Initial Test Results and derivative happenings

My cousin, Sam's, initial test upgrades are beginning to come in.  First, two of his
Maguire Clan DNA signature STP's (single nucleotide polymorphism) have been
received and as expected he is L513 and L69 positive along with the rest of the
Airghialla Mag Uidhir (Maguire) Group.  Brad McGuire, working with Thomas
Krahn and Mike Walsh and others have come up with about five Maguire SNP's
that allow them to predict, very reliably, how different members will show positive
results on certain STP's.  His SNP P66 result is expected by this Friday and it is
expected to be P66+ along with that of Jim McKown and I.  Brad also believes
that there are three STR's (single tandem repeats) that my predict which others with
Maguire DNA would likely be P66+.

I also want to welcome some new associates who are now following this blog.  I
suggest to them that if they scroll all the way to the bottom of the current posting,
they will be able to track all the way back to the beginning of the first posting to
this blog.  It has been a very rewarding trip so far for me.  Cousin Sam and I are
descended from our great great grandfather, Lawrence McCown, via his two first
born sons, William and Eli and I am told that this means we are second cousins.
As you might expect, we match exactly on the first 66 of 67 markers and when his
upgrade to 111 marker results come in sometime this month, I expect them to be
very close to mine at that level as well.

If you are considering having your paternal line tested, you will have to have a male
relative in the line you are tracing take the test if you are not that male yourself.
Family Tree DNA.com  has been running a special on these and other tests and
they can furnish valuable discounts.  It was through this means that I discovered
Cousin Sam and also discovered that rather than being of Scottish descent, I am in
fact of Ulster Irish Heritage---most likely County Fermanagh but possibly Tyrone
or Donegal because all three have evidence of McCown (Mac Owen, McCowen or
McKown) residents of Maguire descent. 

Recloh Events

SNP P66+, which I had hoped to use to identify a specific Maguire ancestor is not
a reliable indicator according to Thomas Krahn, head of FTDNA's Houston lab.
A Maguire who was P66+ long ago can well have sons several generations later
who would be P66- and that is the problem with Recloh events.  These act more like
STR's (Short Tandem Repeats) also called alleles or markers than like SNP's
(Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms).  The practical difference to those like me
who don't understand this scientific stuff, is that STR's generally show family
history back to about 200 years before surnames came into common usage whereas
SNP's generally go back, way, way back thousands of years.  For example, Niall
of the Nine Hostages has SNP M222+ but SNP M222- goes back four thousand
years ago while M222+ only goes back 3,000 years ago.

Meanwhile, cousin, Sam, is now upgrading to 111 markers, having his deep sub-
clades (SNP's) tested plus SNP's L513 and L69.  If all goes as expected, he will
also be P66+, L513+ and L69+.  Brad McGuire, adm. of the FTDNA Airghialla
Mag Uidhir (Maguire) group that is based both on surname and geographical
origin, can now predict who will have Maguire DNA and who will not based on
six markers and from those can predict which SNP's an individual will  + or -.

This reminds me of why I enjoyed history classes that dealt with battles fought and
wars won or lost but totally lost interest when it came down to economic history.

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.

Cast a Wider Net?

Since William McCown of York Co., South Carolina is shown as McCown in the
1790 census, as McCoun in the 1800 census and as McQuown in the 1810 census,
it seems as though I will either have to look for his descendants as McCown, McCoun or McQuown.

Meanwhile census reports in my own line show the name as McCown, McCowen
and McKeown.  I can either search all of the above spellings or simply look for McCown and it's spelling variants.  So far, sentiment seems to be to simply look for McCown.