Bryce McLellan (abt. 1692 - 1776)

Born about 1692 in County Antrim, Ireland

Husband of Jane (of Ulster) McLellan — married about 1715 in Ballymoney, County Antrim, Ireland

Descendants

Died 24 Mar 1776 at about age 84 in Falmouth, Cumberland, Maine

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Isara Argent [send private message]

Biography

From Genealogy at Pitard.com (and included in merged profile McLelland-11):

"Nothing for sure is known of these McLellans before they immigrated from Ireland. Presumably the family had migrated from Scotland to northern Ireland about a century before, with many Scots, because of incentives provided by James I to populate Ireland with protestants. This group then suffered persecution after the Restoration, since Charles II was sympathetic to Catholics. Then, in the 1670s the Test Act was passed that insisted on membership in the Church of England for many offices and privileges.

There is a regular statement by nineteenth-century histories that Bryce and his cousins Hugh, James, and Mary were descended from a Sir Hugh McLellan, but considering all of the wishful Victorian genealogy out there, and the utter lack of any documentation attached to these statements, I'll believe it when I see it.

Bryce immigrated to Maine from Ballymoney, Country Antrim, Ireland. He was a weaver and a ship's carpenter. He was part of a wave of migrants that started in 1718 with group brought over by the Rev. James McGregor of Aghadowey Presbyterian Church. This was the first wave of the Scots-irish "Great Migration," which was actually a series of waves of migrants, culminating in the greatest wave during the early 1770s.

Aghadowey is just across the Bann River from Balleymoney, only 3 or 4 miles away. Most narratives, such as Bourne's, say he arrived in Wells about 1720, though he may have arrived a year or so before this. He was for sure there in the summer of 1720 when he received a grant of land in Wells. After he arrived he joined Wells Congregational Church. He appears on a list of inhabitants in wells in Spring of 1726; a series of conflicts with native indians had taken place over the previous few years.

He apparently had a hard time there. In 1729, he and his family moved to Falmouth (now Portland), and he built a house in 1731 on York/Fore St. Here the rest of his children were born, starting with Susannah. Judging by the lack of records for several of his children before this, perhaps some of the earlier ones had died young.

His two cousins Hugh and James McLellan immigrated c. 1733; Hugh and James were brothers. How they are cousins to Bryce is not known, so I've not connected them on this site. Two of Bryce's boys (Joseph and James) married two of Hugh's girls (Mary and Abigail) in Maine. [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]"

Sources (from same source as quoted biography)

1. [S37] Bryce McLellan . . . His Children and Grandchildren, John A. McLellan, (n/a; privately distributed).

2. [S240] History of Gorham, Maine, Hugh Davis McLellan, (Portland: Smith and Sale; rpt. Picton Press), 658.

3. [S630] Scotch Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America, Charles Knowles Bolton, (Boston: Bacon and Flowers), 100; 254-57.

4. [S631] Balleymoney Ancestry.

5. A[S632] The 1718 Migration.

6. [S630] Scotch Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America, Charles Knowles Bolton, (Boston: Bacon and Flowers), 211, 14; the book focuses on the migration of 1718-22 or so..

7. [S633] The History of Wells and Kennebunk, Edward E. Bourne, (Portland: E. Thurston), 313.

8. [S633] The History of Wells and Kennebunk, Edward E. Bourne, (Portland: E. Thurston), 330-31.

From merged profile McLelland-11: Occupation: Weaver, Ship's carpenter. Religion: Presbyterian; Congregationalist (because only established church in Colonial Maine)

"Hugh McLellan's Family Line" Status: Located. This is S235; it cites no sources, but describes the line from Bryce through Capt. Joseph McLellan to Maj. Hugh McLellan. Because there are no sources I regard it as less authoritative, but I believe that the author, William Barry, is associated with the McLellan-Sweat house. Copy courtesy Brenda Pajor, McLellan family… 'Portland--Old and New' "Portland--Old and New" Status: Located. This is the text of an article on Bryce McLellan's house in Portland, Maine, which he built in 1731. It also includes information about his family and the area. Copy courtesy Brenda Pajor, McLellan researcher. Bryce McLellan's house in Portland Bryce McLellan's house in Portland Status: Located. This newspaper article describes Bryce McLellan's house, which is apparently the oldest house in Portland, Maine.

Note

Note: @N45@

@N45@ NOTE

Bryce was a cousin of Hugh McLellan, who came to Gorham in 1733. From “History of Gorham, ME: “Bryce McLellan, the ancestor of the Portland branch of the family, came to this country several years before Hugh, and settled first in Wells, where he owned land July, 1720, and where several of his children were born and christened. He moved from that place to Cape Elizabeth, and about the year 1730 to Falmouth Neck.” ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ : Source: #S9 Page: Pg. 658, Source: #S9 @S9@ SOUR, Type: Book. Text: McLellan, Hugh D. History of Gorham, ME., published online by Google Books (http://books.google.com/books?id=NEz0pw3JotIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false); original publisher: Smith & Sale, Printers, Portland, Maine, 1902. @S9@ SOUR Type: Book. Text: McLellan, Hugh D. History of Gorham, ME., published online by Google Books (http://books.google.com/books?id=NEz0pw3JotIC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false); original publisher: Smith & Sale, Printers, Portland, Maine, 1902.

• See two attached document images.

• Bryce McLellan Profile and Documents: Family 1(Genealogy at Pitard.com) http://ancestors.pitard.net/getperson.php?personID=I118&tree=Pitard

• McLellan Family Line, Barry, William David, 'Hugh McLellan Family Line', McLellan-Swett House Research, 1974. http://ancestors.pitard.net/showmedia.php?mediaID=109&medialinkID=241&tngpage=2

• McReynolds, Alister, 'The Rise and Fall of the McLellan Family of Ballymoney and Maine', Maine Historical Society http://www.maineulsterscots.com/docs/The_Rise_and_Fall_of_the_McLellan_family_of_Ballymoney_and_Maine.pdf NOTE: Brief history of McLellen family in Maine from Bryce's arrival in Wells in 1720 to the families financial difficulties caused by Jefferson's 1807 trade embargo.

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QVLJ-DN59 : accessed 18 September 2015), Bryce McLellan, 1776; Burial, Portland, Cumberland, Maine, United States of America, Eastern Cemetery; citing record ID 99782355, Find a Grave, ohttp://www.findagrave.com.

Acknowledgments

This person was created through the import of Morris_gedcom.ged on 11 June 2010.