Greetings -
Just found this forum and am looking forward to participating. My quest is to discover more about John Ballantine (various spellings) and his wife, Mary McShannon (sometimes seen as Shannon).
What I know so far is that John and Mary both were born in "the highlands of Scotland" according to an obituary. John was born abt 1761 and died in September 1833 in Lisbon, New York. He is listed as a veteran of the Revolutionary War, so believe that he came to the US long before he settled there in abt 1821. His parents are William and Ann (Woodside) Ballantine; no dates are known.
Mary lived from 1770 until April 1860, also passing near Lisbon, NY. Her parents are listed as James Shannon and Mary Ritchie.
Children were: Margaret (b. 1897), James (b. 1898), William (b. 1804), Ann (b. 1807), Jane/Jean (b. 1809) and Hugh (b. 1813). All children were born near Ballynure, County Antrim, NI.
It appears that the family lived there for about 20 years; it is not known when John and Mary left Scotland.
Other surnames in the family are: Coleman, Clements, Forysythe, Graham, McCullough and Woodside
Thanks for any assistance or suggestions -
Cheers,
Terry