The Ulster-Scots of Maine – First Families
Surnames S - Y
Members of the Maine Ulster Scots Project and its many friends have combined known family histories with many published sources to provide the following brief family digests.
The information comes from many sources, some accurate and some questionable, and is therefore only intended to be a guide toward further investigation.
This first families project is a work in progress and we ask for your feedback, additions and corrections by emailing: info@MaineUlsterScots.com
SAVAGE
James Savage I, was born about 1661 in Wales.
James Savage II was born about 1685 in Coloraine, Ireland. He died September 1748 in Nequasett, District of Maine.
James Savage III was born about 1715 in Coleraine, Ireland. He emigrated to Woolwich, District of Maine, and married Christine Hunter in 1742 in Georgetown. He died on October 12, 1805, in Woolwich. Their children were: Isaac (b. 1744), Hannah (McFadden) (b. 1745), Abigail (b. 1747), John IV (b. 1750 in Georgetown; m. Mary Lord; d. 1838 in Madison, ME), Ebenezer (b. 1751), Charles (b. 1752), John (b. 1758), Lydia (Ring) (b. 1759), Jacob, Edward (b. 1763), Abraham (b. 1766), Andrew (b. 1768) and, Mary (Card) (b. 1770).
SCOTT
Sylvanus Scott Sr. was born in 1688, place unknown. However, the surname is Scottish. He married Sarah Moses on October 21, 1714, in Rockingham, Province of New Hampshire. He died on July 17, 1756, in Scarborough, District of Maine.
Sylvanus Scott Jr. was born in 1736 in Portsmouth, Province of New Hampshire. He married Sarah Andrews on October 20, 1757, in Scarborough, District of Maine. He died on August 5, 1784, in Machias, District of Maine.
SHIBLES
John Shibles Sr. was born in 1732 in Pemaquid, District of Maine. He married Mary Carney Dillaway about 1765. Their children were: Thomas, Robert, John Jr., James, and David. He died in Warren on February 7, 1771. John was the son of a Scots-Irish mother, Elizabeth Kilpatrick, who emigrated to Pemaquid from the North of Ireland about 1732.
SIMONTON / SYMONTON Passenger family - 1718 ‘Robert’
Andrew Simonton was born in 1665 in Argyleshire and married Ann Douglas (b 1675) in 1695 in Scotland. Ann was the daughter Archibald Douglas (1st Earl of Forfar).
Andrew and his brother William moved first to Strabane, W. Tyrone, Ulster, Northern Ireland around 1705. They all emigrated from Ulster to New England in 1718 aboard the brig "Robert" and settled in Purpooduck (now South Portland, ME) where they built a fishing wharf and warehouse in the cove which is still named for them to this day.
Andrew and Ann were the parents of : Andrew II (b1707 in Strabane), William, Christina, Matthew, Walter, Ann, and Mary. Mother Ann died on 26 April 1744 at the age of 69, and was buried in Old Settlers Cemetery, South Portland, Cumberland, Maine, United States.
Andrew II came with his parents in 1718, lived in Cape Elizbeth as a mariner and died February 8, 1794. He married twice, first Elizabeth Cobb (b1712 in Middleborough, MA) on Nobember 1730. He married second Sarah Ann Armstrong on December 27, 1754. Sarah Ann was born July 1738 and died 1802 in Cape Elizabeth.
Capt. Thomas Simonton, born April 12, 1734 in Falmouth. He died March 6, 1813 in Portland. He married Mary Polly Jordan December 7, 1759 in Falmouth.
Read more about the burial site of Ann Douglas Simonton (First Settlers Cemetery, South Portland, Maine on the shores of Casco Bay)
SIMPSON
William Simpson came from County Clare, Ireland about 1735 to Maquoit, District of Maine. He returned to Ireland and brought back his wife Agnes and two daughters. They settled in Sheepscot. Later they had four sons: William (b.1738 in Sheepscot), Robert (b. 1740 in Sheepscot), Louis (unknown DOB) and, Josiah (unknown DOB).
SINNETT
Michael Sinnett was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1729. He married Mary Ward in 1756 in Harpswell, District of Maine. Michael migrated to Dublin where he agreed to go to America. He arrived in Boston without money. Joseph Orr and his brother Clement Orr paid for his passage and set him to work on their farm. Later he removed to Townsend. Their children were: Stephen (b.1766), James (b. 1770), Mary (unknown DOB), and Deborah (unknown DOB). He died in Harpswell in 1798.
