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McClelland

TyroneClogherny (Tyrone)

I'm searching for my family roots. John McClelland's parents are possibly Thomas William McClelland and Elizabeth Mitchell. John was born about 1745 in the U.S. And died pre-1808 married Elizabeth Martin. They had two children, John and Jane and possibly a third, David. John was born in 1787 in PA, U.S. and died in 1869 married Ann May, born 1792 in PA. Ann's father, John May was born in Ireland and her mother, Nancy Work was born in England. The family migrated to the US in the very late 1600's to the very early 1700's. Some genealogicalish said that the family may have had come directly from Scotland, but my father and his siblings were proud of the fact they were Scots-Irish. Most of the books list Clogher, Tyrone as the place to start looking for the McClelland's.

My sister and I are planning a trip to Ireland in September, 2014 to research the family and are seeking as much information beforehand.

IrelandXO member

3 replies

Dear  Mcclelland

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

If you look on www.rootsireland.ie (a subscription site) there is one Thomas 'McClellan' recorded in the baptism records between 1710 and 1750. He is recorded as baptised in Co. Armagh. It would be difficult to say if this is your Thomas as we do not have his parents? names or his details of his parish. As this is a subscription site, I am limited in what I can see there.

I couldn?t find a record of a McClelland-Mitchell marriage. Given that civil registration didn?t begin until 1864 we are heavily dependent on Church parish records for information. Many parish records do not start until the 1800s, some late in the 1800s. As your search is very early, it may not be possible to learn anything more about Thomas and Elizabeth. I can?t see any baptism records for McClelland-Mitchell children.

You will be able to see from the link below where the McClelland name was most prominent in the 19th Century:

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?Surname=McClelland….

Remember to post any new information that you find here. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.

Best of luck with your search

Clare Doyle

Genealogy Support  

IrelandXO member

I know this thread is extremely old, but I have a McClelland - Mitchell marriage in my family tree, circa 1820.

How would I go about contacting the originator of this thread and seeing how their trip went?  I would appreciate an update on their trip if they indeed went to Ireland.  ALSO, how would I tie in my marriage to go back to this Thomas McClellan you are referring to?  This would be so helpful to my search!

Thank you,

Carrie

Carrie McClellan

Carrie,

If the 2014 poster is still using the same e-mail account, your message should have triggered one to him/her.

Co. Tyrone was heavily settled by Scots in the 1600s as part of the Plantation of Ulster and by other factors eg major famine in Scotland during the 1690s. Some 200,000 Scots settled in Ireland in the 1600s. From the early 1700s onwards they were starting to leave again for economic and other reasons. 

MacLysaght’s “The Surnames of Ireland” says re: MacLellan/McClelland/MacLeland”  “Most families of these names in Ireland are of Scottish origin.” So with a Scottish name and living in Tyrone then they are very likely to have been of Scots origins. The Clogher family denomination isn’t mentioned but if Presbyterian – and it’s likely they were, as most of the migrants from Ireland at that period were Presbyterian – then that’s a compelling piece of evidence too. (“Native” Irish didn’t start migrating in big numbers till the 1800s). Presbyterianism was established in Scotland in the 1550s and brought to Ireland by Scots settlers. So all points to Scots origins.

The bad news about the late 1600s and early 1700s is that very few records exist for that period and tracing families who left then is nigh on impossible.

If you are interested in the background to what brought all these Scots to Ireland and what then led them to move on again (often to North America) then I recommend “Eagle’s Wings – The Journey of the Ulster-Scots and Scotch- Irish” by Dr David Hume. It explains it all in clear detail.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

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