The voyage starts here 1821 |
My bells of IrelandSo far I have been able to trace my Bell family back to Ireland in the County of Fermanagh. I am working backwards to try and trace their trajectory from Scotland to Ulster. Being persistence is trying but every little iota of information helps me understand the full picture. I am hopefully finding some pertinent information that will lead to their origin in Scotland.
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Census of 1821 for FermanaghI have been able to locate my ancestors in the County of Fermanagh, Barony Lurg, Parish Derryvullan, Townland Drumbulcan.
One of the most challenging obstacles in Ulster is the changing of names and how they are spelled. I am slowly getting a grasp but it is not simple. William and Flora Bell are to be found in the 1821 census with their young son Hugh. More on the individual families can be found through links to their pages. I believe Flora to be Flora Little through the research I have done so far but can so far not be absolutely certain. I will explain why and how I have come to this conclusion. William Bell Flora Little Hugh Bell Above are the links for my ancestors |
WhY Fermanagh?
In previous blogs I have written about the BELL family and their association with the "BORDER REIVERS OF SCOTLAND". I was under the impression my Bell ancestors came to Ulster much later than they actually did. I have revisited this history and all the documents I can find so far to re-assess my findings. Perhaps the history lesson below will aid me in finding more information about the "Bells of Scotland" who became the "Bells of Ireland".
It is a well known fact that the name Bell can be associated with that of the clans who roamed the Lowlands of Scotland. Their name is associated with other names such as Armstrong or Elliott, Graham, or Johnston all well-known as "The Riding Clans of the Scots Border".
Unlike the Huguenots, Normans or Gaels these pragmatic people were infamous for their sheep-stealing and feuding, as opposed to being literates. This part of their history barely survives them, perhaps for good reason. Who wants to be remembered for bad behaviour.
Instead we remember the Bell name as synonymous with cultivators and above all Protestants. This is interesting because I have read many documents that give their roots as non-practising Catholics. Their once reprehensible behaviour was replaced by their choice to become games-keepers and foot soldiers in a garrison. Once planted in Ireland, these people left their clan system behind, instead embracing a new social and economic infrastructure.
Today names such as Graham, once hated and feared is a common name in Carlisle. However in Ulster, they are not remembered for their Border Scot heritage.
It is a well known fact that the name Bell can be associated with that of the clans who roamed the Lowlands of Scotland. Their name is associated with other names such as Armstrong or Elliott, Graham, or Johnston all well-known as "The Riding Clans of the Scots Border".
Unlike the Huguenots, Normans or Gaels these pragmatic people were infamous for their sheep-stealing and feuding, as opposed to being literates. This part of their history barely survives them, perhaps for good reason. Who wants to be remembered for bad behaviour.
Instead we remember the Bell name as synonymous with cultivators and above all Protestants. This is interesting because I have read many documents that give their roots as non-practising Catholics. Their once reprehensible behaviour was replaced by their choice to become games-keepers and foot soldiers in a garrison. Once planted in Ireland, these people left their clan system behind, instead embracing a new social and economic infrastructure.
Today names such as Graham, once hated and feared is a common name in Carlisle. However in Ulster, they are not remembered for their Border Scot heritage.
Then end of the 16th and early 17th century was a time of difficulty for Lowland Scots.
On the morning of March 24th 1603, the passing Elizabeth was marked by Lady Scrope, courtier to Queen Elizabeth tossing a blue jeweled ring into the hands of Sir Robert Carey. He, in turn rode from London to Edinburgh to present it to James, son of Mary Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart (Lord Darnley).
This was a particularly difficult time for Scotland. While it did have some good schools, there were none to rival those of England. Lawlessness blanketed the country and witch-hunting was rampant. Money was tight.
Carey left Richmond poste haste to Edinburgh to deliver the news to James VI of Scotland. At this point his title changed to James I of England. The ring was proof that Carey’s message was true as it was a ring James had given her. This signified the union of the crowns of Scotland and England.
England at the time thought little of the Scots and must have cringed. It was with James that much change would ensue. However, during the week between the death of Queen Elizabeth and the accession of James the Scottish borderers took their most liberties.
