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ELLIOTT FAMILY HISTORY & RECORDS – 1779 TO PRESENT: January
26, 2018
Email correspondence with several helpful Elliott
individuals throughout the world, Ireland in particular, has helped to gather some generic information as to our Elliott name.
A Genealogist at the Elliot Clan Society, USA, has just provided me with another link to the Elliott’s, with more names,
dates etc. It would appear that the name Elliott probably originated in Scotland and became prevalent in and around
the neighboring four county areas of Leitrim, Donegal, Cavan and Fermanagh in Ireland sometime during the 1620-1640-time period.
The majority of Elliott’s with two “t’s” appear to be from
the six Counties of current Northern Ireland. Many Elliott’s, as well as others, were forced by the
English Crown to leave Scotland about 1603, and many went to Northern Ireland, where many were offered land there by the Crown.
Our family probably went to Northern Ireland, possibly to Donegal, sometime before the
1770’s and this would mean that there were at least three generations of our Elliott’s that were born in Ireland
before immigrating to Canada. It is here that the earliest recording of an Elliott ancestor can be found,
Francis Elliott, born about 1779 in Lynncrest, Ballyshannon, Donegal. A letter from the Donegal Ancestry
Centre in 2001 (the Donegal Ancestry Centre letter appears as a tab on the Home page as a PDF document) shows a reference
to a Thomas and Mary Elliott, the possible parents of Francis. Thomas and Mary may have also had other children in addition
to Francis; Mary, Margaret and John may have been his siblings as shown in the Donegal Ancestry Centre letter.
It would also seem that many of these Elliott’s were Methodists, or Wesleyan Methodists in reference to John
Wesley (1703-1791) the founder of Methodism. Many families gave the name Wesley as a first or middle name
to many of their children.
An interesting side note is that of a story or rumor, that in earlier years the Elliott
name or clan was known as the “thieves of the border.” This was undoubtedly in reference to
the border between Scotland and England, and they were known as one of the notorious Border Clans and had formed a loose confederacy
with the riding Clan’s of Armstrong, Nixon, Crosier and Knox. The “rustling” of sheep
and cattle was probably a common occurrence. A story Donna and I were told by a B&B proprietress in
Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland said that if they did come to Ireland from Scotland, “They probably stole the boat…”
This might have some truth to it as the following information on the Elliott name comes from an article published in
a past issue from the Irish Roots Magazine: ELLIOT (ELLIOTT) SURNAME HISTORY “A
very numerous Ulster name, particularly in Antrim, Donegal and parts of Cavan. It is among the top five
names in Fermanagh, where it is of Scots origin, being associated with the Angus region. There the River
Elliott joins the sea at Abirlot, the mouth of the Elliott. With the Armstrong’s and Johnston’s,
Elliott’s were a riding clan harrying the borders until ‘pacified’ under James I with many finding their
way to Ulster. There are many variant spellings of the name, using more or less l’s and t’s”.
The general consensus seems to be that they are all of the same “family.” Variations
in spelling: Elliot/Eliott/Eliot/Elliott An
old rhyme commemorates these differences: The double
L and single T
Descent from Minto and Wolflee,
The double T and single L
Mark the old race in Stobs that
dwell.
The single L and single T
The Eliots of St Germains be,
But double T and double L,
Who they
are nobody can tell. So, it appears that the name Elliott probably originated in Scotland and became prevalent
in and around the neighboring four county areas
of Leitrim, Donegal, Cavan and Fermanagh in Ireland, sometime during the 1620-1640 time periods. The majority of Elliott’s
with two “t’s” appear to be from the six Counties of current Northern Ireland. Many Elliott’s, as
well as others, were forced by the English to leave Scotland about 1603, and many went to Northern Ireland. In the mid 1700’s,
many of the Scots-Irish left in droves for America and Canada with promises from the British Crown for land. Our family probably
immigrated to Northern Ireland, possibly to Donegal, sometime before the 1770’s and this leads me to believe that there
were at least three generations of our Elliott’s that were born in Ireland before immigrating to Canada. It is here
in Donegal, Ireland that the earliest recording of an Elliott ancestor can be found, Francis Elliott, born about 1779 in Lynncrest,
Ballyshannon, Donegal.
It would also seem that many of these Elliott’s were Methodists, or Wesleyan Methodists
in reference to John Wesley (1703-1791) the founder of Methodism. Many families gave the name Wesley as a first or middle
name to many of their children.
The next earliest record of our Elliott ancestors in Ireland, besides Francis Elliott
from Donegal, is that of a John Elliott (probably Sr.) who emigrated quite possibly from either Donegal or Leitrim (the Leitrim
Genealogy Centre letter appears as a tab on the Home page as a PDF document), Ireland, possibly sometime between 1838-1841
and immigrated to Ontario, Canada. John Elliott Sr. was born around 1800, probably in Ballyshannon, Donegal.
He married Alice McSherry about 1827 in Donegal and Alice is believed to have been born around 1801. The
exact date and place of Alice’s origin are unknown, although it was most likely in Donegal, Ireland. Most
of the people (the general population) of Ireland at this time were uneducated or had little education, and actual dates of
birth and correct spelling of names was not uncommon. Because of this, wide variations can be found and
a person’s age might be listed as “seventies” or “in his seventies.” NOTE:
ON THE HOME PAGE THERE IS A TAB THAT GIVES YOU ACCESS TO A PDF FILE THAT HAS THE COMPLETE NAMES OF ALL MY KNOWN FRANCIS
ELLIOTT’S DESCENDANTS.
