Biographies & Information of Ministers/Priests
Pastors of All Faiths
METHODIST MINISTERS William BROWN ; who was born at Castlecaulfield, in the county Tyrone. At an early age he removed to Belfast, where he entered the Royal Academical Institution. He became a hearer in the Wesleyan chapel, and the Gospel of Christ as there preached proved to be the power of God unto his salvation. Constrained by the love of Christ, which then filled his heart, he sought to impart to others the knowledge of that truth whereby he was himself made free. In his ministry he continued to labour heartily for twenty-one years, and the vigour of his constitution gave promise of lengthened usefulness ; but God, whose " ways are past Handing out," ordered it otherwise. Mr. Brown took leave of his family and friends in Donaghadee, which was his last Circuit, as it had been his first, purposing to attend the Conference in Dublin. Business called him to visit Dungannon, on his way. After spending an hour in cheerful conversation with his friends there, he, in company with a brother Minister, was returning to the railway-station that he might resume his journey, but had not proceeded far when he fell down in the street. Medical aid was at hand, but life was gone ! Thus suddenly he was called to his reward, on the l(5th of June, I860, in the forty-third year of his age, and the twenty-first of his ministry. Mr. Brown was a good man ; he was courteous and affectionate in his intercourse with the people of his charge. The sermons with which he concluded his ministry were peculiarly solemn and impressive. God was preparing the mind of His servant for the great change through which he was about to pass ; and when the message came, he received it without a lingering groan extracted from Minutes of Methodist Conferences from the first held in London by the Late Rev John Wesley in the year 1744 Vol 14 1862 JOHN HOLMES; who was born at Clogher, in the county Tyrone, in the year 1787- He was blessed with religious parents; and, being converted to God in early life, was soon appointed a Local Preacher, and laboured with great zeal and usefulness in that capacity. He entered the ministry in the year 1820, and occupied some of the most important Irish Circuits. Some of those in whose conversion he was instrumental, now occupy positions of eminent usefulness in the Christian church. After thirty-four years of service in the itinerancy, he became a Supernumerary for two years, after which he was appointed to the Athlone Circuit. He was a man of single aim and gentlemanly manners, but want of caution sometimes laid him open to objections otherwise unfounded. Previously to his last illness, which was unexpected and severe, he suffered much mental affliction; but through all he was graciously sustained. He responded most satisfactorily to several inquiries relative to his unshaken confidence in die atonement ; one of his last expressions being, " I know whom I have believed.1' His end was eminently peaceful. He died at Athlone, on the 15th of December, 1857, in the seventieth year of his age, and the thirty-eighth of his ministry. extracted from Minutes of Methodist Conferences from the first held in London by the Late Rev John Wesley in the year 1744 Vol 14 1862 Edward JOHNSTON, 1st; who was born near Lisleen, in the county of Tyrone. He was early led to the knowledge of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Having for a considerable time filled the office of Local Preacher with great acceptance and success, he was, in the year 1809, called into the full work of the ministry; in which, for many years, he maintained an honourable and useful position. For some time he was the faithful and zealous companion of the late Rev. Gideon Ouseley, in the Irish Mission. He was afterwards appointed a Missionary to Upper Canada. On his return he re-entered the Irish work, and laboured faithfully until his health declined, so that in 1844 he was obliged to retire as a Supernumerary; in which capacity he continued to labour as his health permitted, esteemed and beloved by his brethren, and endeared by his warmheartedness and his kind and conciliating spirit to all who knew him. The greater part of his family having settled in the United States of America, he obtained permission of the Conference, in 1855, to follow them to the land of their adoption. He soon became known to our Transatlantic brethren, and stood deservedly high in their confidence and esteem, while he retained unabated his attachment to Irish Methodism. His gifts as a Gospel Preacher were of no mean order. His power in prayer was great, and gave indication of habitual communion with God; his sermons were truly evangelical, and were remarkable for pathos and effect. A gracious unction accompanied his word wherever he preached; but his peculiar talent lay. in administering comfort to the penitent and afflicted. He was eminently a son of consolation. He closed his mortal career in New Albany, Indiana. Though he had passed through years of affliction, the final struggle was short, and his end was blessed. On the Sunday preceding his death, he assisted in the public services of the sanctuary ; and on Monday engaged in conducting a love-feast. On returning home, he mentioned to his family the enjoyment he had felt in those services. He retired to rest ; but on Tuesday morning was suddenly seized with an attack of a disease to which he had been for years liable. He soon sank into a state of complete prostration. His last utterances gave token of his unswerving faith in Christ, and love for his brethren. On the 26th of August, 1858, without a struggle or a groan, he calmly fell asleep in Jesus, in the eighty-first year of his age, and the fiftieth of his ministry. extracted from Minutes of Methodist Conferences from the first held in London by the Late Rev John Wesley in the year 1744 Vol 14 1862 John KERR ; who was born in the county of Tyrone, in the year 1750. He was converted to God by the Methodist ministry, when about twenty years of age ; and shortly after began to call sinners to repentance. In the year 1782, he was approved as a Preacher by Mr. Wesley, and appointed to a Circuit. He travelled for twenty years with general acceptance and usefulness. In the year 1802, he was appointed our