John Shaw (abt. 1585)

Born about 1585 in Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland

Ancestors

Died [date unknown] in County Antrim, Ireland

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Biography

John Shaw was the uncle of the John (James) Shaw family of Ballygally Castle, County Antrim, Ireland. He was born about 1585 and clearly the son of John Shaw of Greenock ^[1] and is mentioned as a witness to family documents.

There is definitely some confusion over his name. John James Shaw is sometimes confused with his younger brother, Sir James Shaw (b. 1566), the man who inherited Greenock.

John James Shaw is also confused sometimes with his nephew, the son of Robert Shaw, a John Shaw who was born ca. 1590.

John James Shaw was born about 1585 in Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland. He and the entire Shaw family of this generation appear to have been close to Hugh Montgomery of Braidstane (1560 - 1636), the 1st Viscount Montgomery, who is known as one of the 'founding fathers' of the Ulster Scots. Hugh married to John's elder sister, Elizabeth Shaw. Margaret Montgomery married John's brother, James.

According to Wikipedia: "Montgomery's friendship with the king was useful to him next in establishing a Settlement in Ireland in 1606 (preceding the Plantation of Ulster in 1610). Looking for opportunity for advancement, Montgomery came into contact with the wife of Con O'Neill, a landowner in Ulster, who was imprisoned at Carrickfergus Castle for instigating rebellion against the Queen. Montgomery and Ellis O'Neill (the wife) made a deal that the O'Neills would give half of their land to him if he could free Con and secure for him a royal pardon. Montgomery sent a relative to Ireland to lead the jailbreak, which was successful."

". . . . In May 1606 the first wave of settlers arrived. Montgomery settled at Newtownards and soon established a trade route between Donaghadee in Ireland and Portpatrick in Scotland."

One may read a brief summary of the Plantation of Ulster at Wikipedia here.

In 1616, John Shaw and the Montgomeries were granted land in Antrim by Randal MacDonnell, the 1st Earl of Antrim.^[2]

The lands that John and his brother James were granted were located half way between Larne, a port on the northeastern coast of County Antrim, and Glenarm. They included the grounds on which the famous Ballygally Castle now stands. James Shaw and John seem to have pooled their family resources, and it is not entirely clear which one of them built the castle. They may have built it together.

The Rev. Classon Porter, a former owner and resident of Ballygally Castle, refers to these Shaw family land records in an article first published 1884 in the Larne Reporter and reproduced April 1901 by the Ulster Journal of Archaeology, which is available at Archive.org. The article, now in the public domain, is reproduced here for the convenience of the reader. It seems to have been the basis for a "History of Ballygally Castle" published by the present owners, the Hastings Hotels group, on their website, which includes a virtual tour and photos of the surrounding grounds.

According to Porter, Sir James Shaw arrived first in 1606. "He seems to have come over with the view of making Ireland his future residence. His first location was on the lands of his brother-in-law, Sir Hugh Montgomery of Braidstane, who had married his sister, Elizabeth Shaw, and who had got from King James extensive grants of land in the district which is called "the Ardes," in County Down. But James Shaw did not stay long in that locality. In the course of a few years he left the County Down, and came to County Antrim. In 1613 we find the name 'John Shaw of Ballygally, Gent.' on a County Antrim jury. [Editor's Note: There is some confusion in regard to the Christian names James and John. The writer at first gave John as the builder of the castle, but in his own copy of the article he altered this name to James in his own manuscript.]

"James Shaw's second and permanent Irish settlement was in the parish of Cairncastle, which lies between the towns of Larne and Glenarm. There he got considerable grants of land, not, however, direct from the Crown, but from the Earl of Antrim, the crown tenant. That nobleman had, by letters patent granted in 1603, come into possession of a large tract of territory, which might be roughly said to extend from Larne to Coleraine along the coast, and for a considerable distance inland. Out of this crown grant his lordship made several sub-grants of land in perpetuity, at low rents, to gentlemen who were called "freeholders," but who were practically the proprietors of the lands which they held. One of these gentlemen freeholders was James Shaw of Ballygally."

