JOHN MCQUILLEN post master Comber

[dotmcq]

Does anyone have any info on a John McQuillen who died in Comber on 13 October 1829 aged 78 (so born around 1751)  He was post master of Comber for 35 years and was interested in genealogy - professing to be related to Rory og McQuillin and could trace his ancestry back to Babylon!

Dot McQ

[BallyaltikilliganG]

Hi Dot McQ, I rushed to my Comber index see Comberonline.Org [History section} and only found one entry
M'Quillan,  John,  Tullygarvan  Householder in Griffiths Valuation ~1863 several websites have details. However the published list shows the house had a small garden. On one side of him it looks like the next door neighbour was the National School.   Could this John have been the teacher? To see the property try http://staging.askaboutireland.ie/gv4/gv_start.php. I think it has changed its name very recently and maybe http://griffiths.askaboutireland.ie/gv4/gv_start .  If you are lucky and find the griffith marked area on the map within Tullygarvan it is No 10a.
Tullygarvanwas sometimes spelt Tullygirven, Tullygirvin etc. It  is SW of Comber and is the neighbouring townland westwards of  Ballygowan Townland. I rechecked Ros Davies Website and she has a new entry Miss Anne McQUILLAN . Comber renown hand spinner of super fine yard c. 1830 TOOC p50 . Thats from the book A Taste of Comber thats available.  I am intrigued how you know about him being the Post Master. I note under Andrews family,  some of the many records kept by them, perhaps their is a mention of him there. The site of the present post office is on a map at www.Comberonline.org,   might I suggest you update your query and place you it on the websites guest book. 
Good luck onwards.Jim

[dotmcq]

Thanks Jim.  This is all the information I have - from the copy of an obituary I found.  I have come across Anne the spinner before.

Thanks for taking the time to check it out for me.

Dot McQ

[BallyaltikilliganG]

Hi Dot,   After John McQuillen's death in 1830, I did wonder could he have had family that decided to emigrate that year ie  John McQuillen, who was born in Ireland, and came to the United States in 1830; marrying and Margaret (Lang) and  lived in Albany, N.Y., till he came to Jones Co. in the spring of 1846; he settled where his sons now live : lie died in the fall of the year he came to the county. ……
from http://iowajones.org/bio/bioMcNE.htm
From History of Jones County, Iowa, Western Historical Company, Chicago, 1879, page 690.

from Ros Davies website the first entry McQUILLAN family is astonishing to read.freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rosdavies/SURNAMES/Mc/McQuMcS.htm#q

Then I found using Google almost an overwhelming number of references to postmaster and Post Masters

eg from 1861 www.afhs.ab.ca/publications/armstrong/post_office_1861.html
this is Canada
Mount Johnson         Rouville               John McQuillen

eg from 1884 - 1885 www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kyfrankl/PostOffices.htm
this is Kentucky
HARVIELAND - Located 5 1/2 miles north-west of Frankfort - John W. McQuillen, Postmaster

eg from http://www.stillwatercountynews.com/archive/040303.html
Columbus Post Office honored.  The Post Office in Columbus has been honored with the Order of the Yellow Jersey. The honor is in recognition of the services provided to customers, said Chester McQuillen, postmaster at the Columbus branch. This is the second year of this honor’s existence ......

eg from http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/clearfield/bios/mcquillen-john-t.txt
BIO: John T. McQUILLEN, Clearfield County, PA
Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja & Sally
.He was born at Tyrone, Blair County, Pa., in September, 1856, and is a son of Adam and Mary (Boyle) McQuillen.
Adam McQuillen was born in Blair County, a son of Thomas and Jennie (Hunter) McQuillen.  For many years he was a railroad man and now is postmaster at Woodland, in Clearfield County.  He married Mary Boyleetc

eg from http://www.cangenealogy.com/armstrong/pos1861.htm
Post Offices, 1861
from The Canadian Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge, 1861
In the following List of Post Offices, the Electoral County or Division in which each are situated and the names of the Post Masters are given, corrected to the 1st Oct. 1861.
NOTE: * = Offices are authorised to grant and pay Money Orders.
Name of Post Office Electoral County or Division Name of Postmaster 
Mount Johnson Rouville John McQuillen 

eg from http://scott.k12.va.us/bettyjane/irishhistory.htm
The Quillin Clan from Northern Ireland
Old Uncle Charlie Quillin was the postmaster during the Civil War at Quillinsville and served in the VA State General Assembly from 1830's to the 1850's.
Information comes from The Quillen Family History Scott Co, VA, Claude MacQuillin and Milligan W. Quillen c.1961 rp.1987.

