INTRODUCTION
European Beginnings

The surname McMordie is from the Gaelic Mac Muirceartach, which in English means the son of a navigator.  According to Capt. Patrick Kelly, who wrote Irish Family Names, the patronymic Mac Muirceartach was in existence in the eighth century but did not become a permanent family name until the early 1200's.  Since that time, however, more than 30 derivations have been used as Irish family names, particularly in the maritime counties.  Mac Muirceartach also occurred as the name of a family in Argyleshire, Scotland; some of whom settled in Ulster (Woulfe, 1967).  McMordie family records obtained in Belfast, Northern Ireland showed additional variations in the spelling of the name, including McMurch, McMurdee and McMurday, and suggested the name had its origin in the Scottish names McMurdock or McMurchie.  A facsimile of this document is shown in Figure 1.  In his book on the surnames of Scotland, Dr. George Black suggested that both of these surnames are derived from Murdock, which is a sept of the Clan Donald.  The name MacMurdo was a modification of the name MacMurdock, and originally appeared in Arran and Kintyre where Evarus (Ivar) Makmurthe was a tenant in 1506.  Other alterations of the name were used by William M'Murday, who received a charter on 25 July 1565 to lands of M'Cubbingstoun in Dunfriesshire and by Robert Makmurdie, who was the heir of John Makmurdie in the lands of Cubbington in 1602.  The MacMurchie name was recorded as early as the mid-thirteenth century when Kathel Macmurchy appeared at an inquest at Dumbarton in 1259.  Evyne Makmurche managed the affairs of Janet Ogilvy of Dundee in 1492 and John McMurchie was listed as a tenant in Kintyre in 1506.

There are strong indications, even though positive proof is lacking, that McMurdock is the source of the McMordie family name.  McMordie and McMurdock are both spelled with "r" and "d" occurring together, and, according to Mrs. Julia McMordie, widow of the former Lord Mayor of Belfast, "Our crest is the same as is used by the McMurdo family in Scotland."  In 1675, M'Murdie of Killilego was recorded as a member of Dunskoir parish in Dumfriesshire, and the McMordies came to Ireland from Dumfriesshire.

By which ever name they used, life for the McMordies in the Scottish Lowlands before 1600 was precarious, not only because of the wars with England, but also because of the infertile soil, poor farming methods and the feuds and cattle raiding between the Clans.  Stony moors, peat bogs and soil that consisted mostly of gravel made farming next to impossible for people who had only primitive tools and no knowledge of proper drainage methods.  To make matters worse, Scotland was still in the feudal era and for the most part, its chieftains were unprincipled, illiterate and, according to James Leyburn, "as brutal tyrants as ever lived."  Since the monarchy was not strong enough to maintain order, the lords were allowed to settle their differences by force of arms, therefore, feuds were ongoing and thought to be justifiable.  More deadly to the population than feuds was the theft of stock, which usually meant a fight to the death.  This private avenging of wrongs kept Scotland in a constant state of undeclared civil war.  The character of the Lowland Scot was not only molded by therefore mentioned conditions, but was also heavily influenced by the Presbyterian Church.

On July 10, 1560, the Scottish Parliament put an end to the Roman Catholic Church, as the National Church of Scotland and the Presbyterian Church became the established Kirk (Church) of Scotland.  During the next century the Kirk won the intense affection of the people, instilled in the Scots a devotion to education, and established a puritanical moral code.  It also welded groups of bickering peoples into a nation, and since the Bibles used in Scotland were in English, the Kirk helped make English the language of Scotland, however, it also persecuted witches, preached intolerance and made the cheerful Scot dour in temperament (Leyburn, 1962).

After the Kingdoms of Scotland and England were united under James in 1603, the border wars between the two countries ceased, alleviating some of the poor living conditions.  Through his political skill and backed by English arms, he established relative peace, particularly in the Lowlands.  Scotland was still, however, a poor, backward country, agriculture was still inefficient, and there was no surplus for support of towns or industrial workers.  Therefore, grain import was necessary to who came to Colonial America had only about a 50-year sojourn in Ulster.

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