I could still be of Scottish Descent

Although my DNA says that I have Maguire DNA, it doesn't say how that came about.  One speculation would be that a McCown ancestor married a Maguire widow with Maguire sons or
perhaps one on the way and then adopted her son(s).  The McCown ancestor would
have had McCown DNA but the adopted sons would have Maguire DNA.  It also
does not address whether they were living in Scotland or Ireland at he time of the
non-paternal event.

One reason I am pursuing this line of reasoning is that Family Tree DNA has a tool called Ancestral
Origins.  That provides percentages of those tested in Scotland, Ireland or wherevere.
Percentages above 4% are said to be especially meaningful in determining where
ancestors live.  The calculation is admittedly based on only 11/12 markers, but the results are of some
interest.  They are Scotland, 6.4%, Ireland, 4.9% and Northern Ireland 4.9%.

Jim McKown is in contact with Bill McKown who has devoted a lot of time to
finding his ancestors and he says that Jim's earliest known ancestor is Scottish.
Jim and I are closely matched and had a Most Recent Common Ancestor about
1661 AD so it is entirely possible for us both to have Maguire DNA but have
Scottish roots.

This brings to the fore the critical need for taking FTDNA's Y-DNA tests because
documented genealogy can be fraudulent, but if it is supported by DNA, that is
considered by FTDNA as being the gold standard of genealogy.  One Maguire and
one McCarthy both attempted to change their genealogy by falsifying their family
trees.  This wasn't detected and rejected many years later after first having been
accepted.

Many people make the mistake of taking only the 12 marker test when they should
take a minimum of 37 markers to find their most meaningful matches.

Was William one of the six Brothers?

I found three records of people searching for William McCown, b. 1708, in Antrim, died 1747 in
Knockmaokigan, Fermanagh on Ancestry.com.  It says that his father was Alexander McCoun who
according to what I have read elsewhere, was a Presbyterian minister and immigrated from Antrim
about 1715 and setteled with his six sons in Pennsylvania.  If this is the same Alexander, then I know by DNA results that they are not in my line.  The searches were done by people trying to fill in family trees other than McCown trees.

I find a potential ancestor and then only two weeks later have my hopes dashed.  Such is life!

Correction to William of Antrim and Fermanagh

The Knockmaokigan, Fermanagh address is mispelled and doesn't give an exact location.  For that
reason alone, I might not have had any comments to the previous posting.  I hope to do better this
time.  The correct detail address where William McCown died in Fermanagh is Knockmakegan,
Manor Hightower, Newtownbutler, Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ulster, Ireland.  I don't have
the Irish equivalent to a zip code.  The corrected information came from the Ordnance Survey
Memoirs of 1834/5, Vol. 4 of Enniskillen, Fermanagh.

So far, I have not succeeded in returning to the records for the original entry, but there were between
five and ten listing the birth of this William McCown in Antrim in 1708 and his death in "Knockmaogkigan, Fermanagh in 1747.  We endeavor to maintain your trust with accurate information.

An Irish Laurence and an Irish William

William Roulston of the Ulster Heritage Foundation has turned up a Laurence McCowen and a James McKowen in Co. Antrim in the 1700's.  Meanwhile, I have found a William McCown, born 1708
in Co. Antrim who died in 1747 in Knockmaoktgan, Co. Fermanagh.  This latter find was on
Ancestry.com.  Perhaps one of these men is a member of my McCown line and that would be small
chip out of our genealogical stone wall connecting our line on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

That has been a wistful dream of mine with little chance of bearing fruit because so many of Irish
descent have been unable to make such a connection in their own research.  Finding a Laurence McCowen is a terrific surprise because I have only found two in early Kentucky but with the McCown
spelling.  I am very encouraged and hope that Jim McKown is as well.