I have received confirmation of my order from the Ulster Historical Foundation (UHF) for researching the McCown family in detail. I am in process of filling in a form they need for their files. Since there are many benefits provided by membership in the Ulster Historical Foundation Guild (economic and otherwise), that will also be obtained when my brother, Dick, is well enough to do some online research offered through the Guild.
The UHF has estimated that their research results should be available in about six months and any progress will be reported here as well.
I also have reason to believe that Pat MacAuley may join the Guild as well. Pat has much, much more information on his family history than the McCowns do and so he most likely will be able to find everything else he wants through sources provided through the Guild. Pat gave me much needed encouragement and help to get this far in our journey, and for this I thank him and wish him (and all of us) Blessings on the upcoming St. Patrick's Day. St. Patrick is venerated by both Catholics and Protestants, especially in Ireland.
Pat and several family members visited Fermanagh and probably Cavan counties last year. One of his more telling comments after that trip is just how tiring a full day of research in a geneaological library can be. One of the objectives of that trip was also to visit known cousins. What a grand privilege to be able to find them and to visit them as well.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Status Update on Roulston Project and Misc.
William Roulston is working on a bid for important funding for a Scottish project for the Ulster History Foundation which he expects to complete within a few weeks. I wish him great success in this endeavor, knowing full well that it will delay the start up of the Maguire/MacAuley/McCown Study.
In the meantime, progress is being made toward having our ducks in a row for him. Several potential members of the study group are sending information about their earliest known ancestors, their places of origin, period of time there, etc.. More new members already have joined the FTDNA Ulster Heritage Group (UHG) so that their information and test results can be categorized and compared against over 1,000 other members.
The Mag Uidhir II (Maguire II) group has grown by three members in the last month and three more have indicated that they are in the process of joining. The importance of that is this is the work sheet that Barry McCain uses in selecting which of these are candidates for the study. This is not elitism, because the members of the study group are there, not because they are superior in any way to the other members in Mag Uidhir II, but because the pattern of their test results clearly indicate a close group of co-located families in Fermanagh.
Some members of the Mag Uidhir II group match each other closely and some don't match closely enough for FTDNA to call them matches but all have the Maguire Y-DNA. For example, I have a mismatch of one genetic distance greater than is allowed as being a match, still he matches others that match me very well.
That means, in my view he is close enough and Barry has recognized this. My highest non-McCown match is a McGuire who matches me at 63/67 markers. The best news here is that he is expected to join the UHG
and may be added to the study group as well. Barry McCain is the final word on that, however.
Brad McGuire has taken an intiative to move things along by getting his best matches to submit their information and join the UHG as well. One of these has the grand old Scottish name of Buchanan and he has excellent Maguire DNA. Major Thomas Buchanan McGuire, one of America's top two aces in fighter planes in WWII is not known to be a relative of our William Buchanan match, but it looks as though his mother's family lived on the same block in Scotland as did William Buchanan's family in the mid 1800's.
In the meantime, progress is being made toward having our ducks in a row for him. Several potential members of the study group are sending information about their earliest known ancestors, their places of origin, period of time there, etc.. More new members already have joined the FTDNA Ulster Heritage Group (UHG) so that their information and test results can be categorized and compared against over 1,000 other members.
The Mag Uidhir II (Maguire II) group has grown by three members in the last month and three more have indicated that they are in the process of joining. The importance of that is this is the work sheet that Barry McCain uses in selecting which of these are candidates for the study. This is not elitism, because the members of the study group are there, not because they are superior in any way to the other members in Mag Uidhir II, but because the pattern of their test results clearly indicate a close group of co-located families in Fermanagh.
Some members of the Mag Uidhir II group match each other closely and some don't match closely enough for FTDNA to call them matches but all have the Maguire Y-DNA. For example, I have a mismatch of one genetic distance greater than is allowed as being a match, still he matches others that match me very well.
That means, in my view he is close enough and Barry has recognized this. My highest non-McCown match is a McGuire who matches me at 63/67 markers. The best news here is that he is expected to join the UHG
and may be added to the study group as well. Barry McCain is the final word on that, however.
Brad McGuire has taken an intiative to move things along by getting his best matches to submit their information and join the UHG as well. One of these has the grand old Scottish name of Buchanan and he has excellent Maguire DNA. Major Thomas Buchanan McGuire, one of America's top two aces in fighter planes in WWII is not known to be a relative of our William Buchanan match, but it looks as though his mother's family lived on the same block in Scotland as did William Buchanan's family in the mid 1800's.
Friday, February 26, 2010
McKown Y-DNA Test in Progress
Word has been received from John McKown that he has ordered a kit from FTDNA and will test for 67
markers. I am looking forward to his test results and what, if any, implications it will have on the Roulston
Maguire/MacAuley/McCown study. John said that a taxi driver in Belfast told him that if he were a Protestant, he would pronounce McKown as McEwen and if he were Catholic, he would pronounce it as
McCone. My line of McCowns pronounces it to rhyme with town. That might make travel in Ulster safer since our pronunciation is neither Catholic or Protestant.