SKOLFIELD
Thomas Skolfield Sr. was born about 1707 in Dublin, County Leister, Ireland. He emigrated to Brunswick, District of Maine from Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1742. He married Mary Orr, who was also born in Dublin in 1714. They were married in Boston on August 9, 1734. Their children were: Rebecca, Richard, Clement, Ann, Thomas Jr., Mary, Martha, John, Joseph, and William. He died in Brunswick on January 6, 1796.
Richard Skolfield I was born September 6, 1738, in Brunswick. He married Martha McPatrick on August 19, 1755, in Brunswick.
Clement Skolfield Sr. (see above) was born on June 11, 1740, in Brunswick. His wife was Mary Adams1 who was born in 1742 in Harpswell. They were married in Harpswell on June 8, 1753. Their children were: Rebeca and Anna. Clement Sr. then married Alice Means2 of Harpswell on January 4, 1774. Their children were: Thomas; John; George; Alice; Robert; Samuel; Clement Jr.; and Mary. He died on May 22, 1796. He is buried in the Old Center Cemetery in Harpswell.
SMITH Passenger family - 1718 ‘MacCallum’
James Smith Sr. and his family embarked from Bellykelly, County Londonderry, Ireland to sail on the ship MacCallum with the Woodside group in 1718. James Smith bought Lots 16 and 17 on the west side of the Indian path, Lot 5 of marshlands at Merriconeag Neck now Harpswell, and Lots 31 and 32 at the head of Maquoit Bay, District of Maine.
James’s family consisted of: Abel, John, Matthew, James Jr. (and his wife Mary and possibly an infant son, Mattthew). The family was warned out of Boston on November 6, 1722.
In 1726, James was in Needham, Massachusetts Bay Colony.
SPEAR
John Spear of Londonderry, Ireland emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony before 1720 and settled in Woburn. John and his wife, Catrin (unknown surname), and their son Robert came to Warren, District of Maine as part of the Samuel Waldo group.
Robert Spear came to Warren in 1735. He married Margaret Turk. Their children were: Capt. John and Catherine. John Spear who may have been Robert’s son was born in 1738 on the western side of the St. George River in Cushing. William and
Robert Spear owned Lot 13 in Brunswick on September 9, 1719.
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Jean Spear and three children from Merrymeeting Bay were warned out of Boston on January 27, 1722.
SPROUL
James Sproul Sr. was born in Belfast, Ireland. He married Jane Johnston in 1715 in Belfast, Ireland. He emigrated to Bristol, District of Maine in 1729, and settled on the west side of the Pemaquid River. He died in Bristol in 1793.
His son Robert was born about 1716 in Belfast, Ireland. He married Ann Reed1 in Massachusetts Bay Colony and then married Sarah Ann Little2 in Bristol, District of Maine. Robert acquired a 200-acre lot of land on the Damariscotta River in Walpole.
His son James, Jr. was born about 1732 in Bristol, District of Maine. He was born at sea en route from Ireland. He married Mary Goudy. He died in 1818 in Bristol.
STANWOOD
Ebenezer Stanwood was born about 1695. He emigrated to Brunswick from Ireland in 1719. His children were David (m. Mary Reed), Samuel (m. Jane Lithgow 1st and then married Mary Woodside 2nd), William (m. Elizabeth Reed), and Susan.
STARLING
The name Starling is often a Scottish name. Joseph Staling was born about 1720 in Little Compton, RI. He died February 2, 1780, in Bristol, Maine. He married Mary Wooster in Falmouth, Maine. Their children were Noah, Moses, Mirian, Abigail, Elizabeth, Mary, Josiah, Jemima, Mary, and Hannah. The family was from Rhode Island but moved to Windham and later to Bristol.
STARRETT
William Hugh Starrett Sr. was born on April 4, 1694, in Abby, Renfrewshire, Scotland, He died on March 8,1769, Dedham, Massachusetts Bay Colony. At age two, he fled with his family to Pemaquid, District of Maine, and then removed to Warren in 1735. He married Mary Gamble, who was born in Londonderry, Ireland about 1700. She died about 1786 in Warren. Their children were Margaret, Hugh (b. 1730 at sea), David (b. January 27, 1736, in Warren, District of Maine; m. Mary McClintock in Derryfield, Province of New Hampshire in 1760), William Jr., and Thomas (b. 1738 in Dedham, Massachusetts Bay Colony).
