The Hannay Family by Col. William Vanderpoel Hannay
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THE HANNAY FAMILY BY COL. WILLIAM VANDERPOEL HANNAY AUS-RET LIFE MEMBER CLAN HANNAY SOCIETY AND MEMBER OF THE CLAN COUNCIL FOUNDER AND PAST PRESIDENT OF DUTCH SETTLERS SOCIETY OF ALBANY ALBANY COUNTY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION COPYRIGHT, 1969, BY COL. WILLIAM VANDERPOEL HANNAY PORTIONS OF THIS WORK MAY BE REPRODUCED UPON REQUEST COMPILER OF THE BABCOCK FAMILY THE BURDICK FAMILY THE CRUICKSHANK FAMILY GENEALOGY OF THE HANNAY FAMILY THE JAYCOX FAMILY THE LA PAUGH FAMILY THE VANDERPOEL FAMILY THE VAN SLYCK FAMILY THE VANWIE FAMILY THE WELCH FAMILY THE WILSEY FAMILY THE JUDGE BRINKMAN PAPERS 3 PREFACE This record of the Hannay Family is a continuance and updating of my first book "Genealogy of the Hannay Family" published in 1913 as a youth of 17. It represents an intensive study, interrupted by World Wars I and II and now since my retirement from the Army, it has been full time. In my first book there were three points of dispair, all of which have now been resolved. (I) The name of the vessel in which Andrew Hannay came to America. (2) Locating the de scendants of the first son James and (3) The names of Andrew's forbears. It contained a record of Andrew Hannay and his de scendants, and information on the various branches in Scotland as found in the publications of the "Scottish Records Society", "Whose Who", "Burk's" and other authorities such as could be located in various libraries. Also brief records of several families of the name that we could not at that time identify. Since then there have been published two books on the family. "Hanna of Castle Sorbie, Scotland and Descandants" by Rev. James A.M. Hanna, ThM. 1959. It contains a record of those members who came from Ireland and for the most part spelled the name Hanna. The other book by Major Stewart Francis "The Hannays of Sorbie" traces members of the family in Scotland in great detail, and to which I have generously dipped for addi tional information. These I have updated, and in the latter book I have been able to add much on those members of the family who came to America. We are very greatful to both authors to have this information in print. I wish to express my sincere thanks to the officers of The Clan Hannay Society, especially Major R.W. Rainsford Hannay of Kirkdale and Capt. Alex Hannah, F.C.I.I., of The Red Cottage Guilford, Surrey for their patience in answering my many questions. Also Rev. James A.M. Hanna and Major Stewart Francis and the hundreds of members of the family located through out the world who have so diligently searched and brought forth the information to make this volume. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS COAT OF ARMS AND ANDREW HANNAY MARKER FRONTISPIECE FACING PAGE DAVID HANNAY - FIRST OF THE FAMILY BORN IN U.S.A. 22 COL. WILLIAM V. HANNAY 23 SORBIE CASTLE 116 ENTRANCE TO SORBIE CASTLE AND KIRKDALE HOUSE 117 5 CONTENTS CHAPTER COAT OF ARMS AND ANDREW HANNAY MARKER FRONTISPIECE PREFACE 3 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 4 CONTENTS 5 INTRODUCTION - THE NAME, THE CASTLE, THE TARTIN, THE ARMS AND THE CLAN 7 INDENTURE - GEORGE HANNAY, BARBADOES MAR. II, 1679 14 I EARLY HANNAYS 15 II ANDREW HANNAY - HIS ANCESTORS AND DESCANDANTS 20 III HANNAYS OF SORBIE 65 IV HANNAYS OF CAPENOCH AND CULBRAE 85 V HANNAYS OF KNOCKGLASS 89 VI HANNAYS OF RUSCO 91 VII HANNAYS OF GRENNAN 97 VIII HANNAYS OF KIRKDALE 104 IX HANNAYS OF GASS 116 X HANNAYS OF TOWNHEAD 118 XI HANNAYS OF KILLFILLANE 126 XII HANNAYS OF CLUGSTON AND CREETOWN 127 XIII HANNAYS OF KNOCK AND GARRARIE 132 XIV HANNAYS OF KELSO 135 xv HANNAYS OF INNISMORE 143 XVI HANNAYS OF DRUMASTON 146 XVII HANNAYS OF KINGSMUIR 151 XVIII HANNAYS OF BARLINNIE 159 XIX HANNAYS OF STRANREAR 169 6 xx HANNAYS OF POWTON 175 XXI HANNAYS OF GRANGE OF CREE 176 XXII HANNAYS OF LINCLUDEN 178 XXIII HANNAYS OF SEDBURGHAM 179 XXIV HANNAYS OF SPRING HILL 180 XXV HANNAYS OF CANADA, ENGLAND AND U.S.A. 181 XXVI HANNAY AUTHORS AND POETS 229 XXVII DO YOU KNOW THE FOLLOT~TING ? 