I am researching my paternal line which is Espy. Anyone know if the Espy name is connected to a clan?

Question

I have been able to trace my line as far back as George Espy born circa 1623 in Midlothian,Scotland.George married Nancy Patton, born circa 1627 same place. They died unknown in County Antrim, Ulster ,Ireland They were signers of the "Solemn League of Covenant' and went to the plantations in Ireland. Why did the Scots go to these plantations in Ireland?

Answer 1

Espy :-

Scottish: shortened form of Gillespie.

French: southeastern topographic name for someone living near a prominent thorn bush or in an area characterized by such vegetation, from Old French espine (Latin spina). Occasionally the name may derive from the same word used in a transferred sense of the crest or ridge of a hill.

Variant spelling of German Espey.

Source. Ancestry .com

In 1609 there was an increasing hardship occasioned by the spread of a British form of land tenure, called the feu , which had the effect of dispossessing many farmers of their traditional lands in Scotland. These farmers were attracted to the lands visible across the channel from the shores of southwestern Scotland. Any Scot who had the inclination might now take the short journey across to Ulster and there, acquire a holding of land reputed by current Scotch Irish men to be far more fertile and productive than any he was likely to know in his own country. In an effort to gain control, England also in the early 1600s created a huge plantation in Northern Ireland, by opening up an area for settlement by "true Englishmen."Few from England took up the challenge, but it was a rare opportunity for the poor people of the Scottish lowlands who had been traveling back and forth anyway to improve their lot, and thousands of Scots made the move.

Only 30 miles separated the lower coast of Scotland from the coastline of Ulster , so they didn't have far to go. By 1612 ships were traveling back and forth with the frequency of a ferry. It should be noted here that people in Ulster and Scotland had been interacting for many years across this small stretch of water, the reason for this is simple, it was an easy crossing compared to "Black Pig's d**e"

("The Black Pig's d**e" was a series of defensive ditches built between Ulster and Connacht in the 1st century AD (0 - 100 AD). It is also known in Cavan as 'the worm ditch', because according to local folklore it was made by a giant worm wriggling across the landscape. There is a good example of the d**e on the slopes of Ardkill Hill, 3.5 miles east of Ballinagh).

Gillespie Family Heritage

http://kjgillespie.com/MacPherson.html

and

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Heritage/FSCNS...

Answer 2

http://groups.msn.com/BonnieClausSCOTLAN...

for the second part of the question, here is some background.  Can't answer as far as the Espy particulars.

Answer 3

Patton is from Clan Donald, Antrium County was a Donald holding at that time and it is likely that they moved there to be on holdings of her Clan.  A Donnell still holds title to the county and is still sited there.  You can claim membership in Clan Donald due to your ancestoress.  Gillespy is the basic name from which Espy is derived from and is a sept or branch of Clan MacPherson.   As a result it is associated with a Highland Clan. However by that time the MacPherson's had lost title to most of their lands and were displaced.  Thus it is most likely they moved to the Donald holdings to simply find a place to live.  The plantations were started at the time of the Highland Clearences to get rid of the Highlanders and to break the Jacobite ties of the Highlanders to Prince Charles, and James the I of England.  Part of this was to move large portions of the Scottish population to Ireland and displace the Catholic Irish with Protestant Scots and hopefully destroy the Irish in the process.  This has led to the mess in Northern Ireland today.  Other Scots were deported to Canada, United States, Australia and New Zealand to name a few places.  You can also join either the Donalds or the MacPhersons as a result of these 2 ancestors.  Both clan associations have genealogists that can assist with further tracking of your family using Clan archives and can also give you more of an idea as to what happened and why.