The Colhouns of the Irish Gentry

Why the Gentry?

The 17^th century saw many Scots resettle in Ireland, particularly in the northernmost province of Ulster.  This migration was driven by a series of events throughout that century, including:

• The privately-financed settlement of Scots in Counties Antrim and Down engineered by Hugh Montgomery and James Hamilton in 1606.
• The royally-sanctioned Ulster Plantation, which covered most of the rest of Ulster, starting in 1609.
• The conclusion of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in 1653, after which many Scottish Covenanter soldiers stationed in Ireland chose to remain.
• The conclusion of the Williamite War in the 1690s, at which time famine in Scotland and cheap rents in Ireland caused many Scots to relocate.

Among the Scottish settlers who came to Ireland were numerous Colquhouns.  Exactly how many we cannot say since we have to assume that many were tenant farmers and tradesmen who went largely unrecorded, or at least are underrepresented in surviving records.

This post focuses on the wealthier minority of Irish Colhoun families.  Although ancestrally Scottish, they would have been considered part of the Anglo-Irish elite, the so-called Protestant Ascendancy that dominated political, legal, and economic life in Ireland until the reforms of the mid-19^th century.  Being in the good graces of the Crown, they belonged to the Church of Ireland, the state-sanctioned Anglican church that held most of the ecclesiastical power and property in Ireland.  Although none of the wealthier Calhouns (whether in Scotland, Ireland, or elsewhere) ever made it to the peerage (the highest tier of British nobility), they did belong to the gentry (wealthy, land-owning commoners eligible for coats of arms, with titles ranging from “Gentleman” to “Baronet”; see here for descriptions).  

You might ask, If these guys were the minority, why focus so much attention on them?  Don’t the rich get enough resources already?  The fact is that from the 17^th to early 19^th centuries, the Calhouns of Ireland most often recorded in surviving documents were those of the Irish gentry:  they bought and sold land, acted as landlords on estate records, appeared in court proceedings, petitioned the Crown, left wills, etc.  As a result, these families tend to have relatively long paper trails.  Tenant farmers also appeared in rental records, but in general these appearances were fewer and farther between, making their families harder to trace.

The long paper trails of the Irish gentry can be genealogically useful not only to members of those families themselves, but also to the rest of us.  Using Y-DNA genetic information, we can often estimate when the most recent common patrilineal ancestor of two Calhoun men lived.  If the first of those men has a long paper trail, perhaps because he is a descendant of the gentry, and if the second man shares a common ancestor with the first during the timeframe of that trail, then the second man might reasonably assume that some of his own ancestors appear in the pedigree of the first.

These relatively long paper trails also mean that if any Irish Calhoun family might be traced back to Scotland, it would be one of the gentry.  Furthermore, there was not a lot of room for upward social mobility in Britain in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, so I have to assume that the Colhouns of the Irish gentry were descended from Colquhouns of the Scottish gentry.  (Some Irish families did initially acquire land through military service rather than by purchase, but I tend to think that most soldiers receiving larger Irish land grants were military officers––who again tended to come from wealthier families––rather than foot soldiers.)  Thanks in part to the work of Sir William N. Fraser, many of the Colquhoun families of the Scottish gentry have the benefit of a relatively solid pedigree back to Humphrey of Kilpatrick, the 13^th century founder of the family.  If we could join ourselves to the Irish gentry, and the Irish gentry to the Scottish gentry, we might be able to trace our Calhoun lineages back to the year 1240.  Wishful thinking, of course, but we have to try, don’t we?

Although there was limited upward social mobility in centuries past, there was certainly downward mobility.  Those who were financially unsuccessful, or were younger sons of younger sons that did not inherit much, could fall out of the gentry class.  Those of us with Irish Calhoun ancestry who do not have long paper trails (i.e., most of us) might be descendants of working-class Colquhouns who came to Ireland as tenants, or we might just as easily be descendants of Irish gentry families who for whatever reason eventually lost title and property.  With enough Y-DNA data, we may eventually be able to distinguish between these two scenarios, at least in certain cases.

