An old print copied in New York Times Magazine, December 27, H)25. Co1'rlesy of George McNeir ANDREW lVlcNAIR RINGING THE LIBERTY BELL McNAIR 1' Mc NEAR 1' AND McNEIR GENEALOGIES <:)upplement I928 Gompiled by JAMES BIRTLEY McNAIR II I CHICAGO PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 1929 COPYRIGHT 1929 BY JAMES BIRTLEY MCNAIR ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PUBLISHED MARCH 1929 COMPOSED AND PRINTED BY TlIE UNIVERSITY OJ!' CBICAGO PRESS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A. PREFACE It is five years since the first edition of M cN air, M cNear, and M cNeir Genealogies was published. Since that time additional gen­ ealogical information has been both sent in and collected. This ad­ ditional material is printed in this book. It is the hope of the author that still more information will be sent in so that another book will result. As is generally the case with genealogies the first edition was a financial failure. The present book would not have been printed had it not been for financial support from Dr. Rush McNair and Mr. George McNeir. To these the compiler extends his heartfelt appreciation. Research carried on in Northern Ireland and London has re­ sulted in more information about l\1cNairs in Ulster. This work has been carried on through the generosity of Mr. William l\!Ic­ Nair (28, p. 284). The writer also wishes to express his apprecia­ tion to Mr. Charles Knowles Bolton, the author of Scotch-Irish Pioneers, who aided in the Ulster research. Much credit is due Miss Jennie Graham McGuire, of Philadel­ phia, and Miss Jessica C. Ferguson, of the Pennsylvania State Li­ brary, for a tireless search for records about Andrew McNair, of Liberty Bell fame. The author desires to express his appreciation to Miss l\fary D. Alexander for preparing the manuscript for the printer and read­ ing the proof sheets. }AMES B. MCNAIR CHICAGO, lLI,1NOIS November 2, 1928 iii As long as marriages are recorded, births registered, gravestones used, and obituaries written there is value to genealogy. As long as heredity is recognized, family merit en­ couraged, and patriotism cherished genealogy is imperative.-JAMEs B. McNAm. CONTENTS PAGE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . IX ANDREW MCNAIR AND THE LIBERTY BELL, 1776 3 TuE ORIGIN AND EARLY HISTORY OF THE McNAIR.s 15 McNAIRs IN ENGLAND, IRELAND, AND SCOTLAND 23 Marriage Records in Scotland . 23 Burial Records in Scotland 2 5 Testaments in Scotland 26 Additional Legal Records in Scotland, 1478-1746 29 Military Records in Scotland, 1644-1789 32 Colonel A. L. McN air . 33 Descendants of Andrew Macnair and Margaret Scott . 34 Descendants of Archibald McNair and Margurite McNab 37 Descendants of David MacNair of Stirling, Scotland 40 Lieutenant-General E. J. McNair 41 Descendants of George McNair . 42 Descendants of Hugh McNair of Scotland 43 Rev~ James McN air of Inverchaolin, Scotland 44 Descendants of James Macnair and Janet Duncan Dunlop 45 Descendants of James McNair and Mary Pick.en . 47 Descendants of John McNair and Jeanie Ballantyne . 54 Descendants of John McNair and Ann Chapman . 55 Descendants of John McNair and Margaret Chapman 57 Rev. John James McNair . 58 Descendants of Matthew Macnair of Glasgow, Scotland 59 Descendants of Robert McNair and Jean Holmes . 62 Descendants of Walter McNair and Susanna Steven 63 Descendants of '\Villiam McNair and Mary Mitchell 66 Marriage Records in Ireland 68 Burial Records in Ireland . 69 Testaments in Ireland .. 70 Additional Legal Records in Ireland, 1585-1717 70 Military Records in Ireland, 163o-66 74 List of Protestant Householders in Ulster, 1740 75 V VI Contents PAGE McN airs on Roll of Honor of Service in the World War from Presbyterian Churches in Ireland 76 Mci~air Members of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (1923) 77 Descendants of Alexander McNair and--- 78 Descendants of Alexander McNair and Annie Stevenson 79 Descendants of Alexander McNair and Rebecca Wilson 80 Descendants of David McNair and --- 81 Descendants of John McNair and Mary Burke. 82 Descendants of John McNair and Rebecca McNair 83 Descendants of John McNair and Martha Quigley 84 Descendants of Nathaniel McNair and Sarah Jane Karr 85 Descendants of William McNair and --- 86 McNAIRS IN CANADA Descendants of Duncan MacNair and Mary MacNair 91 Descendants of Nathaniel McNair and ---Henderson 93 McNAIRs oF GEORGIA Descendants of John. F. McN air and Sarah Angeline Hearne . 97 McNAIRS OF ILLINOIS Descendants of Alexander McN air and Mary Armour . 101 Descendants of Thomas McNair and Pruda Keeler 102 McNAIRS OF MARYLAND De!:cendants of John McNair and Sarah --- 105 Descendants of Thomas McNeir and Nancy Burgess 106 McNAIRS OF MISSISSIPPI Descendants of Katherine McNair and Henry Leonard 113 McNAIRs oF NEw You: Descendants of John McNair . u7 Descendants of William McNair and Margaret Miller Simpson n8 McNAIRs OF NoRTH CAROLINA Descendants of Daniel McNair and Martha Ann Goode . 