Researching Strong(e)s and Strang(e)s in Britain and Ireland; 2nd Edition (Rootsweb)

(R:Wednsday, December 03, 2003 - 6:36 AM)

THE REFORMATION (England):The Reformation came to England in 1533 with the requirement that the English Parliament declare the Supremacy of King Henry VIII over the church. This came, of course, because of the king's desire to obtain a divorce from his Spanish Queen, Catherine of Aragon, so that he could marry Anne Bolynn. Henry VIII had his way, but in doing so enforced a form of "protestantism" which was in reality not much different from the Catholicism which preceded it. The Church of England was "episcopalian" in government, with a hierarchy of bishops governing over the dioceses and priests in the parishes. This episcopalian form of church government created by Henry VIII and his archbishop, Thomas Cranmer, was not to the liking of the calvinist reformers who learned their creed in Geneva at the pulpit of the likes of John Calvin and Zwingli, where the reformation was a more radical type than that under Luther and Melanchthon in Germany and Cranmer of England. 1

Henry VIII was succeeded by his sickly son, Edward VI, who soon died. Edward was succeeded by his half sister, Mary, who was the daughter of Catharine of Aragon. Mary was an ardent Catholic who desired to turn back the clock on the English Reformation. She took as her husband King Phillip of Spain. It was during her reign that the Queens and the Kings Counties were formed in Ireland... named after Catherine as Queen, and Phillip as King. Among the planters of Kings County was the Catholic family LeStrange, descended from the English LeStrange family of Hunstanton, Norfolk, England. See: The LeStrange Archive by Patrick Harris. Mary's reign was short, and because she persecuted English Protestants, she earned the sobriquet 'Bloody Mary'. Following her death, she was succeeded by her protestant half sister, Elizabeth I, who had narrowly avoided being executed herself by Mary. Elizabeth was a brilliant woman, who intelligently and cunningly ruled England for 45 years, taking the country from the late middle ages into the early modern age.

THE REFORMATION (Scotland): The Reformation took a different form in Scotland from that taken in England. Instead of taking the Episcopal Church of England as their model, the Scottish Protestants followed the standard of the Huguenots of France by adopting Calvinism as their religion, which involved great changes in both organization and creed. This was brought on in part by a view of the Catholic church hierarchy as living immoral lives, being rapacious, and grossly abusing their spiritual authority. Many of the Scottish nobles sympathized with the Reformers, and many others sided with them because they hoped to obtain some of the fertile and well-cultivated lands of the Roman church in the event of its overthrow. 2

THE COVENANTS: By a bond called the First Covenant, signed in 1557, the leaders of the Scottish Reformation bound themselves together under the title of the "Congregation". They agreed to stand by each other in procuring the overthrow of the Roman religion in Scotland and to spread the Calvinistic faith and worship in the country; renouncing also the Pope's authority in Scotland and enjoining their followers to use the English Bible and the English Book of Common Prayer. The nobles who signed the First Covenant were called the Lords of the Congregation. 3

At the time, Mary of Guise, sister of Francis, Duke of Guise and deadly enemy of the French Huguenots, was Queen-Regent of Scotland. She refused to deal faithfully with the Lords of the Congregation, and attempted to use French troops to control the country in the face of the demands for reform. Queen Elizabeth I of England agreed to send English troops to assist the Lords of the Congregation against the French troops, who were forced to capitulate in 1560. 4

The principle that none but persons professing the established religion were eligible for public employment was adopted by the legislatures of both England and Scotland soon after the Reformation. In Scotland, a religious test was imposed immediately after the Reformation. By 1567, the Scottish Test act required that no one was to be appointed to a public office or to be a notary who did not profess the Reformed religion. 5

James VI succeeded to the Scottish throne in 1567, while still an infant, upon the abdication of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. [Note for clarity: Mary, Queen of Scots was a different person than Mary of Guise. Mary of Guise was the wife of King James V of Scotland. After his death, she ruled as Queen-Regent for the interest of her infant daughter, Mary who became Queen of Scots. Young Mary was raised in the French Court and became wife of the young French king, but was soon a widow, returned to Scotland. As a consequence, she was relatively naive about conditions in Scotland, which soon led to her downfall.] While yet a youth, James took the government of Scotland into his own hands, but was much under the influence of favorites. He had considerable trouble with the Presbyterian preachers, who arrogantly claimed the right to dictate even to the king. This contest caused a stubborn riot at Edinburgh, compelling the king to flee to Linlithgow. Thereupon, he threatened to remove the courts of justice from Edinburgh, forcing the people of that city to their senses. They yielded, and the king returned to the capital, while the Presbyterian preachers who caused the trouble fled south into England. 6 The events did not endear the Presbyterians to James VI, who after he became James I of England did everything he could to supplant the Calvinist Presbyterians with the Episcopalian system of bishops appointed by and subject to the will of the king. Another of the thorns in the side of James VI was the 400 year-old disputation of the Borders with England. As a result of the conflict, and competition for land, cattle, women, and anything moveable between the Border Lords on both sides, "Reiving" was general and frequent. There was even an area called "The Debatable Lands" where no royal writ from either England or Scotland ran. Conflicts of religion entered into the conniving between the Border Lords [See Riding Clans, or Reivers. By extrapolation some of these families were Catholics and some were Protestants, (no numbers on who or how many of each), but their robbing, burning and cattle rustling activities came to the attention of Archbishop Dunbar who put a curse upon them. For those interested in reading the curse as it was originally written, find one version at The Great Cursing by The Bishop of Durham. This has become loosely known as the "mother of all curses". Read it and see why], and played a role in Mary, Queen of Scots, being persuaded in 1568 to flee south across the Border, to Carlisle. [James VI was determined to resolve the problem, which he did when he came to the English throne in 1603. When the "Flight of the Earls" from Ireland took place, he seized the opportunity to use the Plantation of Ulster as a means of removing the troublemakers from The Borders. The border families known as reivers, the Armstrongs, Elliots, Grahams, Kerrs, and others [See:Clans & Families: Border Surnames were assailed by sheriff's and Lord's of the Marches from both Scotland and England. They were given "inducements" to live peaceful, or to emigrate to Ulster. Some families did fight displacement and some made deals with James VI and I, now King of both Scotland and England. Some scattered into Scotland or into England and Wales; some were transported to Ireland by the family, and some went to Ireland willingly. Many leaders who stayed in their homeland and fought the king were eventually caught and hanged. The choices they faced were 'fight and die, or move'. Those who went to Ireland initially went to Ulster, many to County Fermanagh; and in the mid-1600s some were transported (or force marched) to Connaught.]

