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David Greer and Margaret McComb from County Antrim

Antrim

Hi Everyone, I have hit a brick wall on this ancestor. David Greer was born ~1755 in County Antrim. He married Mary (or Margaret) McComb ~1787. He emigrated to America ~1790 and settled in the Pendleton District of South Carolina. I do not know his port of entry. He probably brought 2 children, one of them was Eleanor/Ellender. I cannot find any information on his parents and I hope that you can help.

I do know this:

--He was probably a farmer in Ireland. A family story indicated that he was familiar with farming methods in Ireland.

--There is a Presbyterian church about 4 miles from where he settled. It was founded by the Rev. Peter McMullen in 1789 who lived in Ahoghill. It is possible that he was bringing members of his congregation to America. https://www.duewestarp.com/our-history I contacted the church and they have no records going back that far. I researched Ahoghill and there are a lot of Greers in the area. I just cannot determine which family might be connected to my ancestor or if any are connected.

I would appreciate any help. Maybe someone in County Antrim is familiar with this family.

Best,

Debra Jones

debra@wctel.net

8 replies

Debra,

Rev Peter McMullan was Minister of Ahoghill 2nd Presbyterian church, also known as Trinity. It still exists today. Here’s a little bit of information about him, taken from “A history of Congregations in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.” It’s not really quite clear why he left Ahoghill but there’s no mention of him taking any of his congregation with him (as some Presbyterian Ministers did in the 1700s).

https://www.facebook.com/TrinityAhoghill/?locale=en_GB

The church’s records only start in 1835.

There was a religious census in Ahoghill in 1776:

http://www.ulsterancestry.com/free/ShowFreePage-48.html#gsc.tab=0

According to the Ordnance Survey memoirs c 1835, the vast majority of the population of Ahoghill are believed to be descendants of the Scottish General Munro's army of 10,000 Scots which was disbanded at Carrickfergus in the 1640s. Many chose to remain in Ireland rather than return to Scotland and large numbers settled around Ahoghill. (Being Presbyterian in Ireland generally indicates Scots ancestry).

Researching in Ireland in the 1700s is very hard going due to the general lack of records. If you don’t know where they lived it’s a needle in a haystack. Ideally you need to know the person’s exact denomination and the townland or parish they lived in to have any chance of finding them, and even then there may not be any records for that location.

Possibly DNA testing may be a way of matching with others who have additional information about where the family originate. Family Tree DNA reportedly has more people with Ulster roots than any other company. That obviously increases the chances of finding a match. You might want to try them or, if you have already tested, you can transfer your results to them for no fee.

The North of Ireland Family History Society is running an Ulster DNA project and can offer FTDNA testing kits at a reduced price. http://www.nifhs.org (Go to DNA project on the website).

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Debra,

Information I found on the internet.

David Greer (c.1779 - d.) - Genealogy

David Greer, Sr. Historical Marker

"Came to the colonies and received a land grant from King George III in 1770 in the area known as the 96 District of South Carolina. In 1791 he moved to this locality and accepted a land grant from Charles Pinckney, Governor of South Carolina, and became the first settler of Honey Path, S.C. Married three times; the father of 15 children. David, 3 wives, and 4 children are buried in this plot....

David Greer, Sr.

1750 - 1855

Wives

————•————

Margaret McCombs

1776 - 1801

Hannah Dunlop

1780-1816

Mary Sims

1790-1842"

Regards- Mary

mtvrdk@gmail.com

Hi Mary,

Sorry for the late reply. I did not receive a notification that I had some posts.

I am familiar with that information, but I am not sure that 1770 David Greer is the same as 1791 David Greer. I descended from his daughter Ellender, who was born in 1787 and died sometime in the 1860's (before 1870, we think). Birth year was taken from census as well. As far as I know, she was his first or oldest living child. In each US census that she answered, she said that she was born in Ireland. Some things don't add up. I believe that David Greer was born sometime between 1750 and 1760. He died in 1855. I have his estate papers and from them, I believe he was born ~1755, maybe even as late as 1760.

