Thursday, March 30, 2023

First Quillins in America


I composed this history sheet on 8 July 2017
The Quillin line goes back WAY before America was independent from England.  In the Quillin Book, Chapter 2, page 37, it reads:

 “In ‘The Original List of Persons of Quality Who Went from Great Britain to the American Plantation 1600-1700’, edited by John C. Hotten, 1931, we find the name of Teague Quillin, aged 20, who on August 21, 1635 was transported from “Ye Port of London” to Virginia on ‘The Thomas’ and was examined by the Minister of Gravesend regarding his “conformitie in Religion” etc."

After Teague Quillin landed on Virginia’s “eastern shore”, he and his descendants migrated toward Delaware and Maryland, as the New World was better settled in that area.

Early Maryland records state that Teague Quillin was in that state 1657 and 1661, and that Daniel Quillin, a son of Teague, was among the first settlers there.  Daniel Quillin and his wife Lydia had sold 400 acres of land in Accomae County, Virginia August 1665, to John Prettyman before going to Maryland. 

 Torrence in his history “Old Somerset on the Eastern Shore of Maryland,” states that: 

“Daniel Quillane and Lydia his wife came from Northampton Co., Va. 1661; had tithables in Accomae Co. 1663 and 1664; by May 1665 they were in the Morumsco section and had patents in Somerset Co., Md. Nov. 6, 1665, for lands called “The Irish Grove” on the eastern side of Morumsco Creek and “Limbrick” on the northern side of Pocomoke River in the neck of land called “Nassawaddocks.”

Daniel and Lydia's children are documented in baptismal records recorded in the Maryland State archives.  They are : Eliza, Daniel, Teague, Thomas, Judith, Elizabeth.  My research and the MacQuillin Book have our ancestor as son Teague, followed by a long string of Teagues which has caused some confusion. (See my notes in the history sheet for Teague V. * to be posted later) Other trusted researchers of the Quillin line have my ancestors coming from son Thomas.  SO...I'm not sure if our line would have gone through Teague or Thomas...brothers and sons of Daniel. Either way, we are linked to Daniel Quillin, son of Teague the emigrant.

Daniel’s son, Teague II, was born in 1669 in Morumsco section, Somerset County, Maryland.  He married Mary (?) and they relocated to Delaware where Teague III was born.  Teague III married Mary Catherine Herring in Maryland. * I have since found some leads to Mary Herring and Teague through a few Herring Family researchers.

As political pressures from the Church of England mounted, the clan sought refuge in the North Carolina highlands. I am not sure of the death date of Teague III, but in 1784 there is documentation of a land grant to heirs of Teague Quillin (III), 91 acres on Little Yadkin. (That is located in Stokes Co, N.C.)

I believe that Teague IV followed his father to North Carolina. He served in the Revolutionary War from North Carolina.  A land grant in North Carolina was entered on Nov. 30, 1778; issued Oct 13, 1783: to Teague Quillin (IV) 200 acres on Blews Creek, Surry Co., N.C. 

Also entered in N.C. Land Grants : entered April 6, 1779; issued April 3, 1780: To William Quillin 200 acres adjoining Teague Quillin on Blews Creek, Surry Co., N.C.

In 1790, Teague Quillin (IV) sold 200 acres on Blews Creek, Surry Co. N.C.

 Teague V was born in Surry Co. North Carolina, where he met and married Margaret “Peggy” Nation, daughter of Thomas Nation who was the son of Christopher Nation, a documented Captain in the North Carolina Militia, 1766.  He participated as a Regulator, a precursor to the Revolution.  He was held accountable to the King and was eventually pardoned.

Teague V and Margaret Quillin purchased property in Russell County (now Scott County) Virginia in 1790.  (See Teague V history sheet) The rest of my Quillin line lived in or around Gate City, Scott County, Virginia and/or Bristol, Tennessee, a sister city to Bristol, Virginia. 

After two more generations, my great-grandfather Beverly Johnson Quillin moved to Texas.

MacQuillin, Claude. The Quillin (MacQuillin) Family: The MacQuillins in Ireland and The Quillins in America. Compiled by              Milligan Wood Quillen and Mary Kinser Brown. Published by The Quillin Clan: Gate City, Virginia, 1961. Reprinted                 1987. “Truman Bryan Quillin” pp. 133-135.


