A plunge into the Duncan side of the family. I first took this dive in 2021 and originally incorporated the Duncan family notes in my original Goodloe Geneaology post. I built an extensive Duncan Family Tree but the software I used became unworkable somewhere along the way. In 2025, I decided to update things by joining Ancestry.com and seeing what further information was available. I decided to break out this Duncan Genealogy into a separate post. I reconstructed and extended the tree in Ancestry.com but am still coming to terms with how to make it available over the long term.
Goodloe and Duncan Family Notes
For most of my life I knew nothing about the Duncan family tree beyond my grandfather, Pop-Pop — Carl Howard Duncan. Even as I started into this genealogy research in 2021, I learned a lot more about the Goodloes and Garbutts before I came across more information about the Duncans.
Joe Barnett sat down with Susie (and maybe with Pops) in 1978 and recorded most of the handwritten information below regarding her family. This included a few more tidbits that weren’t in the Goodloe Genealogy and some clues on the Duncan side of the line, starting with page 4. Based on this information, in 2021 I developed the first iteration of this post and took a crack at a Duncan Family Tree (since broken).
In 2025, I joined Ancestry.com to build a Duncan family tree and gather more detail. I was glad to find much of the research work that Susan Barnett Rech did while she was alive. You can explore my updated Duncan Family Tree in Ancestry.com and see more details for each person (view their LifeStory, a nice feature) if you become a member but I can’t figure out how to conveniently replicate the entire tree in this site. So I will tackle the task in words with this post as best I can. Here is the direct paternal part of my Duncan line in a nutshell.
- Henry Duncan (b. 1535, Dundee, Scotland – d. 1588, Dundee, Scotland)
- William Duncan of Seaside and Lundie, Burgess of Dundee (b. 1556, Dundee, Scotland – d. 1608, Dundee City, Scotland)
- John James Duncan II (b. 1600, St. Ninians, Scotland – d. 1684, Dundee City, Scotland)
- William Alexander Duncan, Rev. (b. 1628, Perth, Scotland – d. 1692, beheaded, Glasgow, Scotland)
- William Robert Duncan, Jr. (b. 1659, Gleneagles, Scotland – d. 1720, Culpepper, VA)
- Marshall Robert Duncan Sr. (b. 1705, Dumfries, VA – d. 1777, Snow Creek, NC)
- Rice Durron Duncan (b. 1743, Rowan County, NC – d. 1777, Washington County, TN)
- Robert Dodge Duncan, Sr. (b. 1776, Washington County, TN – d. 1814, Roane County, TN)
- Robert Dodge Duncan, Jr. (b. 1808, Roane County, TN – d. 1885, Etowah County, AL)
- Franklin Pierce Duncan (b. 1856, Lebanon, TN – d. 1938, Gadsden, AL)
- Carl Howard Duncan (b. 1888, Gadsden, AL – d. 1975, Valdosta, GA)
- Conrad Howard Duncan (b. 1918, Valdosta, GA – d. 2014, Gainesville, FL)
- William Howard Duncan (b. 1958, Short Hills, NJ)
Here is our Duncan family tree from myself to our great grandparents.
Here is the Duncan tree from Franklin Pierce Duncan to Rice Durron Duncan.
Now let’s see what more we can dig up on each of these people to flesh out their stories, skipping past my dad (Conrad Howard Duncan) and grandfather (Carl Howard Duncan) who are detailed in the post Sue’s Memory Book for Mom and Dad.
Franklin Pierce Duncan (b. 1856, Lebanon, TN – d. 1938, Gadsden, AL)
My great-grandfather, Franklin Pierce Duncan (who went by “Pierce,” evidently), was born in July, 1856 (or 1854 per the census dates?), in Lebanon, Tennessee, about 25 miles east of Nashville. By 1860, the family moved about 120 miles east to Kingston, Tennessee where Pierce’s father had roots. By 1870, after the Civil War, the U.S. census places the family in DeKalb County, Alabama where Pierce was listed as a 16-year-old “farm laborer.” I wondered why the family moved to these different places, including why they would move from Tennessee to Alabama in the wake of the Civil War to start a farm. I think I came up with a plausible reason below. In fairness, DeKalb County is just 140 miles south of Kingston and Gadsden another 40 miles, so the distances were not all that great.
Let’s consider for a moment why Pierce’s mother and father might name their third son Franklin Pierce. Presumably he was named for Franklin Pierce who was president from 1853-1857 when Pierce was born. History has not looked kindly on Pierce’s presidency, ranking him in the bottom five of all time. He was not necessarily pro-slavery but he was vigorously anti-abolitionist, seeking to maintain the Union through the Kansas-Nebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act. His dark-horse victory as a New Hampshire Democrat helped seal the demise of the Whig Party and gave rise to the pro-abolition Republican Party, though notably Pierce did not carry Tennessee, so it’s harder to understand why he would appeal to the Duncan family. Somewhat more perplexing, Pierce won the presidency over Winfield Scott, the veteran general (and Pierce’s superior) from the Mexican American War a decade earlier, for whom the Duncans presumably named their first son, John Winfield Duncan.
Pierce was a young boy through the Civil War. The 1860 census places the Duncan family in Kingston, in northeastern Tennessee. Though Tennessee was a Confederate state (the last state to secede after the Battle of Fort Sumter), this corner of the state was was divided with strong Union sympathies. Kingston was generally a Union-controlled town with a Union garrison for much the war, though the Confederates unsuccessfully tried to take it in 1863. It took me a while to realize that Pierce’s older brother, John Winfield Duncan (see below under Robert Dodge Duncan, Jr.), joined the Confederate Army, which likely had something to do with the Duncans feeling less welcome in Kingston by the end of the war. In 1866, the extended family (including Robert Dodge Duncan, Jr. and all his children other than the eldest, Margaret, who was already married to a Tennessee man) moved to Alabama, first to Fort Payne where they started a farm and Pierce was noted as a teenage laborer in the 1870 census. By the 1880 census, Pierce was married, listed as a merchant living in Gadsden with his wife Linda (who would die in August, 1880) and their young daughter.
Pierce first married Linda deYampert (D’Ampert?) in 1878 but she died not long after childbirth two years later; the child, Frankie Inez Duncan, only lived until age two. In December of 1882, Pierce married Linda’s 16-year old cousin, Kate Cunningham from Atlanta whose father was a writer for the Atlanta Constitution. They had six children: Frank Augustus Duncan (b. 1884, Gadsden, AL – d. 1943, Gadsden, AL), Raymond W Duncan (b. 1886, Gadsden, AL – d. 1973, Chattanooga, TN), Carl Howard Duncan (Pop-pop, b. 1888, Gadsden, AL – d. 1975, Valdosta, GA), Peggie “Pidgie” Duncan (b. 1890, Gadsden, AL – d. 1955, Tuscaloosa, AL), Florie Bell Duncan (who only lived for two years from 1892-1894), Alice E Duncan (born in 1895 but no known date of death), Kathleen Duncan (b. 1896, Gadsden, AL – d. 1947, Tuscaloosa, AL), and George Louis Duncan (b. 1899, Gadsden, AL – d. 1924, Tuscumbia, AL). It finally makes sense to me that Pierce had a sister Kathleen who married Ford Hopson and founded the Miami Hat Company. Their son was Howard Hopson, Dad’s cousin and the source of my fine hat — I never knew how he was a cousin.
Here is more about Pierce and his grave site in Gadsden, Alabama.
Susan Barnett Rech wrote these notes on Pierce, based on recollections from Susan’s mother, Helen Duncan Barnett who visited her grandmother and grandfather in Gadsden some number of times before they passed away:
Pierce came from Kingston, Tenn to Gadsden, AL where he owned and operated a general store. He was first married to Kate’s cousin, who died in childbirth. After her death he married Kate, whose nickname was “Murdear”. Kate had visited her cousin before she had died. (Kate’s mother, Pidgie Turpin Cunningham and Linda DeYampert’s Duncan’s mother, Cornelia Turpin DeYampert were sisters, born in VA, but moved to Alabama.) They had six (surviving) children.
Pierce was a practical joker and ventriloquist. When asked to pass a roll he would pass just one roll. When Kate would correct him and say “Oh, Pierce, pass the plate”, he would dump out the rolls and pass the plate. When asked how he was he would reply “I’m just as loose as a bucket of juice”. He loved young girls and would pick flowers from the garden and take them down to the young ladies at the ten cent store.
He owned and operated a general store. Pierce had a brother, John Duncan who had three children: Charles, who lived in Gadsden, Ruth, who married an Englishman and lived in London (Joe Barnett visited her when overseas in WWII) and Oscar, an international lawyer, who lived in NYC and represented Loyd’s of London. Charles had two children, Charles Jr. and Ellen. This family lived across the street from Pierce’s family.
The house they lived in was a large, white frame house with a large porch, always painted a shining grey color with a swing on it. They had a nice back yard with flowers and a separate servants’ quarters. They had a wonderful cook who made great breakfasts of grits, eggs, hot biscuits etc. She also made a delicious white cake with chocolate frosting every time Helen Barnett would come to visit.The Duncan family was probably wealthier than the Goodloe family. They had a big Buick car which Kate drove around town. Pidgie lived at home and Louis was probably still living at home when he was killed in a car accident while on a business trip.
Here is the text of Franklin’s obituary:
From the Gadsden Times
Sunday, May 22, 1938
PIERCE DUNCAN FUNERAL RITES SET FOR TODAY
Widely Known Business Man Passes at Home Here Friday.
F. Pierce Duncan, 84, passed away Friday afternoon at 5:30 at the residence 250 South Fourth Street, after an illness of several days.
Funeral Services will be held this afternoon at 4 o’clock from the chapel of Brown-Service Funeral Home, with Dr. J.D. Hunter, presiding elder of the Gadsden district of the Methodist Church officiating. Interment will follow in Forrest Cemetery, Brown-Service directing.
He is survived by the widow, Mrs. Kate C. Duncan; three sons, Frank Duncan, of Gadsden; C.H. Duncan, of Valdosta, Ga.; and R.W. Duncan of Chattanooga; two daughters, Mrs. E.F. Hopson of Miami, Fla., and Miss Peggie Duncan, of Gadsden.