Barry McCain of the Ulster Heritage Group tells me that although all seven McKowns in the 1901 census of Parish Aghalurcher, County Fermanagh were Catholic that many families, including his, which include both Highland Scots and Ulster Irish, have a history of being Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican depending on where individual family members lived.
Meanwhile, I have asked for more answers from FTDNA regarding my matches with Donald James Maguire. In the previous posting, I was hopeful that we would be a match. So far, FTDNA reports that
with a genetic distance of 6 at 37 markers and 8 at 67 markers we fall outside of their criteria to be considered matches. Still, he does match well with other Maguires of whatever spelling and where there is life there is hope.
markers. I am looking forward to his test results and what, if any, implications it will have on the Roulston
Maguire/MacAuley/McCown study. John said that a taxi driver in Belfast told him that if he were a Protestant, he would pronounce McKown as McEwen and if he were Catholic, he would pronounce it as
McCone. My line of McCowns pronounces it to rhyme with town. That might make travel in Ulster safer since our pronunciation is neither Catholic or Protestant.
Barry McCain of the Ulster Heritage Group tells me that although all seven McKowns in the 1901 census of Parish Aghalurcher, County Fermanagh were Catholic that many families, including his, which include both Highland Scots and Ulster Irish, have a history of being Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Anglican depending on where individual family members lived.
Meanwhile, I have asked for more answers from FTDNA regarding my matches with Donald James Maguire. In the previous posting, I was hopeful that we would be a match. So far, FTDNA reports that
with a genetic distance of 6 at 37 markers and 8 at 67 markers we fall outside of their criteria to be considered matches. Still, he does match well with other Maguires of whatever spelling and where there is life there is hope.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
More McGuire Candidates for the Roulston Study?
In the last week, Harlyn McGuire has shown up as a 62/67 marker match and Donald Maguire should be close to being a match because Harlyn and Donald are close matches with Joseph D. McGuire and with Brad McGuire who are in the study. Hopefully Donald will be a match or close to it with me as well.
All of the men in the study group match me at 62/67 markers and since Brad and I match at 62/67, hopefully,
Donald will match me as well. I have written to FTDNA to see what they can, or will, tell me about Donald's results. Brad tells me not to worry about it, so putting it in the blog is my form of worry beads.
All of the men in the study group match me at 62/67 markers and since Brad and I match at 62/67, hopefully,
Donald will match me as well. I have written to FTDNA to see what they can, or will, tell me about Donald's results. Brad tells me not to worry about it, so putting it in the blog is my form of worry beads.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
More Names Like McCown in Fermanagh
On a website called Fermanagh-Gold, There were a number of listings for McKeown, McKeon and two for McKeone. Yesterday, I found seven McKown households in Agulurcher Parish, Fermanagh. They were in a 1901 census and now I wouder where they lived before 1901.
Barry McCain believes that there is no difference in the surnames McCown/McKown except spelling because they have the same Gaelic root and mean the same thing ie son of John or Johnson. There was even a Johnston McKown. If there is any significance in this regarding my family, it will be up to William Roulston to sort it out.
Since McKown is a spelling also used by the Scottish Clan MacEwen, these McKowns could be native Irish, Scots or Scotch-Irish. Now, I will have to see if some McKowns will be willing to take the FTDNA Y-DNA test. If they do and they match me at 37 and 67 markers, they are my family.
Barry McCain believes that there is no difference in the surnames McCown/McKown except spelling because they have the same Gaelic root and mean the same thing ie son of John or Johnson. There was even a Johnston McKown. If there is any significance in this regarding my family, it will be up to William Roulston to sort it out.
Since McKown is a spelling also used by the Scottish Clan MacEwen, these McKowns could be native Irish, Scots or Scotch-Irish. Now, I will have to see if some McKowns will be willing to take the FTDNA Y-DNA test. If they do and they match me at 37 and 67 markers, they are my family.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Just When I Had All the Answers---
It seems that the previous post had some errors and this is written to correct them. The outright errors are mine and there is a clarification from the fair Coane regarding the baronies of interest. I, in a fit of misreading maps put, baronies that are north and east of Lower Lough Erne, to the southwest of Upper Lough Erne.
The baronies are actually between Donegal and Tyrone, but mostly within Fermanagh. Looking at a map of Fermanagh, it looks as though Enniskillen is midway between the northern and southern boundaries of Fermanagh. The fair Coane states that "Cuchonnagh o Koen was in the Parish of Carn and Edmund McCone was in the Parish of Culmaine (Magheraculmoney). Both parishes are in the Barony of Lurg."
