Re: Margaret Jane MARK from Co. Antrim
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In reply to:
Re: Margaret Jane MARK from Co. Antrim
joanne mark 8/25/09
Hi Joanne,
I can tell you what I know of the Mark family in Cullybackey, but I'm not sure of the link to your branch.
My g g grandfather was Thomas Given, who published a book of poems in 1900. In the biographical section of the book the story is told of William Mark who successfully won a court case to inherit the estate of the Laird of Drummochrein (lots of different spellings of this name) in Ayrshire. He inherited around £12,000! There was an area of Cullybackey (in itself a small town) called Markstown after William, who was thereafter called Laird Mark.
I have confirmed this story from several sources and pieced together a little of the history.
William Mark was the son of a Samuel Mark and they were related in some way to the McAlexander house, the Lairds of Drummochrein in Ayrshire. It appears that a sister of one of the Lairds ran off with a weaver and ended up in or around Cullybackey. I suspect that he married a Mark. I only know of one daughter of William Mark, Rebecca, b.1780, who married John Given of Cullybackey. The Given family are my maternal line. I believe that this Wiliam Mark died in 1830.
I'm sorry that I can't link this directly with your family, but as Cullybackey is to this day a very small area I'm sure that the families are connected. There is definite evidence of both the Givens and the Marks living in the area for several generations (my mum was born in Cullybackey). It would also seem quite likely that the Mark side would go back to Scotland considering the existing links.
If you have any more information that might help I'd be happy to do a little more digging.
Best Regards,
Peter Holloway
More Replies:
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Re: Margaret Jane MARK from Co. Antrim
joanne mark 8/26/09