Stories from the Tree - The family Spy

On the same ship that transported my 5th great grandfather, William Blanton Boyd, the original  immigrant in my Boyd family linage, was another 5th great grandfather, James Robert McClurkin, his wife and ten children, establishing another important family name in the tree. These families came to America on the good ship "Lord Dunluce," sailing from Larne, County Antrim, Ireland to Charleston, South Carolina, arriving in December, 1772.

The families knew each other well, if not before the voyage, certainly after spending months at sea together, and it didn't take long for one of William Blanton's boys - William Blanton II -  to marry one of James Robert's daughters, Catherine McClurkin, and through that union William Blanton I and James Robert each came to be my 5th great grandfather.

Shortly after their arriving in America, the Revolutionary War broke out and James Robert, William Blanton and several of their sons joined the fight, seeking to preserve the freedoms that prompted their migration from Ireland. And so did Jane McClurkin, daughter of James Robert (and sister of Catherine).

There is a family story that Jane, who was born in 1749 and died in 1852 at the age of 103, was a heroine in the Revolutionary War. According to McClurken family records, Jane (who by then was married to David Weir, who also arrived from Ireland on the ship "Lord Dunluce") carried a secret message hidden in the long plaits of her hair from Colonel Davis in Mecklenburg District to General Sumter's Clem's Branch camp east of the Catawba River, riding a horse bareback, following a blazed trail through woods infested with British soldiers and American Tories.

True story? We'll never know. I can find reference to the story in several McClurkin genealogies, but they were all likely copied from the same source. History confirms that General Sumter did make camp at Clem's Branch, and there was a Colonel Joseph R. Davis who distinguished himself in service during the revolution, but that's about all the historical fact I can apply to Jane McClurkin. However, there are numerous women well known for their actions during the Revolution, having spied for either the Americans or the British, so it is well within the realm of possibility that Jane in fact carried messages to General Sumter. At any rate it makes an interesting story from the Tree.