In France and the Netherlands, the protestant cause suffered severe setbacks when the Guise's engineered the slaughter of the Huguenots in the St. Bartholomew's Massacre, and the Spanish brutalized Antwerp. English Catholic priests educated at Douay and Rheims in France believed that the assassination of heretical sovereigns, especially of Queen Elizabeth, would be a meritorious act. A fanatical Jesuit named Campion was executed in 1581 for an attempt on her life. Prince William of Orange was assassinated in 1584 by a Jesuit trained agent of the king of Spain. 7

The plots of her enemies forced Elizabeth in self-defense to become the ally of the Huguenots in France, and of the revolted burghers of the Netherlands, whose freedom and prosperity the armies of Philip II of Spain were exterminating with fire and sword. When Antwerp, the principal market and banking center of Europe, was taken and destroyed in 1585, one-third of its manufacturers and merchants removed to London, which at once rose to the front rank of commercial cities. 8

EPISCOPACY: Upon the death of his cousin, Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English throne as James I. The Catholics of England hoped for a reconciliation with the son of the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, who had been be-headed by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Mary's beheading had come after a "house arrest" of some 20 years during which she persisted in plotting a return to the Scottish throne and the downfall of Elizabeth. Some of the same English Catholics who had connived with Mary soon now became impatient with James' slow approach to dealing with the reconcilation issue. On November 5th, 1605, a plot to blow up the English Parliament while King James was in attendance was foiled. Known as the Gunpowder Plot, and memorialized today as Guy Fawkes Day in England with small children begging "A Penny for the Guy", the plot was a failure and backfired badly for the Catholics. James came down hard on the side of repressing the Catholics, and in favor of English Episcopalianism.

Among those who were in the background of the Gunpowder Plot was a Catholic priest, Father Thomas Strange, of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), confessor of some of the plotters, and who afterward was captured and tortured. It is not clear, however it appears that Father Strange was likely a member of the LeStrange family of Hunstanton, in Norfolk. Alternatively, he could have been a member of the Strange of Balcaskie family of Fifeshire, who at the time were Catholic. It is interesting that the Scottish Strange family lost title to their estate shortly after the failure of the Gunpowder Plot. Was there a forfeiture, or a legal maneuvere to avoid a forfeiture? See generally, "Faith and Treason- The Story of the Gunpowder Plot", by Antonia Fraser; Doubleday Canadian Paperback Edition, Toronto, 1997; and note in the "Reference Books" listed by Antonia Fraser mention of "Powder Treason", Blackfriars, 33. 1952; and "Vaux of Harrowden: a recussant family", Newport, Mon., 1953, each by Godfrey Anstruther, O.P. [The Anstruther family was closely related to the Strange of Balcaskie Family; query whether there is any relationship to be implied from these writings?].

One of "James VI and I's" major efforts after succeeding to the throne of England was, in 1612, to attempt to graft on to the Scottish church a royally appointed episcopacy, complete with courts of High Commission on the English pattern. It was only after much management and browbeating that he persuaded a general assembly of the Scottish church (1618) and Parliament (1621) to authorize rites such as confirmation by bishops and kneeling at communion. The new ceremonies, so far as they could be enforced, provoked even greater opposition than the new bishops and, if outwardly James had done much to assimilate the independent Scottish church to the more obedient Anglican mode, beneath the surface he had only succeeded in stoking up a smouldering hostility that his son, Charles I, was to fan into a consuming blaze. 9

James VI and I's dislike for the Presbyterian ministers led him to actions which alienated him from the presbyterian, calvinist Puritans of England. In 1604, he threatened to harry them out of the land if they did not conform to the rites of the Church of England, and threw away any chance he had of a comprehensive settlement offered by the puritans in moderation of their views. By abetting the episcopal bishops efforts to enforce his threat, he gave new life to a puritan alliance with the House of Commons which ultimately robbed him of any comprehensive legislative support or funds for his policies. 10

In England the Acts of Supremacy, and Uniformity, and the severe penalties pronounced against recusants, whether Roman Catholic or Nonconformist, were affirmations of the principle that only adherents of the Established Church of England should succeed to public office. An act adopted by the English Parliament in about 1610 provided that all who were naturalized or restored in blood should receive the communion of the Church of England. This was made a condition precedent to the holding of public offices. 11

It was this type of repression that led to the flight of the Pilgrims to New England in the period 1620 to 1650 and later, where they could practice their Puritan faith in peace. Not that they were any more tolerant than the Church of England! Their insistence on the ultimate and complete authority of the Scriptures, on the necessity of uniformity and the evil of toleration and the truth of the Calvinistic theology involved them in bitter religious strife. 12 Included in the Pilgrims to New England's shores was John Strong, of Somersetshire. He emigrated to Massachusetts in 1635; known in later years as "Elder John" Strong, he established a large family of descendents, many of whom are today members of the Strong Family Association of America (SFAA). See the SFAA website and follow the links to Ancestries, particularly that of John Strong and the first six generations of his descendents.

In 1625, Charles I succeeded to the thrones of both England and Scotland upon the death of his father. In retrospect, it seems most curious that his father, King James, had sewn the seeds of the ultimate downfall of the Stewart dynasty in England and Scotland by arranging a marriage of state between Charles and the Catholic Princess Henrietta of France. Henrietta constantly connived with English Catholics and maintained a private chapel at which masses were heard for she and members of her court. And, her obduracy in this was not over-ruled by Charles I. He failed to prevent Henrietta from raising her children as secret Catholics; Charles II apparently took confession from a Catholic priest on his deathbed, and James II lost his throne through his efforts to restore England to Catholicism in 1684-89.

Charles I ultimately lost his head by execution at the hands of the Cromwellians in 1649. It was as a result of his ongoing failure throughout his reign to understand the mood of his English and Scottish people, and his own arrogant assumption of the "Divine Right" of kings. At the outset of his reign, Charles continued the Tudor-Stuart policy of using the episcopacy as an instrument in the furtherance of royal absolutism. In Scotland, episcopal Archbishop John Spottiswoode was his chief agent. When however, Charles I, Spottiswoode, and Archbishop William Laud attempted to force the last degree of submission upon the Scottish Church, namely "Laud's Liturgy", popular resentment came to the aid of the Presbyterian Church. In a wave of public feeling expressing opposition to the whole of Stuart absolutism, the covenant was renewed by a large percentage of the Scottish nation. Spottiswoode and all but 4 of his 50 fellow bishops fled to England. In the two Bishop's Wars which followed the Scots demanded, basically, free parliaments and free general assemblies. Charles I lost the wars and granted the demands. Parliament and the general assembly abolished the entire episcopal regime in church and state and restored Presbyterianism. 13

In 1643 the two parliaments signed the Solemn League and Covenant between England and Scotland. Upon this basis of a union of England, Scotland and Ireland in state and church, the two presbyterian-parliamentary groups worked together in opposing the episcopal-royalist absolutism. One aspect of this cooperation was the adoption by the Scottish Church of the religious constitution framed by the Westminster assembly. Scottish Presbyterianism thus passed from a Genevan-Calvinistic pattern to a Puritan-federalist pattern. 14

WHIGS , INDEPENDENTS, REBELS: In 1648, the term "Whig" was used to describe members of a Scottish group which marched to Edinburgh to oppose the court party". 15 In the same year, one Alexander Strong served in the Scottish Parliament as a member from Forfarshire. 16 It is not clear whether he was one of the Whigs who marched to Edinburgh, as he served from 1645 through 1648, but he certainly dealt with them and may well have been involved in the work of the two parliaments under the Solemn League and Covenant.

