Flax Growers List

[Carol Mack]

Hi Pat,

I have been following this discussion with interest as my aunt married into your McClay family as you know.

You might be on to something with the Stranorlar connection - you probably have this information but I have 9 McClay/McCleas in the 1796 spinningwheel Premium Entitlements List and Oliver, John and Robert are all in Stranorlar. The rest are farther up the county but an Andrew McClay in the Laghy tree is supposed to have come 'through the gap' as a bounty hunter. For the benefit of those unfamiliar with Donegal 'through the gap' refers to the Barnes Mor mountain which separates the Letterkenny area from the Donegal Town area of the county, and anyone coming from Stranorlar to Laghy would certainly have come 'through the gap'!! What sort of bounty he would have been hunting I have no idea.

I have 37 pages of McClays - I will keep digging and post if I find anything new.

Regards,

Carol

[violet]

Hi Carol

Thanks for the info.  I am trying to find a father for Joseph McClay c1814, date obtained from death cert so is probably incorrect. 

Any joy with your Kilpatrick/Kirkpatrick/Kirpatrick from Donegal?

Regards
Pat

[Carol Mack]

Hi Pat,
I have a Joseph McClay c 1836 Drumholm married Margaret Freeborn.

His parents were James McClay (1812) and Rebecca Stewart.
Grandparents would have been Andrew McClay (c1785) and Esther Thompson.
Could this be him?

I ground to a halt on the Kilpatricks etc. as it became just too complicated without original records. There is definitely a Kilpatrick/Thompson/McVitty connection in Ballintra as I know that when Robert McVitty married Isabella Kilpatrick they lodged with her aunt Thompson in Ballintra and dad always said Rex Kilpatrick who owned the mill was 'family'.

Regards,

Carol

[Carol Mack]

Sorry, Pat, I dont know what i was thinking - thats no use to you at all!! Wrong generation - will look again!!
Carol

[violet]

Hi Carol

I to was told that the fella who owned the Mill at Rah was "family" unfortunately the man that told me that has died.

I was also told that we were related to the Kirkpatricks of Tullywee.

Unfortunately there is little to prove  real connections from the "flax growers list"

Going back to the McClays of Trumman I feel sure that as they all lived in that  townland they must have been related.   It would appear that Adam had the biggest holding and a Flax mill so Joseph could have been his brother. 

 I have just found another Robert McClay a son of Adam McClay of Trumman. Robert claims to be a trader on his marriage certificate to Jane Doherty in 1871.  Yet there is no evidence that I can find of his birth. Neither can I find any evidence of a birth of my Robert McClay son of Joseph.

So we will have go on looking perhaps on day!!!!!!!!

Regards
Pat