St Johnston History
JOHNSTOWN (ST.)
From A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837
JOHNSTOWN (ST.), a village (formerly a parliamentary borough), in the parish of
TAUGHBOYNE, barony of RAPHOE, county of DONEGAL, and province of ULSTER, 8 ½
miles (N. by W.) from Lifford: the population is returned with the parish. This
place is situated on the river Foyle, which is here of considerable breadth and
forms a boundary between the counties of Donegal and Tyrone. It originated in
the plantation of Ulster, when a grant of the lands of Dromtoolan and Gollanogh,
together containing about 210 acres and 80 acres of other lands, was made by
James I. to Louis Stewart, Duke of Lennox, and Earl of Richmond, on condition of
his settling here 13 families of English or Scottish artisans or mechanics. For
the use of this settlement the Earl was to assign 60 acres for the site of a
town, to be called St. Johnstown, and to consist of one street of 13 houses, to
each of which was to be allotted 5 acres of land, to be held of him in fee-farm
at a trifling rent. This settlement was incorporated by charter of James I. in
1618, under the designation of the "Provost and Burgesses of the Borough and
Town of St. Johnstown," but never attained the local importance contemplated by
the founder; and the corporation seems to have exercised scarcely any of its
municipal functions, except that of returning two members to the Irish
parliament, which it continued to do till the Union, when the borough was
disfranchised.
The village is situated on the western bank of the river Foyle, which is
navigable to its junction with the lough for vessels of 50 tons, and consists
only of one street containing a few neat houses; it has a penny post to
Londonderry. The market granted by the charter is discontinued, and of the four
fairs, only one is held on the 25th of Nov. It contains a place of worship for
Presbyterians, the parochial school-house, and a dispensary. In the vicinity are
some small vestiges of the castle of Montgevelin in which James II. held his
court till the termination of the siege of Londonderry.
St Johnston is a town/village near the River Foyle that has its origins in the Plantation times.
Before the Finn Valley Railway was set up, goods going to Donegal Town, Ballyshannon and Sligo were transported through the town. Pack horses were used at first and then carts. This was used also as a primitive postal service. Mr Lyndsay of Altaskin made efforts in the 1670s to ensure that this service was improved.
At the time of the Siege, Reverend John Mackenzie of Cookstown wrote, "Captain Forward from Newtowncunningham and Mr William Stewart of Ballylawn brought about two or three hundred horses into the city, and Mr John Cowan of St John's Town, a company of foot, which they offered to our service."
John Cowan was an alderman of Derry and resisted the Test Act which demanded that if anybody held public office they must take communion in the Established Church, the Church of Ireland. Cowan refused as he felt it was inconsistent with his Presbyterian faith and religious tolerance. Cowans sister was the grandmother of Lord Castlereagh.
The army of King James II led by Sir Charles Coote used St Johnston as its headquarters in 1688 during the Siege of Derry. The king himself stayed at the residence of Presbyterian Elder Robert Cowan at Monreagh. The army plundered St Johnston and Carrigans and burned them down to the ground.
The king offered a safe pass with a view to meeting those who wished to have Derry surrender. "Given at our quarters at St Johnston 17th day of April, 1689, at four o clock in the afternoon, in the fifth year of our reign. By His Majesty's Command."
We know that on the 4th of November 1757 a fair took place in St Johnston and it was remarked that a huge number of cattle had been sold fetching good prices.
There was an agent for the Earl of Abercorn who lived in Lifford. The agent’s name was Nathaniel Nesbit and he visited the market at St Johnston on 20th April 1758. He said that £100 of green unbleached linen was bought. The townspeople told him they wanted horseracing and cock fighting. But as he didn’t want drunken people and idlers coming to these events he wouldn’t allow them. He then informed the Earl that the turf-cutting at Carrickmore, St Johnston had been stopped.
On the 17th November 1758, the same measures were taken to stop idlers being drawn to the St Johnston fair. These measures entailed the discontinuation of horse races and cockfights. It was endeavoured to keep the focus on sales of livestock and linen and other items of merchandise.
Cattle sales were impressive at the 25th November 1782 fair. It was so successful that another fair was required for Easter Tuesday in 1783.
The formation of the Presbyterian Congregation at St Johnston was rife with controversy for it was formed despite the disapproval of Monreagh Presbyterian Church. William Gray poached some members of the Monreagh Congregation when he began preaching at a Lime Kiln near St Johnston. Soon a Church was built, "The first house of worship erected in St Johnston stood in the village street, and was in use up to the year 1849, when, during the ministry of the Rev. Joseph McConaghey, the present Church was built on a commanding site, overlooking the Foyle" (Lecky, The Laggan and its Presbyterianism, published 1905).
1794 - Householders in St Johnston were
John M'Clintock
Widow Wilson
John Pinkerton
Samuel M'Gill
William M'Carter
John Murdock
John Pinkerton
Owens Colhoun
James Larkey
William M'Adoo
William McMonigal
John M' Clintock
John Galbraith
Francis M'Ilwee
James Develin
Edward O' Donnell
Widow Edmuston
James Houston
Alex Cochrane
Bryan Hannigan
Alex Campbell
Edward Lea
John Shaw
Thomas Dunlop
Alex M'IIwee
John Campbell
John Latta
Robert Speirs
John Shaw
William Wilson
Robert Smyley
Hugh Rogers
Robert Lindsay
Widow Wilson
Widow Motherell
Robert M'Clintock
John Pinkerton
John Latta
Charles O' Donnell
William Wilson
William Lindsay
James Moore
James Smyley
Adam M'Clay
Robert Smyley
James M'Leay
James Smyley
Samuel Davison
Sampson Steele
James Hog
William Moore
William Scott
Widow Harison
SORTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY SURNAME
Campbell, Alexander
Campbell, John
Cochrane, Alexander
Colhoun, Owens
Davison, Samuel
Develin, James,
Dunlop, Thomas
Edmuston, Widow
Galbraith, John
Hannigan, Bryan
Harison, Widow
Hog, James
Houston, James
Larkey, James
Latta, John
Latta, John
Lea, Edward
Lindsay, Robert
Lindsay, William
M'Adoo, William
M'Carter, William
M'Clay, Adam
M'Clintock, John
M'Clintock, John
M'Clintock, Robert
M'Gill, Samuel
M'Ilwee, Alexander
M'Ilwee, Francis
M'Leay, James
M'Monigal, William
Moore, James
Moore, William
Motherell, Widow
Murdoch, John
O'Donnell, Charles
O'Donnell, Edward
Pinkerton, John
Pinkerton, John
Pinkerton, John
Rogers, Hugh
Scott, William
Shaw, John
Shaw, John
Smyley, James
Smyley, James
Smyley, Robert
Smyley, Robert
Speirs, Robert
Steele, Sampson
Wilson, Widow
Wilson, William 1
Wilson, William 2
