Deposition of Ann Smith and Margret Clark

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Ann Smith the late wife of Robert Smith late of Shewis in the parrish of kilmore & County of Armaghe Taylor And Margret the wiffe of John Clark of Annaclea in the parrish and County of Armaghe sworne and examined depose and say that they have heard redd & considred of thexaminacion of Margrett Phillis the wife of Tho: Phillis taken before his Majesties Commisioners the xvth day of Mar this instant March 1642 And say that the same is in all things true of their owne knowledges saveing that they cannot soe certenly speake to her losses as she doth yet are perswaded that her expresssions of losses are true And theis <1.> deponents for further explanation of the truth further say That they theis deponents were 2 amongst the rest of English and Scottish protestants that were all forced and driven into a thatcht howse by the Rebells, & driven together into a thatcht howse belonging to theis deponents in shewis aforesaid And when the Rebells hadd filled the howse full of them of protestants Then they the Rebells sett fyer in seuerall parts thereof: wherevpon theis deponents & about tenn more of those protestants fell downe vpon their knees & with teares prayed <a> one Jane Hampson the wife of Henry Hampson of Legacory (whoe was the most forward & Cruell Rebell amongst them) that shee would permitt them to cu come out of the howse & rather to knock them in the heads then to burne them. But the said Jane Hampson being resolute to destroy them by that way sayd she would be a Blacksmith amongst them & denyed to suffer them to come out of the howse But shee haveing a pitchfork & the other Rebells other weapons made fast the doore on the owtside: & burned the howse & all the protestants therein (which in deed filled the howse) saveing theis 2 deponents only whoe breaking through a hole in the wall & comeing through the same out of the s howse; some of the Rebells threw a great stone at this deponent Margrett whereat she fell downe to the grownd, and some of them knockt the other deponent in the head: & she therewith falling to the ground: the Rebells busied with burning the howse & the rest of the Protestants left them the deponents lying there vpon the ground for dead, yet god almighty gave them oportunity & soe much ability as to fly & escape away But all the rest were burned to ashes being a house full of poore innocent soules: But the Certeine numbers of them they doe not knowe: Howbeit the protestants that they knew that then and there were burned, & [ ] were the i r n e ighbors, were theis that follow vizt the said Robert Smithe first [ ] Richard Jennis ffrances the wife of Nicholas wood & one of her children (about viijt weekes old) Elizabeth the wiffe of James Ghipsy: Alice Butterwith the wiffe of Isack Butterwith & 2 of her children besides one in her belly she being great with child Raph Hill & his wiffe But the rest that they were

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were such strangers of English and Scotts as the Rebells hadd driven and brought into the towne that night and the day before & such as theis deponents cannott name, And further say That ever as any of those protestants endeavoured to escape & come out of the fyer & howse the barbarous and cruell Rebells knockt them in the heads or wounded with their pikes pitchforks & other things & threw or forced them into the fyer againe, by which they were all <2> Consumed as aforesaid, And further theis deponents say that the Rebells did exercise this cruelty aforesaid about the tyme that they hadd their army had an overthrow at lisnegarvy ffor after that ouerthrow the irish Rebells neither spared protestant nor papist soe they were either Englishe or Scottish And of theis deponents knowledge the Rebells about that tyme murthered One Hugh Clark Richard Nutter the wife of William Blundell & six of their children Mary Smith and six children Effham Clark widow & one child Elizabeth the wiffe of Michaell Smith One an old woman called Geoddy Beere & another yong woman & her child John Hale Thomas Orten John Orben Orton. and many others that they cannott name Insoemuch as theire there escaped but very few either english or Scotts in all the Cuntry thereabouts: ffor the inhumane & barbarous Rebells spared neither little children nor sex nor those of any age whatsoeuer but some they putt to death by hanging some by drowning in Rivers ditches and holes some by burning, the rest by the sword starveing famishing the sword <3.> torturing & other cruell deathes: And theis deponents hadd seuerall of their frends acquaintance & neighbours drowned at the bridg of Portadowne, to the number of one hundreth and fifty att one tyme. Soe as in deed all the full & faire plantacions of protestants in the Cuntry thereabouts, were quite depopulated and distroyed: And this deponent Margrett in the begining of the Rebelli{on} heard some of the Rebells say: That Sir Phelim ô Neile would have all the lands in Ireland northwards from Dundalk to himself. And she further saith that since the Rebellion began & by meanes thereof shee was her husband & shee were, deprived robbed & spojled of their corne Cattle horses Mares sheepe hay howsholdstuffe ready mony apparell & other thinges & the of the proffitts of their leas worth of the value and to their losse of (for the present of fowrscore and se Nynteene Pownds sixtenn shillings viij d. Beside timber worth ffowre pownds And that her said husband and she are like to be deprived of and loose the future proffits of their farme (which she conceiveth to be clerely worth xiij li. vj s. viij d. per
<103 li.: 16 s.-8 d.
present losse
13 li. 6 s. 8 d. per annum>

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per annum) vntill a peace be established And this deponent Ann Smith further saith that att the tyme when the Rebells burnd her said husband to death they Rebells robbed & deprived him & her of the possession Rents and proffitts of their howse garden howsholdstuff provition apparell & other things worth viij li. sterl or thereabouts
The [ he r] marks of the said Margrett Ann Smith
& [mark][mark] Margret Clark
Jur 16o Martij 1642 coram nobis
Hen: Brereton
Will: Aldrich

32

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Armaghe
Ann Smith & Margrett
Clark Jur 16to Martij
1642
Intw Ex
hand

21