate, our yet to be discovered European cousins may be closer to the geographic source, but their genealogical records may not be as good as the records that survive in America. Irish records prior to 1800 are hit and miss and primarily the product of the Church. A lot of records have been destroyed through fires, fighting, and other untold disasters. For the most part, Irish records really don't begin until after 1800, long after most of our ancestors headed over the Atlantic. We may be of more help to them than we know. Anyway, just some speculative thoughts. Trying to get back in the discussion mode. Things have been quiet too long!! Rolla http://webpages.charter.net/rlqueen/DNA/queenmarker.htm http://webpages.charter.net/rlqueen/DNA/queenmarker-x.htm http://www.familytreedna.com/public/queenDNA/ http://webpages.charter.net/rlqueen