Clan McAlister Ancestral Lines

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Explanation of the CMA Ancestral Lines Numbering System: A McAlister Ancestral Line consists of an "Earliest Known Ancestor" (Progenitor) and all the identified descendants of that Progenitor. To organize our McAlister genealogy, we assign a unique code for each ancestral line. We begin with the progenitor of the line and use the initials of his/her given name(s). For example, John McAllister is a "J" line, and William Crawford McAllister is a "WC" line. A two-digit number is then added to the letter code to distinguish between the many progenitors with the same initials. So J26 is the 26th ancestral line to be submitted to the CMA database with a "J" progenitor. That ancestral code is used as the prefix for all descendants of the line, and is similar to the "modified register" system used by many genealogists. John's first-born (in the example above) would be designated "J26-1" and that child's firstborn would be "J26-1-1," the second-born grandchild of J26 would be "J26-1-2," and so on. Adopted children are treated exactly the same as natural-born children and are numbered in accordance with their age. 

When subsequent research shows that two or more lines have a common ancestor, the lines are merged, and only the designator of the oldest progenitor is retained. To prevent future confusion, the designator of the line being merged into the other is permanently retired from service.

Each ancestral line needs a volunteer Line Coordinator (LC) who is responsible for evaluating and deciding the validity of the genealogical information about the ancestral line. LCs are CMA members who have offered to serve in that capacity. He or she is supported in this task by the CMA Genealogy Committee, which maintains the records about the line and also the line's listing in the CMA computer database. Persons sending information to the CMA on an identified ancestral line are requested to contact the LC for that line so that data can be exchanged.

Some ancestral lines are currently without an LC. Volunteers are always needed to serve as LCs so that the research work load can be shared. An interested member of an ancestral line can make sure that the information about his or her family in the CMA database is accurate and up to date. The best way to find out more about your family is to work with us in the CMA as a Volunteer LC. You'll be glad you did!