McMullen

(also McMillan, McMullan and associated spellings)

My research on the McMullen family specifically pertains to the ancestors of George Adam MCMULLEN (1889-1964) who married Josephine Marie VOLKMAN (1891-?), and Thomas P SLATER (1892-1967) who married Helen MINGOS (1897-1985).

McMullen is one of those common names and for some time I was quite stuck on my great-grandfather, George Adam MCMULLEN (1889-1964). There was actually at least one other George MCMULLEN born within several miles of him the same year in the state of Pennsylvania, and birth records were not kept there until 1894. However, through some correspondence with his late second wife, Lola Adele WIGGS (1894-1991) and a trip to the Nebraska State Archives in March of this year (2013), my father and I had a breakthrough on the MCMULLEN line.

In order to help us get a little more traction with our research across the pond in Ireland, my father had YDNA-67 testing at Family Tree DNA. His haplogroup had been determined at 23andMe to be R1b1b2a1a1*, and the SNP analysis at FTDNA placed him in the haplogroup R-P310. Haplogroup R is thought to be the most common haplogroup on Earth -- "the pre-eminent Y haplogroup in Europe, the U.S. and India." So it wasn't too much of a surprise when my husband's haplogroup ended up being very close to my father's.

My dad's closest match at 67 markers (2 steps, one which is half of a fast-mutating marker called CDY) being Tom McMillan, whose website on his McMillan Family History shows a lot of similarities between his earliest known MCMILLAN Ancestor, John MCMULLAN (1824-?) b Ireland and our John H MCMULLEN (1830-1925) b Scotland or Ireland d Lincoln, Johnson, Nebraska.

At 67 Markers, Tom McMillan and my father are 4 steps removed from the Administrator of the Mullen/McMullen Surname Project, his earliest known ancestor being James McMullen (1650-1728) Kilkenny, Ireland. The Administrator, Lyn David McMullen, who is the Irish Mac Maolain Clan Chieftan, has been a wealth of knowledge about the history of the family in Ireland and Irish history in general. I would have dismissed the connection to him, except that he pointed out the 4 steps difference with my father (DYS392, DYS458, DYS456, DYS537) includes two fast-mutating markers (in Maroon). Thus, he encouraged us to test for the terminal SNP Z156, which is highly indicative of Irish Ancestry, and indeed, my father was positive for the SNP (as Lyn suspected).

In the Scottish Clan MacMillan Project, my father matches most closely with Haplogroup R1b1a2a1a1a members who are positive for the terminal SNP U106, which makes sense, since Z156 is "downstream" from U106 (meaning it was a polymorphism which originated in the U106+ population). If you followed my links in this paragraph and the one above, you will notice that any of this testing stuff is pretty much suggestive and not carved in stone. The knowledge with respect to human migration patterns and DNA is constantly changing. Anyway, the punchline here is that although John H MCMULLEN and family reportedly were from Scotland, and DNA evidence could support a connection to Scotland, there is just as much (if not more) evidence that they were from Ireland. One thing I can say for certain -- the MCMULLENs are from the British Isles.

All that being said, it has been fun communicating with Tom and Lyn and trying to discover our common ancestors. Both of them have now had autosomal testing, and have uploaded to GEDMATCH. Dad has a small autosomal connection (5.9 centiMorgans) to Lyn on Chromosome 1 through his 23andMe and AncestryDNA kits, and a smattering of tiny connections (under 4.2 cM) to Tom from his AncestryDNA kit. Now, with connections this tiny, the chances increase substantially that the DNA is shared just by chance (Identical by State) rather than reflecting an actual genetic relationship (Identical by Descent). I did a forced triangulation and discovered that the three of them currently (as of November 25, 2013) share eight cousin matches at GEDMATCH, with two of them being good prospects for a common ancestor 6 to 7 generations (4th to 5th great-grandparents) back for Tom and my father, and another generation removed for Lyn. We believe this is consistent with the relationship estimates that FTDNA gives from their shared YDNA. Or, I have just perfected the use of smoke and mirrors.

With respect to other ancestors of my father, I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to both Mr. John Mingos, who has done extensive research on the MINGOS/MINGUS/MENGES family line, and Mrs. Sherlene Belden, who shared her research on the Justus LYONS family and its descendants. If you are a male Mingos family member, please consider joining the Menges Surname DNA Project!

Without any further adieu, here is a list of my father's 3rd great-grandparents. These ancestors would be shared with people who match, DNA-wise, to Michael McMullen at a 4th cousin level. According to ISOGG, a 4th cousin match would share around .195% of his/her DNA, or 13.28 centiMorgans total with my father. Matches in RED are supported through DNA matches to cousins sharing those individuals or ancestors of those individuals in their family trees. Individuals with an X before their names contributed to Michael's X Chromosome and should be considered when considering connections through the X Chromosome.

 

Patrick MCMULLEN (before 1815) Ireland

Unknown Wife of Patrick MCMULLEN (before 1815) Ireland

Robert Adam HERBISON (before 1817) County Antrim, Ireland

Jane PAUL (before 1817) County Antrim, Ireland

George Washington BENNETT (1817-1877) b Orange County, New York, d Ohio

Mary Louisa HENRY (1824-?) b New York

Unknown EDWARDS (before 1832) New York?

Unknown Wife of EDWARDS (before 1832) New York?

Unknown Grandparents of Albert VOLCKMAN who was born February 1851 in Germany or Poland and came to the United States from Slupsk, Poland in 1881

Unknown Grandparents of Amelia WANDKE who was born June 1850 in Germany or Poland and came to the United States from Slupsk, Poland in 1881

William H SLATER (1810-?) b New York or possibly Pennsylvania

Cornelia Unknown (1814-?) b New York, wife of William H SLATER

Barton SCHOUTEN (1821-?) b Greene, New York

Nancy FAIRCHILD (1826-?) b Greene, New York

Pierre Thomas PERREAULT (1811-1857) b Chambly, Quebec, Canada, d Ste Marie Beauce, Quebec, Canada

X Sophie DESSEINDER deGUY (1817-?) b Chambly, Quebec, Canada

X John LaPOINT (1809-?) b Chambly, Quebec, Canada, d Binghamton, Broome, New York

X Marie DUDLEY DAUDELIN (1815-1895) b Richelieu, Rouville, Quebec, d Binghamton, Broome, New York

Conrad MINGOS (1777-1863) b Forks, Northampton, Pennsylvania, d Monroe, Bradford, Pennsylvania

Sarah Unknown (1779-1853) b Forks, Northampton, Pennsylvania, d Monroe, Bradford, Pennsylvania, married to Conrad MINGOS

X David O DAVID (?) Pennsylvania or Connecticut

X Lorana Unknown (1797-) b Connecticut, married to David O DAVID

Unknown KANFELT or KAUFELT (before 1831) Germany

X Mary Unknown (1806-?) b Germany 

X Jonathon Corey LYONS (1805-1895) b Chemung, Chemung, New York, d Waverly, Tioga, New York

X Susan ILLETT (1809-1891) b Candor, Tioga, New York, d Barton, Tioga, New York