McClellan (various spellings) DNA Project

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Group Administrator: Ted McClellan McClellan.DNA@gmail.com

Background

Project Surnames:

Clelan	Cleland	Clellan	Clelland
Gilleland	Gilliland	MacLelan	MacLeland
MacLellan	MacLelland	McClelan	McCleland
McClellan	McClelland	McClendon	McLelan
McLeland	McLellan	McLelland	McLendon
McLennon

Group General Fund:

Y-DNA Gift Certificate $30* - Kit 49062
Y-DNA Gift Certificate $30* - Kit 48418
Y-DNA37 2007 Gift Certificate $30* - Kit 109546
Y-DNA37 2007 Gift Certificate $30* - Kit 111105
Y-DNA25 2007 Gift Certificate $15* - Kit 111082

09/25/06 - Robert L. McClelland donation....$100
09/25/06 - Total available....$100
11/27/06 - Ted M McClellan donation in memory of Brad McLellan....$143
11/27/06 - Total available....$243
03/13/07 - Cecil M. McClellan donation in honor of Ted McClellan, group admin....$100
03/13/07 - Total available....$343
01/02/08 - Kit 111082....($30)
01/02/08 - Total available....$313
01/02/08 - Kit 111105....($30)
01/02/08 - Total available....$283
04/25/08 - Billy McLellan donation in memory of W.R. McLellan....$100
04/25/08 - Total available....$383
07/03/08 - Credit for cancelled order 111082....$30
07/03/08 - Total available....$413

Project Background:

This group has been established for male participants with the surname McCleland, McClelland, McClellan or other closely related spellings. Many of the spelling variations are listed at http://www.clanmaclellan.net/spellings.html and all are welcome. The objective is to determine relationships that might be difficult to prove using traditional methods of genealogical research.

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All Contents Copyright 2001-2004 Genealogy by Genetics, Ltd.
Project Background, Goals, Results and News are copyright of the specific Surname Project

Project Goals:

The project is not limited to one group or location of origin and should be used by anyone desiring to start an analysis of his or her family line. Each participating group should identify the earliest known ancestor in the line for analysis and sharing of traditional genealogical information. Selected group information is shown below.

Andrew McClelland died 1752 Bladen Co, NC
The group researching Andrew McClelland (also spelled McCleland) who died in Bladen Co, NC in 1752 has identified five possible male lines of his grandsons for study. It is believed Thomas stayed in Bladen Co, Andrew moved to Scott Co, VA and John, McClain and possibly William moved to Screven Co, GA. Others in Bladen Co who may be related were Malcomb, Daniel, Angus and Duncan McLelland. Please contact ted.mcclellan@gmail.com if you have information on the specific lines of Thomas McClelland who died before 1800 in Bladen Co and Andrew who died 1819 in Scott Co, VA.

John McClelan Jr and wife Elizabeth Welsh
John McClelan Jr appears to be a son of John McClelan from Penrith (northern England) who was born 15 Oct 1747. John McClelan Jr and his wife Elizabeth Welsh were parents of Robert McClelland who was born in 1785 and lived in Preston, Lancashire, UK. Please contact ted.mcclellan@gmail.com if you would like information on this line.

Sir Robert MacLellan of Kirkcudbright
This is a study to establish the DNA signature of those related to Sir Robert MacLellan, First Lord Kirkcudbright, who died 18 Jan 1639. The title of Lord Kirkcudbright passed to his nephew Thomas because Sr Robert had no surviving sons. But, he did have several illegitimate children including James and William. The DNA participant in this study has a family history that includes a possible connection with Sr Robert. Additional information is shown under Project Results. Please contact ted.mcclellan@gmail.com if you are interested in participating in this study.

