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House of Lynn

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Lynns of Londonderry, Donegal, and Tyrone

A Chronology of the Scottish Lynns Who Settled in Northwest Ulster
in the First Plantation, through the End of the Seventeenth Century

Copyright 2010 : Revised 2019, 2022
Loretta Lynn Layman, Author of "Barony of Lynn", The Scottish Genealogist,

Vol. LVII No. 1, The Scottish Genealogy Society, Edinburgh (March 2010)
L
ynneage @ comcast . net

For extensive collections of the history of Lynns, Linns, Linds, etc.
in Scotland and Ulster, see Book Excerpts on CDs.

Premise

Chronology

Conclusion

Map 

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PREMISE

  

As records will show, the first Lynns found in surviving records of northwest Ulster were Scottish settlers.  They appear beginning in 1604 in Counties Londonderry (specifically, the City of Londonderry *), Donegal, and Tyrone.  The 1630 muster rolls include four men named Lyn, Lyne, or Lynne in one or another of those three counties and only one such in any other county.  No Lynns or Linns appear in the 1630 County Antrim muster rolls.

Concerning the Lynns of Londonderry, Donegal, and Tyrone, weighty evidence also exists for them having come from younger sons of the Lynns of that Ilk in Ayrshire, Scotland.  Both the Ulster and the Ayrshire Lynns are discussed in greater detail in the 500-page book entitled "Lynneage - The Lynns, Linns, and Linds of Scotland and Ulster", available on CD [write to Loretta at Lynneage @ comcast.net or go here].  Following is a chronological summary, with sources, describing that evidence and the Lynns' settlement in northwest Ulster.

*  Derry City and the City of Londonderry are one and the same, Derry being the original name.

   

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CHRONOLOGY : 1604 - 1672

Most prominent among the Lynns who settled in northwest Ulster was William Lynn or Lynne, gentleman, of the City of Londonderry.  He was one of two men appointed to be the city's first sheriffs and was agent for the Earl of Abercorn for the Earl's County Tyrone estate of Dunnalong [see 1622, below].  William himself held three properties lieing within a few miles of each other in a straight line running through Londonderry, Donegal, and Tyrone where those counties converge.  He also held two or three properties a bit farther away in County Donegal.

1605

A deed produced in 1775 to James Hamilton, then Earl of Abercorn, proves that William Lynne of Londonderry was conveyed the County Tyrone property of Cloghogle by one of the Earl's predecessors on "27 October in the 38th year of reign by James" [James I and VI1/].  James I reigned from 1567 to 1625, placing the conveyance in 1605.  In 1616, William Lynne of Londonderry is proven to be a Scot.

Ref. # T2541/IA/2/1/47 at PRONI.

1/ James I and VI was the sixth King James of Scotland, who had become the first King James of England and Ireland.

1609

William Lynn leased from the bishop of Derry one qr. of herenaugh of land of Carrigcooley [Carrickcall]2/ in Moville Parish, Donegal.

Patent Rolls of James I: Inquisition at Lifford (1609), ulsterancestry.com: Lifford Inquisition

2/ See http://www.logainm.ie/ and http://www.thecore.com/seanruad/ for Irish place name searches and/or translations. 

1610

William Lynne was paid 40 pounds for a "house with a backside and divers tenements" in Londonderry.

The Parishes of Leckpatrick and Dunnalong - Their Place in History, William J. Roulston (2000), ch. 3, breadyancestry.com: Roulston

1611

William Lynne was present at an inquisition in Strabane, County Tyrone.

The Parishes of Leckpatrick and Dunnalong, Ibid. : Roulston

1613

William Lyne was appointed along with Robert Griffith as one of the two "first and present sheriffs" of the city and county of Londonderry.

An Historical Account of the Plantation of Ulster at the Commencement of the Seventeenth Century 1608-1620, Rev. George Hill, Belfast (1877) : Plantation.

1614

William Lynne of Londonderrry held a lease for Cloghogle [written Cloghogall], a property of 60 acres in County Tyrone lying between Strabane and Dunnalong.  The original date of the lease was not mentioned.