Book- Steward, which situation he filled for twelve years, and discharged its duties with diligence and fidelity. In the year 1814, he became a Supernumerary. He had a strong understanding ; was well acquainted with the word of God, and the writings of the founder of Methodism ; and his sermons generally discovered an intimate acquaintance with the human heart, and with the way of salvation as revealed in the Gospel. He was a judicious Superintendent, a good Preacher, and a steady friend. During the last sixteen years of his life, he suffered much; and, when unable to stand, he frequently preached sitting. He finished his course, hhappy in God, in the month of May, 1830, aged eighty years. extracted from Minutes of Methodist Conferences from the first held in London by the Late Rev John Wesley in the year 1744 Vol 6 1833 Thomas KERR, who was born near Castlederg, in the County Tyrone, in 1765. He was awakened and converted to God in the eighteenth year of his age, and some time afterwards, having given to those who watched over him good reason to believe that a dispensation of the Gospel had been committed to him, he was called into our ministry by the letter of the Rev. John Wesley, and sent in 1787 to assist his brother, the late Rev. John Kerr, in the Newry circuit. From that time until the Conference of 1822, with the exception of six years, during which he was obliged to remain a supernumerary, he continued to discharge, with great diligence and uniform punctuality, the varied duties of a Methodist minister. He was then, because of the exhaustion of his strength, obliged finally to desist from the labours of a circuit; but continued to preach, to lead or meet in a class, to hold prayer meetings, to visit from house to house, and to distribute tracts, until within a few weeks of his death. His sermons were short, pointed, and faithful; his good sense, piety, and store of valuable anecdote, rendered his conversation both interesting and profitable; and his prudence, uprightness, and affability won him the strong affection of the good to whom he became known, and secured him general respect, so that even the wicked have been heard to say as he passed by, " If there are any good men in the town, that's one of them." His confidence in Christ, and his delight in God, continued to increase till he entered into rest, on the 9th of May, 1846, in the eighty-first year of his age, and the sixtieth of his ministry. extracted from Minutes of Several Conversations at the ... Yearly Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Churchpub. 1841 James M'CUTCHAN; who was born at Mayne, in the county of Tyrone. His parents were members of the Methodist Society ; and he profited by his advantages. While yet young, having been deeply convinced of his depravity, guilt, and danger, he was filled with penitential grief, and, in the exercise of faith in the atonement of Christ, obtained the justifying grace of God. The love of God inspired him with earnest love to his fellow-men, which led him to exert himself to call sinners to repentance; nor were his efforts fruitless. In the year 1801 he was called to engage in the work of the ministry; and he laboured in the sacred calling for forty years. He proved himself an active, laborious, and faithful Minister of Jesus Christ. He understood our doctrines, and was cordially attached to our discipline. He was a plain, practical, and impressive Preacher, and a diligent and faithful Superintendent ; and, when he became a Supernumerary, he efficiently helped his brethren in the ministry, so long as his health permitted, by preaching, meeting a class, and conducting prayer- meetings. His death was sudden, but safe. The day before he expired, he was able to walk out, and attend to some family arrangements. The succeeding night he was seized with illness; and at noon of the following day, the 25th of April, 1851, befell asleep in Jesus, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and the fiftieth of his ministry. extracted from Minutes of Several Conversations at the ... Yearly Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Churchpub. Vol 11 1852 NEW-JERSEY CONFERENCE. JAMES MOORE died on the 11th of May, 1842, in the eighty-second year of his age. He was born in the county Tyrone, Ireland, in the year 1760. Of his early life we have simply the information that he joined the Methodist Society in 1786 ; that he migrated to the United Sates in 1792, and joined the Philadelphia conference as an itinerant preacher in 1794. During the forty-eight years which ensued, his faithfulness and devotion to the ministry which he had " received of the Lord Jesus," rendered him a blessing to the thousands whom he served in the gospel. Although as a preacher his talents were moderate, yet the peculiar gift of exhortation which he possessed, and the unusual unction which accompanied his communications, placed him among the most acceptable and useful ministers of the age. His personal experience in the deep things of God was such as to hallow all his words and actions, and to leave upon the minds of all with whom he associated an abiding impression of the excellence of religion. Of him it may be emphatically said, His conversation was in heaven ; and so guileless and holy was his life, that he was venerated by saint and sinner. On his way to attend the last session of the New-Jersey conference he was arrested by a fatal disease, the bilious pleurisy. He had barely strength to reach his old home, the residence of Mr. James Rogers, of Medford, Burlington county, where he rapidly declined. He was often entreated to lie down during the day, but he steadfastly refused while he had strength to sit or walk, saying, "I have not lain down during the day for fifty years, and cannot think of indulging so indolent a habit until compelled." It cost him a struggle of feeling to relinquish the hope of attending the conference, never having missed a session during the whole period of his ministry. But when informed that he could not survive, he evinced a willingness to depart and be with Christ. The last hours of our venerated father Moore were such as we could have anticipated. When aroused from the weakness and stupor of approaching death, he exclaimed, "Jesus is with me all the time, nigh at hand. to help me