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Landrum is believed to be a variant
spelling of the Scottish family name Lendrum. The Lendrum family were
originally named "Comyn" (or "Cummin" /
"Cumming"), a Norman family descended from Charlemagne which
lived in what is now France. Comyn is a typical Norman nickname,
probably taken from the spice cummin. The three bundles of plants in the
Cummin coat-of-arms, usually blazoned as garbs or wheat sheaves, were
doubtless originally bundles of cummin.
The first Comyn came to Britain with
William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest, and the family spread
to Scotland. The first Comyn to settle in Scotland was powerful
Anglo-Norman churchman, William Comyn, a close confidant of King David
I, under whom he became Chancellor of Scotland. The Comyns acquired the
title Earl of Buchan, one of only thirteen such titles in Scotland. Two
other Comyns were also acquired earldoms. The Earls of Buchan were
William Comyn (1210-1233); Alexander Comyn (1242-1289); and John Comyn
(1289-1309).
The Comyns lost their family name in a
struggle over succession to the Scottish throne. When King Alexander III
died in 1291, his only direct descendant was the "little Maid of
Norway," but when she died also, the throne was disputed by
Alexander's distant relations, the heirs of David Earl of Huntington,
John Balliol and Robert Bruce, known as the "Competitor."
Balliol was the grandson of Margaret, David's eldest daughter while
Bruce was the son of his daughter Isabel. John Comyn, known as "the
Black Cummin," and brother-in-law of John Balliol, was also a
claimant through his descendance from King Donald III.
Both Baliol and Bruce took up arms and
gathered supporters. In order to prevent a civil war, King Edward of
England, who had a claim of his own, was called to decide between the
two. He chose Baliol, but he then deposed Baliol in 1296 and took the
throne himself. This strengthened the claims of John's son, "the
Red Cummin" to the throne. A struggle for the throne ensued between
the Comyns and Robert Bruce, grandson of the Competitor, and Robert
stabbed and killed "Red" Comyn at a conference in a church in
1306. The Comyns were finally defeated by Robert Bruce in battle at
Bannockburn in 1308, and "Red" Comyn's son was killed in the
battle.
Bruce confiscated the lands of the Comyns
and banned the name. A younger son of the Earl of Buchen took the
surname "Lendrum" derived from the place where he lived in
northeastern Aberdeenshire.
Earliest Landrum Emigrants to America --
John and James
Most of the Landrums in America are probably
descended from two brothers, John (1665- abt. 1707) and James Landrum (abt
1671-????) who emigrated from Scotland to Essex Co., Virginia in 1688.
According to family tradition, the brothers emigrated directly from
Scotland, and it is known that ships brought Scottish settlers to
Rappahanock River ports during the 1680's. Other members of the family
emigrated to Ulster at the same time. The entry and settlement patterns
in Virginia support the idea of immigration directly from Scotland. Most
Scots in Ulster were from the Lowlands of Scotland, and they arrived in
Philadelphia and moved along the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road into the
unsettled areas in the Shenandoah Valley in far Western Virginia. Entry
through the Chesapeake Bay ports and settlement along the east cast are
characteristic of Highland Scots who came directly from Scotland.
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