Below are brief descriptions of the distinct Colhoun families of the Irish gentry that I have been able to identify so far.  (I use the spelling “Colhoun” because all of them came from western Ulster where that spelling predominated, as opposed to eastern Ulster, where “Cahoon” and “Cohoon” were more common.)  In Scotland, the senior Colquhoun families were styled (at least by Fraser) by the principal property they owned, like “Colquhoun of Luss”, “Colquhoun of Camstradden”, “Colquhoun of Kilmardinny”, etc.  In Ireland, I have not seen this tradition used as consistently, or at least not in a hereditary fashion, so I have had to make up my own titles to describe these families.  Previous posts discussed Colquhoun of Corkagh.  I will devote future posts to each of the other families in turn, but for now, I simply want to enumerate them.

Selected properties held by the families Colquhoun of Corkagh (orange), Colhoun of Crosh (magenta), Colhoun of Taughboyne (green), Colhoun of Letterkenny (blue), Colhoun of Tironeill (yellow), and Colhoun of Labbadish (red). (Source: interactive parish map at http://www.johngrenham.com; used with permission.)

Colquhoun of Corkagh

Corkagh was an estate, located in parish Raymoghy, Co. Donegal, that was created in 1610 as part of the original Plantation of Ulster.  Alexander Colquhoun, 15^th/17^th of Luss purchased this property from his nephew, Sir Walter Stewart of Minto, in the 1610s.  The two previous posts concerning the history of this property mention that those of the family who actually lived in Ireland included just two generations from the male line:  Alexander’s grandsons James Colquhoun (later 19^th/21^st of Luss) and Alexander Colquhoun (later 1^st of Tillyquhoun) from the first generation, and James’s son Capt. James Colquhoun of Manorcunningham from the second.  This is the only family of the Irish gentry for which we know the Scottish founder with certainty [WOOHOO!].  However, it is also one where the male line quickly died out, precluding its participation in Y-DNA comparisons [D’OH!]

Shown on the map above in orange:  Corkey and Manorcunningham.

Colhoun of Crosh

This family can be traced back to about 1630 to the area around Newtownstewart, a village in parish Ardstraw, Co. Tyrone.  Around 1725, the senior member of the family, William Colhoun, acquired property in the townlands of Crosh and Croshballinree, just outside Newtownstewart, and Crosh is the place name most commonly associated with the family.  However, many family members lived elsewhere in western Tyrone and Donegal, notably Rev. Alexander Colhoun Sr. (1663-1719), one of several Church of Ireland ministers in the family.

One might be forgiven for thinking that the Colhouns of Crosh were the only Calhoun family living in Ireland in the 1700s.  This is because until recently, many if not most Calhouns with Irish origins claimed descent from this family, particularly from the above-mentioned Rev. Alexander Colhoun Sr.  It seems that virtually every Calhoun immigrant to America born within 20 years of 1700 was stated to have been a son of Rev. Alexander.  Thanks to widespread availability of more records and to Y-DNA genetic testing, we now know that in most cases this is simply not true.

Y-DNA haplogroups associated with this family are MF104747 for select members, and its parental haplogroup, FT350465, for the entire family.

Shown on the map above in magenta:  Crosh/Newtownstewart, Strahulter, Sixmilecross, and Ballyhallaghan.

Colhoun of Taughboyne

The Colhouns of Taughboyne included several lawyers and clerks as well as John Colhoun (d. 1755), the estate agent for the Earl of Abercorn in the 1740s and 1750s.  The family originated in parish Taughboyne, Co. Donegal about 1665, and the senior members owned the townland of Corncammon (aka Corncamble) in the adjacent parish of Allsaints.  However, the family was also associated with Buncrana and Carnamoyle on the Inishowen Peninsula, Strabane in Co. Tyrone, Dublin, and other places.

In Our Calhoun Family, Orval Calhoun states that the John Colhoun (d. 1755) mentioned above was a son of Rev. Alexander Colhoun Sr. of Crosh (as was every other Calhoun, it seems!)  However, the Y-DNA haplogroup associated with the Colhoun of Taughboyne family is BY153907, which originated early in the Ulster Plantation years.  The Crosh family is negative for BY153907, which indicates the Crosh and Taughboyne families were descendants of different Ulster settlers from Scotland.  Nonetheless, due to the popularity of Orval’s books, the misconception that they were a single Irish family persists to the present day. 

Shown on the map above in green:  Corncammon, St. Johnston, Buncrana, Carnamoyle, and Strabane.

