J£^j&? ***{ oMilltiuu^inkntitiU^Aja^iT. Scotland National Library of I1IM11I111II *B000307288* Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from National Library of Scotland http://www.archive.org/details/montgomerymanusc1830mont ^ : : 4 xT.f. THE MONTGOMERY MANUSCRIPTS. CONTAINING ACCOUNTS OF THE COLONIZATION OF THE ARDES, IN THE COUNTY OF DOWN, IN THE REIGNS OF ELIZABETH AND JAMES. MEMOIRS OF THE FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD VISCOUNTS MONTGOMERY, AND CAPTAIN GEORGE MONTGOMERY ALSO, A DESCRIPTION OF THE BARONY OF A RDS, WITH VAM0U3 LOCAL AND HISTORICAL FACTS CONNECTED WITH THE COLONIZATION OF ULBiLU. AXiBO AN APPENDIX CONTAINING INCIDENTAL REMEMBRANCES OF THE TWO ANCIENT FAMILIES OF THE SAVAGES FORMERLY THE I ORDS OF THE LITTLE ARDES. ;Printed from Original Manuscripts and Transcripts of MSS. composed by William Montgomery, Esq, second son of Sir James Montgomery, [between the years 1698 and 1704] BELFAST PRINTED AT THE NEWS-LETTER OFFJCE, 1830. mcA ^ a. PREFACE. A considerable portion of the Moxtgomert Masit- scripts was printed in the Belfast News- Letter bo early as 1785 and 1786,* when their publication was suspended In consequence of their extent, which In some degree unfitted them for the columns of a newspaper. Besides, It was sug- gested that their intrinsic Interest and importance to a large proportion of the Nobility and Gentry of the Counties of Down and Antrim, required their publication in- permanent and portable form, and hence the origin of the present undertaking. The influential part which the family of Montgomery acted in the affairs of Ulster after its colonization by the Scots, is matter of historic record, and will be found minutely detailed in the sub- sequent pages ; while, in consequence of the matrimonial and other alliances that were gradually formed between the several branches of that distinguished family and other families of rank at the time, there are not a few gentlemen in the counties referred to, who will naturally feel an interest in recurring to these simple, but authen- tic memoirs of their ancestorial dignity. The gratifica- tion which the recorded fame of ancestry may fairly minister to the ambition of posterity, is not, however, the only advantage derivable from the publication of these Memoirs. Their importance as historical documents will be readily recognised by those who have studied the trans- actions of the agitated period to which they refer/ while', * They were again je-printed in part in the KeivrLetter in 1822, as illustrative of manners and customs and habits of thought, that are now comparatively antiquated, their va- lue cannot fail to be estimated even by those who have no hereditary interest in their details. In this view, it is hop- ed, that though the locality of the scenes that are described, and the individuality of the personages who are chiefly engaged in them, may limit to a portion of the commu- will pos- nity, the specific interest of the volume ; yet it sess independent merit sufficient to engage the attention of the majority. In the early parts of the volume, references have been made to an Appendix, which has not been printed, and the omission of which requires explanation. The reasons- of its omission were these—after a considerable portion of the Montgomery Manuscript had been printed' off, a second Manuscript by the author of the former, was discovered. It contained an interesting history of the family of the Savages, formerly the Lords of the Little Arils, and its publication was found to be neces- sary, not merely to complete the narrative of the for- mer, but for reasons equally cogent with those which had originally induced the determination of publish- ing that Manuscript. Hence, the omission of the proposed Appendix became indispensable, as the size of the work had been limited; Besides, no great incon- venience can result from this omission, as there are nu- merous sources of information accessible to those who*, may be inquisitive regarding matters of mere antiqua- rian curiosity; while the full insertion .of the Appendix would have required either a separate volume, or would" have enlarged this to an inconvenient size, and would, besides, have pivportionably increased its price. The orthography of the original manuscripts, with its incidental peculiarities of contraction, lias been strictly preserved. The printer has even followed the occasion- al defects of his copy, without attempting their cor- rection, which in many instances, might have been easily done. It now remains that we close this preface with a brief notice of the author of the following memoirs. He w as the son of Sir James Montgomery, and was born at Aughaintaln in Tyrone, on the 27th of October, 1633. He represented the borough of Newtonards, in the Irish Parliament, which, shortly