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The Elusive Origins of Laughlin Quin (ca. 1712–1774)

Carteret County, Colonial North Carolina

Abstract

Laughlin Quin (ca. 1712–1774) of Carteret County, North Carolina, left descendants whose lives and records survive in cemeteries, family Bibles, and court archives. Yet his parentage and birthplace remain obscure. This article examines available evidence—including colonial records, autosomal and Y-DNA testing, and oral family tradition—to connect Laughlin with the O’Quin family of Kilmallock, County Limerick, Ireland. While a direct paper trail remains elusive, genetic evidence and circumstantial context suggest kinship with the O’Briens of Thomond and the Earls of Dunraven, but the precise link remains to be proven.

Introduction

Among the Quin(n) families of eastern North Carolina, Laughlin Quin, who died in Carteret County in 1774, stands as an early progenitor whose origins remain unidentified. He appears in colonial records by the mid-eighteenth century, leaving a will of unusual size and historical importance. Despite decades of searching, no definitive record of his parentage or birthplace has been located. This article examines the evidence—from traditional sources to modern DNA studies—while also preserving the family traditions that sustained his memory.

Methodology

This study employs a triangulated approach:

Archival Records: wills, deeds, land grants, and gubernatorial records of Carteret County and colonial North Carolina.
Genetic Genealogy: autosomal DNA results from FamilyTreeDNA (Kit #151962), focusing on segment analysis and triangulated matches with O’Quin and Nash descendants.[1]
Oral and Family History: Rivenbark family newsletters, recollections of living relatives, and field research at family cemeteries in Duplin and Carteret Counties.[2]

Findings

1. Genetic Connections to Ireland

Autosomal DNA links the author to Donogh O’Quin of Kilmallock, County Limerick, Ireland, and his wife Gabriella Nash.

Matches to Nash descendants range from 43cM–8cM across 21 individuals, with the longest segment at 42cM.
Matches to descendants of Donogh Óg O’Quin and Judith O’Riordan show 45cM–8cM across 4 individuals, with the longest segment at 21cM.

Their son, Donogh Óg (“the younger”), is listed as 124th in the pedigree of the O’Brien Kings of Thomond, ancestral also to the Earls of Dunraven at Adare, County Limerick.[3]

While no parish record yet confirms Laughlin’s placement in this family, DNA strongly suggests shared ancestry.

2. The Last Will and Testament of Laughlin Quin

Laughlin’s will, dated 17 February 1766, is a remarkable document. Written on an oversized hemp sheet, the will measured larger than sixteen joined folio pages—an extravagant expense in colonial America. The cost and careful hand suggest Laughlin was educated and of means.[4]

The will names:

Wife Mary Quinn, formerly Mary Canaday
Sons William Quinn and Thomas Quinn
Daughter Margret Quinn

The phrasing “children heirs of my beloved Mary” raises the possibility of children from a previous marriage, though this remains unproven.

Governor Josiah Martin, the last Royal Governor of North Carolina, proved the will on 5 February 1774.[5] When Whigs attacked New Bern in April 1775, Martin fled to the HMS Cruizer, carrying Laughlin’s will among official papers. For decades thereafter, the will was used at the North Carolina Archives as a training text for new archivists.[6]

3. The Best-Quinn Cemetery

In 2010, fieldwork led to the rediscovery of the Best-Quinn Cemetery in Duplin County, on the property of A.D. Quinn. Here lie three generations of Laughlin’s descendants:

Jesse Quinn (grandson of Laughlin)
Watson Franklin “Frank” Quinn (great-grandson)
Franklin “Pugh” Quinn (great-great-grandson)

The original wooden markers have decayed, but the cemetery remains a vital link to the family’s presence in North Carolina.[7]

4. The Jesse Quinn Family Bible

The Jesse Quinn Family Bible, now in the care of Kim Hasty of Raleigh, offers further continuity. Handed down through Minnie Victoria Davis (first wife of Franklin Pugh Quinn), the Bible preserves genealogical data otherwise lost to county courthouse fires and neglected records. Its chain of custody reflects decades of preservation by Davis and Marcus descendants.[8]

Discussion

The evidence establishes Laughlin Quin as a man of literacy, wealth, and influence in mid-18th century Carteret County. His oversized will, proven by the Royal Governor, underscores his social standing. Genetic evidence strongly connects him to the O’Quins of Kilmallock, though the specific genealogical bridge remains undocumented.

The use of “Mary Canaday” in his will remains unresolved. Was this her maiden name, or a surname from an earlier marriage? The possibility of stepchildren complicates reconstruction of Laughlin’s household.

Family tradition—preserved in the Rivenbark Newsletter and at reunions—provides context but requires cautious interpretation. Still, the stories and cemeteries give substance where the paper trail has failed.

Conclusion

The life of Laughlin Quin (ca. 1712–1774) remains only partly illuminated. His descendants carried forward his name in Carteret and Duplin Counties, and today DNA evidence ties them back to Limerick. The precise parental link remains unproven, but ongoing Y-DNA and autosomal testing may yet bridge the gap.

This case demonstrates the value of integrating traditional genealogy with modern DNA evidence. Even when the paper trail runs cold, new technologies—and old cemeteries—may eventually bring the story full circle.