Active pallbearers will be: Fred Lucy, Herbert Gramlin, Claud McBrayer, Harry Disque, Burke Phillips and Charles Martin.
Chose an honorary pallbearers were members of the Men’s Bible Class of the First Methodist Church and Paul Connor, Leslie Weller and Raymond Cox.
Mr. Duncan was born and reared in Alabama. Although retired from active business, he was still closely connected through his associations.
Here is Kate’s obituary:
Gadsden Times
July 28, 1948
Mrs. Duncan, 83, Pioneer Citizen Here, Succumbs
Mrs. Kate Cunningham Duncan, 83, widow of the late Pierce Duncan, pioneer merchant and businessman of Gadsden and member of one of the oldest and most prominent families of the county, died at her home at 250 South Fourth Street at 2:15 this morning, the victim of old age. She had not been well for some time but was able to get about until recently.
The deceased was born in Uniontown, Perry County, Alabama and came to Gadsden in 1883 following her marriage to Mr. Duncan. She was the daughter of Pigie Turpin and came from a fine old family of South Alabama. She was well educated and highly accomplished and was the center of a large circle of admiring friends here.
Active in Church
Mrs. Duncan was a lifelong member of the Methodist Church being affiliated with the First Methodist. She was a member of the Woman’s Wesley Sunday School class and was a devoted worker in every department of the church. Although born in Alabama she was reared in Atlanta, Ga.
Surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Ford Hopson, of Miami, Fla., and Mrs. Pigie Duncan Jones of Gadsden; two sons, Howard Duncan, of Valdosta, Ga., and Raymond Duncan, of Chattanooga, Tenn. Six grandchildren and several great-grandchildren also survive.
Mrs. Duncan was the mother of the late Frank Duncan, founder of the Duncan Department Store, one of the largest in the city.
Funeral services will be held at the Collier-Butler chapel at 3 o’clock Thursday afternoon with the Rev. Denson Franklin, pastor of the First Methodist Church and Dr. W.A. Shelton, a former pastor, officiating. Burial will follow in Forrest Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be announced later. The body will be at the Collier-Butler chapel until the funeral hour.
Pierce’s first son, Frank Augustus Duncan, ran the Duncan Department Store in Gadsden (one of the largest in the city!). The Duncan Department Store was evidently distinct from the general store that Franklin operated in Gadsden for most of his life. Pop-pop started selling shoes in Frank’s store before becoming a traveling shoe salesman and eventually moving to Valdosta (following his music teacher, evidently).
According to a convoluted 1917 court case involving Pierce’s lawyer, both Pierce and Frank Augustus went bankrupt in 1909, presumably related to their partnership in one or both of their stores. Within a year, their bankruptcy was resolved and it seems both were back in business. The subsequent lawsuit had to do with other assets of Pierce’s not being included in the bankruptcy proceedings and was ultimately resolved in Pierce’s favor.
In summary, credit to Pierce, his father Robert, and his family for building what seems to have been a respectable middle-class life in Gadsden; Pierce was a “pioneer merchant and businessman of Gadsden and member of one of the oldest and most prominent families of the county.”
Despite Franklin Pierce Duncan having six children including four sons, it appears pretty certain that Allie and I are the last of this particular Duncan line. Carl Howard (Pop-pop) was the only male who had a son and I am my dad’s only son. I suppose planet Earth will have to make do without my Y chromosome propagating further. So be it.
Robert Dodge Duncan, Jr. (b. 1808, Roane County, TN – d. 1885, Etowah County, AL)
Here is more on the Duncan family from Tennessee (search for “7.4.6.5 Franklin P. Duncan” to find the family of 7.4.6 Robert D. Duncan, Jr. (1808 – 1885; grave) and Nancy K. Liggett (1820 -1887; grave). Robert’s father, Robert Sr., passed away when Robert Jr. was just six years old; his mother (Elizabeth Evans Duncan) lived another 36 years until 1850. Robert and Nancy were married in Kingston, Tennessee (the Roane county seat) on Jan. 9, 1839 when he was 30 and she was 18. They lived in Roane County, Tennessee near Kingston to begin with and had six children: Margaret Eliza Duncan (b. 1839, Roane County, TN – d. 1910 Madisonville, TN), John Winfield Duncan (b. 1843, Lebanon, TN – d. 1901, Gadsden, AL), Isabella Duncan (b. 1847, Lebanon, TN – d. unknown), Robert Houston Duncan (b. 1849, Kingston, TN – d. 1923, Birmingham, AL), Franklin Pierce Duncan (my great-grandfather, b. 1856, Lebanon, TN – d. 1938, Gadsden, AL) and Mary Matilda Duncan (b. 1858, Lebanon, TN – d. 1914, Gadsden, AL).
Between 1839 and 1843 the family moved to Lebanon, TN, about 115 miles west and only 25 miles from Nashville. The family may have bounced back and forth between Lebanon and Kingston because several children were born in either town but both the 1850 and 1860 census place the family in Kingston. In the 1850 census, Robert was listed as a merchant in Kingston, TN, with real estate worth $2,200. Also in their household was a (presumably enslaved) 15-year-old black female, Eliza J. Jones. In the 1860 census, the family was living in Kingston, TN, with real estate valued at $5,500 and a personal estate of $9,000, significant sums in that era. Immediately after the Civil War, in 1866, Robert (at age 58) moved the entire family (other than eldest daughter Margaret who was already married) to Alabama, first to Fort Payne, AL, where the family appears to have run a farm, then in 1878 the family evidently sold the farm and moved to Atalla, AL (very near Gadsden), where Robert and several sons were merchants.
Here are notes on Robert’s family via Susan Rech.
Robert D. Duncan, born 15 Feb. 1808 Roane Co. TN; married Nancy K. Liggett on 9 Jan. 1839 in Roane Co. TN; was register of deeds in Roane Co. TN 1836-1844; in Roane Co. TN 1840 (pg. 53), 1850 (pg. 893), and 1860 (pg. 103); lived Etowah Co. AL in 1878 (data from Mr. Oscar Hurt), died March 1885. Nancy was born 1820 TN, the daughter of Henry Liggett and Elizabeth Center; she died 8 Oct. 1887. (1888 “Northern Alabama” (Etowah Co. AL), pg. 366, 503; “History of AL and Dictionary of AL Biography” by Thomas M. Owens, Vol. III, pg. 516-9). Also in their household in 1850 was Eliza J. Jones, b. 1835 TN, black. Children on census:
7.4.6.1. Margaret E. Duncan, born 1839 TN; married A.M. McGill on 22 Feb. 1857 in Roane Co. TN. (line of William T. Brown, 3521 Connell Drive, Pensacola, FL 32503.)
7.4.6.2. John Winfield Duncan, born 22 Aug. 1843 TN; married Mary Frances Moragne on 1 June 1870. Mary was the daughter of J.S. Moragne and Sarah J. Revel (“History of AL and Dictionary of AL Biography” by Thomas M. Owens, Vol. III, pg. 516-9; from Donna Little and Bill Brown).
7.4.6.3. Isabella Duncan, born 1847 TN.
7.4.6.4. Robert Houston Duncan, born 19 Oct. 1853 at Kingston, Roane Co. TN (age 9 in 1860 census); married Miss Anna Vincent of Ethowah Co. AL on 7 Dec. 1885 (1888 “Northern AL” Etowah Co., pg. 503-4, from Bill Brown).
7.4.6.5. Franklin P. Duncan, born 1854 TN.
7.4.6.6. Mary Matilda Duncan, born 1858 TN.
Susan found this excerpt from an 1888 publication, Northern Alabama Historical & Biographical (or History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography): “Robert D. Duncan was a merchant at Kingston, TN, for many years until the breaking out of the civil war; came South at its close and located near Fort Payne, AL, engaging in agricultural pursuit until 1878, when he removed to Atalla, AL, and again entered and continued in the mercantile business until his death, which occurred in March, 1885. He was a consistent Christian 53 years, being a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.”
From that same 1888 publication, we have the following information about Robert’s brother, John Winfield Duncan: “The subject of this sketch entered the cavalry branch of the Confederate Army as private, at an early age, serving in TN and VA; with General Early in Maryland in 1864, and with Armstrong’s Scouts, operating inside the Federal lines till the war closed; was paroled at Kingston, GA. At the close of the war, came to AL and had his first experience as a plow boy, making a crop. … June 1, 1870, was married to Mary F., daughter of J.S. Morgan (sic; see Moragne) and Sarah J. Revel. Four children have been born to them as the result of this union. Eula M., Oscar D., and Charles O’Connor, still survive, while little Myrtle has gone to join the angels. In 1872, … he again commenced business in Atalla till 1882, moved to Gadsden and continued to carry it on until January 1, 1887, when he closed out … Is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, as is also his wife.”
This is the same John Duncan that Susan noted, “Pierce had a brother, John Duncan who had three children: Charles, who lived in Gadsden, Ruth, who married an Englishman and lived in London (Joe Barnett visited her when overseas in WWII) and Oscar, an international lawyer, who lived in NYC and represented Loyd’s of London. Charles had two children, Charles Jr. and Ellen. This family lived across the street from Pierce’s family.” John’s obituary noted that “In 1882 he took the first contract to mine iron ore in this section, hauling the ore in ox wagons.” He became a minister and Reverend of his church.
Also from that 1888 publication we find this information about another brother: “Robert Huston Duncan was born at Kingston, TN, October 19, 1853, and is a son of Robert and Nancy K. (Liggett) Duncan. Mr. Duncan spent the first thirteen years of his life at his native place, and came with his parents to DeKalb County in 1866. From there the family moved to Dade County, Ga., whence they returned to Alabama ten years later and located at Fort Payne. In 1870 young Duncan was employed as a clerk in a mercantile establishment, and later on he was with the Roane Iron Company, at Chattanooga, Tenn. He next returned to Fort Payne, and was engaged in the book business, which he pursued for some years, and which he continued afterward at Gadsden. He located at Gadsden in 1874, and was afterward on the road as a drummer for an Atlanta copying house. His father having died in 1885 he took charge of his business, which required his attention thereafter for some time. He was married December 7, 1885, to Miss Anna Vincent, of Etowah County. Mr. Duncan comes from one of the old and respected families of the South. As a citizen and a business man he has always held the esteem and confidence of the people.”
