Scotch-Irish-L Archives

From: linda Merle <>
Subject: Re: History/Genealogy -BLACK surname
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1998 19:57:30 -0800

Hi Cheryl, if you are just starting, I suggest you check out www.familytreemaker.com
and www.ancestry.com. Both have free courses that will help a lot. I still check
in regularly and read the columns. Check our webpage for other links to courses
and info. Though until you get to NI you will find Rootsweb and USGENWEB
more helpful.Go to www.rootsweb.com for both.

I am researching Blacks. Only some of them originated as Clan McGregor.
Others Clan Lamont. etc. The definitive book on Ulster surnames is Bell "Book of
Ulster Surnames" and it repeats what the definitive book on Scottish surnames
will tell you: it is almost impossible to tell if the name originated as English
or Scottish. In addition the Irish of the Pale were instructed to take a surname --
occupational, placename, color. So it is possible some were Pale tenants who
emigrated north. In this case we would say the origin is English, even if the
person were Irish or Welsh. The only way to find out is to trace your ancestor
back. Once you get back to a locale you can begin to determine what the
origin is if there is a locale tradition about the surname. But your's could be
unrelated -- so you keep tracking.It is very possible for most of us that there
is insufficient information to trace them back to Scotland.

A lot of the Mid and North Antrim Covenenter community immigrated to SC
so there are a number of Black families in SC from this group as well as
others. I know -- I am looking for them too. The ones from Antrim are
most likely related to one another.

The Blacks of Mid and north Antrim are supposedly descended from a Captain
Lamont who came with the McDonalds. He was calle Dubh -- black and
so his descendents were Clann Mhic Gille Dhuibh -- son of the black lad.
They include the Blacks of Rathlin Island and the Glens, as well as some
on Cashel Manor -- Portglenone area, which are mine. Supposedly the
Captain was from Bute. ("On the Shining Bann" by Sinnett as well as
Bell "The Book of Ulster surnames")

By the way, the other place the Antrimites liked to go was PA-- Lancaster Co.
Many folks migrated south from PA to SC. You need to get more info on
the Blacks in SC. The SC Genweb pages are awesome. Also if you join
www.ancestry.com you can search there -- lots of SC newspapers coming
on line. Many many Blacks getting married and dying. It is worth the cost.
If you can get them to a church you will have a clue where they came from.
These North Antrim folk were Reformed Presby to the core.

You can find your way to the South Carolina webpages, etc at www.rootsweb.com.
It has a Help Facility if you get lost.

I've still not quite isolated my Blacks in SC but I need to review all my data.
Maybe we should work together -- but mine are 1790-1820, a generation
earlier than yours. They moved north to western PA to be with their brother,
Rev. John Black. Turns out my ancestor Robert and John and a sister who
married a Rev Samuel WYLIE in Antrim and moved to the US with him -- I
thought they were in New Jersey, but on rechecking, discovered I was wrong.
PA -- he taught at the University of Philedelphia. I gave someone some bad info
the other day....

Linda Merle

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• Re: History/Genealogy -BLACK surname by linda Merle <>