Are You Connected to This Network?
If your family research overlaps with the Donaghmoyne Network case study, this page is for you.
The chromosome 2 cluster, the four-couple Donaghmoyne hypothesis, and the broader research into pre-Famine County Monaghan ancestry have all benefited from collaboration with cousin researchers, cluster matches, and family historians who have shared their documented trees, parish-record findings, and DNA evidence. The case study is in many ways a collaborative project — every confirmed paternal segment, every verified ancestral couple, every documented surname connection has involved someone who reached out and was willing to share what they had.
This page exists to make that collaboration easier to begin. It is for people whose family research intersects with the Donaghmoyne network — not for prospective genealogy clients, who are welcome to use the main contact page instead. Research collaboration is informal, peer-to-peer, and reciprocal. There is no fee, no client engagement, no formal arrangement. Just shared work on shared ancestry, made productive by mutual exchange of information.
Four Donaghmoyne Couples
The case study centers on four couples who married in Donaghmoyne parish, County Monaghan, between 1841 and 1858. Their descendants emigrated across the Atlantic over the following decades, settling in Chicago, Wisconsin, Joliet (Illinois), Missouri, Montana, and elsewhere. The genetic and documentary evidence suggests these four couples were closely related — possibly siblings, possibly first cousins — but the specific relationships remain a research question that DNA evidence alone cannot fully resolve.
Henry Hamall & Mary McMahon
Married Donaghmoyne, 1841. Parents of Owen Hamall (1847–1898) and Mary Ann Hamall Byron.
Descendants: Chicago lineOwen Hammel & Ann King
Married Donaghmoyne, 1846. Wisconsin emigrant family.
Descendants: Wisconsin lineJames Hamill & Ann Gartlan
Documented sibling group: James (Montana), Patrick & Henry (Missouri), Anna & Bridget (Ireland). The "James Hamill of Dian" line.
Descendants: Montana & Missouri linesSusan Hamill & Charles McCanna
Married 1858. Joliet, Illinois descendants. Susan's father appears to be a related but separate Hamill.
Descendants: Joliet lineFor the full case study evidence base, see The Donaghmoyne Network, the DNA Evidence Analysis, and the Chromosome 2 Triangulation Analysis.
The Donaghmoyne Cluster Surname Signature
The chromosome 2 segment evidence has identified a distinct surname signature among the Donaghmoyne genetic network. If your documented ancestry includes any of these surnames in County Monaghan or adjacent County Louth, your family research may overlap meaningfully with this case study.
Core Hamill / Gartlan Cluster
Hamill, Hamall, Hammill, Hammel · Gartlan, Gartland · McEneaney, McNerney, McNaney · McGeough · McCabe
Cluster Connector Surnames
Finnegan, Flanagan · McMahon · Quigley · Clarke · Kirk, Kirke
Hoey-Termonfeckin Bridge
Hoey · Murtagh, Murta · Dowdall (Termonfeckin Louth + Donaghmoyne via marriage)
Adjacent & Allied Surnames
Trainor, Traynor · Cumiskey, Comiskey · McDonnell, McDaniel · Marron · Halligan, Cluskey, Mathews, Hand, Costello, Duffy
Geographic concentration: The cluster surnames concentrate in southeast County Monaghan — particularly Donaghmoyne, Magheracloon, Inniskeen, and Carrickmacross parishes — with extensions into adjacent County Louth, especially Termonfeckin and Dundalk. If your family record places ancestors in this micro-region in the 1810s through 1900s, your research likely overlaps with this case study at the cluster level.
What You Might Bring to This Research
Cousin researchers and cluster matches have contributed in many different ways. Anything documented from the list below would be valuable — there is no expectation that contributors bring all of these things.
Forms of contribution that have moved this research forward:
- Documented family trees — pedigrees with primary-source citations for County Monaghan, County Louth, or the relevant emigrant communities
- DNA test results — particularly from 23andMe, Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA, or kits uploaded to GEDmatch, where chromosome-browser comparison is possible
- Parish record access in Ireland — readers in Ireland have provided invaluable help retrieving Catholic baptismal and marriage records that are difficult to access from outside the country
- Shared cluster matches — helping identify which of your DNA matches also appear in your lines and may bridge to the Donaghmoyne network
- Family oral history — the stories your elders carried, even when they conflict with documented records, often illuminate research paths that the records alone do not
- Photographs, letters, and family papers — emigration letters, naturalization documents, family Bibles, and similar primary materials from the relevant timeframe
- Y-DNA test results — particularly for male-line Hamill, Hamall, Hammel, Gartlan, McEneaney, or other surname descendants who have done or would consider Big Y-700 testing
Active Research Threads
The case study is an active research project, not a closed publication. The following threads are currently being worked on. Contributors with relevant ancestry, records, or DNA evidence are particularly welcome on these specific questions.
