The Elliott Family

The Elliotts in Ulster 1609	Elliots from Scotland arrived in Ulster during the Plantation of 1609. They had been one of the great riding clans on the Western Scottish borders, based chiefly in Berwickshire, but their fortunes turned in the 17th Century. They were outlawed and banished, and many fled across the Irish Sea, primarily to County Fermanagh. Here they formed strong communities on the confiscated lands of the ancient Irish noblemen, and built fortifications as well as new homes. (28) See also: People of Ireland, English and Scottish Settlers

	During the uprising of 1641, the Elliots defended their colony against the native Irish. By the time their first century in Ireland had passed, they had become part of the English ruling class known as the Protestant Ascendancy. Eventually their name was spelt with two L's and two T's -- distinctive only to the Irish Elliotts.
	The following poem hints at the various spellings examined in Robert Bell's, The Book of Ulster Surnames -- the last lines added by that author: The double L and single T descend from Minto and Wolflee. The double T and single L mark the old race in Stobs that dwell. The single L and single T The Eliots of St. German's be. But the double T and double L who they are, no one can tell. "For double L and double T, the Scots should look across the sea."
	Our Earliest Elliott: Michael Elliott of Annaghilly, Fermanagh .