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House of Lynn |
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Lynns in Ulster, Ireland 1604/05 - ca. 1850
Known to be Scottish and/or Protestant
Copyright
2015
:
Revised 24 April 2019
Loretta Lynn Layman, Author of "Barony of Lynn",
The Scottish Genealogist,
Vol. LVII No. 1, The Scottish Genealogy Society, Edinburgh (March 2010)
Lynneage
@
comcast
.
net
Links in Purple
are bookmarks and stay on-page. Links in
Green
are off-page and open in new windows.
A few of the
off-page or external links
are to other pages at this website,
some are to internet databases, and some are to books
that are readable on the internet.
Most are not
the property of this author and may change without
notice.
This author would appreciate being informed
(Contact) if anyone encounters a link that no longer works.
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True it is that some Lynns and Linns
in Ulster are genetic Irish and derive their name from the
Gaelic O'Floinn or its anglicized form, O'Flynn.
In pronouncing O'Floinn, the letter "F" is faintly
aspirated,
rendering it nearly silent. Thus, it was
only natural that the "F" should eventually be dropped
in many cases. As time progressed, some O'Lynns
eventually also dropped the "O". However, by no means are
all
Lynns or Linns in Ulster truly Irish. To the
contrary, very many (perhaps a majority) either were themselves,
or are descended from,
Scots who migrated to Ulster shortly before, during,
or after the Plantation.
That truth is evidenced
not only by traditional historical and
genealogical research but also by Y-DNA testing
of living male Lynns. In the
Lynn/Lyne/Linn/Lind surname project at
FamilyTreeDNA, five Lynns whose immigrant
ancestors came to America from Ireland are of
the Y-DNA haplogroup R-U198. In the
British Isles,
R-U198
is found most often in the Scottish
Lowlands and England and is
distinctly lacking in populations with Gaelic
origins.
[http://meekdna.com/U198dna/S29_5.html]
Nevertheless, the focus
of this discussion is the historical record,
which is more than sufficient to stand on its
own.
This
account is
chronological and
begins with a Scottish Lynn who
obtained land and position in northwest Ulster during
the plantation, beginning
in 1604/05. Since he held properties
forming something of a triangle encompassing
portions of Counties Londonderry, Donegal, and Tyrone,
those three counties are treated together in the
chronologies below. Counties
Fermanagh and Monaghan also are presented under
a single heading, owing to a certain known
family connection.
The place names Derry City and City of
Londonderry are synonymous. However, while
the old city was originally named Derry and was
renamed Londonderry with the Ulster Plantation,
there never was a County Derry. Rather,
County Londonderry was so named at its 1613
inception, when created from the now defunct
County Coleraine and part of County Donegal.
__________________________________________________
Chronologies
by County
|
|
Antrim |
Armagh |
Down |
|
Fermanagh
and Monaghan |
|
Londonderry,
Donegal, and Tyrone
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__________________________________________________
Lynns who can be identified as Scottish, Protestant, or
both are found in eight of the nine counties of Ulster
prior to 1850.
County Cavan is the exception. In the eight counties,
the earliest that such Lynns are found is 1604/05 in
Londonderry and Tyrone; 1618/19 in Donegal; 1633 in
Down; 1658 in Antrim; 1740 in Armagh; 1774/75 in
Fermanagh; and 1777 in Monaghan. The great
majority of such Lynns, as far as they
have
been found, lived in Londonderry, Donegal, Tyrone, and Antrim.
Given,
however,
the very great loss of early Irish
records,
it should
not be assumed that there were
few or no such Lynns in times or places other than those
found. In any event, the eight Ulster counties
where Scottish and/or Protestant Lynns are found to have lived prior to
1850 are presented here in the order of earliest record
discovered. The exceptions are those counties which are
grouped with other counties having earlier dates.
While attempting to make a
judgment concerning the
number
of Scottish and/or
Protestant Lynns living in Ulster prior to 1850, one must
keep in mind the 1922 bombing of the Four Courts
building in Dublin. The explosion and resulting
fire destroyed nearly all the records housed there at
the time. The reason information from
any of
those records exists is that
Tenison Groves, a genealogist and antiquarian, worked in
Dublin's Public Records Office prior to 1922 and transcribed some of the documents housed there
before the bombing. Those portions of the relevant records
from which information does exist today are
described on the page
Available Record.
Names are spelled herein as found in the records cited.
For place names that were written differently from their
modern forms, the currently accepted spellings are
included in brackets.
Concerning the dates of records prior to the mid 17th
century, there may be a discrepancy of one year in this
chronology resulting from two facts. First, the
Gregorian calendar was introduced in parts of Europe in
1582 but replaced the Julian calendar only gradually,
particularly in Ireland, with some overlap in use.
Second, some sources used for this research reported
dates exactly as they appeared in the original documents
while other sources converted all Julian dates to Gregorian.
No effort has been made here to reconcile the two since
the primary goal of this article is to demonstrate the
presence of Scottish Lynns in Ulster, which is not
altered by a difference of one year.
