RootsChat.Com

Having spent 35+ years studying the Lynns of Ulster and Scotland, I've found Lynns who were weavers living in four different counties of Ulster - Antrim, Derry, Fermanagh, and Tyrone.  So, no, occupation is no help connecting Lynn families.  It may be important to note, however, that weavers often - perhaps usually - grew their own flax.

Also, the tradition that any particular Lynn family were Huguenots may or may not be accurate.  The only historical account I've found on the subject is a chapter in "History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland" by James Seaton Reid, D.D., in which Reid stated that Rev. Charles Lynd and his parents were "a French Protestant family in Normandy, one of the numerous refugee-households whom the tyranny of Louis XIV, compelled to fly from France in the end of the seventeenth century." Reid goes on to say that the Lynd family settled in Ramullan, County Donegal and that Rev. Lynd went from there to Coleraine.  The spellings Lynd and Lynn were sometimes interchanged.  The ancestor of a distant cousin of mine wrote his name as Lynd in an 1810 journal while his sons almost always went by Lynn.

In any case, even Reid's account may be in doubt.  Nicholas Pynnar in his 1619 survey of the Ulster plantation wrote that Scots settler William Lynne was then in possession of Carrowreagh, County Donegal.  Nephews William Lyne and David Lyne were in possession thereof as late as 1654.  Rev. Charles Lynd gained possession of Carrowreagh at some point and sold it in 1744.  Unfortunately, there seems to be no record of ownership of the property in the intervening 90 years.

One thing is certainly true.  A great many Lynns in Ireland were Ulster Scots while some were Irish, the latter having derived their name from Flynn/O'Flynn.

Another, important reason to believe Bierman's Scott, Taylor, and Lynn ancestors might have come from Aghadowey is that the earliest known Lynn ancestor of Bierman's Lynn DNA match was actually born in County Londonderry in 1780 and moved to Knockahollet later. Aghadowey Parish, Ballymoney Parish (where Drumreagh is), and Loughguile Parish (where Knockahollet is) lie in a nearly straight line from west to east. Aghadowey is on the eastern border of County Londonderry, Ballymoney is on the western border of County Antrim, and the two parishes are adjacent to one another with Loughguile on the other side of Ballymoney. Also, the 1833 tithe applotments for Aghadowey Parish include: John Lynn Sr., John Lynn Jr., and Samuel Lynn in Gortin; Andrew Lynn in Knockaduff; and William Lynn in Mullinabrone. I wonder if there were any Scotts in any of those places.

Thanks so much for the great news Jock! I'm glad I was wrong about my suspicions. When all else fails, patience pays off.

I just found an "Irish Times" article which states in part: "The institution [Orange Order] has been awarded almost £4 million (€5 million) to build interpretative centres in Belfast and Armagh.  Funding from the European Union’s Peace III programme will be used to revamp the Orange Order headquarters at Schomberg House and Sloan’s House."

Quite a tidy sum! Unfortunately, it is a designated gift from an EU peace program, and I doubt the EU peace program would consider studying and publishing documents from a war as meeting its goals and stated purpose. Everyone desires peace, so I even suspect the Orange Order might put the paymaster's account book from the Battle of the Boyne on hold for the sake of peace. Its discovery came at an unfortunate time in my opinion.