Descendants of John Lynn and Jennet Malcolm

Feb 28, 2014 | Genealogy | 0 comments

County Antrim, Ireland to Chester County, South Carolina to Randolph County, Illinois

Dispersal of Some of the Descendants of
John Lynn and Jennet Malcolm
by James H. Lynn

Contributor’s1 Note: My interest in this family has been piqued by the discovery of a reference to a family Bible which states that Jane Lynn, the first child of John Lynn and Jennet Malcolm, was born in the Parish of Connor, County Antrim, Ireland. If this is factual, it places Jane and her father very close to my Lynn ancestors who lived in the townland of Eskylane in the Parish of the Grange of Shilvodan which is adjacent to the Parish of Connor. A grange was farmland associated with a church or monastery in medieval days and the town of Connor in the parish of Connor was an ancient ecclesiastical site with which the Grange of Shilvodan was associated. The will of my great-great grandfather Samuel Linn (c.1780-1857) refers to his townland, Eskylane, as being “in the Parish of Connor”.2

John Lynn (1736-1820), his wife Jennet Malcolm (1747-1813), and their infant daughter Jane (or Jean) Lynn emigrated from County Antrim, Ireland to Chester County, South Carolina, in 1772 along with other Presbyterian Covenanters led by the Rev. William Martin.3 The Rev. Martin, who led five shiploads of followers to Charleston, was an agent for the Master of the ship, ‘The Lord Dunluce’, and Martin‘s location was Kellswater, where he was the minister in the Covenanter Church.4

Edith Elizabeth Lynn, a descendant of John and Jennet, published a book in 1983 identifying their children and tracing many descendants, some through their daughter Jane who married John McGuire, but primarily through their son John Lynn who married Sarah McCullough.5 A year earlier, in 1982, a history of Chester County, South Carolina had been published and it included an article on the Lynn‘s of Chester County, which concentrated on descendants of Matthew Simonton Lynn, one of the 12 children of John Lynn and Sarah McCullough. Overton H. Crawford6 has also collected the will of John Lynn and information on some of his descendants through Mathew Simonton Lynn.

John Lynn and Jennet Malcolm had nine children:

  1. Jane Lynn b. 22 Aug 1771, Co. Antrim, Ireland, d. 27 July 1840, Washington or Randolph Co. IL, i. Strachan Cemetery, Tilden, Randolph, IL. Married John McGuire, b. 25 Jan 1770, Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland, d. 15 Aug 1833, Washington or Randolph Co., IL, i. Strachan Cemetery, Tilden, Randolph, IL7
  2. Margaret Lynn b. 8 Jan 1774, Chester Co., SC, d. 29 July 1798, Married Patrick Finney.
  3. Mary Lynn b. 22 Mar 1776, Chester Co., SC, d. 1820. Married ________ Minnis.
  4. Agnes Lynn b. 27 Oct 1778, Chester Co., SC, d. 19 Dec 1799, Chester Co., SC.
  5. John Lynn b. 31 Mar 1780, Chester Co., SC, d. 10 July 1852, Chester Co., SC, i. Paul’s Cemetery, Chester Co., SC. Married Sarah McCullough, b. 1787, d. 21 Mar 1860, Chester Co., SC, i. Paul’s Cemetery, Chester Co., SC. John and Sarah were married on 3 Jan 1809 and had 12 children.
  6. Henry Lynn b. 15 Mar 1783 (twin) Chester Co., SC, d. 24 Nov 1834, Chester Co., SC, i. Paul’s Cemetery, Chester Co., SC. Married Eleanor McGarragh, b. c.1791, d. aft 1870, Randolph Co., IL.
  7. Elizabeth Lynn b. 15 Mar 1783 (twin) Chester Co., SC, d. 8 June 1788, Chester Co., SC.
  8. Jennet Lynn b. 16 Sep 1786, Chester Co., SC, d. 6 Dec 1849, Chester Co., SC, i. Paul’s Cemetery, Chester Co., SC. Married John Barber, b. 1786, d. 1853, i. Paul’s Cemetery, Chester Co., SC.
  9. Matthew Mason Lynn b. 6 Aug 1790, Chester Co., SC, d. 20 Dec 1861, Chester Co., SC, i. Paul’s Cemetery, Chester Co., SC. Married Patience Morgan Westbrook.

About 1956 Mrs. Frank Married Torrens prepared a monumental work on families in Sparta, Randolph County, Illinois.8 This includes descendants of John McGuire and Jane Lynn, as well as of Henry Lynn and Eleanor McGarragh, although Mrs. Torrens does not appear to have been aware that Jane and Henry were brother and sister.

In March 1985, William J. Dunwoody of Burbank, California wrote to Edith Elizabeth Lynn enclosing material on descendants of John and Jennet through their son Henry Lynn. Edith Elizabeth had only scanty information on this line. Mr. Dunwoody obtained his information primarily from the work of Mrs. Torrens and other Randolph County, Illinois sources.9

The ‘Lord Dunluce’, the ship on which John Lynn and Jennet Malcolm came to America sailed from Larne in County Antrim to Charleston, arriving on 20 Dec. 1772. Edith Elizabeth Lynn, on the supposition that John was a close relative of the Rev. Matthew Lynn, a Presbyterian clergyman well known in Pennsylvania and South Carolina, speculates that John may have been born in the townland of Corkermain, near the port of Larne on the east coast of Antrim:

“Matthew Lynn was born in Corkermain near Cairn Castle, County Antrim, Ireland so it is possible that this was also the birthplace of John Linn but certainly not an established fact.”10

Stephenson points out that the majority of those accompanying the Rev. Martin were from the vicinity of Ballymoney, Ballymena, Kellswater and Vow.11 These areas are all in west central Antrim and many of the names of those on the ships can be found in records from these areas to this day. Larne would have been the closest port for people from these areas to leave Ireland.

The descendants of John Lynn and Sarah McCullough, the focal couple for the work of Edith Elizabeth Lynn, Overton H. Crawford and the Heritage History of Chester County, largely remained in the east. However, Jane Lynn and John McGuire migrated to Washington County, Illinois, around 1832 according to Edith Elizabeth Lynn, and Eleanor McGarragh, the widow of Henry Lynn, migrated with their children to Randolph County after Henry’s death in 1834.12

The migration of Scotch-Irish settlers and their descendants from Chester County, as well as other locations in the back country of South Carolina such as Abbeville, to the mid-West, and Randolph County, Illinois in particular, is well recognized and documented.

“The Reformed Presbyterians began to move to Ohio and Illinois, so that by 1832 only one congregation remained in South Carolina. But it was these Covenanters who build the R. P. churches that have continued to this day in the “Northeast Territory”, such as Sparta or Coulterville in southern Illinois.”13

“The Covenanters left the county [Chester County] early in the 1800’s on account of the institution of slavery. Slavery was introduced in a very limited extent into the Scotch-Irish settlements before the Revolutionary War. The Scotch-Irish generally regarded slavery with disfavor, but after the Revolutionary War, Covenanters and other Scotch-Irish became to a limited extent slave owners. In 1780 the Reformed Presbytery enacted without a dissenting voice that ‘no slave holder should be allowed the communion of the church’.

It was said, that in obedience to this enactment of the Presbytery that on one day, fifteen hundred dollars worth of slaves were set free on Rocky Creek. Soon after this, many families migrated to the northwestern part of the country and others followed.”14

The migration of Scotch-Irish settlers from South Carolina to the Sparta area of Randolph County, Illinois is also well recognized in the mid-West. An early history describes many Scotch-Irish settlers from the Abbeville and Chester areas of South Carolina, who were known in Illinois as “South Carolina Irish”.15 Further migration of the descendants of some of these settlers into Kansas has also been documented.16

I have been constructing a database on the descendants of John and Jennet based on the work of Edith Elizabeth Lynn and Mrs. Torrens, but confirmed and augmented by Randolph County, Illinois census returns,17 land sales records18 and cemetery readings.19 I am identifying relevant record sources here and in some subsequent paragraphs rather than citing the source of each event described below.

Children of Jane Lynn and John McGuire

Information on the family of Jane Lynn and John McGuire appears in three locations in Mrs. Torrens‘ work and all three make reference to the McGuire family Bible and Jane Lynn having been born in the Parish of Connor. Mrs. Torrens‘ work includes an extensive piece on the descendants of John and Jane,20 a transcription from the McGuire family Bible,21 and a narrative on “John McGuire, Washington and Randolph Counties, Illinois” as told by Mr. E. B. McGuire of Sparta, Illinois”.22

Jane Lynn and John McGuire were married on 2 May 1793, had ten children before leaving Chester Co., South Carolina, and many descendants. Illinois Public Domain Land Sales show fairly extensive land purchases in Washington County, Illinois by their sons, Alexander W[ashington] McGuire and Henry L[ynn] McGuire, and a grandson, Leroy J. McGuire.

  1. Elizabeth McGuire b. 9 Mar 1794, Chester Co., SC, d. 9 Aug 1834, i. Old Purity Cemetery, Chester Co., SC. Married Josiah MILLER, b. 1798, SC, d. 26 Aug 1826, i. Old Purity Cemetery, Chester Co., SC. Elizabeth and Josiah were married on 2 Apr 1812 and had one son.
  2. James Henry McGuire b. 25 Dec 1795, Chester Co., SC, d. 22 Dec 1829, Chester Co., SC, i. Chester Co., SC. Married Ann ORR, b. 1794, SC, d. 28 Oct 1880, Coulterville, Randolph Co., IL, i. Caledonia Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. James Henry and Ann were married on 29 Aug 1820 and had five children in South Carolina. Ann and her children migrated to Randolph Co., Illinois in 1834. Mrs. Torrens describes children in subsequent generations:
  3. Mary Ann McGuire b. 7 June 1798, Chester Co., SC, Married James Orr.
  4. John McGuire b. 10 Oct 1800, Chester Co., SC, d. 30 July 1836, Randolph Co., IL, i. Strachan Cemetery, Tilden, Randolph Co., IL. Married Elizabeth Knox, b. 1 Sep 1801, Chester Co., SC, d. 9 Aug 1834.
  5. Jenny Malcolm McGuire b. 3 Feb 1803, Chester Co., SC, d. 15 Aug 1833.
  6. Hugh Jefferson McGuire b. 14 Sep 1806 (twin) Chester Co., SC, d. 18 Oct 1877, IL, i. Caledonia Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married 1. Lucretia Wilkerson, b. 1810, Washington Co., IL, d. 21 Oct 1833. Married 2 Martha McHatton, b. 16 June 1816, Ireland, d. Parsons, KS23. Hugh Jefferson McGuire and Lucretia were married on 1 Sep 1829 and had two children. Hugh Jefferson and Martha were married on 12 Feb 1835 and had 11 children. Mrs. Torrens lists many descendants of Hugh Jefferson McGuire.
  7. Henry Linn McGuire b. 14 Sep 1806 (twin) Chester Co., SC, d. 30 Dec 1874, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married 1. Elizabeth F. Campbell, b. 5 Sep 1811, Crawford Co., PA, d. 1 Nov 1835, Randolph Co., IL, i. Strachan Cemetery, Tilden, Randolph Co., IL. Married 2. Mary Lyons, b. 11 Aug 1803, Co. Antrim, Ireland, d. 29 Sep 1893, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Henry Linn and Elizabeth were married on 29 July 1830 and had three children. Henry Linn and Mary were married on 12 Jan 1837 and had six children. Mrs. Torrens also describes descendants of Henry Linn McGuire in subsequent generations.
  8. Alexander Washington McGuire b. 29 Mar 1809, Chester Co., SC, d. 11 Sep 1864, IL, i. Strachan Cemetery, Tilden, Randolph Co., IL. Married Mary Strahan (or Strachan), b. 1812, PA. Alexander Washington and Mary were married on 7 Dec 1830 and had five children.
  9. Mathew McGuire b. 11 Sep 1811, Chester Co., SC, d. 8 Nov 1811, Chester Co., SC.
  10. Nancy McComb McGuire b. 11 Sep 1814, Chester Co., SC, d. 16 July 1866, IA, i. Northfield Cemetery, IA. Married William Stevely Campbell, b. 9 Sep 1807, Crawford Co., PA, d. 6 Jan 1878, IA, i. Northfield Cemetery, IA. Nancy and William were married about 1836 and had six children.

