A WORKING HYPOTHESIS CONCERNING THE DESCENDENCY OF THE VARIOUS STRONG FAMILIES OF DONEGAL

"See LDS Film #897012, part 3: In a transcription of the original handwritten "Muster Rolls of the Ulster Army of 1642" prepared by D. Stewart in about 1911 from the lists found in the Public Record Office, London, is found James Strange, "mustered at Rafowe in the County of Dunagall, the two and twentieth day of August 1642", with Captain William Hamilton's "Company of Foote", in Sir Robert Stewart's Regiment.

"(Query whether this James Strange was related to the Mathew Strang who in 1616 was "of Lifford and Strabane", in the Lagan Valley, and who, in baptising his son James in 1657, gave origin to the Stronges of Tynan Abbey?)

"It is also tempting to assume that this James Strange is the father of the three individuals named below as his children. However, this is an assumption which cannot be relied upon as fact. There is no known independant evidence supporting the assumption other than a close conjunction in time and circumstances. The assumption is accepted for purposes of the working hypothetical Donegal Strong Descendency, for lack of any other countervailing data and to present the data included here."

As part of the Plantation of Ulster commencing in 1609, a huge area of Donegal from Inishowen to Ballyshannon was confiscated and granted to English and Scottish planters. The barony of Tirhugh in which many of the Strong families studied in this work originated was allocated in part to Trinity College, Dublin. Trinity College in fact did very well out of the Plantation of Ulster, receiving almost ten times as much land as had initially been allocated to it.

According to Pat Conaghan, writing at page 104 ff in "Bygones", a book published by him in 1989, "An area known as the parish of Killybegs has existed since at least 1307. It extended from Drumanoo Head on the shores of Donegal Bay, northwards almost to Glenties. This account ("Bygones") is concerned only with the present day Killybegs part, i.e, the area covered by the (present day) Catholic and Protestant parishes of Killybegs, which are the same. In order to be clear about what happened in Killybegs at the time of the Plantation of Ulster, it is necessary to touch on the circumstances prevailing before the planters came to these parts.

"Within the boundary of its ancient parish, the Catholic Church owned large areas of the land. It was shared with "erenagh" families, who managed it for the Church. The system of farming then meant that cattle were grazed on the lowland areas in winter and moved to mountain pastures in summer. This method was called "booleying" by the English, or "buailteachas" in Irish. For each area of lowland, therefore, there was a corresponding extent of mountain grazing. Land was measured, not in acres, but by the number of cattle it could support, the unit of land being a "Ballyboe" (baile bo). (For Example,) the present townland of Drumbarity (67 acres) was called one ballyboe. In Killybegs parish, the Church owned 14 ballyboes of lowland and a corresponding amount of mountain grazing. It can be seen, therefore, how extensive the old Churchlands were, extending from the "lowland" areas of Roshin, Glenlee, Killybegs, Drumbarity, etc. to the mountain pasures of Meenreagh, Meenaroshin and so on.

"At the Plantation of Ulster the land of Killybegs was granted to Scottish planters but the Church lands were claimed by and granted to the new Protestant Bishop of Raphoe. By the spring of 1610 the final arragenments for the Plantation had been completed and the first civilian planters arrived in Killybegs. The remote and poor land of west Donegal was not attractive to any newcomer and so, very few planters came over during the first ten years. Those who came brought a new religion with them - Protestantism. They commandeered the old parish church of Killybegs and adapted it for their worship. .... a survey of 1622 found that there were only 17 "British and Irish" people in the new town of Killybegs. Having secured the fourteen ballyboes of Killybegs, the Protestant Bishop of Raphoe treated them strictly in a business like manner..."

In 1638, the Bishop of Raphoe leased the lands for a term of 56 years to one Archibald Erskine. At the expiration of the lease in 1699, the lessee became Brigadier Henry Conyngham of Mountcharles and Slane. He was married to a sister of William Conolly, famous speaker of the House of Commons and known as "the richest man in Ireland". Conolly was the son of a Ballyshannon public house owner and was the first of many Ballyshannon men who contributed to the development of Killybegs. Brigadier Conyngham lease was dated 1699, but he died in 1706 and his interest in the lands passed to William Conolly. The Conolly family continued the lease down through the years until the early 1830's when the teams from the Ordnance Survey arrived in Killybegs. Their task was to measure all land into acres, roods and perches and to set it out into "proper" townlands in the modern sense. 23.

The male line of the Conollys had died out by this time and the inheritor of the lease was Edward Michael Pakenham, a relative of the family. Under the terms of a will, Pakenham assumed the name of Conolly, and became Edward Michael Conolly. While the Ordnance Survey teams were at work measuring the lands, this man purchased them from the Protestant Church for the sum �2,331-1-3. The Church reserved for itself an annual rent of �294-7-01/4, which meant that Pakenham-Conolly did not own them absolutely. After Conolly died in 1848 his Killybegs lands passed to his eldest son, Thomas, known popularly as "Tom Conolly". The lands reverted to the Government at the time of Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1869. In 1871, the Representative church Body bought out the townland of Glebe, where the old parish church now stands, and the Government sold the rest of the "fourteen ballyboes" for �4,134. 24.

