Rev. William McEchny

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: MRC6-ZHS
• Religion: supported bishop in anglicanization of Church of Scotland
• _UID: 6A2EC76C09C9467D95310D1A37853F7DC515
• Religion: 1640-1685, Bonhill, Vale of Leven, West Dunbarton, Scotland; The Coventers - William McKechnie and Robert Nairn from https://www.valeofleven.org.uk/bonhill2.html

Notes:

Religion:
It was the Restoration of Charles II to the throne that revived the dormant Covenanting movement. Like his father, Charles IICharles wanted to bring the Church of Scotland back under his control and he re-introduced bishops. There was opposition, but he did have the upper hand and he did not want to overplay it. Charles, as he said many times, had no wish to "go on his travels again" and he was happy to reach limited accommodations where he could, although a large number of ministers who would not accept bishops were sacked.

Many Presbyterians, particularly in the Southwest, revived the Covenant and were hunted down for practicing their religion. To defend their meetings or conventicles, many of which were held outdoors, they formed an armed guard, which was styled the Cameronians, which was later incorporated into the British Army as the Cameronians Regiment. This period of the late 1670's - 1680's became known as "The Killing Times" because of the violent intensity of the government's action against the Covenanters.

Covenanting was not strong in the parish of Bonhill - in fact the opposite was true, since the minister of the time, William McKechnie, was a supporter of his boss the bishop, unlike his colleagues at Luss and later Kilmaronock who were sacked from their churches. Most of the locals just kept their heads down - there were not many of them anyway. It is reckoned that there were only about 350 people in the whole parish in 1643. However, there was one brave Bonhill soul who stood up for religious freedom against the aggressive intimidation of the government forces.

This was a Bonhill man called Robert Nairn. Nairn was a shoemaker and a Bonhill churchCovenanter, and he refused to attend Bonhill Parish church, which was now part of a church headed by bishops, with McKechnie as minister. It had become a criminal offence not to attend Church, and he had to leave home and hide out with friends, or in the open, from the officers of the law from Dumbarton who were very actively hunting for him.

Amongst the places he hid out for a time was Napierston Wood. However, the cumulative effects of what we would now call living rough, caught up with him, and, very ill, he returned home to die on 15th April1685.

Even in death, the Church still hounded Nairn and McKechnie refused him burial in Bonhill Churchyard. However, by this time the locals had had enough of the Church's attitude, and some young local lads broke the locks on the Churchyard gates and guarded his burial service in Bonhill Churchyard. A descendant, Thomas Nairn of Bankhead in Balloch, erected a gravestone on his grave in 1826.

Local tradition had it that he had been sheltered for a time in the farm of the McAllisters of Mid-Auchencarroch (who held on to their strict Covenanting views until the 1850's and beyond) and sure enough, when in the early 1800's a barn was demolished during renovations of their farm, a secret room was uncovered behind a double gable in which they found Nairn's lapstone, just where he had left it 120 years before. Other of Nairn's artefacts seem to have been passed down within the family and other of his descendants, the Nairn Marshall's who became wealthy in the 19th century and built and lived at Dalvait House in Dalvait Road Balloch until about the Second World War, loaned some of them to be displayed at the Empire Exhibition at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow in 1938. They seem to have been lost from sight since then.

William married Margaret McAlpin about 1708. Margaret and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: MRC6-ZS2
• _UID: 6A78B9FBC97F4DCCB7365E81B2231335E00B

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: MRC6-ZDJ
• _UID: 0388A8B2A8CD4756929C5A0EC2C2847308DC

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: MP1B-RNK
• _UID: A215F38281DB4CCE80C956A4021716B7CBD1

Notes:

Birth:
First name(s) Issabell
Mother's last name McAlpin
Last name McEchny
Residence Killearn, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Sex Female
Place Killearn
Birth year 1717
County Stirlingshire
Baptism year 1717
Country Scotland
Baptism date 03 Mar 1717
Record set Scotland, Parish Births & Baptisms 1564-1929
Baptism place KILLEARN, STIRLING, SCOTLAND
Category Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records
Father's first name(s) William
Subcategory Parish Baptisms
Father's last name McEchny
Collections from Great Britain, Scotland
Mother's first name(s) Margaret

Index ? IRI. Used by permission of FamilySearch Intl

Christened:
MCECHNY
ISSABELL
WILLIAM MCECHNY/MARGARET MCALPIN FR71 (FR71)
F
03/03/1717
482
10 / 65
Killearn

Issabell married James Lindsay about 1733 in Bonhill, Vale of Leven, West Dunbarton, Scotland. James (son of John McAulay and Agnes Lindsay, son of Alexander Lindsay and Jenat Lindsay) was born on 17 Jun 1714 in Stock Rodger, Bonhill, Vale of Leven, West Dunbarton, Scotland; was christened on 1 Jul 1714 in Bonhill, Vale of Leven, West Dunbarton, Scotland; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: MPBB-F6Z
• _UID: 6C19EE9171C94717AB6A8965BA6F24C8B4CE

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: MPBB-FNX
• _UID: 36C3E371C0434402A4D22FBBD263AC10E707

Other Events and Attributes:

• FamilySearch ID: MRC6-8BV
• _UID: 487250A4F9BC4C109C2927E73C113EBCD9F1

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: A4F81D64A04940789D602555146E71A1C9F9

Notes:

Christened:
LINDSAY
JAMES
JAMES LINDSAY/ISOBEL MCECHNY
M
24/02/1734
493
10 / 194
Bonhill

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: ADC8DB98072F40B1B142142F23CAA82C066B

Notes:

Christened:
LINDSAY
WALTER
JAMES LINDSAY/ISOBEL MCECHNY
M
22/06/1735
493
10 / 199
Bonhill

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: 4A079A926B5A483D94C034B05A321AD97E49

Notes:

Christened:
LINDSAY
ANN
JAMES LINDSAY/ISOBEL MCECHNY
F
23/11/1737
493
10 / 203
Bonhill

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: 6FC6712F7CDC45B3A50C407A5B8131E380EE

Notes:

Christened:
LINDSAY
WALTER
JAMES LINDSAY/ISOBEL MCECHNY
M
15/04/1739
493
10 / 204
Bonhill

Family/Spouse: Christian McFarlane. Christian and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• _UID: E508EF7CF70A4274936AC064B3C4DFFD8395

Notes:

Christened:
LINDSAY
ISOBEL
JAMES LINDSAY/ISOBEL MCECHNY
F
02/08/1741
493
10 / 209
Bonhill