Discovering McFalls Kin Thanks to My Extended Clan Family

Do my American McFalls ancestors connect with MacPhails in Scotland? While I have not yet been able to answer this question, my explorations have resulted in discovering a new branch of the McFall/s family in Colorado!

Who is the one?

First a bit about my ancestry. I am descended from the pioneer settlers of the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. I come from a small town in which we joke that everyone is related to everyone else, but for us the truth is in our DNA! Arthur McFalls, my fifth great-grandfather, followed the Great Wagon Road along with many Scots-Irish immigrants from Virginia, where he was born in 1751, to the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. We speculate that his father, John McFalls, immigrated with relatives from Northern Ireland in the 1740s perhaps as part of the movement from the Scottish lowlands to the Ulster plantations in the North of Ireland in the late 1600s and early 1700s. What we know for sure is that Arthur served in the American Revolution (on both sides!), was married multiple times and therefore has lots of descendants — mostly in the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains.

My research to determine if my McFalls ancestors were part of a Scottish clan taught me that a surname being used today may be a derivation of the original Scottish name. The names of Scottish Americans and Scots Irish were often written phonetically by census takers, ministers, registers of deeds, etc. because the immigrants were illiterate. So McFalls could have been MacPhail, but descendants today also spell it McPhaul, McFaul, Mackfall and McFall. 

Getting help from my extended clan family

While attending local Highland games, I found that MacPhails were a sept of Clan Cameron (septs are smaller clans that often affiliate with a larger clan). I joined Clan Cameron through their Rocky Mountain Branch in hopes of learning more. A bit later I learned that MacPhails were also one of 12 clans that were part of a unique confederation of Highland clans called Clan Chattan who came together for their mutual security. I also joined the Clan Chattan Association and began to seek out local members from the other affiliated clans to expand my search for Scottish roots.

Thanks to one of those Clan Chattan acquaintances, I met a descendant of Arthur McFalls at the Long’s Peak Scottish-Irish Festival in Estes Park, Colorado, in 2019. Dan Durrant, Colorado convener for Clan Mackintosh of North America, is an all-around excellent representative not only for Clan Mackintosh but also for the Clan Chattan Association. On his clan tent, he puts up a large banner listing all the Clan Chattan associated clans, including MacPhail. This banner attracted the attention of Keelan McFall during the Long’s Peak festival. Dan was struck not only by Keelan’s last name, but also by his resemblance to me, and promptly introduced us. Side note: I help host the Clan Anderson tent at Colorado festivals as my husband is a descendant of Anderson and Ross immigrants, so Dan had to go out of his way to make sure Keelan and I met, but that’s what your Scottish clan kinfolk do for you!

Hello new cousin!

Keelan and I exchanged contact information and took pictures not knowing of our common ancestor but being struck by some similarities in our features. I immediately sent a photograph to my mother, Linda McFalls, as she is the amateur genealogy expert in our family. Within a short time, she had established that Keelan and I are fifth cousins-once removed! Arthur McFalls is Keelan’s sixth great-grandfather! Keelan had never met any McFall/s relatives outside of Colorado but had been told by his grandmother that the family had connections to the Great Smoky Mountains.

While my search for a direct connection from the American McFalls to the Scottish MacPhails continues, I am happy to have more relatives to help with the search thanks to my extended clan family!