Johne McReynolds/MacRanald: Scots Mercenary

[BoldHighlander]

Rather than hijack the thread How important is the Declaration Arbroath?, I decided to move my portion of the conversation to a new thread, here in the genealogical section, where I felt it was more appropriate:

[BoldHighlander]

Ulster Scots were originally transplanted to Northern Ireland, sometimes willingly, sometimes not, from the England-Scotland Border area where they had spent the previous centuries in one of the most violent places on earth.

Well, yes & no. Most of my own ancestors who were Ulster Scots I can trace to the Highlands (the few who weren't appear to be English).

Case in point: my McReynolds were of the name MacRanald in the Keppoch region. My ancestor Johne MacRanald/McReynold (an educated man who read & wrote in both Scots Gaelic & in English) fought as an officer for William's army on the continent, and then went on to Ulster, where he participated in the defense of Derry (one story is told that he gave another defender a beating for letting a rat escape during the seige!). He would later settle & die in Co. Tyrone (his stone house/fort & mill still stand there). His great-grandson would go on to fight in the American Revolution, being crippled for life at the battle of Camden.

Anyhow, my point in all this is to echo Todd's point (& that which you later acknowledged) is to let the 'uninitiated' know that not all Ulster Scots were from the Lowlands, which seems to be one of those "myths" that continues to live on to this day (like so much else that has been oft told about the Scots & the Irish ).

Apologies for any hijack of the threads topic.

[BoldHighlander]

There definitely were Highland Scots in the "settlement" of Ulster, but they were largely west Highland folk who had traditionally been passing back and forth between their part of Scotland and the northern part of Ireland and decided to take up James' offer of the lands of the locals. In the Williamite period of the 1690s, the second planatation wave, most of the new people were Presbyterian Lowland and Border Scots.

That makes me wonder whether your ancestor, Terry, might have been an educated officer serving in Ulster and deciding to stay on, rather than an incoming settler? Do you know why he was in Ireland? And whether he married an Ulster woman? And did she bring land into the marriage, or did he acquire that himself? The key, I think, is the fact that he was an educated man. Most settlers in that second wave were common folk without formal education, although many could read and write, of course.

Rex

Hi Rex,

what little other I know about my ancestor is that he was in Ireland fighting for William of Orange, later he left the army & with his two younger brothers settled in Co. Tyrone. Johne first married a Mary Preston in 1703, she died in 1713, after which on the 18th of June 1714 he married Elizabeth Shepherd (born about 1675 in Co. Tyrone). Other than knowing her father's name (Solomon Shepherd) I do not know much about her other than she must have been a Quaker, for Johne became a Quaker to marry her. However, by all accounts his conversion did not take (he left the Quakers & went back to the Church of Ireland.).

I know Johne had property (one version said he "obtained the lands", though how I do not know), built a two story stone house & mill in Cloghog, and a mill & stone out buildings in Killyman, the mills are mentioned as linen mills. I believe its the stone house that been described as resembling a Scottish type blockhouse fort.

Elizabeth & Johne seperated (she & their children emigrated to the American colonies in 1738). Johne stayed behind & died in 1760 in Stewartstown, Co. Tyrone.

Some researchers have regarded Johne as a Scottish mercenary. They say he was not a commoner, & it is also said he could speak 'Scots' better than English.

I would tend to agree with you Rex, that Johne was an educated officer who decided to stay on in Ulster.

More to follow....

[BoldHighlander]

Hello Terry,

Thanks for the note related to the McReynolds. Related to the McReynolds having ties to the Keppoch or not, the MacRanalds have been listed in old Scottish records, back to the 1400's as the Clan MacRanalds of Keppoch long before the name of MacDonald appears, after the MacRanalds left Scotland. Most all Scottish histories printed prior to the 1730's list the MacRanalds of Keppoch, no mention of MacDonald. When King James of England wanted a list of the true clans of Scotland, Keppoch was listed as Clan MacRanald of Keppoch and Lochaber. The McReynolds in Ulster has always said they were of the MacRanalds of Keppoch, long before there was an interest in genealogy.

The oldest McReynolds I've visited in Ulster was over 80 years old, 20 years ago and she always told me we were of the MacRanalds of Keppoch, according to her father years ago.

Our ancestor, Johne MacRanald of Scotland was an educated man who became a Protestant in Scotland and old family history and the old records mentioned above, has Keppoch as the MacRanalds of Keppoch and the MacRanalds converting to the new faith, Protestant, had to flee to Ulster, where Johne was later in the Siege of Derry for six months and later fought as an officer in Army of William of Orange and was back in Ulster by the late 1690's and owned much land and linen mills, I could have purchased Johne's Killyman farm about 18 years ago, but at the time it would have been a bit rough with small children moving to Ulster and with the troubles there at the time, my wife wasn't keen on the idea. I sincerely believe that the MacRanalds lost Keppoch/Lochaber when they fled to Ulster to the Roman Catholic MacDonalds, whose descendants still live in the area.

