McCain, McKean, McKane DNA Project Update 2020

Mac Eáin family icon

The McCain family DNA project began in the late summer of 2003.  When we began the McCain DNA project many of us had been working on our family history for many decades.  For me, the search began in the 1960s.  I was born in Mississippi and grew up in north Louisiana. I lived on McCain Drive, near Monroe, Louisiana.  I had many McCain cousins, some famous, such as admirals and historians, etc. I was interested in the family history at an early age, around ten years old, the moment I realised my surname was not English, that it was Gaelic. That started the long odyssey to locate our family's origin and learn their history.  

Before we started the McCain DNA Project our family history was a mess. We had many cousins, that we knew, but often we did not know how we were related. We had some data, such as naming patterns, oral histories, etc. I wanted more, I wanted the facts.

Even our McCain origin myth was a mess. Some accounts claimed we were members of the famous Clann Dhónaill, through the Glencoe McCains, while others said we were the famous Ó Catháin clan of County Derry, Ireland. The true story of our family was lost in time, in a dim fog of the past. The McCain DNA Project was started and with it came the DNA test results. The real McCain family history was revealed through the brutal reality of genetics.

Our first two participants were myself and Joe McKane from Ballwatt, County Antrim, Ireland. Jim and I submitted our DNA samples and waited patiently for the results. These came in an email from Family Tree DNA Ltd, the company our project uses. The emails read, 'You have a match.'  And that was the start of how we discover our real history. 

From that initial DNA match we were able to methodically progress in extracting that history. There were many surprises and pseudo history uncovered. We learned we were not the Clann Dhónaill McCains and also discovered that we were not the Ó Catháin family of County Derry either. We did confirm that we had branches in New England, in Canada, and that allowed us to understand how each branch arrived in the New World and the various dates of their immigration from Ireland.     

 

Our McCain cousins in Ireland

We confirmed we had many cousins from Canada, most located in New Brunswick, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. We located and confirmed kinship to McCains, McKeens, McKeans, McKanes, from New England and Pennsylvania. We located and confirmed kinship with a small army of McCains across the South, from North Carolina, to South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas... and confirmed kinship with other branches in Indiana, Arizona, and California. (note Mac Eáin is anglicised in many ways, McCane, McCain, McKane, McKean, McKeen, etc.)

The DNA results allowed us to locate geographic areas, or points of origin, of the McCains. Two places emerged of significance; in Donegal, the Porthall, St Johnston, and the Finn Valley area. The second location was the parish of Kilmichael Glassary in mid Argyll, in the Scottish Highlands. From there, I was able to locate 'our' McCains in the primary sources. We are the Mac Eáin family that originated in Kilmichael Glassary, and moved en masse to the Porthall area of Donegal in 1569. 

location of McCain DNA connections in Argyll

By 2017 new DNA techniques have greatly enhanced the methods of DNA research.  The use of higher level SNP test (single nucleotide polymorphism) allows much more data to be extracted from our Y chromosome DNA tests.  The mutation rates for SNPs are more stable and happen at a predictable rate.  The geneticists are finding new SNPs that allow one to research with great precision the time frame of the DNA matches through observing the discovered SNP mutation between branches of the same family.

One interesting development that the DNA results revealed is that our McCains share the same paternal DNA as the Mac Ailpín family, also of Kilmichael Glassary parish in mid Argyll.  We do not know the details of how these families began to use two different surnames. We only know they are genetically the same family and we can place them living together and interacting with each other in the records. Research on this is ongoing at this time. Gaelic surnames were not fixed, and it was normal for one branch to take another surname. Also, the reader should keep in mind that this data is specifically for the Mac Eáin family that originated in Kilmichael, and ditto with the Mac Ailpín family from there.  There are dozens of McCain families across Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man, but here we are only speaking of the kinship group that is the Kilmichael Glassary McCains. This is true also with the Mac Ailpín family of Kilmichael Glassary.

To date, among the participants of the McCain DNA Project, we have not located any Scottish origin McCains. Those McCains that were born in Scotland all have roots in Donegal. It appears when the McCains left Kilmichael Glassary, they all left for Ireland. Of interest, many of the Kilmichael Glassary Mac Ailpín families also left for Ireland. We know the McCains were Redshanks, a paid soldier much in use in the 1500s. Our McCains came to Donegal with other Highland Gaels from mid Argyll as part of a military buildup to assist the Ó Dónaill clan of Donegal. This story is complex, but the details are in the book Finding the McCains.  

The link to the: McCain DNA Project.  We are still testing and encourage McCain males to participate in the projects.  We use the 111 level Y chromosome test. We also encourage our participants to consider doing the higher level SNP tests. 

A few photos of our cousins...

Magh Gaibhlin castle Porthall, Donegal, where we located William McKean the Soldier

Jim McKane, Ontario, Canada

Frank McKane, Scotland (and California)

Donovan McCain, North Carolina

Joe McKane of County Antrim

Letitia and Ivan Knox (Ivan's mother a McCain), with Bruce McCain and his wife

Joe  and Julie McKane of Belfast

Michael McCain born in Rome, lives south of there now

Henry McCain and John McCain of Arizona

Conar McCain of Oxford Mississippi

Mervyn and Jean McKean of Porthall, Donegal

Chris McCain of California

Jack and Dot MacKeen of Massachusetts

© 2020 Barry R McCain

Hugh McKean 1753 Ballyrahane, Co Antrim, Ireland

Ancestor notice:  The McCain family DNA project is looking for male direct descendants of Hugh McKean born 1753 Ballyrashane, Antrim, Northern Ireland, died 1849 Mercer County, Pennsylvania for DNA testing.   We would like to determine if Hugh was descended from Samuel McKean/McKeen who died in 1784 in New Hampshire or from an as yet unknown McKean/McKain who died in Antrim, Northern Ireland and had a son, William of Ballywatt. We have a high level DNA test from a known descendant of William of Ballywatt.  Hugh's descendants include McKeans of Iowa (Emmet, Jones and Jackson Counties) and Pennsylvania (Mercer and Lawrence Counties).

