From: "John McQuilliams" <
*>
Subject: Re: [McWILLIAMS-L] McWilliams family records - Ireland, part 4 (name, spellings, religion)
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 19:11:12 -0700
Hi All
I have a few things to add to this rendition of the McWilliam,s in Ireland.
They were in Ireland many years prior to the DeMandevilles of the 13th
century.
The McWilliams of Moray of Scotland established bases in Ulster in the 12th
century. They were in constant rebellion of the Scottish King from as early
as 1127 to 1280, in the 160 year time frame they called both Ireland and
Scotland home. The Demandeville family was in constant turmoil with the Then
accepted King John of England. He left The Isle of Mann for Ulster in the
same time period as the McWilliams of Moray. The Deburgh branch of the
McWilliam family did not arrive in Ulster until the early part of the 14thg
century.
That the McWilliams of Moray were a constant problem with the Scottish King
is evident in the Scottish Chronicles. That particular;lar branch was
massacred at the cross of Forfar in Scotland in the latter part of the 13th
century.
That there was an intermix of the various families is a foregone conclusion,
they had one thing in common, there continual rebellion against the accepted
Authority of England and Scotland.
One has to study the naming patterns for the Gaelic communities for that
era. It was common for all individuals to have the same surname as the Lord
or Host of the territory, this was common until well into the 18th century.
While those of us who bear the name McWilliams or it's variations, it is an
improbability that we are a blood relation. It is highly probable that our
ancestors were greatly influenced by these 3 main factions of the McWilliams
surname.
It is accepted that the various spellings come from the English scribes
attempting to anglicize the Gaelic version over the years. The use of Qu in
the spelling can be directly traced to the Scottish scribe attempting to
express the W in English, there is no W in the Gaelic language.
From the 16th century on the primary language in both the Highlands of
Scotland and the Ulster area was Uallans (a mixture of English and Gaelic).
One must remember that spelling in that era or time frame was dependent upon
the writer, his culture, and his educational background with phonetics being
the order of the day.
John McQuilliams
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