When the Independents gained control in England, they purged the Presbyterians from the English Parliament and executed Charles I. Many of the Scots objected and proclaimed Charles II king. Cromwell defeated the Scot's armies and held the country under military occupation. During this occupation the church was not persecuted. It had, moreover, a great series of religious awakenings under Covenanter leadership. 17

Cromwell crossed the Irish Sea, and swept through an Ireland which had slipped into the control of Irish Catholics, many from the old English Catholic aristocracy. His campaign was characterized by many as brutal, and is today remembered bitterly by Irish Catholics. But, following his campaign, the Commonwealth held supreme authority throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland, and was to rule for most of a decade in the 1650's. During this period, Cromwell settled many Commonwealth soldiers in retirement on parcels of Irish land in compensation for their services during the preceding English Civil War. Perhaps it was one of these retired soldiers who first appears in the records of County Cavan in 1654... William Strong of the Townland of Tawlaght. See: The Irish Strong Database, record #3833. There are a number of records of Cavan Strongs forenamed "Oliver" in the generations following. Perhaps they were named after Oliver Cromwell? Query also whether the Strongs of Kings and Queens Counties, and County Sligo were related to or descended from this William Strong? Such is the hypothesis of Philip B. Strong of Belfast, Northern Ireland, currently being studied in the Strong DNA Study.

The Commonwealth came to an end with the death of Oliver Cromwell in 1659. The people were heartily sick of the experiment and religious autocracy, and were ready to return to monarchy. Determining not to adhere to Richard Cromwell, son of Oliver, a group of London merchants and aristocrats entreated Charles II to return to England. More than a century later, having had time to absorb the lessons of the Commonwealth, including its successes as well as its failures, many of the principles of democracy were taken up, refined, and brought once more into fruition by the leaders of the American Revolution. But, that is another story.

THE RESTORATION ACTS: The English restored Charles II in 1660. The Restoration of 1660 was followed by the abrogation of all the acts in favour of Presbyterianism, the restoration of episcopacy and the execution of its most obnoxious opponents. 18 It was during this Restoration period that St. Paul's Cathedral in London was rebuilt under the supervision of archetect Christopher Wren. The contractors for delivery and erection of quarried, dressed stone fell to the descendants of Timothie Stronge, late of Wiltshire, England. See: The Stonemason Strongs, with a link to a chart prepared by researchers Nicola Jenkin and Keith Hazel.

The Rescissory Act of 1661 swept away all of the legislation passed by Cromwell's Parliament in the prior 20 years. The Presbyterian policy of the State Church in Scotland was thus abolished. In England, episcopacy was restored by a letter from the king on September 5,1661. With this initial action by the king, Charles II embarked upon all he could to encourage episcopacy in the face of active opposition by the presbyterians. 19 Charles II brought back episcopacy as an instrument of royal absolutism in Scotland as well as in England. Under Archbishop James Sharp a veritable Inquisition reigned in Scotland, "the Killing times", as the Covenanter movement was subjected to severe persecution. 20

Following the Restoration of the Monarchy, in 1661 The Corporation Act provided that, besides taking the oath of allegiance and supremacy and subscribing a declaration against the Solemn League and Covenant, all members of corporations were within one year after election to receive communion according to the rites of the Church of England. This act was followed by The Test Act of 1672, the immediate consequence of the king's declaration of indulgence dispensing with laws inflicting disabilities on Nonconformists. This act enforced upon all persons filling any office, civil or military, the obligation of taking the oathes of supremacy and allegiance and making a declaration against transubstantiation. 21 Transubstantiation was or is a Roman Catholic doctrine which held that the eucharistic elements at their consecration become the body and blood of Christ while keeping only the appearances of bread and wine. 22

An act requiring all Presbyterian ministers appointed during the period when patronage was abolished to get presentation from their patrons and institution from their bishops was applied in the west of Scotland in such a way that 300 ministers left their manses. Their places were filled with less competent men whom the people did not wish to hear, and so conventicles began to be held, in the open air and fields, and against the rule of the law. The attempts to suppress these, the harsh measures taken against those who attended them or connived at them or refused to give information against them, the military violence and the judicial severities, the confiscations, imprisonments, tortures, expatriations, all make up a dreadful narrative. 23

Indulgences issued by the king, waiving certain aspects of the Rescissory acts, were tried and were successful in bringing back about 100 ministers to their parishes, and introduced a new cause of division among the clergy. On the other hand, the Covenanting spirit rose higher and higher among the persecuted until armed risings took place and formal rebellion of a handful of desperate men began against the ruler of the three kingdoms of Scotland, England, and Ireland. 24 There followed 25 years of brutal repression, during which the more extreme Covenanters rose three times in rebellion. Ultimately in the Sanquhar Declarations, the dissenters renounced allegiance to the king whom they viewed as a perjured tyrant (Charles II having pledged himself to the National Covenant when seeking to regain his throne during Cromwell's regime). 25

King Charles's Restoration led to a series of Acts of Settlement which had the effect of undoing many legal arrangements which had arisen out of the aftermath of the Civil War during Cromwell's regime and The Commonwealth. Specifically undone were many land ownerships and landed estates. Those who supported the Royalist cause during the Commonwealth were able to regain estates or to obtain new estates from their former owners. See: The Donegal Strong Puzzle: Timeline for development of a hypothesis as to how these changes may have affected the tenant Strong families of Counties Donegal and Fermanagh. And see:Books of Survey and Distribution, below.

COVENANTER'S RISINGS: The first rising came late in 1666, when the western insurgents marched upon Edinburgh. They were easily defeated at Rullion Green, in the Pentland Hills. 26 Following their defeat, one Christopher Strang was apparently beheaded in Edinburgh, December 7,1666. 27 The following inscription appears on a grave-stone in the church-yard of Hamilton, lying on the heads of John Parker, Gavin Hamilton, James Hamilton, and Christopher Strang: 28

Stay, passenger, take notice what thou reads, At Edinburgh lie our bodies, here our heads; Our right hands stood at Lanark, these we want, Because with them we sware the covenant.

