John HUGHES hanged 16 Oct 1797 details?

[patrexjax]

Hello Rootschatters, I am trying to find out more about the above cited John Hughes, as my OH's paternal line came from Co. Monaghan, Donagh parish and this person MAY be a rellie... In the Cloger Record on "Monaghan and the Role of Freemasonry Up to and Including the 1798 Rebellion" on page 109 it refers to a John Hughes..."A number of leading Co. Monaghan Freemasons who were convicted and imprisoned for their role in the United Irish movement during the agrarian troubles in the late 1700's, included the celebrated United Irishman John Hughes of Sillis, in the parish of Donagh, and of Masonic Lodge No. 611,who was hanged on the 16th of October 1797 at Glasslough."  I am wondering if there would be any information in the trial referring to any of his family members? Or, in the alternative, would there be a record of who claimed the body?  Any additional information and/or advice will be most appreciated. Thank you.  Pat

[Pat Reid]

I came across a few references to the hanging at Glaslough.
" Three of those involved, Johnston, Hughes and Carbery, were hanged in Glaslough in 1797 for being members of the Society - Johnston was a Presbyterian and Colonel of the United Irishmen in the area while Hughes and Carbery were Catholics. A commemorative plaque (to their memory) on the gable wall of the Pillar House Hotel in Glaslough was unveiled by Sir John Leslie in 1998 on the occasion of the bi-centenary of the 1798 Rebellion."  http://www.hoganstand.com/general/identity/extras/places/stories/emyvale.htm

See also: http://www.hoganstand.com/general/identity/stories/leslie.htm

If you do a google search for Glaslough and Donagh you might find more info.

Good luck!
Ulster Ancestry has a listing of Hughes' graves at the Cemetery there.
http://www.ulsterancestry.com/ShowFreePage.php?id=224

[patrexjax]

Hello Pat, Thank you SO MUCH for the links and the additional information.  My OH's Hughes were all RC in the USA so that is promising information on this particular John Hughes being RC in Ireland.  We know that his Hughes that emigrated were from Donagh parish as virtually all of their tombstones in the USA refer to that fact.  Again, thank you very much.  Pat

[jackstorey]

The interesting thing about John Hughes is that his family - the Hughes of Sillis, a townland overlooking Killyboley Lake, were married to the Johnstons.  There are listings at Donagh Old Graveyard linking the Johnstons to the Hughes and, because of the unstable situation at Glaslough in 1797 - 1798 it is believed that John Hughes' name is not listed on the headstone erected by the Hughes Family of Sillis - perhaps a "nom de plume" may have been used to conceal his burial spot.  There are several earlier gravestones to both the Hughes & Johnston families at Donagh "Old" graveyard and recently I was able to discover that my wife's family ancestors - the Johnstons of Tully (or Fort Johnston) are all listed on three gravestones now in the ruins of the Old Church. The Hughes involved in the 1798 Rebellion were also listed in the Church Records of Donagh so they were Anglicans.     

[hallmark]

Did you look at this? It is a list of burials at Old Donagh, incl Hughes!


http://www.ulsterancestry.com/ShowFreePage.php?id=224


I will be in Old Donagh g/yard soon and will have a look for Hughes g/stones, I think there are peripheral Hughes linked into my tree somewhere but don't have access to my database at moment as server is playing up, need to reconfigure the virtual port so I'll have to get back to you on this!

Here is a pic of the Old Donagh g/yard.

[patrexjax]

Hello! And, a big thank you for providing me with a link to Donagh Cemetery monumental inscriptions! Sincerely, Pat

[jackstorey]

I'm in Belfast (*) & would be keen to meet you at Donagh Old Graveyard - it's not easy to navigate but if you look at the wall of the ruined church you'll see "Baptist Johnston" - that's my wife's ancestor & we believe that the United Irishman is from this line - Tully, Fort Johnston & Stramore are all the same place, part of the Johnston lands in 1798

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[jackstorey]

Much data has been written about the involvement of Glaslough & many of its residents in the Rebellion of 1798.  My wife's ancestor - Colonel Charles Johnston was arrested with 50 others on the information of Alexander Byers in 1797.  Byers was the brother-in-law of William Murphy who had previously given evidence against George Johnston of Derryhallagh.  All of these Johnstons are from the Derryhallagh (aka Fort Johnston, Tully, Straghan etc) which was an Estate in that area. Most famous was Baptist Johnston, second-in-command to Major Anketell at the Battle of Drumbanagher in 1688, believed to be one of the first battles of the Williamite War.   The Presbyterians (of Glennan & elsewhere in Ireland) had previously had no right to baptize, conduct weddings or officiate at their funerals.  This was the major reason for the 1798 Rebellion and the other events (Vinegar Hill etc) happened later as the Rebellion gained momentum.  In fact, Henry Joy McCracken, himself a Presbyterian & printer of a Belfast Newspaper, took part in the Battle of Antrim. 
Colonel Charles Johnston, an Army Colonel, & later a Colonel in the United Irishmen, was tried in October 1797 & was sentenced to be hanged. 
In December 1998, 200 years after the Rebellion, Sir John Leslie unveiled a plaque in Glaslough to commemmorate those of Glaslough who were hanged as a result of the Rebellion.     

[jackstorey]

On "Google" you'll see "Historical Sketches of Monaghan" & in this book, which you can read & print online, are several Historic articles relating to those of Glaslough & Glennan who were involved in the United Irishmen movement.  The Presbyterians & Roman Catholics were equally involved and had the same discriminatory treatment by the regime of that period.   Glennan Presbyterian Church Records reveal much of the activity in the very old Session Books etc.  It is necessary to understand the History of Ireland and the attraction of the Society of United Irishmen of that period. It is not possible to pick a moment in Irish History and attempt to understand how things were then.  Of course, the United Irishmen movement eventually was hi-jacked by the present Sinn Fein Movement, quite wrongly.  Much of the later events like Vinegar Hill & Scullabogue reflect the Catholic viewpoint of History but it is quite wrong to omit the involvement of Henry Joy McCracken, Orr etc who were all Leaders & Presbyterians.  The Battles of Antrim, Ballynahinch & Saintfield (all mostly Presbyterian events) involved the Monaghan Militia, strange but true, and there is the event of four Monaghan Militiamen being shot at Blaris Cemetery, near Lisburn, for administering the Oath of the United Irishmen to members of the Monaghan Militia.   This reflects the complications of the appeal of the United Irishmen