There's a more than good possibility that a major Carlin mystery may about to be
solved!
James Carlin, b. 1728 in Ireland, was one of seven sons of John Carlin of
Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Ireland. Information about James is shown at
http://attorney.carlin.net/jamescarlin.htm.
Who were the other sons? I think that two of them were Daniel Carlin and Thomas
Carlin, who both emigrated to the US in 1774.
Daniel Carlin is listed at
http://attorney.carlin.net/daniel1774.htm.
Thomas Carlin is listed at
http://attorney.carlin.net/thomas1774.htm. Thomas
is the father of Thomas Carlin (b. 1786) who served as governor of Illinois from
1838-1842.
On the Daniel and Thomas pages, their father is listed as John Carling of
Ireland. The "g" is often silent or semi-silent in Gaelic, I'm told; thus,
for
example, Carlingford, County Lough, is really Carlin's Fjord. Thus, without
question, John Carling and John Carlin may be one and the same person.
The question to my mind is the source of Doris Carlin's information that James
Carlin had a nephew who later was governor of Illinois. If this inf. from Doris
is accurate, and documented, then it's clear that James, Thomas and Daniel were
all brothers.
The story about rebelling against King George III, and thus being forced to
emigrate to America, is a myth. It is clear that there was no rebellion of any
sort against King George III at any time ca. 1774, when the Carlin brothers left
Ireland.
I think this information about James, Thomas and Daniel is one of the most
exciting bits of early Carlin information I've heard, and I'm extraordinarily
excited about the possibility that they may indeed be brothers. I'd welcome
input from everyone about this extraordinary information.
Fred
BTW, there's one other detail that needs to be noted. James Carlin signed a
document in 1769, in Maryland, calling for a new minister at Bethel Presbyterian
Church. That means he was somewhat prominent in the area in 1769, and that he
emigrated prior to 1769. Thomas and Daniel emigrated in 1774.
Is this contradictory? No. They may have all emigrated from Ireland to France,
and then some stayed in France while James emigrated from France earlier. Or
James may have emigrated directly from Ireland, pre-1769, while Thomas and
Daniel emigrated later, in 1774. I mention this only as it's a fact that must
be taken into account.
From: F. Paige Carlin <carlinp(a)gateway.net>
To: Fred Carlin <fred.carlin(a)att.net>
Date: Friday, April 30, 1999 12:16 AM
* * *
Doris Carlin told me that James Carlin had a nephew who was the
Thomas
Carlin that became sixth governor of Illinois. Can you confirm that? If
it were true, it would mean that some of those other Irish brothers of
James also came to North America.
-- Paige