One of most asked questions about the McCains is their Scottish clan connections. We do actually have some. Most books on Scottish clans focus on the larger well known clans and branches of those clans. The McCain story is more complex and we are rarely mentioned in popular histories of the Highlands. Analysis of the DNA results for the family and the primary sources in Kilmichael Glassary parish connect the McCains to Clann Lachlainn. Clann Lachlainn (surname form Mac Lachlainn) was well established clan in Cowal which is across Loch Fyne from Kilmichael Glassary. Clann Lachlainn held lands in Kilmichael Glassary since the 1200s, but the McCain connection begins in AD 1436 when Ailean Mac Eáin Riabhach was granted extensive lands in Glassary. It was his son Donnchadh Rua Mac Eáin that first started using Mac Eáin as a surname. In the records of Glassary there is an ebb and flow of grants and re-grants of lands to this family by the Taoiseach of Clann Lachlainn.
So, we know that from 1436 well into the 1700s the family considered themselves a branch of Clann Lachlainn. It is more complex than that also, two Houses started by the sons of Ailean Mac Eáin were in effect employed by and closely associated with Clann Chaimbeul. So while the McCains were granted their lands via Clann Lachlainn, some of them had allegiance to Clann Chaimbeul, specifically the Earls of Argyll. We know those McCains that migrated to Ireland are linked the fifth Earl of Argyll, Giolla Easpuig Donn Caimbeul. He sent over a thousand men from Glassary to Portlough precinct in east Donegal, in the Lagan district, starting in 1569. We know that the McCains were serving as captains and bailiffs for the Earl, so the reason the family relocated to Donegal is obvious.
8 comments:
Hi I was wondering if any of the Mckain’s might have possibly travelled to the Caribbeans?
yes, there is an oral history that a line of our McCains spent some time in the Caribbean prior to settling in the Colonies. There was commerce, travel, and migration, from Ireland, especially Ulster, to parts of Caribbean islands under British control.
I’m a McCain and would like to be a part of the blog. How do I participate?
just send us an email. have you already done the DNA test? We test with Family Tree DNA Ltd. The book 'Finding the McCains' which is on Amazon, is a history and biography of this McCain family. It has the history of the family from the AD 1300s onward.
My branch of the McCain family were from Winston county Alabama David Jefferson McCain he was my gg grandfather. After the civil war he brought his family from Georgia. David G McCain was his father and his father William D McCain b 1784. I am unsure any further back than that. Would the book be helpful in placing our family roots? Or do I need to have DNA testing?
Sofie, yes, that is the same McCain family that is in the book 'Finding the McCains.' DNA testing is always good, as we use it to research the various branches within the family. Often we can deduce data from some of the upper level SNP tests. This is an ongoing project, research still active.
Yes, there are oral history stories that mention McCain spending time in the 'islands.' Apparently, some branches did spend time there, we do not know the complete details, but it must have made an impression on them, as the story was well remember from the 1800s onward among the descendants.
Hello! I have the book but somehow missed the website. So, I have been trying for over two years to locate my ancestors who emigrated from Scotland to Northern Ireland sometime between 1650 and 1695. According to the genealogical report done in 1952 by Mabel McFatridge McCain, Donald MacCain, his brother O'Brien, and his three married sisters with surnames Moffett or Moffat, Cassaday, and Bucanan left Scotland as they were being persecuted as Covenanters. There is verified info about Donald's son, James, b. 1695 in Ulster who emigrated to Perth Amboy, New Jersey and settled in Somerset County. He is buried in Basking Ridge at the Presbyterian Church Cemetery. My ancestors are Clan Donald, verified by DNA as haplo group CLD24. R1a = Viking. I thought they were Clan MacIain of Ardnamurchan but it could be GlenCoe. How do I see these documents of Cambueil (sp?)? Anyone reading this in NI, I would very much appreciate your help! An origins map points to Dumfries or Motherwell. According to the McDonald Project administrator (clandonaldusa.org), we are from the chief line but I can't find Donald and family!!! Thanks, Teleia Lower
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