300 yrs in Innishowen- Boyds
Date: 7/23/01 11:07:03 PM
Eastern Daylight Time
From: BrooksGen4@aol.com
To: CLANBOYD-L@rootsweb.com
Dear gang,
For those not attached to
the Scotch-Irish email list this is from Charles Clark
who answered a thread on Boyds.
He is researching this area (Innishowen) and
has folks married into Boyds.
BOYD OF BALLYCASTLE. extract
from
THREE
HUNDRED YEARS IN INNISHOWEN, by Amy Young
pages 292 to 298 (pages 294-5
being a chart which is not reproduced here)
There is also a coat of arms,
described as:
Azure, a fess checky
gules and argent between three crescents arg., 2 and 1.
Anyone with any Stewart background
will recognise the fess chequy as a
Stewart device
The family of Boyd of Ballycastle,
now represented by Miss Kathleen
Boyd, who is unmarried and
lives at the Manor House is supposed to be
descended from the Boyds,
Earls of Kilmarnock; and one of the earlier
ancestors was known as "Kilmarnock,"
as it was said that he stood "close
to the Earldom."
In the churchyard at Derrykeighan,
Co. Antrim, there is a tombstone
bearing the following inscription:
"Here lyeth the body of Jane
Peebles, sometime wife to John Boyd of
Carncogie, late Provost of
Irwin. She died 1615."
John Boyd, mentioned above,
field lands called Carncogie, near Dervock,
at this time, and is placed
by Burke as the father of THOMAS BOYD of
Carncogie, who field the same
lands from the Earl of Antrim in 1614.
Thomas Boyd was a Scotsman,
and was made a denizen of Ireland, 29th
Jan., 1611. He also
held the lands of Ballyhibistocke in 1631, and
bought "Lisconane" in 1620.
He died 15th Aug., 1634, having married
circa 1611, Elizabeth Seton,
or Smeeton. Thomas Boyd of Carncogie was
executor to the will of William
Boyd of Dunluce, dated 1624, who may
possibly have been his brother
or cousin. Besides Hugh, Thomas had a
younger son Thomas, who got
Lisconane front his father, and was alive on
the 10th Aug., 1661 (Decrees
of Innocent XL, 14). It appears probable
that there was another son,
William, of Clontifinan, who was father of
Capt. Hugh Boyd, of Mount
Edwards, Cushendall (b 1685/6, and d. March.
30, 1731), who married Margaret
Rowan (who was b. 1687 and d. 1747),
both of whom are buried in
the chancel of the church at Clough, Co.
Antrim. A portrait of
this Capt. Hugh Boyd, similarly inscribed, stating
that he was the eldest son
of William Boyd, of Clontifinan, Ballycastle,
was in the possession of a
family named Boyd, residing at 9, Victoria
St., Dublin. The portrait
was of a gentleman in a wig and armour. The
inscription in Clough church
gives several sons and daus., the name Hugh
occurring more than once,
so that it is very probable that this family
were closely related to the
Ballycastle branch, though the exact
connection is not known.
Hugh Boyd, the eldest son of
Thomas of Carncogie, is said by Burke to
have been father of the Rev.
William Boyd, of Drumawillan, who was Vicar
of Ramoan, and d 1727 or 1737.
By his marriage with Rose, dau. and
heiress of Daniel McNeile
of Clare (grandson of Hugh McNeile, to whom
Sir Randal MacDonnell granted
the Constableship of Duncaney and
Ballycastle, and many acres
of land in that part), this William Boyd
became possessed of considerable
property. He appears to have married a
second time, since his son
Hugh, in his will mentions two "brothers-in-law,"
Alexander Boyd and the Rev.
Charles Boyd. The term
brother-in-law was used in
several senses in earlier times, and could
quite well refer to half-brothers.
One of these "brothers-in-law,"
Alexander, was Surveyor of
the Customs at Ballycastle, and got the Clare
property from his father.
He married Anne, dau. (or sister) of Ezekiel
Davys Wilson, of Carrickfergus
Co. Antrim, and had a number of children.
This family was known as the
Boyds of Clare Park, but is now extinct in the male
line, and the Clare property
was sold by one of them to Edmund McGildowny, Esq.,
whose descendants still hold
it. The chart on p. 291 shows the children of Alexander Boyd.
By his first wife, Rose McNeile,
the Rev. William Boyd had at least two
sons and two daus. The younger
son was the Rev. William, A.M., born at
Drumawillan 1696, and entered
T.C.D., 1711. He was treasurer of the
diocese of Connor in 1730,
and Archdeacon of Kildare 1737. He married a
Miss Blundell, a sister of
Dean Blundell, of Dublin, and had two sons
and two daus.
To return to the elder son
of the Rev. William Boyd, Vicar of Ramoan,
Col. Hugh Boyd; he was b.