Castle Rahan, Killybegs. Just to the east of Killybegs along Donegal Bay is a promontory known as St. John's Point. It is a six mile long spit of land protruding like a gnarled finger south-westward into the Bay. It has a considerable number of historic sites, and was apparently taken over by the English at the time of the Plantation. Castle Rahan, located on a promontory on the point, dated from the mid-fifteenth century. Confiscated, it was given to the Scots Planter, William Stuart, and then to John Murray, later Earl of Annandale, for whom one Herbert Maxwell was an active agent. The castle was garrisoned and held during the 1641 Rising by local planters who were part of Sir Ralph Gore's regiment. 29.

Nearby lay a twelfth century church, Killaghtee, which was taken over by the Planters on their arrival about 1610. It was used up for worship until the last quarter of the eighteenth century. The burial ground surrounding the church is still being used, and is well mintained by church authorities. 30. Castle Rahan and the Church at Killaghtee are significant in our examination of the history of Strongs in Donegal. In 1665, following the Restoration after the Close of the Cromwellian Commonwealth, a Hearth Money Roll was compiled for the Parish of Killaghtee which included Thomas and George Strong. In the 1665 Hearth Money Rolls for the Parish of Killaghtee are found the following surnames, among others: Boyd; Strong; Watson; Walker; Craufford (Crawford); M'Cullagh; Micke (Mackey?); in the adjacent Parish of Killymard: Spence; and in Drumhome Parish: Walker; Spence; Dudgeon; Farrell; Lamond; Craufford; Freebirn (Freeborn); Macky (Mackay).

At page 110-111 of "Bygones", Pat Conaghan includes a list of "persons confirmed in the parish church of Killybegs on Friday June the 9th, 1820". What is perhaps not clear on first review of the list is that it is NOT the usual listing of children confirmed at their first communion. Rather, the list appears to be a list of most of the adult parishioners, who were apparently confirmed by the Bishop of Raphoe during one of his rare visits to the Killybegs Parish. Notably, the surnames include, among others: Boyd, Crawford, Cuscaden, Hamilton, Kilpatrick, McCullough, Magee, Morrow, Strong, Walker, and Watson.

It is perhaps significant that these surnames are found in a parish where Murray of Annandale was landlord, for Annandale is in the Scottish Border shire of Dumfries, just across the border from the English shire of Cumberland... where large numbers of Strongs can be found in the records of the various local parishes of the Church of England. And, of course, the other surnames included are found in close proximity along the Scottish border. It seems possible that Murray of Annandale recruited James Strang and/or his son's Thomas and George Strong from the Cumberland-Dumphries locale during the plantation, and they likely helped garrison Castle Rahan during the 1641 Rising.

For the purposes of this hypothetical descendency, Thomas Strong is assumed to be the ancestor of certain Strongs found in County Donegal, particularly those residing in Balliara and Shanaghan Townlands; these assumptions should NOT be taken as evidence of fact!"

On 11 June 1987, Conall J. Cunningham of Spiddal, Co. Galway, Ireland wrote to DGS: "... I am a native of the Parish of Glen Columcille, (Boylagh & Bannagh Barony), Co. Donegal. Some years ago while looking through rent rolls of the Connolly Estate for that area, I noticed that the townland of Meenanery was held by Thomas Strong from 1773 to 1787 and by Thomas Strong and partners until 1791-2, the last year available. The name is now unknown in the area and I did not find out anything by my limited inquiries.

" Within the last few weeks I came across another document, relating to the Murray Stewart Estates in SW Donegal in the year 1832. It mentioned that the townland of Ballyara (East Middle & West) was held by Thomas Strong & Partners the area being given as 551 acres (Ballyara, parish of Killybegs).

"I then consulted the Griffiths Valuation (1857) and found that the largest landholder in Ballyara was John Strong with a valuation of �7; there was also Alexander Strong with a valuation of �1-8-0. The total valuation of the townland being �79, and the area 900 acres....

"Perhaps this small piece of information may be of some use to you. Family History seems to be composed of tiny fragments like this...."

In a subsequent letter of 11 September 1987 to DBS, Conall Cunningham wrote, ".... I suspect that Thomas did not actually reside in Meenanery, which is small, & isolated but fertile. He was probably a middle man and possibly one of the Ballyara branch of the family. Unfortunately, I have nothing about Ballyara during that period...

"The Murray-Stewart Papers are in the Scottish Public Record Office in Edinburgh. The catalogue mentions several rent rolls and they may well contain much of interest....

