NESMITH – Descendants of Nutfield Settler James Nesmith

The Nesmith Family Memorial at
Forest Hill Cemetery, East Derry, New Hampshire

NESMITH / NAESMYTH

Deacon James Nesmith was born about 1692 in Northern Ireland.  He emigrated from the river Bann valley and came to America in 1718.  He was one of the signers of the petition to Governor Shute on 26 March 1718, and one of the original sixteen settlers in Nutfield.  He married on 25 December 1714 in Antrim, Ireland to Elizabeth McKeen, the daughter of Nutfield settler James McKeen.  He died on 9 May 1767 at age 75.  His wife died in Londonderry on 29 April 1763.

Elizabeth was born in 1696 and died on 29 April 1763 at age 67.

James was one of the elders of the Presbyterian church in the West Parish when it was formed in 1739.  

  

Children (first two born in Ireland, the rest in Londonderry, New Hampshire):

      1.      Arthur, was born in Ireland, died young

      

      2.      James, was born in Ireland on 4 August 1718, served in the Revolution (Bunker Hill and the Battle of Bennington), and died on 15 July 1793 in Londonderry.  He is buried at the Valley Cemetery in Londonderry, New Hampshire.  He married Mary Dinsmoor, and had eight children:  James born 10 December 1744 (married Martha McCluer); Jonathan born August 1749 (married Eleanor Dickey and removed to Antrim); Robert born 1748 (married Jane Anderson), Margaret born 7 February 1747/8 (married Hugh Moore); Elizabeth born 22 March 1749/50 (married James Cochran of Windham); Mary Jean born 2 September 1751 (married James McCluer) of Acworth); Martha born 6 November 1755; and Sarah born 27 May 1756 (married Daniel Anderson).

      3.      Arthur, born 3 April 1721, married Margaret Hopkins, settled in Maine, had James, John, Benjamin and Mary.

      4.      Jean, born 12 April 1723, died young

      5.      Mary, born 29 January 1726, died young

      6.      John, born 6 February 1728, married Elizabeth Reid (sister of General George Reid) and had eight children:  James born 6 February 1758 (married Elizabeth Brewster and removed to Antrim); Arthur born 1760 (married Mary Duncan and removed to Antrim and then to Ohio); John born about 1766 (married Susan Hildreth and married second to Lydia Sargent,  and had 10 children by two wives); Ebenezer born 27 March 1769 (married Jane Trotter); Thomas born 1775 (married Annie Wilson); Elizabeth born 1762 (married Deacon James Pinkerton);  Mary born 8 April 1764 (married John Miltimore and removed to Pennsylvania); Jane born 14 July 1772 (married Hugh Anderson)

      7.      Elizabeth, born 28 January 1730, married Jonathan Wallace and removed to New York state where she died November 1817.

      8.      Thomas, born on 16 March 1732, married to Annis Wilson, daughter of James Wilson and Janet Taggart. He died on 30 November 1789.  Was a farmer in Windham. He had eight children:  Jacob, Elizabeth (married Jonathan Wallace), and Thomas.

      9.      Benjamin, born 13 September 1734, married Agnes Gilmore. He died on 18 September 1800 in Belfast, Maine.  Agnes died at the home of their son, Thomas Nesmith, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on 18 October 1814.  Their children were: James born 23 May 1764 and died 4 March 1811 in Belfast, Maine (married Nancy Gilmore); Elizabeth born 10 September 1765 (married James Miller); Benjamin born 13 October 1767 (married Hannah Morrill); Jeanette born 27 May 1770 (married Dr. William Crooks); Jonathan born 3 July 1772 and died 1798 in Belfast, Maine (married Sally Crosby); Mary born 24 September 1779; and Thomas born 27 March 1782 (married Susan Davidson and Sally Loud Cargill).