Children of Henry Lynn and Eleanor McGarragh

Henry Lynn and Eleanor McGarragh had five children according to Mrs. Torrens24 and Mr. Dunwoody. I suspect that Monroe Lynn (1826-1856) is also a son of Henry and Eleanor and have included him as one of their children. After Henry’s death in 1834, Eleanor and the children moved to the Sparta area in Randolph County, Illinois. Henry is buried in Paul’s Graveyard in Chester, South Carolina.25 I believe Eleanor died after 1870, but I have not found her name in the Sparta area cemetery transcriptions.

Eleanor purchased 40 acres of land near Sparta in 1842 (Meridian 3, Range 6W, Township 4S, Section 6, SESE). In 1850 Eleanor was living with her sons, William Riley, Matthew H. and Monroe. In 1860 Eleanor was living with her son Mathew H., by then a physician, and his wife, Mary [Reid], age 20, born in Ireland. Also living with them was Joseph Lynn who, according to Mrs. Torrens, was Eleanor’s grandson through James Clark Lynn.

  1. James Clark Lynn b. 4 Dec 1811, Chester Co., SC, d. 23 June 1853, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married Jane Ewing, b. c.1800, Chester Co., SC, d. 17 Mar 1862, Sparta, Randolph, Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. James Clark was living with his wife Jane in Illinois in 1850. His widow, Jane, was living with Margaret Ewing and Nancy Ewing in 1860. Margaret and Nancy were both born in SC and could be sisters or nieces of Jane. A daughter, Mary E., was born and died in South Carolina and is buried in Paul’s Graveyard.26 A son, Joseph, bought 40 acres of land in 1854 (SWSW, section 27, Township 4S, Range 7W). Joseph, who appears not to have married, died at 30 years of age in 1861 and is buried in Hill Prairie Cemetery.
  2. John Lynn b. 3 Aug 1814, Chester Co., SC, d. 11 Apr 1861, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married Mary Jane Armour, b. 13 May 1823, IL, d. 7 Jan 1907, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph. Co., IL. John Lynn secured land in the same township as his mother, but in different sections–40 acres in Section 9 (SWNE) in 1844 and 80 acres in Section 32 (NWSE and NENE) in 1853. John and Mary Jane were married 1 Aug 1844 and appear in the Illinois Statewide Marriage Index.27 John and Mary Jane appear in the 1850 Census with two children, Thomas A[rmour], age 5, and Eleanor, age 1. Eleanor is likely their daughter Hattie who was born in 1849. Their daughter Eleanor (10 May 1847 – 6 July 1848) is buried in Hill Prairie Cemetery with the notation “with John & Mary etc.” In 1860 John and Mary Jane had seven children living with them, all born in Illinois. Another child named Eleanor was born in 1861. John and Mary Jane’s children are described below, and Mrs. Torrens has some information on two subsequent generations.
  3. William Riley Lynn b. 24 Apr 1820, Chester Co., SC, d. 1 Apr 1864, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married Nancy Elizabeth Donnelly, b. 24 Feb 1818, SC, d. 10 Feb 1897, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. William Riley Lynn purchased land in the same quarter section as his mother–the west half of the SE quarter of Section 6 in 1842 and the NE portion in 1844. William Riley married Nancy Elizabeth Donnelly on 1 Apr 1850 and they had one child, Agnes Eleanor. Nancy’s father, the Rev. Thomas Donnelly, was a Covenanter Minister in the Chester SC area. After his death in 1847, his family migrated to Illinois.28 Mrs Torrens has information on descendants of Agnes Eleanor Lynn.
  4. Nancy E. Lynn b. 20 Mar 1823, Chester Co., SC, d. 15 Oct 1948, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Did not marry.
  5. Monroe Lynn b. 5 Apr 1826, Chester Co., SC, d. 9 Apr 1856, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Appears not to have married. Monroe Lynn purchased the SESW portion of Section 6 and the nearby SWNW portion of Section 7 in 1848.
  6. Matthew H. Lynn b. 25 Nov 1828, Chester Co., SC, d. 30 Nov 1865, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married Mary Reid, b. 17 Aug 1840, Ireland, d. 30 Oct 1885, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Dr. Mathew H. Lynn and Mary Reid appear to have had three children. A son, James Henry, lived for only nine years, and two daughters, Martha E. and Jennie R., appear to have remained single; all three children are buried in Hill Prairie Cemetery. Mary married William Boyle after Mathew died and is buried in the Boyle plot in Hill Prairie Cemetery.

