ENGLISH Family

I'm a genealogist who has researched the English family in four countries. They lived in Ireland for almost 100 years before my ancestor Joshua English, a Quaker, brought his family to South Carolina.

This photograph was taken in 2006, from inside the old Quaker cemetery in Moate, Ireland, where Thomas English of Ireland and his family are buried in unmarked graves. As of 2009, the gates have fallen down and the meetinghouse area is overgrown with trees.

(Update: the 16th-century England information from secondary sources has been deleted due to conflicting "cousin" reports.) Information for the family in County Westmeath, Ireland, is mostly taken from primary sources (Moate Monthly Meeting records).


Thomas ENGLISH, b. 1611 at Settrington, Yorkshire, England. d. 12 mo. 4th, 1663 (That's 4 Feb. 1664 in our calendar), at Turphelim, Co. Westmeath, Ireland.
m. Anne DENT 1630 in England. Anne b. ca. 1613 in Durham Co., England. d. 1 mo. 30, 1672 (30 March 1672).
Children: Dinah (birthdate unknown) m. John CLIBBORN 1664 in Ireland.
    Bridgett b. 1633, m. Anthony ROBINSON 1661 in Ireland.
    Margaret b. 1634, m. John LAWSON 1656 in England.
    Elinor b. 1639, m. George CASTLEMAN 1665 in Ireland.
    John (more later).

John ENGLISH, b. 3 mo. 1641 (May 1641) in Morton Timmoro, Durham Co., England. d. 1 mo. 13, 1676 (13 March 1676) Turphelim, Co. Westmeath, Ireland.
m1. Mary HEATHWOOD 1666 in Ireland. Mary b. ca. 1645, daughter of William. d. 11 mo. 22, 1671 (28 Jan. 1672).
m2. Eleanor WILKINSON 1675 in Ireland.
children: Thomas (more later)
        Anne, b. 12 mo. 25, 1669 (25 Feb. 1670). d. 4 mo. 16, 1743 (16 June 1743). Anne m. Benjamin PARVIN 1697 in Moate, Co. Westmeath, Ireland.

Thomas ENGLISH, b. 5 mo. 25, 1667 (25 July 1667). d. 2 mo. 10, 1708 (10 April 1708), all at Turphelim, Co. Westmeath, Ireland.
m. Mary SHARP 1694. Mary b. (unknown) daughter of Daniel SHARP.
Children: John b. 1695
          Thomas 1698-1707
          Joshua b. 1701 (more later)
          Anne 1703-1705
          Abraham b. 1705
          Mary 1707-1708
          Thomas b. 1708 (Secondary records say he died as a child, but it's a confusion with his father's death).

Joshua ENGLISH, b. 6 mo. 24, 1701 (24 Aug. 1701) Co. Westmeath, Ireland. d. 1770 Cravens Co., South Carolina.
m. Mary HOLMES 1725 in Moate, Co. Westmeath. Mary b. ca. 1705, family unknown.
Children: Thomas 1731-1792
            Elizabeth 1735-1803
            Robert 1736/7-1788 or 1799
            John 1740-1805
            Mary b. 1742
            Joshua ca. 1745-1795.
Joshua and his family came from Ireland to Charleston, South Carolina in 1753, probably on the ship Hitchcock from Whitehaven. They settled around Fredericksburg (modern Camden, also called Pine Tree Hill and Wateree).