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209. Robert Donnell, II (Married Mary ___ (#210) sometime prior to 1755 when their son Daniel (#105) was born.)

Born: Circa 1728 in County Ulster, Ireland of Unknown Father (#417) & Unknown Mother (#418). (The source of the information about his birth and death is from Buffalo Presbyterian Church and Cemetery, Greensboro, North Carolina, Compiled by Raymond Dufau Donnell, Second Printing March 1996, p. 74.)

Died: 1816, buried in Buffalo Presbyterian Church Cemetery.

[His siblings, if any, are unknown]

Miscellaneous:

"The four [Donnell] families that located near North Buffalo Creek (now Guilford County, North Carolina) must have been closely related. Thomas, Sr., and Robert, Sr., who came in 1753, were brothers; James, Sr., who came in 1760, and Robert, II, who came in 1771, may have been nephews of Thomas and Robert, Sr. In 1790, the Donnell families had a great reunion, and one of the old men laughingly asked, “What do you suppose has become of the ‘O’ we cast overboard at sea, by this time?” This would indicate that they all came overseas together, and the name was O’Donnell in Ireland. They were all descendants, or related to, Donald I (861-863), King of Scotland. The writer was told by the late Dr. John McDonald, editor of the Toronto, Canada, that the Donnells, O’ Donnells, Donalds and McDonalds were all of the same blood with a common ancestor." History of Buffalo Presbyterian Church and Her People, Greensboro, N.C. by Reverend S. M. Rankin, p. 42 & 43.

Also from Rankin's book, p. 42, "Robert Donnell, the second, came from York County, Pennsylvania, and located on the north side of North Buffalo in 1771. His wife was Mary, and their children appear to have been William, Elizabeth, Daniel, Samuel, Sarah, Robert and George. William married Mary, daughter of Samuel Bell, in 1773 and moved to Tennessee in 1797; Elizabeth married Robert Donnell, son of Thomas, Sr., in 1775; Daniel (#105) married first Mary (#106), daughter of Robert Ervin, and second Catherine, daughter of Ralph Gorrell, Sr., in 1816; Samuel became a Presbyterian minister and was pastor of Spring Creek Church, Tennessee; Sarah married John Donnell, son of Robert, Sr, in 1779; Robert married first Jennie Morrison, in 1790, and second Mrs. Nancy Cabe Latta, daughter of John and Mary Strayhorn Cabe, of Orange County, in 1820; George married Lydia, daughter of Arthur and Lydia Forbis, and located on the Reedy Fork."

Buffalo Presbyterian Church and Cemetery, Greensboro, North Carolina, Compiled by Raymond Dufau Donnell, Second Printing March 1996, p. 74 states that "Donnell, Robert -II. Ca 1728, County Ulster, Ireland. To America and PA, before 1745. To Guilford Co. from York Co., PA and settled here with wife Mary and family by 1771. Dcd 1816. Burial site was known to Minor Cecil Donnell (dcd)" [Note: This information states that Robert was already in America in 1745. Rankin's book states that he came in 1771. According to R. Donnell's information, Robert would have been 17 when he arrived. According to Rankin, he would have been about 43. Using R. Donnell's information, Robert II was about 88 when he died.]

Robert's name is mentioned several times in Guilford County, North Carolina Land Grants 1778-1934 by Elizabeth "Pat" Shaw Bailey, 1993. However, these Roberts may or may not be Robert II. Robert II's son was named Robert, as was his uncle (Robert, Sr) and his two nephews (Robert, Jr., son of Robert Sr. and Robert, son of Thomas, Sr., who married Robert II's daughter, Elizabeth). On page 1, it mentions John Anderson was granted 300 acres (Entry date:19 May 1778, Location: wtrs N Buffaloe; Robert Donnell, John Burney, Hugh Brawley. Page 4 says that James Bell was granted 60 acres (Entry date: 18 May 1783). Location: N sd of Reedy Fork/Haw River- Robert Irwin- Robert Donnald. [Note: Robert Ervin was the name of both the father and brother of Mary Ervin (#106), who married Daniel Donnell (#105), Robert II's son.] Page 6 states that William Bridges was granted 74 acres (Entry date: 17 May 1796) Location: wtrs Buffaloe-Robt Donnel-Joseph Bridges-Reuben Ross. Page 16 states that George Denny was granted 68 acres (Entry date: 3 September 1778, Location: N side North Buffalow adj Robert Donnel-John Birney. Page 19 has three entries mentioning Robert. The first states that Andrew Donnell was granted 15 acres (Entry date: 22 August 1812) Location: wtrs S & N Buffaloe- Isaac Pitchard - Robert Donnel. The second states Andrew Donnell was granted 18 acres (Entry date: 22 May 1798) Location: wtrs N Buffaloe "cor his own land"-N on Davison line -near to Dawson- W on Robert Donnell-"near to [Wm] Willis". The last entry on page 19 states Robert Donnell [assignee] was granted 300 acres (Entry date: 10 February 1779) Location: waters of N Buffalo-Andrew Donnell [assignor: Samuel Leckey]. Page 36 states Robert Irwin was granted 305 acres (Entry date: 1779) Location: waters Reedy fork-John White-Robert Donnell.

A Map of Greensboro dated 1808 shows a Robert Donnell Living on Market Street. It is unknown whether this is the correct Robert. However, if it is Robert II, he would have been about 80 years old at that time. (Click to enlarge this map).

 

 

History of the Donnell Origins:

Newspaper Reference, “How Did Names Originate? : In Ireland, Mac is used for “son” and O for “grandson. Thus, O’Donnell would have been the grandson of Donnell.

According to one website that deals in heraldry, the history of the name O'Donnell dates back to a time before Irish names were translated into English. The original Gaelic form of O'Donnell was O Domhnaill, which means descendant of Domhnall or descendant of Donal. Spelling variations include: 0 Donnell, O'Donald, O'Donle, O'Donall, O'Donnell and others.

The motto that appears on both coat of arms below: "In hoc signo vinces", translates "Under this sign we are victorious."

According to Reverend S. M. Rankin in his book History of Buffalo Presbyterian Church and Her People, Greensboro, N.C. p. 42 & 43, the Donnells were all descendants, or related to, Donald I (861-863), King of Scotland. (Note: According to the Royal Family History, Donald I (859-863) did not marry, had no children, and died in 853 in a battle at Scone, Perthshire. He was suceeded by his brother Kenneth.)

Wikipedia Encyclopedia online explains that, Donald I (Domnall mac Ailpin) of Scotland was king of the Picts from 858 to 862. Donald I died 13 April 862. The Picts were a confederation of tribes in central and northern Scotland from Roman times until the 10th century. The term Pict likely has a Celtic origin from the word Peihta, meaning "fighters." The Picts were farmers living in small communities and early Picts are associated with piracy and raiding along the coasts of Roman Britain.

According to Buffalo Presbyterian Church and Cemetery, Greensboro, North Carolina, Compiled by Raymond Dufau Donnell, Second Printing March 1996, p. 74, Robert Donnell II came from County Ulster, Ireland. A map dated circa 1500 shows the name O'Donnell in Ulster.

 

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