Colhoun of Letterkenny

This family, associated with the town of Letterkenny (parish Conwal) and the townland of Carrickballydooey (parish Raymoghy), both in Co. Donegal, was the subject of an entry in A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Ireland (Sir Bernard Burke and A. C. Fox-Davies.  London: Harrison & Sons, 1912, p. 121).  The article traces the family to John Colhoun and Susanna Leslie, who lived in the early 18^th century.  It seems that with each generation after about 1750, the family produced only a single male heir, inevitably named Charles.  Unfortunately, as best I can tell, this male line of Charleses came to an end in 1972 with the death in London of Charles K. Colhoun, a literary scholar and translator.  Unfortunately, unless other members can be identified, we will have no Y-DNA information about this family.

Shown on the map above in blue:  Letterkenny and Carrickballydooey.

Colhoun of Tironeill

This family held property in parish Clonleigh, Co. Donegal, including the townland of Tironeill and the estate of Bullock House in Boyagh, as well as the townland of Lisanelly, parish Cappagh, Co. Tyrone.  They have been traced as far as a Robert Colhoun Sr. who was probably born in the mid-1700s.

I confess I’m cheating a bit here.  Y-DNA results show this family belongs to haplogroup FTA80569, which is a subgroup of BY153907.  Because BY153907 originated around the time of the Ulster Plantation, it appears likely that the Colhouns of Tironeill are a branch of the Colhouns of Taughboyne; however, the connection between the two families has not (yet) been documented.

Shown on the map above in yellow:  Tironeill/Boyagh and Lisanelly.

Colhoun of Labbadish

The townland of Labbadish is adjacent to Carrickballydooey in parish Raymoghy, Co. Donegal, so it is possible that this family is in fact a branch of the Colhouns of Letterkenny described above.  However, there is as yet no documentary or genetic proof of this, and no one from this family has participated in the Colhoun Y-DNA Project as of yet.

It is also not clear whether every Colhoun from Labbadish was part of the same family.  Early “members” include John Colhoun, Esq. of Labbadish, born about 1740; and William Colhoun, Esq. of Green Cottage in Labbadish, born about 1777.  How they and others from that area were related, if at all, is not clear.

Shown on the map above in red:  Labbadish.

Conclusion

From the records I have seen, all of the Calhouns living in Ireland in the 17^th-19^th centuries who appear to have had money, title, or land can be connected to one of the six families mentioned above.  However, the records I have seen are limited, so there could well have been others.  These families tended to marry within their own social class, and marriage contracts often involved the acquisition or exchange of land rights with spouses’ families.  The map above shows the result of this process after several generations, with land holdings of members of the same gentry family sometimes extending to different parishes and different counties.

In a previous post, I mentioned that Y-DNA data indicated that Calhoun testers of Irish ancestry from haplogroup E-Y16733 were descended from as many as seven Scottish Colquhoun settlers of Ireland.  Additional testing since that post was written (July 2023) suggests an eighth settler.  At least two of these settlers had descendants among the six gentry families above.  In addition, Calhouns from two non-E haplogroups (R1b1a2_N and J2) also have Irish ancestry.  Both of these groups likely arose through NPEs, and it is not yet known whether they arose before or after the 17^th century settlement of Ireland by Scots.  As always, Y-DNA testing of more Irish Calhouns may help to give us a clearer picture.

Are you aware of other Calhouns of the Irish gentry who cannot be connected with one of the families above?  Can you shed any light on the relationships between these families?  If so, I’d love to hear from you!

*****

Thanks again to John Grenham for the use of the map from his website, and once again, thanks to Paul Calhoun for critical reading of this post and helpful edits.

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© 2024 Brian Anton. All rights reserved.

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The Manor of Corkagh: Part 2 of 2

The Colquhouns of Corkagh 1659-1665

At the end of Part 1, I mentioned that the Galbraiths claimed they were the legal owners of much of the original manor of Corkagh, but that Sir John Colquhoun, 17^th/19^th of Luss and his brother James Colquhoun had illegally occupied the property to prevent them from exercising their ownership rights.  The following independent records show that the laird of Luss’s brother James did indeed reside in Corkey.  While one can only speculate as to whether, as the Galbraiths claimed, he tried to force possession of the remainder of the manor of Corkagh, the influx of Colquhoun family members to the townland after 1662 does suggest a show of force.

