Three Generations
It all starts here for my Quinn lines. These are the Quinn men that started me on this journey of discovery in the land of the long leaf pine. Photo taken 12 March, 1993. My last day in the United States Navy was April Fool's Day 1993.
The Elusive Origins of Laughlin Quin (ca. 1712–1774)
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. SGT Caleb Quinn
Caleb Quin was most likely born in Edenton, Chowan, NC circa 1747 and lived with his mother and grandmother, both named Mary Canady.. Ultimately, but not known when, the family relocated to Newport, Carteret County, NC. In the 1758 Carteret County Tax List complied by Joseph Bell, the Clerk of Court reports that Laughlin was living alone on his. own land.
Again, not via the written record but by modern Autosomal genetics via his daughter's lines can I only draw the conclusion that Jesse is Caleb and Jane's son. My research did not reveal any other potential father's for Caleb Quinn via his known descendant that are named in and about Albertson in Duplin County and his adjoining property to his mother in Potter's Hill, Duplin, NC where Mary Quinn née Canady was buried in 1793. Quinn Street and Quinn's Store Road mare named to show associations.
Pension application of John Niell (Neale, Neill) R7567and Robert Sloane S7523 give these details relating to Sgt. Caleb Quinn of Duplin County's service to the Wilmington District Militia and the engagements he participated in. No document that can be located desecribes Jesse Quinn as his son.j
Pension Number R7567 John Neill
In a company of Duplin militia under the command of Colonel James Kenan, Abraham Moulten Major, Charles Ward Captain, David Murdock Lieutenant, Caleb Quinn Sergeant he forgets his other officers in or about the month of February 1781 and left this term of service in the month of May 1781 having served a three months tour of duty; that he resided as aforesaid; that he was a volunteer; that he was in no battle, but there was a skirmish at the Big Bridge in New Hanover County on the East side of the North West River, this applicant being stationed on the West side, the enemy commanded by Major Craige [sic, James Craig] and the Americans by Colonel Brown of Bladen [County] who was wounded in the arm; that he embodied at Moorfields about 6 miles from the Big Bridge where the Onslow and Duplin militia collected, from thence marched to the Big Bridge where the troops remained making entrenchments, from thence to Rutherford's Mills where a fortification was raised, from thence to Limestone Bridge across the North East [River], from thence to Kingston [sic, Kinston] on Neuse [River] where he
was discharged; that the night he returned home from Kinston, Cornwallis and his Army encamped at Robert Dickson's place in said County of Duplin where Parson Stanford now lives on their way from Wilmington to Virginia, that he has no documentary evidence, and thinks
probably he can prove this service, or that he was in service at least at that time by John Johnson of said County of Duplin & Robert Sloane.
Pension Number S7523 of Robert Sloane
That he entered another term of service under Capt. Charles WARD, Charles BROWNLieut.,Caleb QUINN Sargt., in a regiment commanded by Col. James KENAN, that this tour he thinks was in the fall season and he thinks in the year 1779 0r 1780, that he volunteered for three months, that he was in a skirmish at the Big Bridge in New Hanover Co. in which the Americans retreated that he was stationed on the Northwest Side of the River, that he marched from Duplin Old Courthouse to the Big Bridge and mad excursions on the sound & the vicinity of the Big Bridge, and was discharged at the end of his term at the Big Bridge, that at this time the enemy had possession of Wilmington, that he has no documentary evidence and knows of no person by who he can prove this term of service.
LAND GRANTS FOR Revolutionary War service
DUPLIN COUNTY ROD, 1784, GRANTOR State of North Carolina, GRANTEE Caleb Quinn, Grant Book B, Page 26, Description: 150 Acres NE River, Doc #: 02209658
DUPLIN COUNTY ROD, 1809 - GRANTOR State of North Carolina, GRANTEE Caleb Quinn, Grant Book P, Page 337. Description: 38 Acres Polly Branch, Doc #: 02210711
Both given for Revolutionary War Service.
Circumstantial Evidence
On 5 February 1820 in Duplin County Jesse Quinn purchased the following land from his father Caleb as Caleb had began selling off his slaves and property 13 years before his death in 1833.
Date: 04/01/1820 Doc #: 02207330 Kind: DEED Book: 7A Page: 46
Description
260 A MAPLE BR
Grantors
QUINN, CALEB
Grantees
QUINN, JESSE
Date: 04/01/1820 Doc #: 02149202 Kind: DEED Book: 7A Page: 45
Description
OF GIFT:DARCASS
Grantors
BROWN, JESSE
Grantees
QUINN, JESSE
https://quinngenealogy.org/caleb-quinn-1745-1833
https://us4.courthousecomputersystems.com/duplinncnw/application.asp
5. The Jesse Quinn Family Bible
In 2008, 2009 & 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 (grandson of Caleb) Timothy Allen Quinn Line
- Jesse Brown Quinn (grandson of Caleb) Aubrey Daniel Quinn Line
- Franklin “Pugh” Quinn (great-great-grandson of Caleb my great great grandfather, the son of Watson Franklin Quinn and Susan Jernigan Quinn)
The original wooden markers have decayed, but the cemetery remains a vital link to the family’s presence in North Carolina.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
https://quinngenealogy.org/jesse-quinn-1794-1860
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.
Jesse Quin n never mentioned in any record as a son of Caleb Quinn is an obstacle, but I believe there is more than enough information in the record that supports my claim as such.
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 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.
Jesse Quinn Probate Files
Web Page (Link to the Record) https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V121-B8Z
Where The Record Is Found (Citation) "North Carolina, Estate Files, 1663-1979", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V121-B8Z : Wed Jan 22 13:16:54 UTC 2025), Entry for Jesse Quinn, 1860.
Loftin Quinn's Will - Carteret County, written 1766 Proven February 1774