The Kilgore project received a "jumpstart" when three distant cousins, each individually proven descendants of James W. Kilgore b. 1701,Ireland, d. Aug 28, 1771, Newton Township, Cumberland Co., PA. joined the initial project.

James Kilgore was married to  Elizabeth "Betsy" Jack, daughter of James and Elizabeth McNulty Jack.

These three cousins descended from James and Betsy's first born son Benjamin Kilgore who migrated to Laurens Co., S.C. about 1760 after having fought with George Washington in the French and Indian War.  He fought valiantly there and in the Revolutionary War as a Colonel from South Carolina.

Benjamin was married first to Anna McCrary about 1764 and then to Martha Jane McDavid about 1766. He left S.C. about 1790 with Martha Jane for Livingston Co., KY and died there in 1809.

James and Betsy’s son Oliver and his son Obediah went to Tennessee and Obed’s son David became a senator from Indiana. Oliver is represented in the project.

David Kilgore, another son of James and Betsy, has a descendant in the project and we are rapidly adding others.

Another Kilgore famous for his service in the Revolution was Charles Kilgore who is known for the Battle of King's Mountain fought just at the NC / SC border in 1781. Much has been written about Charles, not the least of which was that he eventually died of his wounds from that battle. It is believed that Charles' family came out of Scott Co., Virginia.

Initially, it was a mystery if these two families were closely related or related at all.  Through DNA testing of new participants we have found that James and Charles were related albeit Charles may have been a generation or two older and may have arrived in America at a different time and place.

Yes, there are many more Kilgore families who migrated from Ireland to America later than James and Charles.  Many are represented and all are welcome to join our project and begin the search for a genetic connection.

Our project is able to identify specific Kilgore family groups and members aid each other in connecting to earlier ancestors than we each have been able to find heretofore in our paper research.

Genetic genealogy is a very intriguing new science. We urge all Kilgore descendants to join us soon and find where and how you have additional family connections.

One of our members, the descendant of an African American slave who has held the Kilgore name since the late 1700's or early 1800's wanted to learn if there was, in fact, a blood relation.

The result, however, was genetic proof that he descended directly from the tribes of Africa. Nonetheless, this family was closely connected to a Kilgore family in times past and continues to carry the name and a bond between our families. Hopefully, through comparison of paper trails, we will be able to help our member determine which Kilgore family bears the connection. She was also able to find Kilgore cousins of her ancestor who live in Barbados, London and Switzerland, never having lived in America.

If you would like to join our project, please click the email address at the very top of this page and make your request. We remind you that only male descendants of a Kilgore can join the DNA project as only males carrythe Y chromosome.

Females can have their mtDNA tested which is the mitochondrial dna delivered to us by our mothers. There is no tracing of family through surnames with mtDNA testing. Please read more about this prior to requesting the test.