Margaret Wilson's four brothers flee to Ulster

Margaret Wilson (18) and Margaret McLachlan (64) were drowned by the troops of King James II in the rising waters of the Solway Firth in May 1685. It was one of the most cruel yet most-remembered of all of the Covenanter martyrdoms.

Recent research suggests that four of Margaret Wilson's brothers (like many other Covenanters) had fled to Ulster in the early 1680s. In the 16 page pamphlet Margaret Wilson the Martyr; a Genealogical Account of the Wilson Family of Penninghame Parish by John G Wilson (House of Kilwinnet Publications, 1998), it says:

"...in the McKinney Papers, which are held in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. A correspondent of mine examined the papers in 1984... a tradition that three brothers, Robert, Samuel and John, arrived in Ireland in an open boat in 1684. Robert married and had a daughter Margaret, and little more is known of him. Samuel married Martha Kirkpatrick in 1732. John (b. 1660 or 1666) having arrived in County Antrim in 1684 (bringing with him an oak chair and chest) was at Carrickfergus in 1690 to meet William of Orange. John was given lands at Rashee, Ballyclare. If the McKinney papers are correct then it would appear that the three brothers were older children of Gilbert Wilson in Glenvernock... William Wilson married Elizabeth McIlroy and went to Ulster with his brothers Robert, Samuel and John - though not to the same part of Ulster. The Kirkpatrick family tree in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland records a William as one of the three brothers who crossed in an open boat. This William died in 1721..."

President Woodrow Wilson was of Ulster-Scots descent, and also claimed to be a descendant of the Covenanter Wilsons of Wigtown. Maybe one of these brothers was the ancestor of the President?

(with thanks to Willie Drennan for lending me the booklet)

.................

As an update, there are genealogical records of a John Wilson of Rashee dying in 1692. The Wilsons in Ireland have a proud heritage - for example Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, CIGS at the end of the Great War and MP for North Down, and his brother James Mackay Wilson, a very active figure in the Irish Unionist Alliance traced their family origins to Rashee, Co. Antrim. A new biography of Henry Wilson was published last year, written by Keith Jeffrey of Queens University Belfast

Comments

[Paul]

Hi

I just found this site, there is so much to read, I'm looking forward to delving in more.

I have photos at my blog of the graves of the "Two Mary's" and lots of other stuff too, such as the Greyfriar's Martyr's Memorial, Samuel Rutherford's grave/church etc., John G. Paton etc.

I'd be glad to share these with you for use on this site. Just email me if you're interested.

Here is the link to the aforementioned post;

http://reformedandbaptist.wordpress.com/2008/08/01/history-on-holidays-number-2-the-solway-martyrs/

Paul