Examination of Jane Cooper

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The Examination of Jane Cooper of Cashell in the County of Typperary widow taken at Clonmell the Tweluth of Nouember 1652
The sayd Jane Cowper aged fifty yeeres or thereabouts being duely sworne and Examined saith That at the beginning of the Rebellion her late husband Mr John Cooper was Minister of the Gospell at Cullen in the said County of Typerary, That vpon the first breaking out of the Rebellion, this Examinant, her said husband, old Mr Thomas Whitby, Mr William Hibard, Mr Richard Ely now of Clonmell merchant, William Blake now a Miller of Clonmell & one Joane Parcell Parker now in Clonmell, and many Margarett Dixon John Jones Katherine Jones his wife, and many other English men women and children whose names this Examinant now remembreth not, went into the Castle of Cullen to secure themselues against the Irish then rising vp in Rebellion generall{y} That assoone as they were Entred the Castle vizt about or the beginning of Nouember 1641 they were streightned by the Rebells then Comanded by William Bourke of Pollards=Towne esquire Derby Ryan, the Lord Baron of CastleConnell That the, That [ ] John Hinde Gilbert Waters William oge Ryan and Garrett English were there also with them that beseiged the Castle That the said Castle was streightned and beseiged vntill about the beginning of August 1642. That about that time vizt on a Sabbath day the last of July 164 1 Mr William Hibard Governour of the Castle, did goe out of the Castle & treate with the said William Bourke about the surrender of the said Castle to the Irish vpon Condition That they would Convey the sayd English in the Castle to the English Army And That after that A[ ] vizt on Munday the first of August 1641 Margarett Dixon the wife of a { } Thatcher. John Jones, Katherine his wife, one { } of William Blake with seuerall other English m{en women and} children to the number of fifty persons in all, w{ } the said Castle some to gather their owne Corne nee{ } others to take fresh Ayre, but were all by part of { } that beseiged the Castle, assaulted and killed Except But Margarett Dixon, the Thatchers wife, and the said Kat{herin} Jones Escaped (her husband John & William Blakes wife afores{aid } then killed) John That the said Castle was afterwards acco{ } <B> to Agreement surrendred to the Irish, and the keyes of { } William Blakes [ ] which were taken from his wife which { } wa{ } as shee heard { } sent { } the said Willia{ } that { }

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of the English in the Castle went out towards Doneraill & < [ ] > were Conveyed by the way of Killmallog where the Lord <C> Roch after hearing Masse, gaue order That Euery English man with in that Company should be killed and Every English woman should be stript because his Lady was stript by the English which order of his had as this Examinant verily beleiueth been Executed vpon the poore English. had it not been hindred by Darby Ryan who had Comand in the said Convoy The Examinant saith That during the seige of the Castle there were killed besides the Company aforesayd, a daughter of the said Thomas Whitby and a sonne of his called John was hanged by the Irish before the Castle about Imley three mile from Cullen but by whose order this Examinant knoweth not. Being demanded her cause of knowledge of the Lord Roches giuing orders as aforesaid she saith that shee <D> was one of the number of those Convoyed and then at Kilmallog in the Abbey there with the rest of the English, And that shee then heard it comonly reported, That the Lord Roch had then after Masse published the said Order, and that being be in their march their Carriages stopping in a lane beyond Kolmallog, and the reason demanded by the English said Ryan the Driuers and the rest of the Irish said they would goe no further for that a party coming then from Kilmallog would had killd the English there, To which the said Ryan sayd he would loose his bloud before one drop of the poore innocents bloud should be spilt, And this deponent heard him speake those words or to that purpose, And that shee did see those from Kilmallog riding about the Convoy, but were hindred by the said Ryan from Attempting as aforesaid vpon them the said English And further saith not
The marke of [mark] Jane Cowper
{ } the day and yeere
{be}fore
{ }d before
Hen: Jones
<E> The Examinant further saith That shee hath seen the paper annexed concerning the said seige of Cullen. and that she knoweth it to be her said late husbands handwriting, And afterw ard sher husbands <death> shee kept the said paper and now deliuereth it together with this Examinacion. And further shee saith not.
The {marke of Jane} [mark] Cowper
{ }osed before

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(remnants of seal)

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The Examinacion of Jane Cowper
Concerning Cullen busines
Against Lo Castle Connell
William Bourke &c
22

against
Lt Col Bourke
Lo. Castle connell
Captain Hibard
Lo. Roch.