Thats an amazing record of similar occupations
I dont think I can help you much further. have you tried the Ulster Historical Foundation databases and PRONI databases and NIFHS special genealogical database?

Good luck, Jim

[dotmcq]

Yes I have searched everywhere Jim but records for Ireland are very sporadic.  That surely is a lot of postmasters you found in America and Canada called McQuillen!  Maybe you are right and he emigrated.  I am afraid the McQuillen family didnt fair well in Ireland and many of the family left for fairer shores over a long stretch of time.

My own line left Dublin in 1765 for London, England (where I still live) but some stayed in Ireland and I am trying to trace any ancestors that might still be there after 1765.  Very difficult task though.

Have been working on it 7 years now!  But not making much progress the Ireland end I am afraid.  One of these days I am going to have to visit I think......but that is difficult at the moment.

Thank you very much for your help Jim.  I have made a note of everything you found in my file.  One of these days some of the jigsaw pieces are all going to fit together! 

Dot McQ

[BallyaltikilliganG]

in case its helpfull on that educational tool 1860s griffiths valuation lists, it also show McQuillans elsewhere in Ireland, set out as
Occupier Surname  and Forename  County  Parish 
MCQUILLEN  JOHN  ANTRIM  SHANKILL       
MCQUILLEN  JENKIN  ANTRIM  DERRYAGHY       
MCQUILLEN  JAMES  DOWN  LOUGHINISLAND       
MCQUILLEN  FELIX  DOWN  KNOCKBREDA       
MCQUILLEN  JAMES  LONDONDERRY  BALLYSCULLION       
MCQUILLEN  PATRICK  LOUTH  MAYNE       
MCQUILLEN  PATRICK  LOUTH  MAYNE       
MCQUILLEN  PATRICK  LOUTH  MAYNE       
MCQUILLEN  ANNE  LOUTH  MAYNE       
MCQUILLEN  ROSE  MEATH  ST PETER       
MCQUILLEN  PATRICK  MEATH  ST PETER       
MCQUILLEN  PATRICK  MEATH  ST PETER       
MCQUILLEN  MARY  MEATH  ST PETER       
MCQUILLEN  TERENCE  MONAGHAN  AGHABOG       
MCQUILLEN  BRIDGET  MONAGHAN  AGHABOG       
MCQUILLEN  OWEN  MONAGHAN  AGHABOG       
which as you note is not that many. Onwards Jim

[BallyaltikilliganG]

I looked up the new 1911 census on line at the National Archives Dublin, there were none for McQuillen, then I tried McQuillan and found 63 references, they probably reduce to about 12 families. So it looks like the adminstrators standardised the spelling.

[dotmcq]

Yes it could be they standardised the spelling Jim.  But more like it just got changed down through time.  I believe the original name was MacQuillin derived from MacUighlin.  They were Lords of the Route - a territory at the top of Antrim with their seat at Dunluce Castle.  However, they lost their lands in the Plantation of Ulster in the 1600s when the English took over ruling Ireland and a lot of English families moved into Ireland taking the lands.  Their fortunes were somewhat nomadic after that and a lot deliberately changed their name.  The English frowned on anything Irish and so a lot of the Catholic Irish changed to Protestantism as Catholics were not allowed to marry in church or go to school.  They also dropped their Irish "Mcs" and "O" s - so some of this family became just plain Quillin or Quillen.

Dot McQ

[TF13]

you got me all excited for a while jim i thought county down had finally come online but i see its still only dublin. ah well, bit of excitement anyway

tony