It was this type of repression that, together with economic poverty in 17th century Scotland that led many Scots to emigrate to Ulster. While the repression was ongoing in Scotland, there was relative freedom of worship in Ireland. Thousands of Scots from the Lowlands emigrated to Ulster throughout most of the century. See the Tulliniskey Discussions for development of a hypothesis as to how this may have affected certain Strang/Strong families of Counties Down and Antrim.

Counties Donegal and Tyronne were heavily settled by the Scots; Fermanagh and Cavan were settled by people from the borderlands of England and Scotland; Armagh and Derry with English. Those who settled in Down and Antrim came primarily from the counties of Ayr, Renfrew, Wigton, and Lanark in Scotland. Only Monaghan remained truly Irish, with only one successful settlement being made there. Those Ulster counties planted primarily with Scots continued to show a predominance of Presbyterianism, while those counties settled by the English were normally those in which the episcopal Church of Ireland flourished. 29

In 1679, insurrection became general in the west of Scotland. The Duke of Monmouth, natural son of king Charles II, was sent to Scotland with a sufficient force to quell the insurrection. He encountered the covenanters at Bothwell-bridge, near Hamilton, and scattered his undisciplined adversaries by a single attack of horse, foot, and artillery on June 12,1679. Four hundred covenanters were killed. 1200 more surrendered, of whom many were subsequently brought to the scaffold, but still more were banished to Barbados. Monmouth followed up his victory with so much moderation that the peace of Scotland was soon restored, and the persecutors reproached him with his successful humanity. But this calm was soon disturbed on his being superseded by the king's younger brother, the Catholic Duke of York, who was totally unfit to pacify the presbyterians. 30

As noted above, Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary states that the term "Whig" is short for the term "Whiggamore", and that it was used in 1648 to describe members of a Scottish group that marched to Edinburgh to oppose the court party. 31 Apparently, "Whig" was also the term used circa 1680 to describe the rebellious Scots Covenanters. Another source states, "The Whigs were denominated from a cant name given to the sour Scotch conventicler (whig being milk turned sour)". 32

The names, "Whig" and "Tory", are also used to denote two opposing political parties in England in the 17th to the 19th centuries. They derived from terms of abuse introduced in 1679 during the heated struggle over the bill to exclude James, Duke of York, from the succession to the British throne:

"Whig, whatever its origin in Scots Gaelic was used of cattle and horse thieves and was thence transferred to Scottish Presbyterians. It's connotations were Presbyterianism and rebellion; and it was applied to those who claimed the power of excluding the heir from the throne. "Tory" was an Irish term suggesting a Papist outlaw and was applied to those who supported the hereditary right of James in spite of his Roman Catholic faith." 33

THE BORDERS: In southwestern Scotland, at one of the points closest to Ireland, is a Scottish County called "Wigtownshire". About 75 to 100 miles east of "Wigtownshire" lies the Borders area. The border between England and Scotland is only about 108 miles long. See "The Borders" discussion. On the east the border terminates in the North Sea. On the West, it terminates at the mouth of the Sark river in the Solway Firth. This border area was a "no-man's land", for generations the haunt of outlaws and brigands. The English border counties are Northumberland, Westmorland, and Cumberland. The latter derives it's name from the ancient Gaelic name for the area, "Cumbria". After the end of the western Roman Empire, the Cymric Celts held for a time both Wales and the land around the Solway Firth. Wales came to be called Cambria, while Cumbria applied to the border "Lake Country". 34

The Scottish border counties are Berwick, Roxburgh, Dumfries, Selkirk, and Peebles. Adjacent to Dumfries, to the west and north around the Solway Firth, are Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. In about 1250, the area around the burgh of Wigtown had been constituted a shire, and was called "the shire" to distinguish it from the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, which in contrast to Wigtown had passed into English control under intrusive Anglo-Norman lords. Across the Solway Firth is found another community called "Wigton", in Cumberlandshire. To the west , there is presently regular communication by mail steamer between Stranraer, Wigtownshire and Larne, in County Antrim, Ireland. 35 In earlier times, transportation existed by sailing vessel,and provided the route for much of the Scots emigration to Ulster in the 17th and 18th century. 36

These western shires of Scotland and England provided much of the source of emigration to Ulster in the 17th and 18th centuries, and were the home of many rebellious covenanters. The LDS International Genealogical Indexes (IGI), for Cumberland and Dumfrieshire show many Strongs and Strangs in the area. Thus, the intricacies of the rebellion are of considerable interest to us.

Cameronians: One Richard Cameron was a Scottish "field preacher" who moved great crowds by his eloquence. After the rising of 1679 was put down, Cameron for a time took refuge in Holland, but returned in 1680. He gathered together a small band of recalcitrants who issued the first "Sanquhar Declaration", at Sanquhar, Dumfrieshire, calling for war against Charles II and the exclusion of James, Duke of York, from the succession. A price was placed on Cameron's head. On July 22, 1680, Cameron was slain in a skirmish at the Aird's Moss, fighting bravely at the head of the few troops which he had been able to collect. 37 (The term "moss" means a bog or marsh; thus the "Aird's Moss" is a place name with descriptive content. It is not clear to the author exactly where it is located.)

Afterwards, from about 1681, societies of Cameronians, all dedicated covenanters, were formed, propounding as their testimony "The Informatory Vindication". Maintaining their Presbyterian form of worship they quickly became the most pronounced and active adherents of the faith. Ultimately, their first presbytery was constituted at Braehead in 1743, when they took the official title of "Reformed Presbyterians". 38 The group was also apparently the genesis of the "Associate Reformed Presbyterian" church to which the Strongs of Cloughwater, County Antrim, Ireland adhered. They continued their faith when they immigrated from Ireland to South Carolina in 1771. See:Christopher Strong, below.. 39

ARGYLL & MONMOUTH: Archibald Campbell, 9th earl of Argyll (1629-1685), had returned to Scotland with Prince Charles in 1650 during Charles' attempt to regain the throne after his father Charles I was beheaded by Cromwell. He was imprisoned in 1663 after the Restoration for incautious attacks on the Government of Charles II. 40 Charles II at one point took the Covenant during the 1650 adventure. Following the Restoration and Charles II's repression of the Covenanting Presbyterians, he alienated Argyll and many others, leading to outbursts of criticism.

Argylls' staunch Protestantism, his opposition to the repressive measures against the Covenanters and his great territorial influence made him obnoxious to James, Duke of York, when he came to Scotland as high commissioner. He was accused of treason without any real evidence in 1681, and sentenced to death. He escaped to Holland where he joined a conspiracy to set the Duke of Monmouth on the throne in lieu of the Catholic heir apparent, James. 41

In England in 1683, a Protestant plot to assassinate Charles II and his brother, James, as they rode past a certain place known as the Rye House had been detected and the conspirators executed. The intent was to keep the Catholic James from succeeding his brother as king. The Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles II, was found to have been involved. He was pardoned, but shortly thereafter sent into exile in Holland, 42 where the plot to put him on the throne regenerated.

