SCOTTISH PLACES, LINEAGES & RESEARCH
NOTICE: The contents of this WEB SITE are subject to Copyright
1997-1999 by David B. Strong. All rights are reserved, including
the right to reproduce the contents or portions thereof, in
any form. Permission is hereby granted to copy for personal use
only limited parts of the written material and of the attached
data files contained herein as text material, provided, that any
published reuse of this material must properly acknowledge and
cite the copyright of David B. Strong as the author or compiler of
the information. This material may not be copied except for
personal use; and it may not be duplicated and sold, either
separately, or as part of a compilation, either in print, on
digitalized media such as Compact Disks, or electronically,
without the express written consent of the author. Distribution of
documents (as opposed to abstracted and reformatted data)
downloaded from or copied from this site, whether in part or in whole,
whether in print or via electronic media, is strictly forbidden,
regardless of whether a fee is charged. This copyright
applies to all parts of this site as published on the Internet.
CHAPTER XI | |||
SCOTTISH PLACES, LINEAGES & RESEARCH |
(N:Monday 25 August 1997, 6:15:58) | ||
(R:Wednesday, January 27, 1999 - 1:13:23 PM) |
Author's Note: Regarding the scope of this Chapter, I have defined Scotland to include the northern Border Counties, or Shires, of England.
In the seventeenth century, before a nation could send settlers abroad, it required a surplus of people and a sur- plus of capital. By 1610, when the main scheme for the Ul- ster plantation began, Scotland had both. She could not employ all of her inhabitants. In one decade-- the 1590's-- two Acts of the Scottish Parliament had to be passed to deal with the increasing number of vagrants and beggars, and local authorities were presented with the same problem. Contempo- rary opinion confirms this picture of Scotland as a country with too many people. The Venetian ambassador in London, writing in 1622, remarked that Scotland was well populated, "The women being prolific, showing how much more fruitful are northern parts". 1
Quite apart from such casual remarks as this about con- ditions in Scotland, there is abundant evidence to show that Scots were leaving their homeland in large numbers. After James became King of England, the stream of Scots going south became an embarrassment to the English privy council, which had to ask the Scottish authorities to try to take action to stem the flow. This surplus of population can, in part, be explained by the unusual degree of political stability Scot- land enjoyed after James VI attained his majority. Nobles and lairds could devote their energies to other pursuits be- sides feuds. As a result, it was no longer necessary for landlords to gather round them large bodies of retainers with which to attack their neighbours. Frequently, the only em- ployment Scots could find after 1600 was military service un- der a foreign prince. 2
Coinciding with this freedom from political anarchy, and surely in part as a consequence of it, went a period of eco- nomic stability. Inflation had struck Scotland even harder than England during the sixteenth century. In 1571, the Scottish pound was worth approximately one-fifth of the pound sterling. By 1600, it had dropped in value to one-twelfth of its English counterpart. Thereafter it stabilized; there is no evidence of any serious decline in the value of the Scot- tish pound, relative to sterling, during the remainder of James's reign. 3
There is evidence that the country prospered during the period. In 1609, the "tack", or rent, of the customs amounted to some L76,666 (Scots). Two years later, after an upwsard revision or the rates, the tack rose to L120,000 (Scots). In 1616, after much competitive bidding, there was another rise to L140,000 (Scots). Without doubt, the land- lords in Scotland whose position in society was dominant reaped much of the benefit of this prosperity, and it was from this group that the undertakers of the Ulster plantation were drawn. 4
Each of the undertakers was assigned 1000 to 2000 acres of land in the various baronys in the six escheated counties of Ulster. Each undertaker was required to settle at least 24 adult males, to represent ten families, on each 1000 acres of land, plus make certain specified improvements. 5 The Scottish undertakers likely recruited settlers in the areas in which they, or their families, held lairdships and es- tates. Apparently, many of the Scots settlers brought into Ulster in the period were held in "Scottish servitude". Many were subsequently issued "patents of denization", awarding them the rights and privileges of English subjects. 6
A significant avenue of research in attempting to trace the ancestry of "common folk" Strongs in Ulster back into Scot- land is to attempt to identify the particular Scottish lairds and gentry undertaking to settle particular baronys in the days of the plantation, and in turn, to examine the frequency and identity of Strongs and other associated surnames in the Scottish locales associated with the lairdships. This same technique seems valid for later periods between 1660 and 1760, where it is possible to identify particular landlords with particular localities in Scotland.
