As a McConnell researcher with McConnell cousins in the Clan Donald DNA project, I recently began comparing Y chromosome DNA test results for Connell men with Y chromosome DNA test results for McConnell men. I found one Connell man listed in the database of the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF) and extracted his results from the database. He is an extremely close match for an R. C. McConnell who is already in the Clan Donald DNA project. R. C. McConnell has results for 28 markers on the project results tables, and he and the Connell descendant match on 27 of those markers. Because the names Connell and McConnell are considered variants of each other, this strongly suggests that the two men share a common ancestor who lived after the adoption of surnames. The connection could be very recent. Note: There are two men listed as R. C. McConnell in the project database; the Connell match is with the R. C. McConnell listed in the bottom table of the results table page for the project.

Because these men were tested through different organizations, the databases of those organizations won't be able to put them in touch with each other. So unless one of them has gone looking in the databases of other organizations as I did, they probably don't know about their connection. I would like to make sure that they find each other. If any researcher of the family of James Connell b abt 1826 in Glasgow Scotland reads this message, please contact me, and if anybody else out there thinks that they know a researcher of this family who may be unaware of the connection, please help if you can.

The following information about the family of James Connell from the SMGF database may help identify the family. He was born about 1826 in Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland, and was married to Janet Gellately. His son Alexander married Mary Ann Christina Warnock, and their son Thomas married Ruth Edna Mae Lloyd.

Because the Clan Donald DNA Project has its own website, it is able to post results for men tested on any set of Y chromosome DNA markers. Therefore the project can accept Connell men tested at SMGF and at all of the commercial companies. Having one's results in the project database makes it very easy to compare one's results with those of others in the large project and also has other advantages, so I recommend that any Connell man with Y DNA test results join the project. I'll say more about how to do this in another post, but anybody interested in joining now is welcome to contact me and I'll be happy to help.

Anybody curious about this project can learn more by going to the extremely informative project website at http://dna-project.clan-donald-usa.org/DNAmain.htm.

Kirsten Saxe