ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE MAGENNIS FANIILY: WITH SKETCHES OF THE K@ylor, iwisb@r. Marchbank and Bryan Famili@s. Children's children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children are their- fathers. -Proverbs xvii, 6. BY JOHN F. MEGINNESS, AUTHOR "BIOGRAPHY OF FRANCES SLOCUM,'' "HISTORICAL JOURNAL," ETC, WILLIAMSPORT, PA.: HELLER BROS.' PRINTING HOUSE. 1891. ~-◄-'"-►----·•_..--~_... _~ --9 J(, THE LONG AGO. I. A wonderful stream is the River Time, S As it runs through the realms of Tears, With a faultless rhythm, and a musical rhyme, And a broader sweep, and a. surge sublime, As it blends with the ocean of Yeai!S. -B. }~ Taylor. THE RIVER. Oh, rugged river! restless river! River of rears-river of tears­ Thou river of Life! * • * River of gladness! Yet o'er the blue of the beauti­ ful sky floats a cloud, Out of whose fleecy whiteness the Loom of God is weaving a shroud. * * * * And while the waters glow and glisten, And bow seldom do we listen To the turning of the ponderous wheel of Time, Over whose granite sid~s are rushing The waves of the river in a symphony sublime! -Mary E. Hill. A FEvV \VORDS OF EXPLA.NA1'ION. HEN I first conceived the idea of preparing this little book, it was my intention to publish nothing but a record of n1y own family and of those families which had beco1ne connected with it by marriage; but as the work of collecting material progressed, so many interesting facts relating to other fami­ lies of the same name were developed, that it became evident something of the origin and history of the Magennis line should be given. It was therefore decided to enlarge the field of investigation and gather what material could be crowded into the pages of a small volume. This soon resulted in the accum·ulation of much interesting family history which, pos­ sibly, may prove of some value to the general reader, as well as to those bearing the nan1e. The date of the origin of the clan of Magennis runs so far back that it has almost becon1e obscured by the haze of an­ tiquity. Long before the Christian era, eight sons of King Milesius, of Spain, raised a fleet and sailed for Ireland for the purpose of conquest. When about to land, a storm arose and dispersed the fleet. Five of the eight brothers were drowned. The saved-Heber, Heremon and Amergin, and Heber Don, sou of Ir, (one of the brothers lost,) effected a landing, met the natives in battle, routed them, seized the country and founded a colony. Heber and Heremon divided the territory · between them. The third brother became their arch priest. This was· in 1699 B. C. In course of ti~e quarrels arose be­ tween thetn, and Heber was slain. Amergin then claimed a 2 PREFACE. share in the conquest, when more trouble arose and he was killed in battle. Thus Heremon became sole monarch. He then made another di vision of the land amongst his friends. The north part of Ireland, now Ulster, he gave t~ his nephew, Heber Don, Ir's only son. From Ir, therefore, all the pro­ vincial kings of Ulster, and all the ancient nobility, derive their pedigrees. The Magennis -family had its origin in the Irian line, but it was not until the eleventh century that sur­ names were adopted and the name began to undergo changes in spelling. All, therefore, bearing the name, no matter how it is spelled, descended from the same stock, and are of Mile­ sian origin. The clan, while in its original condit!on, was fierce and warlike, and engaged in many bloody conflicts. The mean­ ing of the name in its original orthography, "great strength," indicates that the members of the fan1ily were physically strong and powerful. An examination of the early Irish annals, as found re­ corded in that great ,vork entitled 'The Four .Masters, which brings the history down to 1616, shows that the original seat of the family was in what is now known as County Down. There they lived, multiplied and flourished for hundreds of years; there they often engaged in bloody conflicts with the Clan O'Neil; there the Lords of Iveah came into existence , and held sway until the rapacious English invaded Ireland, upturned society, confiscated estates, _devastated the -land by fire and sword, crushed the hearts of the people and caused their sons and daughters to seek homes in for~ign lands. Up to this time family records were carefully kept, and it is easy to trace their origin; but for a hundred years after the invasion society was so disrupted that it is difficult to pick up the ends of the broken threads and resume the narrative. During the great emigration from Ireland to America in 1700, thousands of Irish sought these shores, and Philadel­ phia and Newcastle seem to have been their objective points. We have evidence that there were many in the former city PREFACE. 3 bearing the name of Magennis and McGinnis about the mid­ dle of the eighteenth century, for we find then1 recorded in the marriage registry lists of many of the churches. The register of Christ Church shows that Edward Maginnes and Rose Fullerton were married August 27, 1746. This is the first record we have. The second was that of Catharine Ma­ ginnes and George Atkinson, on the 9th of August, I 756. Doubtless there were others whose records were not preserved; but from that time up to the close of the century, we find a large nun1ber whose names are recorded in the VIIIth and IXth volumes of the State Archives, second series. In Stone's Life and Times of Sir William Johnson, (Vol. 1, p. 517,) mention is made of Captain Maginnis, who com­ manded a party of two hundred New Hau1pshire men, and made an attack on the shattered remnant of the French army, in 17 55, after their disastrous assault on the fort at Lake George. The brave captain and his party were on their way to reinforce the English garrison at the lake when they fell in with the retreating French and dispersed them. In the fight he received a contusion on the head from a spent ball, which caused his death soon after reaching the camp. It is regretted that there is nothing on record to show when he reached this country and where he settled; but it is probable he landed at Boston and made his way to New Hampshire, where he soon afterwards entered the provincial service to assist in repelling the encroachments of the French. There were many bearing the name who took part in. the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812-14, and the Great Re­ bellion. In the latter conflict they were found on both sides, being governed in their action by their location and surround­ ings when the war broke out. It ,vill be observed that several ways of spelling the name· are in use. This has been brought about largely by the fancy of men1bers of different branches of the original family. The correct way, according to eminent Irish historians, appears on the title page, and it is explained in the proper place. 4 PREFACE. The increase of the family has been rapid during the past hundred years. Members are found in every State and Ter­ ritory of the Union, as well as in the distant colony of Aus­ tralia, and other portions of the globe. So rapid has been the increase that it is safe to say there are fifteen hundred bearing the name in the United States alone to-day. As the years roll on, the desire to know something of an­ cestry increases an1ong all classes of our people. The gene­ alogies of families have been greatly neglected in this country, so much, indeed, that in many instances it is ivith the great­ est difficulty that family records can be traced for three generations back. It was largely through a realization of this fact that I was impelled to attempt the work of c91lect­ ing the records of n1y scattered fan1ily, and to place them in pern1anent form, not only for the benefit of those living, but for posterity. The task, while slow and tedious, has been pleasant; and if my labors are not appreciated by all who should be interested, there is n1uch consolation in the reflec­ tion that among those ·who will con1e after me there are likely to be few who will not express their thanks for what has been done, imperfect though it may be. It will save the future collector of fan1ily records much trouble and pave the way for a broader and m"Ore comprehens~ve work. From the rapidly growing desire among all classes to know whence they came, we are warranted in arriving at the con­ clusion that the time is not far distant when every family, no matter how bumble, will possess records showing its ancestry for many generations. This sent11nent is forcibly illustrated in the ~einarks recently made by Hon. Marshall P. Wilder at the annual meeting·of the New England Historical and Gene­ alogical Society, when he said: "The study of family history elevates and ennobles the nature of man, and lifts it up to a truer and nobler type. To know nothing of our ancestry, or from whence we came, to have no reverence for the precious me1nories of the past, or an interest in those who are to suc­ ceed us in the battle of life, is to ignore the elements and influences that have made us what we are, to repudiate the natural instincts PREFACE.