Deposition of John Johnson

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(Note: the deposition begins on

fol. 250v

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in respect of the Cessation: which letter was carried along and deliuered by the said Mr Browne And not vpon his comeing thither Those Rebells Irish that tooke them confessed the takeing and haveing of all those goodes: but withall said that three of the Cattle was were killd the night before for the Releef of their souldjers and yet faithfully promissed & vowed to restore & send back all the rest to the owners of them & giue satisfacion for th o se three If their Counsell at Kilkenny shold giue them such direccion And about 2 dayes after these Rebells Irish sent back to Dublin 46 of the worst of those cattle which they had soe taken: & the bringers promissed to bring thither alsoe all the rest, And further saith that although seuerall direccions & orders came vnto the Rebell Irish Captains aforesaid and their souldjers both from their Counsell at Kilkenny and Cashell to restore the rest of the goodes: which yet they did not restore them, but did [ st ] drive them further into the Cuntry amongst the woodes: & haue euer since deteined them notwithstanding the said Cessation of Armes and the letter orders and djreccions aforesaid: Soe as this deponent is very much dampnified And many others are quite beggared & vndone, And this deponent and the many of the rest of the owners of those cattle ha (encouraged by the Rebells promisses and Captain Talbotts letter to deliuer the Cattle) haue made seuerall Jorneys into the Cuntry amongst the Rebells [ ] irish to the hazard of their lives & expence of good sumes of mony & yet could not regaine any more of their Cattle none of the
< Jur viijo Jan: 1643 Dr J Mr B Mr P>
John Johnson
Jur viijo Jan: 1643 coram
Hen: Jones
Edw Pigott

Dublin
John Johnson Jur viijo Jan 1643
Intw Ex

479

fol. 250v

John Johnson of the Citty of Dublin gent aged 34 yeres or thereabouts sworne and examined before his Maiesties Commissioners in that behalf authorized deposeth and saith That That since the begning of the present Rebellion & by meanes thereof vizt before the end of one yere after the same began Hee hath lost & bin dampnifyed in his wares merchandize and estate the value of 230 li. at least, And further saith That since the present Cessation of Armes was agreed on vizt the 18th day of D September last 1643 betwixt 10 & 11 of the clock in the foorenoone divers of the Irish Rebells vizt Captaine <A> Barnard Talbott Captain John Welsh now of Carnow Castle & one Captain Byrne whose Chrissen name he cannott expresse came with a troope of horse & about 2 companies of foote (all Rebells) [ ] secretly martched and came within muskett shott of the trenches neere Saint Keavens Church in the subburbs of the Citty of Dublin And then and there (whenas they were not suspected to come) they being Armed with weapons for their purpose, did forceibly & Rebelliously seize vpon take and carry away 359 Cowes oxen & bulls & 29 horses & other thinges of the goodes of thinhabitants of the Citty and suburbs of Dublin. & other placs thereaboutes worth as this deponent is verely perswaded fifteene or sixteen hundred powndes ster, And amongst the rest they then & there forceibly tooke & carried away of this deponentes goodes tenn Cowes and one Bull for which (if he had them now, considering of their imediate value and future proffitt, he would not have taken for them 70 li. sterling <A> And all those goodes those Irish wicked Rebells takeing [ ] and driving away with them to Powerscourt did in their way murther & kill one Nicholas Kerdiffe a keeper of some of those cattle, And they maimed wounded & cruelly hurt divers others the keepers of Cattle whoe hardly <A> escaped with their lives: And further saith that presently after vpon the very same daie the most ho : M arquesse of Ormond now Lord Liveten ant generall his excel ency <B> sent one of the irish [Rebels ] Agent s for the Cessation by name Mr Geffrey Browne after those Rebells who fownd them with a letter vnder his hand whereby those persons that tooke the goodes were comanded to restore them
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