Scotch-Irish-L Archives

Archiver > Scotch-Irish > 2001-08 > 0997533724


From: <>
Subject: Re: [Scotch-Irish] Ballymena - Rainman - BOYDs!!
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 05:42:04 -0700


Dear Donald and others,

Your mentioning of the BOYDs is very timely. Recently I read
"The Forefathers and Families of Certain Settlers in Western
Pennsylvania" by Wm Boyd DUFF. It recounts a number of Scotch-
Irish lines. He traced his BOYDs, the County Down BOYDs, back
to Scotland. A cadet line of the current Lord Boyd. This info is
in the archives. (Find by going to www.rootsweb.com and scrolling
down to "Mail LIsts" on the left hand column. Click on Interactive
Search. Type in list name -- Scotch-Irish -- and then enter
"strings" as we call them, or your surnames, to find posts in
which they were mentioned. Also the names of those who signed early
leases with the Lords Antrim are there -- many BOYDs.

The "Forefathers" book is in the FHL (Go to www.familysearch.org,
go to Library, click on Catalog, click on Author Search, enter
Boyd and William. Voila. It is not filmed, but you can request that
it be done or get pages xeroxed.)

At that time a lister said that he believed this was the first
case of an Ulster Boyd line being traced back to Scotland. Donno!
I don't research Boyds. However I have found a second. This is
in "The Kirk and Parish of Ballyrashane since the Scottish Settlement"
by J E and T H Mullin, published in Belfast by the Belfast
Newsletter in 1957.

Page 17: "Another very early settlement just outside our district was
that of John Boyd, who had been provost of Irvine in Ayrshire, and
who settled at Carncoggie. The oldest tombstone in Derrkeighan Old
Graveyard was erected by him in 1615 to the memory of his wife
Jane PEOPLES. Thomas Boyd probably their son, obtained a lease of
Carncoggie in 1614. A descendent of this family became M.P. for
Coleraine in much later times."

So we got TWO Boyd lines back to Scotland now. Hurray for the Boyds.
(The source is not mentioned).

This book is also in the FHC and not filmed.

It is not Indexed. There is one BOYD tombstone in the old graveyard:
John Boyd, Loughanreagh, d 1844 aged 61.

>I'd sure like to fill out this information with alot more knowlege of that
>era in that area.

We who have roots in Ulster are very very lucky indeed. We have a
number of additional aids.

The Placenames of Northern Ireland Series. Each volume focuses
on a particular area. Vol 4, COunty Antrim I contains the Baronies
of Toome, which includes the civil parish of Kirkinriola, which
includes Ballymena. It covers every townland, living its history
and all known instances of the name, its derivation, etc.

The Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland: "Parishes of COunty Antrim
Vol VIII" includes Ballymena and West Ballymena. This consists of
histories done about 1830. All kinds of info including rates of
emigration from the parishes. This volume includes lists of the names
of those emigrating from Ahoghill in 1835 and 36 as well as lists of
migrators: people who annually migrated. For instance Daniel
Mitchell, 30, William Mitchell, 32, Presbyterians, to Glasgow. This
level of detail is very rare. (I note in passing that a William
MASON (my maiden surname), 32, Roman Catholic, left for Liverpool.
My Masons are English (County Durham) and Methodist. SO much for
those who think the surname is a clue to the religion of the holder
<grin>. I just hope Willie didn't head for COunty Durham. I got
enough problems sorting them out there! (In the census I found MASONs
living with Irish ENGLISH, ...were these Irish MASONs too, and so definitely not mine, who came down from Weardale??).

The area is blessed with many local historians and publishers
there of, like the Mid-Antrim Historical Society. You can sometimes
pick up their pamplets at www.bookshop.co.uk . Also many churches
publish histories of their congregations. Excellent sources of
information. You also have Braid Books, who published "On the
Shining Bann" by M R SIBBETT. And of course the Mullins, who
also publish on L'Derry.

Most areas of Northern Ireland (indeed, all of Ireland) have a lot
of local history, but it takes some digging to get to it. I, alas,
only know this wee area of mid and northern Antrim at all. And
I only wish too I knew more. My maternal ancestors came from
there: ANDERSON and BLACK, both lines Covenantor.

Linda Merle

This thread: