The Story Behind the McKinney Name of Panola County, Mississippi

Periodically, family members have asked the questions: “Who is the start of our McKinney line?” “Where did the McKinney’s come from?” “Are we related to the McKinney’s over there?” etc. None of these are unusual questions. These are typical questions for anyone who is interested in their family history.

I’m going to use DNA genealogy along with oral and written family history to discuss my findings on the McKinney Family thus far.

Here is an excerpt from the McKinney Family History. “The McKinney journey began somewhere in the early 1800s. A black female was born. She was given the name Rodie, a slave name which means “servant”. Rodie gave birth to a male child named Marion. Her sister gave birth to a male child named Lorm Perry. Marion and Lorm were brothers, since Rodie and her sister had a child by the same white slave owner. Such an occurrence was prevalent during slavery. Marion was a victim of circumstance. It was forbidden that a black child use the last name of his white paternal parent. It was through the providence of God that Rodie married Jim McKinney, thereby giving Marion a last name.”

Let’s compare this written family history to the DNA results of my great Uncle, the grandson of Marion McKinney.

Figure 1    

Figure 2

In figure 1, my great Uncle's Ancestry composition consist of 60% Sub-Saharan African, 38.7% European, and 0.8% East Asian & Native American. 

His ancestry composition was passed down to him from his paternal and maternal side. So, his European composition is a combination of several ancestors.

Figure 2 shows his haplogroup. His maternal haplogroup (in pink) is L2a1a2 and his paternal haplogroup (light blue) is R1b1b2a1a2f. If you google his paternal haplogroup, R1b1b2a1a2f, you will discover that his paternal haplogroup is European. So, what does this mean? A male receives his paternal haplogroup from his father, who received it from his father etc. 

So, let’s go backwards on my great uncle's paternal haplogroup.

Great Uncle McKinney < Green McKinney Sr. (his father) < Marion McKinney (his grandfather) < white father (his great grandfather)

So therefore, my great Uncle's DNA results coincide with the family written and oral history that Marion McKinney’s father was white. 

Let's go back to the original questions.

1. Who is the start of our McKinney line? For the time being, the earliest known male-line ancestor of the McKinney Family is Marion McKinney. 

2. Where did the McKinney's come from? In the Census reports, Marion stated that he was born in Mississippi. His mother sometime listed Mississippi and Tennessee as her birthplace.

3. Are we related to the McKinney's over there? It depends. The majority of the McKinney's in Panola County were descendants of Marion McKinney. Keep in mind that Marion acquired his last name from his step-father, James "Jim" McKinney. Census Reports indicate that Jim and Rodie/Rhody had other children. Some of those children disappeared from the Census. So, it is possible that they moved away or died.

Look for upcoming blogs detailing the last slave owner and the name of Marion's father.