Thomas Starrett Sr. (see above) removed to St. George, District of Maine, in 1745. He married Rebecca Lewis in Dedham, Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1763. They removed to the west bank of what is now Cushing, ME and then to the east side in 1771. Their children were: Mary (b. 1764; m. John O'Brien; d. 1848), Thomas Jr. (b. 1765; m. Ann Kirkpatrick; d. 1844), William (b. 1767; m. Jane Spear1 and then Martha McCarter2; d. 1834), Isaac (b. 1769; m. Mary Spear; d. 1830), Rebecca (b. 1771; m. John Spear; d. 1852), John (b. 1773; m. Margaret Fitzpatrick; d. 1856), Margaret (b. 1775; m. Thomas Fitzpatrick; d. 1855), Nancy (b. 1777; m. John Fitzpatrick; d. 1834), Sarah (b. 1780; m. Lemuel Andrews; d. 1854), Lewis (b. 1783; m. Mary Cole; d. 1866), Lucy (b. 1786; m. John McDowell; d. 1866), and Elizabeth (b. 1788; m. Stephen C. Burgess; d. 1875).
STERLING
William Sterling was born about 1632 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He died January 22, 1719, in New London, CT. He married four times. 1st., to Elizabeth Sawtelle. 2nd., to Mary Blaisdell. 3rd to Ann Nichols, and 4th to Mary Ball. His son William married Grace (unknown) before 1686 in Bristol, RI. His grandson Joseph was born about 1723 in Compton, RI. He died in Bristol, Maine.
STINSON Passenger family - 1718 ‘MacCallum’
James Stevenson Stinson I was born about 1679 in County Tyrone, Ireland. He died on February 9, 1758, in Georgetown, District of Maine. He married Jane Gilmore. Their children were Thomas, William, James II, and John.
James’s son Rev. Thomas Stinson was born about 1700 in Belfast, Ireland. He married Catherine Carr in 1717 in County Antrim, Ireland. Their children were Andrew, William, James, Thomas, John, Robert, Isobell, Samuel, and Daniel, David, and Mary. (Mary married Thomas Howard in1801 who was with Wolfe at Quebec). Rev Thomas Stinson died March 28, 1780, in Woolwich, District of Maine.
James’s son William Stinson Sr. was born about 1706 in Tyrone, Ireland. He died on November 18, 1769, in Georgetown. He married Elizabeth Gordon. Their children were John, Sarah, Jane, James, William Jr., Margaret, and Mary.
James’s son James Stinson II was born about 1708 in Tyrone, Ireland. He married Mary Sewell. He died in Arrowsic, District of Maine. They had a son, James III.
James’s son John Stinson Sr. was born August 15, 1714, in Tyrone, Ireland. He married Jane Huston. Their children were Mary, John Jr., Elizabeth, James, William, and Rachel. He died on November 11, 1801, in Arrowsic, District of Maine.
STUART / STEWART
Duncan Stuart was born in 1623 in Scotland. He married Anne Winchurst in Ipswich, Massachusetts Bay Colony. It is believed he was a Scottish prisoner of Dunbar in 1690. He died August 30, 1717, in Rowley, Massachusetts Bay Colony.
His son Samuel was born December 10, 1669, in Newbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He married Dorcus Baston on January 30, 1701. He died March 11, 1752, in Wells, District of Maine. Samuel’s son John was born August 5, 1709, in Wells. John married Mary Preble 1st on September 16, 1732. He then married Mary Bragg 2nd in 1735. He died in 1789 in Scarborough.
Learn more about Duncan Stewart and the “Scottish Prisoners” from the Battle of Dunbar: https://spows.org/battle-of-dunbar/battle-of-dunbar-prisoners-of-war/battle-of-dunbar-prisoner-profiles/duncan-stewart/
TAGGART
Neil Taggart was born in 1700 in Londonderry, Ireland. He married Rose (unknown surname). They were the parents to John Taggart Sr. He was born in 1735 in Londonderry, Province of New Hampshire. He married Elizabeth Jameson in 1758. John Sr. died in 1806 (place unknown). Neil died in 1775 in Hillsborough, NH.
John Taggart Jr. was born in Goffstown, Province of New Hampshire in 1779. He married Hannah Kimball Hawes on March 6, 1806, in Goffstown. He died July 14, 1856, in Temple, ME.
TERRY
David Terry was born in Wiscasset, District of Maine in 1737. He died in Whitefield on June 8, 1828. We are not sure where David came from or when he came to Maine. But, due to the dates of his birth and death, our guess is that he came from Ireland because Whitefield was a magnet for Irish settlers, some arriving at Wiscasset.
THOMPSON / THOMSON
James Thompson, of Scottish ancestry, was born in 1666. He was granted land in Kittery, District of Maine in 1694. Later he was granted land in York, District of Maine in 1701. He removed from there to New Meadows in Brunswick, District of Maine in 1727. He married Elizabeth Frye.