Again, examination of the LDS International Genealogical Index (IGI) for Scotland will give some indication of fre- quency of name occurance in particular locales, thus fa- cilitating the search suggested in the preceding paragraph. The 1981 IGI for Scotland was useful as it lists surnames al- phabetically for the whole country, and then gives the record by locality. However, review of the 1988 IGI was also desireable as it helped collect all of the individuals of a particular surname within each county and parish.
The Scots language of the Lowlands was originally a northern variety of English brought there by the Angles who landed in Northumbria and who occupied the south-eastern parts of Scotland in the seventh century. The northern-English speakers who fled north after William of Normandy's invasion of England in 1066 were welcomed to the Scottish court as refugees from William's "Harrying of the North". The tradition of welcoming immigrants from the South continued into the twelfth century. King David I introduced the "burgh" (a colony or town surrounding a castle) to Scot- land. These English speaking burghs marked the beginning of what was to become the Scots English dialect. The ordinary people of the burghs...of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Perth and some ten other centers were English. 7
This helps explain why so many English surnames occur amongst the Lowland Scots, and why the surnames "Strang" and "Strong" have a place in Scotland. These English peoples were interspersed with and intermarried with the preexisting Gaels, Picts, and Scots. This explains why the popular clan associations of America today are not really relevant to study of many of the Lowland Scots lineages. It also helps explain in part the association of names like Ferguson and McCullough with Strongs in later days. Both of these and certain other "clans" or "septs" were more associated with the Scottish Lowlands than other "Highland" clans. One of the earliest occurances of the name "Fergus" is in about the 6th Century, when there is a historical record of a Pictish chieftain named Fergus, who held sway over an area of Galloway in what is now Lowland Scotland.
But, how did Strongs come to be involved in Scotland? Was the name a corruption of something else, or did the Strongs come into Scotland from elsewhere?
According to Prof. George F. Black's well-known book, "The Surnames of Scotland", 8
"William Strange, burgess of Montrose, rendered homage, 1296. Thomas de (? for le) Strang held land in Aberdeen, 1340, and John Strang was elected common councillor there in 1398. Walter Strang was one of an inquest at Forfar, 1438. William Strangh, a Scottish merchant, had license to import Scottish goods into England, 1495. Sir George Strang, a cleric, was notary in Orkney, 1542. Henry Strang is the ear- liest mentioned schoolmaster in Dysart, 1579. Richard Strange, advocate in Edinburgh, 1555. Strang of Balcaskie, (was) an old family in the East Neuk of Fife. Sir Robert Strange was a distinguished eighteenth-century engraver."
Black goes on to state that Strang is an old surname in Orkney, and the makes disclosure of the fact that Strangi was an old West Norse given name, but depreciates a Viking root for the name Strang. Contrarily, it seems likely Vikings touched the Orkneys, along with other Scottish areas with sufficient impact to have planted the name Strang from de- scendants of several different Strangi's! It is also infor- mative to note that the International Genealogical Index (IGI) maintained by the LDS Church shows concentrations of Strongs and Strangs in Fifeshire, The Orkneys, and Dumfrieshire, in Scotland, and adjacently in Cumberlandshire, England.
With regard to the Orkney Island Strongs, the following quotation from Charles A. Hanna is perhaps enlightening: 9
"...Strong, and Strang (the Strangs of Balcaskie, in Fife, had sent an offshoot into Orkney, which produced our first Scotch engraver. He thought fit to do his name into English, and became Sir Robert Strange)..."