Note:  James Nesmith had a brother, Thomas Nesmith, who lived near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

For more information:

History of Windham by L. A. Morrison, page 687

Scotch-Irish in New England by Arthur Latham Perry, Boston: Printed by J.S. Cushing & Co., 1891 

Willeys semi-centennial book of Manchester, 1846-1896 : and Manchester edition of the Book of Nutfield : historic sketches of that part of New Hampshire comprised within the limits of the old Tyng Township, Nutfield, Harrytown, Derryfield, and Manchester, from the earliest settlements to the present time by George Franklyn Willey, 1896

Nesmith Genealogical Society:  http://nesmithupdate.com/ 

For more photos and a transcription of the Nesmith Family tombstone, see this link:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/tombstone-tuesday-nesmith-derry-new.html  

Click here for links to the entire series of the first 16 settlers:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/p/nutfields-first-16-settlers.html  


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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "NESMITH – Descendants of Nutfield Settler James Nesmith"; Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 2, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/03/nesmith-descendants-of-nutfield-settler.html: accessed [access date]). 

MCKEEN – Descendants of Nutfield Settler James McKeen

James McKeen is buried at Forest Hill Cemetery,
in Derry, New Hampshire with his wife, Annis Cargill.
For a full transcription of this tombstone see this link:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/tombstone-tuesday-james-mckeen-derry.html 

James McKeen was born in Scotland, and removed to Northern Ireland.  He witnessed the defense of the city of Londonderry, Northern Ireland during the siege of 1688 to 1689. He had three sons who came to America: James, John and William.   

Children:

      1.       John, married Janet and had four children. He died young and his widow remarried to Captain John Barnett, one of the first settlers in Londonderry

a.       James, removed to Hillsborough, New Hampshire

b.       Robert, settled in Pennsylvania

c.       Samuel, settled in Amherst and married Agnes.  Had ten children.

d.       Mary, married her cousin John McKeen (see below)

      2.       William, came to America ten years after his brothers and settled in Pennsylvania. His grandson, Thomas McKean, signed the Declaration of Independence and was Governor.

      3.       James, had a wife in Ireland who was mother of his first two daughters, and then remarried to Annis Cargill who came with his other children in the 1718 migration. He was accompanied by his son-in-law James Nesmith, Rev. James McGregor who had married his wife’s sister, Marion Cargill.  His brother John was going to bring his family, too, but he died just before they left Ireland, so his widow, Janet and her four children came along.

The third child James McKeen was 53 years old in 1718 for the migration to New England, and he was one of the sixteen men who accompanied Rev. James MacGregor to Nutfield.  He was known as “Justice James McKeen” because he was the first magistrate in Nutfield.  He died in Londonderry, New Hampshire on 9 November 1756 when he was 90 years old.  Justice James was first married to Janet Cochran and had two daughters – Elizabeth and Janet.  He then married Annis Cargill as his second wife and had nine more children.  His wife, Annis, died 8 August 1782, at age 94.   James and Annis are buried together at “Setters Row” at the Forest Hill Cemetery in what is now East Derry, New Hampshire.

Children:

a.       Elizabeth, married James Nesmith, son of James Nesmith the Nutfield settler

b.       Janet, married John Cochran of Windham- her daughter Elizabeth was the mother of Robert Dinsmoor, the “Rustic Bard” and the mother of Governor Samuel Dinsmoor of Keene.

c.       “Deacon” John, born 13 April 1714 in Ballymony, he married his cousin Mary McKeen, daughter of his uncle John McKeen. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church, a selectman, and representative to the General Court.  Children: James born 15 January 1739 died 26 February 1776 in Peterborough; John born 4 February 1746, died 1807 in Oyster Bay, New York; Robert born 12 August 1749 and died 27 October 1810 in Corinth, Orange County, Vermont and married Mary (maiden name unknown); William, Annis  born 1750(unmarried); Joseph born 15 October 1757 and died 15 July 1807 in Brunswick, Maine, married Alice Anderson (minister at Beverly, Massachusetts and first president of Bowdoin College in Maine); Janet (born 4 October 1741 and married John Taylor), Daniel born 11 November 1768, died 4 November 1820 (married Janet Wilson and Lucy Martin, widow of John Nesmith of Windham); and Samuel  born 1760 and died 4 November 1820 (married Betsey Taylor and Mary Clark)

d.       Mary, married Robert Boyd, no children

e.       David, born 1715 and died 9 October 1793 in Londonderry

f.        James, born April 1719, married Elizabeth Dinsmoor, had a son David and a daughter.

