County Antrim, Ireland to 

Chester County, South Carolina to

 Randolph County, Illinois
 

Dispersal of Some of the Descendants of 
John LYNN and Jennet MALCOLM

 

by James H. LYNN*

 

 

Contributor's Note: My interest in this family has been piqued by the 
discovery of a reference to a family Bible which states that Jane LYNN, the 
first child of John LYNN and Jennet MALCOLM, was born in the Parish of 
Connor, County Antrim, Ireland.  If this is factual, it places Jane and her 
father very close to my LYNN ancestors who lived in the townland of Eskylane 
in the Parish of the Grange of Shilvodan which is adjacent to the Parish of 
Connor.  A grange was farmland associated with a church or monastery in 
medieval days and the town of Connor in the parish of Connor was an ancient 
ecclesiastical site with which the Grange of Shilvodan was associated.  The 
will of my great-great grandfather Samuel LINN (c.1780-1857) refers to his 
townland, Eskylane, as being "in the Parish of Connor".[1] 

 

John LYNN (1736-1820), his wife Jennet MALCOLM (1747-1813), and their infant 
daughter Jane (or Jean) LYNN emigrated from County Antrim, Ireland to Chester 
County, South Carolina, in 1772 along with other Presbyterian Covenanters led 
by the Rev. William MARTIN.[2]  The Rev. MARTIN, who led five shiploads of 
followers to Charleston, was an agent for the Master of the ship, 'The Lord 
Dunluce', and MARTIN's location was Kellswater, where he was the minister in 
the Covenanter Church.[3]

 

Edith Elizabeth LYNN, a descendant of John and Jennet, published a book in 
1983 identifying their children and tracing many descendants, some through 
their daughter Jane who married John McGUIRE, but primarily through their son 
John LYNN who married Sarah McCULLOUGH.[4]  A year earlier, in 1982, a 
history of Chester County, South Carolina had been published and it included 
an article on the LYNNs of Chester County, which concentrated on descendants 
of Matthew Simonton LYNN, one of the 12 children of John LYNN and Sarah 
McCULLOUGH.  Overton H. CRAWFORD[5] has also collected the will of John LYNN 
and information on some of his descendants through Mathew Simonton LYNN.

 

John LYNN and Jennet MALCOLM had nine children:

 

1.  Jane LYNN                  b. 22 Aug 1771, Co. Antrim, Ireland

                                    d. 27 July 1840, Washington or Randolph 
Co. IL

                                     i. Strachan Cemetery, Tilden, Randolph, 
IL

                                    s. John McGUIRE

                                    b. 25 Jan 1770, Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh, 
Ireland

                                    d. 15 Aug 1833, Washington or Randolph 
Co., IL

                                    i. Strachan Cemetery, Tilden, Randolph, 
IL[6]

 

2.  Margaret LYNN            b. 8 Jan 1774, Chester Co., SC

                                    d. 29 July 1798

                                    s. Patrick FINNEY

 

3.  Mary LYNN                 b. 22 Mar 1776, Chester Co., SC

                                    d. 1820

                                    s. ________ MINNIS

 

4.  Agnes LYNN                b. 27 Oct 1778, Chester Co., SC

                                    d. 19 Dec 1799, Chester Co., SC

 

5.  John LYNN                  b. 31 Mar 1780, Chester Co., SC

    d. 10 July 1852, Chester Co., SC

                            i. Paul's Cemetery, Chester Co., SC

                                    s. Sarah McCULLOUGH

                                    b. 1787

                                    d. 21 Mar 1860, Chester Co., SC

                                     i. Paul's Cemetery, Chester Co., SC

 

John and Sarah were married on 3 Jan 1809 and had 12 children.

 

6. Henry LYNN                 b. 15 Mar 1783 (twin) Chester Co., SC

                                    d. 24 Nov 1834, Chester Co., SC

                            i. Paul's Cemetery, Chester Co., SC

                                    s. Eleanor McGARRAGH

                                    b. c.1791

                                    d. aft 1870, Randolph Co., IL

 

7.Elizabeth LYNN              b. 15 Mar 1783 (twin) Chester Co., SC

                                    d. 8 June 1788, Chester Co., SC

 

8. Jennet LYNN                b. 16 Sep 1786, Chester Co., SC

                                    d. 6 Dec 1849, Chester Co., SC

                                     i. Paul's Cemetery, Chester Co., SC

                                    s. John BARBER

                                    b. 1786

                                    d. 1853

                                    i. Paul's Cemetery, Chester Co., SC

 

9. Matthew Mason LYNN     b. 6 Aug 1790, Chester Co., SC

                                    d. 20 Dec 1861, Chester Co., SC

                                     i. Paul's Cemetery, Chester Co., SC

                                    s. Patience Morgan WESTBROOK

 

About 1956 Mrs. Frank S. TORRENS prepared a monumental work on families in 
Sparta, Randolph County, Illinois.[7] This includes descendants of John 
McGUIRE and Jane LYNN, as well as of Henry LYNN and Eleanor McGARRAGH, 
although Mrs. TORRENS does not appear to have been aware that Jane and Henry 
were brother and sister.

 

In March 1985, William J. DUNWOODY of Burbank, California wrote to Edith 
Elizabeth LYNN enclosing material on descendants of John and Jennet through 
their son Henry LYNN.  Edith Elizabeth had only scanty information on this 
line.  Mr. DUNWOODY obtained his information primarily from the work of Mrs. 
TORRENS and other Randolph County, Illinois sources.[8] 

 

The 'Lord Dunluce', the ship on which John LYNN and Jennet MALCOLM came to 
America sailed from Larne in County Antrim to Charleston, arriving on 20 Dec. 
1772.  Edith Elizabeth LYNN, on the supposition that John was a close 
relative of the Rev. Matthew LYNN, a Presbyterian clergyman well known in 
Pennsylvania and South Carolina, speculates that John may have been born in 
the townland of Corkermain, near the port of Larne on the east coast of 
Antrim:

 

"Matthew LYNN was born in Corkermain near Cairn Castle, County Antrim, 
Ireland so it is possible that this was also the birthplace of John LINN but 
certainly not an established fact."[9]

 

STEPHENSON points out that the majority of those accompanying the Rev. MARTIN 
were from the vicinity of Ballymoney, Ballymena, Kellswater and Vow.[10]  
These areas are all in west central Antrim and many of the names of those on 
the ships can be found in records from these areas to this day.  Larne would 
have been the closest port for people from these areas to leave Ireland.

 

Joy
Continued

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