William B McClellan of Screven Co, GA
William Bonapart McClellan was born 1819/20 in Screven Co, GA and his DNA matches the line of McClellans from Bladen Co, NC. He went to Florida around 1854 with his wife Elizabeth Stewart who was born 1832 in Screven Co, Ga. Her father was Charles Stewart who died in the Civil war. William and Elizabeth’s first son, my great grandfather Daniel Webster McClellan, was born in Nassau Co, FL in Dec 1854. Wm. B. McClellan is in the Nassau Co, FL census in 1860 at the age of 40. He may be the same W. B. McClellan age 30, with Sarah age 27, and children; William age 10, Sarah H. age 7, Matilda age 6, Charasa age 5, and Euginia age 2 on Page 11a of the Screven Co, GA 1850 census. In the 1860 census this family is still in Screven Co, GA and Sarah age 37 is shown as a widow living with her mother Sarah Robbins age 74 and with the same children listed in the 1850 census plus another son Robert age 8.
Please contact me, Cecil McClellan, at cecilmac@bellsouth.net if anyone has information on the W.B. McClellan and family on Page 11a of the Screven Co GA 1850 census. I would like to exchange information and discuss using DNA to evaluate the relationships between the William B. McClellan families.

Robert McClellan of Barmagachan, Scotland
I am trying to confirm my family's patrilineal descent from Robert McClellan of Barmagachan, Scotland (he was born and died in Scotland but was briefly exiled to New Jersey between 1685 and 1689). The problem appears to be a missing generation between this Robert and a possible grandson also named Robert McClellan (who died in Middletown Township, PA 1741). There is a strong family tradition that Robert of Barmagachan is our ancestor but I don't know, or can't find any, information regarding who the son might have been who fathered Robert of PA. Or is Robert of PA a possible illegitimate son of Robert of Barmagachan, perhaps fathered when Robert of Barmagachan was exiled to NJ? Please contact me, Clive McClelland, at cmcclelland@liberty.edu about this family.

Robert McClellan born 1895
My earliest known ancestor was Robert McClellan, born 1895, who was adopted by North E McClellan and his wife Carrie Belle (nee Salyer). His actual surname is not known but it is thought his father’s name sounded like Fears and he reportedly died before 1899 in Arkansas or Missouri. My email address is ken.mcclellan@comcast.net if you have any information on this situation.

William MacLellan died in Hancock County, GA in 1824
William MacLellan married Francina Veazey in Orange County, NC in 1781. Francina was the daughter of James Veazey and Elizabeth Hollingsworth Johnston. The Veazey and Hollingsworth families are well documented, but details about William's past are hazy at best (Internet searches have turned up two different sets of possible parents for William, but no source documents are cited). William served with North Carolina troops in the Revolutionary War, and moved his family to Georgia (along with some of the Veazeys) before 1790. Four sons (William, John, Henry, and James) and four daughters (Mary, Nancy, Elizabeth, and Margaret) are mentioned in William's will, which was probated in 1824 and recorded at the Courthouse in Sparta, GA. William and Francina are believed to be buried in the cemetery of the Powelton Baptist Church in Hancock County, GA. Part of the difficulty in tracing our paternal line stems from the popularity of the name "William". There are at least six different William MacLellan/McClellans in North Carolina in the 1770's - 1780's. Hopefully, DNA testing will help establish some connections. Please contact Billy McLellan at billymclellan@bellsouth.net with any comments about this line.

Project News:

This project was initiated on 22 July 2004.
The Family Forum link at the upper left will take you to a page where you can enter questions and discussions about this project and your genealogy. The Goals section is also available for project members interested in contacting others about their genealogies.
The International Society of Genetic Genealogists http://www.isogg.org/ is a recommended organization and has “Newbies” information with an excellent forum and mailing list.

Project Results:

Y-DNA

This listing is presented in the same order as the Y-Results page

Barmagachan

The earliest established ancestor for the participant with kit N31294 is Robert McClellan born in Scotland in 1677. Some claim this line connects to the earlier ancestry of Sir Robert MacLellan. This is a challenge to the assumption for kit 54672 since the genetic distance is too great for them to have a common McClellan ancestor.

Cleland/Clelland

The earliest known ancestor for kit 23789 is William (K)Neelands, born about 1750 and lived in Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

The earliest known ancestor for kit N8878 is William Cleland who was born in 1831 in Northern Ireland (likely Down county).

