1. Plantation 1610-1700

Map of the Province of Ulster from 1676

It is almost certain that the McCorkell family came to Ulster as part of the Plantation Of Ulster in the early 1600's, evidence of this migration is now all but lost but some small fragments still remain. From my research I am fairly sure the family came from the Glengarnock area of Ayrshire and were first recorded in the Muster Rolls of Donegal in 1630. In the following pages I will discuss the records I have been able to find and there significance.

Plantation in Donegal

"The opportunity for the Plantation came with the 'Flight of the Earls' in 1607. The land was confiscated by the Crown and allocated to specially chosen undertakers. When the British authorities set about preparing the land for the new owners. the Laggan was divided into two parts - Lifford and Portlough. The Laggan Valley was given to the Cunningham and Stewart families from Ayrshire who brought tenants from those areas. Portlough was divided into 12 portions of 1,000 acres each, and all were given to undertakers on condition that they planted on their lands a certain number of Scotch and English. They got these farms at low rent and also had to build castles and bawns for themselves to live in. Few of the native Irish got land, many moved west to the Barony of Kilmacrenan. The village of Manorcunningham, originally named the Manor of Fort Cunningham, takes it's name from it's first proprietor James Cunningham. The first duty of a planter was to erect a bawn or castle for his protection. Villages were established by them for their tenants near the bawns where they could take shelter with their families in times of attack and by law all men were armed. At these villages, fairs and market days were established by the local undertaker so that surplus production could be sold."[1]

The Muster Roll, Barony of Raphoe 1630

Barony de Rapho

The Lady Conningham Widdow of Sir James Conningham, undertaker of 2,000 acres, her men and armes.

William Conningham, James Calquahan, Andrew mcCorkill, John mcCorkill, Tobias Hood, James Davye, Peter Starret, John mcquchowne, James Knox, Adam Garvance.

Swords and Pikes

James mcAdowe, ffyndlay Ewing, Dunkan mcffarlan, Ninian ffoulton, James Scot, William Rankin, Daniell Ramsay, Martin Galbreath, Patrick Porter

Swords and Snaphances

William mcIltherne, David Walker, John Barbor

Swords and Calleuers

James Makee

Sword and Halbert

Andrew George, James mcIlman, Michaell Rot[h?]es, Patrick Miller, Robert Muntgomery, Alexander Conningham, Richard Leaky, Robert Staret, John mcIlhome, Sallomon Giffin, David Reed, Donnell mcDonnell, Alexander Carlell, William Gafeth.

Swords onely

Gilbert Highgate, Patrick Porter, Robert Hasta, William Gambell, John Hunter, John Crawfford, Robert Johnston, Henry Smyth, William Boyes, David Ramsay, William Steward, Robert Crafford, James Conningham, Andrew Conningham, John Crafford, John Hunter, John Wilson, James Bredyne, Mungo Davy, William Richey, John mcIlhome, Henry Hunter, John mcHutchon, James Rankin, William Killy, Robert Pots, William Gambell, John Lyone, James Knox

No Armes

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The Muster Rolls were the names of the able-bodied men whom the landlords of Donegal could assemble to fight for his lands and for the Crown should the need arise. The majority of men were likely, therefore, to be of English or Scots origin rather than indigenous Irish.

In these times the spelling of surnames varied quite a bit largely due to the fact that few could read and write and those that could often spelled names phonetically so the spelling of surnames varied considerably, for instance among the Muster rolls and other documents dating from the 17th and 18th centuries McCorkell can be found spelt as McCorkill, McCorkhill, McCorkle, McKorkell and McCorckle often the small "c" in the name can be seen written as an apostrophe especially in 19th century records.

2 McCorkills appear in the Muster Rolls for the Barony of Raphoe in Donegal, click on link above to view the full list, they were Andrew and John McCorkill who served under Lady Cunningham, they seemed well armed compared to some others in the Militia carrying both Swords and Pikes. They may have been brothers or father and son, appearing as they do as tenants under the same Landlord it is almost certain they were related. Other small facts we can pick up on:

1. They were almost certainly 2 of the original planters brought over from mainland Britain
2. Given the area where they settled they would have been Presbyterian
3. Their religion along with their name suggests they came from Scotland.
4. They were under the command of Lady Cunningham so we can assume they came to Ireland as Tenants from Sir James lands in Ayr Scotland.

