Genealogy Conflict- McDonald/McDaniel/McDonnell DNA Test Results Needed

Question

Hello,

I'm looking for anyone that has had an YDNA testing that connects them to Bryan McDonald Jr. or Lt. Bryan McDonnell.  There's a conflict in whether James McDaniel or James McDonald is the son of Bryan McDonald Jr..  We would need a tester or two to give us some raw data help make a connection.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thank you.

Links-

Lt. Bryan McDonald- https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/MacDonald-1302

Bryan McDonald Jr.-https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/McDonnell-169

James McDaniel-https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/McDaniel-576

James McDonald-https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/McDonald-9288

Comments

Interesting.

https://www.wfiwradio.com/2018/10/07/james-w-mcdaniel-mt-vernon/

I never stopped to think how old this name was.

Answer 1

Answer found.  A tester related to Lt. Brian was found last year, and the SNP comparison shows we are both 2 distinct branches.  James Sr. belonged to the R-M222 haplogroup and Lt. Brian belonged to the R-S951 haplogroup.

Of note, Lt. Brian belongs to the Clan Colla branch of Clan McDonald, and is not a direct descendant of the Lords of Clan McDonald.  There is some hick-up in the assumed lineage and that should be addressed or disconnected by those interested in his ancestry.

Comments

The hiccups are

(1) Haplogroups are far too broad to do genealogy with.  You need small genetic distances in big tests.

(2) Hereditary transmission of surnames began early in the nobility, but it doesn't go back that far in the general population.  In Scotland and Ireland many families adopted ancient surnames without being descended in a male line from any ancient family of that name.

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Yes, you are right.  The gentlemen that I've received the data from is basing most of his separations on the new SNP results coming out.  (I'm currently waiting on mine, but he has already done the SNP comparisons to the O’Flaherty and Clardy (another offshoot) testers.  If there is specific information that you would like posted for confirmation I can get it from him.  Admittedly, I'm a noobie when it comes to DNA information.  This gentlemen seems to have a good grasp of it and how the different family lines play out.
Here's links to his research
https://r-a259.genealogy.network/tree.xhtml
https://r-a259.genealogy.network/tree.xhtml?clade=R-DF104

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Here's a link to the Lt. Brian Clan Colla information that I was given.

www.peterspioneers.com/colla.htm

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I concur with Eric McDaniel's findings regarding this James McDaniel and his descendants who became the Nelson County (KY) McDaniel branch. The yDNA from these lines is NOT the same as that of Bryan McDonnell and his descendants; these are two separate MCDONALD lines. I have been researching the various descendants of Bryan McDonnell from New Castle for about 10 years. Some of our findings have supported the work of the FTDNA Clan Colla Group who have published their findings at the website mentioned above and here: http://www.peterspioneers.com/colla.htm#mcdonald

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Thanks for the response Elbert!  Glad to know of someone from that line in case I have any questions coming from your family.  Of note, I am thinking that our McDaniel family came over around the same time to the new Penn colony (either to Delaware or Phily).  I'm currently researching a John McDaniel and and Archibald McDaniel as possible leads, as John eventually resided in Conestoga, PA where we've traced James McDaniel's family to.  No direct connection yet but I'm suspecting a connection somehow to that John.

Answer 2

Bryan, I have had an ancestry DNA done and it linked me Sue McDonald my grandmother. I don't know if that' the type you need or not, probably not since you only mentioned male names. Sorry I thought maybe I could be of help.

Comments

Thanks for responding! Unfortunately ivI' already tried to solve it with autosomal results but we need Y-DNA testers to solve the mystery.  I've found a few from my line, but still looking for one from another line

Answer 3

The Clan Donald project has been doing Y DNA testing of MacDonalds for many years. Perhaps they could advise? https://clandonaldusa.org/index.php/dna-project

Tim

Comments

I'm actually working with that group now. One of the main administrators has been very helpful in pointing out what information is still needed. I only recently received data from my line.  The issue is now finding a confirmed descendant from another branch of Brian senior or Brian junior to cross reference the results.

Answer 4

What's your haplotype? My brother's is I-L813, which isn't typical for McDonalds, so it probably won't help.

Comments

We are R-M269 and are a subset of the R-M222 group. Testing shiws we do not descend from Somerled though.

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My poor uncle was so disappointed when he learned that we don't descend from Somerled. My thought is that "I" suggests Viking, though, so we certainly could have been there since the beginning - his mother and wife were both Vikings ... 

Best wishes on your search!