Robert Dodge Duncan, Sr. (b. 1776, Washington County, TN – d. 1814, Roane County, TN)
Robert Dodge Duncan, Sr. was born in Johnson City, Washington County, in eastern Tennessee in 1776 and died in Roane County, TN in 1814 at the age of 38 (there’s some uncertainty on his death…maybe 1814 or 1844). The details of Robert Sr.’s life are a little fuzzy. His father, Rice Durron Duncan, was evidently killed in a Cherokee Indian attack when Robert was just one year old, shortly after moving his family from Culpepper, Virginia over the mountains to Tennessee (before it was even Tennessee). His mother, Elizabeth Taliaferro Dodge Cobb, died when Robert was 14. See the next section on Rice Durron Duncan for more about that generation.
The WikiTree site offers this about Robert: “Robert lived on the Watauga River in Washington Co. TN 1801 [1] [2]; lived on White Oak Creek, a tributary of the Clinch River near the Holston River in eastern Roane Co., near the “Great Road” connecting Knoxville and Kingston; was on jury duty 20 April 1814 and died before 17 Oct. 1814 when Evan Evans and Joseph Duncan were appointed administrators of his estate, Evan Evans, Joseph Duncan, William McKamey, and John Smith were the bondsmen [3] The Joseph Duncan who was administrator and bondsman likely Robert’s brother.”
From the site, “Some Duncan Families in Eastern Tennessee Before 1800“ 1991 Revision, by Mary Ann (Duncan) Dobson, we get the same information as above, plus, “This was probably the Robert Duncan who was in Christian’s Regiment of Militia, Territory South of the River Ohio, as a private in the Company commanded by James Gregg in Sullivan County, from Sept. 1 to Dec. 3, 1793. (Natnl. Archives Record #147, Service 1784-1811, card numbers 43202463, 43202520; from Stuart Duncan.)” That means he was in the militia for the Territory South of the Ohio — which was briefly its own territory before being incorporated into the new state of Tennessee in 1796 — for three months when he was 17, shortly before getting married to Elizabeth.
Growing up in eastern Tennessee in the 1770s-1780s would make Robert Sr. and his siblings some of the earliest pioneer “Overmountain Men” settlers in the contested land across the Blue Ridge. As a boy, he would have been too young to be a proper member of the Wautaga Association, one of the earliest examples of frontiersmen forming a loose self-government beyond the reach of the British Crown, but whoever was raising him would likely have been. He was there when the region briefly became part of North Carolina, the nascent State of Franklin, then its own Territory South of the Ohio (or Southwest Territory) before becoming part of the new state of Tennessee. All the while, the territory was contested with the Cherokee nation during the Second Cherokee War. It must have been a difficult, dangerous and traumatic time and place to grow up.
Robert married Elizabeth Evans (b. 1776 in Virginia – d. 1850 in Tennessee) in Lebanon, Tennessee (near Nashville) in 1794 when they were both about 18 years old. They had eight children: Evan Evans Duncan (b. 1795, Sullivan County, TN – d. 1862, Roane County, TN), Joseph Duncan (b. 1797, Newport, TN – d. 1869, Courtland, MS), William B Duncan (b. 1800, Washington County, TN – d. 1845, Hempstead, AR), Frances Duncan (b. 1802, Tennessee – d. 1820), Elizabeth J Duncan (b. 1804, Tennessee – d. unknown), Robert Dodge Duncan Jr. (b. 1808, Roane County, TN – d. 1885, Etowah County, AL), Jessie Duncan (b. 1814, Washington County, TN – d. 1880, Washington County, TN), and Jennett R Duncan (b. 1820, Sumner, TN – d. 1880, Roane, TN).
Robert Sr. and Elizabeth seem to have been among the early white settlers in Middle Tennessee, marrying there just 15 years after the initial group of 256 settlers entered the area and signed the Cumberland Contract. Their marriage in Lebanon, Tennessee occurred five years before the town was incorporated and indeed more than a decade before the founding of Nashville. Though married in Lebanon, their first son, Evan Evans, was born the following year in Sullivan County, in far northeastern Tennessee. Their second son, Joseph, was born two years later in Newport, Tennessee, some 75 miles to the southwest. Their third son, William, was born three years later in Washington County, back adjacent to Sullivan County and near Robert Sr’s birthplace. Their fourth son, Robert Jr., was born eight years later in Roane County, nearly 150 miles to the southwest. For good measure, fifth son Jesse was born six years later back in Washington County, and their last daughter, Jennett, was born another six years later in Sumner County, Tennessee, close to Nashville. I have no explanation for all this moving around.
There’s a discrepancy over the date of Robert Sr.’s death — did he die in 1814 or 1844? The main sources say he died in 1814 but his daughter Jennett was born six years later when her mother, Elizabeth was 44 years old. I found one other family tree that has Robert dying in 1844. I tend to believe the later date; the 1814 date seems to be tied to when his son Evan Evans and brother Joseph were appointed administrators of his estate. This may have been a legal document but not necessarily notice of his death. But the matter is unresolved.
I tried looking into Robert Sr.’s siblings to see if I could get some clarity but didn’t get much further insight into the family’s story. Evan Evans Duncan was primarily a farmer in Tennessee, based in Roane County though in 1849 he scouted farmland in Arkansas; he was a veteran of the War of 1812, fighting briefly in Alabama; he was married three times and had at least 12 children. Joseph Duncan was a farmer in Roane County before moving to Hardin County in southwest Tennessee; he had two wives and up to 17 children. William B. Duncan was a farmer in Tennessee before moving to Arkansas; he had seven children. Jessie Duncan was born and lived his life in Washington County, Tennessee; he had at least eight children with two wives.
I admit to some frustration that I cannot find more about this generation and what made them tick. They lived on the wild western frontier of America through a very interesting portion of history, from America’s battle for independence through the founding of Tennessee and eradication of the Cherokee nation. Still, there seems little doubt that our segment of the Duncan line traces back further.
Rice Durron Duncan (b. 1743, Rowan County, NC – d. 1777, Washington County, TN)
Ancestry.com (and Wikitree.com) references this document about Rice Durron Duncan (a direct quote from “Some Duncan Families in Eastern Tennessee Before 1800“ 1991 Revision, by Mary Ann (Duncan) Dobson). I will try to make some further sense of it below.
Rice Duncan, born about 1743; married Elizabeth ——– about 1769; died about 1777.
Rice “Durroon” signed a petition 5 July 1776 with others to the State of NC that they had purchased land from the Cherokee Indians in the Watauga area, believing it to be in VA, but found it to be below the survey line, and were seeking annexation to NC (“The Annals of TN to the End of the 18th Century” by J.G.M. Ramsey, pg. 134-9, from Bill Brown; “Overmountain Men” by Alderman, pg. 57, from Dorothy Davis Smith). Rice Duncan lived on Knob Creek, Washington Co. TN, by 1775 (“Dawn of TN Valley and TN History” by Williams; do not have copy of this reference). On 10 April 1776, Charles Robertson of Washington District NC sold to John McMahen, 640 acres on Knob Creek near the head and next to a corner of an entry that McMahen bought from Rice Duncan. This document was recorded in “Land Records of Washington Co. Book 1,” pg. 48-49; copy from Charles Gordon from a personal visit to the Washington Co. TN Courthouse; this land book was not in the same series as other deed books in that county and he has been told the book has since been moved to the TN archives. The book may possibly be the “Watauga Purchase Book” which contains land grants in TN and is on microfilm. Another document from that book on pg. 32 was a patent on 19 Nov. 1775 for 320 acres to Joseph Duncan (9.). Rice Duncan died about 1777 while fighting Cherokee Indians during a campaign to the Long Island in the Holston River (“a man by the name of Duncan” without giving his first name in “History of Southwest VA, 1746-1786, Washington Co., 1777-1800” by Summers, pg. 244-5; “Journal of the House of Delegates, Virginia” for Elizabeth Duncom, May 8, 1777, and June 16, 1777, pg. 49, 78, 79; from Mrs. Alberta Westby).
Nothing has been found to prove the first name of the Duncan who was killed in 1777, but Rice Duncan (7.) was in the area, and one Rice Duncan had a son Joseph (7.1.) named in the will of Roseannah Stevenson (1.); this same Joseph (7.1.) appears to be the son of Elizabeth, whose husband was killed in 1777 and who was left with five small children, according to the Journal of the House of Delegates of VA.
Elizabeth was born 1730-40 (if on 1830 census) or 1740-50 (suggestion of Charles Gordon 17 Dec. 1990). Elizabeth settled on the south side of the Watauga River where it joins the Holston River in TN by 1794 (Washington Co. TN Deed Book 6, pg. 522). The chain carriers for the survey of her land in 1794 were Joseph and Robert Duncan, who were probably her sons (7.1. and 7.4.) of the same name (NC Land Grants in TN, Book 83, pg. 415, file 1203, Grant #1157, from Alberta Westby). She had a ferry across the Holston River by 1803 (“Greene Co. TN Minutes, Court of Common Pleas, 1797-1807” by Houston, pg. 151, minutes pg. 68, 29 July 1803). As yet, there is no proof of Elizabeth‘s maiden name.
Elizabeth‘s son Joseph Duncan (7.1.) had a female age 90-100 in his household in Blount Co. TN in 1830 (pg. 269) which may have been his mother; however, a descendant, Mr. Charles Gordon of MD (address not included here), believes Elizabeth had died long before (Mr. Gordon’s letter of 17 Dec. 1990). There is no proof of the identity of this female.
