Montgomery manuscripts

?he Montgomery Manuscripts.
*59
Parsons'9 and Sr. Jno. Burlace, 20 signed by them and the Lds. Moore" and Dillon," and many
Auchmar concludes his notice of the Galbraiths of Scotland
with the following remark : — "Tire only remaining family
of that name being Culcruich, Galbraith, laird thereof, fell
into such bad circumstances, in King Charles I. his time,
as obliged him to pass his estate and go to Ireland, where
his posterity are in very good circumstances. Galbraith
of Balgair is now representative of the family, Balgair's
ancestor being a son of that family." — Ancient Scottish
Surnames, p. 174. The editor of the Spottiswoode Mis-
cellany,vo\. i.,p. 1 14, note, says — "A younger branch of the
Galbraiths of Balgair, in Stirlingshire, settled in Ireland,
and acquired considerable landed property. About the
beginning of the present century, the elder branch (in
Scotland) failed, and the estate, which was under the
entail, was successfully claimed by the heir male of a
Major Galbraith, who lived in the reign of William III."
Perhaps the individual, Major John Galbraith, referred to
in the text was the original settler (in Ireland). On their
coming first to Tyrone, William and Humphrey Galbraith
were engaged, for a time, in the service of Spottiswoode,
bishop of Clogher, whilst James appears to have followed
the military profession, and Robert was probably an under-
taker of land. The two former, in espousing the bishop's
numerous quarrels with his neighbours, were involved in
serious difficulties and dangers. In the discharge of their
duties as his agents, they were required to seize and sell four
horses belonging to sir John Wimbes (or Weymss), the
sheriff of Fermanagh. Soon afterwards, sir John overtook
them whilst making a similar seizure from his father-in-
law, lord Balfour, and, "incensed with the indignity he
thought done him so lately, he, without any worde, att
the very first, thrust William Galbreith through the shoul-
der with a pyke, then two or three of his company gave
him divers other wounds. Humphrey Galbraith, seeing
his brother in this case, he called so Sir John to forbear,
and he should have all content, to whome Sir John an-
swered, as the bishop's servants affirmed — ' Devil 1 have
my soul if we part so' — whereupon Humphrey grappled
with Sir John, and while they were wrestling 111 a dirty
bog one David Balfour wounded Humphrey in divers
places. Humphrey laying his accompt his brother was
killed, and himself could not escape, he tooke hold of a
long skeen that was about Sir John Wimbes, and there-
with did give him a deadly wound." This encounter, re-
sulting in the death of sir John Wimbes, involved the Gal-
braiths in great and protracted dangers, from which, how-
ever, they eventually escaped. — Spottiswoode Miscellany,
vol. i. , p. 114. Humphrey and Robert Galbraith held
the following lands in the barony of Raphoe, county of
Donegal, viz. , the quarter lands of Corkagh, Lebindish,
Lisglamerty, Ruskey, and Gartmore, together with the
town and lands of Carrickballyduffe, containing 10 bally-
boes, in all 700 acres, which they sold on the 1st of May,
1654, to sir John Calhowne, knt. and baronet. — Inquisi-
tions, Donegal, no. 3, Car. II.
■9 Sir Wm. Parsons. — Parsons first held the office of
surveyor-general in Ireland, and while so employed, ob-
tained large grants of land in the counties of Wicklow and
Kildare. In 1625, he was appointed master of the Court
of Wards and Liveries, with an annual fee of ,£300. In
1628, he received additional grants in the counties of
Meath, Cavan, Cork, Tipperary, Limerick, and Fer-
managh. Sir William's great grandson, sir Richard
Parsons, was created baron Oxmantown and viscount
Rosse, in 16S1. The son of the latter was advanced to
the earldom of Rosse in 1 7 1 8. " The humble Remonstrance
of the Northern Catholics of Ireland now (1641) in arms
contains the following heavy accusations against Parsons:
' ' The said. Sir Wm. Parsons hath been a mean to supplant
out of their ancient possessions and inheritances many of
the inhabitants of this realm, though of your best sub-
jects, and servitors to the crown, upon old feigned
titles of three hundred years past, and he thereupon pro-
cured the disposing of their lands by way of plantation;
but he having the survey and measuring thereof, did most
partially and corruptly survey the same, making the best
land waste and unprofitable in his survey, and in the ad-
measurement did reduce more than the half of these plan-
tations to fractions under an hundred acres, being of far
greater measure ; of which fractions the natives, antient
possessors thereof, were wholly defeated, and your majesty
not answered thereout any rent or other consideration, but
the same wholly disposed of by the said Parsons at his
pleasure, for his private lucre and advantage, Sec, &c."
— Desiderata Curiosa Hibernica, vol. ii., p. 97.
20 Sir Jno. Burlace. — Borlace, who was master of the
ordnance, was associated with sir Wm. Parsons in discharg-
ing the duties of deputy, on the withdrawal of lord Dillon.
Parsons being removed also, by revocation, dated at Ox-
ford, 30th March, 1643, sir Hen. Tichborne was associated
with Borlace, by patent, dated on the following day.
Liber Hibernia, vol. i., part ii., p. 7. — "Sir William Par-
sons and sir John Borlase were both bitter haters of every-
thing belonging to Catholics except their property, and it
was the opinion of no less a person than king Charles
himself, that but for these men's disobedience to his com-
mands, the terrible Irish rebellion of 1641 would not at all
have happened, or would have been quickly suppressed.
These commands of the King were to pass the bills for the
securing of the estates of the natives, and for confirming the
other 'graces,' which Strafford's own biographer, Mac-
diarmid, admits were certainly moderate, relating as they
did to abuses arising from a defective police, to exactions
in the court of justice, depredations committed by the
soldiery, monopolies which tended to the ruin of trade
retrospective enquiries into defective titles, penal statutes
on account of religion, and other evils, for which, to bor-
row Moore's expression, these wretched people were
obliged to bribe their monarch. "— Lenihan's History of
Limerick, pp. 148, 149.
21 Lord Moore. — This was Garret Moore, son of that sir
Edward Moore who obtained a grant from Queen Eliza-
beth of the lands that had belonged to the abbey of Melii-
font in the county of Louth. The grant is dated 8th of
February, 1583, and was only given for 41 years. In
1605, sir Garret, the son, obtained from James I. a regrant
of his estates of Mellifont, for ever. The latter was created
baron Moore of Mellifont in 1616, and viscount Moore of
Drogheda in 1621. His grandson, Henry, the third vis-
count, was created earl of Drogheda in 1668. — Erck'sTcV.
pertory of Patent Rolls of Ja?nes I., p. 1715 Burke's
Peerage, p. 326.
22 Lord Dillon.— -This was Robert, lord Dillon, son of
that sir James Dillon who was advanced to the earldom