Post Queries to the Clan McAlister of America (CMA) here. You may expect to receive a reply to your query as soon as possible. If your query is related to material contained in the CMA database, or if other information is available within CMA resources, you will be notified of the results. Please remember that the staff is 100% volunteer so inquiries made by current CMA members receive top priority.

New to genealogy? Here are some handy guidelines for getting started.

Also, consider joining CMA. membership information and a printable application are available here.

Good luck in your ancestor search!

Please fill out the following information and press the Submit button.

Your Name: *required
Your email address: *required
Please note: Over the years, many really interesting Queries have produced significant matches in our database but, alas, to no avail, because of non-functioning email addresses or typos. Also, a disturbing number of Queries contain accurate email addresses but our replies are unable to get through a "Spam-Blocker" on your email host. Without a functioning email address or a snail-mail address, there is simply no way for us to reply. Please be sure to provide us with correct contact information. If you send a Query and do not have a reply within a reasonable time, you may safely assume the address you supplied was non-functioning for one reason or another. So, please contact us again!
- Webmaster
Subject of Query: *required
Your CMA line (if known):


Please read these suggested guidelines. it will help a lot. Then finish your query at the bottom of the page.

For More Effective Queries
OK, you want this search to be really effective. You want usable results that are accurate and thorough. Remember the old adage about how you get out of life what you put into it? Well, the same thing is true here, too. The more thorough and the better data you provide us, the better job we can do searching for family connections. So.... take a bit of time and help us to help you better. There are three critical elements that must be satisfied to firmly establish ancestry. If some of these elements are missing, then your query is less likely to be successful. The three elements are:
  1. The full name, date and place where the birth, marriage, and/or death occurred
  2. The full name, birth date and place of each of that person's brothers and sisters
  3. The full name, birth date and birth place for each child of the person that the query is about.

              We want very much to answer your queries but we need thorough, accurate information. Do not be discouraged if you do not have all the information requested above. In the event you cannot provide this much information, we urge you to list every other thing that you know about the family in question. Just remember that if your Grandpa John, or Joseph, or George is in the CMA archives, he's there along with (perhaps) hundreds of others who carry the same name, so wherever possible give middle names, too!

              Please note that the CMA is 100% volunteer-staffed so you can help your self a lot by reading some of the posted information. We suggest you start with the main Home Page and move on to Getting Started, which gives good tips on doing genealogical research and has links to downloadable Group Sheet forms. Finally, make note of the advice on Sources, which is a critical component.

An important point is that the CMA does not attempt to be the final authority on genealogy matters, especially individual lines. That function is for the Line Coordinators who are (obviously) most familiar and knowledgeable on their particular line. The CMA's function is to be the central data repository and to provide cross links between the various lines whenever possible. Good luck in your searches.

A note about septs:
The Clan McAlister of America (CMA) does not maintain genealogical information about any sept other than ones spelled with a variation of McAllister. We do not include the McAlister septs, like Alexander, Allison , Sanders, etc. At some time in the future, we may add the Alexanders of Menstrie since they not a sept but are a cadet house in the MacAlasdair Clan line.

                Your query may be published in the CMA Quarterly journal in an effort to elicit further information. If you do not want your query linked to your e-mail address, it will be noted as being from an anonymous source, and any response will be forwarded to you.

                Please post your queries and/or information in the box below. The more information you are able to supply, the more likely the query will produce positive results. Desired elements of information include your ancestors' names (as complete as possible); spouses' names; dates of birth, death, and marriage; names of children, with dates, as above, in all possible detail. If you know of any dates and locations of family migrations, from one country or state to another, list them, along with anything else you think is helpful. Keep in mind that oral history is often uncannily accurate, so if there is something in family legend, don't hesitate to include it. (The size of the query window does not determine the amount of information that can be accommodated. You may input as much data as you wish.)

Query:  *required

You may also use the U.S. Mail. Send your queries to:
Clan McAlister of America Genealogy Committee
c/o Frank McAlister
1931 N. Upland St., 
Arlington, VA 22207 
703-522-6019

(If you encounter problems using this query form, please send your questions to the CMA Webmaster)