| This Co. Antrim name is of Scottish
origin. The MacBaxters, Gaelic Mac an Bhacstair,
'son of the baker', were a branch of the Clan
Macmillan. The name derives from the Old English
word bœcestre, meaning a 'female baker', and was
common in Angus. Forfar in Angus was a royal
residence and it may be that the first Baxters were
bakers to the king. The MacBaxters were also noted
on the Highland Border and in the Isles. Baxter
came first to Ulster during the Plantation.
GLOSSARY
| Clan |
From the Gaelic
clann which means literally 'children'. |
| Mac- |
From the Gaelic
mac, meaning 'son' |
| O' |
From the Gaelic
Ó, meaning 'grandson', 'grandchild' or
'descendant'; Ní is the femine form of Ó,
meaning 'daughter' or 'descendant' |
| Plantation (Ulster) |
The
redistribution of escheated lands after the
defeat of the Ulster Gaelic lords and the 'Flight
of the Earls' in 1607. Only counties
Donegal, Derry, Tyrone, Armagh, Fermanagh and
Cavan were actually 'planted', portions of land
there being distributed to English and Scottish
families on their lands and for the building of
bawns. |
| Sept |
A family group of
shared ancestry living in the same locality |
| Undertakers |
Powerful English
or Scottish landowners who undertook the
plantation of British settlers on the lands they
were granted. |
| Gaelic |
This word in
Ireland has no relation to Scotland. As a
noun it is used to denote the Irish language, as
an adjective to denote native Irish as opposed to
Norman or English origin. |
| Erenagh |
From the Irish
Gaelic airchinneach, meaning 'hereditary steward
of church lands'. A family would hold the
ecclesiastical office and the right to the church
or monastery lands, the incumbent at any one time
being the erenagh. |
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