Question for Elwyn

Mark,

Huge swathes of Border folk were “persuaded” to move from the Borders to Ireland, starting in the late 1500s and finishing around 1620-25. A good source of information about the Border Reivers is The Border Reivers, by Godfrey Watson (publ 1974). It has plenty of references to the Grahams. The book also mentions the Story family on pp 114 & 151.

Quoting from Watson pp 194/195:

“Right at the heart of the storm rode the Grahams who had played one side off against the other till every man’s hand was against them. First the Commissioners selected for exile 149 of them, including William of the Mote, Richard of Netherby and John, who for some inscrutable reason was known as “All our Eynds”: that is to say, “eames” or “eynds” – breaths. The question then arose where to send them. Eventually it was decided they should join the garrisons of Flushing, Brill and other places in the Low Countries which, because they were held as security for a sum of money lent by Elizabeth to Spain, were known as the Cautionary towns.

The Government however failed to keep their promise to provide homes for the exiles, and gradually the Grahams began to re-appear in Eskdale and elsewhere. Such was the tide of sympathy that greeted their return that the Commissioners now produce an extraordinary document signed by a number of the Grahams which concluded: “We therefore pray that we may be relegated and banished as an evil colony to some other part of the kingdom, there to spend the remains of our lives in sorrowing for our offences.” Perhaps they were so tired of the brutalities of the Musgraves, Taylors and other agents of the Earl of Cumberland that they thought almost anything was preferable to remaining where they were. Accordingly, the whole tribe; women and children this time included, found themselves in Ireland, where they were expected to cultivate the bogs and wastes of Roscommon & Connaught to the advantage of the local landlords.

Next on the list were the Armstrongs, and particularly those of Whithaugh. In 1609 a plan was hatched for the voluntary settlement of Ulster in order to reinforce the Protestant population, and a great number of Borderers, feeling there was no longer any future for them at home, departed to try their luck in Ireland. Many remained to become honest hard working citizens, and particularly to make their mark as soldiers. Others drifted back, only to find, in the case of the Armstrongs, that the Scotts and Elliots had been awarded their lands.”

I don’t know what records the Commissioners left, nor where they are stored. You could try the National Records of Scotland:

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk

Or, National Archives, Kew, London:

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F276366

Perhaps also the county museums for Cumbria and Northumberland. (I don’t have links for them). All of these may require a personal visit to access the records.

 Explanatory comments:

1. “Caution” as in “Cautionary” is a Scots word for a surety.  If you stand as a bail surety for someone in Scotland you are known as a “Cautioner” (pronounced kay-shone-er).

2. The Commissioners referred to here, that the Grahams petitioned, were the Border Commissioners. The book explains about them. But basically they were 12 knights from Scotland, including the sheriffs of Edinburgh & Berwick, and 12 from England headed by the sheriff of Northumberland (Watson, page 41).

3. Many of the emigrants from the Borders who went to Roscommon and Connaught soon relocated within Ireland and a lot gravitated to Co. Fermanagh where they were joined by others from the Borders.

Elwyn, thank you so very much for the response. It is full of useful information and I just now located a used copy of the book The Border Rievers by Godfrey Watson on Amazon and expect to receive it in the next ten days.  In the interim, I shall try to see what may be available through the other sources you recommend.  Thanks again.   Mark