One book that I found during my trip to the USA in June 2013 that was new to me was called “The Boyd Family of Pike County, Missouri, The Ancestors and Descendants of John Warren Boyd and Rosalea Helen Baxter, by Mary Ellen Boyd and Herbert Eugene (Gene) Boyd, 2008. I an section dealing with the Sharp Family origins of this book, there was discussion if some members of this family were born in County Antrim or Argyllshire, as they had been Christened at Campbelltown, Arygllshire in the early and mid 1700’s. I am sure that other sections on spouse families also mentioned a similar problem. So the questioned need to be asked ‘when Presbyterian Church were not allowed to Christian, marry or bury their members in Ireland did they travel from northern County Antrim and Londonderry to the Presbyterian Churches in Kintyre, Argyllshire – such as Campbelltown and Southend? I can’t recall what year in the 1700’s that Presbyterian’s were allowed to undertake Church functions and not use the Church of Ireland Churches? So did people living in Northern Ulster, go to Argyllshire for to have their children Christened within the various sects of the Presbyterian Church. With Southend only being about 40 kms from Ballycastle by sea. I assume that people from Larne, Carrickfergus and eastern County Down would have either gone to Ayrshire or a Wigtonshire Churches? So will this mean that while the family actually lived in Ulster, their Church records will be in those nearby Scottish Counties? This book mentions a number of Scottish families, including Wallace, Fullerton, Sharp, Alexander, McCullock, and McKnights. A number of these sound to be good Ayrshire names. I will have to do some further research to see which of these families went from Ulster, to York County, PA, down to Iredell County, North Carolina, Trigg County Kentucky and then onto Pike County, Missouri, but from a very quick read it seems that most of these families intermarried over the generations and through the above migration trail. Do any members know if this actually happened? Thank you Mike Boyd Historical Committee House of Boyd Society

Mike, Years ago I came across some oral family history which said that some of our Presbyterian Johnstons who were in Ireland and C. of I. for convenience's sake still went back to Scotland and their Presbyterian Church to have marriages and baptisms sanctified there.  When I posted this on some internet sites some 10 or more years ago the response was quite negative, i.e.:  Why would they go all the way back to Scotland to do that when it could have been done in Ireland someplace easier and cheaper?  Well, the answer is that they still had their strong belief system in place, and they also visited family while in Scotland.  It was a double bonus trip :-) Cliff. ________________________________ From: Mike Boyd <[email protected]> To: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Sent: Saturday, January 25, 2014 3:21 AM Subject: [AYR] Did County Antrim Presbyterian cross to Argyllshire to Christian their children? One book that I found during my trip to the USA in June 2013 that was new to me was called “The Boyd Family of Pike County, Missouri, The Ancestors and Descendants of John Warren Boyd and Rosalea Helen Baxter, by Mary Ellen Boyd and Herbert Eugene (Gene) Boyd, 2008.  I an section dealing with the Sharp Family origins of this book, there was discussion if some members of this family were born in County Antrim or Argyllshire, as they had been Christened at Campbelltown, Arygllshire in the early and mid 1700’s.  I am sure that other sections on spouse families also mentioned a similar problem. So the questioned need to be asked ‘when Presbyterian Church were not allowed to Christian, marry or bury their members in Ireland did they travel from northern County Antrim and Londonderry to the Presbyterian Churches in Kintyre, Argyllshire – such as Campbelltown and Southend? I can’t recall what year in the 1700’s that Presbyterian’s were allowed to undertake Church functions and not use the Church of Ireland Churches? So did people living in Northern Ulster, go to Argyllshire for to have their children Christened within the various sects of the Presbyterian Church.  With Southend only being about 40 kms from Ballycastle by sea. I assume that people from Larne, Carrickfergus and eastern County Down would have either gone to Ayrshire or a Wigtonshire Churches? So will this mean that while the family actually lived in Ulster, their Church records will be in those nearby Scottish Counties? This book mentions a number of Scottish families, including Wallace, Fullerton, Sharp, Alexander, McCullock, and McKnights.  A number of these sound to be good Ayrshire names.  I will have to do some further research to see which of these families went from Ulster, to York County, PA, down to Iredell County, North Carolina, Trigg County Kentucky and then onto Pike County, Missouri, but from a very quick read it seems that most of these families intermarried over the generations and through the above migration trail. Do any members know if this actually happened? Thank you Mike Boyd Historical Committee House of Boyd Society ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Mike, The crossings back to Scotland for religious reasons occurred during the period of time when the Presbyterians and their ministers were first persecuted, with many of those ministers being deported back to Scotland. Those making the crossings for the sacraments were not returning to home churches, but rather to the nearest Presbyterian congregation, making for a hasty return trip back to Ireland. This may have been during the mid 1600s. The "Black Oath" was forced upon the Presbyterians during the early 1600s. This created a good deal of back migration during that period. These laws of religious discrimination could not be enforced to great effect and the Presbyterians in Ireland continued their worship and sacraments in private without strict oversight and later with little discernment by officials. I do not recall when these laws were repealed, but it seems sometime during the latter part of the 1800s. Specific families from early local histories are not generally known. There were early Sharp/Sharpe families in the NE corner of Maryland between the forks of Elk River, along with other families who went to Mecklenburg Co., NC. I do not recall specifics. If you would like a look-up, I will check to see what I may have. Lee