Y-DNA Research

Y-DNA testing analyzes the Y chromosome, which is inherited from father to son, to trace a man’s direct paternal ancestry. It facilitates the identification of relationships within a male lineage. By examining specific markers on the Y chromosome, it is possible to estimate the time to a shared ancestor and potentially connect with other men who share the same paternal line.

Since Y-DNA is passed down from father to son, we would anticipate that the testers would also share the same last name. This is true unless there was a non-paternity event (NPE) in the past. NPE refers to a situation where a presumed father is not the biological father of a child. This can occur due to various reasons, including adoption, infidelity, or remarriage after the death of a spouse where the children assume the new father's last name.

Todd McKenna, a great grandson of Thomas McKenna and Sarah Singleton,  recently  underwent a Y-DNA test called the Big Y-DNA. The Big Y-DNA test provides the most comprehensive analysis of the Y chromosome and enables comparison with other individuals who have also taken the Big Y-DNA test. To our surprise and confusion, none of the matches with our Y-DNA test were McKennas. There were several different surnames, but our most likely paternal relatives are named Sloan. The haplogroup to which we belong is R-BY103024. There are two other Big Y-DNA testers who also belong to this haplogroup: Thomas Benjamin Sloan and Timothy Stewart.

The first male to belong to this haplogroup was likely born in 1422 AD. Our earliest paternal ancestor is Hugh McKenna, likely born around 1777 AD. Consequently, there was a non-paternity event between 1422 AD and 1777 AD that resulted in the change of our surname from Sloan to McKenna.

We joined the Sloan Y-DNA Project on FamilyTree DNA. The administrator of this group identified two testers who may be related to us. However, since they only took the Y-DNA67 test, the match is less certain. The match could be more certain if they had taken the Big Y-DNA test. These matches are Jeffrey A. Sloan and Robert Edward Sloan.

The analysis of these matches and our potential relationships is detailed in the Y-DNA Research Results below.