Wednesday, March 29, 2023

We Are The Chosen

There is a genealogy poem that tugs on all genealogist's heartstrings. When you first read it, you will immediately feel a connection to the words.  I thought it was unique to the website where I first saw it but have since done some research as to its origin. I believe that it was written by Della M. Cumming. Somewhere along the way it was edited and reworded by Tom Dunn. Some refer to the poem titled "The Storytellers." Either way, it deserves to be passed along to those of you who have spent countless hours documenting family history.

The Story Tellers.....We are the chosen.

My feelings are in each family there is one who seems called to find the
ancestors. To put flesh on their bones and make them live again, to tell
the family story and to feel that somehow they know and approve. To me,
doing genealogy is not a cold gathering of facts but, instead, breathing
life into all who have gone before. We are the story tellers of the tribe.
All tribes have one. We have been called as it were by our genes.
Those who have gone before cry out to us: Tell our story. So, we do.

In finding them, we somehow find ourselves. How many graves have I stood
before and cried? I have lost count. How many times have I told the
ancestors you have a wonderful family, you would be proud of us? How many
times have I walked up to a grave and felt somehow there was love there
for me? I cannot say.

It goes beyond just documenting facts. It goes to who am I and why do I
do the things I do? It goes to seeing a cemetery about to be lost forever to
weeds and indifference and saying I can't let this happen.

The bones here are bones of my bone and flesh of my flesh. It goes to
doing something about it. It goes to pride in what our ancestors were able to
accomplish. How they contributed to what we are today. It goes to
respecting their hardships and losses, their never giving in or giving up, their
resoluteness to go on and build a life for their family.

It goes to deep pride that they fought to make and keep us a Nation. It
goes to a deep and immense understanding that they were doing it for us. That
we might be born who we are. That we might remember them. So we do.

With love and caring and scribing each fact of their existence, because
we are them and they are us. So, as a scribe called, I tell the story of my
family.
It is up to that one called in the next generation to answer the call and
take their place in the long line of family storytellers.

That is why I do my family genealogy, and that is what calls those young
and old to step up and put flesh on the bones.

(Tom Dunn, Author)

Most likely taken from a poem by Della M. Cumming



Monday, March 27, 2023

List of Surnames & Locations

Daddy’s Side

QUILLIN: Virginia (Goochland, Rappahannock, DeKalb, Scott); Maryland (Somerset); Delaware (Kent); North Carolina (Forsyth, Surry); Kentucky (Letcher); Texas (Fannin, Haskell, Baylor)

NATION – New Jersey (Monmouth); North Carolina (Randolph, Surry); Virginia (Frederick); Tennessee (Maury)

LAWSON – Scotland, Virginia (Montgomery, Russell, Scott)

VINEYARD – Germany, Virginian (Rockbridge, Scott)

EWING – Ireland, Virginia (Frederick, Greenbrier), Pennsylvania (Chester), Tennessee (Smith), Arkansas (Clark)

DILLARD – Virginia, North Carolina (Chatham), Tennessee (Smith, Hardeman), Arkansas, (Clark)

Mother’s Side

JONES – Georgia (Elbert), Alabama (Shelby), Texas (Fannin, Collin, Grayson, Foard)

BUTLER – Virginia (Hanover), Georgia (Elbert), Arkansas (Shelby)

BUSBY – North Carolina (Johnston), Tennessee (Giles), South Carolina (Orangeburg), Alabama (Chilton), Arkansas (Giles, Shelby)

SEALE – England, Virginia (Essex, Prince William, Stafford), North Carolina (Cumberland), Georgia (Wilkes, Hancock), South Carolina (Craven, Fairfield), Alabama (Shelby), Texas (Grayson, Foard)

BRISTOW – England, Virginia (Middlesex)

MUSE – England, Virginia (Rappahannock, Prince William became Westmorland), North Carolina (Cumberland, Moore)

POPE – England, Virginia (Westmorland)

BRIDGES – South Carolina, Georgia (Murry, Whitfield), Texas (Collin, Jones)

SPRINGFIELD – South Carolina (Greenville, Laurens), North Carolina (Granville), Georgia (Jackson, Murry), Tennessee (Monroe)

LANGSTON – Virginia (Nansemond), North Carolina (Edgecombe, Granville), South Carolina (Greenville, Laurens)

MCNAIR – Ireland, Virginia (Staunton, Augusta), Tennessee (Sullivan, Knox, Bradley), Arkansas (Searcy), Texas (McLennan, Jones, Taylor, Callahan, Wilbarger)

