COUNTY DONEGAL - DENIS McGUIRE & MARGARET MARTIN family

Thanks, Roger ... I appreciate your response.  My intent with the message above was to put the information into a public forum - where it can "ferment" a while and where others have an opportunity to view it (with the possibility that a one-in-a-million positive response may come along).  That this type of approach becomes a viable alternative is precisely due to the limitations of existing historical documentation.  I assume that points to one reason IrelandXO was started ... not only to help provide guidance, but also to enable people to share and communicate about possible connections.  This long-shot approach yields results more often than one might suspect.  I was going to illustate that with an example from my own experience, but this is neither the proper time nor venue.

DNA:  Catherine McGuire's oldest son, my g-gf, married a woman who, like him, was also born in this country of Irish immigrants parents.  Consequently, their children (my grandfather and his siblings) were 100% Irish, my father 50%, and I am 25%.  However, according to AncestryDNA, I pick up an addition 9% Irish through either (or both) my paternal grandmother and my maternal lines ... bringing me to 34%.  My DNA vat has been churning over four years now, but has led me to only a couple 3rd-cousin descendants of Catherine McGuire.  That's all.  They knew little history of their own lines - and had never heard of Catherine McGuire or her parents.  Neither Ancestry, nor my DNA, has relinquished any additional facts concerning my Irish ancestry, as it was lived in Ireland.  Soon to turn 66, I increasingly feel the lack of progress (considering how long I've been at this).  The problem with AncestryDNA is that in order to connect with someone tagged as a (likely) cousin, both parties still must still put in work - that is, begin the process of verification by comparing family trees that are robust enough to even enable a possible connection.  Unfortunately, about half of Ancestry's DNA subscribers do not bother to connect a family tree to their DNA results.  And the trees of many, if not most, of the remainder either contain too few people or they simply do not go back far enough in time. 

The possible similarity of some names among the next generation of the McGuire family (born in America) to the names in the Kilcar Griffith's caught my attention also.  

Am I correct to assume that I would not be encouraged to post duplicate copies of my message to the four parishes.

Anyway, once again, long shots can pay off.  (I'm sure that somewhere in Ireland today is the equivalent of the recording I made in 1979.  We just have to find one another!)  

Thanks again!

Dennis O'Brien

Is the Catharine McGuire you speak of have a married name of Brennan? Her dates 1846 to 1924. If so, her father is my 3x great grand father. I've just recently started my ancestry journey n I've been trying to get info on Dennis McGuire 1810 to 1865? Lmk pls.

Sorry my name is Sean McGuire.

Sean ... Thanks for your response ... which I just saw (nearly two years late).  My Catherine McGuire married Mayo immigrant John O'Brien in Brooklyn on 21 May 1857.  They had three children, born 1858, 1861, and 1864.  Following the death of John O'Brien in 1864, she married Englishman John Hilton (from Lancashire) in Brooklyn in 1866.  They had two children (1868 and 1872).  Her year of birth is not accurately known (~1835), but she died in 1908 in Philadelphia.  I wish there was a match, but to my knowledge my Catherin McGuire was never married to a Brennan.  

Hey dennis it's sean again. I just noticed I didn't put any of my ancestors info. Dennis McGuire 1810-1865 n Catherine burns/byrnes 1815 -1870. Of kilcar donegal. they had their 1st 4 children before moving to the mining towns of schuylkill Pennsylvania where they had the rest of their family. Their children born in donegal were roseanna 1838 Cornelius 1841 n twins Patrick n Margaret 1843. Patrick was my 2nd ggp. When they came to Pennsylvania they had catherine 1846 Michael 1848 dominic 1855 n sarah 1856. My hope too is that maybe someday someone will see these with info on my 3ggps dennis n catherine n their life in donegal.

(1) The original post about my McGuire ancestors (top of this page) focused on the only info I had - the 1857 Brooklyn, NY marriage entry of daughter, Catherine, noted as being from "Donegal".  However, a note regarding a McGuire family from Leitrim was posted 30 Dec 2020, I believe.  Now Leitim and Donegal share a border.  Is it possible that my Catherine and her siblings grew up in Donegal ... but were actually born somewhere in Leitrim?

(2)  In response to my original post, Roger McDonnell asked whether I have had an autosomal DNA test.  The answer is "Yes", from AncestryDNA.  However, I also subsequently uploaded the raw results at no cost to MyHeritage, GENI, FamilyTreeDNA, and another.  I have also taken the FamilyTree Y-DNA test (connecting to the their O'Brien project) and have taken two different tests from CRIGenetics. Unfortunately, the autosomal test is the only one allowing me to me to connect with, and share info with, known cousins - almost all of whom are in the United States.  Ancestry has identified at least three cousins from Ireland.  There are two problems with that.  First, four of my 16 gg-grandparents emigrated from Ireland 1849-1859, and I know the parents' names for only Catherine McGuire.  The rest are blank slates concerning their homes and lives in Ireland.  The second problem is that the Irish cousins identified by AncestryDNA whom I have contacted know even less about own history than I know about mine!  The only positive response came through MyHeritage, which reported a DNA-cousin with the same last name as one of my Irish GG-grandmothers (1828-1901).  He reported recalling that his grandfather (b.1863) [NOT great-grandfather] had an aunt who left for America before he was born.  When I asked if he had any more information about her, or whether he was sure her name was 'Mary', I never heard another word from him.  I can only assume that he must have felt I was questioning his information.  Well, yes, I suppose I was - but only as a matter of research.  It is often reported that some people will say what they think you want to hear simply in order to please you ... but with little or no basis in fact. I have been on this search since I was 28 ... and that was 41 years ago, so perhaps I may be impatient at times.  Any suggestions are appreciated!  

Thanks!

Dennis O'Brien