- Born
about 1635, died 1676, Sudbury, Massachusetts, USA
******
By Grahame
Thom, Clan Sennachie.
This
article looks at the link between David Comee and his
background in Scotland. I have to some extent examined
the information that is available about his life in the USA
but I have not looked at the link to him being a prisoner of
war following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. I am
generally accepting the possibility that this link is
reasonable.
*****
When David
Comee married for the second time on 6 September 1671 to
Hester Harvey he recorded his name as David Macomey - source
Massachusetts Town and Vital Records 1620-1988 posted on
ancestry.com. This and other information means that it
is reasonable to accept that David Comee is a clansman of the
Clan MacThomas. ***** In this paper I examine the link
claimed by a number of descendants of David Comee that he is
David McComie, the youngest son of Alexander, the 6th Chief of
the Clan MacThomas and his wife Margaret
Small. *****
Battle of Worcester
It is recorded that a Scottish
prisoner of war from the Battle of Worcester in 1651 named
David Mackhome was transported to the American colonies soon
after 1651 on the ship "John and Sarah" [Link],
together with another prisoner John MackHome. Genealogists and
descendants in America claim that David became known as David
Comee and was killed in King Philip's War on 21 April 1676.
Note that some say David and John were prisoners captured at
the Battle of Dunbar in 1650. *****
Worcester Prisoner Lists
As a first step in reviewing
this claim in late 2015 I had a look at a number of web
sites: ***** On Worldconnect (rootsweb)
there are three trees that give David Comee, born 1635, as the
son of Alexander 6th Chief. There are a number of other
trees saying David was born about 1635 or 1640 in
Scotland. ***** On
Ancestry.com there are in excess of 270 trees that
identify David's parents as Alexander McComie and Margaret
Small with a large majority stating he was born in 1635.
However around 150 of those trees state he was born in
Middlesex USA, while many others state he was born in
Aberdeen, Scotland, with some saying England. ***** On
Familysearch.org there are 17 trees with all saying
David was born in 1635, one stating he was born in England,
three stating in Middlesex USA, and thirteen in
Scotland. ***** It is likely that all these trees are
based on the research of just a small number of people and the
information then used by a larger group of people to create
these trees. ***** What is
disappointing is that none of them have indicated any
reasonable proof of any connection between David and Aberdeen
and the nominated parents Alexander McComie and Margaret
Small. It has simply been assumed. ***** The assumption relating
to the names of his parents appears to have been based on an
article that appears on the web site genealogy.com titled
English Civil Wars and Clan MacThomas in the New World by
Robert Thomas dated 8th August 2002. In this article he
describes relevant historical background including the
Battle and the Clan MacThomas. Then states in conclusion
:- ***** " However, an examination of
the siblings of McComie Mhor reveals that his youngest brother
was named David. Alexander McComie of Finegand, 6th Chief of
Clan MacThomas, was married to Margaret Small and in addition
to McComie Mhor they had five other sons named Angus, Thomas,
William, Colin, and David respectively. Additionally,
Alexander McComie of Finegand had a younger brother named John
McComie who moved into the area of Fife. Could McComie Mhor's
youngest brother, David, be the David Comee who was
transported to Boston, Massachusetts aboard the John and Sara
following the Battle of Worcester?Likewise, could Alexander
McComie's younger brother, John McComie, be the John MackHolme
listed as a passenger aboard the "John and Sara"? The time
period and names certainly coincide." ***** Reference - www.genealogy.com(MacThomas)
*****
To help examine this matter I
consulted the following publications:
The History of
the Clan MacThomas, by Andrew MacThomas of Finegand,
2009. [Link]
Articles about
the Clan by Roger Pye published in the Clan MacThomas
Society's magazine Clach na Coileach, Volume 1,
1967-74.
Mackintosh
Families in Glenshee and Glenisla, by A M Mackintosh,
1916.
Memoirs of the
Families of M'Combie and Thoms, by William M'Combie
Smith,
1890.