We also find record of involvement by several Anglo-Norman knights named L'Estrange, seated in Salop, En- gland, in the Scottish intrigues and wars. One Home le Estraunge "was intentive in the king's service in Scotland in 1255. 10 Fulk L'Estrange was summoned repeatedly by the En- glish king to do service against the Scots from March 1298 until April 1323, and it is known he went to Scotland on the King's service in 1299. 11. A relative, Ebles L'Estrange, was also summoned to serve against the Scots in 1327 and again in 1332/3. He died 8 September 1335 in Scotland. 12 Another, John L'Estrange V, was summoned from 1298 to 1308 to serve against the Scots. 13
As the foregoing discussion illustrates, a researcher should be aware that there are at least five vari- ant spellings of the name: Lestrange, Strange, Strang, Stronge, and Strong. We have found Strongs who tie into people bearing all of these variants. Of course most go back into the 18th century and before; but in some instances as late as the 1860's we have found records of the same indi- vidual showing his name spelled both Strong and Strange.
There are some things which you might want to look at in your further research:
(1) Church of England membership is consis- tent with either Anglo- or Scots- ancestry. There were a large number of Scots who were members of the Scottish Epis- copal Church (as opposed to the various presbyterian Churchs of Scotland) in Scotland; and in Ireland they were members of the episcopal Church of Ireland. We have found Strongs in Ireland of both persuasions. The Congregational and Dutch Reformed Churchs are calvinist in principles and organization, and thus closely related to the Presbyterian Churches. In the absence of an available Presbyterian Church, it would not be unusual for a Presbyterian to affiliate with the Dutch Reformed Church.
(2) We have obtained the following references to manuscripts, etc., concerning the Strang/Strong/Strange sur- name from the National Library of Scotland:
re Strang of Balcaskie:
William McTaggart "Sketch of a history of the family of Strang or Strange, of Balcasky, in the county of Fife in Scotland. Edinburgh, 1798. QZ/P99
Strang, James Alexander The Strang family. [196_.] 3v.(type- script) QZ/P-1
re Strange:
Dennistoun, James Memoirs of Sir Robert Strange, Knt., engraver... and of his brother-in-law, Andrew Lumisden, private secretary to the Stuart princes. London, 1855. 2v. ED/N-1(X.X.4)
["A Genealogical account of the family of Strange". 1836] ED/N-1 (MS.2898,ff.x-xiii)
[Genealogical material concerning the family of Robert Strange. 1787-1908.] ED/N-1 (MS.14259)
Strange, Nora Kathleen Jacobean tapestry. London, (1947) ED/N-1(R.157.d) ED/N-2 QZ/P22 QZ/P-6 QZ/P-1 QZ/P99
Some of the books may be available through the International inter-library loan system through a local library. Another book which should be reviewed by anyone interested in lineages originating in the "Borders" area of Scotland and England is George MacDonald Fraser's "The Silver Helmets".
Analysis of the surnames and settlement patterns
found in the area of Co. Donegal surrounding Donegal Bay, and
in western Co. Fermanagh, in Ulster have led to some
speculation that certain Strongs found in that area may have
originated in the Borders. It will be noted, upon an examination
of the parish records for Drumhome, Kilbarron, and Templecarne
Parishes, as reproduced in Dale G. Strong, "The Descendants
of John Strong and Martha Watson", and a further examination
of the surnames found in Griffith's Valuations, that many of the
surnames of women intermarrying with Strongs in that area
bore names commonly found in the Borders area of Scotland
and England.
See also: Donegal Surnames Bulletin Board, for
insights into others of the various surnames of Donegal.
Common surnames include: Heron/Haron/Herron; Bell; McGee/McKee/Magee; Kirkpatrick/Kilpatrick; Dodson/ Dodgson/Dudgeon; Watson; Patterson; Lenox/Lennox; Spence; Murray/Morrow; Graham; Griffith; Crawford; Cuscadden/Carscadden; Love; Humphries; McCullough; Devitt. Examination of any of the family trees of researchers of Strongs originating in this area of Ulster will find them replete with many of these surnames. Many of these same surnames will be found in George MacDonald Fraser's, "The Silver Helmets".