Joseph Thompson was at Sebascodegan Island in 1747.
THORNTON Passenger family - 1718 ‘MacCallum’
James Thornton I was at the siege of Londonderry, Ireland. He lived on a farm about a mile from the city on the road to Limavady, Ireland. He married Nancy Smith. Their children were: James, William, Capt. Mathew, Molly, Thomas, John, and Samuel.
James’s son James II was born in September of 1685 in Yorkshire, England. He married Elizabeth Jenkins1 in Londonderry, Ireland. The family arrived in Boston in 1718 and in that year went to Falmouth, District of Maine, where they spent the winter onboard the ship Robert. They removed to the Wiscasset area looking for a place to settle. They elected to settle in Brunswick where they lived in a log cabin overlooking Maquoit Bay for four years. He then married Keterin Clark2 of Brunswick. During the Native American attacks in 1722, they escaped to Casco Bay by canoe. From there they removed to the Worcester, Massachusetts Bay Colony area. In 1740, they were in Pelham, Massachusetts Bay Colony and then in 1748 they went to Londonderry, Province of New Hampshire. He died there November 7, 1754. His children were: James III, Andrew, Matthew (the Signer), Agnes, William, Samuel, Hannah, and Esther.
Matthew, son of James II, who was born in Ireland in 1714 came to Maine at age three in 1717. Matthew joined the expedition against Cape Breton in 1745 as a surgeon. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, he was a colonel in the militia. When the war was in progress, Matthew became President of Provincial Convention. In 1776, he was appointed as a delegate to represent the State of New Hampshire in the Continental Congress. Matthew died on June 24, 1803. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Presently, a granite marker placed by Brunswick Knights of Columbus marks the homestead site of Matthew in Freeport, Maine.
Read more about Thornton Family
VAUGHN
Samuel Vaughn was born April 23, 1720, in Ireland. He married Sarah Hallowey February 11, 1747, in Boston. Their son Samual was born April 19, 1751, in Jamaica. He married Sarah Manning about 1781, He died December 8, 1835, in Hallowell, Maine.
WALLACE
William Wallace was born about 1700 in Scotland. He married Jane Kelley in July in Wiscasset, Maine. Their children were Samuel and William. William died in 1758 in Lincoln County.
WATSON
John Watson was born about 1753 in the North of Ireland. John married Eunice Caswell in 1755. He settled at first in Scarborough, District of Maine. He removed to Warren in 1753 and purchased what is now called Watson Point. He carried on a coasting business there in Scarborough. John commanded his own sloop. At one point, those on the sloop went ashore to find water but were shot at by a French person. John’s son William and half-brother James were taken captive. They returned and occupied Watson Point. John died on March 4, 1823 in Bowdoin. Another brother, David, settled in East Thomaston.
WATTS
William Watts emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony from Ireland about 1719. He removed to Warren and married Margaret McLellan of Casco Bay. Their children were: John (m. Elizabeth McNiel of Boston; they settled in Warren, District of Maine) and Capt. Samuel (m. Mary Robinson; they lived in St. George, District of Maine).
WELCH
Benjamin Welch was born in Kingston, Province of New Hampshire on January 13, 1707. He descended from a Scottish family who emigrated to the North of Ireland. He sold the land his father, Samuel, had given him and removed to Falmouth, District of Maine. He was a carpenter and worked on a farm in Yarmouth, District of Maine. He married Margaret Larrabee in Yarmouth in September of 1735. She died on December 1, 1737, leaving a baby boy, Benjamin. Benjamin Welch later married Elizabeth (unknown surname). They had six children.
WELSH
John Welsh (b. 1727) and Margaret (unknown surname) emigrated from the North of Ireland and removed to Townsend, District of Maine. They were Protestants and descended from a similar ancestry as those who settled in Townsend in the 1730s. Their children were: Margaret and Capt. John H. Welsh Jr. John Welsh Sr. died in 1819. Margaret died September 9, 1847.
WILSON Passenger family - 1718 ‘MacCallum’
Thomas Wilson emigrated from Ireland when he was about fifteen years of age to Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He removed to the Topsham Settlement (Kennebec River Valley Plantation). When the Indian War was commenced, he returned to Boston. During peacetime about 1752, he returned to Topsham and lived during the last celebrated French and Indian War, until his death. He was buried in the graveyard near the Old Meeting House. The Old Meeting House is no longer standing. He married Ann Cochran in Londonderry, Province of New Hampshire.
There were five Wilson signers of the March 26, 1718, Governor Shute Petition: David, John, Robert, Thomas, and William.