Mr. Charles Gordon, wrote in Nov. 1978, “Our family tradition stated her (Elizabeth‘s) maiden name was Dodge. We have never been able to document this. There is no evidence of a Dodge family at this time in either West North Carolina or Tennessee, and I have since discounted the theory her name was Dodge – a mistake in our family account.” About one mile from U.S. Highway 11E and five to six miles north of Johnson City, Washington Co. TN, are graves for “Jesse Duncan, first white man that died in Tenn. Killed by the Indians about 1765. Erected by the Public. (On reverse: 9-18-1909)” and for “Elizabeth Dodge Duncan – From Duncan Cemetery – Date removed 7-9-52″ (data from Oscar H. Hurt, 1963). The graves were removed from the Galloway Cemetery in 1952 when Boone Lake was created (info. of Mr. Charles Gordon). However, see also Jesse Duncan (8.14) listed as son of Charles Duncan, who might possibly be the Jesse Duncan in the grave.
A letter written about 1953 from Mrs. L.W. McCown of TN (address not included here) to Mr. George O. Duncan, suggested that Elizabeth‘s maiden name was Cobb; Mrs. McCown said she believed “that all these Washington County Duncans are descendants from Jesse and Elizabeth Cobb Duncan, sister to Arthur Cobb of Sullivan County, Tenn.”). Mr. Gordon feels that Elizabeth was not a Cobb, nor has any proof been found.
Rice Durron “Durroon” Duncan was most likely born February 15, 1743 in Rowan County, NC, just across the Virginia state line in what would become Surry County, NC. There is some dispute over the date: Geneanet says 1743, FindAGrave says 1741 — if the latter date is true, Rice would have been just 13 when he married Elizabeth and had their daughter Lydia; if it’s the earlier date, he was 15…but then he would be twins with his brother Thomas and there’s no indication of that. Either way, his wife Elizabeth appears to have been 6-8 years older than Rice…but the information about Elizabeth and Lydia is uncertain as well.
Rice evidently grew up on the family farm/plantation in Rowan County, presumably working the land with his parents and siblings. In 1756 (or 1760 or 1769) he married Elizabeth Taliaferro Dodge Cobb. There are inconsistencies in Ancestry.com, other sites, and the material quoted above about her; I suspect there may be a conflation between two women — one born in 1743 in Truro, MA and another born in 1735 in Rowan, NC. I think the one born in North Carolina is the right one but it’s difficult to parse out exactly who is who.
Rice and Elizabeth had the first of at least five children: Lydia Malissa Duncan (b. 1756 in Fauquier County, VA – d. 1848, Kentontown, KY) — note she was born in Virginia; whether the young family lived there or back in North Carolina is unknown. Twelve to fourteen years later (which I admit is an unusually long gap, not well accounted for), the family moved to the barely opened frontier in Washington County, Tennessee where their remaining children were born: Joseph Rice Duncan (b. 1770 in Washington, TN – d. 1838 in Blount, TN), the (twins?) Jesse Lyra Duncan (b. 1774 in Washington, TN – d. 1850 in Washington, TN) and Rice Durron Duncan Jr. (b. 1774 in Washington, TN – d. 1831 in Washington, TN), and Robert Dodge Duncan (b. 1776 in Johnson City, Washington County, TN – d. 1814 in Roane County, TN). Rice appears to have moved to Tennessee with at least four of his siblings: John, William, Charles and Robert (who died there about 1776, the year before Rice — also in an attack on the Cherokee?).
Their daughter, Lydia Malissa, was 21 when her father died in 1777. Three years later she married her cousin, William Duncan, in Fauquier County, Virginia and proceeded to have 13 children in Virginia and Kentucky. Rice and Elizabeth’s four sons stayed in Tennessee, had families, and otherwise led not very noteworthy lives, as best I can tell.
Rice’s wife Elizabeth seems to have died in Washington County, Tennessee in 1790…though if she died in 1790, how is it that in 1794 Elizabeth appears to have been granted 300 acres on the Wautaga River (“5 Dec. 1794, NC Grant #1137 to Elizabeth Duncan, 300 acres in Washington Co. on S.side Wataga & Holston River incl. where she now lives, beg. south branch? of Wataga River, down the River, per plat”)? Duncan’s Ferry operated into the early 1800s. And then there’s this from wikitree.com: “Elizabeth settled on the south side of the Watauga River where it joins the Holston River in Tennessee. She had a ferry across the Holston River by 1803. Family tradition stated Elizabeth’s maiden name was Dodge. It has never been documented or evidence to prove this. It is possible her maiden name was Cobb, also this is not proven. She was left property on the Holston River, and in 1777 was given pension from the Virginia House of Delegates. She was described in the document as “a crippled widow with five helpless orphan children”.” It seems possible she lived beyond 1790 and raised her children into the early 1800s on the frontier of Tennessee.
I’ve spent quite a while trying to get to the bottom of Rice’s generation and story but I admit continued frustration. One of the animating questions that drove my interest in our family genealogy was to determine our role was during the American Revolution. Unfortunately, the details are sparse. Our forefathers were frontier pioneers, evidently opposing the strictures of British Colonial rule at the time (since they moved to Tennessee when it was supposed to be off limits), but there’s no record of military service in this generation of the Duncan family. The identity of the Duncan killed fighting Cherokees in 1777 is not certain so maybe it wasn’t even Rice. The MyHeritage.com site has him living until 1788 but with no real corroboration I can find. The best I can say is that it seems relatively clear that Rice was in our direct family tree and our line stretches further back.
Marshall Robert Duncan Sr. (b. about 1700 in Dumfries, Prince William County, VA – d. 1777 in Snow Creek, Stokes County, NC)
Between researching Rice Durron Duncan and his father, Marshall Duncan, I started to rely more on the website WikiTree.com which at least is straightforward in listing its sources and open questions. While Ancestry.com is certainly useful, there is a lot of questionable information floating around. More than a dozen people have constructed family trees that include Rice and Marshall Duncan yet none of them completely align with one another, nor with WikiTree. I’ve decided to try to align my Duncan Family Tree to the information also sourced in WikiTree for this period and going deeper in history. The trouble is, I’m finding it difficult to sculpt or graft the tree precisely to get the right number of children. I will do my best.
Oddly, WikiTree.com has our line stopping at Robert Dodge Duncan Sr. — it lists him having only one child, Evan Evans Duncan, with no hint of our line extending to Robert Dodge Duncan Jr., Franklin Pierce Duncan, Carl Howard Duncan, Conrad Howard Duncan or yours truly. None of us show up in a WikiTree.com search. Go figure. I can pretty reliably confirm that this latter part of the Duncan line did (and does), in fact, exist. I suppose at some point I may feel compelled to join WikiTree.com and start making corrections…but not yet.
Ancestry.com and Wikitree.com reference Marshall Duncan through an entry from “Some Duncan Families in Eastern Tennessee Before 1800“ 1991 Revision, by Mary Ann (Duncan) Dobson). In addition, there is a will clearly stating the names of his wife, Mary Ann (Durron) and their eleven children including Rice. The text reads:
Dated Aug 26 1776 ; Probated May, 1777 [11] IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN I Marshal Duncan Senr. of Surry County in N. Carolina being weak and sick in Body but of sound mind and disposing memory – calling to mind my mortality that it is appointed for man to die do make and ordain this my last will and testament in manner and form following first I resign my soul into the hands of God my maker through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ my redeemer and my body to the dust to be buried in a decent manner at the discretion of my executors and as to things of this world which it hath pleased Almighty God to lend unto me I dispose of them in the manner following Imprimis —-
I will that all my debts and funeral charges be paid and discharged by my executors hereinafter named — Item – I give unto beloved wife Maryann Duncan the third part of all my estate to her own proper use and behoof and to be at her free disposal at her death to such of my children as she shall think proper — Item – my will and desire is that the other two thirds of my estate be at my death equally divided among my eleven children Viz. John Duncan, Maryann Duncan, Wm. Duncan, Ann Duncan, Marshal Duncan, Thomas Duncan, Rice Duncan, Charles Duncan, Joseph Duncan, Robert Duncan, James Duncan or to the surviving among them —
Lastly I do constitute and appoint my son John Duncan and William Hill executors to this my last will & testament Signed with my hand and sealed with my seal this twenty six day of August one thousand seven hundred and seventy six. Signed sealed published and declared to be the last will & testament of Marshal Duncan in presence of John Duncan, Charles Duncan, William Hill. /s/ Marshal + Duncan (seal) NORTH CAROLINA Surry County May Court 1777 William Hill one of the subscribing witnesses to the within last will & testament of Marshal Duncan made oath that he saw the said Marshal Duncan publish & declare the same to be his last will & testament that he was of sound disposing mind & memory and that at the same time he saw John Duncan & Charles Duncan sign the same as witnesses and on motion it was ordered to be recorded. Recorded accordinly by J.P. Williams, Cle.
Based on this and other documents, we can surmise that Marshall Robert Duncan Sr. (b. about 1700 in Dumfries, Prince William County, VA – d. 1777 in Snow Creek, Stokes County, NC) was born between 1700-1710 (I think the earlier date is more likely given the age of his parents and his own wedding date; I’ve also seen 1705 as an effort to split the difference). He became known as Marshall Duncan I, Marshall Duncan Sr. or Marshall Duncan the Elder, probably because he was the first of this line of Duncans born in America.
Marshall’s parents, their many children, and at least three siblings with their families left Scotland and arrived in America after 1690. They all settled in the Northern Neck of Virginia, in what was then Prince William County. Marshall was the youngest of his parents’ large brood. We will learn more about that generation below.
In 1722 (or possibly as late as 1730…which seems rather late but makes more sense given the birth dates of their children), Marshall married Mary Ann Durron (b. 1700 in Prince William County, VA – d. 1777 in Snow Creek, Stokes County, NC) in Culpeper County, VA, when both were about 22 (or up to 30) years old. As WikiTree helpfully notes: “No original source records have been located to confirm birth or marriage records. It appears that some erroneous information may have been published, and perhaps republished/reported, making the “actual facts” obscure . These dates need further research/clarification before taken as “fact”.”
