Island Roots Page

This page includes two digital versions of my family history/genealogy books and three large maps. They are provided here for immediate family and relatives in a digital form so that they can easily be viewed, downloaded and/or printed at no cost. The books are provided as separate PDF documents for each chapter so that you may select the chapters you may be most interested in without having to download the entire book. The maps that are provided here are poster size when view or printed, they are JPG files so you will have to use imaging software to view them.

Island Roots, The Story of Emigrants from Ireland, Sjaelland, Iceland, and the Inner Hebride Islands of Tiree, Colonsay, and Islay of Scotland, A McLane Family History

This book was published in hardcover by me, Dennis McLane in 2001. I had immediately distributed all the copies I had printed so the hard copy book is now out of print. I removed the bindings of one book and scanned all the chapters into the following PDF documents.

Title Pages This is the title material and two photos that has the author with his grandfather and grandson.

Table of Contents

Preface Explanation of purpose of the book, process of researching the book and dedications.

Introduction A general description of what is included in the book.

Historical Background The topics included are: The Celtic People of Ireland, The Settlement of Scotland, Origin of the Surname McLean, History of Scotland, McLeans in Scottish History, History of Ireland and the McLanes, Other Symbols Affiliated with the Surname McLean, and a textbox listing the Historical Events Having an effect on McLane Ancestors.

The McLanes This is the story of the ancestors and their families in our McLane line through Ireland, Quebec, and Wisconsin.

The McLeans This is the story of the ancestors and their families in our McLean line through Scotland, Ontario, and North Dakota.

The Jensens This is the story of the ancestors and their families in our Jensen line through Denmark, Minnesota, South Dakota, Texas, Oklahoma and North Dakota.

The Samsons This is the story of the ancestors and their families in our Samson line through Iceland, North Dakota, and Saskatchewan.

Miles and Hattie McLane These are the stories of Miles McLane and Hattie Jensen and their children in Sherwood, North Dakota and Southern California.

Harvey McLean Families These are the stories of Harvey McLean and Elizabeth Samson and their children in Walsh County and Sherwood, North Dakota. Also the story of Harvey McLean and Dora Magnuson in Sherwood and Fargo, North Dakota.

Pat and Enid McLane These are the stories of James Patrick McLane and Enid McLean and their children in Sherwood, North Dakota, Southern California, and Idaho.

The Family Chronology This is a description of important family events in the lives of the Pat and Enid McLane family in Southern California and Idaho.

Resource Sources Used A listing of the actual sources and records found that prove the accuracy of this family history.

References Sources Used A listing of books and other sources that illustrate the history of our family.

Name Index Alphabetical listing of all named persons in this book.

Traces Through World History, A Family Saga, An Addendum to Island Roots.

This book is a digital published book done by me, Dennis McLane in 2024. It includes a comprehensive collection of information about our family history that I had researched and collected since Island Roots was published in 2001. It can be considered as Island Roots II.

Title Pages and Table of Contents

Chapter 1, Introduction A description of the purpose of this book along with a general description of the research and source discoveries that have led to new information.

Chapter 2 In the Beginning, God Created DNA Topics included here are: Who Am I?, The Demise of Nationalities and Races, The Pie Chart, A General Description of the Celtic Ethnicity, Where Does Our Celtic Paper Trail Lead, My Y-DNA, Ron McLean's Y-DNA, A General Description of the English Ethnicity, The DNA of Ireland, Scotland and England, Mitochondrial DNA, Viking Ethnicity, A General Description of Viking Ethnicity, Conditions in Iceland, and Where Does Our Viking Paper Trail Lead.

Chapter 3 Migrations of the Celtic People Topics included here are: Ancient History, Formation of a Celtic Culture, The Halstatt and La Tene Cultures. The Galatians, The Confederation of Gaul, Arrival in the British Isles, The Roman Conquest of Britain, The Formation of a Celtic Kingdom, The Anglo-Saxon Conquest, The Anglo-Norman Invasions, and The Dominance of England.

Chapter 4 The Ancient Kingdom of Dal Riada Topics Included here are: Travel to the Ancient Kingdom of Dal Riada, Foundation of the Kingdom, Origins of the Kingdom, Christianity Arrives, Viking Conquest, Establishment of a United Scotland, The Kings of the Isles, and The Lords of the Isles and Clan McDonald.

Chapter 5 The Ancient Scottish Pedigree, Celtic and Norse Ancestors Summary biographies of individuals that we descend from through our Scottish line. This includes those in the Viking or Norse line that intermarried with Scottish persons.

Chapter 6 The Ancient Scottish Pedigree, English Ancestors Summary biographies of individuals that we descend from through our Scottish line. This includes those in the English line that intermarried with Scottish persons.