Pre-Famine Donaghmoyne Documentary Research
Identifying the parents of Henry Hamall (b. circa 1810s), Owen Hammel, James Hamill of Dian, and Susan Hamill McCanna's father. This requires Catholic Qualification Rolls 1778–1790, Tithe Applotment Books 1823–1838, surviving estate records, and Donaghmoyne parish registers from 1834 onward. Researchers with access to these sources or with documented pre-1830 Hamill ancestry in County Monaghan would meaningfully advance this thread.
Y-DNA Testers from Founding Couple Lines
The Owen Hamall paternal line has now been Big Y-700 tested, establishing the Y-DNA signature E-FTD95657. Targeted Y-DNA tests from male-line descendants of Owen Hammel & Ann King (Wisconsin), James Hamill Sr. & Ann Gartlan (Montana/Missouri), and Susan Hamill McCanna's Hamill paternal grandfather would allow direct comparison against this signature — definitively confirming or refuting the brother hypothesis for those lines. Even a single Y-67 or Big Y-700 test from any of these lines would significantly advance the research.
The Andrew Hamill — James Anthony Hamill — Catherine Hamill Webb Branch
A confirmed paternal cluster match descends through this three-generation Hamill line: Andrew Hamill (1793–1866), born in Ireland; his son James Anthony Hamill (b. 1818 Monaghan, Ireland — d. April 1900 Liverpool, Lancashire), documented as Monaghan-born in the 1881 England census; and James Anthony's daughter Catherine Hamill Webb (b. circa 1863 Liverpool — d. 1917). Andrew Hamill is in the right generation to be a brother, paternal uncle, or first cousin of Henry Hamall (b. circa 1810s, Donaghmoyne). The chromosome 2 cluster connection is segment-confirmed via the reconstructed paternal kit. The specific relationship between Andrew Hamill and Henry Hamall — and the questions of how this branch's emigration to Liverpool relates to the Donaghmoyne-Chicago and Donaghmoyne-Wisconsin migration paths — require pre-Famine and early-Famine documentary research. Descendants of Andrew Hamill, James Anthony Hamill, or Catherine Hamill Webb, and researchers with documented Liverpool-Hamill records from the 1840s–1900s, would significantly advance this investigation.
The McMahon Connection — Louth, Canada, and the Mary McMahon Question
Multiple McMahon-line research threads have surfaced through DNA matching to the Mary Ann Hamall Byron and Owen Hamall descendants. First: a confirmed paternal cluster match documents McMahon ancestry traced to John McMahon Louth (1764–), with three additional generations documented above him. The geography aligns with potential ancestral ties to Mary McMahon (Owen Hamall's mother, died Montreal 1874), whose origins remain undocumented. Second: larger Ancestry shared-match clusters connect through Anne McMahon O'Brien (b. 1839 Ireland — d. 7 January 1876, St. George's Ward, Toronto West, Ontario) and Alice H. McMahon Ward (b. 8 October 1864 Canada — d. 19 June 1948 Buffalo, New York). The migration geography of these McMahon families — Ireland to Canada to the Great Lakes region — parallels Mary McMahon's documented Montreal residence in the same era. Segment-level analysis of these matches is not yet possible because the relevant kits remain on Ancestry without raw DNA upload to a chromosome-browser platform. Researchers with documented McMahon ancestry from County Louth (1790s–1810s), Toronto-area Irish McMahon families, or Western New York Irish McMahon settlement would advance this thread substantially.
The Hoey-McEneaney Multi-Chromosome Pattern
A confirmed paternal cluster match shares three independent paternal segments with the reconstructed paternal kit (chromosome 2 in the main cluster region, chromosome 4 at 7.2 cM, and chromosome 16 at 7.3 cM) — a multi-chromosome signature suggesting closer kinship than typical single-segment cluster members. The connection bridges through documented descent from Mary McEneaney Hoey (1841–1900) of Donaghmoyne, married to Michael Hoey of Termonfeckin, County Louth. This match's tree also includes documented Quigley, McMahon, and McEnteggart ancestry, suggesting multiple convergence points within the Donaghmoyne-Louth network. Investigation of which other cluster members share the chromosome 4 and chromosome 16 regions would help identify the specific shared ancestral pathway. Researchers with documented Hoey, McEneaney, Quigley, McMahon, or McEnteggart ancestry from southeast Monaghan or adjacent Louth would advance this thread.