The abortive Rye House plot resulted in a strong Tory reaction, which enabled Charles II to do without Parliament for the remaining 3 years of his life. He was able also to deprive the Whigs of the chief strongholds of their influence and parliamentary power, the municipal corporations. On various legal pretexts, London and more than 60 other cities and boroughs were held to have forfeited or were induced to surrender their ancient charters. New charters were issued, allowing the crown more control over the corporations and their members. By thus breaking the Whigs, Charles secured the succession for his Catholic brother. 43

In 1685, after James II, formerly Duke of York, took the throne, the Duke of Argyll returned to Scotland and made an ill-organized effort to rouse the clans to resistance to royal oppression. Argyll's revolt was intended to be simultaneous with the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth in England. On landing in Scotland, Argyll published two manifes- tos, charging popery and fratricide upon James, and setting forth his wrongs. He next set himself at the head of 2500 men, and strove to influence the people in his cause. A formidable body of the king's forces, however, coming against him, his army fell away; and he himself, after being wounded in attempting to escape, was taken prisoner by a peasant who, on June 17, found him standing up to his neck in a pool of water. He was taken prisoner at Inchinnan on June 18, and from thence carried to Edinburgh, where, after enduring many indignities with a gallant spirit..." 44 was beheaded June 29th by order of James II on the old charge of 1681. His head was exposed on the west side of the Tolbooth, where his father's and (the Duke of) Montrose's heads had also been exhibited 30 years earlier after they had been executed for Covenanting against both King Charles I and Cromwell. 45

Perhaps ironically, John Murray, 2nd earl of Atholl, (and descendant of John Stewart, one of Mary, Queen of Scot's leading Catholic nobles in 1565) was appointed lord lieutenant of Argyll in 1684. He invaded the country, and captured the Earl of Argyll at Inchinnan, leading to Argyll's execution. Murray married Amelia, daughter of James Stanley, 7th earl of Derby, through whom the later dukes of Atholl acquired the sovereignty of the Isle of Man, and the "Barony of Strange". 46

Monmouth's Rebellion in England was even more disastrous than Argyll's in Scotland. He was thoroughly defeated by the royal army at Sedgemoor, in Somersetshire, July 6,1685-- the last battle fought in England before the Air Battle of Britain in World War II. Monmouth was captured and subsequently beheaded July 15,1685. His followers were hunted down like wild beasts. Three hundred and fifty rebels were hanged in the "Bloody Circuit" in Dorsetshire and Somersetshire. Eight hundred people were sold into slavery in the West Indies, and a larger number were whipped and imprisoned. One Mrs. Elizabeth Gaunt was burned at the stake, at Tyburn. 47

In "A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland", by Sir Bernard Burke, Vol. II, London, 1871, there is a discussion of the descendents of Walter Strong, of Chardstock (son of George Strong), b. 1579, d. 26 August 1657. See: Reference: pps. 1333-1334: "Strong of Nether-Stronge, now of The Chase". There one will find a brief account of the escape of Melancthon Strong, one of his descendants, from the clutches of King James I's minions in the aftermath of Monmouth's Rebellion. This Melancthon Strong is probably descended from Walter Strong, of Chardstock. The Walter Strong noted here was a son of George Strong, also of Chardstock, and thus a brother of "Elder" John Strong, ancestor of the New England Strongs. There is a descendancy and some discussion at the following web page, created by Martha Strong: Descendants of Walter Strong

Christopher Strang: Amongst the many followers of the duke of Argyll who were captured following collapse of his rebellion, was a certain Christopher Strang, apparently a son or other relative of the Christopher Strang beheaded in 1666. During the summer of 1685, he and 167 other covenanters were imprisoned in the dungeon of Dunotter Castle, which is in Kincardineshire, south of Stonehaven. 48 They were crowded into two cellars so closely that there was no room to sit down at once and they were treated with such atrocious cruelty that many of them died of their sufferings. Twenty-five finally escaped but most were recaptured and tortured by inserting burning slow matches between their fingers and in other ways. 49 After being confined from May to September they were transported from Dunotter south to the tolboth of Leith, the port city of Edinburgh. The tolboth was a customs house or keep for the ships riding at anchor in the Roads of Leith.

While at the tolbooth, they were banished by writ of the king's privy council, sold as slaves to George Scott, who was Lord Pitlochy, and embarked on board the ship, "Richard Hutton", bound for New Jersey. 50 The Writ of Banishment issued as follows: 51

"Forasmuch as the persons underwritten-- vis: John Frazer, William Oliphant, John McGehee, William Campbell, Elispeth Ferguson, Janet Ferguson, Christian Scott, Jean Moffat, Margaret Miller, Christopher Strang, (etc.,) at present prisoners in the tolboth of Leith, being convened before the Lords of his majesties privy council, at the instance of his majesties advocate for several crimes and irregularities; refusing the oath of allegiance, or to own the king's authority, or take the oath of adjuration, in manner at length libelled, and all the said persons being men, having judicially in presence of the council refused to take or sign the oath of allegiance, and the women aforesaid, having altogether refused to own his majesties authority, or to take the oath of adjuration, the lords of this majestie's privy council have banished and do hereby banish the haill forenamed persons-- to his majestie's plantations abroad, and discharge them never to return to the kingdom hereafter without the King or the council's special license, under the pain of death to be inflicted upon them without mercy, and forthwith ordain the haill forenamed persons, as also the persons underwritten, formerly sentenced to the plantations and now prisoners in the tolboth of Leith, viz.- John Kelly, Elispeth and Janet Ferguson- to be delivered to Mr. George Scott of Pitlochie and by him transported to his majestie's Plantations in East New Jersey, in the ship lying in the road of Leith, now bounding thiether, upon his finding sufficient caution to transport the haill forenamed persons to the foresaid plantations, and to report a certificate of their landing there from the governor or deputy governor of the place, Dated in September, 1685."

Of the banished, those who were able were forced to pay their passage, and those who were not were given away as slaves to Lord Pitlochy. Amongst those given away were Jeannette Symington and Christopher Strang. The Strang, or Strong, family and the Symington family apparently intermarried both in Scotland and America.