I have marked my direct Elliott ancestors in italics & bold
print for easy identification.
Francis Elliott,
b. abt. 1779, Lynncrest, Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland, married Mary Knox on May 29, 1799 in Ballyshannon-Kilbarrow Parish
(C of I), Donegal, Ireland and had the following the following known children: John
Elliott, b. about 1800 (immigrated with family members to Ontario, Canada, 1838-1841) Mathew Elliott, b. about 1801 Thomas
Elliott, b. about 1817
There is a John Elliott Sr. who is recorded in the 1833 LeitrimTithe Applotment Books,
Diocese of Kilmore (spelling?), Parish of Cloonclare, Townland of Moneelum (Moneelom). This document shows
the recordings of all occupiers (tenant farmers) of land who paid tithes to the established Church at that time, which was
the Church of Ireland. His tithing appears to be for about eight acres. There
are also several other Elliott’s who appear on the same tithing page, James Elliott, another John Elliott, Simon Elliott,
William Elliott and a John Elliott, Jr. Other possibilities are that some or all of the other Elliott’s on this tithing page are
related; some might be the brothers of John Elliott, Sr. John
Elliott, Sr. and Alice McSherry had the following known children:
Francis Elliott, b. July
8, 1829, Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland
Thomas Mathew Elliott,
b. April 27, 1834, Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland Alice
Elliott, b. May 1837, probably Ireland
John A. Elliott, b. July
3, 1838, probably Ballyshannon, Donegal, Ireland Mary Ann
Elliott, b. October 6, 1841, Darlington, Ontario, Canada Mathew
Elliott, b. 1843, Ontario, Canada
The 1871 Ontario, Canada Census does show a John Elliott, Sr. and wife Alice as farmers
in the Township of Logan. The record shows their age to be 70 and their origins, Irish. John
Elliott, Sr.’s religion is shown to be the English Church and Alice is shown as Roman Catholic. It
also shows them to have a son, Matthew, age 24, born in Ontario, Canada. This would mean that the Elliotts
probably immigrated to Canada somewhere between 1838 and 1841. The 1871 Census also shows a Thomas Elliott (my ggf), age
36 and his wife, Mary Ann Boyd, age 30, as farmers in the District of North Wellington, Sub-District of Maryborough.
The census shows them to be from Leitrim, Ireland and to be Wesleyan-Methodist. Thomas is the son
of John Elliott (Sr.?) and the 1871 census would put him as born around 1834, as other records substantiate. My
personal family records show his birthrate as April 27, 1834. It is also probable that the
Elliott’s had at some point in time, emigrated from Scotland where the Elliott name is fairly common.
Mary Ann Boyd was born May 29, 1839, in either Donegal or Leitrim, Ireland and married
Thomas Elliott on January 11, 1859 in Mitchell, Ontario, Canada. Their marriage record shows that her
parents were William and Alice Boyd. Thomas died in 1875 while he fell under a train at the old Union Station
while running to catch it. Our family records list this information but it is unknown what the exact date
was and the location of the old Union Station. There is a good possibility that it’s the one located
in Guelph, as that would be close to the town/village Hollin (Hollen) where their last son, George Wesley Elliott was born. The
1871 Ontario Census also shows the first six of the eight children of Thomas Elliott and Mary Ann Boyd, all born in Ontario,
Canada. Susan Louise, and my grandfather, George Wesley Elliott, were not as yet born when the Ontario
Census was taken in 1871.
Children of Thomas Elliott and Mary Ann Boyd: Allis
(Alice), b. 1/29/1860, d. 6/23/1899
Charlotte Leticia, b. 6/22/1861,
d.? William John, b. 4/17/1863, d. 3/4/1893 Mary Elizabeth, b. 1/28/1866, d. ? Florence Amanda, b. 1/18/1868, d. 8/20/1939 Thomas Matthew, b. 1/20/1870, d. 194? Susan
Louise, b. 1/20/1871, d. 1911
George Wesley (my grandfather),
b. 3/4/1874, d. 9/22/1944 (Calif., USA) George Wesley Elliott married Alice Maud Beamish on 1/1/1901 in
Pembroke, Ontario, Canada.
Children of George and Alice: Lorne William (my father), b. 4/29/1902, Eaganville, Ontario,
Canada; d. 2/27/1978, Los Alamitos, Calif., USA Edythe
Mary, b. 3/8/1905, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada; d. 5/14/1989, Ventura, Calif., USA Lorne
William Elliott married Laura Lydia (Mae) Alwin on May 29, 1931, at All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills, Calif. Children
of Lorne William Elliott and Laura Lydia (Mae) Alwin: Robert Lorne Elliott, b. 8/6/1938, Santa Monica, Calif. Edythe
M. Elliott married Raymond B. Ernst in September 1933, at the Santa Barbara Mission in Santa Barbara, Calif. Children
of Edythe M. Elliott and Raymond B. Ernst: Donald Elliott Ernst, b. 6/21/1934 Dennis Richard Ernst, b. 10/13/1941 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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