The Planters: Root and Branches

Transcription

1 The Planters: Root and Branches Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be. Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned, for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. Job chapter 8, verses 7 and 8

2 Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll, that they were inscribed with an iron tool on lead, or engraved in rock for ever! I know my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. Job chapter 19, verses Jim Reaney was born outside Markethill and brought up within the congregation of First and Second Markethill Presbyterian Church. He was Congregational Secretary from Married to Maisie, they have three grown-up daughters. Now retired, he was employed for twentyone years with the Prudential Assurance Company and twelve years, with the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland as Secretary to The Lord Enniskillen Memorial Orange Orphan Society. In 1981, his previous book The Kirk at Markethill was published. Published by First and Second Markethill Presbyterian Church Web-site: ISBN All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and publisher of this book. Jim Reaney and Markethill Presbyterian Church 2009 Researched and written by Jim Reaney Design and layout by Jim Reaney

3 Page Foreward by Rev D. Rankin B.D. 1 Preface and Acknowledgments 3 Introduction 5 Chapter 1 Brief History of Ireland up to 17th Century 7 Chapter 2 Ireland from the 17th Century 15 Chapter 3 Background information to the Plantation 45 Chapter 4 Plantation of Markethill and Hamiltonsbawn 49 Chapter 5 The Hamilton's of Hamiltonsbawn 53 Chapter 6 The Acheson Family 55 Chapter 7 Life and Times at Markethill 65 Chapter 8 Emigration 79 Chapter 9 Presbyterian Witness at Markethill 87 Chapter 10 Markethill Presbyterianism Chapter 11 Second Markethill Chapter 12 First and Second Markethill Contents Chapter 13 In the Service of the Lord 165 Chapter 14 The Caring Church 171 Chapter 15 The Small, Marshall and Scott Families 183 Chapter 16 The Ulster 1859 Revival 191 Conclusion 199 Appendices 201 Bibliography 235

4 Dedication This book is dedicated to the Glory of God and the work of The Irish Mission of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

5 A number of years ago Jim wrote a brief history of Markethill Presbyterian Church. It was well received not only by members of the congregation but also by the wider community of Markethill and the Church. As we were considering our 400 year celebration the Kirk Session thought it would be timely to update Jim s history. Jim readily agreed and so this book was conceived. As a Kirk Session, we wanted to celebrate God s goodness and faithfulness to us as a congregation. As Jim considered this it became evident to him that the story to be told was not only about one Presbyterian Church in a particular town but about the coming of the Presbyterian witness to this area of Markethill and district. For it is in the telling of the coming of the Planters in 1600 s that we have the coming of the Presbyterians. There is much discussion and written regarding the Plantation of Ulster. This is not just another book arguing for or against the actions of our ancestors. This is looking back at how with the Planters came the Church we now love and respect. Mistakes are part of any process; they were made many times in our history and will continue to be made. It is not avoiding mistakes that is the secret of success, it is the learning from them that we need to achieve. Here is a book, which will warm your hearts as we read about God s gracious blessing on a people who were far from perfect, but they were a people who were willing to receive that blessing. It is with great gratitude to Jim that we, the Minister, Kirk Session and Congregation, look forward to enjoying the delights of this Book. The enormity of the task was not realised by those of us who encouraged Jim until after we saw this final result. I often quipped with Jim, I love hard work, I can sit and watch it all day! This has certainly been true of this particular piece of ministry Jim has produced for all of us to benefit from. Foreward I have pleasure in commending this history there is much of interest to local people and, I am sure, to others further afield. Here is a church history, the story of a living congregation, worshipping, witnessing and working for the advance of Christ s kingdom in the world, and one s reaction on reading it is simply to give thanks to God. Daniel Rankin Fort Manse Markethill January

6 Rev Hugh MacFarlane M.A. Rev Henry W. Morrow M.A. Rev Hugh H. Moore M.A. Rev William J. McConnell B.A. Rev Thomas H. Witherow B.A. Rev John H. Rankin B.A. 2