Notes

FamilyTreeDNA, autosomal results for author, Kit #151962. Full match details on file with author.
Bobby Williams, Rivenbark Newsletter, circulated quarterly 1970s–1990s; personal correspondence and family reunion discussions.
Pedigree of the O’Briens, Kings of Thomond, compiled from Irish genealogical manuscripts; see also Dunraven peerage genealogies [exact citation forthcoming].
Carteret County Wills, 1766, “Loflin Quin.” North Carolina State Archives; examined by author, 2008.
Robert J. Cain, Records of the Royal Governors of North Carolina, 1765–1775 (Raleigh: N.C. Division of Archives and History, [year]), pp. [placeholder].
Oral testimony of archivists, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC, 2008.
Field notes of author, site visit with father, Duplin County, NC, 2010.
Oral testimony of Kim Hasty to author, Raleigh, NC, 2010; Bible traced through Minnie Victoria Davis to Dorothy Marcus Davis.

The First North Carolina State Flag Design

The North Carolina Archives

Provincial Carolina

Was he born in:

North America? Difficult to prove.

Ireland? Just as uncertain.

Scotland?Just as uncertain.

England? Just as uncertain.

France? A distant possibility.

The truth is that Laughlin Quin could have been born almost anywhere—most plausibly in the Province of Maryland, the Colony of Virginia, or the Province of Carolina, which by his time had already begun to divide and sub-divide.

The Province of Carolina was originally granted by the Crown in 1663 as an English colony in North America and the Caribbean. It existed under the Kingdom of England until 1707, and thereafter under the Kingdom of Great Britain until its partition into North Carolina and South Carolina in 1712.

Geographically, the Carolina charter was vast. It covered territory that today includes parts of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

The name “Carolina” itself derives from the Latin Carolus, meaning Charles, in honor of King Charles I.

Estimating Arrival to Carteret County

A plea in the court record states that Loflin Quin, by his own admission, was then about sixty years of age. This allows us to approximate his birth year mathematically:

1772 – 60 = 1712 (approximate birth year).

In the same record, Loflin further claimed to have paid taxes in the county for “thirty-odd years.” Using this span, we can calculate a probable range for his arrival in Carteret County:

1772 – 31 = 1741
1772 – 33 = 1739
1772 – 35 = 1737
1772 – 37 = 1735
1772 – 39 = 1733

From these figures, it can be reasonably estimated that Loflin Quin arrived in Carteret County between 1733 and 1741.

Unfortunately, no published records yet identify his whereabouts before this period, nor do they provide evidence of his exact point of origin. His path into Carteret remains undocumented.

Mary (Canaday/Kennedy) Quinn

Mary Canady (sic. Kennedy) Quinn, born about 1728 in Windsor, Bertie County, Province of North Carolina, is said to have met Laughlin Quin through cousins residing in Culpeper County, Virginia, where her great-grandmother had once lived.

Although married to Laughlin, Mary never resided in Carteret County. Instead, she lived with her children on her mother’s and grandmother’s estate in Bertie County, where she was also recorded under the variant surname Cannady. Later in life, she settled in Duplin County, near Potter’s Hill, where she died 16 February 1793. Mary was buried on her own land, which has since passed into other hands and, regrettably, been plowed over.

Children of Laughlin and Mary Quinn

James Quin (ca. 1732–1804), Revolutionary War soldier; married Elizabeth Ann Rigby (1765–1792).
QMSgt. Caleb Quin (ca. 1743–1833), Revolutionary War soldier; married Virginia Jane Johnston (1761–1840).
Margaret Quin (ca. 1745–14 Aug. 1840); married Ronald Leamon.
William Quin (ca. 1743–1790), Revolutionary War soldier; married Millie Himes.
Enoch Quin (ca. 1747–1832); married Mary Ann Dennis.
George Quin (ca. 1748–1805); married Nancy Countryman Stewart (1766–1850).
David Quin (1 June 1749–28 May 1837); married Ellen Jane Peters (1800–1848).
Abner Quin Sr. (ca. 1748–1815); married (1) Mary Sheppard (1751–1788); (2) Sarah Bell (1775–1822).
Cpl. Thomas Windham Quin (ca. 1750–1812); married Catherine Brittain Ford (1765–1783).
Loflin Quin Jr. (ca. 1752–1824); married Barbara Bostic (1760–[death date unknown]), Dublin, Ireland.

Mary and Thomas Move to Duplin County

At the September Court of 1778, Carteret County Court Minutes, Volume IV, record the sale of 100 acres originally granted to Loflin Quin in 1749. This was the same tract that had been returned to the Crown in 1750. On 8 September 1778, Mary Quinn (widow of Loflin) and her son Thomas Quin conveyed the property.

The deed was proved by the oaths of Richard Canaday and Francis Garner and entered into Carteret County Deeds, Volume IV (March 1778–June 1789). This transaction underscores Mary’s continued role in managing family property after Loflin’s death.

Mary Quinn in Duplin County

By November 1784, records place Mary Quinn (widow) in Limestone, Duplin County, North Carolina, where a survey was made for 100 acres of land. The tract lay adjacent to, or in close proximity to, lands granted to her children for Revolutionary War service.

Among these children, Abner Quin acquired land in Duplin, Onslow, Edgecombe and Jones Counties but ultimately remained on the 320-acre tract in Carteret County, where his father Loflin Quin was buried.

When Mary Quinn died in 1793, David Quin acted as executor of her estate, suggesting he was the eldest surviving son and a principal heir.

Three Generations