Scottish ancestors at Battle of Worcester 1651?

[Roberta W.]

I believe I have an ancestor who fought at Worcester but I am not at home so am relying on memory. The information is based on early records of a POW ship named the John and Francis said to have transported captured Scots to Boston about 1651 and the names were pheonetically spelled. My ancestor's surname is now McKenney but it was spelled a number of ways including Macheny, McKehnie. Elder was John and his son Robert both were transported and family lore associates them with Clan McKenzie and the Skye/Inverness area. In a strange bit of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" by 1700 my Mckenney ancestor had married into the family of Rev Robert Jordan (Uncle was a bishop in a church in England, perhaps episcopal and sent to minister to the colonies about the same time), and a descendant of another Scottish family- Gray- said to have been captured at the Battle of Dunbar and transported to Boston a year or two earlier on the ship Unity, as POWs. both families are believed to have served at Saugus Mills & Mines in the greater Boston area and after serving their indenture sentences moved north to the Gorges Patent(Maine) out of reach of the Boston Bay and Plymouth Colony government reach. Any information on these families and their clan associations would be appreciated as we have very limited knowledge. The McKenney ancestors were illiterate until well into the 19th century and tended to avoid larger settlements or moved once an area progressed to the size of "civilization". thanks-

[alan_withey]

Would you have any information on a James MacKreith?

Only some information to go on:
 - fought in battle of Dunbar (age ~20, not captured)
 - fought in battle of Worcester (age ~21, caputred)
 - sent to New England on the ship John & Sara (departed London, 8 November 1651; arrived Boston, 1652)
 - served indentured servitude in New England until 1660, began paying taxes in the new world in 1661
 - Other possible surnames: Maceraithy
 - Possible family residence at the time: Hebrides?

...fabulous topic

Alan

[Roberta W.]

Alan:
I stand corrected, the ship was the John and Sarah. It arrived in Boston and the "passengers" were turned over to Thomas Kemble of Charlestown and recorded in Suffolk County (Massachusetts) Deeds on May 13, 1652 . The book on Scottish prisoners gives a different sailing port than does the Suffolk Deeds which lists "passengers aboard.. at London...bound for New England ...". Do you know which of the Hebrides islands James was from? My McKenneys were said to be from the Isle of Skye of the Inner Hebrides islands of Scotland so I presume there was an Outer Hebrides as well. Sometime this summer I anticipate a trip to the Massachusetts archives in Cambridge where the colonial records are. It is said that the average term of indenture for Mr Kemble was 7 years and in some cases it appears he was more motivated by economics as opposed to any particular sense of patriotism or religion because he not only used the Scots in the mills and mines but also trained some in consumer skills and literacy and continued to employ them after their indenture and paid them as many purchased land within a year or two of 1670 including my ancestors. I can look for deeds in Suffolk county for James.
Roberta
Roberta

[derekseanbrown]

Hi Alan

I was fascinated to read about your ancestor fighting at Dunbar then one year later to the day fighting at Worcester. Imagine how James felt after surviving Dunbar then the next year making the thirty day march to Worcester only to meet up with Cromwell again and to be defeated yet again. He was a long way from home. How do you know about his military service and his ancestry? I would love to read any articles you have about James.
Have you been to the battle sites at Worcester?

Cheers
Sean

[alan_withey]

Hi Roberta,
I would be absolutely thrilled with anything that you come back with from Massachusetts.  Even information on the Scottish prisoner group in general would be interesting.

I am unsure as to whether James was from the inner or outer Hebrides as his birthplace is only an ancestral note, but there is an Outer Hebrides.

Thank you.

[alan_withey]

Hi Sean,
James MacKreith's granddaughter described to her son who passed the conversation onto his son that two of their cousins had fallen at the battle of Culloden fighting for the Pretender Prince Charles.  She also said that her grandfather was from Scotland and fought against Cromwell at the battles of Dunbar where he escaped and at Worcester where he was captured.  The conversation was written down in a letter and an excerpt of the letter has been circulated throughout the family.

The letter also spells James' last name as 'Maceraithy' and my own surname is a derivative of this.

How do you figure into the Worcester story?

Alan

[derekseanbrown]

Hi Alan

I was born about a mile or so from where Cromwell crossed the rivers Severn and Teme on his 'bridges of boats'. This was a crucial tactic in the battle. The fields around the area were my playgrounds. As youngsters we spent many hours looking for bones and swords. It's a subject which now I research into and any details, like the ones coming from Rootschat, help to fill in the history at a more personal level and bring in stories of everyday people who got wound up in an era of civil unrest. I am also a member of the 'The Battle of Worcester Society'      http://www.thebattleofworcestersociety.org.uk/Welcome.html      I can send you pictures of the area if you wish.

Cheers
Sean

[alan_withey]

Terrific.  I would like to see the pictures.  Thank you.  I think it's astounding how events like this battle reshape the world.  Very interesting indeed!

Alan

[Roberta W.]

Im struck by the coincidence in my family tree that the adage regarding the enemy of my enemy is my ally seems to hold true. Like many of Cromwell's POWs, as soon as possible they got out from under the control of Boston and moved north on to the Fernando Gorges Patent which is now southern Maine. One of the largest landowners at the time was the Rev. Robert Jordan, the nephew of the Bishop of Worcestor and an Anglican/Church of England official. My McKenney line married into the Jordan line at least twice and my Gray line; once. "Rev/ Bob" was so opposed to the church practices of the Cromwellian era that Boston had him arrested twice for refusing to enforce the edicts and he vigorously forbade the witchhunts and trials, claiming they were a political ploy of the government. When William (and Mary) forced the District of Maine to be under the control of Boston once again, we started almost immediately to rumble for a revolution moving further and further into the northern woods to get away from the government. There are still isolated communities in Maine that seem more 1700s than 21st Century. Heck I deal with dial-up and I consider myself lucky to just be on line. But I love my venison which is still available every fall. LOL.