Pender’s Census of 1659.  Tituladoes (landowners claiming title to the land) in the Barony of Raphoe, County Donegal:

• Robert Galbraith, Esq., Dowish, parish Ray [not part of the manor of Corkagh]
• James Calhoune, Esq^r, Corkey, parish Ray

Subsidy Roll for Co. Donegal, 8 May 1662.  Those who paid a grant in aid to the crown (i.e., the wealthiest of society such as nobility, clergy, and gentry):

• James Colhoune, parish Ray, £7-3/-.
• Alex Colhoune, parish Ray, £7-10/-.

Hearth Money Roll, County Donegal, Barony of Raphoe, 1663:

• James Colhoune, Esq., Corka, parish Raymoghy, 2 hearths
• Alex Colhoune, Corka, parish Raymoghy, 1 hearth
• David Colhoune, Corka, parish Raymoghy, 1 hearth

Hearth Money Roll, County Donegal, Barony of Raphoe, 1665:

• Adam Colhoune (sen.), Corcy, parish Raymoghy, 1 hearth
• David Colhoune, Corcy, parish Raymoghy, 1 hearth
• James Colhoune, Esq., Corcy, parish Raymoghy, 2 hearths
• James Colhoune, Corcy, parish Raymoghy, 1 hearth
• John Colhoune, Corcy, parish Raymoghy, 1 hearth
• John Colhoune (jun.), Corcy, parish Raymoghy, 1 hearth

These lists are not equivalent in terms of how much of the population they included, with the 1659 and 1662 lists including only the wealthiest and the Hearth Money Rolls also including the middle class.  However, the two Hearth Money Rolls should be equivalent, and they show the number of Calhouns living in the townland of Corkey to have doubled from 1663 to 1665.  This is the time period when the laird of Luss was trying to regain the rest of the manor of Corkagh, and again, the increase suggests that he may have been packing the area of the manor that he still legally possessed with his family members and allies.  (Compare this with the situation in 1630, when the muster roll showed no one named Calhoun living anywhere in Corkagh.)

A total of seven Calhouns are listed in at least one of the records above.

• James Colhoune, Esq. was the younger brother of Sir John Colquhoun, 17^th/19^th of Luss, the one mentioned in the Chancery Bill (discussed in Part I of this article) as having tried to illegally occupy Corkagh.  More about James below.
• Alexander Colhoune was most likely another younger brother of Sir John Colquhoun, 17^th/19^th of Luss.  He disappears from the Hearth Money Rolls after 1663, having likely returned to Scotland.  In 1664, he married Annabella Stewart and shortly thereafter acquired the estate of Tullichewan in Dunbartonshire, becoming the first in the line of that cadet branch.  (See Fraser vol. 2, pp. 161-166.)
• David Colhoune, present in 1663 and 1665.
• Adam Colhoune, Sr., present in 1665.  There was also an Adam, Jr. listed in the 1665 Hearth Money Roll in nearby Balleghan, which was on the estate of James Cunningham, Esq.  The two Adams may or may not have been father and son.
• James Colhoune, presumably a younger man distinct from James, Esq., present in 1665.
• John Colhoune [Sr.], present in 1665.
• John Colhoune Jr., present in 1665.  The two Johns may or may not have been father and son.

Aside from James, Esq. and Alexander, the identities and relationships of the other Calhouns living in Corkey at the time of the Hearth Money Rolls are unknown.

James Colquhoun of Corkagh, of Balvie, and of Luss

The only known member of the Colquhoun of Luss family to put down roots in Ireland was James Colquhoun, younger brother of Sir John Colquhoun, 17^th/19^th of Luss.  His father, Sir John Colquhoun, 16^th/18^th of Luss, married Lady Lilias Graham in the summer of 1620 (Fraser vol. 1, p. 242).  As James was one of six children and the second son, a reasonable timeframe for his birthdate is 1625-1630.  Upon the death of his nephew in 1680, James succeeded as laird of Luss, and so Fraser devotes a chapter to him in volume 1 of his work (pp. 294-301).  However, Fraser appears largely ignorant of the time James spent in Ireland and makes essentially no mention of it in the book, so I hope to correct that record here.

