Deposition of Phillip Sergeant

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Phillip Sergeant of the towne of Mountrath in the Queens County gent tennant and servant to Sir Charles Coote knight & baronet & overseer of his Lynnen and fustian workes workes sworne and examined deposeth and saith: That in the begining of the Rebellion in the Queens County that is to say about the xth of December 1641 The said Sir Charles Coote was at Mountrath aforesaid forceibly deprived robbed and dispoyled of fustians and lynnen cloth and cotten yarne worth in all 716 li. ix s. ster And that at the same tyme this deponent was deprived and dispojled of his service and imployment & of other his goodes to his now loss & damage of One hundred and fifty powndes sterling And the said Sir Charles was alsoe forceibly deprived & dispojled of his other goods chattells & estate in seuerall placs within the seuerall Countys of Leitrim the Kinges County Roscomon, & the Queens County of very greate value the particulers whereof he cannott expresse & had divers of his howses burned and spojled by the Rebells And further sayth That the Rebells that soe dispojled and robbed the said Sir Charles Coote & the deponent in the Queens County were and are fflorence ffitzpatrick <A> of Castletowne in the same County Esquire a Captain or great Comander of Rebells: whose wiffe (as this deponent hath bin credibly told by divers persons) sayd that she had but one hand, & hoped that shee should wash the same in the said Sir Charles Coots bloud, and the rebellious souldjers and servants of him the said fflorence whose names he knoweth not And this deponent further saith That one Mr John Nicholson of Mountrath aforesaid gent and On Phillip Sargente his wiffe in the begining of the Rebellion were perswaded and drawne by the said fflorence ffitzpatrick to come and bring all their goods with them (which were of good value) from Mountrath to Castletowne where the said fitzpatrick dwelled promissing that they & their goods should be there kept as saffe as his owne Liffe, And by those faire promisses the said ffitzpatrick getting possession both of their persons & goodes, they there behoulding daily cruelties & murthers vpon other English and belike suspecting the like to be exercised against themselues, desired fled away secretly o n to to Mountrath Mountrath to the howse of one Mortogh McAboy where they had much adoe to escape murthering that night And the next day the said fflorence ffitzpatrick being returned with his Rebellious souldjers from the seige of the fort of Leix to Mountrath the said Mris Nicholson earnestly begged vpon her knees to the said ffitzpatrick That she & her husband might haue his passe for their conveying to the fort of Leix aforesaid but he denyed to giue them any passe or convoy: notwithstanding he then and there received from her the scarfe she wore & he bade her shift for herself

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for he would have noe more to doe with her; Wherevpon she left him And her hus{band} <A> & she hired for mony oneHarding of M o or nere Mountrath and oth{ers} to convoy her husband and her to the fort, whoe carrieing them from thence carried them into a wood telling them that was the more secure way: {But} when thy had them there they stabd Mr Nicholson & with a sword cleft her head downe to her shoulders & Left them both murthered there and stript o{f} their clothes As this deponent hath bin very credibly informed both by English a{nd} irish: and he beleeveth & partly knoweth their Informacion to be true, And heard it very be alsoe very credibly reported that those murtherers repented themsel{ves} that they had not brought ript Mris Nicholsons belly & taken out her grea{se} and fatt to haue made candles withall; And this deponent hath bin credibly to{ld} by divers both of the irish and English and beleeveth That some of {the} said fflorence ffitzpatricks souldjers by the direccions of him the said fflorence o{r his} <B> wiffe hanged o n a protestant by name William ffox at Castletowne aforesaid: {And} sent away his wiffe in a Carr towards Mountrath with 2 children: But {by} the way they Rebells killd the children outright and wounded her & threw them all into an old saw pitt & cast timber vpon them. And there left her & the children vnder that tymber where she Lay Languishing for twoe day{es} vntill that An irish rebell passing by she called to him & desired him to giue her a little water to drinck: And he telling her he wold giue her her fill did instantly with a great stone knock out her braynes
<Dr J: Mr B>
Phillip Sarginte
Jur vlt febr viij o Januar ij 1643
Hen: Jones
Hen: Brereton

Q County o
Phillip Sergent Jur 8 Jan: 1643
10 dec
hand Intw [ ]

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