whenever I call upon him." He truly died the death of the righteous, and his end was peace. We may now say, as he used to sing, — " Happy soul, thy days are ended, — All thy mourning days below : Go, by angel guards attended ; To the sight of Jesus go." May his mantle rest upon his younger brethren ! extracted from Minutes of the Annual Conferences ... By Methodist Episcopal Church 1839- 1845 William RICKEY, of the Youghal Mission. He was born near Clogher, in the County of Tyrone, in the year 1793, and converted to God in the nineteenth year of his age. Having given satisfactory evidence of genuine piety, zeal for God, and other necessary qualifications for the Christian ministry, he was called to engage in its duties amongst us, in the year 1814, and continued efficiently to fulfill them to the period of his decease. Humility, simplicity, and spirituality, united to a naturally kind and affectionate disposition, attracted the attention of all with whom he had intercourse, and greatly endeared him to the people amongst whom he exercised his ministry. His sermons were plain and evangelical, and his delivery of them earnest and impressive ; as a pastor he was diligent, faithful, and persevering, and his visits, whether to the people of his immediate charge or to others, were well-timed, judicious, and so admirably suited to leave a spiritual and abiding impression, that by them his way was frequently opened to further usefulness. For some months before his death, he was much exposed to injury from his exertions in consequence of the fever which then prevailed; but his mind was peculiarly upheld by the consolations of the Holy Spirit, and when himself seized by the disease in a malignant form, having yet perfect command of his faculties, such was his anxietyto return to his beloved duties, that he earnestly inquired of his medical attendant, when he thought he might resume his labours. But his work on earth was finished, and his everlasting rest at hand. The closing scene was solemnly edifying and impressive, for, having devoutly expressed his desire " to depart and to be with Christ," with his dying breath he fervently prayed for his family, and for the Church of God, and so fell asleep in Jesus on the 23rd of July, 1847, in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and the thirty- third of his ministry. extracted from Minutes of Several Conversations at the ... Yearly Conference of the Wesleyan Methodist Church pub. 1841 Matthew STEWART. He was a native of the county of Tyrone ; and at an early age was awakened, and brought to a saving knowledge of God, by the ministry of the Methodists. Shortly after his conversion he began to call sinners to repentance ; and in the year 1787 was sent as a Missionary to the west of the county of Donegal, where he was instrumental in the salvation of many souls. He laboured with zeal and faithfulness till 1817, when, from severe illness, he became a Supernumerary; but continued to preach, as his health permitted, till a few months before his death. He possessed true Christian piety, with great sweetness and cheerfulness of temper. As a Minister, he was diligent, persevering, and successful. As a fellow-labourer, he was instructive, affectionate, and steady in his friendships. He suffered much during his long-continued affliction, which he bore with Christian patience, and finished his earthly course truly happy in God. MINUTES OF THE METHODIST CONFERENCES FROM THE FIRST HELD IN LONDON By REV. JOHN WESLEY Newtownstewart - (in the Londonderry District) Alexander Sturgeon John Harrington William Finley John Kerr John M'Arthur Robert Carson Supernumeraries. Brother Finley of his own choice, is allowed to retire to settle his temporal concerns, and is to be called out by the Dublin Superintendent in the course of the year, if wanted. Alexander STURGEON- Chairman of the Londonderry District Dungannon (in the Newry District) James C. Pratt James Stewart Robert Cranston Supernumerary. Monaghan and Aughnacloy (in the Clones District) William Armstrong Jun Thomas Ballard William Armstrong Sen. Supernumerary Edward HAZLETON- Chairman of the District Missions CooK's-Town and Newtown-Limavaddy- Samuel McDowell Daniel McMULLEN Was a native of the North of Ireland; and by the instrumentality of the Methodists was led, in the days of his youth, experimentally to " know the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent.'' He commenced his itinerant labours in the Wicklow Circuit, in 1794, and travelled with much acceptance and usefulness until 1814; when through ill health, and a total incapacity to discharge the duties of a Circuit, he was reluctantly obliged to retire. Some time after, he settled with his family at Cork, where, according to his strength and opportunity, he endeavoured to be useful. From the time when he became a Supernumerary, he laboured under accumulated bodily affliction, and suffered extreme pain, which he endured with Christian resignation. He possessed a good understanding, and was well acquainted with the word of God. His piety was uniformly steady and sincere; his moral character was without blame; his talents for the exercise of the Christian ministry were above the ordinary class; and his fidelity in the discharge of his public duties was commendable and exemplary. John KERR Was born in the county of Tyrone, in the year 1750. He was converted to God by the Methodist ministry, when about twenty years of age; and shortly after began to call sinners to repentance. In the year 1782, he was approved as a Preacher by Mr. Wesley, and appointed to a Circuit. He travelled for twenty years with general acceptance and usefulness. In the year 1802, he was appointed our Book- Steward, which situation he filled for twelve years, and discharged its duties with diligence and fidelity. In the year 1814, he became a Supernumerary. He had a strong understanding; was well acquainted with the word of God, and the writings of the founder of Methodism; and his sermons generally discovered an intimate acquaintance with the human heart, and with the way of salvation as revealed in the Gospel. He was a judicious Superintendent, a good Preacher, and a steady friend. During the last sixteen years of his life, he suffered much; and, when unable to stand, he frequently preached