Fraser notes that James was still in Scotland in 1655, when he obtained the following letter of safe passage from General Monck for a trip to England:

Permitt the bearer hereof, Mr. James Colquhoun, with his servant, horses, and necessaries, to passe with his travayling armes to London or other pairts of England, and to repasse into Scotland without molestation, hee doing nothing prejudiciall to his Highnesse.  Given under my hand and seale att Dalkeith the 22th day of September 1655.   –George Monck.

Fraser vol. 1, p. 294, citing “Original Letter of Protection at Rossdhu”.

Sometime between late 1655 and 1659, James moved to Ireland, settling at Corkey, one of the only townlands of his family’s original estate still in their possession, perhaps accompanied by his younger brother, Alexander Colquhoun.  As one of the wealthier residents of that area, James was recorded among the tituladoes in Pender’s Census of 1659 and in the Subsidy Rolls of 1662, as well as in the Hearth Money Rolls of 1663 and 1665 (where he was taxed on 2 hearths, again indicating wealth).

As I mentioned above, James’s older brother Sir John, 17^th/19 of Luss was interested in regaining the parts of the Manor of Corkagh that his father had sold off to the Galbraiths.  It may be that James and Alexander were sent to reside there as a way of bolstering the laird’s position during this reclamation.  Other Colquhoun family members also seem to have been installed in Corkey during the 1660s, as the Hearth Money Rolls show.

Sir John Colquhoun, 17^th/19^th of Luss, 2^nd Baronet. Portrait from Fraser vol. 1, after p. 254.

During his time in Ireland, James was styled “of Corkagh”.  For example, in the probate records of his uncle Sir Humphrey Colquhoun of Balvie, drawn up in 1672, he is called “James Collquhown of Corkie” and, as best I can read the old document, was recipient of one of Humphrey’s brown mares.  Even a later biographical sketch refers to him as, “Sir James Colquhoun, Baronet [s. 1625], of Luss aforesaid, uncle and h. male, formerly of Corcagh, co. Donegal” (Complete Baronetage: English, Irish, and Scottish, 1625-1649, vol. II.  Exeter: William Pollard and Co., 1902, p. 294).

It was also during his time in Ireland, and likely in the early 1660s, that James married Penuel Cunningham.  Penuel was the daughter of John Cunningham, Esq. of Ballyachen (son of the Undertaker of Ballyachen, James Cunningham, Esq.) and Ann Cunningham (daughter of the Undertaker of Portlough, Sir James Cunningham of Glengarnock).  Both Fraser (in vol. 1, p. 294) and Complete Baronetage (in footnote (d) on p. 294), as well as some other sources, err in naming Penuel’s father, with Fraser calling him “William” and Baronetage calling him “Sir James.”  The following documents enable the proper determination of her parents:

• Abstract, prerogative will of James Cunningham, Esq., of Ballyachen (dated 7 May 1664, probated 11 Mar 1667), names eldest son John (to whom he bequeathed all his land), son Robert, and daughters Giles and Frances.  
• Index entry, will of John Cunningham, Esq., of Ballyachen, 1674.
• Abstract, prerogative will of John Cunningham, Gent., of Tully, Co. Donegal (dated 15 Nov 1669), names sisters Catherine (wife of Robert Sanderson, Gent., of Co. Cavan) and Pennell (wife of James Colquhoun).
• Legal brief from the Wicklow Collection #69 (dated 10 Jan 1669; National Library of Ireland, MS 38,556), which states Sir James Cunningham died 1620, leaving wife Katherine, son and heir George, and daughter Ann; that George died ca. 1640, leaving only a daughter; that James Cunningham, Esq. [of Ballyachen] served as George’s trustee; and that John Cunningham, Esq. [son of James] died leaving heirs Katherine and Pennuel “who are sisters by the father but not the mother” but also “daughters and heires to Ann, the daughter to the said Sir James and sister to George.”

The legal brief is 77 pages in length, and I have not consulted the original, only a brief abstract, with further details to be found here.  In the will of John Cunningham of Tully, both Catherine and Penuel were treated as his sisters, and in the legal brief both women were described as “daughters and heires to Ann” with no distinction, so the other statement that they were half-sisters with different mothers is puzzling.  No matter who her biological mother was, Penuel was clearly treated as the heir of Ann as well as of John of Ballyachen.