________________________________________
CHRONOLOGIES
Londonderry, Donegal, and Tyrone
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William Lynne,
gentleman of Londonderry, was most prominent among the
Scottish Lynns who settled in northwest Ulster.
He was one of the two
first sheriffs of the city and newly
erected county of Londonderry, as well
as attorney and agent for the Earl of
Abercorn ...
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1604-25
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As evidenced by a deed produced in 1775
to James Hamilton, Eighth Earl of
Abercorn,
William Lynne of Londonderry
was conveyed the County Tyrone property
of Cloghogle by James Hamilton, First
Earl of Abercorn
on "27 October in the 38th year of reign
by James". James I
and VI
(the sixth
King James of Scotland, who became
the first King James of England and
Ireland) reigned from 1567 to
1625, which places the Cloghogle deed in
1604 or 1605.
http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/ecatalogue.htm
: Click "Search the eCatalogue", enter
T2541/IA/2/1/47 in the "PRONI Ref" box,
and click "Search".
The Hamiltons of course were very
Scottish, Abercorn being the name of
their barony in Scotland. Several years after the Cloghogle conveyance,
William Lynne of Londonderry also is
proven to be a Scot.
In his
grant of denizenship on 9 July 1616,
he was described as a Scottish settler of Derry City.
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The Scots in
Ulster : Their Denization and
Naturalization, Rev.
David Stewart, D.D., Edinburgh (1955) (p. 35)
In Nicholas
Pynnar's
1618-19 survey
of the Ulster Plantation, William is
shown to also hold the County Donegal
lands of Caroreagh and Laugaurack
[Carrowreagh and Lurganbrack].
About 1625, then,
William Lynne, gentleman of Londonderry,
died leaving a prerogative will, which
was recorded that year. Notably,
prerogative wills are those in which
the testator died possessed of land
in more than one county.
Rev. Hill unfortunately erred in his
notes to Pynnar's Survey by saying that
William died in 1633, possibly having
assumed that a subsequent inquisition
(see 1635, below)
would have to have been held within a
relatively short time after one's death.
An Historical Account of the
Plantation in Ulster at the Commencement
of the Seventeenth Century, 1608-1620,
Rev. George Hill, Belfast (1877) (pp.
525-26 fn. 215) available at
https://openlibrary.org/
Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland, 1536-1810,
Sir
Arthur
Vicars, F.S.A.,
Ulster
King
of Arms
(1897) (p. 296)
available at
https://openlibrary.org/
For a
more complete account of William's life
and position in northwest Ulster and a discussion
of his probable connections in Scotland,
see :
Lynns of Londonderry, Donegal, and
Tyrone.
To see where his
lands were situated :
Map.
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1616
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On 17 August of this year, David Lynn
and John Lynn were two of the six
Scottish settlers in the Earl of
Abercorn's
County Tyrone
manor of Dunnalong who were
granted denizenship.
Notably, William
Lynne of Londonderry was the Earl's
agent for Dunnalong.
The Scots in Ulster,
Ibid. (p.
39)
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1630-33
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Five Lynns
appeared on
the
muster roll from Counties
Londonderry, Donegal, and Tyrone, where
muster was conducted between these years.
One Lynn in Tyrone carried a
snaphance or snaphaunce, then
a
new and
expensive firearm (named for the type of
firing mechanism employed), which had
been brought to Ulster from Scotland.
The muster roll was taken,
in fact, for the specific purpose of
seeing that Scottish and English
undertakers, as well as servitors to the
Crown who'd been granted land, were
fulfilling their obligation to have
sufficient men and arms to defend
against any potential Irish uprising.
Native Irish grantees in the plantation
were exempt from such requirement and
therefore not present at musters. The
published roll was compiled from the
original field papers and is deficient, but it does
represent the most exhaustive list of
Ulster settlers available for the period.
Those Lynns appearing on the roll for Londonderry, Donegal, and
Tyrone are :
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County
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Locale
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Name
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Weapon(s)
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Londonderry
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City of Londonderry
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John Lyne
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Sword
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"
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Town of Coleraine
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Robert Lyn
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Sword and pike
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Donegal
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Raphoe Barony
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William Lyne
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Sword
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Tyrone
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Clogher Barony
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Andrew
Leene [Linne]
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Sword and
snaphance
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"
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Strabane Barony
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James Lynne
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Sword
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‘Men and Arms’ The Ulster Scots, c. 1630,
Edit. R. J. Hunter,
Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast
(2012)
(ff. 39, 43, 76v, 90v, 111, 135, 138v,
139v, 172, 198) -
see also :
Available Record.
Andrew Linne
gave a sworn deposition before
Scotland's Privy Council in 1646
concerning the 1641-42 Irish massacres.
He stated therein that he had been in
Ulster for about eighteen years at the
time of the massacres ~ thus, since
about 1625. Notably,
the above Andrew is the only Andrew
Lynn, with any variation of the surname,
in the entire 1630s muster roll;
and
he carried a snaphance, which was
popular among wealthier Scots who
carried them to Ireland.
