Irish Palatine mt-DNA

Date: 1709 [unknown]
Location: Ireland

Contents 1 Introduction 2 U2e1a family 3 V11 family 4 Sources

Introduction

This page exists to document the matrilineal family clusters found among the Irish Palatine families using mt-DNA testing. Results are reported from the FamilyTreeDNA Palatine mt-DNA Project.^[1]

Where all lineages in the group are traced to a single immigrant ancestor, only the ancestor is named.

Where clusters are identified in which lineages are traced back to two or more immigrant ancestors, each lineage is listed (from the earliest known ancestor through to c.1800). Matrilineal descendants of these women have mt-DNA matches to each other, but research is needed to confirm the common matrilineal ancestor for each group.

U2e1a family

A descendant of Ann Poole (c.1768-1861), wife of Joseph Kidd, has mt-DNA matches indicating Germanic origins. Jones details the Poole / Pool / Poel family in Co. Wexford.^[2]

V11 family

This large cluster includes a number of testers who can not be reliably traced to a common ancestor.

Ancestor b.c.1690	Ancestor b.c.1720	Ancestor b.c.1750	Ancestor b.c.1780	Ancestor b.c.1810
possibly Katharine Ruckel b.c.1705	Juliana Switzer b.1726	Martha Teskey b.1773	Ann Lodwick b.1795	Martha Brethour b.1831
	Maria Dorothea [LNU] b.c.1718	Elizabeth Dolmage b.1742	Ann Benner b.1778	Margaret McCarthy b.1814
	Maria Dorothea [LNU] b.c.1718	Dorothy Dolmage b.1748	Ann Cornelius b.1768	Mary Sparling
		Margaret	Margaret Embury b.1768	Elizabeth Hoffman b.1790
			Catherine [LNU] b.c.1785	Jane Wesley b.1810

Of their known common ancestors :

• Juliana Switzer, b.c.1726, married Jacob Teskey.

Juliana is reported to be the daughter of Christopher Switzer), although no evidence is located to confirm this. There does not seem to be any reason why she could not have been the daughter of Christopher's brother, Michael Switzer, instead.

No evidence is available to confirm the names of the wives of either of the Switzer brothers. Christopher is popularly reported to have married Katharine Ruckel, and the Ruckel family is believed to have arrived in Ireland with 4 daughters. It is plausible that either (or both) of the Switzer brothers married a Ruckel daughter.

• Maria Dorothea [LNU], b.c.1718, married Adam Dolmage.

It is likely that Maria Dorothea's mother was sister to Katharine Ruckel. The following argument is made :

Katharine would have been aged just 13 in 1718, and could not have been the mother of Maria Dorothea.

The Ruckel family is reported to have had four daughters.

The Ruckel children were probably born between c.1690 and c.1710. It's thus possible that an older daughter in the family was the mother of Maria Dorothea.

The mother of the Ruckel children was probably born c.1670, and she would have been aged almost 50 in 1718. This makes it unlikely that she was the mother of Maria Dorothea.

• Margaret Embury, b.c.1768, married Jacob Hoffman.

Margaret is reported to be the daughter of Margaret Sleet and David Embury. However, it's worth noting that David's brother, Philip, is reported to have married Margaret Switzer (sister to Juliana, above). Is it possible that Margaret Embury was after all the daughter of Philip Embury and Margaret Switzer?

• Catherine [LNU], b.c.1785, m. William Wesley.

It is suggested that Catherine may have been the daughter of John Piper and Elizabeth Corneil (b.c.1761, who moved from Killeheen to Adare.

HYPOTHESISED family structure

A hypothesised family structure would thus place all these testers as descendants of two daughters of a Palatine migrant family. Their mother was probably born c.1670, and may or may not have travelled with them to Ireland. Further evidence is sought to confirm that the father of the family was John Ruckle.

Ancestor b.c.1690	Ancestor b.c.1720	Ancestor b.c.1750	Ancestor b.c.1780	Ancestor b.1810
Daughter Ruckel b.c.1695	Maria Dorothea [LNU] b.c.1718	Ann Dolmage b.1741	Elizabeth Corneil b.1761	Catherine Piper b.c.1785
Daughter Ruckel b.c.1695	Maria Dorothea [LNU] b.c.1718	Elizabeth Dolmage b.1742	Ann Benner b.1778	Margaret McCarthy b.1814
Daughter Ruckel b.c.1695	Maria Dorothea [LNU] b.c.1718	Dorothy Dolmage b.1748	Ann Cornelius b.1768	Mary Sparling
Katharine Ruckel b.c.1705	Juliana Switzer b.1726	Martha Teskey b.1773	Ann Lodwick b.1795	Martha Brethour b.1831
Katharine Ruckel b.c.1705	Margaret Switzer b.1743	Margaret Embury b.1768	Elizabeth Hoffman b.1790	Lavina Powley b.1815

Sources

1. ↑ FamilyTreeDNA Palatine mt-DNA Project, viewed at https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/palatine-mt-dna/about/background
2. ↑ Jones, Henry Z. (1990). The Palatine Families of Ireland pp.93-94. Camden, ME : Picton