Children of John Lynn and Mary Jane Armour

John Lynn was certainly the most prolific of Henry Lynn‘s children. Mrs. Torrens identifies six children: Thomas Armour, John Armour, Harriet, Maria, Robert Renwick, and Eleanor. Mr. Dunwoody identifies eight children; he does not have John Armour, but adds John Calvin, William Melville, and Henry C. Cemetery inscriptions indicate two other children buried with John and Mary Jane: Eleanor H. and James H. It appears then that John and Mary Jane had 11 children.

  1. Thomas Armour Lynn b. 14 June 1845, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, d. 27 Oct 1928, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married Anna J. Hall, b. c.1849, d. 1883, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Caledonia Cemetery, Randolph Co., IL. Thomas Armour and Anna had a son, Armour, who died when only 19 years of age. It is not evident where Thomas Armour Lynn is buried, but Anna and their son Armour are buried in Caledonia Cemetery.
  2. John Armour Lynn b. 8 May 1846, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, d. 6 Feb 1926, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married (1) Martha Redpath, b. 30 May 1852, d. 22 Apr 1877, Sparta, Randolph, IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married (2) Ann Hayes, b. 28 Feb 1846, Winnsboro, SC, d. 19 July 1910, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. John Armour Lynn poses a bit of a problem. A John Armour Lynn is buried in Hill Prairie Cemetery. Also buried there are his two wives, Martha Redpath and Ann Hays, and his five children. John Armour Lynn appears in Mrs. Torrens‘ work, but not in Mr. Dunwoody‘s material. Nor does a John Armour Lynn appear with his apparent parents, John Lynn and Mary Jane Armour, in the 1850 or 1860 Federal Censuses when he would have been only 4 and 14 years old respectively. John Armour Lynn and Martha Redpath were married on 26 Oct 1871 and had three children, William R. (1874-1858) and twins, John and Martha, both of whom died as infants in 1877. John Armour Lynn and Ann Hayes were married about 1878 and had two children, Margaret (1879-1882) and Martha (1881-1949).
  3. Eleanor H. Lynn b. 10 May 1847, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, d. 6 July 1848, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Eleanor H. is interred in the same group as John and Mary Jane.
  4. Harriet Lynn b. 1849, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married Matthew W. Gillespie, Spouse’s name is according to Mr. Dunwoody, or perhaps W. P. Gillespie as noted by Mrs. Torrens.
  5. John Calvin Lynn b. 10 May 1851, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, d. 4 June 1934. John Calvin Lynn is identified by Mr. Dunwoody and must be the Rev. J. C. Lynn, retired minister of the United Presbyterian Church in Kansas City, Missouri, with whom William Hemphill Millen was corresponding in 1919, as cited in Edith Elizabeth Lynn‘s book.29 There is also a reference to John Lynn becoming a minister in “History of Jordan’s Grove Church”.30
  6. Maria Lynn b. 18 Sep 1852, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, d. 31 Jan 1934, Seattle, Washington. Married The Rev. Theodore Cameron McKelvey, b. 17 July 1854, Coulterville, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, d. 18 Sep 1929. Maria (or Marian) and the Rev. McKelvey, were married on 9 June 1881, had three children and left Illinois. Mr. Dunwoody is descended from this couple.
  7. James H. Lynn b. 28 Aug 1855, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, d. 31 Mar 1859, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. James H. Lynn is also interred in the same group as John and Mary Jane.
  8. Robert Renwick Lynn b. 27 Oct 1856, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, d. 1 Apr 1924, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married (1) Sarah Jane Houston, b. 28 Feb, 1860, d. 4 Apr 1901, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married (2) Eliza D. Davis, b. 28 July 1867, d. 14 Nov 1952, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Robert Renwick Lynn and Sarah Jane were married 4 Dec 1879 and had seven children:
    1. William Wyman Lynn (1882-1974) William Wyman Lynn and his wife Bertha Taylor are buried in Caledonia Cemetery.
    2. Robert Russell Lynn (1884-). Robert Renwick Lynn and Eliza D. Davis married 9 Apr 1903 and had one child, Mary Jean (1906-1912) who is buried in Hill Prairie Cemetery.
    3. Albert A. Lynn (1885-1964). Albert A. Lynn and his wife Martha M are buried in Caledonia Cemetery.
    4. James Henry Lynn  (1887- 1914) buried in Caledonia Cemetery.
    5. John William Lynn (1891-1947)
    6. Allen Lynn (1891-) and
    7. Thomas J. Lynn (1895-1973). Thomas J. Lynn and his wife Marguerite McMurtie are buried in Hill Prairie Cemetery
  9. William Melville Lynn b. 31 May 1858, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, d. 28 Mar 1881, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL.
  10. Henry C. Lynn b. 11 July 1860, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, d. 19 Nov 1860, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Hill Prairie Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL.
  11. Eleanor Lynn b. 17 Sep 1861, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, d. 4 June 1926, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL, i. Caledonia Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Married James A. Alexander, b. 22 Jan 1847, Eden, Randolph Co., IL, d. 21 June 1925, i. Caledonia Cemetery, Sparta, Randolph Co., IL. Eleanor and James were married 20 Nov 1890 and had three children, Frank (1894-1895) Dorothea (1897-1898) and Doris (1898- ). Their first child, Lowell (1891-1955) died in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Another Family: William Linn and Rebecca Irwin

