McConnell is the most accurate English phonetic spelling of
the Gaelic surname, "MacDhomnhuill." This was the Gaelic name for the MacDonald Clan. In Gaelic, the d
that comes after the c in Mac becomes silent and the name is pronounced as though it were spelled MacHonnell, which is
close to how we pronounce "McConnell." In early English documents, MacDonald was usually written "McConnell."
The McConnells were the same people as the MacDonalds. McConnell is one of the more common of hundreds of spelling
variations which also include MacDonald, McDonald, McDaniel, and McDonnell.
Click on this sentence to visit the McConnell Genealogy page.
More than 50 McConnells have tested their DNA and if you are
a McConnell you can compare your DNA to theirs. DNA results so far show there are two major ancestral groups
of McConnells in the U.S.
About a fifth of U.S. McConnells are Somerled descendants.
Somerled died in 1164 at Renfrew Scotland and at the time of
his death he had driven the Vikings out of Scotland and Northern Ireland and these lands were inherited by his sons who
formed the MacDonald, MacAllister and MacDougal Clans. Clan Chiefs of these clans have been shown to have very
similar DNA which can be traced back to Somerled.
Most Somerled descendants in the U.S. can trace their ancestry back to Alexander McConnell who settled by the Octorara
River in 1715 in Pennsylvania and who died in 1729 leaving behind six sons. These descendants include many
Revolutionary War officers as well as soldiers who fought in all the other U.S. wars as well; they were the
first pioneers in Kentucky and they founded the towns of McConnellsburg in Pennsylvania and McConnelsville in Ohio.
It appears that Somerled descendants in the U.S. descend from Donald Gruamach McDonald
4th of Sleat. All the Clan Chiefs who descend from this person have many similarities.
Another large group is called the Leinster Ireland/ Irish Sea Modal group. The group
appears to have a lot of descendants who came from the Philadelphia/Lancaster County area of Pennsylvania in the 1700s.
Many of this group are descended from the very large family of William McConnell and Mary Magdalena Barnhisel.
Click this link to see the DNA Project at Clan Donald USA.
|