Chapter 7 The Ancient Scottish Pedigree, Anglo-Norman Ancestors Summary biographies of individuals that we descend from through our Scottish line. This includes those in the Anglo-Norman line that intermarried with Scottish persons.

Chapter 8 The Ancient Icelandic Pedigree, Vikings, Rulers of Europe Summary biographies of individual Vikings that we descend from through our Icelandic line.

Chapter 9 The Ancient Icelandic Pedigree, Exploration and Settlement of Iceland Narratives of our ancestors who were settlers and colonists in Iceland. The narratives are verbatim extracts from The Book of Settlements, Landnamabok.

Chapter 10 The Ancient Icelandic Pedigree, the Saga Era Summary biographies of individuals that we descend from through our Icelandic line that were significant individuals during the Saga era in Iceland.

Chapter 11 The Ancient Icelandic Pedigree, Clergy and Government Officials Summary biographies of individuals that we descend from through our Icelandic line that were priests, ministers, bishops, governors, lawyers, magistrates (sheriffs), etc. in Iceland. This chapter concludes with information about our ancestors in the 1703, 1816, and 1880 Iceland Census. The chapter ends with a narrative about our Icelandic ancestor's departure for North America.

Chapter 12 History of Clan MacLean This is an "abridged edition" of the history of Clan MacLean. Some interesting DNA matches have led to the discovery of several family tree links to Clan MacLean. It starts with the First Chief Gilleain Tuaige MacLean and ends with a description of the Family Tree Departure from the Chiefs of Clan MacLean. This describes the line of descent from the 12th Chief Euchuinn (Hector) Mor MacLean through seven generations to one of our ancestors who lived on the Isle of Tiree.

Chapter 13 Our People of the Isles of Mull and Colonsay. These are the histories of the Isles of Mull and Colonsay in Scotland. It has the stories of the ancestors and families of our Great Great Grandmother Mary McKinnon who lived on Mull and Colonsay. It provides background on the research in regards to the genealogy trail that leads to these ancestors.

Chapter 14 Our People of the Isle of Islay. This provides the history of the Isle of Islay in Scotland.. It has the stories of the families most likely related to our Great Great Grandfather John McLean. It provides background on my research and analysis that led me to conclude that John McLean's origins are in the Isle of Islay.

Chapter 15 Our People of the Isle of Tiree. This provides the history of the Isle of Tiree in Scotland.. It has the stories of the numerous Tiree families that are the ancestors of our McDonald line.

Chapter 16 Historical Aspects of the North of Ireland and the Search for James P. McLean. This provides the history of much of the North of Ireland. The origins of our McLane line through James P. McLean remained a mystery for many years. It would be DNA matches that would reveal his origins in Sligo and other Northern Ireland counties. This chapter tells the story of James P.McLean's origins and his eventual emigration to Quebec, Canada.

Chapter 17 Our People of County Wexford. This provides the history of County Wexford, Ireland. Our Wexford ancestors were very early emigrants to Quebec primarily because of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. It has the stories of the rebellion and the involvement of our 4th Great Grandfather Miles Murphy. It also provides narratives on the origins of our other Wexford ancestors and their migration to Quebec.

Chapter 18 The Murphy Family - Pioneers in "French" Quebec. This provides the history and biographies of the Miles Murphy and Marguerite Nowlan family. They migrated at an early time to Quebec, Canada from County Wexford, Ireland. They played an integral part in bringing about Irish settlement in Quebec. Their son Andrew Murphy was the first settler in Frampton Township. The chapter also includes biographies of several of their Murphy descendants.

Chapter 19 Our Other Frampton Families The Murphy family would influence many other Irish families to settle in Frampton Township. These families intermarried with Murphy descendants. This chapter includes biographies of our ancestors from these families.

Chapter 20 Coming to America This chapter includes the stories of our ancestors who migrated to the United States. It describes when and where they came to America. The stories are sorted according to the "colonies" they created in the following places: Otter Tail County, MN; Neillsville, WI; Walsh County, ND; Akra, ND; and Kristnes, Saskatchewan.

Chapter 21 Our Family Diaspora Diaspora means the scattering of people away from an ancestral homeland. I have matched up with relatives from DNA matches and posted family trees. Many of these matches have provided where they currently live. So this is short chapter that describes the numerous locations that I have tracked our relatives to.

Poster Size Wall Maps

DNA Migration Map. Map of Eastern and Western Europe showing the approximate migration routes of our family's ancient DNA.

Iceland Settlement Map. Map of Iceland showing the locations of where our Icelandic ancestors first settled in Iceland. These are the locations provided in The Book of Settlement, Landnambok.

Important Places in Iceland Map. Map of Iceland showing places that were important to the lives of our Icelandic ancestors. This includes color coded places occupied by our ancestors in the 1703, 1816, and 1880 Iceland Census.