Colrain MA & related

The ancestor line for kit N19812 is through John Potter McClellan, born 31 Oct 1865 in Hollidaysburg, PA and his father, William Henry Harrison McClellan who was born 27 July 1841 in Tipton, PA. William’s father supposedly was a George McClellan born in Blair County, PA.

The participants with kits 53564 and 98606 descend from Michael McClellan of Colrain, Mass, who was born in Northern Ireland and emigrated to America in 1749, he died in 1757 and is buried in Colrain, Mass.

SC & related

These tests match the Colrain & related.

The earliest ancestors for a member who was tested by Relative Genetics is Hugh McClellan and his son James who was born 8 August 1804 in York Co, SC. This DNA is posted in Ysearch as User ID: YW37X. The Colrain MA participants have a 31/32 match with the markers reported by Relative Genetics for this participant. Another descendant of Hugh McClellan was tested by Genebase and his DNA is posted in Ysearch as User ID: BEQTQ.

The earliest ancestor of a member who was tested by DNA Ancestry (Ancestry.com) is David McClellan who was born in Ireland about 1802 and died before 1860, probably in MS. He was apparently in SC earlier since his wife Susan B Watson and his first son were born there. This DNA is posted in Ysearch as User ID: PP453 and has only a single difference in the 30 comparable markers with the Hugh McClellan DNA mentioned above.

VA & related

The ancestor for kit 65201 is Bennett T McClellan who was born in 1818, married Alice McCausland and died in 1861 at an unknown location (family living in Texas). His father was John McClellan, born about 1780 in VA and died about 1840 in Madison Co, TN.

The earliest ancestor line of a member who was tested by DNA Ancestry (Ancestry.com) is William McClellan, born about 1800 and died about 1850 in VA, through his son John G McClellan. This DNA is posted in Ysearch as User ID: 7XCJ9 and has only a single difference from the member with kit 65201.

Kirkcudbright

The earliest identified ancestor of the participant with kit 54672 is William McClelland of Mealough, County Down, Ireland who was born about 1770. The ancestral home is south of Belfast in Northern Ireland and about two or three miles from where Sir Robert MacLellan initially settled at Drumbo in County Down. Sir Robert also leased lands from the Bishop of Down in this area between the river (Lagan, today) and Drumbo. His Irish lands passed to descendants of his daughter Marion who had married Sir Robert Maxwell of Orchardton and family history of this DNA participant tells of a Maxwell cousin. This DNA test is being tentatively offered as the DNA profile/signature of the MacLellans of Bombie.

McClelland/McLendon

The McClelland with kit 80756 matches others in the McClendon DNA Project who report their descent from Dennis Macklendon whose origin and life is discussed at http://www.gwest.org/mclmyth.htm. This participant is also a member of the McClendon DNA project.

NC & Borders, Scotland

The earliest established ancestor for kits 21647, 25150, 37555 and 49062 is John McCleland, born about 1750 in Bladen Co, NC. The earliest established ancestor for kit 25146 is William B McClellan who was born 5 Dec 1819 in Screven Co, GA. DNA results for these five kits confirm that this is a related group.

The earliest ancestor for kit 30720 is Robert Elder who was born 1785 and died 1840 in Borders Scotland. This line has a 67 marker match with the McClellan lines described in the previous paragraph.

Pennsylvania Group 1

The ancestor for kit 36730 is believed to be John McClellan who died in 1801 in Jamaica. His wife was Elizabeth McGowan and their son John was born in Balmaclellan, Scotland. This line has a 35/37 match with the modal for the group.

The earliest known ancestor for the participant with kit 104051 is James McClellan(d) who settled in Hamilton Co, OH from PA before 1800. He probably married his wife Ann, daughter of William and Hannah (Wilson) Giffin in the area of Lewistown. Mifflin Co, PA. Some have said James was born in Ireland in 1767/9 as a son of John McClellan and Nancy Gill. This line has a 36/37 match with the modal for the group.