g.       Janet, born 28 December 1721, married William Orr, three children- James, Anna and a daughter who married Timothy Carr, the first settler of Danville, Vermont

h.       Martha, born 14 December 1723 in Londonderry, died 14 May 1803 in Windham, married John Dinsmoor, had several children including Colonel Silas Dinsmore who was an Indian Agent for the US Government

i.         Margaret, born 30 March 1726 in Londonderry, died 14 May 1803 in Londonderry.

j.         Annis, born 30 March 1726 in Londonderry

k.       Samuel, born 1729 in Londonderry, died 1 October 1821 in Londonderry, married Mary (maiden name unknown). 

A note from McKeen researcher Barry R. McCain “The data to date:  the family of James and John McKeen is the same family as Alexander and Hugh McKeen of Donegal township, PA colony circa 1719/20.  That’s the part we know from DNA testing, but the part we do not know is the exact relationship.  James McKeen had a very large family via two marriages, given the closeness of the DNA it is possible Alexander and Hugh are older sons that migrated with the 1718 fleet, or on a ship that came the next year.  If not that, then a line from another brother of James and John McKeen.  DNA reveals much… but not all from the past.  Given other primary source factors in Ireland circa mid 1600s, the older sons from James McKeen most likely scenario.”

For more information:

DNA

There is a McCain/McKeen DNA project for descendants of Nutfield’s James McKeen at Family Tree DNA https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/mccain/about .  Contact Barry R. McCain barramccain@gmail.com or Colin Brooks at CB1718project@gmail.com  

An interesting book about the McCain clan, DNA, the Scots Irish and more - Finding the McCains: A Scots Irish Odyssey by Barry R. McCain, 2015 

Clan Mhic Eain… Clan McCain (a blog about the McCain Clan) http://maceain.blogspot.com/ 

Clan Maclain of Ardamurchan: http://www.clanmaciain.com/maciain/   

Click here for links to the sketches of all sixteen first Nutfield settlers: 
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/p/nutfields-first-16-settlers.html 



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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "MCKEEN – Descendants of Nutfield Settler James McKeen", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 22, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/02/mckeen-descendants-of-nutfield-settler.html: accessed [access date]). 

Finding the McCains: A Scots Irish Odyssey

This week Amazon has Finding the McCains: A Scots Irish Odyssey by Barry R. McCain on sale.   This book uses DNA studies and primary sources to draw insights about the McCain family of Nutfield (now Londonderry, Derry and Windham, New Hampshire). 

From Barry himself:

“This is the family of James McKeen, first magistrate of Nutfield/Londonderry.  His in-law Rev McGregor, etc., his brother John McKeen's family also settled in Nutfield.  We discovered the connections during the DNA testing, which revealed, not only were the New England McKeens the same family as the Mississippi McCains, but the kinship was a close one.  We all descend from the same McCain family that lived in Ulster late 1600s.  The immigrant ancestors of the MS McCains, Alexander and Hugh McKean are the sons of James and John McKeen.  We have now traced the family back to the late AD 1290s using DNA testing and primary sources.

Finding the McCains is an account of one Mississippi McCain’s 40 year odyssey to find his family in Ireland. Senator John McCain and his cousin, novelist Elizabeth Spencer, both include a short history of the Mississippi McCain family in their respective memoirs 'Faith of our Fathers' and 'Landscapes of the Heart.' This history is a romantic tale of Highland Scots who supported Mary Queen of Scots and who fled to Ireland after her downfall in 1568. The search for the McCains became a mystery story with clues, false turns, many adventures, and then ultimate success through Y chromosome DNA testing. In 2008 the McCains were reunited with their family that remained in Ireland, after 289 years of separation.

