Baskin Research Ireland & Pennsylvania

Profile manager: T Stanton [send private message]

The goal of this project is to assemble available research and develop new research on the origins of the Baskin families who emigrated to Chester County, Pennsylvania about 1731 and 1735 and shortly after to what was then Paxton Township in Lancaster County (now Reed Twp in Dauphin County).

Research leader is T Stanton. Special thanks to John Watson for Ireland research.

Please post a comment here on this page, in G2G using the project tag, or send me a private message. Thank

In his 1975 update (subscription to this version) to the Baskin Family, physicist Raymond Bell of Washington and Jefferson College (a descendant and the primary researcher of the family in the 20th Century) states there are three known references to the Baskin family originating in Ireland.

• 1740 Court record which states William Baskin of Augusta County, Virginia came from Ireland
• The 1865 New York State death record of William Baskin states his place of birth as Ireland
• In the 1850 US Census, Sarah Baskin, sister to John, Robert, and Thomas gives Ireland as place of birth

Further research by Raymond Bell collaborating with Irish researchers shows only one location, Mt Charles in County Donegal, with several Baskin families prior to 1850. These records appear to show the origins of the second wave of Baskin members who immigrated to Pennsylvania in the 1780s.

The earliest reference to the surname found by John Watson is Hearth money roll of co Donegall 1665 https://www.virtualtreasury.ie/item/TCD-MS-6232 William Baskin of Lacrum, Killomard Parish barony of Bannagh & Boylagh.

JohnGrenham.com provides a surname map of Ireland using census data. The results of the 1850s surname search are as follows: fairly rare: Donegal & Tyrone. Having regard to location, it is likely to be related to the Scottish Basken. There is native name Ó Baiscinn of W.Clare, said to be very rare. These are the result of using Baskin. There are no records for Baskins. It should be noted that the research of Raymond Bell found that the name had likely been Baskin, later becoming Baskins in the Pennsylvania Colony.

LibraryIreland contains the following: Ó Baiscinn --Baskin, Buskin: 'descendant of Bascaoin' (fair-hand); the name of a family who were seated in Corca Bhaiscinn in West Clare until dispossessed by the MacMahons early in the 14th century, now very rare.

The earliest reference to Baskin at FindMyPast is 1712 for a Robert Baskin in the Court Of Chancery Bill Books 1627-1884. The next reference is in 1759 long after the brothers have emigrated.

FamilySearch Granters of Deeds Index 1708-1785 contains no entries for Baskin, Buskin or similar.

John Grenham Donegal page https://www.johngrenham.com/records/county_church_full.php?county=Donegal&search_type=full&denomination=Church%20of%20Ireland says that Church of Ireland records for parish of Inver 1805-1871 were held by the Public Records Office ie destroyed. 1805-1920 copy held by PRONI under ref MIC/1/159. (John Watson can’t immediately see this in PRONI’s catalogue.)

Searches Producing No Return/Result

National Library of Ireland Genealogical Office has no entries for Baskin.

1641 depositions No search results for Baskin etc. https://1641.tcd.ie/ https://1641.tcd.ie/index.php/browse/searchResults/?sort=name&dir=asc&msID=839&StartAge=0&StartDate=&start=40

Comwellian land grants etc Only reference to Baskin is to one of the places https://archive.org/details/op1244157-1001/page/26/mode/2up?view=theater&q=Baskin

Plantation of Ulster 1630 muster rolls https://www.therjhuntercollection.com/resources/muster-rolls-c-1630/search-muster-rolls/

Catholic convert rolls No results http://census.nationalarchives.ie/search/cq/results.jsp?surname=Baskin&firstname=&year_from=&year_to=&place_residence=&place_county=&place_diocese=&search=Search

1659 census Just the place names

Down Survey web site Historical GIS https://downsurvey.tchpc.tcd.ie/landowners.php no results for Baskin, Baiscninn, O’Baiscinn

Registry of Deeds for county Donegal (from AskaboutIreland) https://www.askaboutireland.ie/aai-files/assets/ebooks/222_A-Copy-of-Register-Deeds-in-County-Donegal/222_A-Copy-of-Register-Deeds-in-County-Donegal.pdf Nothing.

Grantors’ index search for Baskin

• 1708-1729 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSMQ-KQ5F-8?i=416&cat=185720 no entries for Baskin
• 1730-1745 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSMQ-VSBL-Y?i=49&cat=185720 no entries for Baskin
• 1746-1758 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSMQ-VSBH-K?i=229&cat=185720 no entries for Baskin
• 1758-1768 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSMQ-VSYL-3?i=430&cat=185720 no entries for Baskin