The Knox Family of Corcam, Donegal

This is Ivan Knox (left) with his son Andrew, showing their autographed photo of John McCain. Ivan's mother was a McKane from Drumboe, which is one of our McCains of course. Ivan's house in Corcam has become the de facto headquarters for McCains from both the USA and Canada that travel back over. I will be writing more about Ivan and the Knox family in the future as they are pleasure to be around and know most of the McCains still in Donegal.

Ivan was not surprised by the election results, but he and many of the people of the Finn Valley in Donegal, were obviously very disappointed none the less. A lot of the current research I am doing on the McCains is focused in Donegal. As I gather more and more data it appears that east Donegal is very likely the original ole sod of the McCains. They certainly were there in numbers earlier than I can find them in northwest Antrim. Just another surprise in my long odyssey of finding the McCains. Ivan was in touch with John McCain's people this summer.

Barry R McCain (i.e. Barra)

Pennsylvania and Iowa McKains

One of the interesting aspects of our McCain Clan is we sent immigrants from Ireland in almost every generation since the early 1700s. The last McCain that immigrated out that I am aware of did so in 1979. Keith McKain of Pennsylvania, below, is a member of the McCain DNA Project, which confirmed his kinship to our McCain family.

Keith is a descendant of William John McKain (1760-1827) who arrived in America from northern Ireland around 1795 and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area through Chester County, Pennsylvania. In Chester County he married Catharine Hoff, the daughter of a Revolutionary War Veteran. By 1813 he settled in the western parts of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the East Donegal Township, in an area called “Irishtown” near Marietta. William and Catharine McKain had eleven children. Six of these children remained in the Lancaster County area. Four children migrated to the vicinity of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and established a rather large group of McKains in that area. One child continued moving west to an area near Brighton, Iowa and additional McKain families can be found there.

McCains in Oxford, Mississippi

My older boy Donovan, dressed up as the Celtic Lord of the Wood, Cernunos! Nice costume.



Barra, wearing his official wizard's hat on the Square in Oxford, Mississippi

My younger son Conar.... Conar the Viking on Halloween night that is.

Donovan and I enjoying a pint... Donovan got his free, he walked into the pub, went up to the barman and said, 'Trick or Treat,' and held up his functioning drinking horn, the barman filled it with Samuel Adams ale, not bad.

Our family really enjoys Halloween as you can tell. Oxford is a nice place as the Square becomes full of people, many in costume, the pubs all open their doors so you hear music and people laughing and talking, and the weather last night was perfect, cool and crisp with a crescent moon in the sky. Fall in Mississippi is absolutely beautiful.

Barry R McCain