Mrs. Torrens also has some information on the descendants of William Linn who was born in Ireland and also moved to the Sparta area from South Carolina in the 1830s.31 William is age 75 in the 1850 census and 90 in the 1860 Federal Census of Sparta, Randolph Co., Illinois. Mrs. Torrens states “tradition says [William] lived to be 100 yrs. old”. William purchased land in 1839 in the same township as Eleanor (McGarragh) Lynn, in section 26. His son Robert purchased land in section 34 and his son William J. in section 21 of the same township. These lands are very close to the land purchased by Eleanor’s son, John Lynn. One of William’s sons, Charles E. Linn, is buried in Caledonia Cemetery along with his wife, Nancy Rebecca Despar, and some of their children.

One cannot help but wonder if this William Linn is related to the John Lynn who migrated from County Antrim to South Carolina in 1772.

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  1. Contributor: James H. Lynn, 904 Rand Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1V 6X4. [↩]
  2. National Archives of Ireland, Church of Ireland Consistorial Will Book: Connor (1853-1858) will no. 9006. Family History Library film no. 100,903. [↩]
  3. The story of the migration is told by Jean Stephenson in Scotch-Irish Migration To South Carolina, 1772 (Rev. William Martin and His Five Shiploads of Settlers) (Strasburg, Virginia: Shenandoah Publishing House, 1971). [↩]
  4. Kellswater is in the townland of Carnaghts in the Parish of Connor. See Kellswater Reformed Presbyterian Church, Co. Antrim, A Short History, by Robert Buchanan, published by The Congregational Committee, Kellswater Reformed Presbyterian Church, 21 Grove Road, Shankbridge, Ballymena, Northern Ireland, BT42 3DP, June 1989. The Rev. William Martin is listed as the Minister from 1760 to 1772. [↩]
  5. Edith Elizabeth Lynn, Descendants of John (Linn) Lynn, County Antrim, Ireland and Chester County, South Carolina, 1738-1830 (Easley, MarriedC.: Southern Historical Press, 1983). [↩]
  6. Overton H. Crawford, Our Family: A Record of Some of the Descendents of John Lynn I, Born 1763, Died Sept. 1820; Daniel Jones, Born Feb. 16, 1768, Died May 7, 1845. Unpublished, no date; copy at The Chester District Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 336, Richburg, M. C. 29729 . [↩]
  7. Edith Elizabeth Lynn, op. cit., p 13, states that Jane is buried in a plot next to that of her husband, but I could not find John in any of the cemetery transcriptions. [↩]
  8. Mrs. Frank Married Torrens and her daughter, Louise M. Torrens, Family Genealogies of Sparta, Illinois, 10 vols. typescript, c.1956, FHL film no. 1,033,992. [↩]
  9. Mr. Dunwoody‘s letter and attached material were passed on by Edith Elizabeth Lynn to Phyllis Bauer and by Phyllis on to me. [↩]
