This project was started by Connie McKenzie in January 2005 who has numerous ancestors that resided in Johnson Co. Illinois at an early date - descendants of many of those families can still be found in the area.  The purpose of this project is to establish the YDNA Haplogroup and SNP branches for the various male family lines that have resided in Johnson County Illinois.

Exhaustive testing of DUNN descendants has proven that there are two completely unrelated DUNN lines residing in Johnson Co. Illinois from the early 1800s - one belonging to Haplogroup R1b U106 and the other to Haplogroup R1b M222.


A History of Johnson County by Mrs. P.T. Chapman 1925

P. 154 -- The following is s list and the date of entry of those first entering land at Shawneetown in Johnson county proper or as it is now outlined; William McFatridge, May 23, 1815; John Elkins, Nov. 13, 1815; James Bain, Feb. 13, 1816; Hardy Johnson, June 26, 1817; Squire Choat, March 1818; Walton Gore, Oct. 5, 1818; John W. Gore, Oct. 10, 1818; Jacob Harvick, Nov. 15, 1818; Richard Marcer, July 10, 1818; Hezekiah West, Jan 2, 1818; Andrew McGowan, Jan. 2, 1818; Elias Harrell, Sept. 25, 1820; Henry Beggs, 1831; Joel Thacker, 1839; Adam Harvick, 1818; James Finney, 1817; Martin Harvick, 1818; Joel Johnson, 1818; David Shearer, 1818; Thomas Dunsworth, 1819; David Elms, 1817; Abram Hendry, 1818; Benjamin McGinnis, 1817; Richard McGinnis, 1815; Emmet Elkins, 1818; Jeremiah Lissenby, 1818, John Plumer, 1819; ( John Plummer entered quite a lot of land no doubt for speculation); E.J.J. Freeman, 1818; Daniel Delaney, 1818; Sidwell, Paxton and Chambers, 1818; (they also entered several tracks,) Henry Croswait and Richard Murry, 1818; Samuel Langdon, 1817; John McFatridge, 1832; Sallie Finney, 1837; Mathew Mathis, 1832; Richard Elliot, 1818; Joel S. Thacker, 1839; Francis Gehon, 1819; Adam and Martin Harvick; 1819; Louis J. Simpson and Millington Smith, 1817; J.O. Russell, 1816; Rix Carter and Pleasant Axley, 1818; N. Longworth, 1818; (ancestor of the present Nicholas Longworth, Republican leader in Congress from Ohio, and the son-in-law of the world famous Theodore Roosevelt.)

John Worley, heir of Samuel Worley granted 100 acres of land for military duty by authority of Congress, 1791 – Kaskaskia records….. An early transfer in this county proper was Mathew Mathis sold to William Mathis…..another early transfer Thomas Gore ownership of property to John Gore, recorded in 1816. John Bain bought land here in 1830….Benjamin McGee sold to John S. Copeland….recorded August,1837.

P. 155 – Peck’s Gazetter published in 1837 states the following in regard to Johnson County as it was at that time…George’s Creek empties into Cache, a settlement by this name of about 25 or 30 families…West Settlement in Johnson County on the west side of Cache, fine fertile tracks of land, 30 families. The McFatridge settlement eight miles northeast of Vienna…60 or 70 families. Bridges settlement ten miles west of Vienna, good land, 60 families.



The speech of the residents of Johnson County Illinois have roots in the "Southern Midland dialect" commonly called Appalachian English.  This dialect is spoken primarily in the Central and Southern Appalachian Mountain region of the Eastern United States - namely North Georgia, Northwest South Carolina, Central and Southwest Virginia, South and East Ohio, East.  "Wash" might be pronounced as "worsh", 'tire" as "tar", the first name of "Ora" as "Orie."   The county seat for Johnson Co. IL is Vienna, pronounced "Veye-Anna."


Project Administrators are not FTDNA employees, they are volunteers. They do not receive any form of financial payment or any other incentive or reimbursement for their work.  Project administrators are responsible for the content on the project websites.  

Organization of DNA kits into subgroups and naming of those groups is done by project administrators after analyzing the comparative results.  Placement of DNA kits within the subgroups is dictated by FTDNA programming and cannot be altered by project administrators.  Many of the testees in this project have ordered testing on advanced markers ( STRs ) or individual STRs in the last marker panel.  FTDNA programming at this time does not allow for the display of those markers.  Many testees have also ordered the Deep Clade Haplogroup SNP test and advanced SNP testing.  Project administrators have indicated the primary haplogroup branch SNP in the name of the subgroups where applicable.