About 18 years ago, I contacted Savannah Jim who was the Chief of Genealogy then and enclosed copies of all my findings and never heard back from him and didn't returned my telephone calls. I heard he didn't like my findings.

I have been researching the McReynolds/MacRanalds for about 40 years, to include the McReynolds of the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia and to date, all McReynolds descend from Johne MacRanald/McReynolds except for one group in Chicago, Ill., they were the descendants of slaves of Joseph McReynolds of Blount Co., TN. and an old black McReynolds black man in Chicago told me his grandfather and his family were the slaves of Joseph McReynolds and they took the McReynolds name because Joseph McReynolds and his family were so good to the slaves.

I have seen many histories written and/or rewritten and not all the facts included, family histories and national histories and I'll have to stay with MacRanald of Keppoch being the orignal Clan and the MacDonalds took it about 200 years later, when our ancestors chose to become Protestants and went to Ulster.

Hope this helps in some way.

Cheers,

Capt. Lynn R. McR. Hawkins, Ret., FSA Scot

[BoldHighlander]

KERR FAMILY CHRONICLES
© Christopher Earls Brennen

CHAPTER SIX
THE McREYNOLDS FAMILY

MacRanald, McReynolds or other variants are patronymic forms of the name of Keppoch Macdonells. John M'Rynald was a tenant of Eddirallekach, Strogartnay in 1483 and Donald McRanald appears several times as a tenant in Kintyre in 1506. Since it is a short distance from the end of the Kintyre peninsula to the coast of County Antrim there have been movements of people between the two since long before historic times. The records show that the McReynolds family have lived in the area between Cookstown and Stewartstown for a very long time. For example, in the 1666 Hearth Money Roll, a Hugh McRannell is listed as resident in Ballynagowan, parish of Ballyclog. This may be Ballynargan which is just east of Kingsmill. However our earliest known probable ancestor is John McRannells (McReynolds) with whom we begin our extensive account of the McReynolds family. There is no doubt that our ancestor, Martha McReynolds, belonged to this family. However her precise connection is tantalizingly elusive. After extensive study I believe that she was the daughter of Thomas and Mary McReynolds as described below. However there must be some doubt about this until definitive proof becomes available.

John McRannells, it is said, was was a direct descendant of Alexander de Insulus, third son of John, Lord of the Isles, and his wife, Princess Margaret Stewart, the daughter of King Robert II of Scotland and great granddaughter of Robert Bruce. The records tell of the baptism of a son, Johne, of Johne McRannald and his wife Kathleen, whose maiden name was Mcilstalker. The baptism took place on Aug.11, 1672, in Inveraray and Glenaray, Argyllshire, and is recorded in the parochial register of the county of Argyll. Legend has it that that John could speak the Scotch language better than English. As a young man he enlisted in the British Army and was sent to Ireland where he is said to have participated in the defence of the city of Londonderry during the famous siege in 1689. A story is told that he gave one of his fellow defenders a beating for allowing a rat they could have eaten to escape. Later, he is said to have left the army and migrated to County Tyrone with his two younger brothers. They settled near Charlemont and Moy. In 1703 he married Mary Preston, born in 1683 the daughter of Thomas Preston. They made their residence at Cloghog, County Tyrone. It was the first McReynolds home in the area and was constructed shortly after their marriage. Fire gutted the building in the latter part of the last century but it was rebuilt and is still occupied by a descendant, Adeline McReynolds. John and Mary had three sons, James, Benjamin and Oliver listed below. Mary died on Jul.15, 1713, at the young age of 30 and there is a gravestone inscription about 15 feet from the front door of the Clonoe parish church which reads:
"Here lyeth the body of Mary Preston, wife of John McCrannels, who departed this life July 15, 1713, aged thirty years; also Thomas Preston who departed this life January 11, 1705, aged 78 years.''

After Mary's death John moved to the townland of Coash in the parish of Killyman. He was married for a second time on Jun.18, 1714, to a Quaker, Elizabeth Shepherd the daughter of Solomon Shepherd, at the Quaker meeting house at Grange near Moy. It is said that the Quaker Church and "Old Grange House'' are still standing. Other marriages in the Quaker records from this period include those of Patrick, Susannah and James McRannell or McReynolds and they may have been John's close relatives. John and Elizabeth had four surviving children, Joseph, Elizabeth, James and Robert. John and Elizabeth lived about two miles from Dungannon. By this time John had accumulated considerable wealth having large farms and two mills, one in Killyman parish and the other in Clonoe parish. For some unknown reason the marriage failed and, in 1738, Elizabeth and her four children emigrated to the United States where they settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She died at an old age in the home of her son James in Appomattox County, Virginia. This American branch of the McReynolds family is described briefly in Appendix 6A. Perhaps because of his advanced age (he was 72) John remained in Ireland and lived with his children by his first wife. He died at a ripe old age at the home of a grandson in Stewartstown and is buried in Ballyclog parish cemetery.