Y-DNA Testing Coordination
Y-DNA testing of male-line descendants from each of the four founding Donaghmoyne couples represents the highest-value testable question currently open in the case study. Big Y-700 testing of the Owen Hamall paternal line has now established the Hamall paternal-line Y-DNA signature as E-FTD95657, distinct from every other tested Hamill paternal line in the FTDNA Hamill Surname Project. With this signature documented, a single Y-67 or Big Y-700 test from a male-line descendant of any of the other three founding couples would, in a single result, confirm or refute the paternal-brother hypothesis for that line.
Three lines are particularly important to test. If you are a male-line descendant of any of these families — meaning your direct father-to-father chain leads back to one of these men — your Y-DNA results would be exceptionally valuable to the case study.
Owen Hammel & Ann King
Donaghmoyne → Wisconsin → Nebraska. Direct paternal-line male descendants of sons James Hammel (b. ~1849 New York) or Henry Hammel (1856–1926).
Surname: HammelJames Hamill Sr. & Ann Gartlan
Dian → Montana, Missouri, Ireland. Direct paternal-line male descendants of sons James Jr. (Anaconda), Patrick J. (St. Louis), Henry (Missouri), or Peter Hamill.
Surname: HamillSusan Hamill McCanna's Hamill Father
Donaghmoyne → Joliet. Direct paternal-line male descendants of Susan Hamill McCanna's Hamill father, through any male-line Hamill brother of Susan if identified.
Surname: HamillWhat Y-DNA testing coordination involves:
- Test selection guidance: Recommendations on which test level (Y-37, Y-67, Y-111, or Big Y-700) is appropriate for your specific research question, with honest discussion of cost-benefit at each level
- FTDNA Hamill Surname Project: Connection to the surname project where comparison against established Hamill paternal lines is most efficient
- Test cost considerations: Information about FTDNA sale pricing windows that can substantially reduce Big Y-700 cost — these occur a few times per year and are worth waiting for if your timeline allows
- Result interpretation: Help understanding your haplogroup assignment, your relationship to the established Hamall E-FTD95657 signature, and what your specific results mean for the brother hypothesis
- Documentation in the case study: Y-DNA testers contributing to the network research are acknowledged appropriately in published findings, with attribution preferences honored
If you are a male-line descendant of any of these lines and would be willing to test, the form below is the right starting point — please indicate "Y-DNA testing coordination" in your message so I can route the conversation appropriately. If you have already done Y-DNA testing and would like to compare results, that's also welcome; please mention your test level and current haplogroup designation.
What I Can Offer in Return
Research collaboration works best when it is genuinely reciprocal. Here is what I can typically provide to cousin researchers and cluster matches whose lines overlap with this case study.
Documented Research Findings
I can share documented findings on overlapping ancestry — verified family connections, primary-source citations, and analytical results from the case study research log.
Parish-Record Citations
For parishes where I have already worked — Donaghmoyne, Magheracloon, Inniskeen, Carrickmacross, and adjacent areas — I can provide citations and context for records relevant to your research questions.
Y-DNA Test Coordination
If your line is relevant to the Y-DNA work, I can help coordinate testing, share results from established lines, and connect you with the FTDNA Hamill Surname Project where appropriate.
Methodological Consultation
For researchers working on DNA reconstruction, segment triangulation, or cluster analysis, I am happy to share methodology and answer questions about the techniques documented in the case study.
Acknowledgment in Published Research
Contributors who provide meaningful evidence are acknowledged appropriately in published research, with the level of identification (initials, full name, or anonymous) determined by the contributor's preference.
Ongoing Research Updates
Active collaborators receive updates as their lines or surnames are advanced in the research, including notifications when published case-study pages are updated with relevant new findings.
How to Reach Out
The form below is the most effective way to begin a collaboration. The fields are designed to give us both the right starting context — what you have, what you're looking for, and how our research might intersect.
I read every inquiry personally and respond as I am able — typically within a week, sometimes longer for inquiries that require research before a substantive reply.
Privacy and Use of Submitted Information
Information shared through this form is used only for research collaboration purposes. Names, DNA kit identifiers, family details, and other personal information are not shared with third parties, are not added to public-facing pages without explicit permission, and are anonymized (initials only) in any subsequent publication unless you indicate a preference for full attribution.
Living individuals are not named in published research. Deceased ancestors documented in primary sources are named in full as part of standard genealogical practice. If you have specific privacy preferences for your contribution, please indicate them in your inquiry and they will be respected.
If you'd prefer to reach out directly rather than through the form,
email mary@storylinegenealogy.com
(Including the same kinds of context the form requests will help me respond productively.)
Genealogy Is Better as Shared Work
Every confirmed connection in this case study has involved someone who reached out and was willing to share what they had. Your family records, your DNA matches, your family stories may be the next piece that moves this research forward.
Thank you for considering the work.