William Moubray, the Jacobite

William Moubray was born in Abercorn, West Lothian Scotland to John and Mary Moubray. The best time estimate is about 1698 or 1699 since he was about 18 when he came to America.

Abercorn

Abercorn, a small village about 14 miles west by northwest of Edinburgh, is close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth.  Abercorn is a Cumbric place-name meaning "mouth of the river Cornie."

King James II

Scotland had been a part of the United Kingdom since the 14th century. In 1603, King James Stuart II who was also held the title of King James VI of Scotland, was made King of England placing Scottish lineage on the throne...that is until the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Dutch King William of Orange married Mary, daughter of England's ruling King James II.  James II was deposed by Parliament.  It is important to note that William and Mary were Protestants and King James II was Catholic.  In 1690, William and Mary made Presbyterianism the religion of Scotland.  William ruled until his death in 1702 and was succeeded by Mary's sister, Queen Anne. 

Queen Anne lost 18 children so she had no heirs and her third cousin George succeeded her in 1714. The Whigs took over Parliament and quickly started prosecuting Tories.  Leaders in the Tory party escaped to France and petitioned the Pope to stir up opposition to Protestantism with the real goal of returning deposed King James II to the English throne and the Whigs back to power.  The revolting Scots were called "Jacobites" the Latin name for James.  The first Jacobite rebellion is referred to as The Fifteen or Lord Mar's Revolt.  Fighting erupted in the late summer of 1715.  While Northern Scotland Jacobites were successful, those along the Firth of Forth were not successful.  By February of 1716, the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 was put down.

Chester Castle

Young William Moubray, (also spelled Mowbray) fought in the Jacobite War of 1715 and was captured at the battle of Preston in Northern England on November 14, 1715. He was jailed in Chester Castle, (which has a fascinating and long history!) In 1716, he was transported aboard the vessel “Friendship,” captained by Michael Mankin sailing from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He arrived at Annapolis on August 20.

Annapolis was settled in the the latter half of the 1600s and after several name changes, was incorporated in 1708 as Annapolis after Queen Anne.  When Moubray arrived, it was little more than a village but would soon grow to be a political and administrative capital of the New World.

Moubray served as an indentured servant for seven years to Henry Trippe of Dorchester County.  It is interesting to note that Trippe also came from Scotland and may have been a Jacobite sympathizer.  He would have had to make a special trip to Annapolis to purchase William Maubray as his indentured servant.
 

Following his indentureship, he married Mary Beckwith. The marriage was sometime between 1725 and 1730.  We don't know if Mary was related to the Beckwiths of which we are descended or if it was a married name and she had become widowed.  The Moubrays had at least six children, There does not seem to be information available on the first

Todd's Point

two children: Clare and Milcah. The other known children are Aaron (1727-1789), Anna (1730-1756), William (1730-1800) and Thomas (1734-1820).

On August 14, 1740,  Henry Trippe sold William a tract of land which was a part of Trippe’s Regulation (50 acres). It was on the south side of the Choptank River near a cove called Mitchell’s Cove. This property is on what is known today as Todd’s Point.

On Nov. 10, 1748 William purchased part of a tract of land called “Danby” in what is now Caroline County. This was on a branch of Watt’s Creek adjoining lands of Robert Bishop and containing 115 acres.

William Mowbray died in 1760. His will is on file at the Hall of Records, Annapolis, Maryland (Dorchester County 1760, Lib. 31 – Folio 159.  William left “Danby” to his sons Aaron and Thomas. He left “Trippe’s Regulation” to his son William.  Our ancestor is Anna Maubray and she married Henry Beckwith III.

Much of the specific data on William Mowbray came from Electric Scotland