  10. Edith Elizabeth Lynn, op. cit., p. 2. There does not appear to be any documentation regarding the birthplace of Mathew Lynn. A local historian suggested that John Lynn and the Rev. Mathew Lynn were related: “In 1787 Rev. Matthew Lynn, one of the Reformed Presbyterians who entered into the union which formed the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, visited the region of country near Richburg. In this community there lived a John Lynn, a relation of Rev. Matthew Lynn. John Lynn came to America in 1772 in company with Rev. William Martin. At the house of John Lynn, Rev. Matthew Lynn began to preach.” A Historical Sketch of Union A. R. P. Church, Chester County, South Carolina By Rev. R. Lathan, D. D., 1888, Reprinted by the Chester County Genealogical Society, Richburg, South Carolina, 1980, p. 11 [↩]
  11. Stephenson, Scotch-Irish Migration To South Carolina, 1772, p. 15. Strasburg, Virginia: Shenandoah Publishing House, 1971. [↩]
  12. Eleanor’s father, the Rev. William McGarragh, emigrated from County Down and succeeded the Rev. William Martin as Minister to the Covenanters in Rocky Creek, M. C. See “Sketch of the Covenanters of Rocky Creek, South Carolina About 1750-1840”, Transcribed by Phyllis J. Bauer, Lynn/Linn Lineage, Vol. 6, No. 4 (Winter 1992) p.95. Stephenson, op. cit., p. 24, notes that the only daughter of the Rev. William Martin married a John McCaw of York Co. SC and predeceased him. McCaw later moved with his family to Randolph Co., Illinois. [↩]
  13. Transcribed from the Chester News & Reporter (no date) in The Bulletin, Chester District Genealogical Society, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Sept. 1978) p.49. [↩]
  14. From an article written by the Rev. Robert Lathan and published in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian, September 13, 1888. Reprinted in The Bulletin, Chester District Genealogical Society, Vol. 1, No. 2 (June 1978) p.3. [↩]
  15. Combined History of Randolph, Monroe and Perry Counties, Illinois, With Illustrations Descriptive of Their Scenery and Biographical Sketches of some of their Prominent Men and Pioneers, Published by J. L. McDonough & Co., Philadelphia, 1883. See also “Abbeville Scotch Irish”, Trails, quarterly journal of the Randolph County, Illinois Genealogical Society, vol. 2, no. 4 (1992). The Randolph County Genealogical Society has published Randolph County, Illinois History 1795-1995, but I have not had an opportunity to read it. [↩]
  16. William Cuthbertson, “Presbyterian Pioneers of Crawford County, Kansas who Migrated From Near Sparta, Illinois”, Seeker, quarterly journal of the Crawford Genealogical Society, vol. 11, no. 3 (Fall 1981) p. 49. Some descendants of Jean Lynn and John McGuire are cited in this article. [↩]
  17. For Lynn‘s/Linns in Randolph County in the 1850 Census, see the compilation by Phyllis Bauer, “Lynn/Linns Found In The 1850 Federal Census of Illinois”, Lynn/Linn Lineage Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Fall 1987) p. 75. Phyllis also sent me an extraction of Lynn/Linns from the 1860 Census. [↩]
  18. See the extraction by Phyllis Bauer of Lynn‘s indicating volume and page numbers from the State of Illinois, Archives Division, Public Domain Sales Land Tract Record Listing in Lynn/Linn Lineage Quarterly, Vol. XII, N. 4 (Winter 1998) pp. 102-107. These records, which provide the purchase date, can be obtained from the Illinois Archives. The same information can be obtained from the Bureau of Land Management – Eastern States, General Land Office. The BLM Land Patent Report includes a document number and provides the signature date, which may be a few years after the purchase date. A copy of the land patent document can be downloaded from the site. [↩]