sitting. He finished his course, happy in God, in the month of May, 1830, aged eighty years. Preacher's who have died since the last conference John HAMILTON Who died in great peace, in the sixty- second year of his age, and the thirty-first of his ministry. He was an humble, devoted, and zealous servant of his Saviour, to whom he had unreservedly yielded up his soul and body. His simplicity, integrity, zeal, and patient endurance of many privations, fatigues, and sufferings, during the whole course of his arduous ministry as an Irish Missionary, have not been exceeded amongst us. With humble talents, yet with ceaseless prayers, and unabating zeal for the salvation of souls, God was pleased to use him as the instrument of the awakening and conversion of hundreds of his fellow-sinners; and, in the most destitute and benighted parts of Ireland, north and west, he was successful in forming several Societies. Worn down with continued labours, he left the last Irish Conference much enfeebled, and had scarcely reached his family, when a paralytic affection occurred, which terminated in his dissolution. James McKEE in the fifty-eighth year of his age. He was a man of deep piety and unremitting zeal. Having obtained mercy through faith in Christ, he began to exhort and preach in Portaferry, and other places in the Ards, giving full proof of his call to the ministry. Rarely has a prophet been more honoured in his own country. At the Conference in 1793 he was received on trial into our itinerant Connexion. Twenty-nine years he laboured faithfully, acceptably, and successfully. Some years before his death, his health was in a declining state; but his patient and steady zeal was unabated, until, seized by an inflammatory disorder, his useful life was suddenly terminated. His sufferings were severe, but his consolations abounded. He saw death rapidly approaching ; but the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to everlasting life inspired him with perfect resignation, and he gained the final victory. THE ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE IRISH CONFERENCE TO THE BRITISH CONFERENCE VERY DEAR FATHERS AND BRETHREN, The season has returned which affords us an opportunity of renewing our expression of that esteem and love which we feel towards you. Though separated from you by an intervening sea, we have with you an identity of object. The stream of our affection deepens and widens as it rolls onward through successive years. Often have you been assured of this. Repeated addresses have breathed our sentiments of veneration and regard; yet is the subject unexhausted. We would not merely make a passing allusion to this subject. That love which unites us to you in the fellowship of the glorious Gospel is too sacred and too sincere to be mentioned in a hasty reference. Next to our happiness in being united to the Great Head of the Church, is our joy in being one with you. We thank God, that we are one in mind, and that in heart also we are "inseparably joined." We have heard with regret and sympathy of those calamitous events, arising chiefly from commercial depression, with which your land was visited during the past year. We trust, that as those providential visitations were in reality evidences of the divine regard, they will teach the favoured inhabitants of your country to perceive more clearly their national dependance on the King of kings and Lord of lords. They will see that righteousness only can be the basis of Britain's throne; and that not in the prowess of her armies, not in the might of her naval force, hot in the splendour of her crown, or the extent of her dominions, is her proper trust. They will be instructed to fear Him " who breaketh the nations with a rod of iron" and " blesseth his people with peace." It is a matter of thankfulness, that, amidst all, the cause of our God has sustained no injury. He who caused his judgments to pass through your land, took care of Zion. " God is in the midst of her," and she cannot be moved. Our island felt severely the force of the shock which visited yours. Yet, through the difficulties of the year have we been brought in safety. The care which a gracious Providence has extended toward us, while discharging the duties of our ministry, strengthens our trust and heightens our gratitude. He who has been our Friend will continue his protection ; and relying upon him, we shall never be confounded. The peculiarity of our situation causes us deeply to feel, that without the special aid of the Holy Spirit we can do nothing. The depression of commerce is but a temporary visitation ; and will, we doubt not, be overruled for good. But it may be well said, " a great door, and effectual, is opened unto us, and there are many adversaries." Comparing our country with yours, it will at once be perceived, that the field for moral cultivation is materially different. When the regular Preachers in their different stations, and the Missionaries in the more uncultivated places, " go forth among the people" to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, they find obstacles, the very appearance of which would sink their spirits into dismay, but for the encouraging words of Jehovah, " Fear not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God." Acquainted as you are with the circumstances under which we labour in the word and doctrine, it may at once be perceived why the success of our ministry is not more apparent. In many cases, where, according to the returns, the numbers of particular Circuits may seem to have declined, there has been in reality an increase of members; for in addition to those who hare died in the faith, many have been obliged to yield to the pressure of the times, and remove to distant parts of the earth ; so that, in fact, Ireland has been for years a nursery, from which many sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty have gone forth, to add to the numbers of the church in other quarters of the globe. In many spots of the vineyard, owing to the sterility of the soil, our ministerial labour is severe, and the produce scanty. But even in those places, the work is surely though silently progressive: so that we are encouraged " to thank God, and go forward" humbly relying on the with which your land was visited during