Sir James Cunningham came from Glengarnock in Ayrshire, so if I was hazarding a guess as to where in Scotland I would probably plump for Glengarnock area, or at least Ayrshire. Sir James Cunningham died in 1627 Early Scottish records are little better than early Irish sources but I did find a family of McCorkells living in Ochiltree in Aryshire in the 1690's. A Matthew McCorkill (Blacksmith)christened his daughter Isabell in 1694,and a son Robert in 1697, a Mary McCorkill married a James in 1695.

I may or may not be related to Andrew and John the first Donegal settlers, given their position in society it is very unlikely that they left any other trace of their existence so it is impossible to say, however given the relative obscurity of the name at this time there is a good chance I may be a direct or indirect descendant.

One other name appeared in the Muster rolls which caught my attention this time for the Barony of Inishowen, I was particularly interested in this as my family has direct links to this region of Donegal. The name is Aghey McCorkey, now i realise this name is not McCorkell but it is identical apart from the last letter. This name has been transcribed from an original hand written 17th century document 2 joint letter ll's may well appear like a y in the script, as I have never seen the original I cannot tell. The information on Agney is as scarce as that for Andrew and John, like Andrew and John he also carries both Sword and Pike.

Interesting footnote to the above:

Black's "the Surnames of Scotland" say that MacCorkie is an abbreviated form of MacCorkill and that MacCorkle and MacCorkill are the same

Muster Rolls City of Londonderry 1630

Although no McCorkells appear in the Muster rolls for the city in 1630 a William McCordall does appear, given the vagaries of spelling at the time I am inclined to record William as a potential McCorkell. Apart from the similarities of Spelling I can find no other references to the name McCordall anywhere in the following centuries either in county Londonderry or neighbouring Donegal, which leads me to the inclusion this may well be a McCorkell one of the original Planter perhaps even a relative of Andrew and John who appear at the same time in the muster rolls of Raphoe discussed elsewhere on this page.

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Scottish Will 1666

I came upon the Will of an Archibald MacCorkill from West Cochnoch, Parish of West Kirkpatrick, Scotland from the year 1666,Archibald MacCorkill (Jnr) was the executioner of the Will. The Will has significance because it lists a Robert Hamilton of Barns as his 'master'. Robert Hamilton 3rd of Barns chartered his lands from James Hamilton 2nd Earl of Abercorn in 1647, The Earls of Abercorn were heavily involved in the early years of the 'Plantation', and had extensive lands in the area of Strabane Co. Tyrone. it is probable that tenants from these lands would have gone across to Ireland during the 17C, perhaps Archibald (Jnr) among them. Below is an image from the original Will.

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Hearth Money Rolls Donegal 1663/65

The Hearth Tax was introduced to Ireland in 1662. Arranged by county, parish and, usually, townland, the Hearth Money Rolls list the names of householders who were liable to pay tax at the rate of two shillings on every hearth or fireplace they had. Some people were exempt* from the tax and, of course, others managed to evade paying it. This means that the lists are not a complete record of householders in a townland. The tax was collected over areas known as "Walks" which were based on towns.

Below are the 4 McCorkells that appear for Donegal, Andrew M'Corckle and James M'Corckle live in the Townland of Ballyhesky which is shown in the Parish of Taughboyne, the townland may originally have been in the Parish of Taughboyne but now appears in the neighbouring Parish of All Saints. William McCorckell appears for the Townland of Corcy in the Parish of Raymochy, both of these Parishes are adjacent as can be seen from the Parish map of Donegal below, both are also in the Barony of Raphoe (lighter shading). Archibald McCorkle lives in the townland of Elaghbeg shown in the Parish of Templemore but the townland is in the Parish of Burt, formally part of Templemore which again borders the townland of All Saints although it is in the Barony of Inishowen West