James embarked on the so-called “Pacification of the Borders”, purging the Border Reivers, destroying their houses, rounding up their families and sending them to Ireland. Many of the clansmen went to Fermanagh. Interestingly enough it was at the same time that Hugh O'Neil and Gaelic Ulster submitted to England's authority.
For many the Ulster Plantations were less than attractive but for the Border Clans it offered refuge from the "pacification" and three hundred years of wars. Thes wars caused widespread waste and the borders between England and Scotland were lawless. In previous centuries it had been a killing ground. Borderers were patriotic, a necessity to their survival. The clans that formed here were not so much based on ancient Gaelic tradition but more brute strength.
The Border clans were a fierce people and the during the 15th and 16th century the Bewcastle Waste provided sanctuary for locals during Scottish raids. This area was much fought over by the Border Reivers; feuding, lawless, local families who raided each others farms taking livestock, goods, and possessions. To protect themselves families built peel towers and Bastle houses. The old reiver family names survive today: Armstrong, Graham, Elliot, Musgrave and Nixon and Bell. Bewcastle was part of the ‘Debatable Lands’ where lawlessness and disorder were almost the norm from medieval times to the 17th century. This term refers to a now part of north western England because during medieval times it was sometimes part of England and sometimes Scotland, contested by both.
It is said that at their height the powerful Armstrong family could put an army of 3000 riders in forty-eight hours, and if they banded with the Elliott clan and the others nothing but a royal army could stop them.
It took seven years to fully impose the rule of law on the Borders. In the first year alone almost 200 of the principle offenders, clan leaders, were dealt with. Thirty-two Armstrongs, Batys, Elliots, Johnstons and others were hanged. Fifteen more were sent into exile and 140 outlawed. That same year 2,000 Scots left the region to fight for the Dutch in their war with Spain.
On the morning of March 24th 1603, the passing Elizabeth was marked by Lady Scrope, courtier to Queen Elizabeth tossing a blue jeweled ring into the hands of Sir Robert Carey. He, in turn rode from London to Edinburgh to present it to James, son of Mary Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart (Lord Darnley).
This was a particularly difficult time for Scotland. While it did have some good schools, there were none to rival those of England. Lawlessness blanketed the country and witch-hunting was rampant. Money was tight.
Carey left Richmond poste haste to Edinburgh to deliver the news to James VI of Scotland. At this point his title changed to James I of England. The ring was proof that Carey’s message was true as it was a ring James had given her. This signified the union of the crowns of Scotland and England.
England at the time thought little of the Scots and must have cringed. It was with James that much change would ensue. However, during the week between the death of Queen Elizabeth and the accession of James the Scottish borderers took their most liberties.
James embarked on the so-called “Pacification of the Borders”, purging the Border Reivers, destroying their houses, rounding up their families and sending them to Ireland. Many of the clansmen went to Fermanagh. Interestingly enough it was at the same time that Hugh O'Neil and Gaelic Ulster submitted to England's authority.
For many the Ulster Plantations were less than attractive but for the Border Clans it offered refuge from the "pacification" and three hundred years of wars. Thes wars caused widespread waste and the borders between England and Scotland were lawless. In previous centuries it had been a killing ground. Borderers were patriotic, a necessity to their survival. The clans that formed here were not so much based on ancient Gaelic tradition but more brute strength.
The Border clans were a fierce people and the during the 15th and 16th century the Bewcastle Waste provided sanctuary for locals during Scottish raids. This area was much fought over by the Border Reivers; feuding, lawless, local families who raided each others farms taking livestock, goods, and possessions. To protect themselves families built peel towers and Bastle houses. The old reiver family names survive today: Armstrong, Graham, Elliot, Musgrave and Nixon and Bell. Bewcastle was part of the ‘Debatable Lands’ where lawlessness and disorder were almost the norm from medieval times to the 17th century. This term refers to a now part of north western England because during medieval times it was sometimes part of England and sometimes Scotland, contested by both.