the past year. We trust, that as those providential visitations were in reality evidences of the divine regard, they will teach the favoured inhabitants of your country to perceive more clearly their national dependance on the promises and hoping for brighter days. Already the "dayspring from on High", has visited and cheered our land and we and we hear a voice from Heaven saying unto us " Arise, Shine for thy light is come and the Glory of the Lord has risen upon Thee". Notwithstanding, those peculiar difficulties, which in this Country are opposed to the spread of the "the truth as it is in Jesus", our Lord has been very graciously with us during the year. His Blessing has acknowledged the faithful preaching of the Word and the enforcement of Christian discipline. Among the Societies has been manifested a growth in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. "Times of refreshing have come down from his presence", so that throughHis infinite mercy, we have an increase in numbers chiefly on our missionary stations of four-hundred thirty seven, WESLEYAN-METHODIST MINISTERS AND PREACHERS ON TRIAL IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND1877 CHRISTIE William J circuit Fivemiletown 779 postal adddress Fivemiletown R.S.O1870 MAGILL John circuit Charlemount address Moy Co Tyrone xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx PRESBYTERIAN MINISTERS Thomas KENNEDY eldest son of the Rev. Thomas Kennedy, of Donoughmore, being intended for the ministry, studied at Glasgow in 1693-8, and was shortly after his ordination, which took place in 1700, appointed to the Presbyterian congregation of Brigh, near Stewartstown, County Tyrone, where he remained till his death in 1745. He married Sarah, daughter of John Bell, Esq., of Mullentaine, by whom he had issue two sons, Thomas and Robert, and two daughters. Mary and Sarah. The eldest of of these daughters married John, son of Hugh Stewart, Esq., of Gortigal, County Tyrone, a cadet of the Castlestewart family, and ancestor of the present (late) Sir Hugh Stewart, Bart., and ex-M.P. for County Tyrone. The youngest, Sarah, married firstly Dr. Bailie, youngest son of Andrew Bailie, Esq., of Turniskea, County Tyrone; and secondly her cousin, Dr. James Kennedy, of Downpatrick (from which marriage the author of the Kennedy MSS. was descended). Thomas, eldest son of Rev. Thomas Kennedy last-named, studied at Glasgow 1728-34, having been originally intended for the ministry, left this country subsequently for America, where he died unmarried in 1743. Robert, the second son, entered the navy in 1737, and also died unmarried. The male issue of Rev. Thomas Kennedy of Brigh having thus become extinct, the representation of the line of Ardmillan devolved on the heir male of John, second son of Rev. Thomas Kennedy, born December 22nd, 1683. He studied at Glasgow 1704-9, and was ordained pastor of the Presbyterian congregation of Benburb, County Tyrone, in 1711, which he retained till his death, in 1765. He was a person of considerable literary attainments, and a firm adherent of orthodoxy in the synod of Ulster, in which body he was consequently possessed of a great deal of influence. He married Elizabeth, daughter of James Stevenson, Esq., of Stewartstown, County Tyrone, and had issue five sons. Thomas, James, William, John, and Gilbert, and five daughters, Mary, Margaret, Letitia, Elizabeth, and Sarah. Thomas, eldest son, studied at Glasgow, 1736-42, licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Tyrone, 1743, died in 1746, without receiving a call to any charge, his health having been impaired by excessive application to study. He was unmarried. James, second son, studied at Glasgow and Edinburgh for medical profession, commenced practice in Cookstown, County Tyrone, married Margaret, daughter of James Ferguson, Esq., of Littlcbridgc, County Tyrone, and had issue three sons, John, Thomas, and James, and three daughters, Sarah, Margaret, and Letitia. John, eldest son, went to India and died there. Thomas, second son, entered the army, held a commission in the Tay Fencibles in the rebellion of 1798, afterwards went to America, and still resides there, holding a post in one of the military colleges (when the MSS. was written). James, third son, died in early life unmarried. As Thomas is unmarried in very advanced life, the eventual representation would rest with the heir male of William, third son. He was intended for the ministry, entered Glasgow, where he studied along with the late Lord Castlestewart in 1745-6, and subsequently at Edinburgh in 1753 ; next year he was licensed to preach and ordained to the pastorate of Carland, his grandfather's congregation, by the Presbytery of Tyrone. He married Martha, eldest daughter of Robert Bailie, Esq., of Donahendry, County Tyrone, in 1759, by which marriage he had issue four sons, John, Robert, Andrew Thomas, and William, and three daughters, Elizabeth, Jane, and Martha. The eldest of these, Elizabeth, married her cousin, Rev. Nicholas Ward Kennedy, youngest son of Dr. James Kennedy of Downpatrick (of which marriage the author of the MSS. was the eldest son). John, eldest son of Rev. William Kennedy, left issue three sons, William, David, and Robert, and four daughters, Margaret, Martha, Elizabeth, and Letitia Jane. above extract from Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland 1885-1886 --------------------------------------------------------------------- In Ulster ,61 presbyterian ministers, being almost the entire number who were then officiating in the province, were deposed from the ministry and ejected out of their benefices by the northern prelates. Of this noble army of confessors ' for the truth and simplicity of the gospel of Christ,' sixteen were members of the presbytery of Down, fourteen of Antrim, ten of Route, eight of Tyrone, and thirteen of Lagan. These ministers enjoyed the painful though honourable pre-eminence of being the first to sufl'er in the three kingdoms ; the nonconformists of England not being ejected till the month of August in the following year, nor the presbyterians of Scotland till the subsequent month of October, 1662. They are, therefore, eminently entitled to the admiration and gratitude of posterity. They set an example of fortitude and integrity which