.... my mother was born in the townland of Meenanery where the family has been for at least 200 years..."

As noted in an email from Dale G. Strong dated Dec 1, 1999: ".... The church records had names for families STRONG ..... but I think that this is the group of emigrants chronicled by Alexander Strong in far ... Australia. But the distance (from Killybegs) to Drumholm was a comparatively easy walk .... or a rowboat ride. There were footpaths all over! They were walkers .... and stopped into neighboring homes for a refreshing "tatie" from the hearth before continuing the journey
.......... "May the road rise smooth beneath your feet.
May the wind be always at your back;
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall softly on your fields
..............etc."

Per a 1988 letter received by DBS from Alec Strong of Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia, a number of families settled in the Ardara, Inishkeel Parish, Co. Donegal area who came originally from Scotland. These families included the Walkers, Boyds, Hanlons, Strongs, Irwins, and Lamonds. Alec Strong also wrote that, according to Sir James Walker (b.1883 Australia, d.?), these families went from Scotland to Ireland during the reign of King James. Subsequently, they chain-migrated to Australia and clustered at Broughton Bay, New South Wales. According to Alec Strong, he too, was told by his father many years ago that the Strongs came from Scotland.

In the 1665 Hearth Money Rolls for the Parish of Killaghtee are found the following surnames, among others: Boyd; Strong; Watson; Walker; Craufford (Crawford); M'Cullagh; Micke (Mackey?); in the adjacent Parish of Killymard: Spence; and in Drumhome Parish: Walker; Spence; Dudgeon; Farrell; Lamond; Craufford; Freebirn (Freeborn); Macky (Mackay). All of these names are subsequently found elsewhere in this Hypothetical Donegal Strong descendency. Notably also, there was a predominance of Gaelic Irish names in the Parishes of Kilbarron and Templecarne, with few "Anglo-Scottish" names. No Strongs were to be found in Inishkeel Parish (other names were not checked).

Note: The foregoing may be a significant clue, at least as far as the Strongs of Shanaghan Townland, Inishkeel Parish and the related families of Boyd, Walker, Irwin and Lamond are concerned and possibly also as for the Strongs of Ballyara Townland, Killybegs Parish. A confusion factor exists in that most of the noted families were Wesleyan Methodists when they emigrated. It would be expected that if from Scotland, they would have been Presbyterian. However, it may be that several factors were at play here.

First, if migration from Scotland to Ireland took place in the reign of King James I, this would have coincided with the plantation of Ulster circa 1607-1642. Boylagh and Bannagh Barony was indeed allocated to Scots Planters in the plantation scheme. However, Boylagh and Bannagh was very much a backwater. The area was geographically remote, was of poor agricultural value, and was heavily populated by native gaelic Irish. Today, the area is known as the "Gael-Teucht", or area of the Gaelic speakers. There was little real contact with Scotland for the transplanted residents of the area. It is no wonder they may have fallen into conformance with the established state church, the Church of Ireland.

Second, migration from Scotland might alternatively have taken place in the time of King James II, eg., circa 1683-1690. This would conincide with troubles in Scotland and the rest of England and Ireland relative to his reign culminating in his deposition, and the ascendency of William and Mary to the throne. The Test Acts were imposed circa 1708, requiring adherence to the established church in order to own land, have your marriage validated, children legitimatized, and to hold public office; all powerful incentives to become "Church of Ireland".

Third, there are some records indicating Strongs existed in Boylagh and Bannagh circa 1642 and 1665 (See Hearth Money Rolls, above). These Strongs may have been either Scots or English; but if English, obviously they would have been Church of Ireland. The fact that many of their neighbors came from Scotland might have been a source of confusion as to the origins of the Strongs in the area.

Fourth, in the period 1820-1880, the landlord of a certain estate seated at St. Ernan's, Donegal Parish, Tirhugh Barony, was the Rev. John Hamilton, a well respected minister of the Wesleyan conviction. Rev. Hamilton preached far and wide in Donegal, traveling long and arduous trails in the time, to carry the word. Although initially a reform movement within the Church of Ireland/England, the Wesleyan's eventually split off to form their own church body. It may be that one of Rev. Hamilton's flocks was at Ardara, thus being the inspiration for the Wesleyan Methodism of the Strongs of Shanaghan Townland. See "Fifty Years as an Irish Landlord", by White, c.1890, chronicling the life of Rev. Hamilton.

In any event, Patrick Strong, who married his relative Catherine Strong, became the "root" of the lineage which emigrated to Australia and was documented by Alec Strong in a booklet he compiled in 1984, while residing at Ourimbah Creek, Ourimbah, New South Wales, entitled, "The Strongs from Donegal". Copies of this booklet are held by David B. Strong and Dale G. Strong, and form the source of the descendency from Patrick and Catherine Strong.