It is said that at their height the powerful Armstrong family could put an army of 3000 riders in forty-eight hours, and if they banded with the Elliott clan and the others nothing but a royal army could stop them.
It took seven years to fully impose the rule of law on the Borders. In the first year alone almost 200 of the principle offenders, clan leaders, were dealt with. Thirty-two Armstrongs, Batys, Elliots, Johnstons and others were hanged. Fifteen more were sent into exile and 140 outlawed. That same year 2,000 Scots left the region to fight for the Dutch in their war with Spain.
Ill Week
According to Bell none of the clans were hated as much as the Grahams, and for good reason. They possessed Eskdale, one of the most fertile lands in the region. During the "Pasification", they also received the most harsh treatment. During "Ill Week", rather than the promised pardon, they were hunted down and executed. Only fifty families were exiled to Roscommon. Many returned to their homeland but those that stayed in Roscommon, remained among kindred spirits from other clans.
While many English came to the Ulster Plantations, they did not fair as well as the Scots, returning soon from whence they came.
If we look at a map of the Borders it is apparent the the majority who settled here were from the Scottish Marches, and in particular the West and the Middle, the toughest and most turbulent of the whole frontier.
While many English came to the Ulster Plantations, they did not fair as well as the Scots, returning soon from whence they came.
If we look at a map of the Borders it is apparent the the majority who settled here were from the Scottish Marches, and in particular the West and the Middle, the toughest and most turbulent of the whole frontier.
Uprising of 1641
By the time of the 1641 uprising in Ulster, many of our Bell ancestors had already settled in Tyrone and Fermanagh for over thirty years.
While we can only guess as to their numbers, it is suggested that they were large, Fermanagh being where a majority remained.
This uprising destroyed the five other planted counties but the number of Border Scots in Fermanagh remained strong. As warriors for centuries, they had the where-with-all to survive, be it through fortification of their lands, or by tactics known to fighters.
It should be noted that the Borderers were what would be referred to as non-practising Catholics. In practise they were more godless than anything. No churches were to be found on the Borders in the 16th century and it is said that when asked if there were any Christians at that time in Liddesdale the response was "Na we's all Elliots and Armstrongs"!
In parts of Fermanagh no churches appeared until the end of the seventeenth century. For political reasons over this century it makes sense that they would have become Protestant. Having no real affinity to religion, politics would define their choice. Perhaps this explains why the Fermanagh Protestants (Borderers) eventually chose and remained Church of Ireland, unlike the others that were Presbyterians.
Today in Counties such as Cavan, Donegal and Tyrone, the most numerous names are Irish. In Armagh and Derry, there is only one planter name in the top five. However, in Fermanagh, three of the most common names originate from the Scottish West or Middle Marches clans. Those names today are: Maguire, Johnston, Armstrong, MacManus and Elliott. I believe my Bells to have possibly come from the Scottish Western Marches.
______________________________
The Borderers were a pragmatic people and, unlike the Gaels, Normans and Huguenots, were not noted for their literacy nor interest in lineage. They may have thought that the bad reputation which preceded them was best forgotten. Their history as nominal Catholics may have been one that they thought was better suppressed. Perhaps the memory of the seven years of ruthless pacification of the made them so.
Hard men
There is surely enough in this story to suggest a working hypothesis that the Scots Borderers were the hard men of the plantation and provided the crucial leavening of an otherwise mediocre garrison throughout the settlement. More specifically, they held Enniskillen in the 1640s and their sons and grandsons held it again during the Williamite campaign. If Enniskillen had fallen then, would Londonderry have held out?
While we can only guess as to their numbers, it is suggested that they were large, Fermanagh being where a majority remained.
This uprising destroyed the five other planted counties but the number of Border Scots in Fermanagh remained strong. As warriors for centuries, they had the where-with-all to survive, be it through fortification of their lands, or by tactics known to fighters.
It should be noted that the Borderers were what would be referred to as non-practising Catholics. In practise they were more godless than anything. No churches were to be found on the Borders in the 16th century and it is said that when asked if there were any Christians at that time in Liddesdale the response was "Na we's all Elliots and Armstrongs"!
