Mag Uidhir Roots

Trying to make the leap through my brickwall.  Sadly, I do not know my GGGGranfather's parents, townland, or exact origins.  My Granmother did yeomans work on the family genealogy during the 1940s-50s, and I do have most of het notes.  But as with any family, there comes a point where word of mouth and facts tend to differ.

What I know (and have references for):

Patrick McGuire and Sarah (Sallie) Spence were married in Gurnsey County, Ohio in Dec 1823.

There is a Census record that shows the family as:

Pat         45  Ireland

James    18  Ohio

Mary J    14  Ohio

Edward   12  Ohio

John        9   Ohio

No listing of Sarah, may have passed? Divorced? Unknown...

Family lore (and records) indicate Patrick moved to Southern Illinois around 1848-1850, however, no record of son James in Illinois maybe he remained in Ohio.  I found a probate record of Patrick's estate after his death in Sep 1853 listing the remaining sons (edward and john) and daughter (mary jane).

My line tracks along six generations later through Edward and we have census records, land deeds, and verifiable family tree info.  However, prior to Patrick....nothing.

In 2008 I began my genetic genealogy search and have found a surprising amount of "related folks" all with Ulster heritage and Co Fermanaugh roots.  In 2010 to further explore the Y DNA side I began a project through FTDNA called "Airghialla Mag Uidhir Project".  We have 81 members with 53 solid "Airghialla two" Y DNA patterns that indicate a relationship to Donn Carrach Maguire (d-1302) based upon the primary work of Trinity College Dublin circa 2001 and expanded over time by other researchers.  And while it is apparent that most "traditional" genealogy is being proven by the associated surnames within our group, I still have not broken through that brickwall.

My desire is to learn where Patrick and Sarah(Sallie) came from and when....do I have distant cousins that still live in/around Co Fermanaugh??

Cheers

Brad McGuire