The McCain history includes people and events familiar to readers of Irish and Scottish history; Redshanks, Iníon Dubh, Mary Queen of Scots, the Earls of Argyll, the Ulster Migration, and the Scots-Irish, are all part of this family’s story. Faint memories of this past were told for generations in Mississippi and as the research progressed the facts behind these memories were uncovered. Another theme in the book is the Scots-Irish. Contemporary histories about the Scots-Irish present stereotyped and romanticized accounts of this dynamic group.  Finding the McCains reveals a more complex history and shows the cultural conflation common in Scots-Irish popular history.  Finding the McCains is also a genetic genealogy how-to guide for people of Irish and Scottish ancestry.”

Barry R McCain was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and spent his early life in Ouachita parish, Louisiana. He is the administrator of the Ulster Heritage Project. The Project sponsors the Ulster Heritage DNA Project and promotes research into family and general history of the nine counties of Ulster. Mr McCain's main research focus is the Gaelic families and clans of Argyll, the southern Hebrides, and the Scottish Lowlands. Mr. McCain has a degree in history from Ole Miss and he works as a writer and lives in Oxford, Mississippi.   He is the author of the blog McCain’s Corner  http://barryrmccain.blogspot.com/  and the author of The Laggan Redshanks:  The Highland Scots in West Ulster 1568 – 1630, 2014

Peer Review from Dr. William Roulston:

“In writing this book, Barry McCain has done a great service not only to those interested in the McCain ancestry, but to everyone fascinated by the millennia-old connections between Scotland and Ireland. In this volume he demonstrates the complexity of those connections, highlighting, for example, the often-overlooked Gaelic heritage of many of the families from Scotland that made Ulster their home. His use of DNA analysis to investigate otherwise hidden aspects of his ancestry serves as an exemplar of the way in which this technology can be applied to family history and the search for our forebears.

Throughout this book Barry's enthusiasm for his ancestry in both Scotland and Ireland, and his love for the people of both countries, shines through. This is a book to encourage all of us as we seek to discover something more of our past.”

I haven’t read this book yet, but I have recommended it to the Londonderry Leach library and the Derry Public Library to add to their genealogy collections.   

Link to the Amazon page for Finding the McCains

http://www.amazon.com/Finding-McCains-Scots-Irish-Odyssey/dp/0985587644/ref=as_sl_pc_ac_c_1_1_i_rec?tag=barryrmccainbooks-20&linkCode=w24&creative=496521&camp=212361&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fbarryrmccain.blogspot.com%2F

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Finding the McCains:  A Scots Irish Odyssey", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 13, 2015, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/08/finding-mccains-scots-irish-odyssey.html : accessed [access date]).  

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Tombstones at the Derry History Museum

The following tombstones, fragments and rubbings from the 

Forest Hill Cemetery in Derry, New Hampshire were photographed at the

Derry History Museum

29 West Broadway

Derry, New Hampshire

http://www.derryhistorymuseum.org/

The label reads:

Willow and Urn Fragment circa 1790

This gravestone fragment from an unknown burial

site at Forest Hill Cemetery is in the "Willow and

Urn" style that was common in the late 18th - early

19th century.  Its design is related to the re-discovery

of the classical writing, art and philosophy of the 

ancient Greek and Roman cultures. 

The label reads:

Elizabeth McKeen - circa 1752

The gravestone of Elizabeth McKeen (1725 - 1752)

is carved in the "Death Head" style - a common motif

in puritan New England.  Her broken stone has since

been replaced by a large family memorial stone. 

MAY DUST RETURN TO DUST

HERE LYES THE

BODY OF ELISABETH

BELL A CHILD  DAU-

GHTER OF JOHN AND

MARY BELL.  SHE

DIED  ??? YE 17TH

1760

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/05/tombstone-tuesday-tombstones-at-derry.html

Copyright (c) 2015, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Friday Funny ~ A Genealogy Poem

A PUZZLE IN RELATIONSHIP
       by Robert Dinsmoor

My cousin dear, my uncle’s wife,

     Explain this misty point to me,

I cannot tell to save my life,

     What our relationship may be:

My cousin, yet my aunt you’re stil’d,

     I am, which seems a sin to be,

Your uncle’s son, your sister’s child;

     And what are you akin to me?

