Project Surnames
MacAlasdair, MacAlaster, MacAlester, MacAlister, MacAllasdair, MacAllaster, MacAllester, MacAllister, MacCalasdair, MacCalaster, MacCalester, MacCallasdair, MacCallaster, MacCallester, MacColaster, MacColester, MacColister, MacCollaster, MacCollester, MacCollister, Maclester, Mc Alister, Mc Allister, McAlasdair, McAlaster, McAlester, McAlister, McAllasdair, McAllaster, McAllester, McAllister, McCalasdair, McCalaster, McCalester, McCalister, McCallasdair, McCallaster, McCallester, McCallister, McCollister
Project Background
The McAlister surname project, including the variant spellings (i.e. McAlaster, McAlester, McAlister, McCalister, McColister, and those with double L’s, too.), was started by Wanda Shelton in 2001. With the help of Bennett Greenspan, President and CEO of FTDNA, the McAlister surname project was established. FTDNA appointed Wanda as the first Administrator of the McAlister DNA project. The position of Administrator, under the guidelines of FTDNA, is voluntary. The project began with the testing of a few of her McAlister cousins from the Monroe County, TN area. The test results confirmed their genealogical research was correct.
Wanda was Chairperson of the Genealogy Committee for the Clan McAlister of America, so the word spread of the FTDNA McAlister project and members from the CMA begin to join. They too, wanted to supplement their conventional genealogical research with DNA results.
There are over 320 McAlister Ancestral Family Lines indexed in the Clan McAlister of America database. With the DNA testing and a little research many of the CMA families can be traced to a common ancestor. Do you belong to one of these families with a variant spelling of the name McAlister?
Due to some health problems Wanda resigned as Chairperson of the Genealogy Committee of the Clan McAlister of America. She asked J A McAlister to help with the FTDNA McAlister project. In the latter part of 2008 they set up the McAlister public website provided by FTDNA. With mutual consent of Wanda and JA, FTDNA appointed J A as Administrator and Wanda as Co-Administrator of the McAlister DNA project. The two have worked well together to aid and assist the project members in finding their common ancestors.