From Chapter 1 of Alexander Lecky's 1905 book, "The Laggan
and its
Presbyterianism we find the following description of the district know as
the
LAGGAN:
"On looking at a map of the County Donegal, it will be seen that the
north-eastern part of the county, which is the most northerly part of
Ireland, is a peninsula washed on the eastern side by the waters of Lough
Foyle and on the western by Lough Swilly. This is Inishowen, a mountainous
and, to a large extent, a barren country. Immediately to the south of it is
a fertile and comparatively flat country, lying between the river Foyle and
the upper reaches of Lough Swilly, and extending in one direction from the
City of Derry to Stranorlar, and in another from Lifford to Letterkenny.
This is the district which in by-gone times was known under the name of THE
LAGGAN, and formed the most productive and desireable portion of the ancient
territory of Tyrconnell..."
This is also where many of my ancestors and yours came from; Defenders of
Derry during the great siege, the defining moment in Ulster Protestant
history. To an Ulsterman the Siege of Londonderry is what the War Between
the States is to an American. Shortly after this event great waves of
Derrymen left for America, first settling in Pennsylvania and then moving
down the Valley of Virginia and into the Carolinas. This genealogical
connection between the families of those who fought at Derry and those who
settled in Augusta/Rockbridge counties Virgina and the Settlement of the
Northwest Carolina Frontier (Carolina Cradle by Ramsey) eventually reaches a
climax on a little mountain in North Carolina on October 7, 1780. This is
the area of history that myself and fellow researcher John Giocoletti from
Florida have always wanted to explore in detail. This June we will be
travelling to Derry and Belfast for some extended research into the family
histories of those names that appear both in the records of the Laggan and at
King's Mountain.
Lecky's two books, "The Laggan and its Presbyterianism," and "In the
Days of
the Laggan Presbytery," published in 1905 and 1908 Belfast, Davidson &
McCormack, North Gate Works, are a must for anyone wanting to discover their
Ulster roots. The books real value for the genealogist is in the Appendix
which is divided into several parts, the most important being the following:
"The following are the names of men who attended the meetings of the Laggan
Presbytery between the years 1672 and 1700, as ruling elders or as
commissioners, together with the names of the congregations which they
represented. They were doubtless the leading men in the districts in which
they lived..." These lists are by Parish and I will give a couple of
examples:
Taboyn: Matthew Lindsay, John Aikine, Alexander Houston, Robert Cowan,
Archibald Alexander, Robert Scott, Wm. Mackie, Wm. Bell, Robert M'Clellan,
Richard Armstrong, Richard Moore, John Kilgore, Wm. Inglis, John Gay, John
Harvey, David Paterson, George Brown, Robert Moore, James Marshall, John
Graham
Raphoe: Joseph Henderson, Edward Hervies, William Mills, Michael Henderson,
Robert Anderson, Patrick Bell, Robert Dick, Alexander Stuart, William Ramsay,
James Laird, Robert Walker, John M'Clure, Robert Gray, John Sproul
Londonderry: John Craig, William Cunningham, John Campsie, William Rodger,
James Fisher, Horace Kennedy, James Wilson, William Macky, James Lennox,
William Smith, John Cowan, Alexander Lecky, William Davidsson, James Wallace,
George Henderson, others
In addition to the ruling elders there is a list of people from the Hearth
Money rolls of 1665 by Parish and TOWNLAND which places a person in an area
sometimes as small as a few acres. These lists are important when comparing
names with the early landowners of Augusta county or the Baptismal records of
the the Rev. Craig at Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church or the early
settlers of the Yadkin settlement in Rowan county, North Carolina.
I will be willing to furnish copies of these two books for a limited time to
researchers who want to explore their Ulster genealogy. Many of you
purchased copies of Professor Hagy's thesis, "Castle's Woods; Frontier
Virginia Settlement" and I have received numerous e-mails about the quality
of that document. I believe these two books by Lecky are superior in the
information contained and if you would like a copy please contact me
privately at cscunc(a)aol.com for the details.
Any information John and I discover specific to your surname will be posted
on the appropriate list after our return from Ireland. I will provide a list
of surnames that have "made the cut" so far, the requirements being that the
family is found in Derry and also found at King's Mountain. Any suggestions
for additional names will be considered as long as the request is
substantiated with a reasonable amount of documentation.
Regards,
Robert Cowan
525 Harrogate Rd.
Matthews, North Carolina 28105
Names on the list so far: Alexander, Anderson, Bell, Black, Blair, Brown,
Buchanan, Campbell, Cowan, Craig, Cunningham, Denniston, Edmondson, Finley,
Fleming, Gillespie, Graham, Hamilton, Houston, Irvin, Kilgore, King, Knox,
Lindsay, McClure, Maxwell, Moffatt, Montgomery, Moore, Ramsay, Robinson,
Russell, Scott, Steele, Stewart/Stuart, Thompson, Walker, Weir, Young
spellings may vary
John and I will stay in touch with the various lists as best we can. It will
not be possible to remain of all the surname lists all the time for obvious
reasons. Feel free to contact me at cscunc(a)aol.com if you have any
suggestions or questions. This may make a nice book one day.