Gavin McKee, my 5th great grandfather.
1) Name:
Even though there may be six spellings of his name, please check his free Wikitree profile 2 attachments I added for the proof of how he spelled his name = GAVIN.
2) DNA:
My McKee cousin and I had my local McKee cousin's Y-DNA tested at FamilyTreeDNA and he is enrolled in the McKee surname project. She has started writing to the matches. Many do not have a tree or will not answer yet after week 1.
Grandpa Gavin in on my tree twice since great grandparents William Marshall Ingram and Sarah Elizabeth McKee were 2nd McKee cousins. That's why I say I should have a good dose of McKee genes.
Ancestry DNA matching:
I have a DNA match from Ayrshire, Scotland. Her mother is a McKee but their tree only goes back into the 1800's. I do not have the funds to hire someone to complete her tree by researching in Scotland. Does anyone?
If you want an invitation to my Ancestry tree for this McKee cousin, please ask by email or on Ancestry messaging (with your username or email)
Since I reviewed our late cousin Sir James O. McKee Jr.'s notes and papers he sent me, I found a map of Scotland clans. The Mackay's were in the northwest in the Highlands. South of them were the Sutherland's. My next step was to plug in the various surname spellings. I found another DNA cousin from Edinburgh, Scotland. In her tree is Isobel MacKay 1778 m. William SUTHERLAND. Checking Sutherland, I have a DNA match with Ian SUTHERLAND who lives in Edinburgh. On the Sutherland branch, Isabel's mother was a Sutherland and grandmother was a COUPER. Another DNA check shows I have a DNA match to a Couper.
This is the closest connection that real that I know we have to the Scottish Highlands.
If you want an invitation to my Isobel MacKay tree on Ancestry, please email me or message on Ancestry (with your username or email)
3) A record!
Nobody has ever offered proof of Gavin's place of birth or the names of his parents.
My VA McKee cousin found a Parish record from Lanarkshire for
GAVIN MCGHIE, b. 1755, son of Robert McGhie and Betty Mutter.
The DNA to match this record?
I DNA match to a Thomas MUTTER, likely from Canada and CA; his parents immigrated into Illinois. Father likely worked worldwide for International Harvester Company. The couple married in Edinburgh. Since his tree was only with 3, I formed an Ancestry tree about him. I found several siblings of this Gavin Mcghie; There are limited sources for Elizabeth Mutter, so I added her under a possible Mutter based on her years. I formed a research tree for the 'Mutter's of Scotland'. If you want an invitation to it, please email me or message on Ancestry with your screen name or email address.
With this record find and my Mutter DNA connection, have we finally found my grandpa Gavin in Scotland? Our main researcher Sir JOM Jr. said Gavin immigrated when a lad of about 10 years of age. Why did he come? How? Where were his parents?
We think he was the apprentice with James Moore of Cumberland County, PA. Many of us have assumed that James was his uncle and mother was Mary Moore McKee, wife of Robert, of Chester County, PA.
4) Sir James wrote on his copy of the McKee's and Allied Families papers sent to me that 'This is not Gavin's family'. I wish he had dated that and wrote why. I DNA match to the Moore's, but I have a Moore grandma on my Ingram line back from Accomack County, VA.
Another thing about DNA connections is that my father matches with a McKee (do not know how). I believe he is in a DNA group that comes from my paternal Cawood family of Yorkshire, England.
What do you make of the new find of this Scotland Parish record? Records help and this was a good find for cousin Sharon.
What do you think of my DNA matches? DNA tells the truth. So figure out how I match to the the Southerland's, the Couper's, and the Mutter's of Scotland. I believe our line came from the Highlands, then down to Lanarkshire, then later generations down to Ayrshire.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
J
