John McCain's Ancestry: Scotch-Irish Dominance

Lineages of Presidential Candidates McCain and Obama Compared

Sep 2, 2008 Rosemary E. Bachelor

McCain's list of ancestors is a bit ho-hum, with nearly monolithic Scotch Irish dominance and none of the links to famous statesmen Obama counts as kin.

Obama, who opposes McCain in the presidential race, shares pedigrees with eight former U. S. presidents, whereas McCain has none. Obama has similar links to men such as British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Harold MacMillan. McCain does not.

McCain is a distant cousin of First Lady Laura Lane (Welch) Bush, their common ancestors being Valentine and Nancy Anne (Arnold) Allen, who were married in Cumberland Co., Virginia in 1853 and moved to Rockingham Co., North Carolina.

McCain Admirals and Revolutionary War Soldiers

McCain is son and grandson of two Navy admirals. Ancestor William Alexander McCain (1812-1863) of North Carolina and Mississippi is among McCain’s ancestors who fought on the Confederate side in the War Between the States.

McCain and Obama both have ancestors whom the DAR credits with Revolutionary War service. McCain’s include Valentine Allen, Richard Fenner, Nathaniel Scales, and two John Wrights.

Edward, King of Scots, Is Shared Ancestor

Genealogist Gary Boyd Roberts, a senior research scholar at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, believes both McCain and Obama can trace their ancestry back to Isabel, illegitimate daughter of William “the Lion”, King of Scots. McCain’s is via his four-times great-grandparents, Hugh and Agnes McCain, who emigrated to Caswell County, North Carolina, in 1778. Obama's is through Edward FitzRandolph, who came to America more than 100 years earlier.

McCain has more Royal ancestors, as does Obama. McCain descends two ways from Edward I, King of England, who died in 1307. These descents are through his ancestors Ann (Coddington) Fenner and Anne Hampden. Both lines are documented in The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants, by Gary Boyd Roberts (2008: Baltimore), as is Obama’s descent from Edward I.

Roberta (Wright) McCain Campaigning at Age 96

Newspapers have published various articles on McCain’s background, which includes heroic service in Vietnam and more than 5 years as a prisoner. His mother, Roberta (Wright) McCain, has popped up on the campaign trail and wears her 96 years well.

William Addams Reitwiesner, a Library of Congress employee and hobby genealogist, can be credited with most of the McCain and Obama material used here and elsewhere, but he cautions that it cannot be considered “definitive” and is an ongoing pursuit, as most genealogical research is.

Experts to Weigh in on McCain and Obama Pedigrees

The definitive article on the McCain and Obama ancestry will appear this fall in New England Ancestors, the news magazine of the New England Historic and Genealogical Society.

Are you related to John McCain? If you have early Williamson, Scales or Geddy ancestors in North Carolina, or early Allen, Bronaugh, Camp, Coddington or Leake ancestors in Virginia, chances are good that you may share a common ancestor.

If you found this article interesting, you may want to read the companion articles on Barack Obama’s ancestry, Sarah Palin's pedigree. and Joe Biden's ancestry.

The copyright of the article John McCain's Ancestry: Scotch-Irish Dominance in Genealogy is owned by Rosemary E. Bachelor. Permission to republish John McCain's Ancestry: Scotch-Irish Dominance in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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Comments

Sep 4, 2008 6:29 AM

Roger Saunders :

Very nicely done! Do you know if there is a website that outlines the detail on the genealogy of both candidates? Scots-Irish ancestry is something shared by more Americans than most realize. A great book on the contributions of Scots-Irish to the USA is "Born Fighting, How the Scots-Irish Shaped America" by none other than the War hero and Senator from Virginia, James Webb!

Oct 10, 2008 12:49 PM

Guest :

Juliet Adams Wills:

More U.S. Presidents claim Scots-Irish heritage than any other bloodline. Our early universities in the colonies were established by the Scots-Irish, when the Great Migration began in 1717... some would surprise you being they were ivy league. Only one who has little knowledge of the contributions of this great bloodline to the American colonies could declare McCain's ancestral heritage as "ho-hum!" For a start,just read the book, "The Scotch-Irish, a Social History." You MIGHT learn something!!!

Oct 14, 2008 8:09 AM

Guest :

A small comment, I am the administrator of the McCain Family DNA Project. I can speak only on John's paternal side; his McCain family, mine too of course, we located the native Irish McCains via Y Chromosome DNA testing and I've been over to Ireland to visit them on several occasions.

Now the term Scots-Irish is thrown around a lot, it really doesn't apply to the McCain family. Our history is very Gaelic and very complex and relates to Argyll Gaels that located in Ireland in the 1400s and 1500s. The DNA data and the primary sources both confirm this. The term Gallóglaigh Irish might be better, or to use modern terms, you could say they were 'Highland Scottish Gaels' that moved to Gaelic Ireland many years before the 1610 Plantation. Where people get confused I think, is several branches of the McCains did convert to the Presbyterian faith in the 1600s, as did other Highlanders, Hebrideans, Native Irish, etc., and these people often are grouped with the Scots-Irish despite their very different backgrounds. There are still Roman Catholic branches to our McCain family also. Some also were Church of Ireland for a time there.

You can visit the Ulster Heritage Magazine to read an article on the McCain family, just Google Ulster Heritage Magazine to find it. You can also pick up the 5 September issue of the Ireland's Own magazine to read another factual article on the McCain family.

There is a book coming out, a memoir, of the Mississippi McCains' successful search for their kin in Ireland, I was the lad who did the deed, only took me 30 years. Not sure yet of the release date, it will probably be published in Ireland.

Cheers,

Barry R McCain
Oxford Mississppi

Oct 21, 2008 7:26 PM

Guest :

In response to the question by the first commenter, yes, Reitwiesner, the researcher cited in the article above, has both genealogies and those of many more senators, cabinet members, and presidents here:
http://www.wargs.com/political/

Oct 23, 2008 6:56 AM

Guest :

If Obama's pedigree goes back to 8 Presidents seeing were is
from a black father and white mother who were those 8 presidents
envolved with in there careers and a pedigree is a term used for
dogs.

Oct 24, 2008 7:59 AM

Guest :

Little correction on terminology: Scotch is a drink, Scots-Irish is the drinker. That is, Scots-Irish is the correct nomenclature. This coming from a bagpiper!

Jan 23, 2009 11:12 AM

Guest :

It's a small small world cuz:
President Lincoln and President Obama share ancestors:
http://familyforest.wordpress.com
Also Obama's presidential genes were reported early on in Feb 2007 by the Associated Press: http://www.familyforest.com/inthenews.html

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