According to the book Poems of Robert Dinsmoor, this poem was “Addressed Jan. 2, 1776 to his cousin Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. James and Elizabeth (McKeen) Nesmith, of Londonderry, N.H., who married his uncle, Capt. James Cochran, of Windham, the son of Capt. John and Jennie (McKeen) Cochran, ancestors of the Cochrans of Windham, N. H.  His cousin was born March 22, 1749; died April 29, 1824.  Capt. James Nesmith, above mentioned, was born Aug. 4, 1718, just before the departure of his parents from Ireland, and was the son of Dea. James Nesmith, one of the first sixteen settlers in Londonderry, N. H.  The Nesmiths emigrated from Scotland to the valley of the River Bann, in Ireland.”

From Poems of Robert Dinsmoor: “The Rustic Bard”, by Robert Dinsmoor, James Dinsmoor, edited by Leonard Allison Morrison, Boston, Massachusetts:  Damrell & Upham “Old Corner Book Store”, 1898,   page 71.

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To Cite/Link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Friday Funny ~ A Genealogy Poem", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 7, 2014, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/02/friday-funny-genealogy-poem.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Nesmith, Derry, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed at the Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire.

It has the entire genealogy of the Nesmith family! 

Side One

JAMES NESMITH

emigrated from the North of Ireland

in 1718 and with 15 other families

were the original settlers of Londonderry,

N.H. in 1719; died 1767; aged 75, his wife

ELIZABETH, dau'r of Rev. J's McKeen

died in 1763; aged 67, their child'n

were ARTHUR, set'd in S. part of L.D.

afterwards removed to State of

Me.  JAMES, set'd in N. part of L.D.

JOHN, set'd in S. part of L.D. mar'd to

Elizabeth Reid.  THOMAS, set'd in S. part

of L.D. mar'd Annis Wilson

ELIZABETH

JOHN NESMITH, died 1815, aged 87.

Elizabeth, his wife, died 1793, aged 64.

Their child'n were JAMES

mar'd Elizabeth Brewster. ARTHUR 

mar'd Mary Duncan.  JOHN, mar'd 

Susan Hildreth, 2d wife Lydia Sargent.

EBENEZER mar'd Jane Troler.

THOMAS, not mar'd

died at L.D. 1815, aged 40

ELIZABETH, mar'd James Pinkerton

MARY, mar'd John Miltemore

JANE mar'd Hugh Anderson

BENJAMIN NESMITH, youngest son of the

emigrant (mar'd Agnes Gilmore)

Died in Belfast, Me. Sept 1800 aged 66

Side Two

THOMAS NESMITH

died Nov. 30 1789 aged 58

Annis Wilson his wife died Jan. 1, 1821

aged 82, then children were

JOHN mar'd Lucy Martin

ELIZABETH mar'd Jon'a Wallace, she died

at Essex, NY

THOMAS died in infancy

Side Three

JOHN NESMITH

died Feb 4, 1806, aged 44

Lucy Martin, 1st husband John Nesmith

2nd husband, Dan'l McKeen, she died Feb 2,

1837' aged 72, children of first marriage were

JACOB M. died Jan. 19, 1863; aged 77

THOMAS, died July 31, 1870; aged 82

ELIZABETH, mar'd Alexander Park, died

at Windham, Jan. 18, 1836; aged 44

JOHN, died Oct. 15, 1869; aged 76

JAMES W. died Apr. 29, 1881; aged 85

LUCY mar'd John Patten; died Apr. 22

1848; aged 49

ANNIS, mar'd Wm. Davidson, 1801 - 1877

GEORGE R. died, Aug. 21, 1882; aged 79

JONATHAN W. died at Somerville Nov. 2, 

1847, aged 42

ELIZA wife of James W. Nesmith

died Aug. 28, 1865; aged 58 yrs

and dear family

JAMES AUGUSTUS died Sept. 28

1845, aged 11 yrs

MARY ANN wife of Benjamin Parsons

died Apr. 25, 1913; aged 80 yrs, 9 ms

Side Four

JOHN NESMITH

died Nov. 9, 1844; aged 78, mar'd

Susan Hildreth who died 1813; aged ??

