Provided by Patricia Richardson

THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF THE DISTINGUISHED SURNAME MCCREADY

The Pictish race, one of the founding races of the British Isles arrived in Scotland from Brittany about the 15^th century B.C. The surname McCready is believed to be descended from this race. Migrating from Northwest France they sailed Northward to Ireland where they were refused permission to land, but they were allowed by the Kings of Ireland to locate in the Eastern part of Scotland with the proviso that all their kings marry an Irish Princess. According to the venerable Bede, England’s oldest historian, this established their Matriarchal Hierarchy, rare in the annals of British history.

Nechtan was the first Pictish King, about 724 A.D. Their rivals to the west, The Dalriadans or Highlanders of the Western Isles were their constant foes in the battle for supremacy for power of all Scotland. then known as Alba or Caledonia.

Nechtan was finally expelled from Pictland by Alpin, half Dairiadan, half Pict. The result of a political marriage, Alpin’s son Kennith MacAlpin (son of Alpin) became the first recorded King of Scotland as we know it today. The Picts, compressed by the northern invasion of the Orcadian Vikings from the north, were left with a territory on the Eastern Coast of Scotland from Aberdeen, South to Edinburgh.

From some of the early records the researchers examined, such documents as The Inquisitio, The Black Book of the Exchequer, The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, The Ragman Rolls, The Chronicles of the Picts and Scots, and various cartularies of Parishes in Scotland they produced the early records of the name in Ayrshire where they were seated from early times and their first records appeared in the early Census Rolls taken by the early Kings of Britain to determine the rate of taxation of their subjects.

The name McCready has many variations in spelling. The changes frequently occurred between father and son. Preferences for spelling variations usually either stemmed from a division of the family, religious reasons, or sometimes patriotic reasons. Scribes and church people frequently selected their own version of what they thought the spelling should be.

The family name McCready emerged as a Scottish Clan or family in this territory. More specifically they developed in their original territory of Ayrshire where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated with matters and estates in that Ayshire. This was a Donnegal family which was displaced by the intrusion of Scottish families in what was known as the "Plantation of Ulster." They moved to the northeast into Scotland and settled at Peirceton in Ayrshire where they also acquired territories near Stranrawer. Sir Robert Barclay McCreadie was Chief of the Clan in the year 1720.

During the 16^th, 17^th and 18^th centuries, Scotland was ravaged by religious conflict. The newly found fervor of Presbyterianism and the Church of Scotland rejected all who could not pass "The Test" of taking an oath of belief in the Church. Those failing the "Test" were frequently hanged, drawn and quartered in High Street or more kindly banished to the colonies of Australia or The Carolinas.

Meanwhile the Catholic Church still fought to retain its status and many Clansmen were freely "encouraged" to migrate to Ireland. From 1603 to 1790, Scottish Clans and families were recruited from the English/Scottish border and North of Edinburgh to populated Northern Ireland with Protestant stock faithful to the new religion of the drown. They became known as the Scotch/Irish. Many returned to Ireland and combined with the original Clans. In 1800 there were 30 Heads of Families settled in Down, Antrim and Derry.

The migration or banishment to the New World also continued, some went voluntarily from Ireland, but most went directly from Scotland sailing across the stormy Atlantic aboard small sailing ships known as the "White Ships" and arriving with only 60% of their passenger list.

From their ports of entry some of the emigrants moved Westward, some of them to the Midwest and some to the West Coast. During the American Revolution allegiances were divided and some remained American while other became United Empire Loyalists and moved north to Canada.