In the mid 1700s, four McMasters individuals resided in Solebury, Bucks County, Pennsylvania: Alexander, James, John, and Thomas McMasters. DNA analysis has also potentially identified two sisters: Mary (McMasters) Search and Mrs. Joseph Parker. You can read brief biographies for these McMasters siblings and a few generations of their descendants here.
While this project page is still under development, the purpose of this project is two fold.
The first aim is to reconstruct the McMasters family, build out their respective family trees, and establish their exact relation to one another. To do this, we need existing McMasters descendants to share their gathered research and to share their autosomal DNA results, e.g., Ancestry.com, FamilyTreeDNA, Gedmatch, MyHeritage, etc. Autosomal DNA are genetic markers passed down from both parents to their child and so lineage can be traced for either parent. Even if you do not know your family tree more than a couple of generations, autosomal DNA can establish which of the McMasters progenitors one descends.
The second aim is to determine where the McMasters family originated prior to Bucks County inclusive of where in Europe they originated. To do this, we need male volunteers whose surname is currently McMasters/McMaster to participate in a Y-DNA study. Y-DNA are genetic markers specifically passed down from father to son and so male lineage can be traced, i.e., the McMasters surname. Y-DNA can establish that the Bucks County McMasters families are indeed related and how far back in time particular lines split off from one another.
To this end, preliminary analysis of Y-DNA from two male McMasters descendants from two different child lines of Thomas McMasters of Bucks County, PA (immigrant ancestor) have tested. One tester descends through Thomas’ son, Robert, and the other tester through Thomas’ son, Thomas, who were both likely born in the mid 1700s in Bucks County (see their family tree under 4. Thomas). The results of the Y-DNA test can be visualized in FamilyTreeDNA’s Time Tree below.
Results suggest that the immigrant Thomas McMasters Sr. or his father was born about 1674 as represented in the above figure as haplogroup R-FTE33057. (A haplogroup is a genetic grouping of individuals sharing the same genetic markers.) Analysis of the above image suggests that one of the immigrant Thomas’ brothers or uncles remained in the home country, and a descendant of the brother or uncle later immigrated to South Carolina, U.S. in 1820. This individual was Robert McMaster (born 1794), who married Sarah Gladney about 1830. Robert’s grandson, James (b. 1869), is represented by the haplogroup R-FTE33708 in the above image.
It is believe, but have not yet confirmed, that Robert McMaster (b. 1794) is from the Ballymoney area of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. This needs to be validated through Y-DNA. If this assumption is true, then it is probable that the immigrant Bucks County Thomas McMasters may be from this area as well.
How Can I Help?
If you would like to learn more about your McMasters ancestry and help determine when and where in Europe we originated, please contact me. Specifically, please consider:
- Sharing your family tree and other research. Sometimes the most random bit of information can break through genealogy brick walls.
- Sharing your Ancestry DNA results. As my prior research and blog demonstrates, I have extensive experience and success in analyzing DNA and genetic clusters. Ancestry makes sharing your list of DNA matches easy to do as they promote collaboration among its members (see Ancestry.com article here).
- Taking an autosomal DNA test (e.g., Ancestry.com) or Y-DNA test (i.e., FamilyTreeDNA.com). The more descendants of the original Bucks County McMasters or South Carolina McMaster progenitors who test, the more genetic coverage we have of their original DNA and the more likely we are to find connections among ourselves and thus accomplish the project’s aims. If you have interest in taking a test but a test is not currently a financial priority, please contact me as limited funds are available for sponsoring a test.
More About Me
Elsewhere on this website you can learn more about me and the quality of my research. I descend from Mary McMasters (1755-1832), who was the daughter of Thomas McMasters and married William Boyd in 1778. Thomas McMasters first appeared in Solebury, Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1747 but later removed to Warwick Township on the border with Northampton Township in Bucks County.
You can read more about Mary (McMasters) Boyd by clicking on the link below. You can also judge the quality of my McMasters research through this detailed report.