2d wife Lydia Sargent. child'n of the

Died April 19, 1856

marriage were 

JOHN P.

ISABELLA A.

SUSAN H.            SAMUEL H.

JAMES P. died at Matanzas April 21, 1844

aged 27

MARY NESMITH Died Feb. 21, 1869

THOMAS, died Nov. 17, 1888

ELIZABETH

child'n of the 2d marriage were

ALBERT S. died Apr. 1, 1860. aged 44

CHARLES E.

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Original Nutfield Proprietors, April 11, 1719

These are original proprietors, or grantees of Nutfield, then Londonderry and Derry, New Hampshire.

James McKeen

John Mitchell

James Anderson

Allen Anderson
John Archibald

John Barnett

James Sterrett

Randel Alexander

John Morrison

Samuel Morrison

James Gregg

John Stuart

James Nesmith

Thomas Steele

James Clark

Robert Weir

Archibald Clendenin

Reverend James MacGregor

The list is taken from Rev. James McGregor’s petition dated 27 Feb. 1720 to Governor Samuel Shute of Massachusetts (Jeremy Belknap Papers, volume 6I.A.81, Massachusetts Historical Society).

"In 1718 five ships full of settlers and four Presbyterian ministers left Londonderry, Northern Ireland for Boston.  Some of the families went that first winter to Casco Bay, Maine and suffered without food and shelter.  In the spring of 1719 some of the families went to Haverhill, Massachusetts where they heard about land to the north that was promising.  This land was called Nutfield, due to the abundance of chestnut and walnut trees. Some of the men went there and built temporary shelters, determined to be granted the land from the Massachusetts governor Samuel Shute.  They returned to Haverhill for their families, and invited Reverend James MacGregor to come with them to Nutfield.  He did, and on April 11, 1719 he preached his first religious service on the east side of Beaver Lake under a nut tree. The following year the town was renamed from Nutfield to Londonderry."

The image above is from Willey's Semi-centennial Book of Manchester, 1846 - 1896, by George Franklyn Willey, 1896, page 52.  It depicts the first open air sermon preached by Rev. MacGregor on the shores of Beaver Lake, under the nut tree. 

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tombstone Tuesday- James McKeen, Derry, New Hampshire

This tombstone, erected by descendants in 1848, is located in Forest Hill Cemetery, Derry, New Hampshire.  It contains a plethora of genealogical information!  According to FindAGrave.com this stone was carved by F. A. Brown of Haverhill

In memory of

JAMES McKEEN, Esq.

A principal proprietor & Magistrate of

the little Colony which first settled this Town.

Who died Nov. 9, 1756:

aged 91 yrs.

His children by JANE COCHRAN his first

wife were ELIZABETH, the wife of ASA NESMITH

and JANNETT, the wife of JOHN COCHRAN;

and by ANNAS CARGILL, his second wife,

JOHN McKEEN, a member of the provisional

Congress in NH, JAMES McKEEN, JANE the wife

of Wm. ORR, MARTHA, the wife of JOHN DINSMORE,

and MARY the wife of ROBERT BOYD.

His other near relations were his sister MARY ANN

the wife of the REV. JAs. McGREGOR, ANNETT

the widow of his brother JOHN McKEEN and his &

her three sons & one daughter formerly of Londonderry

ALSO IN MEMORY OF

ANNAS

his 2d wife, who died Aug. 8, 1782

aged 94 yrs.

They were members of the presbyterian Church & to enjoy their

opinions in peace they & all the other Colonists emigrated from the

north of Ireland to this Country.  In gratitude to God & in honor

of departed worth this monument was erected in the year

1848 by certain descendants of the deceased. 

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Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

From Northern Ireland, to Nutfield Genealogy

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Many of the descendants of Scots Irish settlers, and local New Hampshire folks, read my blog, but it seems that I have quite a few readers from Northern Ireland. I recieve a lot of comments from folks over there, and also quite a bit of email. Here are a few emails from Northern Ireland I would like to share for St. Patrick's Day.

