Thank you for your interest in the McAtee DNA Project!  Please see the FAQ tab for joining instructions.

McAtee and close surname variants – worldwide – who have had YDNA or have a Family Finder kit – are welcome to this project!

DNA transfers into the Family Finder kit from some other DNA companies are possible. Please read: 'Autosomal DNA Transfers – Which Companies Accept Which Tests?'   https://dna-explained.com/…/autosomal-dna-transfers-which-…

Through the McAtee DNA Project, we will be able to gather information about McAtees worldwide. We hope to prove various McAtee branches,and eventually use DNA to break our ‘Brick Wall’ ancestors: those ancestors that lack paper record proofs to connect them to our family lines.

Also, our YDNA tested McAtees will provide information about our ancient Haplogroups, which will show countries or areas of origin for our McAtee ancestors.

US Colonial era Maryland McAtee line: as far as we know at this time, the first McAtees in the US arrived in Maryland as indentured servants in 1674. These men and women gave their lives and fortunes to build this new country, and many McAtee names are listed in every conflict and war to protect this country from these early days. However, loss of records due to being a developing country, as well as several fires, have caused this particular McAtee line much       confusion. It is the hope of many of our members that DNA will provide another way to solve our 'brick wall' McAtee ancestors.

US later arrival McAtees: We know that other McAtees arrived during the Colonial era, and later throughout our US history. We hope to learn if they are related to the Maryland line or if they have their own distinct DNA genealogy.

UK, Australia, and other countries: We would like to have our McAtees from other countries join this project as well, so that we all can learn about the McAtee story throughout history.

If you are a descendant of a McAtee ancestor, and have already had DNA testing at Family Tree DNA, please join our project!

If you have tested at another DNA company, please read the article above.

If you have not had DNA testing, please contact the project Administrator with your questions or for information on DNA testing.

YDNA, and Autosomal DNA Kits are accepted into the McAtee DNA Project.

                                 ~ WE NEED REPRESENTATIVES FROM YOUR LINE  ~ 

DNA TECHNOLOGY USING YDNA for McAtee surnamed men

The project uses high technology DNA analysis to determine whether families share a common ancestor.  The male chromosome is passed down virtually unchanged from father to son.  So, two male McAtee 7^th cousins would have virtually the same male DNA pattern.  This scientific fact is useful in genealogy when one does not have documentary records to show a family connection despite circumstantial evidence that suggest a family connection.  If the DNA of the descendants of the branches one is trying to connect do not have the same DNA pattern, then one knows they are not closely related.  If the pattern does match, then there is a common ancestor at some point in the past lineage.  The technology can’t pinpoint how many generations back the ancestor is, but it can tell us if there is a common ancestor.

We recommend testing as many YDNA markers as you can.  37 or 67 markers or higher. From your branch, you also might want to choose and fund one person to take the Big Y test, which is the most comprehensive YDNA test offered at Family Tree DNA. This test would provide YDNA information for all of your male branch members (and by proxy, the female branch members as well) assuming all are genetically linked (that is, no non-parental events).