McMurtries of Dailly Parish, Ayrshire, Scotland

Revised June 2008

 

There were McMurtries in the parish records beginning in 1694.   There are more McMurtries here than in Kirkmichael and just somewhat fewer than in Maybole.

 

Some of these early Daily families, such as Robert who had a son David in Bankhead in 1694 can be traced down 2 generations, but then the trail gets merky or invisible.  The lines may have died out or moved to other locations or that births did not get recorded consistently.

 

Another example of the fading away is the family of a William McMurtree in Drumwhirn, just southwest of Mackrillkill and south of Poundland) with 3 sons and three daughters born between 1735 Isabel and 1750 Jean for which the only descendants known are Janet b 1742 md 1767 Poundland d 1807 in Poundland who married Adam Paterson.  His sons Robert b 1744 and John b 1740 could have been the Robert who had children in the 1760s, 1770s, but these children were born in Old Dailly, several miles southwest of Poundland, so there is no clear geographic proximity clue to make the link.

 

I suspect there is some migration into Dailly from Kirkoswald, Girvan and Barr.

 

            Known Families

 

            Thomas McM of Mackrillkill (CF 32)

 

One of the largest McMurtrie families today is that of the descendants of Thomas McMurtrie (CF 22/32) who married Margaret McMurtrie in 1720 in Dailly and had a large family in Mackrillkill and Glengee.  Some of this family remained in Dailly for generations with some migrating to Canada and the USA; others migrated to Glasgow area and then to Australia in the 1860s.  Margaret may be the “widow of Glengee” who married Alexander Campbell of Curry in Girvan in 1741.

 

There was also a contemporary Thomas who married Jean Grier in 1715 and lived not far away, confusing historians trying to figure out which of these two Thomas’ was their ancestor.

 

Thomas md Margaret McMurtrie 1720

            John b 1720 Glengee

            William b 1722 Mackrillkill d 1766 (or 1776 per gravestone)

            Hugh b 1725 Mackrillkill       

            Margaret b 1728 Mackrillkill d 1783

            Gilbert b 1731 Mackrillkill md 1765 Janet Bole/Boyle d 1787 Dailly

 

Thomas md Jean Grier lived Mains of Kilkerran

            Ann b 1717 Mains of Kilkerran

            Anna b 1721 Mains of Kilkerran

            Marion b 1723

 

This family is well chronicled elsewhere. 

           

            James, tailor in Dailly (CF 4)

 

James McMurtrie (CF 4) a tailor in Dailly married in 1768 to Margaret McHutcheon of Dalmellington and died in 1801.

 

Since there is no record of his birth in Dailly, he appears to have been born elsewhere and migrated to Dailly.   We suspect this family to be an example of migration from Barr Parish to the south into Dailly just prior to 1770.  Specifically, we believe James to be the James b 1743 twin brother to Hugh b 1743 and brother to Robert b 1750, all sons of John McM of Barr.     Hugh may be the Hugh (CF 21) who had a son Andrew in Ladyburn, Kirkmichael in 1771; Robert may be the Robert who had a son in Old Dailly in 1770.   See discussion in “McMurtries of Barr”

 

Son John died single in 1864 in Dalrymple; daughter Lilia seems to have married William Ewing (sp?) in Dumbarton in 1806.  The others (such as Adam b 1781, and James b 1779) we can’t prove their descent though we have some clues:  

 

Some possible descendants include:

  • James McM, a tailor in Maybole who marries about 1800 to Jane Johnston whose origins are unknown.  This James however owned a lease previously held by a John McM (spouse Helen Gray) who lived in Maybole which suggests he was not from the Dailly family.  Nevertheless, since this James had a son named Adam, just as did James md 1768 and since there is an Adam with an unrecorded birth but with census data indicating born in Maybole in 1806, I suspect this James was a migrant from Dailly to Maybole.
  • Adam McM b1806 Maybole whose father was reportedly an Adam McM, a mason and Mary Hutcheson.  His father is the age to be the Adam b 1781 above, but the Maybole connection for this to fit there would have had to have been a migration to Maybole and unrecorded births.  I suspect Adam b 1781 migrated to Maybole, had a son Adam b 1806, and then moved north with his sister Lilias who married in Dunbarton in 1808.

 

We believe James

                        David McM md Agnes Scott 1782  (CF 5)

 

David McMurtrie (CF 5) married Agnes Scott in 1782 in Dailly.  This family has descendants on the female side, but the McM name has died out.   David may be the son of William McM who married Elizabeth Main/Mein in 1755 in Kirkmichael.  This William may be the son of James McM in Culwhirn, Kirmichael.

 

                        William McM of Drumwhirn md 1735

 

Williammd 1735 Jean Johnston (possibly William b 1705 son of Andrew of Drummullin)

            Isobel b 1735

            Robert b 1738

            John b 1740

            Janet b 1742

            Robert b 1744

            William b 1747

            Jean b 1750

 

We note that a Robert and John marry in Ayr in the 1750s.

 

                        John McM wright in Dailly md 1815 to Mary McNabb Dailly

 

 

CFT91 John b 1796 Barr md 1815 Mary McNabb, wright in Dailly. D 1864 

(son of William McM and Jane Forsyth per death cert, but no such person in Barr registers or other registers)

            James b 1816

            John b 1816

            Catherine b 1827

Catherine living with John and Mary in Dailly in 1841.  Fate of sons unknown.

 

                        David McM of Craghead and Bankhead (CF 1?)

 

The earliest David in Craghead (near Old Dailly) and Bankhead (thought to be near Old Dailly) had sons:

 

            James b 1712 Craghead

            John b 1714  Bankhead

 

This John is the right age to be the John McM b 1714 md 1744 in Park of Dailly to Agnes Ferguson of Ballymore, Barr d 1784 aged 70 per tombstone.  Since there is a John in Park who had a daughter Chritsian, we suspect that he is the John who married 1736 to Marion McGill.   So John seems to have been born in SW Dailly near Old Dailly in 1714, married in 1744 in Park near New Dailly, moved to Barr around the time of his marriage.

 

James b 1712 seems also to have had a similar migration pattern:  born 1712 in Craghead near Old Dailly, moved to vicinity of New Dailly, then moved to Barr by 1745. 

 

So the family structure looks like:

David

            James b 1712 Craghead (near Old Dailly)

                        Robert 1733 Bankhead

                        Janet 1735 Sandhead of Killochan

                        Jean 1738 Fordhouse

                        Elizabeth 1741 Drumbugle/Drumburle

                        Christian 1744 Lynstoun (Lynsayston?)

                        Sarah 1745 bapt Dailly but father in Auchensoul, Barr

            John b 1714  Bankhead md

                        (1) 1736 to Marion McGill

                        Christian b 1740 Park md  1761 Thomas Ferguson Dailly d 1812 aged 72

                        (2) 1744 Agnes Ferguson

                        Jennett b 1745 at Barr

                        David McMurtrie  b. 1748 at Belimore, Barr

                        Jean McMurtrie, b 1750 at Barr, Ayrshire, Scotland

 

There are other David McM in Bankhead in this era and one had a son John b 1721.  If this is a different David than the ones with James b 1712 and John b 1714, then our conjecture that John b 1714 son of David is the John md 1744 in Park may be true.  However, if the later David with a son John b 1714 is the same David as the one with a son John b 1721, then it is possible that John b 1714 is the John b 1714, son of Matthew of Pinkill (south of Dailly).