Margaret Mary Wilson, daughter of William Wilson and Hester Esther Wright, was born in 1694 in Old Kinard (now Clogher), County Armagh, Ireland. She married Robert Dunlop of Magilligan, Ireland, between 1715-1717. Robert emigrated to Casco Bay, District of Maine, on the ship MacCallum in September 1718.
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The Wilson’s arrived on September 8, 1718, on the ship MacCallum. Maggie and her husband, Robert Dunlop emigrated with the Wilson’s. Maggie Wilson’s immediate family is thought to have settled next to the McFadden family in Somersett, District of Maine. Robert purchased Lots 60 and 61 on the Topsham Settlement (Kennebec River Valley Plantation) in 1719; 220 acres of prime land along the Androscoggin River at The Carrying Place. It is speculated that Robert Dunlop may have traveled back-and-forth to the North of Ireland. He brought his family back with him to the Topsham Settlement in 1730, when their son, John Dunlop, “was nine years of age” (Wheeler & Wheeler). Their children were: Margaret “Maggie” Mary (b. 1722 in Kinard, County Antrim, Ireland; m. James Peter Potter I on December 14, 1743; d. November 24, 1769, in Topsham; their children were: Joseph, Hugh, David, and John), John (b. 1722 in Kinard, County Antrim, Ireland; m. Elizabeth Thomson1 and then Jennett Dunning2 on January 1, 1774, in Topsham; their children were: Hugh, Elizabeth (Betsy), and David; d. October 1850 in Topsham), and Jane (b. 1726 in Kinard, County Antrim, Ireland; m. Daniel Eaton Sr. on May 27, 1752, in Topsham; d. unknown date); their children were: John, Daniel Jr., Elizabeth (Betsy), and Christianna.
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James Wilson with his wife and children came to Brunswick in 1719. There were no dwelling places available at that time, so they went to live within the walls of the fort. Jean and the children left the area immediately after Lovell’s War in 1722. James’s daughter Jennett married William Alexander.
Julie A. Potter-Dunlop, MUSP officer, is a direct descendant of the William Wilson lineage (see above).
WYLIE
Capt. Robert Wylie Sr. was born in 1703 in County Antrim, Ireland. He emigrated to the District of Maine in 1732. He died on February 2, 1770, in Boothbay. He married Martha McIntyre on December 18, 1731, in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony. She was born in County Antrim, Ireland in 1707. She died on June 15, 1799, in Townsend (now Boothbay). Their children were: John (b. about 1740 in Townsend, District of Maine; d. January 20, 1826, in Boothbay), Martha (b. about 1732 in Townsend; m. David Reed in 1757 in Boothbay), Samuel (b. about 1743 in Townsend; m. Margaret Beath in Boothbay), Mary (b. about 1746 in Townsend.; m. Thomas Reed), Robert Jr. (b. about 1747 in Townsend; m. Mary Kennedy in 1769), Sarah (b. May 8, 1748, in Boothbay; m. Joseph Reed), Catherine (b. January 8, 1753, in Boothbay; m. Thomas Boyd), Neal (b. about 1756 in Boothbay; d. June 7, 1815, in Boothbay), Alexander (b. 1758 in Boothbay; m. Hannah Kennedy), and Jean (b. about 1760 in Boothbay; m. Joseph Lewis in 1778 in Boothbay).
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John Wylie Sr. was born about 1725 in Ireland. He married Jane Bell Harkness in 1746 in Damariscotta, District of Maine. They emigrated from the North of Ireland and resided at Damariscotta. Their children were: Walter (d. in Ireland), Capt. John Jr. (b. 1751; m. Mary Lermond on May 13, 1775; they lived in Warren, District of Maine), James (b. 1752 in Damariscotta; m. (unknown spouse’s name); they lived in Bristol, District of Maine), Robert (b. about 1757 in Damariscotta, District of Maine; he was a Revolutionary War soldier and died in a British prison ship), Thomas (b. 1754 in Damariscotta, District of Maine; he died young), and Elizabeth (Betsy) (b. about 1755 in Damariscotta, District of Maine; m. a Page of Bristol).
YOUNG
Moses Young is believed to be the brother or cousin of James Young. Both came from the North of Ireland and landed at Philadelphia. Moses and James moved to St. George, District of Maine. Fanny Young, who was James ‘s daughter, married William McClintock, whose father Samuel, a native of Ireland.
John Young settled in Bowdoinham, District of Maine before 1722. He may have been a partner in sturgeon fishing with Robert Kelloch.
John, Katherine, Margaret, Mary, Easter, Sarah, Young all were warned out of Boston on November 6, 1722.
Abijah Young was at Harpswell Neck before 1755.