Deposition of John Higginson

fol. 344r

John Higginson of Rathfarnam in the Countie of Dublin gent in addition to his former examinacion taken vpon oath sayth & deposeth further That since the takeing of his former examinacion vizt the fowrth of March last 1645 hee this deponent had his tuck myll at Rathfarnam aforesaid forceibly broken in the night by about twentie five Irish Rebells, whoe then & there discharged divers seuerall shotts against Thomas Sanders & his wife and daughter out of their g u ns & threw great stones against them whoe were in the said Mylle, & then and there they the Rebells had (as this deponent is verely perswaded) murthered the said Tho: Sanders, but that the apprehension of feare, & to save his liffe (then maliciously sought after) enforced him to escap make a most strang & dangerous escape in the sleuces & watercourse of the mille, as it was then violently flowing, & soe passed downe vpon his belly or vpon hands & feete for the most part, vntill he had passed their wicked Centries & then he escaped naked to the Castle of Rathfarnam without his shirt, Howbeit noe releef came to rescow or preserve the said mylle or the goods therein But those Rebellious people att that tyme robbed the said mylle of as much cloth as was worth threescore powndes or thereabouts, besides the apparrell & goodes of the said Tho Sanders, his wife & daughter worth (as they said & as this deponent thincketh they truly affirmed) 5 li. ster, & besides a muskett of this deponents & other goods worth at least 20 s. more, besides the ruinateing of his Mill, & dishartening & expelling his Customers Soe that till now of late he durst not adventure the milling of Cloth there, but hath bin enforced to repaire the same & be at charges of iij s. weekly to souldiers to guard the same mill And this deponent further saith that about Christmas 1641 this deponent tooke vpp an Imployment in the traine of Artillery for his Maiesty at Dublin & supplied the same with Carts or carriags soe long (as vpon iust accompt) there was above 100 li. due & vnpaid of his entertainment vnto him, which is still in arrere & vnsatisfied: for the most some part of which tyme (being vntill the Cessation of Armes) this deponent contributed & paid to and for
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for the manteinance of his Maiesties Army, viij s. weekely and afterwardes other sumes, besides billetting of souldiers fire candlelight, trenches makeing & other sumes paid out of his purse for & towardes the manteinance of the warrs against the Irish Rebells the summ of thirty powndes at the leaste And the deponent is at weekely charges still in that behalfe & the charges and imposicions for the Army against the Irish is still soe great that he may iustly say it lyeth heavie vpon him, soe that he cannott possibly subsist & vndergoe that charge long, vnles god in his great mercie helpe & support him with the rest of his neighbours (most miserably and in the like manner [ ] oppressed) And this deponent further saith that one Donogh ô Doile that lately lived in or nere Powerscourt <A> & one Donoghe whoe was servant to one Mris Archbold that liveth in a wood nere Bray (at whose howse some of the said cloth was fownd) are both indicted & condempned in the kings bench for the robbery aforesaid or Receiving of the said stollen cloth but the rest of the Robbers & receivers of the said cloth he will hereafter endeavour certenly to learne out and discouer: And as to murthers & cruelties comitted by the Irish Rebells he therevnto saith That about a yere after the present Rebellion began divers irish Rebells whose names he knoweth not, came in rebellious manner to a place nere the howse of Henry Butterfeild within the township of Rathfarnam in the County of Dublin & then and there suddenly killd one of the men servants of him the said Henry, whose name the deponent knoweth not & quickly after on the same day robbed the said Henry of all his Cattell, & surprised & seazed on the person of the said Henry, & carried him away as their prisoner to Powerscort, & there hanged him to death vpon a gallowes, which since hath bin showed to him this deponent
About October last (as this deponent Remembreth) one Richard leech was murthered at his owne howse in Churchtowne in the said County of Dublin & robd of his Cattell by the Rebells (thoughe he
<Talbott [ ] >
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he was a papist) And soone after Thomas ffox of Butterstow{ne} wi in th nere Merian in the County of Dublin was alsoe murthered nere his owne howse by the Rebells, but by whome by name he cannott tell
In ffebruary last the howse of Edward Thorpe at Rathfarnam bridg was robbed in the night tyme by Rebells vnknowne to the deponent, & a servant woman then and there was quite blynded with small shott by some of the same Rebells
But before those tymes vizt in Ester weeke 1642 one Peirs Jones was murthered vpon his owne farme called Scollerstowne nere Rathfarnam, & had about 13 or 14 terrible wowndes given him by Rebells alsoe vnknowne to the deponent
[mark] Signum predicti Johannis Higginson
Jur vt supra & delibat
xxvijo Maij 1646
Hen: Clogher
Will: Aldrich
The Sum of the whole present losse is _____ 431 li.
Future losse __________________________ x li. per annum

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some Payments of [ ] for which
Mr Edw: [ ] was bound
first f[ ]

Dublin
John Higginson gentleman
Jur 22o Jan 1645
& postea
Intw