Tullycairn House

Date: 1700 [unknown]
Location: Tullycarn Townland, Donaghcloney Civil Parish, Barony of Iveagh Lower, Upper Half, Co. Down 267 A, 2 R, 15 P
Surnames/tags: Magill County Down

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Contents 1 Background 2 Lords and Ladies of the Manor 3 Emigrants from Tullycairn 4 To Do 5 Sources

Background

Many North American Magill family trees claim a connection to the Magills of Tullycarn, County Down, Ireland, near Dromore. Much less is known about the Magill family members who stayed behind in Tullycarn. There was another Magill Estate in County Down called Gillhall.^[1]

Tullycairn Townland Description, Ros Davies: A townland of 267 acres; 6km from Dromore; click here to see its location on a townland map; means ' hillock of the cairn'; highest hill 296 ft; bog; forest; the proprietor Henry Magill Esq.held most of the land himself but let the remainder at £2 an acre in 1836 : corn mill fire 27 Sep 1851

Tullycairn House Description, Ros Davies: 3km E of Donaghcloney village; the residence Magill family in 1777 & of H. Magill Esq. in 1836; it was described as a conspicuous object at the eastern end of the parish, situated on the summit of a hill with some young plantings around it ; the proprietor in 1795 was John Magill; residence of James Bennett in 1910. ^[2]

Another Description of Tullycarn: Tullycarn Hill, the highest ground in the parish, rises to a height of 296 feet above the sea-level. ON the summit is Tullycarn House, formerly the residence of a younger branch of the Magill family, and in all probability built of the stones of the ancient carn which gave its name to the locality. A considerable "moss" lies at the bottom of the hill, and immediately beyond, but in the parish of Dromore, are the demesne lands of Gill Hall, the seat of the Earl of Clanwilliam. Like Many of the families descended from officers of Cromwell's army, the Magills appear to have been originally Presbyterians. In the 'Records of the Synod of Ulster', we have come upon an entry which establishes this with regard to the Tullycarn family, and at the same time shows that in the early part of last century the territorial, if not strictly parochial, system was maintained in the Presbyterian communion. ^[3]

"The townland of Tullycairn was bequethed by him (Lord Clanwilliam) to John Magill, in the possesion of whose descendants it remained in until recent years." ^[4] This transfer of ownership of Tullycarn could have been as early as 1765 when John Meade married Theodosia Magill and lasted until the death of Henry Magill, Esq. in 1844.

Lords and Ladies of the Manor

• 1795 John Magill
• ?-1844 Henry Magill, Esq. (1800-1844)
• ?-1862 Robert Dickson ^[5]
• Francis Hill^[6] occupant of Tullycarn house in Griffiths Valuation (1863-4).
• David Bennett (1830-14 Sep 1907)
• James Bennett (1866-?) Sold estate in 1926.

Emigrants from Tullycairn

• William Magill (1690-1745) Left for America in 1727, with wife, 3 sons and 5 daughters.

Probate Records ^[7]

• John (Hawkins) Magill, 1712, Donaghcloney Civil Parish
• John (Hawkins) Magill, 1713, Gillhall (probably same as above)
• Henry Magill, 30 Jun 1800, Donaghcloney Civil Parish (Actual record is on Ancestry.com)
• John Magill, 27 Nov 1815, Donaghcloney Civil Parish
• John Magill, 1827, Donaghcloney Civil Parish

To Do

• "Gill Hall", also known as Gilford Hall, was also owned by Magills and is much better documented. It is located in Coolsallagh townland, Dromore Parish, immediately adjacent to Tullycarn. Was this once all one estate owned by the same Magill family? My suspicion is that Tullycairn was originally part of the Gillhall estate, and was sold in the 1780's by Clanwilliam to Magills.
• Get photo of the house
• Find the owners before Henry Magill, Esq.

Sources

1. ↑ Gill Hall
2. ↑ https://rosdavies.com/PLACENAMES/T.htm
3. ↑ Atkinson, E. D. (1898). An Ulster Parish: Being a History of Donaghcloney (Waringstown). p. 81. Ireland: Hodges, Figgis.
4. ↑ Knox, Alexander. A History of the County of Down, from the Most Remote Period to the Present Day: Including an Account of Its Early Colonization, Ecclesiastical, Civil and Military Policy. Ireland: Hodges, Foster & Company, 1875.
5. ↑ Belfast News-Letter, 21 Jul 1862, p. 2 via Newspapers.com, "Dickson-July17, at his residence Tullycairn, near Dromore, County Down, Robert Dickson, Esq., M.D." Unknown whether he is related to Magill family.
6. ↑ Griffith Valuation
7. ↑ http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~rosdavies/genealogy/SURNAMES/M/Magill.htm

See also:

• County Down Magill Surname List Excellent summary on Rootsweb.com.
• Webpage that mentions Gill Hall Page about Magills of Gill Hall Estate in County Down.
• Atkinson, E. D. (1898). An Ulster Parish: Being a History of Donaghcloney (Waringstown). Ireland: Hodges, Figgis. p. 117. Mentions Henry Magill, Esq. HaithiTrust version. Also see page 81, describing Tullycarn house. GoogleBooksFree
• MAGILL: [NWH, Tue 24 Jun 1856*] On 19th June at Warrenpoint, aged 45, Robert Magill, 2nd son of the late John Magill of Tullycairn, Co Down. link and Boston Pilot Death Notice
• List of American Magill publications claiming Tullycairn connection
• Belfast News-Letter December 11, 1925, p. 16 (via Findmypast.com) has advertisement for Public Auction of Tullycairn House, Dromore. Mentions James Bennett is giving up Farming.
• Thrift, Gertrude. Indexes to Wills, Volume IV Dromore, Newry, and Mourne, Phillmore and Co. London, 1918. Available on Ancestry.com and findmypast.com, possibly on familysearch.org.
• placenamesni.org/