A series of land grants made between 1621 and 1637 seems to be the source of all the confusion over who built or owned Ballygally Castle. When sorted out, they indicate that Sir James Shaw decided to return to Scotland, deeded his shares of land and castle to his brother John James "the elder" Shaw, who married to Isabella Brisbane and then eventually deeded the land and castle to their son, John Brisbane Shaw, who is referred to as John Shaw "the Younger" in the legal documents.

In the words of Rev. Porter: "The lands in Cairncastle, which the Shaw family got in this way from the Earl of Antrim, were conveyed to them by two different grants. One grant was made, 1 Feb. 1634, to 'John Shaw, the elder, of Ballygellie, in the county of Antrim, gentleman,' of 'all that eighteen score acres of land in Ballygellie, aforesaid, Tarnemoney, Nogher, Carncaslen, and Corsermain,' to hold forever in fee farm, at the yearly rent of twenty-four pounds sterling. Another was made, 8 Aug., 1637, almost exactly similar. A grant had been made on 21 Feb., 1621, to 'John Shaw, the younger, of Carnefenoge, in the county of Antrim, gentleman,' of 'the six score acres of Carnefenoge, and the four score acres of the north part of Corcormehan, and the south part of Ballyreddie,' to hold for ever in fee farm, at the yearly rent of £13 13 s. 4 d. sterling. We can find no record of a grant of Ballygally made at the time of the building of the castle."

Porter adds: "The exact relationship between the two John Shaws to whom these grants were severally made we do not know; but, in all probability, John Shaw the younger was the son, although perhaps not the eldest son, of John Shaw the elder."

References

1. ↑ witnessing the Sassine of his brother James inheriting Greenock as cited in the Laing Charters , dated 10 Jan, 1600. record number 1389. https://archive.org/stream/calendaroflaingc00edin#page/340/mode/1up/search/john+schaw
2. ↑ The Montgomery papers The Montgomery manuscripts: (1603-1706) Comp. from family papers by William Montgomery, of Rosemount; and edited with notes . p52 . https://archive.org/details/montgomerymanusc00montuoft/page/52

Sources

Ballygally Castle - Wikpedia

Ballygally Castle - Lord Belmont in Norther Ireland Blog

Ballygally Castle Video Search Results - Bing Video

Ballygally Castle Ghost Room - MysteriousTrip.com (retrieved 31 October 2019)

Agnew, Sir Andrew. The Hereditary Sheriffs of Galloway (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1893) Vol. II. See Ch. XXX The Lands of Larne and Kilwaughter, p. 45 which states the Earl of Antrim has granted land at Lorne to Sheriff Sir Patrick Agnew and John Agnew of Galloway. John Agnew of Galloway, Scotland and Antrim "was married to a daughter of the well known Mr. Shaw of Ballygally." On p. 46, Mr. Shaw is identified as John Shaw, a relative of James Shaw and Elizabeth (Montgomery) Shaw. He stemmed from a cadet branch of the Shaws of Greenock who settled at Antrim and built Ballygally castle.

Anderson, Rev. John and David Laing. Calendar of the Laing Charters, A.D. 854-1837, belonging to the University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh: Endiburgh University, 1911).

Castles of Northern Ireland - Ballygally Castle - BritainandIrelandCastles.com

Hill, Rev. George, ed. The Montgomery Manuscripts: (1603-1706) (Belfast: Archer and Sons, 1869). See references to John (James) Shaw on pp. 51 - 52.

History of Ballygally Castle - HastingsHotels.com

Hugh Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery - Wikipedia

Irish Rebellion of 1641 - Wikipedia

Porter, Rev. Classon. "Ballygally Castle" Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Vol. VII, No. 2, April 1901, p. 65 - 77, reprinted from an article that appeared in the Larne Reporter (1884). This article gives a very detailed history of the castle and the Shaws of Greenock who built it. It names John Shaw, his wife, relatives and descendants.

The Shaws of Ballygally - Christ West Ancestry Blog (18 August 2017, retrieved 31 October 2019)