Together, they had eleven children: John (b. about 1733 in Prince William County, VA – d. after 1776, possibly 1794 in Sullivan County, TN), Mary Ann (b. 1735 in Prince William County, VA – d. after 1777 in Surry County, NC), William (b. about 1737, Prince William County, VA – d. after 1777 in Washington County, TN), Ann (b. about 1738 in Prince William County, VA – d. after 1777 in ???), Marshall Jr. (b. 1739 in Prince William County, VA – d. 1810 in Shelby, KY), Thomas (b. about 1741 in Rowan County, NC – d. 1836 in Snow Creek, Stokes County, NC), Rice (b. about 1743 in Rowan County, NC – d. 1777 in Washington County, TN), Charles (b. May, 1748 in Rowan County, NC – d. May 30, 1818 in Knob Creek Mill, Washington County, TN), Joseph (b. about 1749 in Rowan County, NC – d. about 1828 in Allen, Simpson County, KY), Robert (b. about 1751 in Rowan County, NC – d. about 1776 in Washington County, TN), and James (b. 1755 in Rowan County, NC – d. around 1844 in Salisbury, Sangamon County, IL).
On July 16, 1739, Marshall and Ann leased 100 acres of farmland “for the term of their natural lives” in Prince William County, VA from Daniel Marr, a substantial tobacco plantation owner. From Some Duncan Families…
“The land was described as at the Marsh and running to the old John Hopper line (Prince William Co. VA Deed Book D, pg. 251). The Elk Marsh area was included in Fauquier Co. when that county was formed from Prince William in 1759 (“Fauquier During the Proprietorship” by H.C. Groome, pg. 88-91).” More detail from Genealogy Bug: “This Indenture made this sixteenth day of July and in the year of our Lord God one thousand seven hundred and thirty nine between Danl. Marr of Prince Wm. County & Parish of Lower(?) Hamilton of the one part and Marshal Duncan of the county & parish aforesd. of the other part, witnesseth that the sd. Danl. Marr for the yearly rent hereafter mentioned(?) hath leassed and lett to the sd. Duncan his heirs Exrs. & Admrs. (but not assigns without the sd. Marr’s consent) a certain tract or parcel of land situate lying & being in the county aforesd. at his marsh containing one hundred acres more or less beginning at a white oak and running from thence to Mons(?) line along his sd. line to F(?). Jn(?) Hoppor’s line & from thence to his (?) Bridge & so along this Road & opposite to his sd. beginning white oak and the liborty of the pinsy(?) land for the use of the one hundred acres of land with all rights & priviledges hereunto belonging in as full & ample mannor as the sd. Marr is now possessed of during his natural lives of him the sd. Marshal Duncan Anne his wife & John Duncan his son be the said Marshal Duncan his heirs exrs. Admrs. theretofore yielding and paying yearly by the twenty fifth of March the just quantity of three hundred and fifty pounds of tabo. during the inspecting law & afterwards four hundred pds. tabo. unto the sd. Danl. Marr his heirs exrs. admrs. & assigns and the same payment yearly as aforesd. and his plantation at the expiration of this lease to be left tenantable and in good repair usible(?) is heirs to be any more plantations but are fixed & settled on the land and if his rent is not duly pd. nor sufficient on the land to dis(h?)ain therein such case the sd. Marr his heirs etc(?) may reenter(?) & take possession as if the lease had never been made. In Witness whereof both parties have hereunto set their hands & seals the day & year first above written.
Signed, Sealed and Delivered in the pressence of us, John Bryan, John Marr. /s/ Daniel Marr (seal). Marshall (his mark +) Duncan (seal) At a Court held for Prince William County November 26(?) 1739 Daniel Marr acknowledged the lease to be his act & deed and it was thereupon admitted to record. (FHL film 33,105)”
The salient point, I think, is that the lease was for the annual fee of 350-400 pounds of tobacco for the rest of Marshall’s (and his wife and son’s) life. I can find no detail for the location of Elk Marsh, but it may have been near the present hamlet of Elk Run in present Fauquier County. Prince William County was formed in 1731 and originally included all of what later became the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Fauquier, and Loudoun; and the independent cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park.
In 1741, Marshall was listed a voter in the election for Burgesses in Prince William County.
Around 1741, when Marshall and Mary Ann were 40 years old with five small children, the family moved from Prince William County, VA to the northeast corner of Rowan County, NC, in the Upper Dan River district just across the Virginia border (which would become Surry County, NC). Mary Ann was probably pregnant at the time with Thomas because he was born in 1741 in Rowan County. The family were presumably tobacco farmers in both locations but I have no specific indication of why they moved…unless maybe they couldn’t meet the demands of Daniel Marr’s lease and/or they were able to purchase the land in North Carolina outright. Their remaining six children were born in Rowan County, NC.
It appears that late in life Marshall and Mary Ann moved to Snow Creek in Stokes County, NC where they presumably lived with their son Thomas on his 150-acre plantation (with several enslaved people who were later bequeathed to Thomas’ children) before both passing away in 1777 (coincidentally the same year Rice died in Washington County, TN and a year after their son Robert died, also in Washington County, TN).
William Robert Duncan Jr. (b. 1659 in Gleneagles, Perthshire, Scotland – d. 1720 in Culpeper County, VA)
Now we arrive at one of the key generations in the family line, those who crossed the Atlantic from Scotland to Virginia. Unfortunately, there is a lot of disputed and confusing information about this generation. You can get a sense of just how messy this part of the Duncan history is from a document, Assessing Duncan Family Stories, I found on Ancestry.com written by an unknown but relatively recent Duncan family researcher. This document is based on information from the (defunct) Duncan Association Newsletter compiled by Mary Ann Dobson, specifically the January 2000 edition with detail on Rev. William Duncan (now accessible only through web.archive.org). Despite being quite detailed about its 19th and 20th century sources, the assessment draws no definitive conclusions about the progenitors of the Duncan line in Virginia nor the martrydom of Rev. William Robert Duncan in Scotland (nor, for that matter, any mention of Marshall Duncan as a son of William Robert Duncan, Jr.).
Note that DNA tracing may help clear up some of this confusion (though it may also add more confusion). As of this writing in 2025, I am not willing to do a DNA trace but I suspect before too long someone closely enough related to us will do one. Or some others may do enough to clear up some of the confusion. Based partly on that assumption, I’ve decided to continue below with my best guess as to our forebears from here further back.
Marshall’s father was most likely Rev. William Robert Duncan, Jr. (b. 1659 in Gleneagles, Perthshire, Scotland, d. 1768 in Culpeper County, VA). WikiTree, for one, identifies William Robert Duncan II as Marshall’s father in its text, but not with actual links on Marshall’s or William Jr’s pages. Other Ancestry sources identify Sir William Alexander H Duncan Jr. as Marshall’s father but this doesn’t appear accurate to me.
I can find no reference to Gleneagles as a town (though it is a very nice golf resort where we stayed in 2004) but Perthshire is a large administrative area in east-central Scotland.
Around 1674 (or 1676 or 1682), William Jr. married Margaret Rae McMurdo (or McMurde) (b. 1659 or 1661 or 1662 in Scotland – d. 1720 in Bellhaven, Alexandria, VA). They were married in Glasgow, Scotland (or Stirling, Scotland or Dunino, Fife, Scotland) when he was 15 (or 17 or 23) and she was 15-23. Together they had at many as 21 children; most of them born Scotland. Their children included: Andrew Duncan (b. 1680 in Perth, Scotland – d. 1788 in Culpepper, VA — at 108 years old? dubious), Elizabeth Duncan (b. 1683 in Perthshire, Scotland – d. 1739 in Richmond, VA), Charles Duncan (b. 1684 in Perthshire, Scotland – d. 1743 in Prince William County, VA), Henry Duncan (b. 1685 in Perthshire, Scotland – d. 1725 in Pennsylvania), Thomas Duncan (b. 1686 in Perthshire, Scotland – d. 1776 in Carlisle, PA), James Duncan (b. 1689 in Perthshire, Scotland – d. 1751 in Lancaster County, PA), John Duncan (b. 1689 in Fifeshire, Scotland – d. 1739 in Prince William County, VA), Townshend Duncan (twin, b. 1691 in Perthshire, Scotland – d. 1722 in America), Mary Duncan (twin, b. 1691 in Perthshire, Scotland – d. 1722 in America), William Robert Duncan III (b. 1692 in Perthshire, Scotland – d. 1768 in Culpeper, VA), John Henry Duncan (b. 1700 in Dumfries, Prince William County, VA – d. 1743 in Prince William County, VA), and Marshall Robert Duncan Sr. (b. 1705 in Dumfries, Prince William County, VA – d. 1777 in Snow Creek, Stokes County, NC).
In 1692, William Jr’s father, William Robert “The Martyr” Duncan (source) was beheaded in Scotland (as we will learn below). Within two years, by 1694, William Jr., Margaret and their (at least) 10 living children, along with William’s brothers Charles, Henry and Thomas (and their families) and possibly other siblings, packed their bags and emigrated to America, possibly arriving first in North Carolina but all settling in the Northern Neck region (Prince William County) of Virginia. (Note that some histories have the family emigrating later, between 1719-1722 but I don’t think these are correct.) The extended Duncan clan were a relatively early group of Scottish settlers in North America as a result of the Jacobite Rising of 1689, partly a Catholic reaction to Scotland’s turn to Presbyterianism. This group predated the Scotch-Irish (or Ulster-Irish) wave that started in the 1720s and ramped up through the 18th century.
William Jr., being the oldest son after his father’s death, presumably became leader of the clan and made the decision to move the extended family to Virginia. It seems likely the clan lived together and engaged in tobacco farming in early Virginia but I’ve found no definite proof.
Two sons of William Robert Duncan III (thus William Jr.’s grandchildren and Marshall’s nephews), Rawley and Charles, served in the command of young George Washington in the British Army in the battle which General Braddock lost in 1755. Later, when Benedict Arnold, as a traitor, led a column of Cornwallis’ army into Virginia the brothers responded for the defense of Richmond. They seem to be about as illustrious as this generation of our family gets.
William Robert Duncan, Reverend (b. 1628 in Perth, Scotland – d. beheaded 1692 in Glasgow, Scotland)
Rev. William Robert Duncan was born around 1628 in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland.
From the same unverified posting quoted in detail below: “The Reverend William Duncan was a man who came from a well to do family, however because he was the second son he did not inherit the family’s wealth. Instead he was trained to become a minister, a position of some influence, although his older brother would have lived much better. He received his degree in theology from the King’s College at Aberdeen on 1648. His Duncan family’s arms are also the arms of the ancient Duncan family who ruled Scotland as kings. The first of his family by that name was Duncan “The Meek” King of Scotland, who reigned 1034 -1040.”