The marriage with Penuel may have been advantageous in that it cemented an alliance between the Colquhouns and two neighboring Cunningham families.  In his will of 1664 noted above, James Cunningham, Esq. named his “trusty and well-beloved friend” “James Colquhowne, Esq. of Corcagh” as beneficiary of an annuity of £110.  Also to be given to beneficiaries were proceeds from a debt owed to Cunningham by “the Galbraiths.”  Although James Colquhoun was not described as a grandson-in-law, he was likely already married to Penuel at the time.  Through Penuel’s dowry, the marriage also provided James Colquhoun an ownership interest in several townlands in parish Allsaints that Penuel inherited from her mother, Ann (originally part of the Manor of Portlough issued to Ann’s father, Sir James Cunningham), plus several townlands in parish Raymoghy that she inherited from her father, John (originally part of the Manor of Ballyachen issued to John’s father, James Cunningham, Esq.)  On 10 Jul 1672 James Colquhoun, along with his wife’s sister and brother-in-law Catherine and Robert Sanderson, sold the townlands in Allsaints, namely Portlough, Colmakiltraine (Chúil Mhic an Tréin, later known as Castleforward), and Drummay, to John Forward (NLI Wicklow Collection, MS 38,522/5).  The absence of Penuel’s name from the record is again puzzling and could reflect an omission in the transcript, since she was alive at the time.

In 1664, James’s brother Alexander returned to Scotland, with several other people of the name Calhoun taking his place in Corkey.  Shortly after the sale of the Allsaints properties in 1672, James himself returned to Scotland, bringing his family.  James’s uncle, Sir Humphrey Colquhoun of Balvie, passed away that year, and as mentioned above, his probate made some special consideration for James.  Fraser picks up the account of James’s life from the point of his return to Scotland, having been unaware of events in Ireland.  

While James was still styled “of Corkagh” in his uncle’s will of 1672, by 28 Jul 1674, when he was made a burgess of Dumbarton, he was styled “of Balvie” (Fraser vol. 1, p. 294, citing Dumbarton Records vol. i).  James gained official possession of his late uncle’s property on 19 Apr 1679, when he was infefted in “the lands of Balvie and others” (Fraser vol. 1, p. 294).  Thus, it appears he was already absent from Ireland when the court battle with the Galbraiths over Corkagh was settled in 1678.

Penuel died in Scotland sometime between April and October 1679, after which James returned to Ireland for an extended period to visit her friends and family.  His eldest son, Humphrey, was left money to handle her funeral expenses (Fraser vol. 1, p. 295).  In 1676, James’s brother Sir John died at Luss and was succeeded by his son, another Sir James Colquhoun, 18^th/20^th of Luss.  The young laird’s tenure was brief, as he died in 1680 while a minor and unmarried.  Fraser notes that “Sir James Colquhoun of Balvie for some time after the death of his nephew, Sir James Colquhoun of Luss, declined to enter himself as his heir” (vol. 1, p. 296).  Nonetheless, he eventually relented and by commission he was officially served heir on 17 Feb 1685, becoming Sir James Colquhoun, 19^th/21^st of Luss, 4^th Baronet.  He died in the second half of 1688 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Humphrey Colquhoun, 20^th/22^nd of Luss, who would be the last laird of Luss in the original, unbroken male line from Humphrey of Kilpatrick.

James and Penuel had three children altogether:  Humphrey, James, and Elizabeth.  Son Humphrey, who succeeded as laird of Luss, has already been mentioned, and daughter Elizabeth married Alexander Falconer of Kipps, Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland (Fraser vol. 1, p. 301) in Edinburgh in 1708.  Fraser says that son James “is mentioned as the second son of Sir James Colquhoun in the renunciation dated in 1682.  There is no later trace of James among the family papers” (vol. 1, p. 301).  This is because son James (who I will now refer to as Capt. James) returned to Ireland, again out of Fraser’s purview.  I will return to Capt. James in a subsequent section.

The Colquhouns of Luss associated with Corkagh and their Cunningham relatives; not all children of each family are shown. Undertakers of Ulster and their successors are indicated in bold. Those who resided in Ireland as adults are shaded in green.

