Deposition of William Metcalfe

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William Metcalfe Late minister of the Parrish Church of Siddan in the County of Meath sworne and examined deposeth and sayth That about a fortnight after the begining of this present Rebellion: Hee this deponent was by the Rebells in the said Countie deprived robbed or otherwise dispoyled of his goodes and chattells vizt Corne Cattle and howseholdstuff & other goodes of the value <560 li. presente losse 60 li. per annum> of ffive hundreth & threescore Powndes sterling And further sayth that the Rebells that soe Robbed and deprived him and that likewise expelled him from his Church meanes worth 60 li. per annum (which he is like to loose till a peace be setled) were and are theis that follow vizt James Fleming of Siddan <A> aforesaid Esquire Mathew Evers of Bengarstowne in the same Countie gentleman, Patrick Cusack of Keran in the said Countie gent, Thomas Carolin popist preist & Coll McMahowne of Carrickmacrosse in the sa i Countie of Monoghan Esquire < [ ] why bloody> & Georg Cusac k of Keiran of the same County a most barbarous & bloudy villanie and divers others in their Companies to the number of 300 and above whose names he knows not: And further sayth that att or about the same tyme some of his parishioners tendering him vij li. in money for rent of his tythes the said Tho: Corrolin the Rebell preist being present snatched vp and tooke the monye Saying there shold be noe more tythes paid to any viccar of in Ens Ireland and that the r e should be noe more [ ] in Ireland ffor Sir Phelim Roe ô Neile shold keepe <B> the Assyzes in dublin within a quarter of a yere then next after & be generall of the Kyngdome & that wee you meaning the English or protestants shold haue noe more Lord Lee Lieutenants nor deputies in Ireland: And further sayth alsoe that he this deponent was credibly informed by a servant man to the said Sir Phelim & by divers others of creditt that a little before the rebellion began the said Sir Phelim obtrud mortgaged or rather obtruded vpon one Mr Walter Cope of nere the Carrick a certeine

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parcell of his land & received for it 800 li. in mony, And that therevpon the said Sir Phelims servant sayd vnto him: Why have you mortgaged this being all the land you have left to live vpon for this Eight hundreth powndes: And that the said Sir Phelim therevnto answered It is noe matter for I have the said Mr Copes, mony now, & will haue his head besids within this fortnight & he shall haue none of my land or to that <*> effect: And saith further that after the Rebells had soe as aforesaid robbed the deponent, they imprisoned him his wife & 8 children and 3 of his granchildren in the Castle of Siddan for three months o r there nyne months or thereabouts: Where they were with scarsity & very meane food but especially by gods secrett bounty & goodnes, kept alive & then at length were were inlarged by the Lord More & English army: But whilest at first when this deponent was taken in prison they the said Rebells gave him twentie blows at least with a Cudgell (which made him ly long in his bedd) & compelled him to goe with them to a thorne bushe where they threatened but did not hang him: And saith that he the Rebells during the tyme of his imprisonment he by observed That the Rebells Robbed and tooke from the English att their Cattle Corne & other goodes by great quanteties: & heard that they slew and murthered as many of the protestants (neither spareing sex nor age) as they possibly could: & amongst the rest knoweth that they slew James Butcher the parish Clark of Ardes in his owne howse: & this deponent was presente att <I> his buriall And one Walter Evers of Bengerstowne <C> aforesaid a Civilian sayd to this deponent that his (meaneing protestant profession) was nawght and they the protestant s hereticks: & forceibly brought him into the Church yard at Siddan to show him where & how many English were there buried for xxty yeres then last past, that they might be turned out of their graves church and Churchyard But the deponent refused to make knowne the same vnto him
Will: Metcalf
Jurat 8bris vltimo 1642
Hen: Brereton
Joh Watson
Will: Aldrich