The earliest ancestor for kit 109546 is William McClelland who was born 1745 in the Marsh Creek Society, Cumberland Township, which is now Gettysburg, Adams Co, PA. William died in 1824 in Augusta Co, VA. His son Samuel McClelland was born 1784 in Rockbridge Co, VA, and died 1867 in Rockbridge Co, VA. This line has a 37/37 match with the modal for the group.

The earliest identified ancestor of the participant with kit 111105 is Samuel McClelland who was born about 1811 probably in Erne, Northern Ireland and came in the early 1840’s with his brother Robert to the Kincardine area of Ontario, Canada. Samuel's wife was Mary Miller. Although there is no known association with the others listed here, this participants DNA has a 36/37 match with the modal for the group.

Pennsylvania Group 2

The earliest known ancestor of the participant with kit 102869 is Robert M McClelland who was in the textile business in Belfast in Northern Ireland and married to Rebecca Fergus. He came to PA where he got his citizenship in 1808 in Beaver Co.

The ancestor for kit 95276 is William MacLellan who married Francina Veazey in Orange County, NC in 1781. William died in 1824 in Hancock Co, GA.

Unknown Group 1

The ancestor for kit 68408 is Joseph McClellan who married Margaret Laurens 25 Jan 1792 in Mecklenburg Co, NC.

Participants with kits 67153 and 84274 have matching DNA with this group but haven’t identified ancestors.

Unknown Group 2

The participant with kit 98183 descends from Andrew McClellan, born 1746 in the area that became Hampshire Co, VA in 1754 and died 1780 in VA (burial location unknown), through his son Andrew J McClellan, born 1774 in SC and died May 1848 in Wayne Co, GA. Andrew J McClellan is buried in the McClellan Cemetery, Brantley Co, GA. This DNA has a 24/25 match with kit 98275.

The ancestor of kit 98278 is James McClelland who came before 1727 to the area known as “The Elbows” (named because of a bend in the Ware River) near Palmer, MA. He married Margaret Fleming and had children James and Margaret. This DNA has a 24/25 match with kit 98183 above and has been upgraded to 37 markers for a higher level evaluation.

Unassigned

The ancestor for kit 27878 is Doctor McLelland born 1824 in NC. His mother was Sarah but his father has not been identified.

The ancestor for kit 32609 is John McClelland born 1798 in Ireland and died 21 Jan 1863 in Pittsburgh, PA. His wife was Elizabeth Watt.

The ancestor for kit 36918 is Robert McClelland born 1785 and lived in Preston, Lancashire, UK.

The earliest identified ancestor for kit 80067 is Dawson C McClellan who was born 1851 in GA. His mother’s name was Nancy and census records suggest she might be related to Godbee in Burke Co, GA. These census records also suggest his father was John, born about 1812 in Ireland.

The ancestor for kit 57372 is Robert M McClelland who changed his name from George W Robinson, born about 1864 in NC.

The ancestry for kit 97530 begins with John McClelland, born about 1745 and died before 1808 in Crawford Co, PA; but this is the maternal line for the McClelland descendant who was born in 1855 to an unwed mother. The objective is to find the genetic surname for this descendant.

The adoptive family for the participant with kit N17977 was North McClellan in Memphis, TN and the adoption was about 1900. The information is listed in this project for the interest of others with the McClellan surname.

The participant with kit 58109 descends from John McLeland who was born about 1735 in Scotland and immigrated to Nova Scotia with two brothers in 1773. More information on this line can be found at http://users.eastlink.ca/~cmaclell/.

The earliest ancestor of a member who was tested by Oxford Ancestors is John McClelland, who died at age 86 on 9 Nov 1865 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland through his son Matthew. John’s wife was Martha Minnis. This DNA is posted in Ysearch as User ID: K7PX5

mtDNA

The earliest female ancestor for kit 21647 was Mary, wife of Ransom L Smith, who was born about 1799 in GA. The 1880 census said her parents were born in Ireland. Family tradition said her maiden name was Wilkerson but this appears questionable since it was recently learned that her husband’s mother was a Wilkerson.

DNA Test Results (mtDNA) for Project Members