|
UP
|
|
House of Lynn |
|
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)
Lynneage
@
comcast
.
net
For extensive collections of the history of
Lynns, Linns, Linds, etc.
in Scotland and Ulster, see
Book
Excerpts on CDs.
Map
________________________________________
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.
________________________________________
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.
The
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.
The
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.
The
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
|
________________________________________
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
|
|
