Re: IRVINE/IRWIN etc NEWS-LETTER
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In reply to:
Re: IRVINE/IRWIN etc NEWS-LETTER
5/06/01
Dear Bill, Elson et al,
My mother, Sallie Bess Kinsella Wilson was a cousin of Irvine Thompson Holloway of Dallas, Texas. Her grandmother was Julia Irvine. I have recently been rereading George MacDonald Fraser's book on the Scottish borders, Steel Bonnets, the Border Reivers which is wonderful history and enormous fun, and also in paperback! He mentions the Irvines as a prominent border family involved in all kinds of feuds, mischief, and cattle rustling. They were a secondary family compared with the Eliots and Armstrongs, the Scotts or Kerrs, and were allied , latterly, with the Johnstons against the Maxwells who were most powerful in the Scottish SW. The fact that they intermarried in Ireland with Armstrongs, Eliots, Grahams, and even a Carleton (Thos.Carleton ruled Annandale for the Emglish in 1542) indicates to me that their border heritage may well be a key factor in their move to Ireland. The fact is that, according to Fraser, there were sizable deportations from Scotland to Ireland in the early 17th Century and these certainly included some Irvines. James I wanted to pacify the borders and he succeeded in doing so by getting a number of the most notable troublemakers sent out of the country. The Bonshaw Irvines were almost certainly not 'covenanters' or puritans and James had no great love for suchlike anyway. The Bonshaw Irvines were apparently Stuart supporters and Episcopalians and indeed they later suffered for it. But James may have sent them to Ireland ahead of some of their rougher clansmen. If so, it was a mercy to the Irish for the latter were accomplished professionals in extortion, protection rackets, and the fine art of laying an ambush for the duly constituted authorities. I am curious as to whether Thommas Irvine stems from the educated Bonshaw line or from some of the more 'interesting' Irvines who were so well known at the pubs and racecourses around Carlyle, Cumberland, in the late days of Queen Elizabeth I. Any thoughts or guesses would be welcome, Cheers from here in Oxford, UK, Jay Wilson
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Re: IRVINE/IRWIN etc NEWS-LETTER
Ronnie Mitchell Faulk 3/05/13