The Widney / Udny Family of Scotland and Ireland
Copyright 2014,
2020 ________________________________________
Note: The lineage from Generation 1 to Generation 4 is believed but not absolutely proven to be a direct lineage, but they are doubtless of the same family. Generations 4-5 are proven by original documentation of the period to be a direct paternal relationship. Generations 5-7 almost certainly represent a direct lineage given that the man in Generation 7 sold the property owned and passed down by Generation 4. ________________________________________ Generation 1
Oliver Udny of Aberdeenshire,
Scotland OLIVER UDNY was born about 1570 in Aberdeenshire, Scotland and died after 1629, possibly in County Cavan, Ireland, where he is last found. For some period during the interim, however, he held part of the townland of Cran in Clankee, County Cavan. On 18 September 1593, Oliver Udny was mentioned in a complaint not directly involving him but concerning a house in which Marischal College and the University of Aberdeen, Scotland had an interest.1/ On 13 January 1596, Oliver Udnie, Burgess of Aberdeen, Scotland, served on a jury of inquest, as recorded in the Sheriff Court Diet Books.2/ Aberdeen is about fourteen miles south of the town of Udny, which was the seat of the barony and parish of Udny. About ten years later, he is found in Scottish Army records. Notably, perhaps, military officers sometimes are burgesses of the Scottish towns in which they lived.
During the
years 1607 to 1610, Oliver Udny or Wodney served as Captain of a
company in the Scots Brigade in service of The United
Netherlands, as follows:
The next surviving record of Oliver Udny is found in 1621 ... On 1 April 1621, Oliver Udney "of Brittish birth and descent" was leaseholder of 18 acres of the townland of Cran in the precinct or barony of Clankee (sometimes spelled Clonkee or Clanchy) in County Cavan. This was during the first plantation of Ulster, which included large numbers of Scots settlers, many of whom were men who had served the British Crown in the military. At the same time, however, everyone being counted in the survey who was not native Irish was a citizen of Great Britain and, therefore, was considered of British birth and descent whether they were from England, Scotland, or Wales. County Cavan, and Clankee in particular, lie on the southern border of County Monaghan. Dr. George Wilds Linn reported Monaghan as being the home of Mary Wilson, mother of James Widney, of Sarah Widney, and others; and Widneys are found in Monaghan records of the eighteenth century. In the seventeenth century, they are found still in Cavan.5/
In 1629, Oliver Owdny and Nicholas Owdny both were recorded on the Muster Roll as living in the barony of Tullyhunco, County Cavan under Sir Francis Hamilton.6/ The spelling "Owdny" may represent either an unintentional transposition of the first two letters in "Wodny" [Wodney] (as it appears in Oliver's Scottish military records) or simply another variant spelling based on the pronunciation of Udny. In either case, there can be little doubt that Oliver Owdny is one and the same person as Oliver Wodney or Udny.
It also seems very probable that Nicholas "Owdny" of Tullyhunco, County Cavan is Oliver's son, whom we call Nicholas Udny of County Cavan. It is possible that he was instead a brother; and the designations "Generation 1", etc. therefore may or may not represent a complete direct lineage. Nevertheless, these persons are without a doubt all of the same family; and the four most recent generations, Generations 4 through 7, should be regarded as a direct lineage based on certain documents and records to be discussed. For more images, a complete record of the Widney family of Ireland through the end of the 18th century, the evidence of their Scottish roots, and a discussion of Widney origins as told by Dr. George Wilds Linn, see :
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For extensive collections of the history of Lynns, Linns,
Linds, etc. in Scotland and Ulster, see House of Lynn
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