In parts of Fermanagh no churches appeared until the end of the seventeenth century. For political reasons over this century it makes sense that they would have become Protestant. Having no real affinity to religion, politics would define their choice. Perhaps this explains why the Fermanagh Protestants (Borderers) eventually chose and remained Church of Ireland, unlike the others that were Presbyterians.
Today in Counties such as Cavan, Donegal and Tyrone, the most numerous names are Irish. In Armagh and Derry, there is only one planter name in the top five. However, in Fermanagh, three of the most common names originate from the Scottish West or Middle Marches clans. Those names today are: Maguire, Johnston, Armstrong, MacManus and Elliott. I believe my Bells to have possibly come from the Scottish Western Marches.
______________________________
The Borderers were a pragmatic people and, unlike the Gaels, Normans and Huguenots, were not noted for their literacy nor interest in lineage. They may have thought that the bad reputation which preceded them was best forgotten. Their history as nominal Catholics may have been one that they thought was better suppressed. Perhaps the memory of the seven years of ruthless pacification of the made them so.
Hard men
There is surely enough in this story to suggest a working hypothesis that the Scots Borderers were the hard men of the plantation and provided the crucial leavening of an otherwise mediocre garrison throughout the settlement. More specifically, they held Enniskillen in the 1640s and their sons and grandsons held it again during the Williamite campaign. If Enniskillen had fallen then, would Londonderry have held out?
Principal names
They began to arrive in Ulster during the seventeenth-century plantation starting in 1603. Among them were Sir John Hume and his brother Alexander who were granted 3,000 acres in Fermanagh. John bought out his brother and several others and became the greatest landowner in seventeenth century Fermanagh. However the vast majority of the Borderers did not come to Ulster as Undertakers or landlords, but as poor tenants. There is thus very little known about their migration. But their names start appearing on plantation records immediately. And by 1659, in Pender’s Census for Ireland, they are listed as ‘principal names’ throughout the settlement Armstrong, Johnston, Elliott, Irvine, Graham, Nixon, Crozier, Bell, Kerr. And nowhere in the census are they more concentrated than in Fermanagh.
They began to arrive in Ulster during the seventeenth-century plantation starting in 1603. Among them were Sir John Hume and his brother Alexander who were granted 3,000 acres in Fermanagh. John bought out his brother and several others and became the greatest landowner in seventeenth century Fermanagh. However the vast majority of the Borderers did not come to Ulster as Undertakers or landlords, but as poor tenants. There is thus very little known about their migration. But their names start appearing on plantation records immediately. And by 1659, in Pender’s Census for Ireland, they are listed as ‘principal names’ throughout the settlement Armstrong, Johnston, Elliott, Irvine, Graham, Nixon, Crozier, Bell, Kerr. And nowhere in the census are they more concentrated than in Fermanagh.
LINKS:
DERRYVULLAN, FERMANAGH
Civil Parish of Derryvullan and Islands, Co. Fermanagh
BALLYMOTE, SLIGO
EXODUS MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE
BRITISH MIGRATION FROM THE 16TH CENTURY)
1641 Castles in Fermanagh
More Links:
Witness statements from Irish rebellion and massacres of 1641 go online
Eye Witness Statements
1641 Depositions
Bell Name
Little Name
To Investigate Further
Many family members are engaging in DNA testing these days. I have had leads from related people and have been able to connect to some of my ancestors, but I am still familiar with research through old documents. However, I do rely on several relations who have a greater knowledge of DNA and together we have been able to compliment one another. Not sure I will ever understand researching through DNA but hope maybe someday it will be a possibility for me.
What is an NPE
another website to look at The Scots in Ulster
Clan Tartans
DERRYVULLAN, FERMANAGH
Civil Parish of Derryvullan and Islands, Co. Fermanagh
BALLYMOTE, SLIGO
EXODUS MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE
BRITISH MIGRATION FROM THE 16TH CENTURY)
1641 Castles in Fermanagh
More Links:
Witness statements from Irish rebellion and massacres of 1641 go online
Eye Witness Statements
1641 Depositions
Bell Name
Little Name
To Investigate Further
Many family members are engaging in DNA testing these days. I have had leads from related people and have been able to connect to some of my ancestors, but I am still familiar with research through old documents. However, I do rely on several relations who have a greater knowledge of DNA and together we have been able to compliment one another. Not sure I will ever understand researching through DNA but hope maybe someday it will be a possibility for me.