On the passage from Scotland to America, however, Lord Pitlochy died and his son-in-law, Johnston, claimed the prisoners as his property. The captain and Johnston now concluded to take the prisoners, or slaves as they called them, to Jamaica and not to New Jersey. The reason assigned for this change in plans was that the price of slaves in Jamaica was better than in New Jersey. The wind and waves were adverse and drove them in spite of their efforts to the shores of New Jersey. The prisoners were landed in the middle of December, 1685, and scattered all over the country. 52

When spring arrived, Johnston, that he might carry out his mercenary designs, set out in pursuit of his fugitive slaves. They were all gathered up and brought before the Governor of New Jersey and a jury chosen for the purpose of trying them. The Governor and the jury decided that whatever might have been the claims of Lord Pitlochy on these individuals, Johnston had none. Consequently the prisoners were set at liberty. In a short time, according to one account, Jeannette Symington and Christopher Strong were followed by the members of their individual families, and for a short while remained in New Jersey. 53

Some time afterward one branch of the Symington family removed to Pennsylvania; in 1752 another move was made to York County, South Carolina, and a settlement made on the waters of Rochy Allison. About the time of the American Revolution, another move was made to Fishing Creek, Chester County, South Carolina, and shortly afterwards to Rocky Creek. After the Revolutionary War, the Symingtons moved to Little River in Fairfield County. Apparently, the Strongs of Kellswater, aka Cloughwater, County Antrim, Ireland, were related to the Symingtons through Jeannette Symington and. Christopher Strang, and moved to the area with some or all of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian congregation of Reverend William Martin. They joined the Symingtons at Fishing Creek in 1771, just before the Revolution. 54

In "Strong and Allied Families, Chester County, South Carolina- The Papers of Miss Esther Strong", is the following discussion: 55

"From 'Highlanders in America', J.P. Maclean: 'The second great wave of emigrants from Ulster, which occurred between 1771 and 1773 grew out of Antrim evictions. In 1771, the leases on the estate of the Marquis of Donegal in Antrim expired. The rents were placed at such a high figure that the demands could not be met.' Parts or whole congregations emigrated to America under leadership of their pastors...The Reverend William Martin, Pastor at Kellswater was in the same list." (note: from other related discussion, Kellswater is a parish in the Diocese of Connor, County Antrim. However, the 1980 Church of Ireland directory does not list Kells as a Parish in Connor, nor is there a Cloughwater...but there is a Cloughfern Parish in Connor. 56 Granted that the Church of Ireland would not list Presbyterian congregations, there is enough name similarity between "Kells" and "Clough" to point to a possible location for future research.)"

See County Antrim and South Carolina Strongs; and see Genealogy of the Antrim and South Carolina Strongs.

THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION OF 1689: Although in the short run the "Wild Whigs of the Western Shires" had lost the battle, they had renounced their allegiance to a "prelatical" King James II. The smouldering revolt which spread over the country was held in check only by the merciless cruelties with which the royal troops avenged the "rabbling of priests" and the outrages committed by the Whigs on the more prominent persecutors. Such a revolt threw strength into the hands of the government by rallying to its side all who were bent on public order, and its strength was doubled by the landing and failures of Monmouth and Argyll. None the less, much support was there for William of Orange in the coming Revolution of 1689. 57

England: James II was blind to the limitations of the Tory loyalty which brought him to the throne. He bluntly announced he would neither disband the large army raised during the rebellion nor dismiss those of its officers, many of whom were Irish Catholics, who had not taken the tests. The Tory parliament, abhorring standing armies and devoted to the Anglican ascendancy, was prorogued and sent home. He gave many more Catholics commissions in the army, which camped each summer close to London on Hounslow heath. He encouraged the Earl of Tyrconnell to raise a more wholly Catholic army in Ireland. He admitted Catholics, even including Jesuit priests, to the privy council. In defiance of the 1641 act, he set up a Court of Ecclesiastical Commission to exercise the royal supremacy over the Anglican Church and used it to thrust Catholics into the universities, which were the stronghold and training ground of the Anglican clergy and the Tory gentry. 58

In 1687, he stretched the prerogative even further and made a bid for Protestant nonconformist support of the Declaration of Indulgence, which suspended the penal laws against dissenters and recusants. Borough corporations were purged of "Anglicans and Tories", and efforts made to win the country to a repeal of the penal acts. 59

The last straw came in April, 1687, when James II issued a second Declaration of Indulgence, ordering it to be read from every pulpit on two successive Sundays. The Archbishop of Canterbury and six other bishops petitioned him against this and were prosecuted for seditious libel. Their acquittal coincided with the birth of a son to James' Catholic queen, Mary of Modena. This event promised an indefinite continuance of his policy and brought discontent to a head. Seven eminent English men, including the bishop of London, wrote to Prince William of Orange, inviting him to come over with an army to redress the nation's grievances. 60

Prince William's chief political concern at the time was to check the overgrowth of French power in Europe. Between 1679 and 1684 England's impotence had allowed Louis of France to seize Luxembourg, Strasbourg, Casale and other places vital to the defense of the Spanish Netherlands, the German Rhineland and northern Italy. By 1688, however, a European coalition had begun to form to call a halt to these aggressions. Its prospects depended partly upon England's attitude. 61

William accepted the English invitation. Landing at Torbay on Nov. 5, 1688, he advanced slowly on London. It soon appeared that James II had alienated the nation as thoroughly as Charles I in 1640 or the republicans in 1660. Support fell away from James. His daughter Anne and his best general deserted to William's camp, and James II was forced to flee to France. 62

A Parliament was convened in Jan., 1689, which agreed to treat James' flight as an abdication and to offer the crown, with a Declaration of Rights, to William and Mary jointly. The conditions and offer were accepted. The Declaration became the English Bill of Rights, which among other things gave the succession to Anne in default of issue to William and Mary, barred Catholics from the throne, declared a standing army illegal in time of peace, and required frequent parliaments and free election. The settlement marked a considerable triumph for Whig views. If no Catholic could be King, then no kingship could be unconditional. 63

Scotland: The first tasks of William of Orange and the new parliament were to secure control of the British Isles and command of the sea. Scotland was soon assured with the defeat of the forces of James II at the Battle of Killiecrankie in Scotland on July 27,1689. Its parliament followed that of England in offering the crown to William and Mary, with a Claim of Right which included the abolition of episcopacy. 64

Ireland: Ireland was a bigger problem, for Tyrconnell had a large Catholic army to which James soon brought French help. The entire Catholic population sided with James II, and in 1689, when James landed at Dublin with his French Officers, Tyrconnell had an Irish army ready to assist him. The Protestant settlers were driven from their homes and found refuge in the towns of Enniskillen and Londonderry. 65 It was during this "memorable defense" of Derry, that Matthew Stronge of the Tynan Abbey Stronges declared for William of Orange and sustained losses and rendered services which later garnered for him a renewal of certain leases from the London Companies in County Londonderry. His son, Captain James Stronge was attainted by James II's Irish Parliament along with his father. 66 The Irish Parliament of 1689 restored all the lands that had been confiscated since 1641 and passed an act of attainder against the partisans of William III. 67