Name Townland Parish

Andrew M'Corckle Ballehesky Taughboyne 1663

James M'Corckle Ballyhesky Taughboyne 1665

William McCorckell Corcy Raymochy 1665

Archibald McCorkle Elaughbeg (Elaghbeg) Templemore 1665

What is clear from distribution patterns is that the McCorkell family in the 1600's was restricted to a small area, from the Hearth Money rolls no more than 3 Parishes all adjoined, all 4 families living within a ten mile radius. Indeed there may be as few as 3 individual families as there is a 2 year gap between the enumerations for Taughboyne Parish, Andrew and James may have been members of the same household.

St. Columbs Cathedral early records

John McKorcle buried 1657 record from St Columbs Cathedral, described as a young cowper (Cooper) 15th September 1657, see photo of original record below.

In the same year Archiball McCorkell appears as a witness at a wedding November 24th 1657, this may well be the same Archibald who appears in the Hearth Money rolls for Elaghbeg, Templemore 1665

Hearth Money Rolls Londonderry 1663 and Subsidy roll of 1662

I find one McCorkell recorded for Londonderry in the Hearth Money Rolls,

John Mac Corkill in the Townland of Lislagh in the Parish of Clondermott, he possessed one hearth so was certainly not wealthy. The townland of Lislagh (If it was a townland) no longer exists, I have been unable to find any reference to in regard to the city.

The Parish of Clondermott now known as Glendermott is largely within the city of Londonderry but at that time would have been a rural parish. It is probable that John and his family would have taken shelter within the city during the great siege of 1689. The John McKorcle who died in 1657 may have been a son.

Update

My previous assumption about John Mac Corkill may have been incorrect I have now found his name in the Subsidy Rolls of 1662, this is how they are described in PRONI:

"Subsidy Rolls list the nobility, clergy and laity who paid a grant in aid to the crown. Clearly these rolls will only list persons of substantial means. There are 317 name listed for the county. Their distribution by barony is as follows: - 80 in Coleraine, 21 in North East Liberties, 48 in Loughinsholin, 78 in Keenaght, 73 in Tirkeeran and 17 in North West Liberties. These rolls are usually referred to as the 1662 Subsidy Rolls but some cover the period 1662 to 1667.

The rolls list the persons of means in the community who were subject to the payment of subsidies, which then formed the government's main method of direct taxation. Details are given of the name of each person, where they lived [usually a townland] and the amount of subsidy that they paid. The amount of the subsidy was based on the valuation of either the person's land or goods."

Johns Record -

This also solves the mystery of the Townland it was Lisglass not Lislagh, Lisglass is appropriately 3 miles from Londonderry on the opposite bank of the river

According to Louis McCorkle in 'From Viking Glory' John Mac Corkill is recorded as having come from Scotland to settle in Lislagh in the Hearth Money record, I am unsure where this information comes from, copies of the rercord I have seen Scotland is not mentioned

In his book "From Viking Glory" by Louis W. McCorkle he states that County Londonderry was the most likely place for the new arrivals to settle, given my research I would bring this assumption into question. Apart from the above records I can find no other records for McCorkell's in Londonderry at this time but several for County Donegal dating back to the Muster rolls of the 1630's.

What is probably more accurate is to say that all Planters settling in both Donegal and Derry would have arrived through the port of Derry, Farming tenants and servants moving onto the lands of their respective landlords, other tradesman and merchants may well have remained in the newly rebuilt city of Derry soon to become Londonderry.

Since writing the above a few more records have surfaced for Londonderry but it does not change the above hypothesis.

Kirk Session Book of Burt

I have found quite a few McCorkells of various spellings in the records of Burt Presbyterian Church dating back to 1679 where a Josiah son of William McKorkell was born, more may turn up from these early dates but the records seldom go back as far as The Kirk session book of Burt, the records from the book cover the period between 1670 and 1715. These are probably the most important surviving records of the family name from this time period.