231 APPENDIX # I 250 APPENDIX # 2 25.1 APPENDIX # 3 257 INDEX 258 7 INTRODUCTION THE NAME Hannay is a modern corruption and shortening of the old form Ahannay, but there was an even older form - Achany or Achanny. It was derived from the Pictish Achadh-an-ath which meant "The Field by the Ford", and was pronounced Aha-an-any. It has been suggested, in the alternative, that the Pictish etymon was Achadh-na-aith pronounced Aha-na-hay. This means "~he Field of the Brick Kiln". An and na both mean "of"; but when na is used it has to followed by anaspirate, Hence, na-h •aithna-hay (The name Anchenhay comes from this). As there is no trace of the survival of the last h in the forms Ahannay and Hannay, it seems pretty certain that the true de rivation is rather from Achadh-an-ath, though ath is some times pronounced aw, or awe. De Hannethe was merely the then Norman way of rendering the name Ahannay. Eth was pronounced ay. The de was tacked on, on a mistaken idea that the name Ahannay was A'Hannay, like the Norman A'Becket and A'Kempis, -it was not-. The initial A comes from the old Picto-Gaelic Achadh (aha) "Field", and has no connection with the Norman "de" or "A". After Ahannay came the more modern forms Hannay, Hannah and Hanna, but all mean Achadh-an-ath. There is an English name Hanney, this may or may not be a form of the Scottish Hannay. Hanna is usually an Irish form. (H. Bruce Hannay, Judge, English High Court, Calcutta, India) SORBIE TOWER As you may already know, Sorbie Tower in the ancient Province of Galloway in Scotland is the place from which we all have sprung. Although in ruins there is still a substan tial part of it remaining. A grim old place with massive walls. Its stones whisper stories of the past when every man's hand was against his neighbor and the Hannays were a force to be reckoned with in those rebellious times. The Tower is included in the published list of Ancient Monuments whose preservation is regarded as of national importance. Andrew Symson in his "Description of Galloway" in 1684, page 45 says "At Sorbie there is only one principal edifice; 'twas built by the Laird of Sorbie, whose name was then Hannay, a name very common in Galloway to day". The seat of the family from the reign of King James IV of Scotland (1488- 1513). The lands of Sorbie have since passed to their cousin's heirs, the Earl of Galloway. 8 In the 1915 edition of "Tours in Galloway" page 23 - Gallovidian Antiquities "note may be made of -- and the old Tower of Sorbie, the stronghold of the Hannays one of Galloway's doughty clans" and on page 85 -- Sorbie Station "in a little we pass on the left the old Tower of Sorbie, the home of the Hannays, an ancient Galloway clan, one of which combined the poetic temperment with the warlike spirit of his ancestors, and published a volume of poems in 1619. A General of Artillery was he under the King of Bohemina; but sterner duties of that position did not unfit him to write a poem "Directions for a Maid to choose her Mate" In 1965 the owner of the tower and the surrounding proper ty, Mrs. Jean Cummings of Cairnharrow, Gatehouse-of-the-Fleet, most generously presented the Tower with an area of ground surrounding to be held in Trust by the Clan Hannay Society. On the advice of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms a separate trust was formed composed of the Officers of the Clan and a feu char ter was conveyed by Mrs. Cummings to the Trustees. Having erected a fence round the property in accordance with the Trust's agreement with Mrs. Cummings, it is proposed as funds become available, to restore the Tower, not to its original habitable state, but so as to make it safe and inter esting to visit. A survey by the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works has suggested a figure of L 5,000 for the cost of preservation. The present Tower, or as it was called in the Middle Ages "The Place of Sorbie", was built about 1550-1575 probably by Alexander Hannay of Sorbie, who succeeded his father, Patrick after the latters murder in 1543. At the time of the building of the Tower the Hannays were at the height of their power, it is situated about six miles south of the present town of Wigtown and a mile east of the village of Sorbie on the road from ·wigtown to Whi thorn and not far from Wigtown Bay. It was occupied until 1748 after which it was neglected and is now in a ruinious state. In its day it was a structure of considerable importance and may have been preceeded by an earlier castle, as close by is a mound which r1acGibbon and Ross in their work ''The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland" mention as a "moat or artificial mound", and this may well be the motte hill on which was built the wooden type Norman Castle of the Veterponts. The castle is "L" shaped and is typical of the period when due to the marriage of the grim square Scots Tower with the graceful chateau architecture of France many fine castles were erected.