An early "planter" of western Co. Fermanagh was Lord Blennerhasset. He was from Castle Hassett in Cumberland, and MAY have been the original lord who induced certain of these border people to settle in Donegal and Fermanagh. But, there is no real evidence of the surnames of his particular under tenants, and his estate passed out of the Blennerhasset family in the mid-17th century. Further, it seems that many of the protestant yeoman tenantry of the area first entered into the land around the end of the 17th century, that is to say AFTER the events of the Revolution of 1688-91. It appears that a reallocation of lands came about as a result of the final settlement after the accession of King William of Orange and Queen Mary. New leases found after about 1696 in the records of the various estates in western Fermanagh and southern Donegal show a tenantry with these "Border" names, where before the names were predominately Irish Gaels.
It should be pointed out that many of these same border names appear in the Hearth Money Rolls for Donegal c. 1666. It may be that they were simply not numerous until c. 1696 to undertake the direct tenantry of the lands; perhaps they were there earlier as overseers, militia or soldiers, and "middle management" under the overlord planters.
In any event, was the conjunction of these various Border surnames that led to examination of the International Genealogical Indices (IGI's) for the entire Borders area, specifically for the surname "Strong" and variants. A large concentration of Strongs is found in the area known as "Cumbria", anciently a gaelic name applied by Celtic peoples closely allied with the Welsh, Scots, and Irish. Modernly, it comprises the English counties of Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Lancashire; as well as the Scottish county of Dumphrieshire.
As George McDonald Fraser discusses, the Armstrong clan was indemic to Cumbria and what was known as the "Western March" of the Borders in the 600 years of war between Scotland and England. The Armstrongs were notorious reivers; a law unto themselves, who operated on both sides of the border. After the unification of the crowns of Scotland and England in 1603, King James VI of Scotland and I of England acted to assert authority and pacify the borders area. He vigorously enforced laws against personal and property crimes, hanging many offenders for various offences. He contrived to resettle many border folk to Ireland, where their hardy, feisty ways might be useful against the gaelic Irish who were to be replaced in Plantation Ulster. One is led to speculate that many Armstrongs may have changed their names to "Strong" in order to escape the noose and to make themselves more acceptable to the new English order in both the Borders area and in Ulster. See Fraser, pps. 360-373, for discussion of a similar circumstance involving the Graham Clan, including a change to "Maharg" (Graham spelled backward)!.
It should here be pointed out that Armstrong is indeed a common surname in Co. Fermanagh, and there seems no overlapping of settlement of these Armstrongs with the Strongs of Donegal, etc. Further, there has been no known occurance of variances in useage of these surnames in the Irish records which have been examined. These latter facts seem to mitigate against the theory that the Strongs of the area are descended from the Armstrong Clan; and indeed there are other indicators which may tie these Strongs to the southwest of England, in Worcester, Gloucester, Devon, etc. See links at Possible English Origins of Southern U.S. Strongs , by Martha Strong.
In any event, one cannot overlook the fact that there are a large number of
Strongs to be found in Cumbria, and that they MAY be the progenitors of
the Strongs of Donegal and western Fermanagh. Indeed, a Hugh Strong
has been found in the late 17th century records of Cumberland... and that is
a given name that turns up in Donegal... (see "The Descendants of John
Strong and Martha Watson of Drumhome Parish, Co. Donegal", privately
published in 1983, by Dale G. Strong, Cassatt, SC, USA;
and for a background discussions, see: The Strongs from Donegal.
and see:Trinity College Lands, and Sir Francis Gofton..
and see:Hamilton of Brown Hall, Co. Donegal..
and see:Ffolliott/Folliot Family, Barons of Ballyshannon.
and see:William Conolly's Ballyshannon Estate.
It is possible that the Strong families of Donegal, western Fermanagh,
and northern Sligo are related. These Strongs tended to be Church of
Ireland (Anglican) or Methodist in religion at the time of emigration;
all seem to be of English descent. See the geographical proximity of
parishes with concentrations of Strong Families in each of the respective
counties. For a map of Parishes with Concentrations of Strong Families,
see: County Donegal Parish Map. Researchers
might do well to review the records of these Donegal Parishes for other surnames
and connections to Cumbria as well.
See Donegal Surnames Bulletin Board,
for some clues re various surnames of Donegal.