  19. Randolph County cemetery inscriptions have been transcribed by Lucille Wiechens, Cemeteries of Randolph County, 5 vols. c.1989, FHL film no. 2,055,284. Descendants of John Lynn and Jennet Malcolm in Hill Prairie Cemetery are found in Vol. I, pages 182-183 of the FHL film, and those in Caledonia Cemetery in Vol. 3, p. 54 of the FHL film. Mrs. Frank Married Torrens also transcribed Randolph County cemetery inscriptions, but at an earlier date. Inscriptions can now be found on the Randolph County Web Site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilrandol/. [↩]
  20. “McGuire” in Family Genealogies of Sparta, Illinois, compiled by Mrs. Frank Married Torrens and her daughter, Louise M. Torrens, typescript, c. 1956, vol. 7. FHL film no. 1,033,992, pp. 1253-1258. [↩]
  21. “Bible Record; The ‘McGuire‘ Family Bible”, ibid, p. 1123. It is not clear whether the reference to Jane Linn having been born in Connor Parish is in the transcription from the Bible or in Mrs. Torrens‘ introduction to the transcription. [↩]
  22. In Experiences of Early Settlers, collected and typed by Mrs. Frank M. Torrens, 2 Aug. 1956, FHL microfiche 6,100,063 (three microfiche) pp. 84-91. Mr. E. B. McGuire of Sparta, Illinois, would appear to be Elihu B. McGuire (1844-1932) a grandson of John McGuire and Jane Lynn. [↩]
  23. Edith Elizabeth Lynn, op. cit., p. 17, states that Martha McHatton died 29 Sep 1893. Mrs. Torrens states she died 20 Jan 1908. Cemetery transcriptions for Caledonia Cemetery list a Martha McGuire born 16 Jun 1816, died 20 Jan 1908, but indicates she was “w/ J. C.” [↩]
  24. “Lynn” in Family Genealogies of Sparta, Illinois, compiled by Mrs. Frank Married Torrens and her daughter, Louise M. Torrens, typescript, c. 1956, FHL film no. 1,033,992, pp. 981-982. [↩]
  25. Tombstone Records of Chester County, South Carolina and Vicinity, Volume I, p. 136, compiled by Louise Kelly Crowder, 157 York Street, Chester, M. C., 1970. John Lynn and Jennet Malcolm and other members of their family are also buried in Paul’s Graveyard. [↩]
  26. Tombstone Records of Chester County, South Carolina and Vicinity, Volume I, p. 136, compiled by Louise Kelly Crowder, 157 York Street, Chester, M. C., 1970. [↩]
  27. See: http://www.sos.state.il.us/depts/archives/marriages.html [↩]
  28. See “Sketch of the Covenanters of Rocky Creek, South Carolina About 1750-1840”, Transcribed by Phyllis J. Bauer, Lynn/Linn Lineage Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 4 (Winter 1992) p. 95-96. [↩]
  29. Edith Elizabeth Lynn, op. cit., p. 36. [↩]
  30. Robert McMurtry, “History of Jordan’s Grove Church”, in Experiences of Early Settlers, collected and typed by Mrs. Frank Married Torrens, 2 Aug. 1956. FHL microfiche no. 6,100,063 (3 microfiche), pp. 35-43. [↩]
  31. “Linn” in Family Genealogies of Sparta, Illinois, compiled by Mrs. Frank Married Torrens and her daughter, Louise M. Torrens, 10 vols. typescript, c.1956, FHL film no. 1,033,992, pp. 955-956. [↩]

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