1680, and became a man of very considerable
importance in Ballycastle,
and indeed in Co. Antrim. He was Mayor of
Coleraine in 1725. 1729, and
173t4, and was High Sheriff of Co. Antrim
in 1734. He bought the Ballycastle
estate in 1737 from the Earl of
Autrim, and built the church
in Ballycastle, he himself being the first
to be interred in the vault
underneath it in 1765. He also built the
harbour at Ballycastle, and
the present Mansion House, situated as near
as possible to the scene of
his labours. Drumawillan, his previous
residence, is near Ballycastle,
but not close enough for his
convenience.
Col. Hugh Boyd is said to have
been always distinguished for a genuine
humility of mind. He was sincerely
pious, and endowed the handsome
little church in Ballycastle,
the inscription over the door of which
says "Keep thy foot when thou
enterest the House of God, and be more
ready to hear than to offer
the sacrifice of fools."
His will contained instructions
that the cost of his funeral was not to
exceed £120, and he
strongly advised all his relatives to follow this
example, as he had a great
objection to ostentations and costly
funerals, his elder son died
in the Colonels lifetime and his two
eldest grandsons had no sons,
so the Colonels will is long, and
contains a good many contingent
reminders.
Dr. Pococke, in his Irish Tour
in 1752, visited Ballycastle, and makes
the following comments:-
"Ballycastle is a strong instance
of the assiduity and judgement of one
person, Mr. Boyd, to whom
the place belongs, who holds it as a fee farm
under Lord Antrim. . . . Mr.
Boyd's great work was to make a safe
harbour for shipping, which
he has done most effectually, having
received £10,000 from
the publick for that purpose. . . . Besides this,
Mr. Boyd built a very good
Inn, a Brewery, Tan-yard, houses for boyling
soap, and salt, making candles,
and a very fine bleach yard; all of
which he farms out. He has
also built a handsome house for himself, and
a brick wall on two sides
of a garden of seven acres; and at the same
time has carried on the works
of a very considerable colliery, which is
to the east towards Fair Head
on the sea side; . . . This gentleman, in
the colliery and all the manufactures
he supports, has about 300 people
employed every day, and in
the years of scarcity he took care to buy
corn and have it sold at a
reasonable price. All these things undertaken
and carried on by one man
are a very uncommon instance in a practical
way of human understanding
and prudence. . . .
"When 1 came to Ballycastle
Mr. Boyd soon found out I had compliments to
him from the archbishop of
Dublin, he obliged me to make his house my
home: where I met my acquaintance
his daughter, Mrs. Macaulay, married
to Dr. Macaulay, Vicar-General
of the Diocese of Dublin."
Col. Hugh Boyd married Anne,
dau. of Randal McAllister of Kenbane. She
was b. 1685, and d. 21st May,
1776, and is buried in the vault in
Ballycastle Church. They had
two sons and four daus., of whom the eldest
son, William, was High Sheriff
of Co. Antrim in 1740, and d. before
1762, having married (articles
dated 11th Oct., 1788) Mary, dau. of
Ezekiel Davys Wilson, of Carrickfergus,
Co. Antrim, who was High Sheriff
in 1725. She d. 6th Dec.,
1762. They had seven sons and two daus.:
1. Alexander, High Sheriff
for Co. Antrim 1761; d. 1770, having m. at
St. Thomas's Church, Dublin,
the Hon. Anna Maria Acheson. dau. of
Archibald, 1st Lord Gosford.
(She re-m. the Rev. H. Maxwell, Rector of
Dromore, Co. Down.) Had issue
three daus.:
1) Marianne,
m. Nathaniel Montgomery Moore, of Aughnacloy
2) Rosetta,
m. first, Hugh Boyd, second, Col. James Stephens:
3) Anna
Maria.
2. Hugh, also High Sheriff
for Antrim, 1773; m. Mary, dau. of Rowley
Hill, Esq. (or, by another
account, dau. of Sir. Geo. Hill, of Daisy
Hill). She was b. 1736. His
will is dated 1780, and was proved by his
widow in 1782. No issue.
3. Ezekiel Davys, b. 1740,
of whom later.
4. Daniel, m. a Miss Brooke
of Derry, and had a dau.
5. William, d. unm.
6. James (Rev.), known as
"Trinitv James"; m. a dau. of Alex. Boyd, of
Clare Park, and was buried
in the vault in Ballycastle church with his
children.
7. Adam, d. unm.
8. Mary called "Moll Roe"
from the colour of her hair, was m. twice:
first, to the Rev. Alexander
Cuppage, who was Rector of Rathlin, and was
drowned in Slough-na-morra
between Ballycastle and Rathlin, in Sept.,
1772, with young James Gage
of Rathlin; she m secondly, her cousin,
James Boyd of Whitehall.
9. Margaret, alive and not
21 Years of age in 1762.
Ezekiel Davys Boyd was b 1740,
High Sheriff for Co. Antrim in 1776, and
d. 23rd Aug., 1801, having
married, 26th Oct., 1762, Amy, dau. of John
Frisbey of Jamaica, and his
wife Frances Palmer, and widow of George
Fullerton of Ballintoy Castle.