The Parishes of Leckpatrick and Dunnalong, Ibid. : Roulston

The precinct of Strabane had been allotted to Scottish undertakers, including Sir James Hamilton, Earl of Abercorn, and Hamilton's brother-in-law Sir Thomas Boyd, Knight, Sixth Lord Boyd of Kilmarnock in Ayrshire [An Historical Account, Ibid.].  Notably, the Lynns of that Ilk in Ayrshire had several dealings with the Boyds of Kilmarnock spanning the years 1532-1642, and their line in Ayrshire became extinct within sixty years of the appearance of the first Scottish Lynns in the Ulster plantation.  Concerning the connection to Ayrshire and the Boyds, of note also is the 1616 entry in brackets below.

1616

William Lynne of Derry City was a Scottish settler in County Londonderry granted denizenship.

The Scots in Ulster, Their Denization and Naturalisation, Rev. David Stewart, D.D., Edinburgh (1955)

1616

John Lynn and David Lynn were Scottish settlers in Dunnalong, County Tyrone granted denizenship this year.

The Scots in Ulster, Ibid.

Since: (1) William Lynne obtained denizenship in 1616 but had resided in Londonderry since 1609 at the latest and probably since 1605 or before; and (2) John and David Lynn resided in the same estate where William also had a dwelling (see: 1622 below), it is reasonable to believe that John and David likewise had been in Ulster for a period of some years prior to being granted denizenship.

[1616

Hugh Lyne was a merchant in the town of Irvine, Ayshire, Scotland and was described as occupying and possessing a tenement owned by "Thomas Boyd, sometime provost of Irvine, but now dwelling within the kingdome of Ireland ..."  Hugh very probably was a cadet of the Ayrshire Lynns of that Ilk, meaning that he was a younger son of that family of Lynns.  Thirteen years earlier, in 1593, Hugh gave a bond to William Lin of Bourtreehill, Bourtreehill being one of three Ayrshire properties held by that family.  Notably, Irvine is where the last Lynn of that Ilk died in 1670-71, having left the estates for a home in town.]

http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/search.aspx : Ref.   ##  GD1/693/1,  GD1/693/13,  GD1/693/15,  GD3/1/1/27/3, GD3/2/13/8

See also : Andrew Lynn and Ann Blair and Lynn of that Ilk.

1618

William Lynn held the Donegal lands of Caroreagh [Carrowreogh[ and Largybrack [Lurganbrack], as described in Pynnar's 1619 survey of the Ulster plantation.  William's successors, also Lynns, were identified in the 1654 Civil Survey (the surname there written "Lyne") as Scots Protestant proprietors.  Lurganbrack was identified in the 1670 Down Survey as Protestant lands.

An Historical Account, Ibid.
T
he Parishes of Leckpatrick and Dunnalong, Ibid.
Statistical Survey of the County of Donegal, with Observations on the Means of Improvement; Drawn Up in the Year 1801, James McParlan, M.D., Dublin (1802)
The Civil Survey 1654, County Donegal, Barony of Kilmacrenan, ulsterancestry.com: Donegal Survey

Land Ownership by Religion, Down Survey Database, Trinity College Dublin: Donegal Land Ownership Map

1622

William Lynne, gentleman, was agent to the Earl of Abercorn for the manor of Dunnalong in Strabane, County Tyrone and was also a freeholder therein, with a stone house.  As agent, he conducted a survey of Dunnalong this year and presented a certificate of its state of settlement.

The Parishes of Leckpatrick and Dunnalong, Ibid.
T
he Ulster Plantation in the Manor of Dunnalong, 1610-70, Dr. William J. Roulston in Tyrone: History and Society, Edit. Charles Dillon, Henry Jefferies, Willie Nolan, Dublin: Geography Publications (2000)

1622

John Lynne was also listed on William's certificate as a freeholder in Dunnalong.  David Lynn does not appear on the certificate, which may mean that he either: (1) had died or moved away prior to William's survey, or (2) was a mere undertenant or cottager in Dunnalong, men in those two groups not being specifically named nor even counted but only estimated at "a greate number".

The Parishes of Leckpatrick and Dunnalong, Ibid.

1625

William Lynne, gentleman in Londonderry, was deceased, his prerogative will being recorded this year.  Notably, prerogative wills were those in which the deceased held land in more than one county.

Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland, 1536-1810, Sir Arthur Vicars, F.S.A., Ulster King of Arms, Dublin (1897)

1628

Widow Lynn was a householder in Londonderry.

Rent Roll for Londonderry taken 15th May 1628, ulsterancestry.com: Derry Rent Roll

1629

Margaret Lynne, widow of William Lynne of Londonderry, was deceased, her prerogative will being recorded this year.

Indexes to Irish Wills, Vol. V. Derry and Raphoe, Edit. Gertrude Thrift, Baltimore, MD (1920)

1630

James Lynne was listed on the Muster Roll for County Tyrone as being in Strabane and having a sword only.

‘Men and Arms’ The Ulster Scots, c. 1630, Edit. R. J. Hunter, Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast (2012)
1630 Muster Roll of Strabane Barony, cotyroneireland.com: Strabane Muster Roll

1631

John Lyne was listed on the Muster Roll for County Londonderry as being in the City and Liberties of Londonderry and having a sword only.  Note : The "1630 Muster" of Ulster was actually begun in 1629 and not completed until 1633.

'Men and Arms', Ibid.

1631

Robert Lyn was listed on the Muster Roll for County Londonderry as being in the City and Liberties of Coleraine and having a sword and pike.  Coleraine lies on the River Bann and might be considered northeast Ulster, although it is in County Londonderry.

'Men and Arms', Ibid.

1632

William Lyne was listed on the Muster Roll for County Donegal as being in the Barony of Raphoe and having a sword only.  See also, 1635, 1654, 1665, and 1666.

'Men and Arms', Ibid.
T
he Muster Roll of the County of Donnagall, The Donegal Annual, Donegal County Historical (1972)

1635

William Lynn was named as a nephew and heir in an inquisition concerning lands of Largavracke [Lurganbrack], Donegal belonging to the late William Lynne of Londonderry.

An Historical Account, Ibid.

1639

On 24 August, John Lynn of Clondermot, County Londonderry, was leased 57 Irish acres [92.6 English acres] of the Clondermot Parish townland "com[m]only called or knowne by the name of Clontieron or by whatsoever other name or names the same be called or knowne  ..."  The lease agreement ends with the list: "vii li One house Fower Closes Sixe Trees One Muskett" [i.e., vii pounds, one house, four closes, six trees, and one musket].  There is now no Irish townland by the name Clontieron or anything particularly similar; however, it likely is now the townland of Clampernow, which contains 96 English acres and lies just a few miles north of Dunnalong, where John Lynne was a freeholder in 1622.

The Great Parchment Book of the Honourable Irish Society, Commission Under the Great Seal, Londonderry (1639) at http://www.greatparchmentbook.org/explore-the-book/

1641

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).

1654

David Lyne and William Lyne were named in the civil survey of County Donegal as Scots Protestant proprietors of Bunintyne [Bunnaton], Largebreake [Lurganbrack], and Carrowreagh. As noted above, Lurganbrack and Carrowreagh were first held by William Lynne, gentleman, of Londonderry.

The Civil Survey 1654, County Donegal, Barony of Kilmacrenan, ulsterancestry.com: Donegal Survey

1658

Henry Lyn was a merchant in Temple Patrick, Donegal whose wife was Marion Broune in Irvine, Ayrshire - all as described in a sasine [deed] registered in Ayrshire which also names Hew Lin or Lyne, merchant in Irvine, and Susillie Oqueyne in Donegal.

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)

1660-72

William Lynn, Gent[leman] in Cloghogall [Cloghogle], was listed in Donagheady Parish, County Tyrone poll books for 1660 and 1662.  In 1664 and 1666, William Lynn or Linn of Cloghole [Cloghogle] was listed in the hearth money rolls for Donagheady Parish, County Tyrone.  In 1667, William Lynn was a Presbyterian in Donagheady Parish, County Tyrone who was excommunicated by the Anglican Bishop of Derry.  Finally, in 1672, William Lynne, gentleman in Cloghagall [Cloghogle], County Tyrone, was deceased, his prerogative will being recorded this year.