The Scots and English Planters in an area ranging from Killybegs on the north of Donegal Bay to Sligo and east to Enniskillen in Fermanagh and south to Cavan rallied around Enniskillen and Ballyshannon as strong-points, which they held until given assistence by the forces of King William after the relief of Derry. The Enniskillen forces were with King William III of Orange at The Battle of the Boyne. The Regiment of Enniskillen Defenders were later regularized into the British Army and for many years maintained their identity as the "Enniskilleners". The protestant settlers of the area around Donegal Bay and east to Enniskillen were ever afterwards proud to claim that they were "from Enniskillen", regardless of whether they were actually residents of Donegal, Tyrone, Cavan, Monaghan, Longford, Leitrim, Roscommon, or Sligo. See: "The Actions of the Enniskillen-men", by Andrew Hamilton, London (1690), Reprint edition, Castlepoint Press, Colvend, Dalbeattie, Scotland (2001); and "The Western Protestant Army- Ireland 1688/90- 'The Glorious Revolution made Possible'", by Oliver C. Gibson, The Strule Press, Omagh (1989). See generally: The Donegal Strong Puzzle

King James attempted to capture Londonderry, but was hampered by the lack of artillery, and the city was relieved by way of the sea. 68 In the following year William of Orange landed in Ireland. William's victory at the Battle of the Boyne in July, 1690, drove James II back to France, but Irish resistance continued with a brave defense of the town of Limerick. After defeat of the Irish army at the town of Aughrim, Limerick was forced to surrender in October, 1691. 69

The Treaty of Limerick, 3 October 1691, secured the victory and provided that Irish Catholics were to enjoy the degree of religious liberty permitted under Charles II. However, the Treaty was not ratified by the Protestant Irish Parliament in the same manner as written. When finally approved, some 4000 Catholic landowners were attainted and their property confiscated. By 1700, a Court of Claims was set up at Chichester House in Dublin. About 400,000 acres were regranted to "innocent papists", but finally some 1,000,000 acres were vested in the Crown and sold by the Government at public auction to Protestants. 70

SURVEY, DISTRIBUTION , AND RELIGION: Significant in analyzing the interests of property owners who remained are "The Books of Survey and Distribution." They are a compilation of of abstracts of documents from about 1636-1641 to 1701-1703. They contain information pertaining to all landowners in Ireland, the description of their lands, the changes in ownership of each original estate, and the rights of title within the period. The Public Record Office, Dublin, holds a twenty volume set known as the Quit Rent Office set. Amongst its pages are county records by parish and barony for most of the counties in Ulster and the rest of Ireland. 71

Scottish Episcopalians: When William and Mary came to the throne in 1689, Presbyterianism in Scotland was restored finally by constitutional act. However, despite some opposition, most of the former episcopal clergy retained their pastorates. 72 Today, the Episcopal Church in Scotland is a Scottish church in communion with but historically distinct from the Church of England. The 14 historic dioceses are arranged as follow, under seven bishops: Aberdeen and Orkney; Argyll and the Isles; Brechin; Edinburgh; Glasgow and Galloway; Moray, Ross and Caithness; St. Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane. 73

Note that these dioceses are largely in the east, Fife and near Glasgow, Scotland. Orkney, of course, includes the Orkney Islands. In 163... two of the bishops of the Diocese of Raphoe in the Laggan Valley, County Donegal, came there from the Diocese of Orkney. Query whether their presence indicated any degree of familiarity with the Scottish families settling the Laggan. Galloway might include the Dumfries area. St. Andrews would include the area of Fifeshire. Again, note that each Scottish area includes large numbers of Strongs. Query whether the Strongs who originated in these areas were Scottish Episcopalians before they emigrated to Ireland, where they became members of the episcopal Church of Ireland.

The bishops of the Episcopal Church of Scotland are direct successors of the prelates consecrated to Scottish sees at the Restoration of Charles II. After the Revolution, the Comprehension act of 1695 allowed episcopalian incumbents, on taking the oath of allegiance to retain the benefices, though excluding them from any share in the government without a further declaration of presbyterian principles. The extruded bishops were slow to constitute for themselves a territorial episcopate. They hoped for a restored "legitimate" Jacobite king, and episcopacy. The Jacobitism of some of the clergy provoked a state policy of repression in 1715 and 1745, and fostered the growth of new Hanoverian congregations, served by clergy episcopally ordained but amenable to no bishop. These causes reduced the Scottish Episcopalians, who in 1688 included a large section of the people, to what was in 1754, save in a few corners of the west and northeast, a minority. 74

Presbyterians: The following quote is from an Original Message ----- From: "Kerr, David John" To: Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 6:38 AM Subject: RE: [FER-GOLD] Church of Scotland This church is still the official state church of Scotland, it is a Presbyterian church, [in form and function. It is & always has been separate from the Anglican church of England] There are no bishops nor priests; there are ministers (male & female) who can marry. The churches are known as congregations and are led in worship by the minister who is appointed from a selected list by the elders of the church (i.e., the congregation itself). Presbyteries are formed on an elected basis, and the senior Synod (Governing body) is elected on a yearly basis; the official head of the church is God. Please see: http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/ http://www.scottishchristian.com/churches/kirk.shtml The Presbyterian church also has "daughter" churches in N. Ireland & Eire (this is the largest religous group in Northen Ireland); Wales (rare); & some in England as well (very rare). The Irish Presbyterian church was first formed by Church of Scotland ministers in the Scottish occupying army in Ulster under General Munro in the 1640's. Until this century most Irish ministers went to Scottish universities for their Divinty studies. Presbyterian church in Ireland http://www.presbyterianireland.org/about/ Presbyterian church in wales http://www.ebcpcw.org.uk/ =============== The Scottish Test Act was rescinded in 1690. But by 1700, renunciation of popery was to be made by persons employed in education. By 1707, all professors, principals, regents, masters, or others bearing office in any university, college or school in Scotland were bound to profess and subscribe to the Confession of Faith. All persons were to be free of any oath or test contrary to or inconsistent with the Protestant religion and Presbyterian Church government. The reception of communion, as in England and Ireland, was never a part of the test in Scotland . 75

The achievement of freedom to practice their religion which came with the ascension of William of Orange to the throne after the Battle of Killiecrankie in Scotland on July 27,1689; and the improvement in the economic condition of the Scottish Lowlands which came with the Act of Union joining Scotland and England in 1707, removed the two main causes of discontent. The flow of immigration from Scotland to Ulster slowed to a mere trickle. 76 The Scots in Ulster thought their troubles had come to an end as well. This was not to be the case, as will be seen in Chapter VIII, "THE SCOTS-IRISH" exploring the condition of Irish Society in the 18th century.

