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1630 Muster Rolls for North Antrim
During the early
seventeenth century when British colonists were
settling in Ulster under the Plantation of Ulster,
landed estates were required to muster tenants for
defence when areas were under threat from the native
Irish. North Antrim (baronies of Cary, Dunluce and
Kilconway) was owned by the MacDonnells whose chief
had become the Earl of Antrim. Although the Antrim
estate was not part of the official Plantation, the
Earl was required to muster tenants for defence. The
date of the Muster Roll for his estate was 1630 [PRONI: D/1759/3C/3].
The three
baronies were regarded as different kinds of areas.
Cary was described in the Muster Rolls as Native Lands i.e. an area set
aside mainly for Highland Scots who were loyal to
the MacDonnells. Dunluce was an area set
aside mainly for English and Lowland Scots who had
been encouraged to settle there by the Earl of
Antrim.. Kilconway was an area set aside for servitors
and the Irish.
The number of names listed in each
barony reflect the predominance of loyal British
tenants in the Barony of Dunluce. Of the total 687
names listed for the three baronies - 520 were
located in the barony of Dunluce, 88 were located in
Cary and 79 in Kilconway.
Note that the list of
names in the muster roll refer to adult males only. Many
of the names are unrecognisable and the spelling of
names can be somewhat haphazard. In the database
that I created from the original list, I have chosen to
group names that I recognise under a standardised
spelling thus making it easier to sort the surnames.
You may not agree with my standardised spelling - feel free to
make your own interpretation. I have asterisked any
names which make no sense to me - they make sense to
you.
Note that in the Excel version of the
database the entries are sorted by barony and
standardised surname. There is also a separate sheet
in the Excel file where the entries are sorted by
standardised surname and barony. In the PDF version the entries
are arranged alphabetically by standardised surname
and barony.
| 1630 Muster Rolls for the
Baronies of Cary, Dunluce and Kilconway in
North Antrim |
Excel |
PDF |
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