SHERERTZ – Prussia Germany, Pennsylvania (York), Tennessee (Sullivan, Knox)

PRICE – North Carolina (Mecklenburg)

HENDERSON – Virginia (Hanover), North Carolina (Granville), Tennessee (Warren), Arkansas (Searcy)

SEWELL – North Carolina (Moore), Arkansas (Searcy)

KING – Virginia, Georgia (Cherokee, Habersham, Whitfield, Gordon), Texas (Erath, McLennan, Taylor)

HOOD – South Carolina (Pendleton, Pickens), Virginia (Wise), South Carolina (Greenville, Georgia (Whitfield)

HULSEY – Virginia (New Kent, Goochland), South Carolina (Greenville), Georgia (Lumpkin, Dawson, Murray, Taylor) HANEY/HAYNIE? – Virginia (Northumberland), Georgia (Jackson, Lumpkin) HUMPHRIES – Georgia (Franklin, Jackson, Lumpkin)


SURNAME LIST (other names involved and to whom I believe we are related)

 

Daddy’s father’s line

Daddy’s mother’s line

Mother’s father’s line

Mother’s mother’s line

 

GP

Quillin

Ewing

Jones

McNair

 

1st  GP

Sprowls

Woodall

Bridges

King

 

2nd GGP

Vineyard

Dillard

Seales

Henderson

 

 

Wright

Adams

Springfield

Hulsey

 

3rd GGP

Lawson

Pentenny

Busby

Sherertz

 

 

Hart

 Ewing**

-        -

Sewell

 

 

-        - -

Elliot

-        -

Hood

 

 

-         -

Jones?

Rollins

Haney

 

4th GGP

Nation

-  -  -  -  -

Butler

Price

 

 

Baker

Dillard **

Brooks

Devault

 

 

Campbell

Brownlow?

Harrison

Robards

 

 

-  -  - 

Dillard**

-  -  -  -  -

Lancaster

 

 

 -  -  -

- - - - - - -

-  -  -  -  -

Moore?

 

 

-  -   -  -

 

Springfield**

-  -  -  -  -

 

 

-   -    -   -

 

Arnold

Byrd

 

 

-   -   -   -

 

 

Pritchett

 

 

Vineyard/Campbell

Vineyard/Evick

Campbell/Osman

Campbell/McClure

McClure/Trimble?

Ewing/Edwards?

Ewing/McElvaney

Dillard/Petty?

Seale/Muse

Seale/Bristow

Bristow/Nicholls

Muse/Pope

Springfield/Langston

Springfield/Potts?

Springfield/Bennett

Callaway ?

 

 

Breaking Ground

As a child, we have an instant connection with our immediate family. It is there that our roots are established, and it is there that we build our foundation. I was fortunate to live near most of my extended family. I knew my aunts and uncles well, and my cousins were my first playmates. Another bonus was that I knew three of my great-grandparents personally. As I grew up, I always felt those close family ties, and I was always curious about the others that came before them.

After I got married, my husband and I became world travelers. I had already begun documenting the basic roots of my family with the help of a few family historians that I knew personally. As we planned our trip to Ireland for the summer of 1990, I was inspired by my grandmother's maiden name, McNair. My thought was that with the "Mc" in this name, that surely, I had Irish roots. I got the bright idea to make a few trips to the Texas State Archives to see if I could quickly establish a connection with family in Ireland. Yeah, right?

All I found on these trips to the archives was frustration. In fact, I could not find any of my closest McNair relatives; therefore, the search was a dead end. The problem was that I was a fledgling genealogist and I had this "hurry up" factor involved. (*Note: shortly after my trip to Ireland, I found a wealth of information about my McNair roots.) I gave up the ghost and folded up all my research papers to wait for my husband, who by the way, found a few gems about his family on these visits to the archives. During my wait, I decided to check out my maiden name, Quillin.

Quillin, hum...? It is a unique name, different than most last names. Voilà! I hit the jackpot! Right off the bat in the card catalogue, I learned that there was a MacQuillin book listed in the Library of Congress. I went to the stacks and there it was: The Quillin (MacQuillin) Family; The MacQuillins in Ireland by Claude MacQuillin. Better still was the fact that my ancient ancestors had a glorious castle in Northern Ireland, now in ruins. And I WAS GOING TO IRELAND in a few short months. 

