Ulsterheart Chapter 4, Pages 90 through 92

On 14th June 1628 Carter got another Grant of Glebe. Perhaps this may have been in connection with the building of a Rectory. Could one of the large houses to the west of Clonully Mill have been an early Rectory disposed of during some of the subsequent absentee incumbencies?

The times were perilous. O Neill resented the Scots and worse still they were at loggerheads among themselves. Bishop Spottis-woode complained that he was "hated by divers of his countrymen. Lord Balfour and Sir James Areskine and others have sold themselves to work all wickedness, and were great oppressors of their neighbours." They hated him because of his zeal for the Church and free schools, and his relief of those who were wronged. He rejoiced that His Majesty had sent such a Governor (Wentworth) that would "ere long know him and his adversaries". In fact, Balfour was accused, fled to England, and died. Sir James Areskine "perceiving he prevailed nothing by clampering (quarrelling) desired to be reconciled to the Bishop. When he died in Dublin, Bishop Spottiswoode preached at his funeral, on request of Areskine's son."53

When, in 1641 Sir Phelim O Neill was repulsed at Spur Castle, Augher, he ordered McDonnel to massacre all Protestants in the adjacent parishes.54 The authorities had anticipated this, and in 1631 ordered Landlords to prepare a list of all the able-bodied men in their Estates, who could be mustered in any emergency. The chief value of this Muster Roll today is for genealogy. Landlords and Chieftains kept their pedigrees, but here for the first time we find the names, if nothing else of some of the ordinary Kerogites who tilled the soil of Kerog nearly four centuries ago. Of the whole 137, the only one of whom we have any subsequent note is Richard Waltham. He was described as "Gentleman" on his tombstone when Kelly Groves saw it being used as a hearthstone in St. Kerog's porch in 1817. So it probably found its. way to some cottage hearth when McCoy got the use of the stones of St. Kerog's in 1833. Waltham died in 1684.

TABLE 1 MUSTER ROLL ON LANDLORD'S ESTATES ca 1631
George Armstrong Richard Armstrong John Alexander James Anderson Symond Anderson Syprian Baker William Barnet Zachary Barnet David Bell David Bell Francis Bell John Bell Patrick Bell Thomas Bell William Bell William Bell William Bell John Bennet er John Bennet yr Thomas Browne John Cambell John Carrudhowse John Caughton James Clarke John Clarke William Clarke Edward Conningham John Crag Thomas Crag John Dick George Dickson John Dixon Andrew Donnell John Douglas Andrew Eliot Robert Eliot William Eliot Michael Elton William Erskine William Erskine John Ffenick Richard Ffixter Thomas Gilaspy Daniel Gilpatrick Ffrauncis Gilpatrick James Gourdan	Ffargus Graham John Graham John Graham William Grainger Robert Griffin Robert Haliburton Charles Halkeny John Hanna John Hanna John Headen er John Headen yr James Henderson John Henderson John Henderson William Holyday Edward Irwin Adam Johnston Adam Johnston John Johnston William Kirkpatrick William Klingane Thomas Leadstone William Lecock John Lenton Christopher Little Edward Lockerby William Lusk Andrew McCormack Thomas McCormack Thomas McCormack Andrew McCrery Thomas McGeogh John Mcjuroy William McKeone John M'Loane John M'Loane Rynnon M'Loane John McNaught John Martin David Meliken James Miliken John Meliken Allen Moore Allen Moore James Moore Thomas Moore	William Moore William Moore yr James Moorehead John Morgan William Murrow Murtogh Nisbit Robert Nisbit Walter Noble William Noble Morgan Parkes William Pasely James Patton Robert Pearce Thomas Penny er Thomas Penny yr John Ramsey Patrick Read Thomas Read John Really Peter Realy Robert Roole Alexand Scot Alexander Scot David Scot John Scot John Scott Thomas Scott Walter Scot John Sharp John Sharp Adam Shearall Patrick Small William Smyth Symond Snowball William Sterling Robert Symington yr Paul Sympson Martin Thompson George Turner James Waddell James Waddell Richard Waltham Robert Watt James Weltch Alexander Wright

About a dozen of these names look strange to us today. Do they represent the original spelling of surnames surviving today? This seems unlikely, since these 1631 forms do not occur elsewhere. Could they be the work of some semi-literate local official? Hardly, since so many of the spellings are so like later standardizations. A more fascinating explanation, and none the less likely for that, is that we here have a recording of the local accents of 350 years ago, with some official, perhaps an Englishman, attempting to record phonetically names he had not heard before.

Carrudhowse, Caughton, Gilpatrick, and Meliken we can readily recognise as Carrothers or Cathers, Carleton, Kilpatrick or Kirkpatrick, and Milligan or Mulligan. Ffixter may be the name Fricker which still prevails in north Tyrone. Halkeny may be the Omagh name Elkin. The only guess we can offer about Shearall is that it may be Shirley or even Sheridan, a name which, because of its three syllables was prone to misconstruction as in the later Surgeon and then Sturgeon. The surname Snowball is not unknown in other corners of Ulster, but it is more likely that our Simon was a Somerville.

About this time some doubt seems to have arisen about whether Kerog had been included in Erskine's acquisition, so Kerog as part of the bargain was confirmed by a re-grant dated 12th July 1630.

Sir James Erskine's third son, Archibald was ordained by the Bishop of Cashel, Malcolm Hamilton in 1627. He became Rector of Ballybay, and in 1633 succeeded Carter as Rector of Kerog. He also held the parishes of Derrygonnelly and Newtownbutler. He was in Kerog during the Troubles of 1641. In the House of Commons Library there is a letter written by Col. Audely Mervyn of Cavan praising the Rector of Kerog for his defence of Augher Castle during the Insurrection. Later he was installed in the prebendary of Devenish. Canon Erskine married twice. His first wife was Beatrice Spottiswoode, the Bishop's daughter. His second wife was Letitia daughter of Londoner Sir Paul Gore. Incidentally, her brother married a daughter of Capt. Rbt. Parke of Sligo