Chapter 3 - A Bit of
History
1. The name GILMORE
The name GILMORE supposedly originated in the
country of Scotland. The name "GILMORE" was derived from the
words “Gille” and "Moire” which means “follower of the Virgin Mary,” in
the Gaelic (Scottish) language. There
are various spellings of the name - Gillmore, Gilmour, Gilmor, Gilmer, and
Kilmer - but, my family seems to have
always spelled it GILMORE. (Except when the US Census taker in
Louisville, KY in 1900, misspelled it!.
Took me a L-O-N-G time to find my ancestors, because of that person's mistake!)
2. Scotland to Ireland relocation
I think that
my GILMORE ancestors were
Scots-Irish, so I’ve included a bit of history about the Scots who moved to
Ireland, and then to the United States. (Note that the word “Scotch” refers to
a beverage, and “Scots” refers to a group of people who came from
the country of Scotland.)
Historians
seem to disagree on why some Scots migrated to Ireland, but most agree
on the fact that, beginning in the early 1600s, the Scots moved from
their native country, Scotland, either by choice, or by force, to
the province of Ulster, in Northern Ireland.
These new residents were called Scots-Irish, Ulster-Scots, or
Irish-Presbyterians.
The King of
England, James I, who ruled England from 1603 to 1625, wanted to control the
rowdy Irish who lived in Ulster province, so he gave free land to Protestant
Scots who would agree to settle there.
Ulster was the poorest province, and had been devastated by nine years
of war among the Irish residents.
According to some historians, the Scots tended to settle in counties of
Antrim and Down in Ulster province.
Many of the
Scots-Irish who immigrated to the United States prior to 1750, settled first in
Pennsylvania, then moved into Virginia and the Carolinas. They tended to come to the US in groups, such
as residents of the same Irish town, members of the same church, or members of
the same extended family. Sometimes, the
minister of the church came along with them.
I haven’t
been able yet to trace my
GILMORE family back to where
they came from in Ireland or Scotland, but I’m working on it! If you have any family stories about that,
please let me know. My contact
information is in "Post 4 - BOOK -
Cover".
My next post
will be about Rockbridge County, Virginia, where my Gilmore ancestors first
settled.
If you use anything which is posted here,
please give me credit.
Cite my blog post like this:
Blog: TracingMyGilmoreRoots, "Post
8 - A Bit of History," by Sandy Gilmore.
(sources: The Surnames Handbook: A Guide to Family Name Research in
the 21st Century by Debbie Kennett; Surnames of Ireland: Origin, Numbers and
Distribution of Selected Irish Surnames by Edward Neafsy; A
History of Ireland in 250 Episodes by Jonathan Bardon ; archives, The
Library of Virginia; The Scoth-Irish: A Social History by James G.
Leyburn; Discover Your Scottish Ancestry by Graham Holton & Jack
Winch)
Thank you for
reading my blog!
Sandy Gilmore
Gilmore
Genealogist
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