If you are a descendant of Hugh McKean, born 1753, born in Ballyrashane, County Antrim, Ireland, please contact the McCain Family DNA Project. 

McCain DNA, the Math of it.

For all McCain clan members, here is a link to a very useful TMRCA (time to most recent common ancestor) calculator. It is calibrated a .002, which should be adjusted for our family.  Using subgroups in our family the actual mutation rate is closer to .004, or even .005.  To be conservative I use the .004.  With this tool you can get an estimate of when your particular branch of the clan ties into the others. Generally, at the .004 setting the generation next to the 60% probability is correct, give or take a generation.  We know this using those subgroups that have very good paper records and go back some seven or eight generations.  We ran the calculation for them knowing the actual generation back, so it was how we arrived at the .004 mutation rate.

As you use the calculator, you will see we all seem to come from one McCain family circa mid 1600s.  It is very possible we all descend from James McKeen or his father.  James had two wives in his life (not at the same time fortunately) and the best estimate is 22 children.  Some of these are accounted for, but most are not. James McKeen (his and his brother's descendants) are a DNA match to the Port Hall and St Johnston McKeans.  We can follow them from 1630 onward.  This is the line that has the often mentioned in lore William McKean the soldier.

Anyroad, enjoy:   TMRCA Calculator

Comments and feedback welcomed.

R-DF13 R-S1051 The McCains Halogroup

DNA news, the McCain family appears to have a unique SNP in the grand R-L21 haplogroup.  We are the R-DF13... and specifically the R-S1051 subclade.   These subclades are new discoveries, so new they did not make it into Family Tree's recent update of their haplogroup nomenclature.  I think as this subclade is researched it will provide important information about the McCains early history in Scotland.  Stay tuned.   

McCain Autosomal DNA

I have had several inquires into the Family Finder test that we are now using.  Below is an overview of the autosomal DNA testing with the McCain DNA Project. 

We have several members of the McCain DNA project that have done or are having done the Family Finder test which uses autosmal DNA.  One member has already had a cousin match appear with someone that lists Hance Hamilton as an ancestor.  This is very encouraging and bodes well for when we get more of the autosomal tests completed. 

Autosomal DNA tests are used to locate relative connections along any branch of a family tree.  Any autosomal match between two individuals indicates a possible genetic connection, however in some cases the connection is so far back that the shared DNA has essentially been eliminated through too many generations of recombination . There is nothing in this test that will tell you which branch of your family the match is on so some old fashioned paper genealogy is still needed to sort out the connection.  Obviously, if a match lists Hance Hamilton or a Hugh McKean as an ancestor, then that tells much. One can also have parents, grandparents, cousins, and other family members tested and this will help narrow down potential matches.

The chance that an autosomal DNA test will accurately detect a relative decreases with the distance of the relationship. For example, most autosomal DNA ancestry tests predict an accuracy rate of 90–98 percent when detecting a match with a 3rd cousin, but around a 45–50 percent chance of detecting a match with a fourth cousin. However there is a remarkable aspect of autosomal testing... depending on the DNA recombination an autosomal test will sometimes accurately detect more distant cousins (fifth cousins and beyond).  Also of great utility is double descent from a common distant ancestor (e.g. marriage of second cousins) may potentially increase the chance of a match.  And I have observed that marriage of cousins was common within our McCain clan (as it was with many families in times past).  Given the nature of settlement on the frontier, one almost had to marry a cousin, albeit, second or third, etc.,

Both male and female McCain descendant can participate in the autosmal DNA testing. 

McCain DNA Results

Here is the link to the McCain DNA results:   McCain DNA Results

'Our' McCain family is listed as the 01 McCain family.  On the Ulster Heritage project we are listed by our surname in Gaelic, Mac Eáin.   This is done because of the lack of a standardised anglicised form.  Our family has used many anglicised forms, McKane, McKean, McKeen, McKaine, McCane, McCain, McAne, etc. but there is only one Gaelic spelling, Mac Eáin.  

We did have several McCains sign up of the Family Finder autosomal DNA test.  This is the testing that uses both male and female DNA.  We have at least one Marsh Creek McCain that signed up and one from the Tyrone/east Donegal group.  The 'summer sale' is over, but I do encourage all McCains to participate in the Family Finder test.  With this test both women and men of McCain ancestry and participate.

McCain Family DNA News

There will be a new series of Y chromosome DNA tests available from the Family Tree labs which has the potential to settle many research points concerning the McCains. The new series of test will basically qualify degree of cousin your matches are. The procedure is different in that it will use both Y-DNA and mt DNA testing (as I understand it).

So, all the McCains from the Marsh Creek settlement, all the lines in Ireland that we have found, we can now, in theory, tell which particular line a McCain match belongs. Incredibly advanced molecular research really. This is done by measuring the autosomal DNA contributed by all ancestors.

I will post more on this as information becomes available.