My excitement sent me through the roof, and needless to say, our trip to Ireland took on a whole new look. This book connected me all the way down to my daddy, with my brother listed as a child. This was beyond my wildest dreams, and I look forward to sharing more about my daddy, my Quillin roots, and my trip to Ireland in following blog posts. 

Sunday, March 26, 2023

Grandma's Pearls of Wisdom


                                 I first found this poem in the Southern Living Magazine in November 2017.                                                     It fits perfectly with the stories of my grandmothers. 

Grandma's Pearls of Wisdom

by Becky Netherland 

 

I've traveled paths you've yet to walk,

Learned lessons old and new,

And now this wisdom of my life,

I'm blessed to share with you.

 

Let kindness spread like sunshine,

Embrace those who are sad.

Respect their dignity, give them joy

and leave them feeling glad.

 

Forgive those who might hurt you

And though you have your pride,

Listen closely to their viewpoint

Try to see the other side.

 

Walk softly when you're angry,

Try not to take offense,

Invoke your sense of humor,

Laughter's power is immense.

 

Express what you are feeling,

Your beliefs you should uphold.

Don't shy away from what is right,

Be courageous and be bold.

 

Keep hope right in your pocket,

It will guide you day by day.

Take it out when it is needed,

When it's near, you'll find a way.

 

Remember friends and family

Of which you are a precious part.

Love deeply and love truly,

Give freely from your heart.

 

The world is far from perfect.

There's conflict and there's strife,

but you still can make a difference

By how you live your life.

 

And so I'm very blessed to know

The wonders you will do

Because you are my granddaughter

And I believe in you.


Friday, March 24, 2023

Welcome To My Blog!

My purpose is to share my family heritage. I’ve been digging up my roots for nearly 30 years. Some of my long-time sources are vanishing from the internet. Ancestry seems to be swallowing up the valuable research of the contacts that I have made. In some small way, I hope to preserve the research that I have done. This is my personalized stamp, so to speak. It will take time to share all of my information which is why I have postponed this blog. I have tried to substantiate my research with sources, but I’m sure that I have made mistakes along the way. I would welcome any suggestions that could lead us all in the right direction. The family histories to be included will be the Quillin family tree, the Ewing family tree, the Jones family tree, the McNair family tree, the Bridges family tree, the King family tree and the Hulsey family tree. Some of the roots go even deeper, but it also becomes harder to substantiate that information. I will begin with the stories that I know first-hand. So… let’s pick up those shovels and begin digging.

 

 


Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Family Connections


people paper cutout

What is our purpose? What will be our legacy? We are only a pin prick in the universe. Will anyone know your name in a hundred years? Ten years? Genealogy is about telling our ancestor’s stories because these stories give our soul direction, a base from where we make decisions. By recording their stories, we leave behind our legacy. In making others significant, we are significant. My purpose is to leave behind some of their stories. 

When we go back in time, we realize that no one lives a life in vain. Everyone has a purpose. I am fascinated with the stories of my ancestors and their legacies, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Learning about them and finding my family connection is far more interesting than perusing Facebook to see the glamor shots that people create for themselves. It is within our family roots that we discover who we are. Family connections are one of the most important things in life. I’ve always been fascinated with the thought that I am who I am because of those who have gone before me. I'm here because of their sacrifices, and it is here that I hope to give meaning to their lives. 

On this journey of researching my heritage, I realize how my ancestor's lives were intertwined with the history of this great nation. I feel my strong American ties, and for the most part, I'm a true southern girl. It will be an honor and a privilege to share their stories. It is from these stories that I build my own existence. I will try to do them justice in telling their stories. My mother often said, “Things don’t happen in a vacuum.” She was right. With everything that happens, there is a ripple effect. 

Do we make mistakes in family research? Sure, we do, so I will never claim that what lies among my research is the final truth. I’ve done a lot of digging, striving to prove that what I’ve pieced together is true, but over time, I have realized that some of the puzzle pieces remain to be found.

As all genealogists, I realize that most people are not interested in their very own deep family connections. I'm a bit baffled by that, but there will be someone somewhere along the way that will pick up the banner and carry it forward.  It is for those folks that I find it imperative to leave behind these stories. Hopefully, it will serve a purpose in not only preserving history, but also our family connections. 


James McNair (1747-1817) A Woven History

  James McNair History Sheet Compiled by Nancy Quillin Long March 2016   Sources: Leaves of the Family Tree by Penelope Johnson Allen, 1937...