7 During 2006, thoughts came to me that in four years our congregation would be celebrating four hundred years of Presbyterian witness in Markethill and district. Having read the lines of history of unsung heroes, those who endured persecution, wars, epidemics, and unspeakably hard lives, moved me to volunteer to undertake the re-writing of my previous history The Kirk at Markethill and having received the blessing of the Rev Danny Rankin and Kirk Session, I undertook the research and rewriting. It has not been a particularly easy task, due mainly to the fact that many of our congregations records have not been preserved. Certainly there are no written records available, prior to 1858 and this has left us more or less in the dark for those first 160 years. In the process of my research, it occurred to me, that there might be some within the congregation and district in the same state of historical ignorance as myself, and with a sense of remorse for neglect of so rich a past. This is why the reader will find the first eight chapters of this book to be devoted, not directly to Markethill Presbyterian Church, but to background themes. For example, I have examined the Brief History of Ireland up to the 17th century, Ireland during the 17th Century, Background to the Plantation and the Plantation of Markethill and Hamiltonsbawn. And so, the account of Markethill Presbyterianism proper does not start unto chapter nine. The first eight chapters could be likened to a hors d oeuvre. If the hors d oeuvre should, by reason of the substantial nature of its content, prove unpalatable to the less greedy readers, they have the alternative of starting in at chapter nine, and should the main meal prove disappointing, there is nothing for it but to blame the chef! As behoves even the amateur historian, in which category I obviously belong, I have sought to be as accurate and objective as possible in my treatment and, in the interest of truth, have not shunned to tell a candid story warts and all. Most of you, no doubt, subscribe to the viewpoint that history is the key to the present, which in turn is the springboard to the future. The story of Presbyterianism in Markethill and district is a great and stirring one; the four hundred years, which it spans, are packed with incident and ongoing development. Preface and Acknowledgements I cherish the hope that the present members of the congregation who read these pages, will have a deepened sense of their congregational heritage and of their indebtedness to those who, in their day, helped create that heritage and faithfully handed it on. Few of us, who are the present custodians of the great spiritual inheritance that is First and Second Markethill, will be possessed of so little insight as not to hear in the story of our departed yesterdays some ancestral voice speaking to us; or draw from this history some memories of the generations of worshippers who faithfully worshipped and witnessed for their God within this district and then within the hallowed walls of First and Second Markethill sanctuaries over the past four hundred years. 3

8 The sense continuity that history provides offers hope that the chain will continue through future generations of as yet unborn heroes. Conscious of the debt I owe for help so freely given, I wish to covey thanks to the following: - the Rev. Danny Rankin for his encouragement and assistance with research and his contribution in writing the Foreward; the Kirk Session for their encouragement and those who supplied material; Dr. Pamela Marshall for allowing me to use her article A Country Practice through three generations and family photographs; Dr. James F. Burns, University of Florida, for the use his articles and letters; the Librarian and staff of the Library at Union Theological College for their assistance; the Deputy Keeper, Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI); for permission to reproduce the following: D1606/1/122A, D/1606/1/125A, D/1606/1/125B, D/1606/1/128, D/1606/1/181, D/1606/6B/5, T/2543/1 and T/1282/2; County Museum, Armagh for permission to reproduce sketch of Markethill in 1808, by Cornelius Varley; the Rev. Colin Harris, Clerk of Armagh, for allowing me access to the records of Armagh Presbytery; the Librarian at the Presbyterian Historical Society; the Staff of the Robinson Library, Armagh; the Staff at the Irish and Local Studies Library, Armagh; the members of the congregation and the wider district community who so generously made available valuable source material, photographs etc; Dr. David Hume MBE, (Ulster-Scots Historian) for proof-reading and providing back-cover review; and finally, to my wife Maisie, for her patience and forbearance during my prolonged - but enjoyable - time in producing this book. I offer the result of my labours, conscious of its shortcomings and hopefully that it may be informative to many and offensive to none, that all who read it proves interesting and enjoyable, as the research has been for me. Jim Reaney January

9 Let us begin by asking a simple question - who are the Ulster-Scots? Simple questions very rarely have simple answers, and the answer to this one is more complex than most. Much depends, moreover, on where in the world it is posed. In Britain the term is virtually unknown, and most people would assume that it meant some kind of offspring between the Irish and the Scots. Only the Protestant community of Northern Ireland would generally recognise what is meant, though very few would accept the designation for themselves, preferring to be described as British or Ulstermen or indeed, Irish. The task of this history is to attempt - what is always a dangerous endeavour - the separation of myth and reality, and thus uncover the roots of one of the most remarkable branches of the Scottish and Irish race. Just as the study of any plant that omits any reference to it s root would be incomplete, so this story cannot be given in true perspective if taken in isolation from the history of Ireland and the Province of Ulster and the growth of Presbyterianism in Ulster. Before many centuries had elapsed man introduced his own ideas into worship and the early Christian church that we read about in the New Testament did not survive very long in its original state. Ireland became an island of saints and scholars. The Scots settled in Ireland, brought their Presbyterian faith and their Presbyterian ministers with them. These were a hardy, enterprising, industrious, pioneering people. The land was good and largely unfarmed, as the native Irish economy had been with livestock rather than arable. Settlers were also encouraged by the promise of long leases, far better than the unfavourable terms in their native Scotland, where short leases acted as a disincentive to good husbandry and improvements. Introduction Plantation, the Scots were soon to show, could be made to work. Then came four centuries of tears and joy, rebellion, persecution, emigration, wars and peace, and ethnic cleansing

