Ellis/Clements Carrickfegus ?Court Case

[Bookbox]

The first two and a half lines are just the standard verbiage that introduces most Answers. The main part of the text starts at Saith (in line 3):

This Def(endan)t Saveing and Reserveing to himselfe Now and att all times hereafter all and all Manner of Advantages and benefitt of

Exceptions that may be had and taken to the manyfold Incertainties and other Insufficiences in the Compl(ainan)ts said bill of Compl(ain)t Contained for answ(er)

thereunto, or soe much thereof as Materially concerns this Def(endan)t to make answer Unto, Saith that Edw(ar)d Clements late of Clements hill

al(ia)s Milligan hill in the County of Antrim Esq(ui)r(e) dec(eas)ed in the Compl(ainan)ts bill named did die seized of a small Estate of Inheritance p(ar)te of the towne

Land of Mullingamhill in the said County of Antrim Containing about Eighty foure Acres together with about Sixteen Acres of the towne Land of

Le Ballyclare in the same County which lands were for and in Consideration of 100^li [= £100] paid by the said Edw(ar)d Clements to Richard Dobbs late …

[DonnaMarie1982]

Thank you once again, your transcription is certainly making a lot more sense than my own.

Im a little bit further along and it looks like it might be a land dispute of some sort.

[DonnaMarie1982]

cont.

[Kiltaglassan]

Clements Hill / Mulligan Hill is a townland outside of Carrickfergus.

https://www.townlands.ie/antrim/belfast-lower/ballynure/ballynure/clementshill/

Clementshill townland just to the east of the town of Ballyclare.

https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/4483354#map=13/54.7559/-5.9711

[Bookbox]

from reply #10

… of Castle Dobbs in the said County of Antrim Esq(ire) Dec(eas)ed Granted and Conveyed to him the said Edw(ard) Clements and his heirs by the

said Dobbs att the yearly rent of two pounds Ster(ling) as does app(ea)re by the said Deed beareing date the 18^th day of June 1691 now in this Def(endant)s

hands and this Def(endan)t does believe that the said lands were in the lifetime of the said Edw(ar)d Clements of the yearly rent Vallue of about [deletion]

26^li 10^s for that the said lands were Sett Since his the said Edw(ar)d Clements death and are now Sett att the rent of 29^li 5^s p(er) ann(um) and Noe

More out of which the said Chiefe rent of 2^li is to be deducted and this Def(endant) Saith that y^e said Edw(ar)d Clements did not to his this …

[Bookbox]

from reply #11

… Def(endan)ts knowledge hearsay or beleife dye seized of any other Estate in Fee or other Estate of Inheritance butt the aforesaid lands Exepte [the?]

acres of land called Maidens Mount in the liberties of the towne of Carrickfergus Sett att about 4 or 5^li p(er) ann(um) which after the said Edwards

death were sold by Henry Clements the said Edwards Eldest Son to whom the same Came as heir to his said Father and therefore this Def(endan)t

doth deny that the said Edward Clements was Seized of a Considerable Estate in Fee as in the Compl(ainan)ts bill is all[eadged] [conjectural: and this Defendant doth]

deny that the said Edward Clements was pos(ess)ed of and Intitled unto a very great [p(er)sonal] Estate as in the said bill is alleadged butt Confesses

that the said Edw(ar)d Clements did die poss(ess)ed of the Tenem(en)t Called the Slate[?] house in the bill menc(i)oned together with about 48 Acres of land thereunto …

[DonnaMarie1982]

the ? estate (its coming easier now and the husband has a better knack for reading the script it seems)

[Gilby]

Donna, I read that as "of the p[er]sonall Estate".

Bookbox, unfortunately here in Ireland many of our records were destroyed in the Four Courts fire in 1922.  Frustratingly the index has often survived (e.g. listing plaintiffs and defendants in bills going back to the 1600s), but the full court papers perished!  In this case the records seem to have survived in estate papers.

[Bookbox]

Bookbox, unfortunately here in Ireland many of our records were destroyed in the Four Courts fire in 1922.  Frustratingly the index has often survived (e.g. listing plaintiffs and defendants in bills going back to the 1600s), but the full court papers perished!  In this case the records seem to have survived in estate papers.

Thanks for the explanation.