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New news: Scott Anderson is a male line descendant of Rev. John McKinstry, the son of Roger McKinstry. He matches one of the descendants of William McKinstry of Sturbridge, at a genetic distance of 0 at 67 markers. This is strong evidence in favor of the notion that the three New England McKinstry emigrants were closely related. However, as yet no male line descendant of Captain John McKinstry has done Y DNA testing.
There atleast two other McKinstry lines that claimed to come from Carrickfergus or adjacent Templecorrant/ Brode Island; James McKinster who enrolled to fight in the War of 1812 from western South Carolina before setttling in Indiana, and the Meigs County, Ohio McKinstry line. These people match each other at a genetic distance of up to 2 at 67 markers. The greatest genetic distance is across the large Sturbridge McKinstry family group itself.
However, it is as clear that not all McKinstry families descend from Roger McKinstry of Templecorran. For instance the South Carolina McKinstry family has a genetic distance of 6 at 67 markers from the Carrickfergus/ Templecorran group. That is consistent with a shared ancestor in the 15th or 16th century. The paper trail also contradicts such an idea. A McKinstry family that lived about six miles west of Templecorran already lived there by the 1630s. Documentary evidence shows that the McKinstry surname existed in the Cree River Valley in the mid 1400s; people of that surname were leaving each other land leases, serving on juries and serving as minor officials in that time period. Over time the family migrated outward across Galloway, typically about 30 miles in a generation, until they came to the Irish Sea, at which time they seem to have tended to get into boats and row across, most often settling initially within a few miles of Larne, where they would have pulled up their boats on the beach. Templecorran/ Brode and then Carrickfergus are immediately south of Larne, which is on a little peninsula.
There atleast two other McKinstry lines that claimed to come from Carrickfergus or adjacent Templecorrant/ Brode Island; James McKinster who enrolled to fight in the War of 1812 from western South Carolina before setttling in Indiana, and the Meigs County, Ohio McKinstry line. These people match each other at a genetic distance of up to 2 at 67 markers. The greatest genetic distance is across the large Sturbridge McKinstry family group itself.
However, it is as clear that not all McKinstry families descend from Roger McKinstry of Templecorran. For instance the South Carolina McKinstry family has a genetic distance of 6 at 67 markers from the Carrickfergus/ Templecorran group. That is consistent with a shared ancestor in the 15th or 16th century. The paper trail also contradicts such an idea. A McKinstry family that lived about six miles west of Templecorran already lived there by the 1630s. Documentary evidence shows that the McKinstry surname existed in the Cree River Valley in the mid 1400s; people of that surname were leaving each other land leases, serving on juries and serving as minor officials in that time period. Over time the family migrated outward across Galloway, typically about 30 miles in a generation, until they came to the Irish Sea, at which time they seem to have tended to get into boats and row across, most often settling initially within a few miles of Larne, where they would have pulled up their boats on the beach. Templecorran/ Brode and then Carrickfergus are immediately south of Larne, which is on a little peninsula.