Linn (Lynn)Family History

The following information was found in the Hall of Archives and Records in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Lynn Family Crest

Heraldic blazon of the coat of arms of the family of Lynn.

SHIELD: Gules (red) a deli-lion rampant (fighting position) argent (silver) within a bordure x sable (black) bezantee (spotted with golden circles).

CREST: A lion's head erased (torn off) argent (sliver)

The name Lynn is among those Scottish "place names" of which the border families were so fond. Other examples are Lea (Lee), More (Moor), Ford (Furde), etc. The name also is frequently found as both Lynne and Linn and Linne; however; Lynn seems to be the oldest form. It is noted that this indisciminate spelling was use in the same household, the father spelling his name one way and the son another.

The arms is a very ancient one and well known. It is of a Crusading motif. The lion has reference to Richard the Lion Hearted (Richard the Lion) whom many Scoots followed to the Holy Land. The bezant takes its name and form from the Byzant, coin of Byzantiam, the seat of the Roman Empire of the East. These greedy Christians of the East charged the Expedition (or that part of it which traveled the land route) exhorbitant fees for crossing th e Helispoint. In derision many Crusaders placed Byzants upon their escutcheons as their Crusading emblem. There is no motto, due to the great antiquity of the grant of arms. The livery colors are silver and red.

The Linns of Rowan County, North Carolina have but comparitively changed the spelling of the name to Linn. In all old County Records it is spelled Lynn.

Scottish Heritage

The Lynns of Ayrshire, Scotland, were considered a "borderer" family, residing, as they did upon both sides of the Scotto-Anglo Border. In the fateful '45, (1745, they cast their lot with Bonnie Prince Charlie. When the cause was lost to Culloden (1746) name had to flee Scotland for their lives and liberties. Some of these fled to Northern Ireland and some directly to America.

It is not known whether or not Hugh Linn (Lynn) participated in the Rebellion. It may have been his father. It also is not known whether or not he fled to Ireland, thence to America, or came direct. It is known that he landed first in Philadelphia and accompanied some German (Pennsylvania Dutch) families on their treck Southward into Rowan County. Here he settled on Coldwater and Grants Creeks near the present site of Landis, No. Car. and was one of the founders of the nearby Presbyterian Church.

His son, Robert Lynn, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, settled near Organ Church in 1784 on 52 acres of land. Here he built one of the first mills of the County. The Lynns intermarried with the famous Barringer family, the Redwines, etc. It is said that the Linns joined the Lutheran Church through the Barringer marriage, the husband going with his wife. This is not strange considering the fact that the Organ Church neighborhood was almost completely composed of those of Germanic decent, all being either Lutheran or Reformed in their religious preferences.

Hugh Linn, Jr.

Hugh Linn, Jr. is believed to have been a sea captain who sailed between Liverpool, England and the American colonies in the mid-1700s.

The Linn family is believed to have roots in Ayrshire, Scotland.

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Last Updated by Doug Melzer , 14 February 2004

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