With the foregoing in mind, the reader is referred to the Cumbria Database, (pending development of GED2HTML pages; contact David B. Strong) which, it must be emphasized, is a research tool only. IT IS NOT DEFINITIVE, and should not be relied upon as a source document. No guarantees, either express or implied, are made about the accuracy of the information found therein or on these web pages. The Site Manager is not responsible for errors in the data, nor from faulty analysis thereof. All data should be verified from original or primary sources, whenever those sources are available.
Descendancy charts are much more useful than ancestry charts. They can be useful from several standpoints. For one, there were Scots-Irish naming customs which sometimes help identify family lineages...the first born son was often named after the paternal grandfather; second son after the maternal grandfather; the third son after the father; the first daughter after the maternal grandmother; second daugh- ter after the paternal grandmother; third daughter after the mother. There were variations and there are other patterns which can be deduced sometimes as well.
Author's note: This chapter is incomplete. It will be added to at a later date. ... Pending further Development See the Lineage Directory, and compare the Lineages of Scotland and the of the Borders of England and Scotland with those of Ulster, particularly Co's Armagh's Tynan Abbey with Balcaskie; Down and Antrim with the Glasgow area; and Donegal and Fermangh with the Borders area.
1 Michael Percival-Maxwell, writing in "The Plantation in Ulster, in Strabane Barony, Co.Tyrone, c.1600-1641"; ed. by R.J.Hunter, pub. by Inst. of Cont. Ed., Magee College, Univ. of Ulster, L'nderry,1982;p15 2 Michael Percival-Maxwell, writing in "The Plantation in Ulster, in Strabane Barony, Co.Tyrone, c.1600-1641"; ed. by R.J.Hunter, pub. by Inst. of Cont. Ed., Magee College, Univ. of Ulster, L'nderry,1982;p15 3 Michael Percival-Maxwell, writing in "The Plantation in Ulster, in Strabane Barony, Co.Tyrone, c.1600-1641"; ed. by R.J.Hunter, pub. by Inst. of Cont. Ed., Magee College, Univ. of Ulster, L'nderry,1982;p15 4 Michael Percival-Maxwell, writing in "The Plantation in Ulster, in Strabane Barony, Co.Tyrone, c.1600-1641"; ed. by R.J.Hunter, pub. by Inst. of Cont. Ed., Magee College, Univ. of Ulster, L'nderry,1982;p15 5 R.J. Hunter, "The Plantation in Ulster in Strabane Barony, Co. Tyrone, c.1600-1641", p.11. 6 J.Michael Cox, writing in "The Plantation in Ulster, in Strabane Barony, Co.Tyrone, c.1600-1641"; ed. by R.J.Hunter, pub. by Inst. of Cont. Ed., Magee College, Univ. of Ulster, L'nderry, 1982; p.22. 7 Robert McCrum, William Cran, Robert MacNeil, "The Story of English", Elisabeth Sifton Books-Viking, New York (1986), p.141-142. 8 Black, "The Surnames of Scotland", p.753 9 Charles A. Hanna, "The Scotch-Irish Families of America", p.389-390. 10 Prof. George F. Black, "Surnames of Scotland, Their Origin, Meaning, & History", pub. by The New York Public Library and Readex Books, (1946), p. 753. 11 Geoffrey M. White, "The Complete Peerage", Vol. Skelmersdale to Towton, p.340ff. 12 Geoffrey M. White, "The Complete Peerage", Vol. Skelmersdale to Towton, p.340ff. 13 Geoffrey M. White, "The Complete Peerage", Vol. Skelmersdale to Towton, p.340ff. (insert text)
Go to the Strong Genealogy Network Home Page; while you are there, find other web addresses for members of the Strong Genealogy Network!
Go to the Strong Quest - including the STRONG-List Home Page,
While you are there, be sure to consider subscribing to the Rootsweb Email STRONG List!
See also the Strong Genealogical Forum, and the Strong Biographical and Anecdotal Website
To review some of the discussion on the Strong-List in the past, Go to the Strong List Archives. or go to the Rootsweb Archives.
Help add to our Strong(e)-Strang(e) Roots Database