William married Susan Sarah Haldane (b. 1630 in Perth, Scotland – d. 1669 in Glasgow, Scotland) in 1648 or 1657. They had as many as 11 children: Catherine Duncan (b. 1657 in Kilconquhar, Fifeshire, Scotland – d. unknown), William Robert Duncan Jr. (b. 1659 in Gleneagles, Perthshire, Scotland – d. 1720 in Culpeper, Northern Neck, VA), Janet Duncan (b. 1660 in Kilconquhar, Fifeshire, Scotland – d. 1714 in Virginia), Alexander Duncan (b. 1661 in Dundee, Angus, Scotland – d. 1720 in Northern Neck, VA), George Duncan (b. 1661 in Perth, Scotland – d. 1720 in Belle Haven, Alexandria, VA), Charles Duncan (b. 1662 in Perth, Scotland – d. 1722 in Northern Neck, VA), Henry Duncan (b. 1663 in Perth, Scotland – d. 1694 in Westmoreland County, VA), Susan Duncan (b. 1664 in Gleneagles, Perthshire, Scotland – d. 1713 in Virginia), Thomas Duncan (b. 1665 in Gleneagles, Perthshire, Scotland – d. 1688 in Northern Neck, VA), James J. Duncan (b. 1666 in Fintry, Stirlingshire, Scotland – d. 1751 in Lancaster, PA), and Mary Duncan (b. 1667 in Perth, Scotland – d. 1667 in Northern Neck, VA).
Note several discrepancies/questions among the children. How could Alexander and George both been born in 1661 in different towns/counties? How could Thomas have died in Virginia in 1688, several years before the rest of the family emigrated? How could Mary Duncan be born in Scotland and die the same year in Virginia, well before the rest of the family emigrated?
William was beheaded in 1690, more than 50 years before Bonnie Prince Charlie and the final phase of the Jacobite Rebellion, so there’s no real connection to that phase of the rebellion. William’s refusal to take a Jacobite Oath seems more directly related to the Jacobite rising of 1689, one of a series of Jacobite rebellions. The description of William’s death says, “He fell martyr during the religious troubles that afflicted Scotland at the time Charles the second was restored to the throne and William refused to take the Jacobite oath.” This is confusing because Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660 and ruled until his death in 1685. So did William get in trouble sometime before 1685 and not get beheaded until 1690? It doesn’t make much sense.
For my purposes, because I get hopelessly confused by all this, let’s take a step back. Jacobitism originates with James VI and I (James Charles Stuart, son of Mary, Queen of Scots), first monarch of the combined union of England, Scotland and Ireland begun in 1603. His reign until 1625 was known as the Jacobean era. He was succeeded by his son Charles I who was beheaded by Cromwell et.al. in 1649. Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660 and ruled until his death in 1685. He was followed by his younger brother and convert to Catholicism, James II and VII, for only three years before James II and VII was deposed via the Glorious Revolution of William and Mary (James II’s daughter, Mary II or Mary Stuart) in 1688.
So, with all that said, why was Rev. Duncan, a Covenant Presbyterian minister, beheaded in 1690 for not taking the Jacobite Oath? Does it have to do with his being a “Covenant Presbyterian”? This site helped me understand that Presbyterians believed in a church governed by ministers and elders, under Jesus, while the Stuart kings believed the king should be sovereign over the church. In the Stuarts’ view, going back to James VI and I, the church should be run by bishops under the authority of the king (Episcopalian). The Covenanters resisted changes imposed by James and then Charles I and ended up joining the First English Civil War on the side of Parliament. They shifted sides in the Second English Civil War but when Charles II was restored, he went after the Covenanters. This ushered in “The Killing Time” from 1679-1688 when Covenant ministers were killed if they did not swear an oath to the king and reject the Covenants. That sounds very like a Jacobean Oath, but is it really the same thing? It would make sense that Rev. Duncan might have fallen in this category but Charles II died in 1685 and the last of the Killing Time martyrs died in 1688. So why was Duncan beheaded two years later on Jan. 1/2, 1690?
I found this interesting summary on the FamilySearch.org site, evidently originally posted in 2013 on a users.lynchburg.net site that no longer exists. The posting appears definitive and confirms much of what I found from other sources, plus it’s a fun read, but I can’t swear to its accuracy or authorship. Nevertheless, I’d like to think it’s true and I especially enjoy the last paragraph about the Battle of Killiecrankie which I think is best read aloud with a strong Scottish burr. Give it a try.
William Duncan’s Stand Against the Jacobites
Reverend William Robert Duncan was born January 7, 1628 in Perth, Firth Of Tay, Perthshire, Scotland and died January 1, 1690 in Glasgow, Lanard, Scotland – Beheaded. He was buried at the Foot Of Mount Shiehaliob, Perthshire, Scotland. He was a Covenant Presbyterian Minister of Slascoe [sic…Glasgow?], Scotland who refused to take a Jacobite Oath when ordered to do so by King Charles of England. In accordance with the King’s orders he was beheaded and buried as a martyr and his family fled the country to the Northern Neck of Virginia in the United States. He married August 29, 1657 in Scotland to Susan Sarah Haldane who was born 1635 in Perthshire, Perth, Scotland and the daughter of Richard Haldane (b. about 1609 in Gleneagles Pass, Killiecrankie, Scotland) and of Mary Kennet (b. about 1610 in Scotland).
William Duncan, the son of John Duncan, was born January 7, 1627/28 in Perth near the Firth of Tay, Perthshire, Scotland. He was beheaded January 2, 1690/91 near Glasgow, Lanard, Scotland. William was also known as the Reverend William Duncan. He fell martyr during the religious troubles that afflicted Scotland at the time Charles the second was restored to the throne and William refused to take the Jacobite oath. He received his degree in theology from the Kings College at Aberdeen in 1648. When William was ejected from office for informing against members of the resistance to Episcopalianism, his children fled to Virginia where they settled in the region of Northern Neck. He married Sarah Haldane, daughter of Richard Haldane and Mary Kennett, on August 29, 1657 in Scotland.
The word Jacobite comes from the latin Jacobus (Jacob’s), or James’ from the Royal House of Stuart. The followers of the James’ (James V through to VII) were therefore known as Jacobites. Jacobitism is, however, more than merely a belief that a different person has best right to the throne. It is also a radically different understanding of the place which the monarch and the monarchy have within society. Jacobites reject the idea that the king has his authority delegated to him by Parliament. Many hold that the king’s authority comes directly from Almighty God.
Jacobites were adherents of the exiled branch of the Stuart Dynasty who sought to restore James II and his descendants to the English and Scottish thrones after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Theoretical justification for the Stuart claim was found in the writings of the Nonjurors, who maintained the principles of hereditary succession and the divine right of kings. But the Stuarts’ continued adherence to Roman Catholicism, the rash and incompetent leadership of their military ventures, and the duplicity of foreign courts cost the Jacobite cause much support.
The situation was like this: England had been ruled by Protestant Queen Elizabeth I, she was succeeded by James I of England (James VI of Scotland). Catholic and Protestant divide not only in England but also in Scotland, Ireland and to a lesser degree France and Germany was the worst it had ever been. Support within all these countries for one family over another was across the board. Protestant support in Scotland and England was heavier than that of the Catholics. Both countries were under the rule of the Stuarts and this did not run well with the protestant parliament of the more powerful English. The Stuarts were eventually exiled and forced to retire to France due to the support of the Act of Union which basically forced Scotland to accept a situation that was not in their favour. Queen Anne died without an heir and the Act of Union, amongst other things, allowed the German House of Hanover to take the crown. This was something that the English desperately wanted, as it was regarded then that Catholicism was closer to evil than good.
Jacobitism also has its roots, in a way, in the religious situation of the time. Scotland and England of the seventeenth and eighteenth century were predominantly Protestant, but from 1685 to 1688 they had a Catholic king, James VII of Scotland and II of England. The people were highly suspicious of him, and were afraid of how safe their Protestant faith would be under a Catholic king. William of Orange was therefore called by the Whig party to invade England, and he became the new, Protestant king in 1689. James then fled to France. Most of England and the Lowlands(The Nobility) of Scotland supported the new king, but there were those, especially in the Scottish Highlands (The Local Clans), who remained true to James, whom they thought to be their legitimate monarch, and eventually acted to have him restored as the king. This was the beginning of the Jacobite movement. (Fitzroy Maclean, Scotland: A Concise History, pp. 138-139)
The first Jacobite attempt at the restoration of James VII came in 1689. Highland clans loyal to James had been assembled, and troops were sent by William to pacify them. In the battle in Killiecrankie, the Jacobites managed to drive the government troops away, but the commander of the Jacobites, Viscount Dundee, was killed in the battle, and because the army was left without a leader, they lost the advantage they had gained by the victory in the battle, and had to withdraw. However, the government remained uneasy about the situation in the Highlands, and tried to take control of the area with measures which included an order that the chiefs of the clans had to take an oath of allegiance to King William. Only two chiefs failed to take the oath by the date required, and one of them, MacIan of Glencoe, was made a threatening example to the rest of the clans: many of the members of his clan were murdered by government troops in what became known as The Massacre of Glencoe. The king did gain some more control over the Highlands with his measures, but especially the Massacre of Glencoe also turned many Scottish people against the king and was a source of very critical comments. This probably served to increase the popularity of the Jacobite cause in Scotland, even in the Lowlands, and probably was one of the reasons why the most serious rebellions, those of 1715 and 1745-6, came about. (Maclean, pp. 139 – 146.)