What is an NPE
another website to look at The Scots in Ulster
Clan Tartans
Below is a file of all the Flax growers in Ulster in 1796 with the name Bell and Little. I have bolded my William. There is certainly a connection to other Bells on the list, (possibly parent), but I have yet to prove any of them.
flax_growers_ulster.pages |
READING LIST
(1) 'Sheep stealers from the north of England’: the Riding Clans in Ulster by Robert Bell https://www.historyireland.com/early-modern-history-1500-1700/sheep-stealers-from-the-north-of-england-the-riding-clans-in-ulster-by-robert-bell/
(2) Reivers (Pacification of The Borders – The Pennington Archive) http://reivers.info/pacification-of-the-borders-the-pennington-archive/
(3) BORDER REIVERS - ILL WEEK http://www.reivershistory.co.uk/ill-week.html
Further reading:
R. Bell, The Book of Ulster Surnames
(Belfast 1988).
G.F. Frazer, The Steel Bonnets: the story of
the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers (London
1989).
P. Livingstone, The Fermanagh Story: a
documented history of the County
Fermanagh from the earliest times to the
present day (Enniskillen 1969).
B.S. Turner, ‘A observation on settler
names in Fermanagh’, in Clogher Record
8/iii (1975).
(1) 'Sheep stealers from the north of England’: the Riding Clans in Ulster by Robert Bell https://www.historyireland.com/early-modern-history-1500-1700/sheep-stealers-from-the-north-of-england-the-riding-clans-in-ulster-by-robert-bell/
(2) Reivers (Pacification of The Borders – The Pennington Archive) http://reivers.info/pacification-of-the-borders-the-pennington-archive/
(3) BORDER REIVERS - ILL WEEK http://www.reivershistory.co.uk/ill-week.html
Further reading:
R. Bell, The Book of Ulster Surnames
(Belfast 1988).
G.F. Frazer, The Steel Bonnets: the story of
the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers (London
1989).
P. Livingstone, The Fermanagh Story: a
documented history of the County
Fermanagh from the earliest times to the
present day (Enniskillen 1969).
B.S. Turner, ‘A observation on settler
names in Fermanagh’, in Clogher Record
8/iii (1975).
Theories on Parentage of William Bell (1777-1839)
THEORY ONE
JOHN BELL (1747-1821) MARY ROCHE (1757-1837) MARRIAGE 1776 • Eire, Ireland
John Bell was born in Edenamohill, Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, the son of Walter Coleman Bell (1729-1806) Monaghan, Ulster, Ireland and unknown wife. According to what I have found they had four children: John, Thomas (1755), George Coleman(1758-1830) and another unknown Bell (male) (1760-).1729 • Monaghan, Ulster, Ireland
DEATH 1806
1729 • Monaghan, Ulster, Ireland
DEATH 1806
1757
DEATH 14 JAN 1837
1757
DEATH 14 JAN 1837
1757
DEATH 14 JAN 1837
1757
DEATH 14 JAN 1837
JOHN BELL (1747-1821) MARY ROCHE (1757-1837) MARRIAGE 1776 • Eire, Ireland
John Bell was born in Edenamohill, Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, the son of Walter Coleman Bell (1729-1806) Monaghan, Ulster, Ireland and unknown wife. According to what I have found they had four children: John, Thomas (1755), George Coleman(1758-1830) and another unknown Bell (male) (1760-).1729 • Monaghan, Ulster, Ireland
DEATH 1806
1729 • Monaghan, Ulster, Ireland
DEATH 1806
1757
DEATH 14 JAN 1837
1757
DEATH 14 JAN 1837
1757
DEATH 14 JAN 1837
1757
DEATH 14 JAN 1837