Register of the Privy Council of
Scotland,
Second Series Vol. VIII, A.D.
1544[sic]-1660,
Edit. P. Hume Brown, M.A., LL.D.,
Edinburgh
(1908) (pp. 163-64)
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1635
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William Lynn was named as a
nephew and the heir of the late William Lynne of
Londonderry in an inquisition concerning
Lynne's land in Largavracke [Lurganbrack],
Donegal. Like his uncle, William
Lynn of course was also an Ulster Scot.
An Historical Account of the Plantation
in Ulster at the Commencement of the
Seventeenth Century, 1608-1620,
Rev. George Hill, Belfast (1877) (pp.
525-26, fn. 215) at :
https://openlibrary.org/
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1641
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Ensign David Lynne, John Lynn,
two William Lynns, and Major Nicholas Lynne were
members of the Laggan Army, which was organized
chiefly from the Ulster counties of
Londonderry, Donegal, Tyrone, and Fermanagh to
defend settlers against Irish forces.
The
Laggan Army in Ireland, 1640-1685 -
The Landed Interests, Political Ideologies and
Military Campaigns of the North-West Ulster Settlers,
Kevin McKenny, Dublin (2005) (pp. 166, 183, 193, 208)
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1654-63
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William Lyne and
David Lyne were
named in the 1654 civil survey of County Donegal as Scots
Protestant proprietors of Bunintyne [Bunnaton],
Largebreake [Lurganbrack], and
Carrowreagh. As noted in 1604-25 above, Lurganbrack and
Carrowreagh were first held by William Lynne,
gentleman of Londonderry.
David appears in Lurganbrack again in
the 1663 hearth money roll for County
Donegal.
The
Civil Survey 1654, County Donegal, Barony of Kilmacrenan
:
Donegal Survey
Donegal
Hearth Money Rolls of 1663
:
Donegal Hearth Money
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1658
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Henry Lyn was a merchant
from Irvine in Ayrshire, Scotland who
appears in
Ulster this year, as described in a
sasine (deed) registered in Ayrshire.
The
sasine index published in 1939 by
the Scotland Record Office describes
Henry as "merchant in Temple Patrick,
County Donegal, Ireland", while the sasine extract
in the National
Records of Scotland database describes
him as "merchant
in Tempillpark, County Antrim".
That database also includes an extract
of a precept which predates the sasine
by eleven days and gives investment
in certain Ayrshire
lands to
"Susilie Oqueyne
in Brendrewis in the County of Duningall
[Donegal] in Ireland, spouse of Lachlan
McGolrik, the sister daughter of Hugh
Lin, then deceased as heir of her said
uncle".
The sasine as extracted is more
specifically described as being "in
favour of
Susillie Oqueyne in favour of Henry Lyn,
merchant in Tempillpark [etc.]".
Clearly, Henry Lyn, Hugh Lin, and
Susilie all were related.
Index
to Secretary's Register of Sasines for the Sheriffdom of Ayr and
Bailliaries of Kyle, Carrick, and Cunningham, Vol. 2: 1635-1660,
Scotland Record Office, Edinburgh (1935)
Ref. #
GD3/1/1/27/4
at
http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/search.aspx
The discrepancy in Henry's location may
be the result of confusion on the part
of the person who created the sasine
index. Perhaps he or she merely assumed
Henry was in County Donegal since the
sasine places Susilie there in the same
sentence where it
names Henry.
Further, since several authoritative Irish place
name databases, as well as inquiries
elsewhere, have all failed to identify
any place in Donegal called
Temple Patrick or some
variant thereof, and since it hardly
seems reasonable that a Scottish
merchant would have settled in a place
so obscure that it cannot now be
identified, it seems more likely that
Henry was in Temple Patrick, County
Antrim. However, since that
likelihood cannot be absolutely proven,
he is listed in this chronology for both
counties.
Research of the original register of
sasines may answer the question of
Henry's whereabouts. The crucial
point, however, is that a Scottish
merchant of the Lynn family left
Scotland for Ulster sometime in or
before 1658.
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1660-72
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William Lynn, gent[leman] and David Lynne, yeoman were listed in the
1660 and 1662
poll
books for Donagheady Parish,
County Tyrone
as being in Cloghogall [Cloghogle]. Cloghogle of
course was previously held by the Ulster
Scot William Lynne of Londonderry, now
deceased.
William Lynn appears in Cloghogle again
in the 1664 and 1666 hearth money rolls.
In 1667, William Lynn was among nineteen
Presbyterians in Donagheady Parish
excommunicated by the Bishop of Derry
for not adhering to the Anglican Church.
William Lynne, gentleman in Cloghagall
[Cloghogle] died about 1672, his
prerogative will being recorded that
year.