The Glorious Revolution in English History: The events of 1688-89 that resulted in the deposition of James II and the accession of William III and Mary II to the English throne. It is also called the Bloodless Revolution. The restoration of Charles II in 1660 was met with misgivings by many Englishmen who suspected the Stuarts of Roman Catholic and absolutist leanings. Charles II increased this distrust by not being responsive to Parliament, by his toleration of Catholic dissent, and by favoring alliances with Catholic powers in Europe. A parliamentary group, The Whigs, tried to ensure a Protestant successor by excluding James, Duke of York (later James II), from the throne, but they were unsuccessful. After James’s accession (1685) his overt Catholicism and the birth of a Catholic prince who would succeed to the throne united the hitherto loyal Tories with the Whigs in common opposition to James. Seven Whig and Tory leaders sent an invitation to the Dutch prince William of Orange and his consort, Mary, Protestant daughter of James, to come to England. William landed at Torbay in Devonshire with an army. James’s forces, under John Churchill (later duke of Marlborough), deserted him, and James fled to France (Dec., 1688). There was some debate in England on how to transfer power; whether to recall James on strict conditions or under a regency, whether to depose him outright, or whether to treat his flight as an abdication. The last course was decided upon, and early in 1689 William and Mary accepted the invitation of Parliament to rule as joint sovereigns. The Declaration of Rights and the Bill of Rights (1689) redefined the relationship between monarch and subjects and barred any future Catholic succession to the throne. The royal power to suspend and dispense with law was abolished, and the crown was forbidden to levy taxation or maintain a standing army in peacetime without parliamentary consent. The provisions of the Bill of Rights were, in effect, the conditions upon which the throne was offered to and accepted by William and Mary. These events were a milestone in the gradual process by which practical power shifted from the monarch to Parliament. The theoretical ascendancy of Parliament was never thereafter successfully challenged.
Battle of Killicrankie: Prior Events: John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee (“Bonnie” Dundee) heard that Blair Castle had been taken by Patrick Stewart of Ballechin and made for the castle. Whoever had the castle controlled the Garry pass. General Mackay, the Redcoat’s army commander was also aware and made to retake the castle. The scene was set! The year was 1689 and the 17th century was a troubled time in Scotland. James II of Scotland/VII of England had fled to France on William of Orange’s, invited, invasion. England was happy for William to be king but Scotland was divided. The Stuart line had ruled for 300 years and the Jacobites (mainly Highlanders) were not ready for a Protestant king. A convention was called in order to decide who Scotland should have as monarch (it was to finally to opt for William and Mary). When Claverhouse was summoned to the convention, in Edinburgh, from his home, at Dudhope, he refused to attend and left with his supporters. He then set about gathering an army. The Battle: After much chasing around, by Mackay, they eventually waged battle that day, 27th July 1689. Dundee had reached Blair first and headed South for the pass. He took up a position, on a ridge, up to the right of the pass exit. Mackay, meanwhile, turned to face the threat and advanced to level ground below the Jacobites. He could not attack, only a madman would contemplate attacking uphill. Dundee waited. Remember, he is to the right of the pass, facing West, into the sun. He waited hours, until the sun had gone down enough to be out of his troop’s eyes. Mackay had 3,000 troops and cavalry, Dundee had 2,500 troops (4 clans and 300 Irishmen). He offset this rather one sided balance by thoughtful tactics. At the right time the Highlanders loosed off what musketry they had and charged. Now, the government troops were mainly raw recruits and probably unused to their new weapon, the bayonet. Imagine it, you have fired a hail of bullets at this screaming, broadsword wielding mass of Highlanders and they’re still coming at you. You fumble with a new-fangled piece of kit, trying to screw it on the end of your musket and they’re still screaming, still charging hell for leather down at you. By the time you start to react to this threat they’re on you. What do you do? You run for it, that’s what you do, and that is precisely what the government troops did! The government line broke and the Jacobites began a rout toward the River Garry, the water of which turned red that day. Mackay, a typical British army officer of the time, called his troops cowards for breaking so easily while he effected a hasty retreat. The victorious Highlanders did not know that their leader, Dundee, had been mortally wounded. They had lost 900 men while the Government side lost 2,000 men, half his army. Unfortunately this was a case of winning the battle but losing the war as, without their leader, the Highlanders were lost and went on to eventual defeat at Dunkeld.
One way or another, it seems likely this Duncan line goes back to Rice Durron Duncan (1741-1777, grave, more; pioneer family of Knob Creek, TN) and to his father, Marshall Duncan (born 1710 in Prince William County, VA, died 1777 in Snow Creek, NC; grave; more). See Table of Contents for Tennessee Duncan family. Marshall’s father was William Robert Duncan, Jr. (1659-1720, died in Culpeper, VA; grave).
And (drumroll, please), William Jr.’s father was William Robert “The Martyr” Duncan (source), detailed below. It should be noted that other sites advise that information about this Duncan should be “viewed with extreme skepticism.” But still, it’s interesting to consider. [I need to research these connections further as well…here’s another site to chase, and this, and this. See more at end of this post.]
William Duncan’s Stand Against the Jacobites
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/60040920/william-robert-duncan
Reverend William Robert Duncan was born January 7, 1628 in Perth, Firth Of Tay, Perthshire, Scotland and died January 1, 1690 in Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland – Beheaded. He was buried at the Foot Of Mount Schiehallion, Perthshire, Scotland. He was a Covenant Presbyterian
Minister of Glascoe, Scotland who refused to take a Jacobite Oath when ordered to do so by King Charles of England. In accordance with the King’s orders he was beheaded and buried as a martyr and his family fled the country to the Northern Neck of Virginia in the United States. He married August 29, 1657 in Scotland to Susan Sarah Haldane who was born 1635 in Perthshire, Perth, Scotland and the daughter of Richard Haldane (b. about 1609 in Gleneagles Pass, Killiecrankie, Scotland) and of Mary Kennet (b. about 1610 in Scotland).
William Duncan, the son of John Duncan, was born January 7, 1627/28 in Perth near the Firth of Tay, Perthshire, Scotland. He was beheaded January 2, 1690/91 near Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland. William was also known as the Reverend William Duncan. He fell martyr during the religious troubles that afflicted Scotland at the time Charles the second was restored to the throne and William refused to take the Jacobite oath. He received his degree in theology from the Kings College at Aberdeen in 1648. When William was ejected from office for informing
against members of the resistance to Episcopalianism, his children fled to Virginia where they settled in the region of Northern Neck. He married Sarah Haldane, daughter of Richard Haldane and Mary Kennett, on August 29, 1657 in Scotland.
William Robert Duncan and Susan Haldane had the following children
William H. Duncan 1659 – George Duncan 1660 – Alexander Duncan 1661 – Susan Duncan 1661 – Charles Duncan 1662 – Henry Duncan 1663 – Thomas Duncan 1665 – John Duncan 1675
Going even further back, William Robert Duncan’s father was John Duncan who died in 1684 in Dundee City, Scotland (grave). His father was Dr. William Duncan (1556-1608, Dundee City (grave). “Here sleeps an honourable man, WILLIAM DUNCAN, Physician and Citizen of Dundee, who died of May in the year 1608, and of his age 52. – Heir lies aleswae ane godlie honorabil voman, Katerin Yedderburne, spous to Villiame Dvncane, who departit this lyif ye day of 1609.”
There’s a tantalizing reference buried in one site that links the family back even further, “
The Reverend William Duncan was a man who came from a well to do family,however because he was the second son he did not inherit the family's wealth. Instead he was trained to become a minister, a position of some influence, although his older brother would have lived much better. He received his degree in theology from the King's College at Aberdeen on 1648. His Duncan family's arms are also the arms of the ancient Duncan family who ruled Scotland as kings. The first of his family by that name was Duncan " The Meek " King of Scotland, who reigned 1034 -1040.
We should take all these connections before 1800 with a large grain of (unconfirmed) salt, but if you choose to believe we are descended from King Duncan (yes, that King Duncan from Macbeth), who am I to stop you?
Dasher Family Notes
Also tucked into the book were this one typed page and a series of handwritten notes that seem to repeat much of the same information. It’s not clear to me who made the notes but it’s Susie’s maternal grandmother’s line, tracing back to Christian Dasher from Salzburg, Austria. See more on Christian Herman Dasher (and more, and more) who brought the family to Valdosta, Georgia. Helen Goodloe Pardee’s mother, Susan Smith (first daughter of Margaret Amanda (Dasher) Smith), married Adolphus Pardee. I include all these notes here, even though it’s repetitive. Here is the Dasher line on Geni.com.
A further look into the story of William Robert “The Martyr” Duncan:
William was beheaded in 1690, more than 50 years before Bonnie Prince Charlie and the final phase of the Jacobite Rebellion. So there’s no real connection to that phase of the rebellion. William’s refusal to take a Jacobite Oath seems more directly related to the Jacobite rising of 1689, the first of a series of Jacobite rebellions that culminated in Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Battle of Culloden. The description of his death says, “He fell martyr during the religious troubles that afflicted Scotland at the time Charles the second was restored to the throne and William refused to take the Jacobite oath.” This is confusing because Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660 and ruled until his death in 1685. So did William get in trouble sometime before 1685 and not get beheaded until 1690? It doesn’t make much sense.
For my purposes, because I get hopelessly confused by all this, let’s take a step back. Jacobitism originates with James VI and I (James Charles Stuart, son of Mary, Queen of Scots), first monarch of the combined union of England, Scotland and Ireland begun in 1603. His reign until 1625 was known as the Jacobean era. He was succeeded by his son Charles I who was beheaded by Cromwell et.al. in 1649. Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660 and ruled until his death in 1685. He was followed by his younger brother and convert to Catholicism, James II and VII, for only three years before James II and VII was deposed via the Glorious Revolution of William and Mary (James II’s daughter, Mary II or Mary Stuart) in 1688.
So, with all that said, why was Rev. Duncan, a Covenant Presbyterian minister, beheaded in 1690 for not taking the Jacobite Oath? Does it have to do with his being a “Covenant Presbyterian”? This site helped me understand that Presbyterians believed in a church governed by ministers and elders, under Jesus, while the Stuart kings believed the king should be sovereign over the church. In the Stuarts’ view, going back to James VI and I, the church should be run by bishops under the authority of the king (Episcopalian). The Covenanters resisted changes imposed by James and then Charles I and ended up joining the First English Civil War on the side of Parliament. They shifted sides in the Second English Civil War but when Charles II was restored, he went after the Covenanters. This ushered in “The Killing Time” from 1679-1688 when Covenant ministers were killed if they did not swear an oath to the king and reject the Covenants. That sounds very like a Jacobean Oath, but is it really the same thing? It would make sense that Rev. Duncan might have fallen in this category but Charles II died in 1685 and the last of the Killing Time martyrs died in 1688. So why was Duncan beheaded years later on Jan. 1/2, 1690?
