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Name County Year Alexander Franklin 1820,1830 Alexander Greene 1830 Alexander Sullivan 1830 Amelia Dearborn 1820 Angus Jefferson 1830 Archibal Decatur 1830 David Franklin 1830 Eliza Vanderburg 1830 Hugh Jefferson 1830 James Dubois 1820 James Jefferson 1830 James Knox 1830 James Owen 1830 James Washington 1830 John Allen 1830 John Franklin 1820 John Harrison 1820 John Jefferson 1830 John Knox 1820 John Rush 1830 John Selby 1830 John Sullivan 1820,1830 John Vigo 1830 John Wayne 1820,1830 Joseph Jennings 1830 Melinda Wayne 1830 Richard Ripley 1830 Robert Tippecanone 1830 Robert Vigo 1830 Samuel Franklin 1820 Tabor W. Henry 1830 Thomas Harrison 1820 Thomas Jefferson 1830 Thomas Putnam 1830 William Crawford 1820 William Floyd 1820 William Putnam 1830
A Boyne Review (from Book of McKee)
1. ALEXANDER MCKEE, who fought at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, near Drogheda in East Ireland, was an officer in the forces of William, Prince of Orange, according to genealogical article quoted in this book. There can be little doubt that he and his brothers belonged to the Strathnaver MacKays, because one of them who died in 1706 and was buried at Carncastle in Antrim caused arms containing the three bears heads of Lord Reay to be carved on his monument. Unfortunately, that particular monument has either weathered away or has crumbled, for it no longer exists at Carncastle. However, the hiatus is bridged by the act of the Ulster King of Arms, Sir Neville Wilkinson, who confirmed arms in 1912 to a decendant, John Reginald McKee, in Ireland. They were grounded on the arms claimed on the 1706 monument of which either a photograph or a drawing probably existed in 1912. In 1956, the late King of Arms in Ireland, Sir Gerald Wollaston, K.C.B., K.C.V.O., granted arms similarly grounded, and containing the three bears heads as their principal charge, to another decendant of one of the four McKee brothers who were Boyne veterans, H Malcom McKee of Bangor, North Ireland.
A monument bearing the date of 1756 also stood in the churchyard at Carncastle, bearing the name of Robert McKee and the same Mackay arms. The present author (RWM)covered a drawing of these arms in the Ulster of Archaeology, Vol VI, No 1, p.240, jan 1900. Thus we possess sound proof that the four McKee brothers who fought at the Boyne considered themselves part of the Strathnaver and Reay branch of the Clan Mackay, and moreover believed themselves entitled to adopt the clan's armorial bearings. Lord Reay has been the title borne by the head of this branch of the Mackays since 1628. The proof is already probably as complete as it will ever be that the four McKee brothers were younger sons of that branch.
Their children:
Ellen 1765-1850
Robert 1767-1829
Jane 1775-1795
John 1776-1812
Eliza 1823-1868; Amm 1826-1852; Rebecca 1818-1854; Wm. John 1832-1872; Ellen Jane 1835-1905; Mary 1838-1879.
Robert McKee of Poagsburn, Son of James of Oughley and grandson of Hugh 1811-1896 His wife Elizabeth Lyttle 1821-1906; Their daughter Isabella (McKee) McKibben 1853-1871. Their son John McKee 1851-1931.
Erected by Agnes McKee of Carrickmaddyroe in memory of her husband James McKee who died 27th May 1870 age 29. Also their infant children Miriam and David. Also the above Agnes McKee who died 24th August 1888. Also their daughter Maggie (McKee) Prentice who died 8th April age 36.
This stone marks the spot where lies David McKee of Catticknaveagh who departed this life 24th June, 1830 aged 83 years. Also his wife Isabella 10th June 1815 aged 64 years.
James his son died 20th March 1825 aged 19 years
Also Jane his wife 6th Feby 1825 aged 45 years
Likewise his son Hugh McKee who departed this life 28 Nov 1810 aged 59 years.
Margaret McKee died 13th Feby 1866, 27 years
Anna her sister died 4th Sept 1867 aged 24 years
Margaret Prentice McKee mother to the above died 25th April1868 aged 59 years. Also Mary her daughter died 3rd June 1871 age 21 years.
Hugh McKee her brother died 15th Dec 1872 age 20 years.
The last named six of one family lie mixed in kindred dust.
Research by James A. McKee (from Book of McKee):
"The narrative that follows is made up from data taken from the records,histories,tradition,and folk lore of various families around which the name McKee is found".
"In collecting these data, the writer has considered such authorities as Mackays History of the Clan Mackay, History of the Scottish Clans, History of lthe Scotch-Irish in North America, History of the Scottish Martyrs, Egle's History of Pennsylvania, the Colonial Records of Pennsylvania, Archives of Pennsylvania, Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania, Days History of Pennsylvania, Bates History of Volunteers in the Civil War, histories of various counties, Brackenbridge's History of the West, the records of Scottish Parliment, the minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church and the Reformed Church of North America."
The writer has met with obastacles which confront all compilers of family history and genealogical trees, that is the difficulty getting births,deaths and marriages, and the migration of the clans".
"Members of the clan may get useful information and a starting point in the rosters of the revolution, the Pensioners of the Revolution, the heads of families of McKee in Pennsylvania from 1775-1780, and the letters of John McKee of Wooster Ohio; Samuel McKee of Kalamazoo, Michigan and S. R. McKee of Lewistown, Pa".
"The dates of early migration of McKees to America are 1669,1720,1730,1748,1753,1774,1803,1824,1840 to 1850. Many came later in family groups, but the migration was not general". (Signed James A. McKee, Butler, Pennsylvania, August 18, 1922).
