>From Chapter 1 of Alexander Lecky's 1905 book, "The Laggan and its Presbyterianism we find the following description of the district know as the LAGGAN: "On looking at a map of the County Donegal, it will be seen that the north-eastern part of the county, which is the most northerly part of Ireland, is a peninsula washed on the eastern side by the waters of Lough Foyle and on the western by Lough Swilly. This is Inishowen, a mountainous and, to a large extent, a barren country. Immediately to the south of it is a fertile and comparatively flat country, lying between the river Foyle and the upper reaches of Lough Swilly, and extending in one direction from the City of Derry to Stranorlar, and in another from Lifford to Letterkenny. This is the district which in by-gone times was known under the name of THE LAGGAN, and formed the most productive and desireable portion of the ancient territory of Tyrconnell..." This is also where many of my ancestors and yours came from; Defenders of Derry during the great siege, the defining moment in Ulster Protestant history. To an Ulsterman the Siege of Londonderry is what the War Between the States is to an American. Shortly after this event great waves of Derrymen left for America, first settling in Pennsylvania and then moving down the Valley of Virginia and into the Carolinas. This genealogical connection between the families of those who fought at Derry and those who settled in Augusta/Rockbridge counties Virgina and the Settlement of the Northwest Carolina Frontier (Carolina Cradle by Ramsey) eventually reaches a climax on a little mountain in North Carolina on October 7, 1780. This is the area of history that myself and fellow researcher John Giocoletti from Florida have always wanted to explore in detail. This June we will be travelling to Derry and Belfast for some extended research into the family histories of those names that appear both in the records of the Laggan and at King's Mountain. Lecky's two books, "The Laggan and its Presbyterianism," and "In the Days of the Laggan Presbytery," published in 1905 and 1908 Belfast, Davidson & McCormack, North Gate Works, are a must for anyone wanting to discover their Ulster roots. The books real value for the genealogist is in the Appendix which is divided into several parts, the most important being the following: "The following are the names of men who attended the meetings of the Laggan Presbytery between the years 1672 and 1700, as ruling elders or as commissioners, together with the names of the congregations which they represented. They were doubtless the leading men in the districts in which they lived..." These lists are by Parish and I will give a couple of examples: Taboyn: Matthew Lindsay, John Aikine, Alexander Houston, Robert Cowan, Archibald Alexander, Robert Scott, Wm. Mackie, Wm. Bell, Robert M'Clellan, Richard Armstrong, Richard Moore, John Kilgore, Wm. Inglis, John Gay, John Harvey, David Paterson, George Brown, Robert Moore, James Marshall, John Graham Raphoe: Joseph Henderson, Edward Hervies, William Mills, Michael Henderson, Robert Anderson, Patrick Bell, Robert Dick, Alexander Stuart, William Ramsay, James Laird, Robert Walker, John M'Clure, Robert Gray, John Sproul Londonderry: John Craig, William Cunningham, John Campsie, William Rodger, James Fisher, Horace Kennedy, James Wilson, William Macky, James Lennox, William Smith, John Cowan, Alexander Lecky, William Davidsson, James Wallace, George Henderson, others In addition to the ruling elders there is a list of people from the Hearth Money rolls of 1665 by Parish and TOWNLAND which places a person in an area sometimes as small as a few acres. These lists are important when comparing names with the early landowners of Augusta county or the Baptismal records of the the Rev. Craig at Tinkling Spring Presbyterian Church or the early settlers of the Yadkin settlement in Rowan county, North Carolina. I will be willing to furnish copies of these two books for a limited time to researchers who want to explore their Ulster genealogy. Many of you purchased copies of Professor Hagy's thesis, "Castle's Woods; Frontier Virginia Settlement" and I have received numerous e-mails about the quality of that document. I believe these two books by Lecky are superior in the information contained and if you would like a copy please contact me privately at cscunc@aol.com for the details. Any information John and I discover specific to your surname will be posted on the appropriate list after our return from Ireland. I will provide a list of surnames that have "made the cut" so far, the requirements being that the family is found in Derry and also found at King's Mountain. Any suggestions for additional names will be considered as long as the request is substantiated with a reasonable amount of documentation. Regards, Robert Cowan 525 Harrogate Rd. Matthews, North Carolina 28105 Names on the list so far: Alexander, Anderson, Bell, Black, Blair, Brown, Buchanan, Campbell, Cowan, Craig, Cunningham, Denniston, Edmondson, Finley, Fleming, Gillespie, Graham, Hamilton, Houston, Irvin, Kilgore, King, Knox, Lindsay, McClure, Maxwell, Moffatt, Montgomery, Moore, Ramsay, Robinson, Russell, Scott, Steele, Stewart/Stuart, Thompson, Walker, Weir, Young spellings may vary John and I will stay in touch with the various lists as best we can. It will not be possible to remain of all the surname lists all the time for obvious reasons. Feel free to contact me at cscunc@aol.com if you have any suggestions or questions. This may make a nice book one day.

I am looking for information on the family of Joseph Hunter who appears in 1790-1800 census of Bucks County, PA. Thank you, Nedra