Good evening fellow genealogists!! Its great to be back home after a month
of travel in Switzerland (daughter lives in Baden) and other interesting
places. When I left on June 19th I thought I had sent out ALL the orders for
Hagy's thesis, Castle's Woods-Frontier Virginia Settlement 1766-1799. If I
failed to respond to an e-mail or misplaced an order please contact me so I
can resolve any outstanding situations. I hope those of you who received a
copy enjoyed it and any feedback would be appreciated. This document is
important for many of us with southwest Virgina ancestry and I am happy to
provide it to interested researchers.
Probably the best book for Augusta County/Rockbridge County research is
Tinkling Spring, Headwaters of Freedom by Howard McKnight Wilson first
published in 1954 with a single reprint in the mid 1970's. I would love to
be able to provide this resource to you but unfortunately it is under
copyrite.
Here is the good news!! Yesterday I received an e-mail from Pastor Fred at
the church and he told me that the Session met to discuss my request for
permission to reproduce the book for fellow genealogists (that request was
denied) BUT they have decided to reprint the book. I will keep everyone
advised on this project and highly recommend the purchase of this book as
soon as it becomes available. There is an early landowners map in the back
of the book which shows where everyone on the Beverly patent lived and it is
amazing how many of those families ended up next to each other in southwest
Virginia and east Tennessee. I think you can get a copy of the map through
the Rockbridge county Historical Society for under $10.00.
As you can see, we are working our way back in time from Castle's Woods to
Augusta/Rockbridge County (1740's-1750's) and it is my desire to provide a
link to Ulster which might provide the necessary clues to make the family
connections between the Ulster/Virginia families that many of us originate
from. The best resource I have found is a pair of obscure books written in
the early 1900's by the Reverend Alexander Lecky titled, "In the Early Days
of the Laggan Presbytery" and its companion book, "The Laggan and Its
Presbyterianism." Lecky has compiled much quality information on the
Presbyterian families that lived in the fertile, low-lying area around
Derry/Donegal that was referred to as the Laggan in early times. This data
is organized by Parish and includes hundreds and hundreds of family names
that are a mirror of the names found in Augusta/Rockbridge County just a
generation later. Since the names are by Parish and townlands it makes sense
to study the allied families so for example if you see the following:
Taboyn now Monreagh
Matthew Lindsay, John Aikine, Alexander Houston, Robert Cowan, Archibald
Alexander, Robert Scott, Wm, Mackie, Wm. Bell, John Kilgour, James Moore,
John Graham, John Gay, Richard Armstrong, and others
Parish of Raphoe
Robert Anderson, Patrick Bell, Alexander Stuart, William Ramsay, Robert
Walker, Robert Gray, John McClure, and others
This information is extensive and gives us an interesting picture of the
arrangement of families kind of like the early land owners map of
Augusta/Rockbridge county. These books are a must if you are searching for a
connection between Ulster and early Virgina. They are not copywrited and I
can make copies for interested researchers. There are 211 pages of serious
material. Contact me privately if you are interested in obtaining a copy.
Regards,
Robert Cowan
525 Harrogate Rd.
Matthews, North Carolina 28105