Notes for Andrew Munro: Foulis About 1641 - Moved to perhaps Saint Mary's County Maryland About 1648 - Settled on Monroe Bay in Westmoreland County, Virginia The following biography is thought by some researchers to be a composite of two people, one Andrew who came to Maryland about 1642 and a second Andrew who was taken prisoner at the battle of Preston in 1648 and banished to Virginia. This belief is based mainly on the fact that the "earlier" Andrew was illiterate and unable to sign his name, but the "later" Andrew was literate. There is no definitive proof one way or the other, since he may have simply become literate. An article on this subject appears in the "William and Mary Quarterly" 1933 - p.231-41. The May reference quotes a reference as saying that Andrew went to Kent County, Maryland in 1637.
Lund Washington wrote that Andrew Monroe came from the Scottish Highlands and received a land-grant on Monroe Creek, in Northumberland, in 1650. He was Captain in the service of Charles 1st. He returned to Scotland in the time of Charles 2nd and encouraged other of the family to emigrate and received another grant of land from the Crown. Lund Washington knew the descendants of all the people of whom he wrote. After all, his mother-in-law, Susanna Monroe Grayson, was the daughter of Col. Andrew Monroe and the grand-daughter of the original Andrew Monroe.
Andrew learned to write and gradually changed the name from Munroe to Monroe (this, according to George Harrison Sanford King in his article "The Monroe Family"). King states that the Maryland Andrew Monroe and the Virginia Andrew Monroe are one and the same. He references MacKenzie's book as one of his sources. King was regarded as the expert on the Monroes. He did the genealogies for the Jamestowne Society and Order of the First Families of Virginia.
In the article "The Maryland Ancestry of James Monroe" in Maryland Genealogies Vol. II by Monroe Johnson, Johnson quotes Pres. Daniel C. Gilman of Johns Hopkins University and the original biographer of James Monroe, that Andrew came to Maryland in 1637 and settled on Kent Island. He left Maryland after Ingle's revolt and settled in Westmoreland County.
It is believed that Andrew first came to America about 1642 and settled in St. Mary's County, Maryland. In Jul 1642, he was assessed 50 lbs. of tobacco to support the war against the Susquehanna Indians. On 24 Feb 1647 he was defendant in a suit of Mrs. Mary Brent in which he was decreed to pay her 400 lbs. of tobacco. He was a member of the Maryland Association, in 1642, and captain of a ship under Cuthbert Fenwick, general agent for Lord Baltimore, and he was known as a "mariner."
When Richard Ingle declared for the Parliament, Andrew took sides against Lord Baltimore's government, and like Nathaniel Pope, ancestor of President Washington, Dr. Thomas Gerrard and other leading Marylanders, he fled over the Potomac to a settlement under the Virginia authority. He lived at Appomattox, Westmoreland County until about Apr 1648, when he returned to Scotland.
He fought with the rank of Major under his distinguished relative, General Sir George Munro I of Newmore at the battle of Preston on 17 Aug 1648 with the forces of King Charles I. He was taken prisoner there and banished to Virginia. Andrew managed to effect his escape and settled in Northumberland County, Virginia, where he had several grants of land made to him, the first extending to 200 acres, designated as one of the "Head Rights" being dated 8 Jun 1650. He received a grant of land on the borders of Monroe Creek (so called after the family) about one mile below Bluff Point and about four miles from Pope's Creek (where Washington was born) on the Potomac in Northumberland County. In the time of Charles II he returned to Scotland and induced others of his family to emigrate and another extensive grant of land in the same quarter was made to him by the crown.
In 1652, he had settled in Westmoreland County, Virginia. In this same year he signed an oath promising to be faithful to the Commonwealth of England. This implies that he must have been a suspected Loyalist to the Crown, otherwise his oath would not have been required. By 11 Apr 1652, he was serving as Commissioner of the Council of the State for the Common Wealth of England.
In 1659/60 he was made a Member of the Westmoreland Commission. In July 1661 he was elected to the Vestry of Appomattox Parish, Westmoreland County. He began to write the name Munroe and it finally attained its present form, Monroe.
On 26 Oct 1666, he received 920 acres of land in Westmoreland County, Virginia for transporting 6 persons.
Andrew and Elizabeth married in 1652 according to one reference, but another says they were married before 1650. Elizabeth is said to be a daughter of Colonel John Alexander, but this surname has not been proven. After Andrew's death she married, before 30 Jul 1679, (2) George Horner and, before 23 Feb 1686/7, (3) Edward Mountjoy of Westmoreland County.
Ref: "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Q/47 "Journey From Ross-shire" by James Harrison Monroe - p. 5 Clan Munro files - Stroud, Anna Mary - Eggleston, Sam Daniel, Jr. - Johnson, Monroe - James Monroe ancestors - "William & Mary Quarterly" - 1933 - Guilford, Dr. Joan S. - Boyer, Wallace R. - descendants of Hector Munro 13th
Ref: "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Q/47
"David Munro of Catwall married Agnes daughter to Mr Alexander Munro Minister of Durness by whom he had George Mr Andrew Alexander Robert and Hector who died without succession Mr John and a daughter Janet married to Hugh Boggie in Fortrose."
"...Alexander Munro of Katewell is on record 1687/8 (FW 277, 279). The singling out of Mr John Q/48 in this MS suggests that all David's elder sons may have d without succession, but Mackenzie restricted this phrase to Hector and named Andrew as possible ancestor of USA President James Monroe (which may have been too readily accepted, in absence of any more likely identification, see CMM vi 14-18 and RWM in RSM's Lexington Munroes p. v)."
Ref: Clan Munro files - Monroe, Richard Walter - "Virginia Descendants of Andrew Monroe" by Anne Monroe Wintzer - p. 33
Ref (1) says that Andrew was the son of Andrew Munro of Daan [12329].
Ref (2) says that Andrew's father was "William Monroe born in Scotland 1625 came to America 1651 located in Mass. Came as Captain on Lord Baltimore's ship."
References:
(1) Clan Munro files - Redden, Virginia R. - "The Monroe Family of Virginia" - compiled by Nancy E. Harris - Jul 1988 - p. 7, 14
(2) Clan Munro files - Roder, Mary Margaret Ball - Pedigree chart for Andrew Augustine Monroe compiled by Rebekah B. McBride - dated 12 Oct 1977 - #B16
(3) Clan Munro files - Cataluna, Esther R. - The Ancestry of Esther Cataluna - dated 7 jan 1998 - p. 1
(4) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p. 480-481
(5) "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Edinburgh (1978) - Q/47
Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA - Email: Alger@alum.mit.edu
More About Andrew Munro: Alt. Birth: 1616, Cromarty, , Ross and Cromarty, Scotland.535 Record Change: 12 Jul 2006 Residence 1: Katewell, , , Scotland.536 Residence 2: , Northumberland Co, Virginia, USA. Residence 3: Abt. 1641, , St. Mary's Co., Maryland, USA. Residence 4: Abt. 1648, , Westmoreland Co., Virginia, USA. Residence 5: Abt. 1650, Appomattox, Appomattox Co., Virginia, USA.537
More About Andrew Munro and Elizabeth Alexander: Marriage: 1652, , Westmoreland Co., Virginia, USA. Record Change: 18 Jul 2004
Children of Andrew Munro and Elizabeth Alexander are:
Andrew Munro (b. 1625, d. 1668)
Notes for Andrew Munro: