Ash of Co Londonderry - UHF4/99/121

The requested search for the client’s ancestors has been completed and the findings presented in the following report. Civil registration of all births, deaths and marriages did not commence in Ireland until 1864. Non-Catholic marriages are registered from 1845. Before these dates virtually the only sources which directly relate to family history are local parish registers.

 We were aware from the outset that this was a search for more than your average family. We began by examining the Personal Names Index in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). We looked up the names Ash and Spotswood and found an interesting reference to a marriage settlement involving Andrew Spotswoods and Martha Ash, both of Millbrook, Co Londonderry. When we examined the actual document we found that it referred to the proposed marriage between William Graves of Castledawson, a captain in Her Majesty’s Madras Army, and Martha Ash, only daughter of the late Rev. George Ash. Andrew Spotswood was the uncle, and apparently guardian, of Martha Ash. The settlement, which is dated 5 January 1859, also mentions William Hamilton Ash of Hermitage and William Ash Gaussen of Lakeview.

 The above marriage settlement gave us an important lead in that it mentioned the Rev. George Ash. For biographical information we turned to Leslie’s Derry Clergy and Parishes, recently republished and updated by the Ulster Historical Foundation. We found that the Reverend George Hamilton Ash, to give him his full name, was the second son of William Hamilton Ash of Ashbrook, Co Londonderry. He was educated in Derry and at Trinity College, Dublin, where he received B.A. in 1822. He ministered in Ballyscullion between  1826 and 1849, firstly as curate and then as rector. He then moved to the parish of Cumber Lower where he served as rector until his death in 1852 at the age of 50. In 1826 he married Mary Spotswood, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Spotswood, and had issue two sons, William Hamilton Ash and Thomas Spotswood Ash, and a daughter, Martha.

 We also searched for information on the above Rev. Thomas Spotswood. We found that he was the son of Andrew Spotswood and became rector of the parish of Ballyscullion in 1795. He resigned the charge in 1833 and it was noted that he was ‘deservedly popular in his parish, both as a clergyman and a gentleman.’ His eldest daughter Barbara married John B. Gilmoer of Carrickfergus in 1813. The Rev. Thomas Spotswood was the grandson of the Rev. John Spotswood who was rector of Ballyscullion between 1723 and his death in 1743. This Rev. John Spotswood was the son of John Spotswood, a merchant from Killyleagh, Co Down. He entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1685 at the age of 12 and before coming to Ballyscullion served in the parishes of Glendermott, Templemore, and Bovevagh. Thus, in one fell swoop we have been able to take the Spotswood line back to the early seventeenth century.

 Our next step was to see if we could find the birth records of Mary Spotswood Ash and her sister Fanny. A search through the civil birth registers for the district of Bellaghy between  1864 and 1886 revealed the births of three children of Thomas Spotswood Ash and his wife Elizabeth Hall Clark. An Andrew Spotswood Ash was born on 4 January 1870, but, as we later discovered, he died in infancy, and on 17 December 1871 a second son was born to Thomas Spotswood Ash who was also named Andrew Spotswood. On 16 February 1876 a daughter named Fannie Edith was born. However, we did not find a record of the birth of Mary Spotswood Ash. Eventually, after searching through several districts we eventually found that she was born on 11 April 1869 in the Manor House, Magherafelt. The fact that she and Fanny were the daughters of Thomas Spotswood Ash contradicts the information that we were initially provided with. What became of the above Andrew Spotswood Ash we have no idea.

 Having sorted out the relationship between the Ashes and the Spotswoods in the nineteenth century, we turned our attention to finding out more about the Ash family in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We turned our attention to Burke’s Irish Family Records and found an entry for the Beresford-Ash family of Ashbrook, Co Londonderry. The progenitor of this line was George Ash (1679-1729) who married Mary, daughter of John Rankin. They had two children, George (1712-96) and Jane. George would appear to have died without issue, but Jane married William Hamilton and bore a son William, who took the name Ash. William Hamilton Ash (d.1821) married Elizabeth Harriet Henderson. Their sons included William Hamilton Ash junior (1803-67) and the aforementioned Rev George Hamilton Ash. William Hamilton Ash junior married Lady Elizabeth Emma Douglas and their daughter, Caroline, married John Barré Beresford, thus creating the Beresford-Ash line. This family continues to reside at Ashbrook, near the city of Londonderry.

 Our next step was to find out how Captain Thomas Ash was connected to George Ash (1679-1729). We turned our attention to W Young’s Fighters of Derry and found in it a brief biographical sketch of Captain Thomas Ash, one of the defenders of Derry during the siege. According to Young’s book, Captain Ash was a son of John Ash of Corrnerrin.

 Through a combination of studying a pedigree of the family of John Ash of Cornerrin, based on his will of 1680, and the Ash Manuscripts, compiled by Lt Colonel Thomas Ash c.1735 we were able to glean the following facts on the Ash family. John Ash of Corrnerrin was the son of Josias Ash. In the register of St Columb’s Cathedral, which dates from 1642, we noted the baptism of Susanna, daughter of Josias Ash, on 13 December 1642. John Ash of Corrnerrin was married three times. By his second wife Sarah he had Captain Thomas Ash. By his third wife Elizabeth he had George to whom he bequeathed Cornerrin, later known as Ashbrook.

 Captain Thomas Ash was married twice. His second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Rainey of Magherafelt. They had seventeen children. According to the Ash Manuscripts, Captain Thomas Ash was then in his 75th year, meaning that he must have been born c.1660. He kept a diary of the Siege which was not published until 1792. His brother Henry was also one of Derry’s defenders in 1688-9.

 The Ulster Historical Foundation has a vast collection of gravestone inscriptions and we examined its holdings for Ballyscullion parish. We found one particularly interesting memorial which provided us with a detailed account of the Spotswood and Ash families, going right back to the Rev. John Spotswood who died in 1743. Also commemorated on this memorial is his wife Elizabeth who was the daughter of Patrick Hamilton of Strabane. The Hamiltons of Strabane were a well established family in the area and their lineage can be traced back to the middle of sixteenth century in Blantyre in Scotland.

 Generally speaking, almost all original wills probated before 1900 were destroyed in Dublin in 1922. Before 1858 we only have the diocesan will indexes and a limited number of will abstracts and extracts. After 1858, we have the will books kept by the district registries which contain transcripts of the originals. We were able to identify the wills of Andrew Spotswood, Margaret Spotswood and Thomas Spotswood Ash. Unfortunately all of these wills were probated at the Principal Registry in Dublin and were therefore destroyed in 1922. Attempts to find duplicate copies of these wills proved unsuccessful.

 We were, however, able to examine the wills of Sydney and Fanny Lyle and found that the main beneficiary of these fairly extensive estates was George C. Luck.

 Time did not permit further investigation, but we trust that the information contained in this report proves of interest. We have been able to trace the Spotswood and Ash families back to the early part of the seventeenth century. This is something that we are rarely able to do. There is certainly a great deal more to be found out about these families and future research could be highly rewarding.

Notes

Personal Names Index

Mr Spotswood, 1773-80, Bellaghy, Vintner’s Co papers – D/2094/52

Andrew Spotswood, 1737, Toberhead, Co Londonderry, Quaker records – T/1062

Andrew Spotswood, 1775, Bellaghy, note from Thomas Connolly – D/2094/48

Andrew Spotswood, 1859, Millbrook, Co Londonderry, marriage settlement – D/639/169

Andrew Spotswood, 1872, Bellaghy, agreement – D/243

Elizabeth Spotswood, 1702, Bovevagh, Co Londonderry, conveyance – LPCC/1324

Rev. John Spotswood, as above

A Spottswood, 1840-44, Magherafelt, correspondence – D/1905/2/278A1

Mr Spotwood, 1727, Manor of Castledawson rental – T/865/1

Rev George Hamilton Ash, 1857, renewal lease – D/562/1501

Ash family, Castlederg, Co Tyrone – D/2547/18

John Ash, 1748, Londonderry, rental – T/656/61

Martha Ash, 1859, Millbrook, marriage settlement – D/639/169

Peter & John Ash, 1712, Magherafelt, rental – T/865/1

Thomas Ash, 1686, Londonderry, marriage licence – T/283B p59

Thomas Ash, 1704, Magherafelt – T/716/8

Thomas Ash, 1713-24, Ballynavally, Co Londonderry, rental – T/729

Thomas & John Ash, 1711, Magherafelt rental – T/685/2

Will Ash, 1731, rental – T/865/1

William Ash, 1746, Londonderry, rental – T/656/61

George Ash, 1764, Ashbrook, lease – LPC/1286

George Ash, 1791, Ashbrook, lease – D/652/380

George Ash, 1764, exemplification for recovery – LPC/168

George Ash, 1745, Glendermott, lease – LPC/167

Wm Hamilton Ash, 1842, Ashbrook, lease – LPC/167

John Ash, 1665, Killylane, Co Londonderry, conveyance – LPC/1284

Henry Ash, 1690, Londonderry, address to King William – T/452

Henry Ash, 1692, deed of agreement – T/420/21

Henry Ashe, 1705, Londonderry, Chancery bill extract – T/808/908, 880

Rev. George Hamilton Ashe, 1826, lease – D/652/964

Lieut. Wm Ashe, 1690-1, Army & revenue account book – T/689

Hearth Money Rolls

Co Antrim, 1669:

Humphrey Ash, Lower Liberties of Malone

John Ash, Antrim town and parish

Henry Stopwid, Kilvaghlis Quarter, Kilraghts parish

Co Londonderry, 1663:

John Ash, Killelonney, Faughanvale parish

Thomas Ashe, Killelonney

Gregorie Ashe, Ballygonny, Arboe parish

Church Records

Derry Cathedral Register, 1642-1703

13 Dec. 1642 – Susanna, dau. of Josias Ashe, baptised

15 Oct. 1657 – Edmond Thomas & Susana Ash married

3 Nov.166-  Mr Benjamin Ash buried

4 Dec. 1661 – Luke Ash, Alderman, buried

19 July 1659 – Samuel, son of Susana Ash, widow, buried

13 Mar. 1664 – (-?) the (-?) of Susan Ash, buried

15 May 1671 – Widow Ashe buried

22 May 1679 – Barbara, dau. of John & Jeane Ash, baptised

Dec. 1679 – John, son of John & John Joane Ash, buried

Jan. 1679 – Jeane, wife of Henry Ash, buried

2 Nov. 1683 – Kairnes, son of Henry & Margt Ash, baptised

1 Apr. 1680 – Mary, dau. of John & Joane Ash, buried

Sept. 1676 – Mr Ashe a child baptised by Deane Alderman, Hobson son-in-law

25 Nov. 1684 – Mary, dau. of Henry & Margt Ash, baptised

21 Oct. 1684 – Alice, dau. of John & Susanna Ash, baptised

18 Sept. 1685 – John, son of Henry & Margt Ash, buried

30 Mar. 1686 – Margret, dau. of above, baptised

25 Nov. 1687 – Henry, son of above, buried

17 Sept. 1688 – Elizabeth, dau. of above, baptised

20 Oct. 1698 – James, son of above, baptised

21 Oct. 1703 – Shilcrass & Charity, children of the above, baptised

Wills and Testamentary Papers

Index to Derry Wills, pre-1858

Ann Ash, Londonderry, 1803

George Ash, 1760

Henry Ash, gent., Londonderry, 1811

Capt. James Ash, Banagher & Barbadoes, 1704

John Ash, Eccles Green, Co Tyrone, 1797

Mary Ash, Ash Brook, Clondermott parish, 1767

William Ash, gent., Londonderry, 1764

Index to Armagh Wills, pre-1838

Nil Ash/Spotswood

Index to Prerogative Wills, 1536-1810

George Ash, Ashbrook, 1796

John Ash, Corneren, 1684

John Spottswood, clerk, Ballyaghy (Bellaghy) Co Londonderry, 1745

Index to Prerogative Wills, 1811-1857

Alicia Spotswood, Enniskillen, widow, 1835

Post 1858 Wills

The will of Margaret Spotswood, late of the Manor House, Magherafelt, spinster, died 18 December 1866, was proved at the Principal Registry on 13 February 1867 by Andrew Spotswood of same place, brother. Effects under £3,000.

The will of Andrew Spotswood, late of the Manor House, Bellaghy, died 20 April 1877, was proved at the Principal Registry on 5 June 1877 by Thomas Spotswood Ash of same place, nephew. Effects under £9,000.

The will of Thomas Spotswood Ash, late of Cooldaragh, Coleraine, died 4 November 1907, was proved at Dublin by Eliza S Ash, widow, Sydney J Lyle and William A Ingram. Effects £16,257.17.7d

The will of Sydney James Lyle, late of Derganagh, Ballycastle, died 26 September 1944, was proved at Belfast on 23 January 1945 by Arthur O’Neill Chichester, Frank Alex. McCammon and Albert Smyth McVicker. Effects £19,807 8d.

(The will of Sydney James Lyle, dated 15 August 1944 -  House and lands of Derganagh and lands at Ballycastle bequeathed in trust to George C. Luck. Failing his family line to Dorothy daughter of Col C A and Mrs Luck).

The will of Fanny Florence Lyle, late of Derganagh, Ballycastle, died 5 August 1944, was proved at Belfast on 19 March 1945 by Arthur O’Neill Chichester, Frank Alex.  McCammon and Albert Smyth McVicker. Effects £18,275 3 4.

(The will of Fanny F Lyle, dated 26 October 1943 – to nephew George Luck £1,000. Same in trust to Dorothy Luck adopted daughter of her sister Mrs Mary Luck. Residence in trust to George C. Luck and after his death to his elder son).

Gravestone Inscriptions, Ballyscullion, Co L’derry

SPOTSWOOD

[Granite in rail surround]

Here lieth also the body of Andrew Spotswood, Esqr son of the Rev. John Spotswood, who died 1783, also of his son the Revd Thomas Spotswood, for many years rector of this parish who died 3rd March 1873 aged 76 years. And his wife Martha daughter of John Stevenson Esq of Fortwilliam, who died 15th January 1827. Also of their daughter Isabella Spotswood, who died 26th June 1862 aged 64 years, Mary Elizabeth, widow of the Revd George Hamilton Ash who died 20th February 1866 aged 62 years. And Margaret Spotswood who died 18th December 1866 aged 72 years. Here lieth also the body of Andrew Spotswood Esqr son of the above Rev Thomas Spotswood who died 20th April 1877 aged 81 years.

In loving memory of Thomas Spotswood Ash Esqr younger son of the Rev George Hamilton Ash and Mary Spotswood his wife who died 4th November 1907 aged 72 years.

 In caring memory of William Hamilton Ash Esq elder son of the Rev. George Hamilton Ash & Mary Spotswood his wife who died 30th January 1895 aged 60 years.

 Here resteth the  body of the reverend Mr John Spotswood MA Rector of this parish for the space of 22 years and of Bovevagh 24 (sic). He departed this life 13th July 1734 aged 79. A faithful pastor and constant resident, charitable, hospitable and eminently just.

SPOTSWOOD

[Sandstone headstone]

Erected by Daniel  and Sarah Scully to the memory of her father and mother James Spotswood who died 7th January 1870 aged 77 years. And Margaret Spotswood who died 15th May 1855 aged 70 years. Also their nephew John Spotswood who died 20th January 1872 aged 24 years.

Copies of parish and townland maps and certificates together with background histories of the localities plus explanatory notes on the sources used are provided with each bound report where appropriate.