Donagheady Poll
Book of 1660
at
http://www.cotyroneireland.com/tithe/donagheadypoll.html
Donagheady Poll Book of 1662
at
http://www.breadyancestry.com/index.php?id=leckpatrick
Donagheady Hearth Money Rolls of 1664 at
http://www.breadyancestry.com/index.php?id=leckpatrick
Donagheady Hearth Money Rolls of 1666
at
http://www.breadyancestry.com/index.php?id=leckpatrick
Donagheady Presbyterian Churches and Parish,
Rev.
John
Rutherford, B.A., Belfast (1953)
Index
to
Prerogative Wills,
Ibid. (p.
296)
available at
https://openlibrary.org/
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1665
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William Lyn in
the parish of Raphro [Raphoe], county of Donnygall [Donegal] was the only son and
heir of the deceased Margaret Muir and, as such, disposed of a
tenement in the
burgh of Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland which Margaret
had inherited in 1604 from her father,
the deceased John Mure, a notary and
burgess of Irvine. Notably, Hugh
Lynn, merchant was also a burgess of
Irvine in 1604. It seems likely,
therefore, that William was the son of
Hugh Lynn and Margaret Muir.
Ref. ## GD1/693/1 &
GD1/693/13 at
http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/search.aspx
Archaeological and Historical
Collections Relating to Ayrshire &
Galloway,
Vol. VII,
Ayrshire and Galloway Archaeological Association, Edinburgh
(1894) (pp. 189-91)
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ca.1690-
1757 |
Another William Lynn was
born about 1690 to a family that
lived in Counties Londonderry, Donegal,
and Tyrone. He became a doctor,
emigrated to America sometime prior to
1746, and settled in Fredericksburg,
Spotsylvania County, Virginia. In
the latter year, one of several notices was published by Dr.
William Lynn in Fredericksburg's
The
Virginia Gazette. Dr.
Lynn wrote his will on 21 October 1757
and named, among others, certain
beneficiaries who prove him to be from
northwest Ulster ...
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"my kinsman Moses Lynn near Strabane
in Ireland"
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"the female issue of Lieut. Matthew Lynn,
near Londonderry,
in Ireland"
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"my Brother in Law Mr. Charles Colhoun & my
sister in Law, Rebecca Colhoun, both of
Letter Kenny in Ireland"
Strabane is in County Tyrone,
Londonderry of course in County
Londonderry, and Letterkenny in County
Donegal. While these three
bequests evidence the family's
whereabouts in Ulster, two others point to its Scots
Presbyterian roots, by virture of
certain related facts which will follow
...
"the children of my kinswoman Margaret
Stuart
now living in Augusta County, in
Virginia which she had by her former
husband, the Rev. Mr. Paul"
"my sister [Margaret] Lewis & my
Nephews Thomas Lewis, Andrew Lewis,
William Lewis & Charles Lewis ... all of
Augusta Co. [Virginia]"
Dr. Lynn's sister Margaret had married
John Lewis, who became one of
the founders of Staunton, Virginia; and
three of their sons named above became
prominent in the American Revolution.
Both the Lewis and Stuart relatives of
Dr. Lynn had settled in Beverly Manor,
Augusta County in 1738 and 1749,
respectively. However, the
facts most relevant to the question of
the Lynns' origins are these ... The Manor's four churches
all were Presbyterian, were established
between 1740 and 1746, and were then
called meeting houses. The map
linked
below shows not only the locations of
the
meeting houses but also the names of men ~ Lewis and Stuart
among them ~ who
were ordered to survey roads.
The following persons complete the list
of relatives named among Dr. Lynn's
beneficiaries ...
"the children of my Brother Charles in
Ireland [including] his eldest son, William Lynn"
"the Daughter of my Brother Audley Lynn,
Dec'd, named Ann, now living in London
with her Mother"
Incidentally, the patent list linked
below includes not only John Lewis but
also John Lynn,
Sr., an assumed or supposed brother of
Dr. William Lynn whom William sued in
the Augusta County court in 1751 and
chose not to name in his will.
Margaret Stuart's second husband does
not appear on the patent list but was
David Stewart or Stuart, whose 1767 will
makes a certain bequest "to wife
Margaret, and to her oldest daughter,
Mary Pall [Paul]".
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The
Virginia
Gazette,
Fredericksburg, VA (14 August 1746.
Issue No. 524, p. 4, column 1)
Spotsylvania County, Virginia Will Book
B, 1749-1759
(pp. 350-54)
Presbyterian
Meeting Houses in
Beverly Manor
- top half of map; includes the
following ...