after the restoration, passed the celebrated act for the settlement of military adventurers in Ireland. In his habits he appears to have been studious, to have possessed persevering indus- try, extensive knowledge, and acuteuess of observation, notwithstanding the quaint, parenthetical style of his composition —a fault which is attributable, not to him, but to the age in which he lived. He wrote these me- moirs in the iuterval between the years 1698 and ITOt? In a historical view, their authority is indubitable it has been alluded to by Lodge, in his Irish Peerage, and as they have never before been printed entire, it is pre- sumed that the present publication will furnish valu- able hints to the national annalist, as well as acceptable information to the northern public in general. Copious extracts from the original MSS. of the Lords Mount- alexander and of Captain Geoige Montgomery, were first published in the Belfast News-Letter of the years 1785 and 1786, with the consent of the late Daniel Delache- rois, of Donaghadee, Esq. (in whose family they had been preserved,) when a great portion of the Original MS. became missing, and after repeated searches to re- cover them, it was found that a copy of them had been taken, which being traced out, was obligingly communi- cated. When compared with the parts printed in 1785 and 1786, they were found exactly to correspond, and hare, been used in completing the present publication. •' : Mi l THE MONTGOMERY MANUSCRIPTS SOME FEW MEMOIRES OF THE MONT- GOMERIES OF IRELAND. CHAPTER I. BEING to write of the Montgomeries of Ireland, (now planted therein) recourse must be first had to what I have credibly heard, as truth never doubted of (that my enquiry could find out). And 2dly, to those authentick papers and parchments, which I have carefully perused, and which came to my hands among those left to me by my father, many others of them being lost or embeazled or burnt in Rosemount House out of the remainder whereof, or from such as I have seen elsewhere, relations shall be made. 3dly, and lastly, I must, in this treatise, make use of my own certain know- ledge and memory in those affairs, having A had conversation or concern with most of their familys (both the dead and yet sur- viving of them) to whom I have been a contemporary within the space of above those fifty years now last past, wherein I did more or less make observations as I best could, whilst I 'grew up in age, and ac- quaintance with them, and thus furnished, I begin this following narrative (as near as I can) according to the order of time, wherein the several events came to pass, the like not having been attempted that I can any ways learne. Therefore, Imprimis, (as in duty I am bound) with the Montgomeries of the great Ardes, who were the first and chiefest of all that sirname, that came from Scotland, and mostly the procurers of other Montgomery families, and of many of divers sirnames besides them ; to follow and plant in this kingdom, of whom the most conspicuous and powerful], and the 1st introducer and cn- courager was Hugh Montgomery, the 6th Laird of Braidstane, whose genealogy is as next followeth, viz. —The said Hugh was the eldest son of Adam (the second of that name) the fifth Laird, who married the daughter of Montgomery, Laird Haislhead, (an ancient family descended of the Earls of Eglintoune). This second Adam (besides breeding his four sons) purchased land from one of the said Earles (I have the deed there- son of) ; which Adam was the eldest of Adam, (the first Montgomery of that name) and 4th Laird of Braidstane. This Adam married Col- quhon's sister, the Laird of Luss, (chief of his ancient sept). This Adam the first, (last mentioned) was son to Robert the 3d Laird of that name, who was the son of Robert, the 2nd Laird of that name, who was the son of Robert, the 1st of that name and 1st Laird of Braidstane, who was the 2d son of Alex- ander, one of the Earles of Eglingtoune, all of them Montgomeries ; which Earles are (in a little book called Indiculum Scotiae, or the present state of Scotland, written by A. M. in Anno 1682) placed the 11th in that degree of nobility, which agrees with the list next spoken of, tho' in King Charles the Martyr's reign, ri- valed (as I have heard said) for prudency by the Conninghams, Earles of Glencairne ; whom Tfind by an antient list (of the Scottish Peers) written in King James the 6th his time, left to me by my father (who was expert in the heraldry of both kingdoms, having given me Guillim's book and some notes of his own of that science ;) I say I find by the said list, (now by me) that Glencairne was but the 15th Earle, yet at this present time, and many years before it, he might arrive to be 12th, — and so next after Eglintoun—the said list runs thus, viz : The Simam.es, Earles of The Titles as followeth.