Descendants of William Woodburn (B
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Descendants of William Woodburn (b. 1730, Ballintemple, parish of Errigal, Co. Londonderry, N. Ireland) In this record, persons are numbered consecutively. If they married and are known to have children, there is a plus sign (+) in front of their name, which indicates that additional information about them can be found in the next generation. I am solely responsible for all errors in this record. Corrections and additions are appreciated. Stephen W. Johnson 222 Parkman Ave. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 [email protected] September 12, 2013 Descendants of William WOODBURN 12 September 2013 First Generation 1. WOODBURN was born (date unknown). The name Woodburn is apparently of Scottish origin. It may come from the Scottish term for a small stream--"burn"; hence, wooded burn or tree-lined stream. Woodburn, then, would have been the name given to people living in such an area. The main connection appears to be with the Ayrshire and Dumfries areas of Scotland. There, a George Woodburn was shot for being a Covenanter (Scottish Presbyterians in the 17th cen. who subscribed to various conservative covenants) in 1685. It was not unusual, however, for people from Scotland, in times of religious persecution, to flee to Ireland and England. Thus, for example, there are a number of Woodburns in Pennington Hall, Ulverston, Cumbria Co., England. There, a Robert Woodburne, in 1654, served as the attorney for George Fox, founder of ther Quakers, in acquiring land for the first Quaker cemetery. In Ireland, Carrickfergus Co. in Northern Ireland has an area and a police station bearing the Woodburn name. Despite these connections to England and Ireland, the original Scottish connection seems indisputable. A Woodburn family lived in Ballintemple, N. Ireland before the seige of Londonderry in 1689 and it is this family with which we are concerned here. Ballintemple is located in County Derry, two miles southwest of Garvagh. The townland occupies 759 acres in the parish of Errigal, Barony of Coleraine. How the Woodburns came to N. Ireland is a matter of speculation. In the early 1600's, British King James I, who was protestant, attempted once and for all to subjugate the recalcitrant Ulster Catholics. He coloninized the area with English and Scottish loyalists (perhaps including the Woodburns?), who were largely Protestant, resulting in the Protestant majority that exists today in N. Ireland. These so-called Plantations of Ulster included the rebuilding of the city of Derry. The city was renamed Londonderry. In the 1630's, the city had only 2000 inhabitants, but it was the largest city in Ulster. The Seige of Derry began on April 18, 1689, when deposed British King James II, who was Catholic, and French and Irish forces loyal to him, attempted to secure a base in Ireland from which he could attempt to regain the British throne. The Protestants in Ulster supported King George and Queen Mary and they barricaded themselves in the city and refused to surrender. The seige lasted 105 days and was broken when a relief ship made its way to the city, but the seige left a mark on the city that survives to this day. The majority of the Scots plantation settlers were from Galloway and Ayrshire in west Scotland. That is probably where the Woodburns of N. Ireland would have come from .The area around Garvagh is predominately Presbyterian and with strong ties still to Scottish culture. WOODBURN had the following children: +2 i. William WOODBURN, born about 1730. 3 ii. Of Gortfad WOODBURN was born (date unknown). All information regarding this person was obtained from David Woodburn (CIS: 100554,526) and needs to be confirmed. 4 iii. Of Liscall WOODBURN was born (date unknown). All information regarding this person was obtained from David Woodburn (CIS: 100554,526) and needs to be confirmed. Second Generation 2 Descendants of William WOODBURN 12 September 2013 2. William WOODBURN was born about 1730. William lived in the townland of Ballintemple, parish of Errigal, Co. Londonderry, N. Ireland. Some information regarding William and his descendants was obtained in 2012 from the website of Christopher Earls Brennen at http://www.dankat.com/badger/chap9.htm. While he does not cite sources (and, indeed, some information may have come from my website or Janet Rhein's website), he does provide additional information and it appears to be more than speculative--i.e., it appears to have a source. This source will not be repeated. The identities of William's children is speculative, but is confirmed by Mr. Brennen's website. All of this information needs to be confirmed. Mary UNKNOWN was born (date unknown). William WOODBURN and Mary UNKNOWN had the following children: 5 i. William WOODBURN was born (date unknown). 