My Not-So-Very Irish Blood
As we mark another St. Patrick's Day, I often think back to how little Irish heritage there is in my family.
Growing up, I remember hearing that we had a bit o Irish, but not much to really count for anything.
Seriously, I probably have more Irish in me just by drinking some Bailey's with my coffee and Guinness over corned beef and cabbage.
But then it dawned on me: Hey, I spent years researching family history, so why don't I just head on over to my Ancestry.com account to actually see if there's any family heritage stemming from Ireland.
As it turns out, I do have more Irish blood flowing back through the centuries than I'd thought.
My paternal grandfather's mom had the maiden name of Hadie McReynolds (born in 1902), before she teamed up with the English-strong Hoskins family (by way of Raymond Oliver Hoskins) in 1919. And tracing the line back, we have: her father Lee Anders McReynolds of 1867, whose father was Joseph McReynolds of 1835. I know that last bit thanks to the death certificate that lists his dad as Joseph and his mom as "Kitty" Page, who I've confirmed through other ancestral records was married to Joseph.
From there, I don't have any actual documentation that proves without a doubt that the next line going back is Matthew McReynolds of 1784 and William McReynolds of 1759. There's some conflicting dates that may mean there's another generation in there between Matthew and William, but it also looks like going back past William you get to Joseph McReynolds of 1717 -- the first to apparently have crossed the ocean in roughly 1738 along with his wife Sarah Dixon and mother, Elizabeth Shepherd McReynolds. If it's true, they came from northern Ireland where the family is from.
Finally, my Northern Ireland heritage is found!!!
While I've not done any genealogical verification of my own on this McReynolds line going back this far, the following comes from another family's highly-documented research charting their lineage back to this time:
As geneological legend goes about this particular Joseph of 1717, his father may have been the John Samuel McReynolds, Jr. of 1665 who was born in the Keppoch Highlands of Scotland, who married a second time after losing his first wife. And instead of crossing over to the yet-established New World that would become the United States of America, John apparently decided to stay in northern Ireland with the children from his first marriage.
And then this:
It is also an Irish family tradition that Johne McRannald or John McRannells (McReynolds), was in fact a direct descendant of Alexander de Insulus (Alexander of the Isles), aka Alasdair Carrach who was the 1st Chief of the Keppochs and reigned as chief from c1390-c1443. Alasdair was the 4th son of Johne, Lord of the Isles by his second marriage to Princess Margaret Stuart who was the daughter of King Robert II and great-grandaughter of King Robert I (the Bruce).
Our surname comes from Ranald Mor, 7th Chief of Keppoch. This Ranald was characterized as "one who took to learning with zest, but was also an active warrior." Poor Ranald was beheaded in the year 1547 and his head placed above the gate at Elgin for his complicity in the slaughter of Lord Lovat at the Battle of Blar-na-leine in 1544. It was from Ranald that the latter chiefs of this clan were known as the Mac Mhic Raonuill. George Black's ‘The Surnames of Scotland’ lists our surname as "MacRanald (now a rare surname), Macronald, G. Macraonuill, MacRanald, M'Ryndald, and other variants of the patronymic forms like McReynolds that all go back to the Keppoch Macdonells.
The records show that the McReynolds family have lived in the area between Cookstown and Stewartstown for a very long time.
Growing up, I remember hearing that we had a bit o Irish, but not much to really count for anything.
Seriously, I probably have more Irish in me just by drinking some Bailey's with my coffee and Guinness over corned beef and cabbage.
But then it dawned on me: Hey, I spent years researching family history, so why don't I just head on over to my Ancestry.com account to actually see if there's any family heritage stemming from Ireland.
As it turns out, I do have more Irish blood flowing back through the centuries than I'd thought.
My paternal grandfather's mom had the maiden name of Hadie McReynolds (born in 1902), before she teamed up with the English-strong Hoskins family (by way of Raymond Oliver Hoskins) in 1919. And tracing the line back, we have: her father Lee Anders McReynolds of 1867, whose father was Joseph McReynolds of 1835. I know that last bit thanks to the death certificate that lists his dad as Joseph and his mom as "Kitty" Page, who I've confirmed through other ancestral records was married to Joseph.
From there, I don't have any actual documentation that proves without a doubt that the next line going back is Matthew McReynolds of 1784 and William McReynolds of 1759. There's some conflicting dates that may mean there's another generation in there between Matthew and William, but it also looks like going back past William you get to Joseph McReynolds of 1717 -- the first to apparently have crossed the ocean in roughly 1738 along with his wife Sarah Dixon and mother, Elizabeth Shepherd McReynolds. If it's true, they came from northern Ireland where the family is from.
Finally, my Northern Ireland heritage is found!!!
While I've not done any genealogical verification of my own on this McReynolds line going back this far, the following comes from another family's highly-documented research charting their lineage back to this time:
Elizabeth Shepherd McReynolds, the second wife of John McReynolds (1665-1760) emigrated to the United States with their four surviving children in 1738. The trip across the Atlantic apparently took six weeks, the provisions became exhausted and the passengers faced starvation. Fortunately another ship hove into sight and gave them assistance. Elizabeth and her children settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She died at an old age in the home of her son James in Appomattox County, Virginia. Her husband John remained in Ireland and lived with his children by his first wife. The genealogy of the descendants of Elizabeth Shepherd McReynolds has been painstakingly compiled. It is much too large to be repeated here and so we produce only a brief summary of the first few generations. The reader who wishes to obtain more information is referred to McReynolds. A Noble Clan, written by William Howard McReynolds (1980)...
As geneological legend goes about this particular Joseph of 1717, his father may have been the John Samuel McReynolds, Jr. of 1665 who was born in the Keppoch Highlands of Scotland, who married a second time after losing his first wife. And instead of crossing over to the yet-established New World that would become the United States of America, John apparently decided to stay in northern Ireland with the children from his first marriage.
And then this:
It is also an Irish family tradition that Johne McRannald or John McRannells (McReynolds), was in fact a direct descendant of Alexander de Insulus (Alexander of the Isles), aka Alasdair Carrach who was the 1st Chief of the Keppochs and reigned as chief from c1390-c1443. Alasdair was the 4th son of Johne, Lord of the Isles by his second marriage to Princess Margaret Stuart who was the daughter of King Robert II and great-grandaughter of King Robert I (the Bruce).
Our surname comes from Ranald Mor, 7th Chief of Keppoch. This Ranald was characterized as "one who took to learning with zest, but was also an active warrior." Poor Ranald was beheaded in the year 1547 and his head placed above the gate at Elgin for his complicity in the slaughter of Lord Lovat at the Battle of Blar-na-leine in 1544. It was from Ranald that the latter chiefs of this clan were known as the Mac Mhic Raonuill. George Black's ‘The Surnames of Scotland’ lists our surname as "MacRanald (now a rare surname), Macronald, G. Macraonuill, MacRanald, M'Ryndald, and other variants of the patronymic forms like McReynolds that all go back to the Keppoch Macdonells.
The records show that the McReynolds family have lived in the area between Cookstown and Stewartstown for a very long time.
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