A lot of progress is being made with our McCain DNA Project. If you take a look at the Family Tree public page with the results you will see that we are beginning to classify the 'clan' into sub groups linked to geography. We have sorted out a lot of the Colonial McCain lines and the Irish lines, we are now focusing on the McCains in Scotland.
To do this we need is more McCain men in the project to upgrade their kits. One of the DNA loci that is of interest to us is the 485. All the McCain men that have tested the full 111 loci carry the value of 13 at the marker. This is unusual, the norm with the R-L21 haplogroup is 15.
Additionally, the other surnames in our match group, that is the non McCains that are of the same paternal line as we are, carry the value of 16. This means there was a mutation event, probably at the generation of the 'first' McCains, or the Mac Eáin man living in Kilmichael Glassary parish that is our progenitor. This man probably was Ailein Mac Eáin Riabhach or his father Eáin Riabhach. Anyroad, that is where we are in the research.
Again, we need more McCain men to upgrade their Family Tree kit to the 111 level. What we are attempting to do is reconstruct our history, prior to AD 1500 using DNA and primary sources. A lot of work, many hours of work, is going into this research. The records I go through are written in a combination of Lallans influenced English, Lallans, Gaelic and bizarre phonetic Gaelic. But, I am having success at following the family from circa 1434.
There is even some clues as to the origin of the family prior to their lordship of Glassary, but more on that later. Right now we those McCain men who have not done so to upgrade their kits. There are a few men that have only done the 12 locus level. Those are not much good to us.
