Hearth Rolls of County Donegal, Ireland

From previous posts you may remember that I have been attempting to trace where in Ulster (Northern Ireland) Samuel Bradford, father of our Rebecca, came from by attempting to locate the birthplace of his brother James Bradford. There is more written about James, probably by virtue of the fact that he is the father of David Bradford of Whiskey Rebellion fame.  I reasoned that if we can James' birthplace, we may have also found the birthplace of his brother and our progenitor, Samuel.

To refresh your memory, here is the reference where we learned that James Bradford was from Ireland:

"Mary Bradford, born about 1748 in Ireland, daughter of James Bradford [brother of Samuel Bradford, our Rebecca Bradford's father] and a sister to David Bradford who is well known in connection with the Whiskey Insurrection of 1791. Mary immigrated with her family from Ireland to Cecil Co. Maryland, later moving to Washington Co. Pennsylvania. She is buried in Chartiers Hill Presbyterian cemetery near Canonsburg, Pennsylvania." (source: http://www.sasktelwebsite.net/deham/allisonfamily.htm).

We learn later in this article that the above-mentioned Mary Bradford married James Allison, also of Ireland:

"Judge James Allison was a prominent citizen in Washington Co. Pennsylvania. James [Allison] was born in Ireland about 1743. He immigrated to Maryland with his brothers and one sister. He married Mary Bradford, daughter of James, and they moved to Chartiers Hill in  Washington Co. Pennsylvania where they raised 8 children. James along with Dr. McMillan and John McDowell established the Washington Academy later renamed Jefferson College. James was an associate Judge in Washington Co. He died July 24, 1820 and is buried in the Old Chartiers Hill Presbyterian Church cemetery near Canonsburg, PA. The 1882 History of Washington Co. by Crumrine has a biography. "

It's reasonable to suggest that finding the ancestral village of the Allison in-laws might provide a possible clue as to where our Bradford's hailed from. A Google search turned up Allisons in County Donegal, Northern Ireland "hearth roll" (see note # 1 below).  It mentions a James Allison in the parish of Conwal (see note #2 below).  I wondered if this was the same James Allison who married Mary Bradford, niece of our Samuel?  

However, upon searching this record which contains hundreds of names, not a single Bradford is listed.  As ever, our Bradford's remain frustratingly elusive!  

However, it did notice several Dunlaps and Gibsons, and those names are prominent in the list of in-laws of Millers and Bradfords respectively.

While it will take more research to determine of any of these people are our direct or indirect ancestors, this hearth roll record is worth keeping in mind as we continue our long-fought Miller-Bradford research.


NOTES:
#1:  In our day and age, many taxes seems extremely arbitrary.  It looks like this practice is not new--the people of Northern Ireland were taxed on how many hearths they owned!  Here is how the above-referenced record:

#2:  Is it just a coincidence that Conwal Parish is only 15 miles from Ballindrait, the village next to Lifford where our Miller's are from? 

Ballindrait - The Home of Our Miller's and the famous Reverend Traill

Now that we know for sure that our William Miller’s forefathers came from in or near the village of Ballindrait (which is near the larger town of Lifford in the Laggan Presbytery, County Donegal, Ireland), it is interesting to learn the history of this area. The Miller’s no doubt came to this area of Northern Ireland from their homeland in Scotland, along with many thousands of others, for the “planned process of colonisation (sic)” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Scots_people) of Ulster.  Therefore, it is of interest to read about the history or this era.  

From the Book In The Days Of The Laggan Presbytery we read:  “The place that had the distinction of giving both a local habitation and a name to the second Presbytery established in Ireland, is not, as might have been expected, situated in either of the ultra Presbyterian Counties of Antrim or Down, but in dark and distant Donegal. It should be remembered, however, that there are two Donegal’s — an outer and an inner. The former, which is almost wholly Roman Catholic, and from which the County to a large extent takes its character and complexion in the eye of the public, consists of the extensive mountainous districts that lie along the western seaboard, and at some points run far inland. The latter consists of the more flat and fertile country that lies between the mountains and the river Foyle and the eastern boundary of the County. It is largely Protestant, and from a very early period in history has been known as the Laggan, i.e., the low or level country. In the days of the Ulster Plantation, from 1607 onwards, this district, on account of its fertility and also from the fact that the undertakers or persons who obtained the grant of estates in it, were chiefly Scotchmen, was largely peopled by immigrants from Scotland, whose descendants, unto this day, till the fields their forefathers then acquired, and keep to the Presbyterian principles they brought with them from their native land” (source:  https://archive.org/stream/indayslagganpre00leckgoog/indayslagganpre00leckgoog_djvu.txt).   

The River Foyle

You will remember from previous posts that we know our Miller’s were part of the Reverend Traill’s congregation in the village of Ballindrait.  This brave man is mentioned in the history of Laggan Presbytery: “Mr. Trail of Ballindrait was, as is shown by his evidence before the Privy Council regarding the Fast kept by the Presbytery in 1681, an able and honest man. When asked why he had not taken the oath of supremacy (which required any person taking public or church office to swear allegiance to the King of England as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and failure to do so was to be treated as treasonable), he replied that he had never been asked to take it, adding "that he considered it juggling with the King and much more with God to take an oath that is capable of a sound sense, and yet to keep that sound sense in his mind, but let the sense be written down together with the oath, and that will clear the matter." " Besides," said he, " I lie under the punishment imposed by law for refusing the oath of supremacy." When one of the Committee asked — "What is that?" Mr. Trail replied, "I want all preferment." Whereupon Lord Lanesborough asked, "Would you take it if they would give you a good benefice ? " and Mr. Trail replied, " No, my Lord, I have not said that yet. I am content to be as I am without that."

(to be continued)

Our Miller's of Lifford, County Donegal, Ireland

RIVER COTTAGES, LIFFORD
(Source: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/
~fantham/lifford_hall.jpg)

Below is a copy of an actual 1706 document held at the Public Records Office of Ireland (PRONI) and graciously made available through the Ulster Ancestry organization.  

This letter actually lists David Miller, the grandfather of our William Miller and father of Abraham Miller. David was living in Newcastle County, Pennsylvania [later Delaware], and apparently he, his family and friends were appealing to Presbytery in Scotland, their "mother church," for aid in building their congregation there in America.

This is a critical document because it contains the "motherlode" of all genealogical research--the identification of where our immigrant ancestors came from! We read that "...the greatest number of us [were] born and educated in (sic) Irland under the ministry of one William Traill, a (sic) presbiterian minister formerly of Lifford, Co. Donegal [Ireland]..." We not only learn that the Miller's were from Northern Ireland, thus being part of the Scots-Irish Ulster plantations, but we can actually pinpoint the town they hailed from in Ireland! Jackpot!

As you examine the signers of this letter, you find not only the name of our ancestor, David Miller, but also his brother, Alexander Miller, as well as Abraham Emott (a brother-in-law of David and Alexander, having married their sister, Jane), and Abraham's brother, John Emott.

So our Miller ancestors came from Lifford in County Donegal, Northern Ireland! For more information about their connection to the Reverend Traill, enter "Traill" in the search box of this blog.

Here is a youtube video that will give you a taste of what this village looks like now! Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to visit there in person? Someday... (it might not come through as a hot link, so you''ll have to cut and paste this website address into your server's address box):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-0OjxxnID8