My Scots-Irish History

When Abraham Hillhouse was born about 1639, his hometown of Ayr* in the Scottish council (county) of Ayrshire was like most struggling settlements in the Scottish lowlands. The area had been through a series of plagues over the last 100 years and the people were tired and looking for a change in their luck. So when King James the VI offered land to lowlanders willing to immigrate to Ulster, Ireland, many families, including Abraham's, took advantage of the opportunity and sailed across the North Channel towards a new life.

Abraham and his family settled in Parish of Aghanloo. The family appears in records in the towns of Ballycastle, Atikelly, Free Hall and Streeve Hill. They also spent at least 101 days in the city of Derry during the 1689 Siege of Londonderry. Abraham's brother, James, is said to be the mayor of Derry during this time.

The Lowlanders did not quite fit in, though. Not only were their politics and culture Scottish but their Presbyterian religion was incompatible with the Catholic Highlanders and Irish or the King's Anglican Church. The Lowland immigrants became second-class citizens in Ulster -- forced to pay tithes to the Church of England and not represented in the local government. Many of these Ulster Scots or Scots-Irish fled for America others would leave eventually but not before things got even worse.

Between the years of 1717 and 1776, more than a quarter of a million Ulster Presbyterians immigrated to America. Most of these settled into the Appalachian mountains.

Abraham and his wife, Janet had at least 3 children, Abraham, James, and John, all born at Free Hall. John later inherits Free Hall and he and his wife, Rachel, raise their six sons there. John and Rachel are buried at the Arclow Church.

At least 2 of John's sons immigrated to America: Reverend James Hillhouse and Samuel Hillhouse my ancestor. 

Samuel married Anne Luckey in North Carolina and the two settled in western Rowan County after her father's death. It was around this time that the name Hillhouse was changed to Hillis. All five of Samuel's sons fought in the war for independence. Samuel's daughter, Martha, married William Minter.

William and Martha's daughter, AnnaMariah Minton married Peter Morgan. Peter and AnnaMariah had a son, Charles, in 1801 in South Carolina.

Charles married Lucretia and had a daughter Barbara Sophia Morgan. Sophie (1845-1922) is my 3rd great grandmother.

*Though most sources agree that Abraham Hillhouse was born in Ayr, there is enough evidence to make me believe that his ancestry was not Scottish but English. The Hillhouse name originated in North England and Ayr is very close to the English border.

The Newberry Davenports

 

Francis Davenport 1718-1803
 by Thomas Hudson

Francis Davenport was born in 1718. The son of Isaac Davenport Phoebe Eva Sawyer, his grandparents, Francis (b. 1626) and Sarah Davenport migrated from Derbyshire, England with the Society of Friends (Quakers) and settled in Chesterfield, New Jersey. Francis Sr. was the spiritual leader for this congregation at Chesterfield. He was also a kept a local store. His son, Isaac, married Phoebe Eva Sawyer and moved to Newberry, SC.

Francis Davenport was a Patriot in the Revolutionary War (DAR Ancestor #: A029985). He married (1st) Ann Whaley and had Isaac, James, Jonathan, William, David, Francis, Sarah, Abigail, Nancy, Martha, and Fannie. His daughter, Sarah, married Samuel Beeks.  Their granddaughter, Nettie Jane Beeks Smith, was one of the first settlers in Pontotoc, MS. 

Sources: 

• Davenport, John Scott, Newberry Davenport Data, 2000
• U.S. Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970, Ancestry.com, 2011, Provo, UT, USA
• Moss, Bobby G., Roster of the South Carolina Patriots in the America Revolution, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1983

Palatine Trails

At the end of the 17th century and beginning of the 18th century the Holy Roman Empire was involved in several wars throughout the European Continent that would eventually lead to its end. The wealthy region of the Middle Rhine was repeatedly invaded by French troops during these wars. This along with famine caused many farmers to flee. The group moved around the British Isles and Colonies for a few years for many political and economical reason. This group of immigrants became known as Palatines even though only a small part of them were from the Palatinate.

Christoph de Graffenried, 1st Baron of Berberg, was a Swiss nobleman who, in 1710, assisted the immigration and helped establish colonies in North Carolina for the large number of Palatine and Swiss who came to North America. About 100 Swiss and 600 Palatines left Europe for this new colony. Many of these immigrants died during the journey and even more died during wars with the Native Americans during 1712-1715. Luckily for me, Joseph Granade and his son, John (b. 1695) survived all of these trials and made it to the New Bern Colony.

Joseph Granade was born about 1676 in what is modern day Switzerland and immigrated in 1710. His grandson, John Adam Granade (b.1715) is recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution for his contribution to the war effort.  Joseph Granade's many descendants are spread across the United States.

For more information on the Palatine immigration I recommend these sources:

• New Bern-Craven County Public Library, Swiss and Palatines to New Bern
• National Park Service - The People of Fort Stanwix

The Make Up of Me

    I don't have any family history to share today but I have been wanting to share my DNA Painter image. This image has many colors. It has more empty areas than it has colored areas, for now. I am ever so slowly adding to it bit by tiny bit.  I have been working on this off and on for almost three years. This is a visual representation of my DNA make up. The numbers down the left side represent my chromosomes: 22 and X. The background lines of pale blue and pink represent my maternal and paternal lines on each chromosome. The different colored bars represent the DNA I have from a specific individual ancestor or ancestral couple. Each of these colored bars represents a piece of the most complex jigsaw puzzle ever put into place with hours of researching until my eyes are crossing.