Construction of a 17Th Century Census Of
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Paper 1 in the Stone Walls |]roject Construction of a 17th century "census" of Agnews in County Antrim: With some examples of application for detecting descents. G. Marie Agnew-Marcelli, PhD Antrim in the 1660's Ulster was not heavily populated; indeed, it was substantially under populated compared to the rest of Ireland and far less densely than England in the Tudor era. Antrim, like Down, was gg![gr part of James I's Plantation Scheme. These counties were "re "settled earlier byprz.1/czfe c/#c7erfcke7is', some English, most Scottish, with much of the native population remaining in place. British settlement of Antrim actually began with the decourcy expedition and continued into Elizabeth's reign. I]respective of period or plan the overall intention of the Enghish crown was the creation of a lucrative territory with an "English" type of settled, well-ordered agricultural society. It was to be centered around mai.ket towns and strategically placed larger burchs. These were actually plotted on maps but - imposed on a different social and cultural landscape - most never materialized. More than a century of recurrent religion-entangled political strife at home in Britain all too often spilled over into ireland. This also motivated the English Crown to seek, initially, a Protestant but, eventually, an Anglican majority for Ireland as well. The shifting political goals iusured recurring outbreaks of violence which bred a deep-seated anger and uuremitting discontent through many segments of hish society thereby setting the course of its ensuing history. 0 Oririn and ADDlication of the Hearfu Monev Tax The Hearfu Money Tax was instituted, along with some other newly levied duties and rents, in 1662 to compensate King Charles H for income lost by revocation of various feuchl privileges surrendered as part of his restoration agreemeuts. Resentment of the Hearth Tax was stron.g because it inwhved inspection of houses and was applied so widely. Originally those living solely on alms, in dwellings valued under 8 shillings per. cr7a7car77c or on land valued at less than £4 were exempt. However, only 3 years after enactment, exemptions were eliminated for all butpaixpers. Landlords became responsible for tax not paid by tenants and the tax was doubled for unraported hearths. The changes also provided for "farmed out" collection instead of by the parish constal]le. Since the "farmers" were reaponsible for delivering the amount assessed to the government, they were diligent in collection. Householders avoided when they could and, in isolated areas, employed ingenious methods to escape attention where rude sod or turf buildings could easily be missed in the absence of an active fire. In fact this may be wky these tax collectors were called "Smoke Men". A tax of 2 shillings per year was levied on every fixed hearth or fireplace in a dwelling. It constituted a substantial burden that was especially appressive for a poor peasant. This was partioularly true in heland; even more so in Ulster which was still very much a frontier. Most holdings had been established only a generation or so when they suffered £:::::£#o#th:ec;:£::::::#+#ii8anTh¥##Lronfo##+++ELi:##~=j::`:::in##pr where the hearth tax was abolished in 1689 but it was not eliminated in Leland until 1793j CrrdsoftheAs©erfundconedions h common with the majority of Ireland's govemmeutal records, the original tax rous were lost in the Customs House destruction of 1922 but transcriptions for local use were avallal)le in a nuinber ofplaces. Large segments for tJlster wvere located at Belfast with particularly extensive material for the counties of Antrim and Tyrone. More or less colnplete copies for the 1660 Poll Tap the 1666 and 1669 Hearth Rolls for CountyAutrim survived. Since the 1669 collection came after the 1665 revision in coverage and enforcement, it encompassed a broader segment of residents. #§:;i::g:::::::::::::+¥:g+#=2#:L=#qu#]=teinE:rfH]:##+fiutm%¥L:# Caveat: During this period many townland boundaries were in dispute so some individuals may be diaplaced or accidentally recorded in a neighboring townland or parish. In a few instances townland rolls are missing or clearly underreported. Where these affect Agnews they will be noted. Names are reported in their original style and spelling. And of course transcription errors may liave occurred in any original collies or the subsequlent abstracting of data. County Antrim Totals for the Hearth Tax Rons of 1669: NNiniber ofhouseholds recorded in the 1669 rolls 10,137 (or about 55,750 persons) Total number of hearths 1669 11, 488 Number ofhouseholds with more than 1 heath 807 (al]out 8 in loo or 1 in 12) Amews on the Rons h 1669 forty-two households were clearly identified as headed by an Agnow. These would have included about 230 g,didi#fothAe##ithLp£L£g5:thoefiife:Onpe+#+:+s¥fa£:jifg#¥+::£=:g:::;"#ng3¥ne