prepared and encouraged their brethren in the sister kingdoms to act with similar magnanimity ; and thus conjointly exhibited to the world a convincing and instructive proof of the power of religion and of conscience, unparalleled in the annals of the church's history. They merit, however, especial honour from their descendants in Ulster. Had they, tempted by preferment and worldly ease, apostatized from their principles and deserted their people, few traces of presbyterianism, to which the inhabitants of Ulster owe so much of their civil and religious freedom, would have survived the subsequent persecutions of the prelacy and the ruinous wars of the Revolution. These faithful men, indeed, not only at first replanted the presbyterian church in the province, and, under God, ' caused it to take deep root and fill the land;' but when ' her hedges were broken down ' and her enemies exulting over her destruction, supported by ' the right hand of the Lord ' they carefully repaired the breaches and up-reared her shattered stem, watering it with their prayers, till ' the hills were once more covered with the shadow of it, and her boughs were sent out to the encircling sea.' Let the names, therefore, of the following ' righteous men be held in everlasting remembrance !' see note 1 LIST OF EJECTED PRESBYTERIAN MINISTERS IN ULSTER. PRESBYTERY OF DOWN. Andrew Stewart - - Donaghadee. Gilbert Ramsay - Bangor. John Greg - Newton-ards. William Reid - Ballywalter. John Drysdale - Portaferry. James Gordon - Comber. Thomas Peebles - - Dundonald. R. Hugh Wilson - Castlereagh. R. Michael Bruce - Killinchy. William Richardson - - Killileagh. John Fleming ... Downpatrick. R. Alex. Hutchinson - - Saintfield. R. Henry Livingston - - Drumbo. Henry Hunter ... Dromore. James Campbell - Rathfryland ? Andrew McCormick - - Magherally. see note 1) PRESBYTERY OF ANTRIM. William Keyes ... Belfast. James Shaw - Carnmoney. R. Robert Cunningham - - Broadisland. R. Thomas Hall ... Larne. R. Patrick Adair ... Cairncastle. James Fleming - Glenarm. Gilbert Simpson - Ballyclare. R. Anthony Kennedy - - Templepatrick. Thomas Crawford - - Donegore. Robert Hamilton - - Killead. Robert Dewart - - Connor. John Shaw ... Ahoghill. James Cunningham - - Antrim. John Cathcart ... Randalstown. PRESBYTERY OF ROUTE. David Buttle - Ballymena. William Gumming - - Kilraughts ? John Douglass --- Broughshane. Robert Hogshead - - Ballyrashane. Gabriel Cornwall - - Ballywillan ? Thomas Fulton ... Macosquin ? R. William Crooks - - Bally kelly. R. Thomas Boyd - Aghadoey. James Ker ... Ballymoney. John Law - Garvagh. PRESBYTERY OF TYRONE. Robert Auld ... Maghera ? Archibald Hamilton - - Donaghhendry. George Keith - - - Dungannon ? R. Thomas Kennedy - - Donoughmore. Thomas Gowan - Glasslough. R. John Abernethy - Minterburn. R. Alexander Osborne - - Brigh. James Johnston - Lisnaskea? PRESBYTERY OF LAGAN. R. Robert Wilson - Strabane. William Moorcraft - Newtonstewart. John Wool - - Clondermot. William Semple - Letterkenny. John Hart ... Taughboyne. John Adamson - Omagh ? John Crookshanks - - Raphoe. Thomas Drummond - - Ramelton. R. Robert Craighead - - Donoughmore. Hugh Cunningham - - Ray. Hugh Peebles - - - Liflbrd ? R. Adam White ... Fannet. William Jack - - - Bull-alley, Dublin. the total number of ministers, associated together in presbyteries at this trying period throughout Ulster, was nearly seventy. Of these 7 only conformed to prelacy. The other ministers deeply deplored these instances of unfaithfulness and defection. " There was another thing added to the affliction of the brethren, which was the falling-off of several of their number, and their embracing the snare laid before them. These were Mr. Mungo Bennett, Mr. Caldwell, Mr. Wallace, Mr. Robert Rowan, Mr. Andrew Rowan, Mr. Brown of Bellaghy ; and afterwards Mr. James Fleming, who had stood out longer than the rest) All these had come from Scotland with testimonials and recommendations from grave and godly ministers, for their hopefulness and piety, besides other qualifications of learning, prudence, &c. They were ordained by the presbytery here with solemn engagements at their ordination to adhere to presbyterian government, the ends of the covenant, and subordination to their brethren. Notwithstanding, in the hour of temptation and embracing this present world, they renounced the covenant publickly, their ordination by the presbytery, and were re-ordained by their bishop. Thereafter they turned other men than before ; worldly, proud, severe on the people who discountenanced them, and haters of those faithful ministers who once made them ministers. There was also one Dunlop and Mr. Andrew Nesbitt [expectants] who went the same way and proved no better than the rest. This Nesbitt several years after being sick and expecting death, as it fell out, sent for Mr. Adair, his nearest neighbour and that the Rev. George Wallace was admitted vicar of Holywood in Down on Dec 12, 1661and from the "Liber Hibernise" that the Rev. Mungo Bennet was admitted rector of Coleraine on NOT. 7, 1665. It does not appear with what benefices Caldwell and Robert Rowan were rewarded. Mr. Alexander Dunlop, mentioned above by Adair, was admitted vicar of Kilmore in Down in April 1661, and Mr. Andrew Nesbitt was at the same time admitted vicar of Glenarm ; so that these expectants were the first to receive the stipulated reward of their tergiversation. Of the ministers in Ulster, not being presbyterians, who enjoyed salaries from Cromwell's government I find no less than eleven of these pensions receiving benefices from the prelates. Thomas Vesey admitted rector of Coleraine or Templepatrick September 26, 1661 : Andrew Lawe, rector of Kilmegan and Maghera in Down, March, 1661, and afterwards vicar of Templepatrick, Kilbride, Donegore and the Grange, November 3, 1662 ; Hugh Graffan, vicar of Saintfield, September 10, 1661 ; Daniel McNeale, vicar of Billy, Culfeightrin and Loughguile, September 12, 1661 ; Robert Young, rector of Culdaff, April, 1661 ; George Holland, archdeacon and rector of Dunboe, March, 1661 ; Archibald Glasgow, rector and vicar of Clondevadock, and of Tally feraan and Aughnish, April, 1661 ; William Lindsey, rector of Bovevagh, April, 1661 ; Hugh Barclay, rector and vicar of Ray, April, 1661 ; Robert Bchlin, rector and vicar of Bailee and Ardglass, September 24, 1661 ; and James Wttt«en, precentor of Connor, March, 1661. note 1) The reason of the ministers being ejected in Ireland so long before their brethrenin the sister-kingdoms was this : — the old form of church - government and worship had never been abolished by law in Ireland ; and therefore at the Restoration prelacy, being still the legal establishment, was immediately recognized and enforced. But both in England and in Scotland it had been abolished by acts of their respective parliaments, and the Directory substituted in room of the Common-prayer book. It was necessary therefore that these acts should be first repealed and new acts of parliament passed, before the bishops had power to proceed against those who did not conform. note 2) This valuable list is extracted from Wodrow, (i. 324, 5.) with some few corrections ; and with the addition of the places where they officiated, so far as I have been able to discover them after many years' laborious research. I have prefixed the letter R. to those who survived the Revolution. Wodrow introduces this list with the following observation : — " I have added an account of such presbyterian ministers in the north of Ireland who refused conformity to episcopacy there, and suffered severely enough for it ; because I have always found the elder presbyterian ministers in Ireland reckoning themselves upon the same bottom with, and as it were a branch of, the church of Scotland. It stands as it comes to my hand under the correction of the reverend ministers of that kingdom." In Cala- my's Continuation the reader will find the names of several independent ministers who were also deposed, at this period, in Ireland. ------------------------------------------------------------------ In 1662 the Rev. Gilbert Kennedy, who had been settled as minister of Girvan in Ayrshire, in 1651, was ejected from that parish, and came to Ireland about 1668. He settled in Dundonald after the death of Mr. Peebles, and died in that charge Feb. 6, 1687-8. He was brother to the Rev. Thomas Kennedy of Donoughmore and Carlan in Tyrone ; and grandfather to the Rev. Gilbert Kennedy, minister successively of Lisburn, Killileagh, and Belfast, who died in 1773. extracts from A History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland by James Seaton Reid ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALEXANDER MILLER, FROM the parish of Ardstraw, asked, in 1753, to be permitted to preach as a minister of the synod, acknowledging that he had been degraded by the General Synod of Ireland, the sub-Synod of Londonderry, and the Presbytery of Letterkenny ; but offering the minutes of the presbytery in proof that he had been treated hardly and unjustly. Several of the members had already written to their correspondents in those bodies, and they refused to encourage him till they received answers ; and they warned all under their care not to receive him as a minister till he was fully cleared. He appeared before the synod, June 2, 1755, and begged that they would endeavour to procure a reconciliation between him and the Synod of Dungannon or the Presbytery of Letterkenny. McDowell was directed to write to Messrs. William Boyd, of Taughboyne, John Marshall or John Holmes, of Glendermot, and enclose his penitential letter of acknowledgment. The next spring, the congregations of Cook's Creek and Peeked Mountain, (now Harrisonburg,) in Rockingham county, Virginia, supplicated that he might be received by the synod as a member, and installed as their pastor. They resolved to wait until the ships came in from Ireland in the fall, and if they brought a letter from the synod of Ireland accepting his acknowledgment, or if no letter came, then Black and Craig were to install him, provided they find his conduct in that part of Christ's vineyard such as becomes a gospel minister. In 1757, the supplication being renewed, he was unanimously received as a member, and Craig was appointed to install him before the 1st of August. The Presbytery of Hanover cited him to answer certain charges, at a meeting to be held, as he said, four hundred miles from his home. He attended, but found that Todd had prevented the meeting, and subsequently, on the day the presbytery was appointed to meet in another place, Todd and two other members came to Miller's meeting-house on their sole authority, ordained a man, received charges against Miller, judged him, and adjourned to another place. The presbytery annulled these proceedings; but Miller declined their jurisdiction, and they, disregarding his de- clinature, found him guilty of unworthy behaviour, and deposed him, May 3, 1765. He appealed to the synod after a delay of four years, and without giving notice to the presbytery : the presbytery was ordered to attend the next year, that the synod might hear both parties. Dissatisfied with this, he renounced the synod, and was disowned ; and all presbyteries and congregations were forbidden to employ him. also from the same book noted below The only other Presbyterian ministers known to have been in any besides the New England States at an earlier date than 1706 are Nathaniel Taylor, at Marlborough, Maryland; Dugald Simson, at Brookhaven, on Long Island, from 1685 to 1691, who returned to Scotland, and was, in 1696, a member of Lochmaben Presbytery ; Thomas Bridge, who was called from Cohanzy to the first church in Boston, in 1704 ; Mr. Black, who laboured in West Jersey and in Lewes, Delaware; John Wilson at Newcastle, and Samuel Davis, also in Delaware. The state of morals was generally good, the people sober and "not over-zealous extract from A History of the Presbyterian Church in America, from Its Origin Until the Year 1760 By Rev. Richard WEBSTER THE CATHOLIC CHURCH MAT IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY, WE, the undersigned Roman Catholics, his majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, beg leave to approach your excellency with our warmest congratulations on your excellency's Appointment to the government of this kingdom. Firmly attached to his majesty's royal person and family, and to the principles of our excellent constitution, we cannot omit this opportunity of expressing to your excellency our deep concern and regret, at seeing in this kingdom the