Campbeltown Scotland

Campbeltown, Scotland
Image courtesy Undiscovered Scotland
Many Washington County families trace their roots back to the Kintyre Peninsula of Scotland. In particular, the Ryburn and Clark families have documented migration patterns from Campbeltown, Scotland to Pennsylvania and then down the Valley of Virginia into Washington County. There are other farmiliar surnames in the early Campbeltown church and graveyard records such as Reid, Montgomery and Orr. Further research may establish if they also connect to Washington County families.

A few years ago I visited Campbeltown and looked out over the harbor from which my ancestor, Mathew Ryburn, sailed around 1770. A few years later Roger Ryburn, a descendant of William Ryburn (also of Washington County), made the same trip, as did Rod Ryburn, a descendant of Robert McNair Ryburn who sailed from Campbeltown to New Zealand in 1859. More recently Eric Ryburn (James Ryburn line of PA) and Audrey Honegger (James Clark of Washington Co., VA) followed their roots back to Campbeltown. We were all drawn to this rugged peninsula, where life cannot have been easy but where the land is beautiful in it's own mysterious way.

Related Links and Images:

The following are a collection of photos from our individual trips:
Campbeltown harbor (east side of Kintyre Peninsula) and also a view of Machrihanish (west side of peninsula)
Kirk Street Hall. This is where the Ryburns and their neighbors would have worshipped during the 1700s. It is most likely where Mathew Ryburn (Sr.) and Mary Galbreath were married and where Mathew Ryburn and his sister Ann were baptised.
Longrow Relief Church. The original church stood on the grassy area in front of the current church. Two of the subscribing members in 1767 were Mathew and James Ryburn. They were noted as tenants in Killeonan.
A Mathew Ryburn and a James Ryburn were tenants at Killeonan Farm in 1756. They held 19 year leases. This may have been Mathew Ryburn, father of the Mathew who immigrated to America and married Jane Beattie. A John Ryburn, John Fleming, James Sheddan and Mathew Ryburn were tenants at Killeonan in 1709. The land lies just south of Campbeltown, on the road to Southend.
James Ryburn (father of Robert McNair Ryburn) and James's father William Ryburn (1751-1815) are buried in the old graveyard at Kilkerran. The ruins of Kilkerran Castle, built in 1490 by King James IV are nearby. The ruins and graveyard sit about half a mile southeast of Campbeltown.
Kilkivan is the site of old chapel ruins that sit on a rise above Drumlemble as you travel the road from Campbeltown to Machrihanish. The ruins date to about 600 A.D.
To see these locations on a map click here. You can drag the map around with your cursor and zoom in or out using the small + or - signs (in magnifying glass near upper left corner of map). Another helpful map source is streetmap.co.uk; filter for Campbeltown and select the "GB Place" button.

Research Sources

Rod Ryburn put together a wonderful website focused on the history of the Ryburn family in Dunlop, Ayrshire and then in Campbeltown, Kintyre. His .pdf files include additional interesting information, maps and photos
An interesting site for historical information on Campbeltown is The Kintyre Magazine.
Harold Ralston's website has a list of burials in Kilkerran Graveyard. Note the additional links on the left side of the page.
For more information on Kilkivan and photos see: Kilkivan
Last Edited19 Dec 2011