Child Father

In addition to the above entries there is also an entry for an Aaron McCorch baptised 04/01/1683, in the index to the entries this name has been listed as McCorkell, fathers name is left blank (may have been indecipherable, but he is listed as coming from Carnamaddy (Carrownamaddy), a Townland in the heart of the Parish of Burt. This is townland with strong associations with the name, Arsbel McCorkill was listed in the townland in 1740, he may have been the son of Aaron, McCorkell's were still in the townland in 1857 at the time of the Griffith Valuation.

unfortunately records for the church between this period and the mid 19th century are lost.

("Burt" Parish in the Barony of Inishowen west Donegal)

("Kirk Session"

Presbyterian polity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders)

Laggan Presbytery

The name Da. M'Corkle appears in the book 'In the days of the laggan Presbytery' written by Alexander Lecky in 1908, it appears amonst a list of Elders and commissioners of the Presbyterian church for the Parish of Inishowen. I will reprint the details here:

"The following are the names of the men who attended the meetings of the Laggan Presbytery between the years of 1672 and 1700 as ruling Elders or as commissioners, together with the names of the congregations which they represented. they were doubtless the leading men in the districts in which they lived, and their names deserve to be held in remembrance on account of the part which they took in

laying foundations of Presbyterianism in the Laggan, and for the services which they so cheerfully rendered, without fee or reward, amid much persecution and many difficulties, in maintaining a preached gospel in troublous times. In all of these congregations there are still to be found families bearing these honoured names, and in many cases they are no doubt the descendants of these good men - a fact of

which they have no reason to be ashamed and good reason to be proud."

The Planter population throughout these early years suffered great hardships largely abandoned by those who had been charged with protecting them many died or returned to their native lands amongst the turmoil of the 1641 Irish rebellion and the wars of the revolution 1688-90.

After scrutinising the data from the Hearth money rolls I have come to the conclusion that the McCorkell family may have been more thinly spread than I originally thought perhaps only 2 or 3 families or extended families at the end of the 17th Century in a small area of no more than 10 miles.

1691

Will index above from "Philimorre & Thrift, Indexes to Irish Wills 1536-1858"

Unfortunately this is all that probably remains of the above record, the original was probably stored in the Four Courts in Dublin and would have been destroyed in 1922. It was located in the Parish of Taughboyne according to the record that would be the same Parish where Andrew and James are located in the 1660's.

It is also interesting to note that Robert was described as a 'gent' which would indicate he was a man of some means, he may also be the Robert McKorkel from the Kirk session book as he would have lived in the same general area.

Have been unable to find a Complete match place name Cullmactraine, but it is probably the same place name as Culm'atraine which appears in the Hearth Money rolls as a townland in the Parish of Taughboyne in 1665

Also mentioned in the Civil Survey of 1654: "Westward through the Causey and bogg of Colemackatraine and from thence by a small ditch unto ye river of Loghswilly where wee began our bounds."

Taking all the above into consideration plus knowing that there were McCorkells living in the townland of Ballyhaskey in the 1660's I believe the modern name of the townland (at least since the early 1800's from the maps I have studied would be Cole Hill, now in the parish of All Saints next to the village of Newtowncunningham, but in the 17c would have been in the parish of Taughboyne, it lays adjacent to the townland of Ballyhaskey and is close to Lough Swilley mentioned in the above description.

1696

Londonderry Corporation minutes April 1696

During this period there was a considerable surge in support for King William III, who reigned as King of England, Scotland and Ireland, following the exposure of a Jacobite plan to assassinate him in 1696. A resolution, expressing condemnation of the plot was copied into the minute book on 16 April 1696 ‘with the names of all the Subscribers’. The names of 226 people, listed in three columns, are a form of census of the walled city at this time. Among the names recorded is a Daniell McKerahall I am almost sure this surname is McCorkell, also among the names are many famous personalities from the siege including famous Presbyterian minister Robert Craghead, This may be the Da. McCorkle recorded as a member of the Laggan Presbytery above

("Presbytery" See above Kirk Session)

1 http://www.eastdonegalulsterscots.com/history.html

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cotyroneireland/churchrecord/warden