-------------------------------
1 November 2010

"I know of the Nutfield, Londonderry, McKean family as that is my family. I headed up the McCain family DNA project. The family came over in 1718 as you know, I work mainly on our history in Ireland and Scotland pre1600. An amazing amount of data collected on this family via DNA testing. My Mississippi McCains, which includes my cousin Senator McCain, and the Nutfield McKeens are the same family; we discovered that early on the testing. The common male ancestor circa mid 1600s. I also located where the family lived in Argyll, they migrated to Ireland circa 1570s. There was a influx of what is called Redshank Scots into east Donegal in the 1500s, and the McCains were one of those families.

I am doing an interview with the BBC this week in fact about the McCain family. On the Kist o'Wurds Program, BBC Northern Ireland, on Friday. I am finishing up a book, a memoir, called, 'Finding The McCains.' They have an interest in it.

Our McCain family stays in touch with one another, I often get emails from my New England cousins. I've been over to Ireland many times to visit our McCain cousins there also. Very dramatic how DNA testing can add to family history.

Send me a note some time.

Cheers,
Barry R McCain
Ulster Heritage
http://www.ulsterheritage.com/ (the Ulster Heritage Website)
http://uhblog.ulsterheritage.com/ (the Ulster Heritage Magazine)"

--------------------------------
[Also, on the same day from Barry McCain]

"....attached a photo of Barry R McCain, Ian McKean of Porthall, Donegal, and Ivan Knox (his mother a McCain in our line) of Corcam Donegal. After 279 years, I reunited the McCain family, it was a lot of fun also. The Y chromosome DNA testing is an excellent tool. It will prove kinship, in a black and white manner, brutally honest. The Mississippi McCains descend from a Alexander and Hugh McKean living in Donegal settlement PA Colony, circa 1722.

We received the DNA from the New England McKeens and the kinship was proven; it was very close kinship chronologically. Given the early date of the Donegal settlement, it appears Alexander and Hugh were on the 1718 fleet that came into Boston. DNA test are not perfect, as it can not tell between 1st cousins and brothers, as the DNA is so often identical; but the geneticists are make so many advances I expect pretty soon they will sort that one out also. The Nutfield settlement sent families to the PA Colony early, so that link pretty easy to establish…

Stay in touch,
Barry"

UPDATE
On 11 January 2012 I received a comment from a reader regarding this McKeen DNA project:


"Unfortunately, the DNA project led by Barry McCain has proven that William McKeen is not grandfather to Thomas McKean the Signer. There is the possibility of a link further back that DNA testing may eventually uncover, but at this point the current link, as described in oft repeated family writings, is invalid."
Jack MacKeen
jmackeen@verizon.net


(see comment section below)

----------------------------------
19 January 2011

"Funny coincidences. I am working on a paper on the 1718 emigration to NH, to be given in March to the Family History Society in Belfast, Northern Ireland. One of the main topics will be Robert Dinsmoor and his family's story; I was searching the web for an image or two to show them and found your (very interesting) blog. Amazed that you were thinking about him in New Hampshire, at the exact same time that I was thinking about him in Ireland. The whole story is full of interest. Anyhow, now that I'm talking to you, may I use one or two of your images in a Powerpt presentation? They'll not be re-published; just flashed up for a minute/ And if I can help you with any Ulster background, do get in touch

I was going to comment on your blog, but it won't let me without a profile; not to worry, hope this reaches you. Your site is very impressive, and I think I should have got in touch with you before I wrote the paper! Maybe we can talk more about these matters

best wishes
Linde Lunney
I now live in Dublin, but I grew up in northern Ireland. my mother is from Aghadowey. When I get through that, I will catch up with your blog properly. talk more sometime soon
Linde
http://www.1718migration.org.uk/ (The Scots Irish Journey To the New World website)"

[Linde Lumney is referencing a blog post from 17 January 2011 about the Windham, New Hampshire poet Robert Dinsmoore http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/01/amanuensis-monday-robert-dinsmore.html I have changed the settings on my blog so anyone can leave a comment, even anonymously. Linde Lumney has send quite a bit more email since January.]