Augusta
Stone
- 1740 :
http://www.augustastone.org/index.php/history/
Tinkling Spring - 1740 :
http://www.tinklingspring.org/history.php
Brown's (now
Hebron) - 1744 :
http://www.hebronpc.com/about-us/HebronsHistory.cfm
North
Mountain (now Bethel) - 1746 :
http://bethelpresbyterianstaunton.org/about-us/history-2/
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vaaugust/BeverlyPatent.htm
Chronicles
: Augusta County Court Records
: Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia Extracted from
the Original Court Records of Augusta
County 1745-1800, Lyman Chalkley
(1912) (Vol. I, p. 305; Vol. III, p. 509)
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|
1705-10 |
At the General
Synod of Ulster on 6 June 1705, Convoy
Presbytery was appointed to place
Charles Linn and several other men on
trial for licenses to preach. On 25 February
1707,
as reported at the 1 June 1708 General
Synod,
Charles Lynn was
ordained by Convoy Presbytery
at Clandy-Vadock [Clondavaddog].
At the General Synods on 1 June
1709 and 21 June 1710, Charles Lynn was
one of several ministers representing
Convoy Presbytery. At the latter
Synod, he was appointed to a committee
to revise the Synod's "Belfast Book".
Convoy is in the east of County Donegal
not far from County Tyrone, and
Clondavaddog is in the north of Donegal.
Records of the General Synod of Ulster,
from 1691 To 1820,
Vol. I (1691-1720), General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,
Belfast (1890) (pp. 97, 145, 169, 189,
192) at
https://openlibrary.org/
|
|
1708 |
On 1 June, John
Lyn was
an elder representing Derry Presbytery
at the General Synod of Ulster.
Records of the General Synod,
Ibid. (p. 142)
at https://openlibrary.org/
|
|
1740 |
As listed in extracts
at the website of the PRONI,
fourteen Lynns representing
nine parishes were Protestant
householders in County Londonderry this
year, one in County Donegal, and three
in County Tyrone. However, since
very little of those counties were
transcribed before the original returns
were lost in 1922, these numbers may
substantially underrepresent the actual
numbers (see also :
Available Record) ...
|
County |
Parish |
Townland |
Name(s) |
|
Londonderry |
Artrea |
not
stated |
George Linn; John Linn |
|
" |
Balteagh |
Little
Derry |
James Linn |
|
" |
Coleraine |
not
stated |
Charles Lin; William Lin |
|
" |
Cumber |
Brackfield |
John Lynn |
|
" |
" |
Ling |
James Linn |
|
" |
Drumachose |
Carrydoo |
Thomas Linn |
|
" |
" |
Rusk[e]y |
William Linn |
|
" |
Dunboe |
not
stated |
Andew Lin |
|
" |
Kilcronaghan |
not
stated |
Adam Linn; Samuel Linn |
|
" |
Maghera |
not
stated |
Daniel Linn |
|
" |
Tamlaght |
not
stated |
Adam Linn |
| Donegal |
Clonmany |
Clehagh |
Robert Linn |
| Tyrone |
Derryloran |
not
stated |
Ad [Adam? Andrew? Audley?] Lyn;
James Lyn;
Widow Lyn |
|
|
1753 |
Adam Lynn or Lynd was
an elder representing Tyrone Presbytery
at the General Synod of Ulster.
Records of the General Synod of Ulster
... Vol. II (1721-1777),
General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in Ireland, Belfast (1890)
(p. 373)
at
https://openlibrary.org/
|
|
1766 |
While only
fragments survive from
this year's Religious Census of Ireland,
ten Linns or Lynns are found listed for
Ulster : two Papists [Roman
Catholic], one Protestant [usually Church of
Ireland], and seven Dissenters [usually Presbyterians]. Three
Dissenters were in County Londonderry and
one Dissenter and one Protestant in County Tyrone.
Unfortunately, however, all of this
census for County Donegal is lost ...
|
|
|
Name
|
Religion
|
County
|
Parish
|
Townland
|
|
|
John Lynn
|
Dissenter
|
Londonderry
|
Drumachose
|
Ruskey
|
|
|
Joseph Linn
|
Dissenter
|
Londonderry
|
Drumachose
|
Ardgarvan
|
|
|
W. Lynn
|
Dissenter
|
Londonderry
|
Drumachose
|
Ruskey
|
|
|
George Lynn
|
Protestant
|
Tyrone
|
Aghaloo &
Carnteel
|
[blank]
|
|
|
Alexander Lynn
|
Dissenter
|
Tyrone
|
Artrea
|
Tullyconnell
|
|
|
http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/proninames.htm
: Click "Search for Names", enter Linn
for "Surname" on the next page, deselect
all but "1766 Religious Census", and
click "Search". Repeat for Lynn.
See also :
Available Record.
|
|
1767 |
In this year,
David Linn was a freeholder at Nether,
County Donegal, as listed in the Donegal
Poll Book.
At the time, only Protestants with
freeholds of a certain value were
allowed to vote.
http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/proninames.htm : Click
"Freeholders' Records" and enter Linn
for "Surname" on the next page".
Repeat for Lynn.
|
|
1811-13 |
In each of these
years, Adam Lynn was
an elder representing Tyrone Presbytery
at General Synods of Ulster.
Records of the General Synod of Ulster,
from 1691 To 1820,
Vol. III (1779-1820),
General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in Ireland, Belfast (1898) (pp.