10 Time Chart circa 7,000 BC Man is said to have come to Ireland from Scotland, crossing the North Channel, centre of many future migrations and emigrations. The first inhabitants of Ireland were called Larnians (after excavations at Larne in 1935). circa 700 BC 1 AD Celtic migrations establish kingdoms on the British mainland, they suppress the pre-celtic populations. Gaelic culture is born. circa 200 AD 400AD Irish invaders of Britain were called Scotti by the Romans, who flee Britain by 450 AD. The Kingdom of Dalriada, (north Antrim), with coastal Dunserverick as its capital, expands into Argyll and its islands. circa 432 AD Patrick is brought to present-day southern Antrim as a slave. circa AD Columba, a chieftain of western Ulster, expands the Gaelic Church into Scotland and northern England. His missionaries, during and after his death, establish monasteries in Europe. About 795 AD saw the decline of Gaelic Christian civilization. circa Norse invasions divide Antrim Dalriada from Scottish Dalriada (Argyll). Antrim Dalriada takes her place alongside the O Neill kingdom of Central and Western Ulster, and the other Clans. Ulster continues the struggle with the southern clans of Ireland for All-Ireland rule. The Irish and Scots have visions of a Scots-Irish dual monarchy or empire, as the Normans invade England in Norman invasion of Ireland circa The Normans only succeed in subduing the Antrim coast and present day County Down: they cannot establish a lasting influence in the rest of Ulster or Ireland: their effective power is confined to the eastern coast, ruling from strongholds like Carrickfergus Castle, Dundrum Castle and Dublin Castle. Scots Gallowglasses cross the North Channel to settle in Ulster, to help fight the Normans (1258). The Normans create the Earldom of Ulster in 1264 and the beginning of the Irish Parliament in circa The Scots fear the Normans as well. Edward Bruce invades Ireland via Larne in another attempt by the Scots and Irish to establish a Gaelic dual monarchy. However famine and Scots cruelty alienate the Irish Gaels from the Scots Gaels, despite the fact that the Scotti of Antrim had given their name to Scotland after settling in Argyll, before the age of Saint Patrick saw The Black Death, which wipes out one third of Ireland s population. circa Decline in Norman power and the Wars of the Roses in England gives Gaelic Ireland a chance of independence. The Ulster kingdoms pursue a vigorously independent line, led by the O Neill s of Tyrone. English Common Law and Irish Gaelic Law conflict, as the English kings, like the Norman kings, expect the O Neill s and other Irish chiefs to hold their land for the Crown. circa Protestantism reaches Ulster. King Henry VIII breaks with Rome and is made King and Head of the Church in England and Ireland. The rise and fall of the Roman Catholic Shane O Neill ( ) in the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. He resists the imposition of English law, and by implication Protestantism in Ulster. He is assassinated at Cushendun in circa The rise and fall of Hugh O Neill, nephew of Shane, and an English-educated Gaelic king of Ulster. He surrenders on 30th March 1603 after a protracted struggle with Queen Elizabeth I. The effective end of Gaelic power in Ireland and English law is established. circa The defeated Gaelic earls are restored, but they take flight, and flee to Europe when they are indicted on conspiracy charges. O Neill and O Donnell take ship from Rathmullen, County Donegal. This period is known as The Flight of the Earls. circa The Plantation of Ulster is projected. 6

11 Saint Patrick One of the greatest influences on Christianity in this country was Saint Patrick, but sad to say, the Presbyterians show little or no interest in him. The Roman Catholic Church has largely adopted him, yet his teachings were far removed from anything that church has ever taught over the centuries. Indeed his teachings are very close to what Presbyterians believe. Saint Patrick was not Irish and the Pope did not send him to Ireland. He did not wear a bishop s mitre and he did not drive the snakes out of Ireland. Much that is popularly believed about Saint Patrick is simply fiction and fantasy. But what are the real facts about Patrick? What do we really know about him? In the time of Patrick, Ireland had a very small population, around a quarter of a million people. The population of Ulster would therefore have been around fifty thousand and was a totally rural and agrarian society. In fact there were no towns in Ireland until the arrival of the Vikings. The people lived in ring-forts, crannogs and unenclosed houses. It is thought that there were as many as forty thousand ring-forts in the island and the most common form of ring fort was the rath. This was a circular open space surrounded by a bank and a palisade. The ring fort enclosed houses and farm buildings and provided some form of protection. The houses were made of wood plastered over with clay and roofed with thatch. Locally there are several rath's within the Gosford Estate although, as with many of these ancient dwellings, very little remains as an indication of their original appearance. On many occasions, local farmers have removed the stones to accommodate farming with modern technology. Crannogs were man-made islands constructed as a refuge against an enemy. They date from the New Stone Age (the Neolithic period) but were used for many centuries after as a means of defence or as a place to hide. These islands were made by the driving in of long poles into the mud and the piling up of earth and stones until a stable island was formed in the centre of the lake. Houses of wattle were constructed on the island to provide dwellings for the people and storage of valuable food supplies. A large fence was built around the island settlement to provide added defence. Chapter 1 Brief History of Ireland up to 17th Century These island retreats were variously used as temporary dwellings when the people came under attack from a rival clan or as permanent settlements when attacks were almost 7