Copyright 2011, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Nutfield's Royal Connection

Doña María del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y Silva

The Duchess of Alba, the grandest grandee in Spain, is said to be able to cross the country from north to south without leaving her estates, and to possess more titles than the Queen of England. She is one of the wealthiest women in the entire world. She has 44 noble titles and 150 hereditary titles. Her name is splashed on headlines in Europe more than the Octomom, Michael Jackson and Angelina Jolie combined in the United States.

I married a Spaniard, and in all our trips to visit the in-laws in Madrid, we often pass the Duchess of Alba’s grand mansion. Of course, I only see it whilst jammed into a public bus, peeking out between the elbows of other Madrileños. We all hope to see the Duchess perhaps in her limo, or out watering the roses.

I recently saw that on top of all her titles, she was applying, with her sisters to belong to DAR. Now, here in lowly Londonderry, membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Society of Mayflower Descendants might be the closest your average Jane Doe can attain to having a “title.” I guess Doña Cayetana wanted to pile another title on her crown.

When I found out how she qualified for DAR membership, I had to chuckle. The lineage was public knowledge, and is easily found with a little time spent googling on the internet. Now thousands of Americans may claim her as a cousin, and perhaps want to crash on her sofa while taking in the sites in Madrid!

William McKean (pronounced McCain, like the presidential candidate) was a Scots Irish immigrant from Northern Ireland, just like most of the first settlers in Nutfield. He, like so many of the Scots Irish, didn’t stay put in New Hampshire, but he removed to Pennsylvania. His grandson, Thomas McKean, was a lawyer and politician, as well as a Revolutionary War officer. He married well twice, and lived in luxury in Philadelphia. He became a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a Continental Congressman, President of Delaware and Governor of Pennsylvania, among other triumphs. I guess grand titles run in this family!

His daughter, Sarah, was only a teenager when she caught the eye of a Spanish grandee at a state dinner in Philadelphia. Señor Don Carlos Martinez d’Yrugo quickly married her and had three children before returning to Spain. Their son Don Carlos Fernando Martinez de Yrujo y McKean became prime Minister of Spain, and the second Marquis de Casa Yrujo, Duke of Sotomayor. He married even better than his grandfather and mother, and his children and descendants began collecting titles, estates and power in Spain. Thus a dynasty was born in lowly Londonderry!

Doña Cayetana FitzJames Stuart is also a direct descendant of the King James II of England by his illegitimate son James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick by his mistress Arabella Churchill.


The Family Tree....

• 
  Gen. 1. William McKean b. 1704 Northern Ireland d. 18 Nov 1769 in Londonderry, New Hampshire m. Letitia Finney
• 
  Gen 2: Thomas McKeen b. 19 Mar 1733/4 in New London, Pennsylvania d. 24 Jun 1817 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania m. Sarah Armitage on 3 Sep 1774 in Newcastle, Delaware
• 
  Gen 3: Sarah Maria Teresa McKean b. 8 Jul 1777 in Newark, Delaware d. 4 Jan 1841 in Madrid, Spain m. Carlos Martinez on 10 Apr 1798 in Philadelphia
• 
  Gen 4: Carlos Fernando Martinez b. 14 Dec 1802 Washington, DC d. 26 Dec 185 in Madrid, Spain m. Gabriela de Acazar
• 
  Gen 5. Carlos Manuel Martinez b. 5 Apr 1846 in London, England d. 14 Sep 19 in San Sebastian, Spain m. Maria Caro
• 
  Gen 6. Pedro Martinez b. 3 Oct 1882 d. 5 Sep 1957 San Sebastian, Spain m. Ana Maria Arazcoz Labayen on 26 Oct 1910
• 
  Gen 7. Luis Martinez b. 17 Nov 1919 in Madrid, Spain d. 6 Sep 1972 in Houston, Texas m. Maria del Rosario Fitz-James Stuart on 12 Oct 1947 in Seville, Spain as her first husband. 

      The children of her first husband are eligible for DAR or to join the "Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence" and other patriotic organizations because of this marriage.  

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Copyright 2009, Heather Wilkinson Rojo