Sale to the Leslies

In 1678, the majority of the Manor of Corkagh was surrendered by Sir James Colquhoun to the Galbraith heirs.  What of the remaining townlands, Corkey and Rosamonil?  They were sold by Sir James, perhaps even before 1678, to Rev. John Leslie, Rector of Kilmacrenan, son of George Leslie, 9^th of Kincraigie in Scotland.  (Interestingly enough, this is not the same Rev. John Leslie who was married to the daughter of Humphrey Galbraith, nor were they closely related.)  According to a dubious printed account from 1869, upon the death of his father, the Rector of Kilmacrenan returned to Scotland and attempted to claim the estate of Kincraigie, but he was blocked from doing so by the machinations of his stepmother.

John Leslie was obliged to compromise matters with his stepmother and her family, and relinquished his claim for £5000, a large sum in those days.  With this money he returned to Ireland, and purchased from Sir James Colquhoun the manor and castle of Rosamonil and Corkee, to which he gave the name of Kincraigie.

Charles Joseph Leslie. Historical Records of the Family of Leslie from 1067 to 1868-9, vol. III. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1869, pp. 338-339.

The source above also states that John Leslie’s father was served heir to Kincraigie in Scotland in 1705, which implies that John purchased the Irish properties no earlier than 1705.  This is echoed by a second source, likely derivative, that states, “John Leslie, of Durosamount, now called Kincraigie, co. Donegal, who settled in Ireland about 1705, and had issue, a son, Charles, of whom presently…” (Ashworth P. Burke.  Family Records.  London: Harrison and Sons, 1897, p. 385.)  However, Rev. Leslie died in 1693, so the entire backstory related in the 1869 book is questionable at best.

Despite this, we know the sale did indeed occur, since Rev. John Leslie’s will, dated 31 Aug 1693, notes that Corkey and other townlands were in his possession when he died.  So when did the sale happen, if not in or after 1705?  Clearly, it must have taken place after the Hearth Money Rolls in 1665 and before the death of Sir James Colquhoun in 1688.  I believe the two most likely times for the sale to have occurred are about 1672 (when Sir James left Ireland) and about 1680 (when Sir James became laird of Luss and Corkagh became undisputedly his to dispose of).

Captain James Colquhoun

Capt. James Colquhoun, son of Sir James, returned to Ireland sometime between 1682 and 1687, during his father’s lifetime.  About 1685, he married Deborah, daughter of Sir Henry Blennerhasset, becoming the second of her four husbands.  Deborah married first Christopher Irvine (1654-1680), son of Sir Gerard Irvine, by whom she had no children (John Irvine. A Brief Account of the Irvine Family, County Fermanagh. Dublin: Robert T. White, 1828, p. 33).  A Chancery Court case from 1687 involved plaintiffs “Sir John Hume, Bt., James Colquhoune, Esq. and Debora his wife,” and defendant “Sir Gerrard Irwine.”  By Capt. James Colquhoun, she had two daughters, Lilias and Penuel.

Capt. James served in the English army during the time of the Nine Years War between France and the Grand Alliance (1688-1697), rising (obviously) to the rank of captain.  A summary of his military service is as follows:

Jas. Cahoun or Calhoone, Ens. to Lt.-Col. Geo. Macgill in Scots Foot Guards, 1/11 Sep 1691.  Promoted to Lieutenant to Lt.-Col. Jas. Scott in same regiment, 1 Mar 1694.  Appointed Captain in Col. Jno. Buchan’s Regt. of Scots Foot, in Flanders, 21 Mar 1695.  Died of wounds at siege of Namur, 1696.

English Army Lists and Commission Registers, 1661-1714, Vol. III (1689-1694).  London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1896.

The second Siege of Namur took place between July and September 1695 in the Spanish Netherlands, so that is the most likely time and place when Capt. James Colquhoun died.  He was the last known male Colquhoun from the Luss family to live in Ireland.  

By the time Capt. James returned to Ireland, all of the original manor of Corkagh had probably passed out of his family’s hands.  Although he didn’t own any of Corkagh, he did inherit his father’s properties derived from the manor of Ballyachen, namely a half interest in the townlands of Balleeghan, Drean, Maghera Beg, and Errity, plus numerous houses in the village of Manorcunningham (at that time known as the Manor of Fort Cunningham).  Accordingly, Capt. James was styled “of Manorcunningham” and not “of Corkagh” (Earl of Belmore. Parliamentary Memoirs of Fermanagh and Tyrone from 1613 to 1885. Dublin: Alex. Them & Co., 1887, p. 38).  Upon Capt. James’s death in 1695, the Ballyachen lands passed to his two daughters, Lilias and Penuel.  A deed, partially summarized below, describes the property.