362, 388) - Note: Volume III is not
currently available online.
|
|
1820 |
On 27 June,
James Lynn was an elder representing the
Colerain congregation of the Route
Presbytery at the General Synod of
Ulster.
Coleraine is in eastern County
Londonderry.
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Records of the General Synod ...
Vol. III (1779-1820),
General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in Ireland, Belfast (1898) (pp.
518-19)
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Down
Prior to 1850, only one Lynn is found
in surviving records of
County Down who is proven to be an Ulster Scot. Such case undoubtedly is owing
in no small part to the
great loss of Irish records.
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1633
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John Lyne appeared on the muster roll
for County Down
with a snaphance,
an innovative and expensive firearm brought to Ulster
about this time from Scotland.
John Lyne was under the jurisdiction of
the Episcopal Bishop of Dromore, who had
authority over the town of Dunmore and
the Lower Iveagh, as well of course as
his own land in the county.
Lower Iveagh is roughly the northern
half of the barony of Iveagh, the barony
lying in central County Down and
stretching from the northern boundary of
the county to nearly the southern tip.
‘Men and Arms’,
Ibid.
(f. 267V #131)
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Antrim
Lynns who were Scottish and/or
Protestant appeared in County Antrim in
the same century as the Lynn who was the
first Scots Protestant
settler in Londonderry, Donegal, and
Tyrone. However, the
man who may be the
earliest
Scottish Lynn
in Antrim
came there
directly from Scotland ...
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1658
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Henry Lyn was a merchant
from Irvine in Ayrshire, Scotland who
appears in
Ulster this year, as described in a
sasine (deed) registered in Ayrshire.
The sasine extract currently in the
National Records of Scotland database
describes Henry specifically as
"merchant in Tempillpark, County
Antrim", while the sasine index
published in 1939 by the Scotland Record
Office describes him as "merchant in Temple Patrick,
County Donegal, Ireland".
That database also includes the extract
of a precept which predates the sasine
by eleven days and gives investment
in certain Ayrshire
lands to
"Susilie Oqueyne
in Brendrewis in the County of Duningall
[Donegal] in Ireland, spouse of Lachlan
McGolrik, the sister daughter of Hugh
Lin, then deceased as heir of her said
uncle".
The sasine as extracted is more
specifically described as being "in
favour of
Susillie Oqueyne in favour of Henry Lyn,
merchant in Tempillpark in the County of
Antrim in Ireland". Clearly, Henry
Lyn, Hugh Lin, and Susilie all were
related.
Ref. #
GD3/1/1/27/4
at
http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/search.aspx
Index
to Secretary's Register of Sasines for the Sheriffdom of Ayr and
Bailliaries of Kyle, Carrick, and Cunningham, Vol. 2: 1635-1660,
Scotland Record Office, Edinburgh (1935) (p. 269)
The discrepancy in Henry's location may
be the result of confusion on the part
of the person who created the sasine
index. Perhaps he or she merely
assumed Henry was in County Donegal
since the sasine places Susilie there
in the same sentence where it names Henry.
Further, since several authoritative Irish place
name databases, as well as inquiries
elsewhere, have all failed to identify
any place in Donegal called
Temple Patrick or some
variant thereof, and since it hardly
seems reasonable that a Scottish
merchant would have settled in a place
so obscure that it cannot now be
identified, it seems
more likely that
Henry was in Templepatrick, County
Antrim. However, that
likelihood cannot be absolutely proven,
and Henry therefore is listed on this page for both
counties.
Research of the original register of
sasines may answer the question of
Henry's whereabouts. The crucial
point, however, is that a Scottish
merchant of the Lynn family left
Scotland for Ulster sometime in or
before 1658.
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1693 |
On 16 October,
Hugh Linn and Elizabeth Geddis were
married in the First Antrim Presbyterian
Church in the town of Antrim.
Antrim town is less than five miles west
of Templepatrick.
Public Records Office of Northern
Ireland [PRONI] : Ref. #MIC1P/3
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|
1727 |
On 20 June, Hugh
Lynn was
an elder representing Templepatrick
Presbytery of County Antrim at the General Synod of Ulster.
Records of the General Synod of Ulster
...
Vol. II (1721-1777), General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,
Belfast (1890)
(p.
113)
at
https://openlibrary.org/
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1740 |
As listed in extracts
at the website of the PRONI,
twelve Linns representing five parishes
were Protestant householders this year in County
Antrim : Adam, two Hughs, James, and
Samuel in Drummual Parish; Charles in
Dunekeghan Parish; Hugh and John in
Clogh Parish; Hugh, James, and William
in Loghall Parish; Widow Linn in
Rasharkin Parish. Again, of
course, only part of this census had
been transcribed before the 1922 bombing
that destroyed the original.
http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/proninames.htm
: Click "Search for Names", enter Linn
for "Surname" on the next page, deselect
all but "1740 Protestant Householders",
and click "Search". See
also :
Available Record.