I found this interesting summary which provides background and confirms much of what I found from other sources. It doesn’t really clarify William’s stand against the Jacobites, but it’s a fun read. I especially enjoy the last paragraph about the Battle of Killiecrankie which I think is best read aloud with a strong Scottish burr. Give it a try.
William Duncan's Stand Against the Jacobites
Reverend William Robert Duncan was born January 7, 1628 in Perth, Firth Of Tay, Perthshire, Scotland and died January 1, 1690 in Glasgow, Lanard, Scotland - Beheaded. He was buried at the Foot Of Mount Shiehaliob, Perthshire, Scotland. He was a Covenant Presbyterian Minister of Slascoe, Scotland who refused to take a Jacobite Oath when ordered to do so by King Charles of England. In accordance with the King's orders he was beheaded and buried as a martyr and his family fled the country to the Northern Neck of Virginia in the United States. He married August 29, 1657 in Scotland to Susan Sarah Haldane who was born 1635 in Perthshire, Perth, Scotland and the daughter of Richard Haldane (b. about 1609 in Gleneagles Pass, Killiecrankie, Scotland) and of Mary Kennet (b. about 1610 in Scotland).
William Duncan, the son of John Duncan, was born January 7, 1627/28 in Perth near the Firth of Tay, Perthshire, Scotland. He was beheaded January 2, 1690/91 near Glasgow, Lanard, Scotland. William was also known as the Reverend William Duncan. He fell martyr during the religious troubles that afflicted Scotland at the time Charles the second was restored to the throne and William refused to take the Jacobite oath. He received his degree in theology from the Kings College at Aberdeen in 1648. When William was ejected from office for informing against members of the resistance to Episcopalianism, his children fled to Virginia where they settled in the region of Northern Neck. He married Sarah Haldane, daughter of Richard Haldane and Mary Kennett, on August 29, 1657 in Scotland.
The word Jacobite comes from the latin Jacobus (Jacob's), or James' from the Royal House of Stuart. The followers of the James' (James V through to VII) were therefore known as Jacobites. Jacobitism is, however, more than merely a belief that a different person has best right to the throne. It is also a radically different understanding of the place which the monarch and the monarchy have within society. Jacobites reject the idea that the king has his authority delegated to him by Parliament. Many hold that the king's authority comes directly from Almighty God.
Jacobites were adherents of the exiled branch of the Stuart Dynasty who sought to restore James II and his descendants to the English and Scottish thrones after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Theoretical justification for the Stuart claim was found in the writings of the Nonjurors, who maintained the principles of hereditary succession and the divine right of kings. But the Stuarts' continued adherence to Roman Catholicism, the rash and incompetent leadership of their military ventures, and the duplicity of foreign courts cost the Jacobite cause much support.
The situation was like this: England had been ruled by Protestant Queen Elizabeth I, she was succeeded by James I of England (James VI of Scotland). Catholic and Protestant divide not only in England but also in Scotland, Ireland and to a lesser degree France and Germany was the worst it had ever been. Support within all these countries for one family over another was across the board. Protestant support in Scotland and England was heavier than that of the Catholics. Both countries were under the rule of the Stuarts and this did not run well with the protestant parliament of the more powerful English. The Stuarts were eventually exiled and forced to retire to France due to the support of the Act of Union which basically forced Scotland to accept a situation that was not in their favour. Queen Anne died without an heir and the Act of Union, amongst other things, allowed the German House of Hanover to take the crown. This was something that the English desperately wanted, as it was regarded then that Catholicism was closer to evil than good.
Jacobitism also has its roots, in a way, in the religious situation of the time. Scotland and England of the seventeenth and eighteenth century were predominantly Protestant, but from 1685 to 1688 they had a Catholic king, James VII of Scotland and II of England. The people were highly suspicious of him, and were afraid of how safe their Protestant faith would be under a Catholic king. William of Orange was therefore called by the Whig party to invade England, and he became the new, Protestant king in 1689. James then fled to France. Most of England and the Lowlands(The Nobility) of Scotland supported the new king, but there were those, especially in the Scottish Highlands (The Local Clans), who remained true to James, whom they thought to be their legitimate monarch, and eventually acted to have him restored as the king. This was the beginning of the Jacobite movement. (Fitzroy Maclean, Scotland: A Concise History, pp. 138-139)
The first Jacobite attempt at the restoration of James VII came in 1689. Highland clans loyal to James had been assembled, and troops were sent by William to pacify them. In the battle in Killiecrankie, the Jacobites managed to drive the government troops away, but the commander of the Jacobites, Viscount Dundee, was killed in the battle, and because the army was left without a leader, they lost the advantage they had gained by the victory in the battle, and had to withdraw. However, the government remained uneasy about the situation in the Highlands, and tried to take control of the area with measures which included an order that the chiefs of the clans had to take an oath of allegiance to King William. Only two chiefs failed to take the oath by the date required, and one of them, MacIan of Glencoe, was made a threatening example to the rest of the clans: many of the members of his clan were murdered by government troops in what became known as The Massacre of Glencoe. The king did gain some more control over the Highlands with his measures, but especially the Massacre of Glencoe also turned many Scottish people against the king and was a source of very critical comments. This probably served to increase the popularity of the Jacobite cause in Scotland, even in the Lowlands, and probably was one of the reasons why the most serious rebellions, those of 1715 and 1745-6, came about. (Maclean, pp. 139 - 146.)
The Glorious Revolution in English History: The events of 1688-89 that resulted in the deposition of James II and the accession of William III and Mary II to the English throne. It is also called the Bloodless Revolution. The restoration of Charles II in 1660 was met with misgivings by many Englishmen who suspected the Stuarts of Roman Catholic and absolutist leanings. Charles II increased this distrust by not being responsive to Parliament, by his toleration of Catholic dissent, and by favoring alliances with Catholic powers in Europe. A parliamentary group, The Whigs, tried to ensure a Protestant successor by excluding James, Duke of York (later James II), from the throne, but they were unsuccessful. After James's accession (1685) his overt Catholicism and the birth of a Catholic prince who would succeed to the throne united the hitherto loyal Tories with the Whigs in common opposition to James. Seven Whig and Tory leaders sent an invitation to the Dutch prince William of Orange and his consort, Mary, Protestant daughter of James, to come to England. William landed at Torbay in Devonshire with an army. James's forces, under John Churchill (later duke of Marlborough), deserted him, and James fled to France (Dec., 1688). There was some debate in England on how to transfer power; whether to recall James on strict conditions or under a regency, whether to depose him outright, or whether to treat his flight as an abdication. The last course was decided upon, and early in 1689 William and Mary accepted the invitation of Parliament to rule as joint sovereigns. The Declaration of Rights and the Bill of Rights (1689) redefined the relationship between monarch and subjects and barred any future Catholic succession to the throne. The royal power to suspend and dispense with law was abolished, and the crown was forbidden to levy taxation or maintain a standing army in peacetime without parliamentary consent. The provisions of the Bill of Rights were, in effect, the conditions upon which the throne was offered to and accepted by William and Mary. These events were a milestone in the gradual process by which practical power shifted from the monarch to Parliament. The theoretical ascendancy of Parliament was never thereafter successfully challenged.
Battle of Killicrankie: Prior Events: John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee ("Bonnie" Dundee) heard that Blair Castle had been taken by Patrick Stewart of Ballechin and made for the castle. Whoever had the castle controlled the Garry pass. General Mackay, the Redcoat's army commander was also aware and made to retake the castle. The scene was set! The year was 1689 and the 17th century was a troubled time in Scotland. James II of Scotland/VII of England had fled to France on William of Orange's, invited, invasion. England was happy for William to be king but Scotland was divided. The Stuart line had ruled for 300 years and the Jacobites (mainly Highlanders) were not ready for a Protestant king. A convention was called in order to decide who Scotland should have as monarch (it was to finally to opt for William and Mary). When Claverhouse was summoned to the convention, in Edinburgh, from his home, at Dudhope, he refused to attend and left with his supporters. He then set about gathering an army. The Battle: After much chasing around, by Mackay, they eventually waged battle that day, 27th July 1689. Dundee had reached Blair first and headed South for the pass. He took up a position, on a ridge, up to the right of the pass exit. Mackay, meanwhile, turned to face the threat and advanced to level ground below the Jacobites. He could not attack, only a madman would contemplate attacking uphill. Dundee waited. Remember, he is to the right of the pass, facing West, into the sun. He waited hours, until the sun had gone down enough to be out of his troop's eyes. Mackay had 3,000 troops and cavalry, Dundee had 2,500 troops (4 clans and 300 Irishmen). He offset this rather one sided balance by thoughtful tactics. At the right time the Highlanders loosed off what musketry they had and charged. Now, the government troops were mainly raw recruits and probably unused to their new weapon, the bayonet. Imagine it, you have fired a hail of bullets at this screaming, broadsword wielding mass of Highlanders and they're still coming at you. You fumble with a new-fangled piece of kit, trying to screw it on the end of your musket and they're still screaming, still charging hell for leather down at you. By the time you start to react to this threat they're on you. What do you do? You run for it, that's what you do, and that is precisely what the government troops did! The government line broke and the Jacobites began a rout toward the River Garry, the water of which turned red that day. Mackay, a typical British army officer of the time, called his troops cowards for breaking so easily while he effected a hasty retreat. The victorious Highlanders did not know that their leader, Dundee, had been mortally wounded. They had lost 900 men while the Government side lost 2,000 men, half his army. Unfortunately this was a case of winning the battle but losing the war as, without their leader, the Highlanders were lost and went on to eventual defeat at Dunkeld.
So, despite hours of digging, some fragments of information just don’t fit together. We may have to settle for the admonition that “there is a great deal of conflicting information surrounding William.” That’s where I am at the moment. I’m not 100% sure he’s a direct relative anyway, but at least now I know a good deal more about the Jacobean era and a century of English and Scottish history that always confused me. And I choose to believe we are descended from King Duncan. Prove me wrong!
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