The Dunbar family of NC and Beyond

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Dunbar - Dumbar Family

From Eastern North Carolina and Beyond

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Dunbar Family Crest

Orgins of Name & Some History

Crinan-the Thane, Celtic, was born in 975. He later married Princess Beatrice, daughter of King Malcolm, the second, of Scotland. They had a son, Duncan, who succeeded the throne.

In the Shakesperian play, "Macbeth", it describes how the cowardly Macbeth killed King Duncan and seized the throne of Scotland in 1043. Duncan had a son Malcolm, who along with his grandfather Crinan, was in the battle in which Macbeth was kelled. Crinan was also slain. Crinan was about 82 years old. The year being 1057, the broadsword hadn't made its appearance yet. For fighting, the long, two-handed sword was the weapon. The fact that Crinan could still handle the heavy sword at his age, means that he must have been in good shape. After the fighting had ended, Duncan's son, Malcolm, became the first Earl of Northumbria. Since this was in England, he didn't hold on to his Earldom very long. He returned to Scotland and became the Earl of Dunbar in Lathian and Berwickshire.

For over 300 years the House of Dunbar was rich and powerful, with its Earls and the Castle Dunbar. During this period, the House of Dunbar became famous throughout Scotland. Then in about the 15th century, about 1425, they suddenly lost all of their power and prestige. The King, who was friendly to their cause, was killed by falling over a cliff. He left no heirs. When the dust finally settled, there was a King on the throne who was friendly with the Douglasses. By deceit and trickery, the Dunbars lost everthing, including Dunbar Castle. The House of Douglass made sure that the Dunbars never regained the power and prestige of former years. It has been over 500 years since the Dunbars ruled Dunbar Castle.

Some of the Dunbars left Scotland. So did a lot of other people. The political unrest probably caused this emigration to the new world that was America. By 1690, there were Dunbars in New Haven, Conneciticut and also families of Dunbars in New Bedford, Massachusets. There were large numbers of Scottish people who went up the Cape Fear River. These settlements may have had Dunbars mixed in with other settlers. One group of Dunbars moved to Ireland, some of these later moved to Canada. From there they went to Virginia. Beaufort county had a Dun Dunbar who made out his will in 1747.

REFERENCES: Dunbar's 1000 Years
by William Dunbar of Kelconzie
Dunbar Family of S.C

A Brief History of Dunbar Castle

The East Lothian coastal fortress of Dunbar Castle dates back to the twelfth century when it was built for the Cospatrick family. The Cospatricks later changed their name to Dunbar after the place name of their main Castle, i.e. Dun - tower, on the bar.

In 1314 Edward II fled here after the Battle of Bannockburn then boarded a boat to Berwick upon Tweed. In 1338, Black Agnes, Countess of Dunbar defended the Castle for 5 months against the English armies of Salsibury and Arundel. The siege was eventually raised by Alexander Ramsay with 40 men, who managed to get through the English blockading force with supplies.

In 1488 the Castle was dismantled by order of the Scots parliament to prevent it falling into English hands, however, James IV later had the Castle rebuilt in the 1490’s.

Mary, Queen of Scots fled to Dunbar after the death of Rizzio in 1566 and once again in 1567 after the murder of her husband Darnley. After her abdication Dunbar was finally dismantled for the last

Ruins of Dunbar Castle Now

Dumbar Surname Distribution

Dumbarton
Dumbarton's name is derived from "Dun Breatann" meaning the fortress of the Britons no doubt because was a fortification on the rock which towers over the town. It was the capital of a kingdom which stretched across the south west of Scotland. In 870 a Viking force besieged the fortress on the rock for four months and needed 200 longships to take all the booty away. In more modern times, Dumbarton gave its name to the county in which it is located - except the county was confusingly named Dunbartonshire (with an "n").
There are Dunbarton/Dumbartons in Australia (Northern Territory), New Zealand (South Island), and USA (Maryland, New York, Virginia, Louisiana, New Jersey, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, South Carolina). Dumbarton Bridge connects the San Francisco Peninsula with the rest of California (at the south end) in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, USA.

On the invasion route from England, not much remains of Dubarton castle which was fought over so often in the 13th and 14th century. Now a seaside holiday town, it claims to be one of the driest spots in Scotland. There is a Dunbar in Australia (Queensland) and a long list in USA (Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma (3), Pennsylvania, South Carolina (2), Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin).

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