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1744- 1824 |
Robert Lynn was born about 1744; became
a merchant in Belfast, County Antrim;
and died in 1824 at age eighty. He
very probably is the same person as the
Robert Linn who in Belfast signed the
1775 petition of Protestant Dissenters
seeking an end to religious
discrimination.
County Down Gravestone Inscriptions,
Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast (Vol. 2, p. 78)
http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/proninames.htm
: Click "Search for Names", enter Linn
for "Surname" on the next page, deselect
all but "1775 Dissenters Petitions", and
click "Search".
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1755-84 |
Michael Linn or Lynn was born about
1755; and died in 1784 at age
twenty-nine. He too signed the
1775 petition of Protestant Dissenters
in Belfast.
County Down Gravestone Inscriptions,
Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast (Vol. 2, p. 78)
http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/proninames.htm
: Click "Search for Names", enter Linn
for "Surname" on the next page, deselect
all but "1775 Dissenters Petitions", and
click "Search".
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1761-
1833 |
According
to his death notice, Mr. Henry Lynn of
Broadisland [Templecorran Parish],
County Antrim was born about 1761 and
spent almost thirty years as a ruling
Elder of the Presbyterian Congregation
in Ballycarry. The notice states also
that he had died on 28 November 1833 at
age 71. Since Ballycarry also is in
Templecorran Parish, Henry ~ if not born
in the parish ~ must have lived there at
least as early 1803.
Belfast News-Letter,
3 December 1833
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|
1766 |
While only
fragments survive of
this year's Religious Census of Ireland,
ten Linns or Lynns are found listed for
Ulster : two Papists [Roman
Catholic], one Protestant [Church of
Ireland or other Protestant], and seven Dissenters
[nearly always Presbyterian]. The
two Catholics as well as three
Dissenters were in County Antrim ...
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Name
|
Religion
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County
|
Parish
|
Townland
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Daniel Linn
|
Papist
|
Antrim
|
Ballymoney
|
[blank]
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James Linn
|
Papist
|
Antrim
|
Ballymoney
|
[blank]
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Mary Linn
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Dissenter
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Antrim
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Ahoghill
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[blank]
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Sam[uel] Lynn
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Dissenter
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Antrim
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Ahoghill
|
[blank]
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Widow Lynn
|
Dissenter
|
Antrim
|
Ahoghill
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[blank]
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http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/proninames.htm
: Click "Search for Names", enter Linn
for "Surname" on the next page, deselect
all but "1766 Religious Census", and
click "Search". Repeat for Lynn.
See also :
Available Record.
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1775
|
John Linn of Drumgooland Parish, County
Down was a Dissenter who signed the
1775 petition of Ulster Protestants.
http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/search_the_archives/proninames.htm
: Click "Search for Names", enter Linn
for "Surname" on the next page, deselect
all but "1775 Dissenters Petitions", and
click "Search". See also
:
Available Record.
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1780-
1850
|
As
memorialized by a granddaughter who was
eleven when the family left Ireland,
James Lynn was a Scottish Presbyterian
who was born in County Londonderry and
moved to the now defunct village of
Knockahollet [Loughguile Parish], County
Antrim, where he raised six sons and two
daughters before
emigrating to America circa 1850.
The family settled in Exeter, Green
County, Wisconsin.
James’s gravestone states that he was
born in County Derry [Londonderry] and died on 19 March 1858
at the age of 78,
indicating birth in about 1780.
This
Side the Gully
:
This Side the Gully,
Elizabeth Moore Wallace,
The
Wisconsin Farmer
(1926)
Mt. Pleasant Township Cemeteries,
Green County Genealogical Society (p.
119)
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1819
|
On 29 June, Hugh Lynn was an elder
representing the Ballymena Presbytery at
the General Synod of Ulster.
Records of the General Synod of Ulster
... Vol. III (1778-1820),
General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in Ireland, Belfast (1898) (p. 494)
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Fermanagh and
Monaghan
|
While no 1740 Protestant householder
returns, 1766 religious census returns,
or 1775 Dissenters petitions
for either Fermanagh or Monaghan have survived
~ either in the original or in
transcript form ~ there were living here
two branches of a Lynn family known to
be of Scottish origin. First ...
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1753-88 |
Hugh Linn was
born in 1753 to a Scottish Presbyterian
family,
possibly in County
Monaghan. In 1777, he did marry
a County Monaghan woman whose family
were also Scottish Presbyterians.
In 1713,
Sarah's
great-grandfather, James Widney,
was
one of four Commissioners who petitioned
the Presbyterian Church in Ireland for
the establishment of a new, separate
congregation for certain members of the
congregation of Kinaird [Kinard],
Presbytery of Monaghan. The
request was granted, and
the new congregation was situated
in the village of Glaslough, which lies
in the northern tip of County Monaghan.