Interestingly most
researchers who have accepted this connection, have also
assumed that David and his parents lived in Aberdeen.
This is clearly questionable. It is more reasonable to
assume that Alexander, as the Chief of the Clan MacThomas, and
his young family, lived in Clan territory in and around
Glenshee, in Perthshire. ***** In the above publications
very little is said about the children of Alexander McComie
and Margaret Small except for their son John, the 7th Chief.
In the first book, our present Chief on page 14 identifies
their children as, John, Barbara, Angus, Thomas, Janet,
William (moved to Fife), Colin, David (moved to Fife) and
Antonia. ***** Records
of this time are scarce. In relation to local parish records
of baptisms, marriages and burials, for Kirkmichael there is
nothing available prior to 1650 and for Glenisla nothing prior
to 1717. So deeds, sasines, wills and government records are
the main records available and even then they are very
limited. ***** Mackintosh (page 46) refers to the fact
that in 1606 Alexander of Faninzeand (Finegand), son of John
McComie and Janet Farquharson, and spouse Margaret Small,
appear in a sasine dated 5th December 1606. This is the first
mention of the 6th Chief. ***** What is important about
the above reference is that by 1606 Alexander would have
reached the age of 21 years or more and it is reasonable to
assume that in view of our general knowledge of his son John
that he had only recently married Margaret by 1606, possibly
that year. In fact this is the year of marriage given in the
Latta MS - see below. ***** I recently examined some indexes of
sasines and deeds pre 1700s relating to Scotland, and examined
a number of original sasines referenced in these indexes held
at the Scottish National Archives in Edinburgh. One of the
interesting things I observed about these in relation to the
7th Chief and his children is that in all but one document
their surname was recorded as McIntosh (or variation). The one
variation included was the 7th Chief's alias of McComie.
The point here is that I would have expected the 7th Chief's
brothers' names to be recorded as McIntosh in any government
document, even an English list such as a list of prisoners, as
McIntosh. They would have been important prisoners held
for ransom rather than transported. ***** Another interesting observation is that
in the references above no mention is made of any involvement
by the Clan's senior members at the time in the 1651 Battle of
Worcester. However it would seem that some clan followers did
take part. ***** The Latta
Manuscript ***** The Latta MS has been known about for
many years and was used by Clan Society members in the early
1960s as a key document in presenting a case to the Lord Lyon
of Scotland who in 1967 agreed to recognise our Chief's father
as the 18th Chief. At that time an expert, Miss H E Peck, MA,
Keeper of the Archives, Cambridge University, stated in her
opinion the Latta MS was genuine, that is, it was likely to
have been written by Peter Latta some time before his death in
1788. Peter was the husband of Anne, the eldest child of
the 11th Chief, Robert Thomas, see page 102, Note 8, Clach na
Coileach, Volume 1. The following is an extract from the Latta
MS concerning the 7th Chief and his brothers: ***** "Alexander 1585
married 1606 Margaret Small dau to Small and by his spouse had
issue John 1607, Angus 1609, Thomas, 1611, William 1613 tenant
in Ardonnachie Fife, Colin 1615, David 1616 father of David
Thomas alias McThomas in Hilton near Monimail in
Fife." ***** In the above extract Alexander born
1585 is the 6th Chief and John born 1607 is the 7th Chief.
Members who are logged on can click here for
more information about the Latta MS. ***** Note that
Latta states David had a son David living in Fife. One would
have thought Latta would have known and stated that David was
in the US if this was so. ***** It is reasonable to
assume that Alexander's wife, Margaret Small was also born
about the same time as Alexander, that is 1585. On this
basis and assuming that David Comee of America was born about
1635, Margaret by then had reached the age of about 50
years. It would have been exceptionable for Margaret to
have become pregnant for a birth in 1635. It is unusual even
today with our good health standards. And from above it can be
seen she had her last child in 1616. ***** Conclusion ***** It is
clear from above that David Comee, born 1635, is not the son
of Alexander, 6th Chief, and his wife Margaret Small.