Church of Ireland: The Irish Church of the Middle Ages was Roman Catholic. It remained so until 1537, when the Reformation began with the passing of the Irish Supremacy Act by the Irish Parliament at the behest of King Henry VIII. This Act asserted the English king's supremacy in the Irish as in the English church. For a time, relatively little was done to bring home to the Irish the religious controversies then raging in Europe and Great Britain. The episcopal succession was unbroken at the Reformation, and the Church of Ireland claims to be the direct and legitimate successor of the church of the Late Middle Ages. However, the Church was very much organized from the top down, and did not have the acceptance of the mass of the people. The Penal Codes of 1702-1715, requiring Catholic land owners to pay tithes to the state church, made the Church of Ireland very unpopular amongst the Gaelic Irish. 77

In Ireland an oath of allegiance was required by the Irish Act of Supremacy enacted in the second year of Queen Elizabeth I's reign. The English Act of 3 William and Mary in 1692 substituted other oaths and enforced in addition from Peers, members of the House of Commons, bishops, barristers, attorneys and others a declaration against transubstantiation, invocation of the Virgin Mary and the saints, and the sacrifice of the mass. Every person admitted to any office, civil or military was to take and subscribe the oaths of allegiance, supremacy, and abjuration (or renunciation, of the rites of the Roman Catholic church), and to receive the Lord's Supper according to the usage of the episcopal Church of Ireland. 78

In the second year of the reign of Queen Anne, in 1703, an Irish Test Act was passed requiring all office holders in Ireland to take the sacrament according to rites of the Established Church of England or Ireland. The weight of this edict fell heavily in Ulster upon the influential members of the Presbyterian Church, who might have been candidates for judgeships of other civil posts. The Test Act was aimed primarily at the Roman Catholics but was used against the Presbyterian Scots. Ministers were turned out of their pulpits, and the Scots were swept from such offices as constables, alderman, or any civil post. Since the Presbyterian ministers no longer had official standing, the legality of marriages they performed was then denied. It was announced that children of all Protestants not married by rites of the Established Church of England or Ireland should be regarded as bastards. Many persons were prosecuted in the bishops courts as fornicators for cohabiting with their own wives. In some parts of Ulster the people were not permitted to bury their dead unless an Episcopalian officiated at the funeral to read the burial service. Children could no longer be taught by tutors of the Presbyterian faith, for all dissenters, as they were called, were debarred from teaching school. The test act was not repealed until 1782. 79

Thus, in Ireland, in order to rise in public office, one had to be a member of the Church of Ireland. This was a powerful incentive to anyone, whether English, Gaelic Irish, or Scots lowlander to take the oaths and become a member of the Established episcopal church. It probably explains why many of the records of Strongs found in Ireland relate that they were of the Church of Ireland. This was so even though they may have originated in Scotland, and originally have been of Presbyterian persuasion. Additionally, over a century or two of involvement in the rites of the Church of Ireland, these people became in fact episcopalian in belief. Upon migration to the United States or Canada they retained the episcopal faith until marriage or other events in societies where tests of religion were not a prerequisite to advancement in life.

With the Act of Union in 1800, the Church of Ireland became the "United Church of England and Ireland." The majority of Irishmen felt continued dissatisfaction with this "established" state church. The Catholic Relief Acts of 1820 lifted many of the strictures of the Penal Codes. The census of 1861 showed that out of a total population of 5,798,967, only 693,357 belonged to the church, with 4,505,265 being Roman Catholics. The passing of the Act of Disestablishment in 1869 became only a matter of time. Following disestablishment, the church experienced a sort of renaissance. It continues, in an episcopal tradition, to be a sizable minority presence amongst the people of all Ireland. 80

Methodists: Methodism began at Oxford, England, as a movement within the Church of England. Two brothers, John and Charles Wesley, as a result of their spiritual experiences, began in May, 1737 to preach an evangelical method of worship with in the Church of England. Their original intent was to infuse new life and spiritual energy into the existing Church. By John Wesley's death in 1791, there were upwards of 60,000 members of Methodist societies in Great Britain, independent of, but not unfriendly to and with no technical separation from the Church of England. By 1836, the Methodist conference decided to regularly ordain its own ministers. 81

Methodism was established in Ireland by the Wesleys in the face of "fierce opposition." It has always been virile and has its own conference. It does appoint delegates to the parent conference meeting annually in England. 82 There were Methodist churches in various parts of Ireland, and many of the Strongs who emigrated from Ireland to America and Australia were adherents of this religion. 83

Established State Church: As a final note on the involvement of the Church of Ireland in analyzing events in Ireland, it is important to note that for nearly 300 years it was charged with supervising the relationships between people under what is known as "ecclesiastical law". Probates, marriages, baptisms, deaths....all were recorded in the records of the Church of Ireland. In 1871 came the Act of Disestablishment, which deprived the Church of it's status as the state church. All records formerly maintained by the Church were ordered transmitted to the Public Record Office in Dublin. This order did not apply to the Catholic or Presbyterian churches or to other Protestant sects. However, many records had been maintained by the Church of Ireland relating to members of other churches because, for example, all probates of wills were required to be in the Ecclesiastical Courts of the established church. Unfortunately, the records went up in flames in what is known as the "Four Courts Fire" of 1922, when the building housing them was seized by Irish "Anti-Treaty" forces opposed to the form of the treaty establishing the Irish Free State and came under fire from "Pro-treaty" forces. 84

We turn now to Chapter VI, "Eighteenth Century Estates & Society".

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2 Israel Smith Clare, "The Standard History of the World", Standard Historical Society, Cincinatti, 1929, p.2707-2708.
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71 Margaret Dickson Falley, "Irish and Scotch-Irish Family Research", Vol.I, p.589-593.
72 Encyclopedia Britannica (1959), "Presbyterian", Vol.18, p.442.
73 Encyclopedia Britannica (1959), "Scotland, Episcopal Church in", Vol.20, p.175.
74 Encyclopedia Britannica (1959), "Scotland, Episcopal Church in", Vol.20, p.175.
75 Encyclopedia Britannica (1959), "Test Act", Vol.21, p.977.
76 George W. Page, "The 'Scotch-Irish' of North America", ABT-PAF, Vol.2, number 4, p.18.
77 Encyclopedia Britannica (1959), "Ireland, Church of", Vol.11,p.617-618.
78 Encyclopedia Britannica (1959), "Test Act", Vol.21, p.977.
79 George W. Page, "The 'Scotch-Irish" in North America"; ABT-PAF, Vol.2, no.4, p.19.
80 Encyclopedia Britannica (1959), "Ireland, Church of", Vol.12, p.618.
81 Encyclopedia Britannica (1959), "Methodism", Vol.15, p.357-359.
82 Encyclopedia Britannica (1959), "Methodism", Vol.15, p.357-359.
83 Dale G. Strong, "The Descendants of John Strong and Martha Watson"; Alec Strong, "The Strongs from Donegal", privately published, 1984, p.8.
84 Angus Baxter, "In Search of Your British & Irish Roots", William Morrow and Co., New York, (19..), p.253.

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