"Lurg, on the barony map, at the top right (orange), is quite extensive, and appears to contain both the parishes of Carn and Culmaine, which I think translates into the present day parish of Magheraculmoney.
If you click on the barony map (see link below) you can enlarge it. I think if you Google search for Carn and Magheraculmoney, you can probably get relevant info. http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:K9QpL2uMEB0J:www.claires-rosleaancestry.co.uk/maps.htm+Fermanagh+barony+map&cd=12&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
The website link should work now for the maps.
The baronies are actually between Donegal and Tyrone, but mostly within Fermanagh. Looking at a map of Fermanagh, it looks as though Enniskillen is midway between the northern and southern boundaries of Fermanagh. The fair Coane states that "Cuchonnagh o Koen was in the Parish of Carn and Edmund McCone was in the Parish of Culmaine (Magheraculmoney). Both parishes are in the Barony of Lurg."
"Lurg, on the barony map, at the top right (orange), is quite extensive, and appears to contain both the parishes of Carn and Culmaine, which I think translates into the present day parish of Magheraculmoney.
If you click on the barony map (see link below) you can enlarge it. I think if you Google search for Carn and Magheraculmoney, you can probably get relevant info. http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:K9QpL2uMEB0J:www.claires-rosleaancestry.co.uk/maps.htm+Fermanagh+barony+map&cd=12&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
The website link should work now for the maps.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Variations of Eoin/Eoghain in Fermanagh
The fair Coane has found some more items of interest in regard to the above names which are pronounced as Owen. Rev. P. O. Gallachair, Hearth Money Rolls: Co. Fermanagh, pp. 208, 210 lists the following:
Hearth Money Rolls: Co. Fermanagh (1665-66)
Barony of Lurg: Letter
Cuchonnagh o Kohen (1666)
Robert Johnston
Barony of Culmaine: Cluncagh (Cullnigan)
Edmond McCone (1665)
As near as I can tell from what resources I have at hand, Lurg (Lorg) and Cul Maine may both be in the parish of Aghalurcher in County Fermanagh. A Google search for List of Baronies in Fermanagh turned up information on other counties as well. These names, with the County name first, are names that may be of further interest: Galway-Clon Macnowen (Mhac nEoghainn), Mayo-Kilmaine, Offaly-Ballycowen (Baile Mhic Chomhainn).
Whether o Kohen, Johnston or McCone are actually part of my family history or not, it shows that surnames based on (Owen) were certainly present in Fermanagh during the period of time that Barry McCain has mentioned to William Roulston as being of particular interest. That period runs from about 1585-1720 AD.
Both Barry McCain of the FTDNA Ulster Heritage Group and Joseph Donohoe of the FTDNA Breifne Clans Project accept percentages of probability of having a Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) of 55% to 85% as being adequate for this prediction. Interestingly, all of my best matches are solidly in those brackets about 16 generations (or 400 years) ago, which fits the period of interest very well.
An interesting point about Parish Aghalurcher is that it also borders Tyrone and Monaghan and the Parish of Enniskillen in Fermanagh as well. In Tyrone, some of the baronies overlap the county line with Fermanagh.
Obviously, I cannot predict how any of this information will affect the research on my McCown line or those of the other four men in the Roulston Project on Maguire/McCown.
Hearth Money Rolls: Co. Fermanagh (1665-66)
Barony of Lurg: Letter
Cuchonnagh o Kohen (1666)
Robert Johnston
Barony of Culmaine: Cluncagh (Cullnigan)
Edmond McCone (1665)
As near as I can tell from what resources I have at hand, Lurg (Lorg) and Cul Maine may both be in the parish of Aghalurcher in County Fermanagh. A Google search for List of Baronies in Fermanagh turned up information on other counties as well. These names, with the County name first, are names that may be of further interest: Galway-Clon Macnowen (Mhac nEoghainn), Mayo-Kilmaine, Offaly-Ballycowen (Baile Mhic Chomhainn).
Whether o Kohen, Johnston or McCone are actually part of my family history or not, it shows that surnames based on (Owen) were certainly present in Fermanagh during the period of time that Barry McCain has mentioned to William Roulston as being of particular interest. That period runs from about 1585-1720 AD.
Both Barry McCain of the FTDNA Ulster Heritage Group and Joseph Donohoe of the FTDNA Breifne Clans Project accept percentages of probability of having a Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) of 55% to 85% as being adequate for this prediction. Interestingly, all of my best matches are solidly in those brackets about 16 generations (or 400 years) ago, which fits the period of interest very well.
An interesting point about Parish Aghalurcher is that it also borders Tyrone and Monaghan and the Parish of Enniskillen in Fermanagh as well. In Tyrone, some of the baronies overlap the county line with Fermanagh.
Obviously, I cannot predict how any of this information will affect the research on my McCown line or those of the other four men in the Roulston Project on Maguire/McCown.
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