123 Descendants of Duncan McNair and Katherine McCallum 124 Descendants of James McNair and Margaret McCracken 147 Descendants of John D. McNair and Nancy Grafton . 150 Descendants of Malcolm McNair and --- 152 Rev. Malcolm McNair . 155 Descendants of Neill McNair and Margaret Patterson and Alexander McNair and Effie Little . 156 Descendants of Ralph MacNair and Dorothy Hall 162 Contents vii PAGE McNAIRS OF OKLAHOMA Descendants of James McNair and Eliza Palmer 177 McNAIRS OF PENNSYLVANIA McNairs in the United States Census of Pennsylvania Taken in 1800 . 181 Descendants of David McNair and Jennie Buchanan . 182 Descendants of David McNair and Anna Maria Dunning 183 Descendants of David McNair and Nancy Smith . 191 Descendants of John McN air and --- McDonald 208 Descendants of John McNair and Christiana Walker 218 Descendants of Jonas McNair and Mary E. --- 266 Descendants of Samuel McN air and Anna Murdock 267 Descendants of Thomas McNair and Elizabeth McCabe 279 Descendants of Thomas McNair and Ann Wallace and Mary Strain 286 Descendants of William McNair and Mary --- 292 Descendants of John McNear and Catherine Frazier 295 McNAIRs OF TENNESSEE Descendants of James McNair and--- 299 McNAIRs OF VIRGINIA Descendants of Daniel McNair and Hannah --- 305 Descendants of Richard T. McN eer and Amanda J. Pence 309 Descendants of John McNier of Virginia 311 McNAIRS OF WISCONSIN Descendants of James McN air and Caroline Lane . COLONEL JoHN McNAIR. PoEMS MENTIONING McNAIRs Accounting for the Gang A Lesson from Golf . INDEX . LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PAGE ANDREW MCNAIR RINGING THE LIBERTY BELL • i REPRODUCTION FROM ACTUAL RECORDS, WASHINGTON, D.C., WHICH ESTABLISH ANDREW MCNAIR AS BELL RINGER IN 1776 6 McNAIR OR McNAYR ARM:s, A.D. 1314 16 WILLIAM McNEIR {1864-) . 108 GEORGE McNEIR {1860-) . no JORN CALVIN MCNAIR (1823-1858) 126 JORN FRANKLIN MCNAIR (1843-1927) 16o ROBERT MCNAIR (1797-1886) . COMMISSION OF BRIGADIER GENERAL ROBERT MCNAIR WILLIAM MCNAIR {1832-1901) . ix ANDREW McNAIR ANDREW McNAIR AND THE LIBERTY BELL, 17761 Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof. The doorkeepers of the Assembly of Pennsylvania were the offi­ cial ringers of the Liberty Bell. The following is a revised list of these men and is more complete than that given in the Independ­ ence Hall Bulletin and in the Pennsylvania Arckives:2 Edward Kelley,2 1753-55; David Edward,2 1755-58; Andrew McNair,3 October 16, 1758-February 18, 1777; Jacob Lehre,4 February 18, 1777-March 4, 1777; William Hurry,5 March 4, 1777-November 3, 1780; Thomas Bowling,2 1827-36. 1 Reprinted by permission from Mary D. Alexander, Andrew McNair and the Liberty Bell, I776, which first appeared as "The Ringers of the Liberty Bell," Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, XVIII (October, 1925), 658-67. For additional confirmation see Victor Rosewater, The Liberty Bell. New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1926. 2 (a) Independence Hall Bulletin No. 2. "The Liberty Bell." Depart­ ment of Public Works, Bureau of City Property, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1923. (b) Messengers and Doorkeepers of the Assembly. Pennsylvania Ar­ chives, Second Series, IX, 638. 8 (a) Collections of the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Repre­ sentatives of the Province of Pennsylvania. Henry Miller, printer, Philadel­ phia, Pennsylvania, Vol. I-VI (1776), (University of Chicago Library), Vol. V, pp. 1, 85, 128, 188, 231, 280, 374, 432,499; Vol. VI, pp. 2, uo, 193, 263, 335,421,484,547,623,765,766. (b) Journals of the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Vol. I, from November 28, 1776, to October 2, 1781. John Dunlap, printer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. MDCCLXXXII (University of Chicago Library). Vol. I, pp. 98, n2. (c) Journals of the American Congress: From I774 to I788. Vol. I (September 5, 1774, to December 31, 1776), pp. 50, 143. Washington, D.C., 1823. Loe. cit. Edited by W. C. Ford, Washington, D.C. Government Print­ ing office, 1905. Vol. II (May 10 to September 20, 1775), p. 12; Vol. III (September 21 to December 30, 1775), p. 259; Vol. VIII (May 22 to Oc­ tober 2, 1777), p. 640. 4 3 Op. cit. (3b), pp. II2 and 123. GOp. cit. ( b), pp. 123, 319, 527. 3 4 McNair, McNear, and McNeir Genealogies Andrew McNair is the most interesting of these men, not only because of his long service, but because during his eighteen years' employment the Bell announced most of the important events lead­ ing up to and including the Declaration of Independence, as the following account shows. 6 On September 12, 1764, it rang to call the Assembly together to acquaint them with the instructions sent to London by the Mas­ sachusetts Assembly in regard to the repealing of the Sugar Act and the prevention of the imposing of other taxes. On September 2 2, the Bell again called the Assembly when that body wrote a similar letter to London.