By her first husband Amy Frisbey had a
dau. Katherine, b. 26th May,
1753, who m. Dawson Downing, Esq., and had
three sons. Dawson Downing
m. as his. second wife Anne, dau. of E. D.
Boyd and Amy Frisbey, his
two wives being half-sisters. Amy Frisbey was
b. 15th Nov., 1734, and d.
in 1824, being buried in the family vault.
The children of Ezekiel and
Amy Boyd were:-
1. Anne, b. 7th Sept 1763.
Sponsors-her gt.gd.father Boyd, gt.uncle
Wray, gt,gd.mother Bovd, gt.aunt
MacAulay. Mar. as second wife, Dawson
Downing, Esq.
2. Hugh, b. 23rd Feb., 1765.
Sponsors-his gt.gd.father Boyd, gt.uncle
MacAulay., aunt Boyd, aunt
Cuppage. Died 23rd Feb., 1795, having m
first, a dau. of Col. Stephens.;
and secondly, his cousin Rosetta, dau
of Alexander Boyd and Anna
Maria Acheson. He succeeded to the estates in
1786. His will, dated 12th
Nov., 1794, was proved 22nd April, 1796. He
had issue:-
1) Hugh,
b. 1728, d 1862. Proprietor of Ballycastle; d.unm
2) Alexander,
b. 1789; m. 1819, Anne Hewey He became proprietor of
the estates and lived at
the Manor House; d.s.p.
3) Amy,
b. 1787; m. 1818, James Humphrey Keats. She also owned the
estates after her brother's
death. She had two children: a son Meyrick, b. 1825, who d.
before his mother in 1865;
and a
dau. Caroline, b. 1829, who m. 1850, John O'Neill, merchant
4) Harriet,
b. 1790; in. 1818, Sir John Boyd, Bart. (b. 1786, d.
1856), by whom she had issue:
(1)
Sir John Augustus, b. 1819; m. Honor, dau. of Charles Calmady,
Esq.; d. 1837. Had issue,
Emily Catherine and Sir Harley Hugh, who lived with their
mother, Lady Boyd, at Drumwillan
House, Ballycastle and d. unm. (2) The Rev. Frederick, b. 1820;
m. first, Katherine Beauclerc,
and had issue a dau. Kathleen, present proprietor of the
Ballycastle estates; in. secondly,
Alice
Drummond. (3) Henrietta, m. Col. Taylor.
5) Anna
Maria, d. at Bath, 1839, unm.
3. William, b. Feb. 10, 1766
Sponsors---his uncle Boyd, cousin James
Boyd of Clare, gt.aunt Wray,
gt aunt Denniston. Died unm.
4. Francis. b. 19th July,
1767, and d. a few days later in London.
5. Ezekiel Davys, b. 9th Aug.1768.
Sponsors-Robert Adair, Esq. Ezl.
Davys Wilson, Esq., gt.aunt
Boyd of Clare, his aunt Mrs. Hugh Boyd. Died
in June, 1835, aged 67; M.
Catherine, dau. of Francis Turnly, Esq., of
Newtownards, Co. Down, and
his wife Catherine dau. of John Black. She d.
17th June, 1850, aged 81 (Parish
Register of St. Anne's).
Their children were:-
1. Hugh (General), b. 1801,
d. 1876; m. first, Matilda, sister of Sir
Patrick Grant, of Nairn, and
had issue: (1) Edmund Gordon, who d. 1881,
having m. Miss Walpole, and
had issue a son and a dau. The General m.
secondly, Frances Dobbs, of
Castle Dobbs, and had issue two daus.
2. Catherine, b. near Belfast,
3rd Dec., 1791; and d. at Bally-castle,
22nd Oct., 1852, aged 61.
She m. 12th Aug., 1812, the Rev. Robert Gage
of Rathlin (see p. 286).
3. Ezekiel Davys, b. 1793,
d. 1872, having m. Anne, dau. of H. Sandwith,
B.C.S., of London; no issue.
Bequeathed his Ballycastle house to his
nephew Ezekiel Gage. Major-General.
4. Rosetta, b. 1799; d. 1871,
aged 74; m. 9th March, 1819, Charles
McGildowney, of Clare Park,
Esq.
5. Francis Turnly (Major),
b. 19th Nov., 1797; d.11th Feb., 1867, aged
70; m. Jean Charlotte, dau.
of Dr. James Meik, in India; she d. 18th
Dec., 1872. See below.
6. Jane Tumly, b. 1809; d.
unm. 1870.
7. Amy, b. 1795; d. unm. 1856
8. Hugh, d.y.
Major Francis Boyd and his
wife had five sons and one daughter. The
eldest son, Frank, married
in Canada and had eleven children. From the
above account it will be seen
that there is not now a male
representative of the famous
Col. Hugh Boyd. left in the neighbourhood
of Ballycastle. The Mansion
House is now the property of a descendant of
his in the female line also
a Boyd on (last line missing)