Memorial of deed of conveyance tripartite dated 8th Sep 1715 between Henry Lecky of the City of Londonderry, Gent, 1^st part; Alexander Squire of same city, Alderman and Lilias Squire alias Calhowne of the 2^nd part; Robert Houston Junr of same city, gent, 3^rd part.  Whereas the one half or moiety of the Manor and Lands of Fort Cunningham, Barony of Raphoe containing the town and lands of Bellaghin and the milln [sic] thereunto belonging, the town and lands of Drecan, Magherybegg and Errily als Eerity and also twelve houses and Gardens in and about the town of Man. Cunningham with abt 40 acres belonging to the said houses were the estate of Sr James Calhown Knt, deceased, being seized thereof in fee simple, the same came from him to his second son James Calhown the said of [?] being so seized died in possession thereof leaving issue only two daughters (viz) the said Lilias his eldest & Penwell his second daughter, late wife of Doctor James Erwin.

Transcripts of Memorials of Deeds, Conveyances and Wills (FamilySearch.org). Book 22, p. 489, no. 12,661.

The deed goes on to indicate that Henry Lecky had purchased the Squires’ fourth part of the manor and that it was in actual possession of Robert Houston.  Further, “The intention both by the fine and said conveyance and by all the parties, that the use of the premises shall be forever hereafter remain to the said Alexr Squire and his heirs and assigns exclusive of any estate or use therein to or for the said Lilias his heir or assns.  Which said deed of conveyance tripartite was effected the aforesaid 8^th day of September.”  I confess I don’t really understand exactly what was going on in this deed and what the various types of ownership meant, but perhaps someone else can explain it to me.  Regardless, it does seem like some interest and benefit from these properties were retained by the heirs of Capt. James Colquhoun for generations afterward.  All of his descendants, apparently down to the present day, are through his grandson James Squire.

Later Colhouns in and Near Corkagh

The Colquhoun of Luss family, owners of Corkagh for decades, left no known descendants of the name in Ireland.  However, there were Calhouns living on the former Manor of Corkagh (both the part sold to Leslie and the part that went to the Galbraith heirs) long after 1678.  Their relationships to the Colquhouns of Luss and to each other are for the most part not known, but at least some of them may have been descendants of the Calhouns listed in the Hearth Money Rolls in the townland of Corkey.

One such resident, a William Colquhoun, was living in or near Corkey in 1688, during the lifetime of Capt. James Colquhoun.  On 9 Dec 1688, at the time the apprentices locked the gates of Derry against Catholic army forces, many Protestants in the area declared openly for William of Orange, and many went to Derry to offer service.  “Soon afterwards, … Mr. William Colquhoun, of Corkey, near Manorcunningham…, and many other gentlemen from different parts of the North, accompanied by their tenants and followers, came to this city of refuge to fight for the faith and freedom they which they held so dear.”  (Rev. Alexander G. Lecky.  The Laggan and Its Presbyterianism.  Belfast: Davidson & M’Cormack, 1905, p. 30.)  It is possible he is the same William Calhoon who served as lieutenant in the 20^th Regiment of Foot under Col. Gustavus Hamilton in 1689, but his identity is unknown.  (English Army Lists and Commission Registers, 1661-1714, Vol. III (1689-1694).  London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1896.)

Rev. John Leslie’s 1693 will makes mention of a John Colhoune residing at Carrickballydooey, a townland of Corkagh that Leslie must have purchased from the Galbraith heirs; and a David Colhoun residing at “Drumlans” (which might have referred either to Drumcarn in Raymoghy or Drumleene in Clonleigh).  Records from the 18^th and 19^th centuries, including the Tithe Applotment Books, show Colhouns living at Drumcarn, Roosky, Corkey, Lisclamerty, Carrickballydooey, and Labbadish, all in or adjacent to the former Manor of Corkagh.  It is not known whether they are descendants of Colhouns who lived there continuously from the 1600s or were later transplants, but it is clear that they were not direct descendants of Sir James Colquhoun, 19^th/21^st of Luss.

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Thanks once again to Paul Calhoun for critical reading of this post and helpful edits.

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© 2024 Brian Anton. All rights reserved.

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