If we use the family marker date, born in 1750, then he was 105 when he died. Not impossible. BUT it would mean that he was 37 when Ellender was born. I paid a visit to PRONI in 2018 and met with Desmond McCabe. He said that he thought that was a bit old to be starting a family and I agree. So if Ellender was born in Ireland ~1787, David Greer was probably not in South Carolina.

To get a land grant in 1770, would it be possible at age 20? Probably not at age 15, if we use 1755 as his birth year. Did he get a land grant in 1770 and then go back to Ireland and start a family? It is possible that Margaret McCombe was not his first wife and he may have had an earlier family who died.

I have had a hard time trying to make David Greer who received a grant in 1770 fit the timeline with what I know about his children. 1791 is correct, and have seen the land records.

debra@wctel.net

Hi Elwyn,

Thanks so much for the information. I may contact the church and ask if they will post a message to the current congregation. It's possible that there are family members still in the area and attending the church. Maybe someone remembers a family story about Greers who went to America in the 1700's. Regarding the information on General Munro's army, do you know of any list of soldiers who were part of that army?

FYI, Rev. McMullen: the story is that he was an alcoholic and the Due West, SC congregation forced him out in 1801. They went for several years without a minister.

debra@wctel.net

Debra,

I don’t think any lists of soldiers names exist from the 1600s. Not the sort of documentation they bothered with much. I have never heard of such a list existing.

I have attached a page from the Ordnance Survey memoirs (compiled 1837) which describe Ahoghill in some detail. The page I have attached mentioned the Scottish origins of many of the inhabitants.

Greer is a fairly common name in the Ahoghill area. You can search for gravestone inscriptions on Ancestry using this link:

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/62804/?redirectFor=db.aspx

I found 40 Greers in the area. 2 in Trinity and others nearby. (There are about 6 graveyards in Ahoghill. Ahoghill 1st, 2nd & 3rd Presbyterians, plus the Church of Ireland, the RC graveyard and the Old graveyard.).

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

"Greer is a fairly common name in the Ahoghill area."

That and the fact that (two years earlier) Peter McMullen came to the same area where David Greer settled, made me hopeful that I have the right area. The only information from the Greer family is that he came from County Antrim. In 1890, a story was published about David in a local newspaper. The author was Hiram Frost, a name that is not familiar to me, and he doesn't say where he got his information. There is no mention of his parents in the story or an exact location from where he emigrated. Here is that story:

https://www.newspapers.com/image/73825411/?clipping_id=17587509&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjczODI1NDExLCJpYXQiOjE3NjMwNDU5NzYsImV4cCI6MTc2MzEzMjM3Nn0.O-iTvJIFxyFqDl7-tKFekfQ5wJOJif_g3Bv7arwV7t4

It says that he came to South Carolina in 1789, which was the same year as Peter McMullen. He settled first about 40 miles or more from Due West where McMullen was. Then 3 years later, settled Honea Path which is about 4 miles from Due West, SC.

Here is the history of Due West ARP Church: https://www.duewestarp.com/our-history

Thanks again for the information, and I will reach out to a few families in the area. Hopefully, someone has some information.

debra@wctel.net

Debra,

Trinity has a Facebook page that you might want to use to contact possible relatives:

https://www.facebook.com/TrinityAhoghill/?locale=en_GB

My advice is that most families here in Ireland (and I live near Ahoghill) only know their family history back about 3 generations ie to around 1900. Few know of ancestors who may have left Ireland 130 years before that. Most know roughly where their ancestors came from and are often not interested in learning anything more. You are probably going to need DNA to match with folk who have connections from the 1700s.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hi Elwyn,

Thank you for all of the help.  I will let you know if I find any information through Trinity.

Best,

Debra

debra@wctel.net

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