existence of a rebellion, threatening the destruction of each. We beg leave to assure your excellency, that we are determined to spare no exertion in empower for stopping its progress ; and that, however our religious tenets may prevent us from subscribing some of the tests, which, by some of the existing laws, are required as qualifications in certain instances, yet none of these tenets militate against the principies of our happy constitution. Our religious principles lead us to resist all rebellious conduct, as wellas every species of turbulence and insubordination, and our individual attachment to his majesty and the constitution further invites us to such resistance ; BY these principles your excellency will find our conduct ever guided, and led by them to a zealous co-operation with all others of his majesty's loyal subjects. We anticipate with confidence, under the direction of your excellency's acknowledged military and political talents, a speedy determination of . the present unhappy state of this his majesty's kingdom, and an early restoration of the blessings of internal peace and tranquillity. THE LORD LIEUTENANT'S ANSWER. I HAVE the highest satisfaction in receiving your address. The loyalty of the principles you profess will, I doubt not, be fully evinced by your public and effectual exertions. The present unhappy conjuncture calls equally upon men of all religious persuasions to mark their attachment to their sovereign and our constitution, by counteracting the spirit of anarchy and rebellion, which had disgraced the country. The influence of your example and authority may be of essential service, and you may be assured of my determination to do justice to your efforts, in repressing every species of turbulence and insubordination. The following declaration and address have been transmitted by James Stewart, esq. of Killymoon, and laid before the lord lieutenant: WE, the dissenting congregation of Cookestown, in the county of Tyrone, assembled at our meeting house, on the 27th of May, 1798, feel ourselves called upon, at this important and alarming period, to come forward and express our attachment and loyalty in this public manner to our king and the constitution, and pledge ourselves, to the utmost of our power, to preserve the peace and good order of the community, and prevent, as far as our influence shall extend, that anarchy and confusion, which are so lamentably disgracing other parts of the kingdom. Signed, by order of the session, JOHN DAVIS, Minister. And we do also request that James Stewart, esq. of Killymoon, will present these our sentiments to his excellency the lord lieutenant. The address of the Roman Catholics of the parish of Desartcreat and Derryloran, in the county of Tyrone, unanimously agreed to at their respective chapels, on Sunday the 3d day of June, 1798, to be presented to his excellency the lord lieutenant. MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY, WE, the Roman Catholic inhabitants of the parish of Desartcreat and Derryloran, understanding with the utmost concern that most daring outrages have, for some time past, disgraced our unfortunate country, and which, in some parts of the kingdom, seem as yet disturbing the public peace, do think it necessary at this moment of alarm, (when many of our unfortunate countrymen, and, amidst the general delusion, many of our religious persuasion, are engaged in those unlawful practices, publicly to declare our firm attachment to his gracious majesty's royal person, and the constitution under which we have the happiness to live. Under these impressions, we also think it necessary to remove, by an explicit declaration, every idea which may be entertained of our assisting or even countenancing the conduct of these misguided people, who are attempting to introduce into our country anarchy and confusion : and we pledge ourselves, solemnly and without hesitation, to protect, at the hazard of all we hold most dear, the person of our most gracious sovereign King George the third, and the constitution of this kingdom, against all enemies foreign or domestic, who are now or may hereafter disturb the public peace or tranquillity. Signed by upwards of 1000 of the inhabitants of said parishes in the presence of ARTHUR TEGART, Parish Priest. N. B. Births marriages & Deaths The Gentleman's Magazine Vol 4 1835 1835 Aug. 2. At the house of her son-in- law, C. F. Barnwell, esq. Woburn-place, aged 90, Susannah, relict of the Rev. J. Lowry, formerly Rector of Clogherny, co. Tyrone, Ireland The Inspector, and Literary Review Vol 1 1826 1826 April 3d, at Walcot Church, Bath, by the Rev. J. Haviland, W. Stewart Richardson, Esq. of Drum, Co. Tyrone, Ireland, late of the 1st Regiment of Life Guards, to Caroline, second daughter of John Lavingcourt, Esq. The Annual Register edited by Edmund Burke 1859 24 Aug.. At Five Mile Town, Tyrone, Capt. Richard Weld Litton, late of the Thirtieth Regiment, to Mary, dau. of the late Sir Hugh Stewart, bart. At St. Mary's, Woodford, Essex *BOYD,* John , a Presbyterian minister, was bom in Ireland in 1768. His early studies were pursued under John *McPherrin*, his pastor. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Redstone, April 23,1801. He preached one year as a licentiate in the bounds of the Presbytery of Erie. At the first meeting of the Presbytery of Erie, April 13, 1802, he presented a dismission from the Presbytery of Redstone, and was taken under the care of the new Presbytery. He accepted calls from Slate Lick and Union churches, in what is now Armstrong County, Pa. He was ordained at Union on June 16,1802. This pastoral relation continued until April 17, 1810. At the meeting of the General Assembly, in May, 1809, he was appointed a missionary for two months on the headwaters of the Allegheny and the borders of Lake Erie. He also supplied, for a short time, the churches of Amity and West Liberty. He was transferred, on account of ill-health, from Erie Presbytery to that of Lancaster, Oct, 4,1810. Shortly after this he was preaching at Wills Creek, in South- j eastern Ohio. Afterwards he served Red Oak and Strait ' Creek churches, in Chillicothe Presbytery. He next I settled as pastor of the Church of Bethel, in Oxford Presbytery. He died Aug. 20,1816. See Hist, of the Presbytery of Erie. |