households (Agreene, O'Grene and O'Greney) were added to the list. (See Addendum for details). Thus, Agnew or O'Gneeve households made up only about onethalf Of 1 % in the Coimty ofAutrim in 1669. However. they were not distrfuuted uniformly across the area but were located in only certain parts of the county. Oin,these45householdsmaynotincfudeauAgnewsinAntriminl669 DeficiencieswithPossfoleinmDlicationsforAQnews. \The Grange of Mndcamore in the Barony of Antrim is deficient, missing half or more of its townlands. Many of its Scottish plauters origirmted in Galloway and neighboring areas. Among the townlands missing is Balloo, from which the Agnews of the Manor of Masque in Penngtlvania are said to have originated. irorKilwauchter(andsomeneighboringparishes)both1666and1669rollsarebadlydeterioratedwithmanynames lost or illegifole. The Demesne land is particularly deficient. ;Camcastle Parish where Ballygally is located, rolls are so damaged that names in at least 3 townlands are lost. For BBallygallytownlandnofoneShaw,thetownland'sowners,canbediscemed. Egg:E¥eo¥ir¥in¥i¥¥ed¥#ho=;+::Lcothulibe:Ve°:s L!£:::iivfanofiffffi+ffiei#ffii#s¥X=:i8F:l£::::=°i#to(£v#:::::£:#at#+=++## mfronorthemcountyDown. e parishes include the townland of Toberagnew (Agnew's well) and other geographic features and ancient •.:-_I.,. ments with names incoxporating "Agnew". This enduring Anglo-Nprman settlement dates from the Decourcy expedition. Its Norman-founded priories and a temple of the Knights Hospitaler were strongly su|]ported into Tudor times. Agnews, both planter and native, have been common in many of the townlands. It has been linked to the bardic 0' Gnimh (0 'Gneeve) family and is in territory long-controlled by their patrons, the cadet branch of the northern O'Neill -who continued to hold parts of it well into the plantation period. Curiously, with potendal Noman, Scottish and hush Agnew comections it seems to be unknown compared to KilwauBhter. OandwhereweretheAgrewsincountvAntriml669 Table 1 lists all the recorded Agnew and Agnew-variant finilies by barony, parish and townland where haown. Althougli they may appear to be widely scattered, they are by no means uniformly distributed across the county. Map I plots the parishes with Agnew taxpayers in 1669. From the map it is evident that no Agnews resided in the most northern tier, the Barony of Cary; and only 3 in the next tier, the Barony of Glenluce. hstead they are concentrated in a U-shape down the valley Of the Bann River and the northeast shore of Longb Neagh 03arories of Toome and Antrim) and along the path of the Six-Mile Water 03aronies of Massereene and Lower (northern) Belfast) into the southemportion of the Gleus in Barony of Glenam. This U- pattem contracted southward over tine, in pat because of the heavy, sustained emigration from the Bann Valley and Antrim areas but was still evident 150 years later. Far from dispersed these Agnew families were present in only 26 of the 82 parishes and little more than 10% of the more than 1700 townlands. h fact one-quarter were in the Parish ofKilwanghter while the whole Barony of Glenarm, despite its deteriorated rolls, accounts for i/3rd of all Agnew residents of Antrim in 1669. Table 1 lists these 45 Agnew and Agnew-variant households by geographic location; barony, parish and townland where available. Like most of the inhabitants of County Antrim they were taxed for only a single hearth althouch four of them reported 2 or more (up to 6). e 4 households are clearly better off and probably of hither status than most Agnews or the majority of all i,-`..,ieholds in the County. Peter (sic), Esq. in 1669 with 6 Jiearths and M. Pathck (1666) with 4 would seem to be at Kilwau8hter castle which was being built or extended about this time. Andrew in Calriclrfengus is very prchal]ly the Andrew (a cadet of the Galdenoch line) who is lmown to have been a merchant in Belfast some years later, John in Shanhill, Barony of Belfast, needs fi]rther defindon. He may or may not be the same man as Capt. John Agnew (O'Gneeve) of Balltryton. Gilbert Agnew/O'Gneeve ofhver, a.k.a. of Lame, may be the individual who was later the Sheriff s factor in Ulster or perhaps that man's antecedent. For ComDarison - Agnew Distribution in the Tithe ADDlotmeuts ca 1824-32 Although the Tithe Applotments are not a complete listing of inhabitants ofAnrfum at the time -Belfast, for one being oritted, like the 1669 Hearth Rolls they apply to those above the very poor and would be a fairly similar "slice"of the population of the tine. Table 2 fists by barony, parish and townland the Agnews living in County Antrin at the time of the Tithe Applotments iaround 1830. Map 2 illustrates this distriibution. Once again they are not dispersed but still reflect a somewhat apnapressed U-shaped pattern with southward concentration over time. Again the resident Agnews are not widely dispersed.