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Here, gathered in our beloved South Dakota, are a few members of our Williamson / Mattson Clan. Charles and Luella are to be blamed (be kind, they didn't know what they were doing). We're generally a happy bunch and somewhat intelligent (notwithstanding our tenuous grasp on reality). I'm also proud to say that most of us still have our teeth.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Robert McCrillis, Our 5th Great Grandfather.


With the Information Below the Males in our Family (Grandma Mattson's Line)
can Join the Sons of the American Revolution.

With the Information Below the Females in our Family (Grandma Mattson's Line)
can Join the Daughters of the American Revolution.

With the Information Below the Children and Teens in our
Family (Grandma Mattson's Line)

can Join the Children of the American Revolution.

From the Fortress of Solitude
Overlooking the Pleasant Grove


Dear Clan,
Once again in my newly undertaken quest to highlight the lives of our departed ancestors I took it upon myself to search the truth behind another old family story. My mother told me that we had ancestors that fought in the Revolutionary War. Of course who that or those ancestors were was the mystery.

Today I proclaim another Victory in my research. I found an ancestor that fought in the Revolutionary War. Family, may I introduce you to Robert McCrillis, our 5th Great Grandfather and soldier in the American Revolutionary Army. Information on Robert is sketchy at best but this is what I know.

Robert was born in 1740 in Lebanon, York Maine and died on the 9th of June, 1819 in Corinth Vermont. He is buried at the McCrillis Cemetery, Family Farm in Corinth, Orange County Vermont. He was the son of Daniel and Elizabeth McCrillis of Lebanon. According to town records, Robert's father (Daniel) "was the original McCrillis to settle in town, is said to have been a Scotch/ Irish emigrant who came to Lebanon, Maine from the north of Ireland soon after 1745"

Mother (Luella) remembers a family story about 3 McCrillis brothers who came to America from Northern Ireland. This story says that the three brothers moved from Scotland to N. Ireland to help bolster the protestant population in their attempts to free northern Ireland from the Catholics. The Scottish immigrants were given the best land to farm. The story goes on to say that the three brothers decided to leave N. Ireland for American and settled somewhere in the East. Well, I found that somewhere. The McCrillis family settled in Maine.

The family was probably living in Lebanon before 1750, for on July 30, 1749, the Rev. Amos Main entered upon the records of the First Parish of Rochester, N.H. the following: “Also baptized, Robert McCrelis.” At that time he Rochester church was located about four miles from where the McCrillises lived.

Here You See Robert McCrellis's Name and Pay from a Revolutionary War Roll.

Robert McCrillis was a private in Captain David Place’s Company, stationed on Seavey’s Island, being named on a return dated 5 November 1775. On July 14, 1776, the Rev. Isaac Hasey of the First Parish Church of Lebanon recorded in his diary the following:
“Bill up by Rob’t McCrellis for himself bound into ye Army.”
His name occurs on a roll dated at Charlestown on July 27, 1776, in Captain John Drew’s Company raised for Canada out of Col. Evans’s and Col. Badger’s Reg’ts.

Of course, with the information above all of us can join the organizations listed above. It is good to note that membership in the Children of the American Revolution could bring with it scholarships. Something to look into.

Now enjoy your read and I'll continue to bring our family's past into view. Remember, A family is stronger when it knows its roots. Our ancestors and their stories are the blood in our veins.
Please share this information with your children. Give them a sense of pride, knowing who they descended from and what their possibilities are as members of one of America's Great Families.

Simply,
Victor

3 comments:

  1. Hi Victor,
    An interesting article and a great piece of research--there are still quite a few "cousins" still living in and around the Lebanon, Maine vicinity. East Rochester, NH abuts Lebanon on the New Hampshire side of the river so there's only a few miles distance between villages.
    I have a bit of information I could share with you at some point in the future if you're interested. Most of it was put together by Mrs. Lillian Riebe of Minnesota some years ago--her maiden name was McCrillis. She had traced the three brothers to Maine in the early 1700's from where they branched out a bit.
    For me, and all of us "blood related" McCrillis's, an important note to consider is the prevalance of an inherited gene that may trigger the condition known as Hemochromatosis. It is a blood "disorder" that leads to an overload of iron and eventually organ failure. Although there is no cure, it can easily be maintained through regular phlebotomy once discovered. More information may be found at www.hemochromatosis.org where one can read up on the simple tests used to determine if you may have the condition. My brothers and I have it and have been fine since maintaining our iron levels...we may not be here today had it not been discovered in our family. Hopefully, we can save more of our kin with knowledge...
    Thanks, Bob McCrillis of Kennebunkport, Maine

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  2. I believe there is quite a bit more proof of decendance required to join the above organizations!

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  3. Hi folks. My name is Maury McCrillis. I'm the last of the Scots Gaelic speaking McCrillises and a direct descendent of Robert, our ancestor who served in the Revolution. My great uncle Herbert O. McCrillis wrote the seminal genealogy of the McCrillis families in America, an early copy of which I still make reference to for those interested in our early history. I'm happy to report that your information about Robert is spot-on accurate. Robert's father, as you say, was Daniel. Daniel's two other brothers were John and David. Our original progenitor, their father, was also named John. The original John came from Aghadowey (pronounced AHK-ah-doo-ee), having relocated from Scotland, likley Dumbartonshire, in or around 1690 following a Covenanter defeat at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge. He and the sons arrived at Nodle Island, Boston, in 1726 and about 20 years later build what is the original homestead, which still stands on McCrillis Road in Nottingham, NH.

    Anyone interested in more details about our early history can contact me at mccrillisancestry@hotmail.com.

    Le Dùrachdan, Muiris (Maury)

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