"In the history of the Scot Irish in American is found the statement that about the beginning of the seventeenth century there lived in the north end of County Down, Ireland a cadet of the great O'Neil family who bore the name of Con McNeale McBryan Feartaugh O'Neil. He ruled a large extent of the territory not only in the north of County Down but in County Antrim and Armagh. He lived in royal style in an old mansionhouse of Castle Reagh, two or three miles from Belfast and near Carrick Fergus Castle."
"The story goes that on one occasion Con was entertaining a large number of friends at his mansion, when the supplies of wine and liquors ran out. A consignment of wines had just been received at Belfast, which had been shipped from Spain. Con sent his men servants to the Custom House to get a supply for his party. The officials at the Custom House refused to deliver the goods until a certain import tax had been paid. This tax was a levy of which Con was ignorant. He was furious about the delay and what he considered outrageous tax on his goods, so ordered his servants and retainers to go to the Custom House and take the goods away by force. An encouter with the Kings soldiers resulted and Con was arrested for levying war against the government. The situation became serious, so much so that Con was placed in prison at Carrickfergus Castle. Cons wife and friends in Scotland with whom she interceded to come to the rescue of her husband. She communicated with Hugh Montgomery, Laird of Braifstone and Ayershire, who agreed to assist Con to escape in consideration that if the venture were succesful Con was to sell him a tract of land in the north of County Down, Ireland for the establishment of a plantation of Scottish farmers."
" Montgomery entrusted the duty of rescuing Con to a relative, Thomas Montgomery who was the owner of a sloop. This Thomas Montgomery was a young man filled with the spirit of adventure and romance, and he proceeded at once to Belfast and Cattickfergus Castle. There he ingratiated himself with the keeper of the Castle and the members of the Castle Guard. It appears that the keeper of the Castle had a very beautiful daughter with whom Montgomery fell deeply in love. While courting the daughter he was laying his plans to procure the release of Con. He supplied the soldiers and the keepers of the Castle with liquor. One night he succeeded in getting them all drunk, and persuaded the keeper to permit him to carry a cheese to Con's prison cell. Inside the cheese was carefully concealed a rope by which Con made his escape through the window and down the castle walls. In pursuance of his agreement Con conveyed half of his estates in Counties Down, Antrim, and Armagh to Hugh Montgomery and James Hamilton for services rendered."
" These two men planted the land with Scottish farmers from the shires of Galloway, Ayer, and Sterling. This was practically the beginning of the Scotch invasion of North Ireland. There is no record extant of the names of the planters but the rent rolls of James Hamilton in 1681 and 1688 contain the names of Alexander McKee, John McKee and Thomas McKee as well as William Hogg".
One of the original planters was James Orr. He raised a large family of children who intermarried with the McKee family. Many of the Orr men married McKee women and one of the Orr girls married a McKee of Lisleen. These families all came from Galloway, Shire, Ayer, Dumfries and Kirkudbright".
"In the middle of the eighteenth century one of the leaders of the McKee family in Ireland was Big David of County Down, who was said to have been the largest man in all Ireland. About the same time another branch of the family came to Pennsylvania and were said to be more than six feet tall. This tradition about the physical strength and size of the family bore out in history and mention of the fact that the men of Galloway are the tallest in the world, the average height being five feet ten inches. The men of counties north of Galloway in the Highland districts are next. This no doubt accounts for the tradition among people of the McKee name about the size of their ancestors who came from Scotland and Ireland".
"The success of Montgomery in establishing Scottish plantations induced the King of England to establish the great plantations of Ulster and Donegal, from 1610 to 1630. Among the planters who came at that time and obtained land grants was Sir Patrick McKee of Kirkudbright, who had been a member of the Scottish Parliment. He obtained a grant of one thousand acres and became one of the leaders in Ulster and Donegal during the middle of the century. (The author interjects here to state Sir Patrick McKee, according to records, sold this grant to Sir Robert Gordon, and did not himself go to Ireland).
" The Scottish plantations in the north of Ireland prospered until the latter part of the seventeenth century, when Queen Anne undertook to convert all Ireland to the established Church of England. The special glory of Queen Anne's time was called the Test Act of 1698, which was a sweeping edict against Presbyterians and Catholics alike". (The author rectifies that 1698 above as 1665 and 1673).
The Catholics were deprived of all their civil and religious rights; but an exception was made in the case of the Presbyterians who were granted the privelege of being restored to their former rights by complying with the Test Act of 1698, which required them to take communion in the established Church of England once a year. This act of unwonted bigotry drove the Ulsterite Presbyterians, as well as Catholics to America".
"All of the McKees the writer has met trace their ancestry back to North Ireland, and from there to Scotland. While the McKees of Scotland had no disctinctive clan name they are said to be a branch of the present Clan Mackay, one of the oldest and largest of the clans. The name McKee, MacKee, McKay, Macghie, McKie, McGhie, mean the same thing and by the native Scots are pronounced Mac Eye"
"At an early period in history of the clans the Mackees of Gallowayshire, Scotland, shortened their name to McKee, McKie, McKey and these names are found among the plantationists who migrated to North Ireland and to America.
"Robert Mackay's history of the clan mentions the McKie or Mackie family in Gallowayshire, Scotland as far back as Robert Bruce who being defeated in Carrick, fled to the head of the Lock Dee in 1314. He lodged at the house of the widow McKie in Craigenallie. The widow had three sons, Mackie, Murdoch, and Mellver. They were expert archers. Tho show his skill Mackie shot a raven through the head. Murdoch shot a raven on the wing. One story is that he shot two ravens with the same arrow. Bruce was so pleased that he took the sons with him".