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About The Kinclaven Connection
The Kinclaven Connection
My Macdonald ancestry can be traced back to the Perthshire parish of Kinclaven and the second half of the eighteenth century; to John McDonald, a small tenant farmer renting land in 1748 and 1754 at West Tofts on the estate of the attainted Lord Nairne (Ref. TD93/58 [NRAS 3698] 609).
The Old Parish Registers of the kirk at Kinclaven record that John McDonald of West Tofts was married to Isabel Cowans on 26th October 1766, and our family tree can be traced from this union down to the present day. John’s antecedents, however, remain a mystery. There is no record of his birth, death or burial at Kinclaven, nor is there a record of his age at marriage. Was he a young man? Or was he an older man, perhaps with an existing family by an earlier wife (or wives)? Either scenario is tenable, but the truth must await further and more fruitful research. Meantime, John remains our "brick wall".
The Spell of the Name
The spelling of our family name has varied down the years from its oral origin. All versions have appeared in parish registers and civil certificates, usually according to the whim of the recorder rather than that of the bearer. On this website I have used the McDonald spelling throughout until the family of Frederick Henry Macdonald, who established his business as Macdonald & Co. (possibly because the name McDonald & Co had already been registered?), and gave that spelling to his children.
DNA
The Clan Donald DNA Project (see their website at http://dna-project.clan-donald-usa.org/ ) provides details of the various haplogroups to be found within the clan branches, and the individual DNA profiles of all the members who have joined the project. DNA can be a useful test of proving or disproving kinship, and in time may offer some hope that current brick walls may be removed and our true ancestral heritage revealed.
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Getting Around There are several ways to browse the family tree. The Tree View graphically shows the relationship of selected person to their kin. The Family View shows the person you have selected in the center, with his/her photo on the left and notes on the right. Above are the father and mother and below are the children. The Ancestor Chart shows the person you have selected in the left, with the photograph above and children below. On the right are the parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. The Descendant Chart shows the person you have selected in the left, with the photograph and parents below. On the right are the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Do you know who your second cousins are? Try the Kinship Relationships Tool. Your site can generate various Reports for each name in your family tree. You can select a name from the list on the top-right menu bar.
In addition to the charts and reports you have Photo Albums, the Events list and the Relationships tool. Family photographs are organized in the Photo Index. Each Album's photographs are accompanied by a caption. To enlarge a photograph just click on it. Keep up with the family birthdays and anniversaries in the Events list. Birthdays and Anniversaries of living persons are listed by month. Want to know how you are related to anybody ? Check out the Relationships tool. |
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