Donagheady Poll Book of 1660 at http://www.cotyroneireland.com/tithe/donagheadypoll.html

Donagheady Poll Book of 1662, breadyancestry.com : No. 7 under Poll book

Donagheady Hearth Money Rolls, breadyancestry.com : No. 15 under Hearth money rolls

Donagheady Hearth Money Rolls, breadyancestry.com : No. 14 under Hearth money rolls

The Parishes of Leckpatrick and Dunnalong, Ibid.
Donagheady Presbyterian Churches and Parish
, Rev. John Rutherford, B.A., Belfast (1953)
Index to the Prerogative Wills of Ireland, Ibid.

1660,62

David Lynne, yoeman in Cloghogle, and wife were listed in Donagheady Parish, County Tyrone poll books for these years.

Donagheady Poll Book of 1660 at http://www.cotyroneireland.com/tithe/donagheadypoll.html 

Donagheady Poll Book of 1662, breadyancestry.com : No. 8 under Poll book.

1663

David Lynn of Lurgibreak [Lurganbrack] was listed in the Donegal hearth money rolls.

Donegal Hearth Money Rolls of 1663, ulsterancestry.com: Donegal Hearth Money

1665

William Lyn was the only son and heir of the deceased Margaret Muir in the parish of Raphro [Raphoe], in the county of Donnygall [Donegal] in Ireland and, as such, disposed of a tenement on the east side of the high street of the burgh of Irvine, Ayrshire.

http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/search.aspx : Ref. # GD1/693/13

1666

William Lyne in Raphro [Raphoe], heir to his mother [blank] Muire, was named in an instrument of cognition and sasine in favour of Thomas Reid in Auchindowy [Aghadowey], County Londonderry, for a property on the east side of the high street of the burgh of Irvine.

http://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/search.aspx : Ref. # GD1/693/15

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CONCLUSION

It is clear from the foregoing records that a family of Scottish Lynns was firmly established in Londonderry, Donegal, and Tyrone in the early seventeenth century and held several properties there.  The first to appear - William Lynne, gentleman of Londonderry - died without issue.  The 1635 inquisition found that his heir was a nephew of the same name, to whom at least two of his properties and presumably the third were passed.

By inference, one may assume that the first David Lynn and John Lynn, both of whom appeared in Northwest Ulster at virtually the same time as the elder William, were in fact related to William - especially since one and perhaps both of them lived on the very estate concerning which William was the Earl of Abercorn's  agent.  Also, since the elder William was succeeded by a nephew, David and/or John must have been brother(s) to the elder William and one of them father of the younger William.

Since in the 1654 survey David Lyne and the younger William jointly held two of the elder William's properties, this David likely was a younger brother or possibly a cousin of the younger William.

It is very probable that this family issued from cadets (i.e., younger sons) of the Lynns of that Ilk in Ayrshire, Scotland, who'd had a long history with the family into which the Earl of Abercorn married.  (For a discussion of their Ayrshire history, see : Lynn of that Ilk*.)  The most likely scenario is that the first Scottish Lynns in Londonderry, Donegal, and Tyrone were either cousins or, more likely, uncles of Andrew Lynn, the last Lynn of that Ilk (see : Andrew Lynn and Ann Blair**).

This page represents a very abbreviated history of the Lynns of Londonderry, Donegal, and Tyrone; a 27-page history is found in the book Lynneage - The Lynns, Linns, and Linds of Scotland and Ulster.  That book also includes 38 pages about persons and families of the name elsewhere in Ulster and 24 pages about the Lynns of that Ilk.  The book is currently out of print but can be ordered on CD.

Loretta ~ 2015

Map

 

  

Lynn of that Ilk
a/k/a Lords of Lynn

Andrew Lynn
and Ann Blair

Dr. William Lynn
of Ulster and Virginia

Margaret Lynn Lewis and The Valley Manuscript

Lynn or Linn ?

Bard Pa Lein of Norway -
A Word of Caution

  Widney-Woodney-Udny

Lynn History - Main

                        

U P

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Other Genealogy Sites
for Londonderry, Donegal, and Tyrone

          Londonderry                             Donegal 1                                    Tyrone          

   Donegal 2

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House of Lynn

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