6 ii. Alexander WOODBURN was born in 1747. He died in 1791 at the age of 44. He was buried in Ballintemple Graveyard, Ballintemple, County Londonderry, N. Ireland. Alexander left Ballintemple, N. Ireland and bought a farm in County Antrim, near Macfin, N. Ireland. He died there but is buried in Ballintemple Graveyard in Ballintemple, N. Ireland. All of his children apparently immigrated to America. Christopher Earls Brennen's website shows Alexendar's date of death as 1771. Some information regarding this person was obtained from David Woodburn (CIS: 100554,526) and needs to be confirmed. +7 iii. James WOODBURN, born November 12, 1748, Edenburne, Parish of Desastoughel, County Londonderry, N.I.; married Sarah MCGILL, November 16, 1775; died August 21, 1812. +8 iv. Matthew WOODBURN, born 1755, Ireland; married Isabella GILMOUR, 1783, Co. Londonderry, N. Ireland; died 1830, Co. Londonderry, N. Ireland. Third Generation 7. James WOODBURN was born on November 12, 1748 in Edenburne, Parish of Desastoughel, County Londonderry, N.I.. He died on August 21, 1812 at the age of 63. He was buried in Hopewell Cem. or Covenanter Cem (Brick Ch.), Chester, SC. James is said to be the brother of William and Alexander by David Woodburn (CIS: 100554,526). This needs to be confirmed. This is the operating assumption that will be used here. According to Woodburn History; Some Generations of a Family, by James Albert Woodburn (1936), a James Woodburn was born on November 12, 1748 in Edenburne, parish of Desastoughel, County Londonderry (the cited source for this data is "an old document" written by James (b. 1748)). The same 1936 source states that James had a brother Alexander. Thus, the dates and names provided by David Woodburn, above, appear to match, and for purposes of this record, it will be assumed that James (b. 1748) is the brother of William and Alexander. All information regarding James (b. 1748) and his descendants is derived from Woodburn History; Some 3 Descendants of William WOODBURN 12 September 2013 Generations of a Family, by James Albert Woodburn (1936). This source will not be cited further. Again, the following is taken from "an old document" written in Aug. 1795 by James (b. 1748): James immigrated to America in 1767, leaving Ireland on July 2, 1767 and arriving in Newcastle, Delaware on September 7, 1767. After initially living in Pennsylvania, he and his family left Pennslyvania on October 15, 1777 and arrived in North Carolina on November 4, 1777. They left North Carolina on November 12, 1782 and arrived at Kingstree, South Carolina on December 12, 1782. They left South Carolina in April 1783 and arrived near Ogeechee, Georgia on May 5, 1783. They returned to South Carolina (Edisto) on March 15, 1789, after which they went to Orangeburg County, South Carolina. On April 14, 1791 they left South Carolina and arrived in Summerseat, Georgia on April 22, 1791; they moved to Louisville, Georgia on July 7, 1791; they then returned to Summerseat on March 21, 1792. His brother, Alexander, visited from Ireland from September 27, 1782 to November 15, 1782. James visited Ireland in January 1798 and returned to Georgia in 1798. On April 4, 1800, James and his family left Georgia and settled in Rocky Creek, Chester County, South Carolina. James WOODBURN and Sarah MCGILL were married on November 16, 1775. Sarah MCGILL was born in November, 1746 in County Down, Ireland. She died on July 31, 1815 at the age of 68. Sarah was widowed from William McMurray, by whom she had at least five children. James WOODBURN and Sarah MCGILL had the following children: +9 i. Elizabeth WOODBURN, born May 4, 1777, Pennsylvania; married Thomas CRAIG, September 29, 1801, Jacob's Branch, SC. +10 ii. Margaret WOODBURN, born September 17, 1779, North Carolina; married Matthew JOHNSTON, October 24, 1808. 11 iii. Dorrance WOODBURN was born in January, 1782. He died on May 26, 1784 at the age of 2 in Ogeechee, GA. 12 iv. Jean WOODBURN was born on June 4, 1784 in Georgia. She died in March, 1789 at the age of 4 in Edisto, Aiken Co., South Carolina. +13 v. Dorrance Beatty WOODBURN, born August 16, 1786, Summerseat (near Louisville), Georgia; married Rachel JOHNSTON, December 3, 1807, Chester District, SC. 8. Matthew WOODBURN was born in 1755 in Ireland. He died in 1830 at the age of 75 in Co. Londonderry, N. Ireland. He was buried in Ballintemple Graveyard, Ballintemple, Co. Londonderry, N. Ireland. Matthew acquired Ballintemple Farm in Ballintemple, N. Ireland with his wife Isabella, who had grown up there. He attended the Synod of Ulster in 1802. He is buried in Ballintemple Graveyard. This information was obtained from David Woodburn (CIS: 100554,526) and needs to be confirmed. According to the 1796 Visitation Records of the First Garvagh Presbyterian Church, a Matthew Woodburn and his family were living in Ballintemple in 1796. The names in the record are: Matth Woodburn, Isabella Woodburn, Willm Woodburn, John Woodburn, Mary Woodburn, Robert Woodburn, Matth Woodburn Junr.