About four miles northwest of Glaslough
is the townland of Killymurry, half
of which the Widneys owned from at least 1724 until
the year 1784. In the latter year, the eldest son
~ Sarah's brother James ~ sold
the property and left for America. In 1788,
Hugh, Sarah, and three of their children
followed James to
Pennsylvania. Hugh's Scots
Presbyterian origins and certain other
details mentioned above are attested to
in a biography derived in large measure
from the knowledge of his son Hugh Linn
II, who married another member of the
Widney family.
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A History of
a Fragment of the Clan Linn, Dr.
George Wilds Linn, Chambersburg, PA
(1905) (pp. 11, 27, 68, 93, 95)
at
https://openlibrary.org/ - Note :
Although Scottish, the Linns were never
a clan but were merely assumed such by Dr. Linn.
Records of the General Synod of Ulster,
from 1691 to 1820,
Vol. I. 1691-1720, The General Assembly
of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,
Belfast (1890) (p. 298)
at
https://openlibrary.org/
History of Congregations of the
Presbyterian Church in Ireland,
Rev. W. D. Killen, D.D., Belfast and
Edinburgh (1886) (p. 153)
at
https://openlibrary.org/
Registry of Deed Grantors,
Book 121, pp. 254-55, Registered No.
82844 : 1724 Deed
for Killymurry between "James
Widney the elder"
and his
son, "James Widney the younger" :
1724
Deed Killymurry
Registry of Deed Grantors Index,
1708-1785,
Book 368, pp. 65/66, Registered No.
246042 : 1784 Sale of
Killymurry
by James
Widney (IV) :
1784
Deed Killymurry
Hugh and family settled in Franklin
County, Pennsylvania, where Hugh helped
to found the village of Concord.
As proven by the Y-DNA of certain direct male descendants, Hugh
Linn was genetically related to a Lynn
who lived sometimes in Monaghan and
sometimes in Fermanagh ...
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1775-ca.
1850 |
William Lynn was
born in 1774 or 1775; lived for some
period in
Clontivrin, County Fermanagh; died in
1847 at the age of 72; and was buried in
Clones Parish, County Monaghan.
The register of Clones Parish,
Church of Ireland (a Protestant
denomination), describes him
as "of Clontivern [Clontivrin]".
Now uninhabited, Clontivrin was
described by Sir Humphrey Davy in the
1876
Journal of the Royal and Historical and Archaeological
Association of Ireland (Vol. III) as
being situated one mile west of the town
of Clones.
William Lynn's
son William married Anne Sheridan and
lived sometimes in Monaghan and
sometimes in Fermanagh. Between
1825 and 1832 (or 1844), William and
Anne had four (possibly five) children
baptized in Galloon Parish, Fermanagh.
Between 1835 and 1842, they had four
children baptized in Clones Parish,
Monaghan. William and his family lived in Parson's
Green Glebe, Fermanagh circa 1825-1828 (and perhaps
longer); in Mullaghgare, Fermanagh in
1832; in Mullanamoy, Monaghan circa
1835-1837; and in
Clontivrin, Fermanagh circa 1840-1842
and probably until the late 1850s.
The
eldest son of William and Anne,
also named William, emigrated to America
about 1850.
He was followed less than a decade later
by his parents and five of his siblings.
LDS Microfilm
#0897416 : 1818-39 Clones Parish
Register, County Monaghan (pp. 596, 652,
664, 676, 687)
PRONI Ref. #MIC/1/51 : 1825-44 Galloon
Parish Register, County Fermanagh
Various U.S. census, marriage, and death
records
Two of the first
group of children and three of the
second are proven by U.S. records to be
children of William Lynn and Anne
Sheridan. The other children all
remained in Ireland, where one
additional child in the first group is
proven to be a daughter of William and
Anne. She, having already married, remained in Clontivrin until
her death in 1896.
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Armagh
Similarly to the case in County Down, only one
Lynn is found in surviving records of County
Armagh
prior to 1850 who is proven to be a
Protestant and/or Scot. Again, however, such
case undoubtedly is owing in no small part to
the great loss of Irish records.
________________________________________
conclusion
It cannot be clearer.
Lynns from Scotland settled in Ulster, Ireland
as early as 1604/05 and eventually made their
homes in at least eight of the nine counties of
that historic province. In 1654, heirs of
the 1604/05 settler of Londonderry, Donegal, and
Tyrone were named as Scots Protestants. In
1667, one was named specifically as a
Presbyterian in County Tyrone excommunicated for not
adhering to the Anglican Church. By 1740, dozens
of Lynns were Protestant householders spread
among five or more of the nine Ulster counties.
Unfortunately for Lynn historians and
genealogists, transcriptions of the 1740 returns
had been made for only six of the nine counties
before the original returns were lost. To
believe that all, or even that most, Lynns in
Ulster were actually O'Flynns is to deny the
authentic origins of countless Ulster Scots who
bear the name.
Loretta ~ 2015
For extensive
collections from a nearly 600-page history of Lynns, Linns, etc. in Scotland and Ulster, see :
Book Excerpts on CD.
To read just a small portion of what the
book holds, see any of the following ...
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