Planting The Commonwealth : Whispers from the Tyrone Forests: Unearthing the Mountjoy Deeds in the Gardiner Papers

By David T Gardner,

Sir William’s Key™ the Future of History unlocks the secrets of a 1735 bargain and sale deed—that unassuming entry from the National Library of Ireland's Gardiner Papers (MS 36,510/1), where the Rt Hon William, 3rd Viscount Mountjoy, conveys the manors of Newtownstewart and Mountstewart in County Tyrone, along with Ramelton in Donegal, to Robert, Bishop of Cork, and William Brownlow for one year. It's the kind of transaction that sits quietly in the estate bundles, overlooked amid the thunder of Dublin's Georgian building boom, but when we cross-reference it with our family vaults—those 1669 Antrim grants to William Gardiner from The Honourable The Irish Society (Irish Patent Rolls, TNA C 66/3104, m. 12)—the chain forges itself.

We've chased our syndicate's shadows from Wigan's Hospitaller preceptories to the Upper Missouri's fur posts, but this dig into Sir Luke Gardiner's Ulster estates pulls us into the heart of the family's Irish power base: vast Tyrone holdings centered on Mountjoy Forest, Rash, and Newtownstewart, spanning over 30,000 acres of woodland, farms, and manors managed through a web of leases, mortgages, and sales that spanned generations. The receipts thunder: these weren't mere rural backwaters; they were a strategic supply chain—evicting tenants, producing linen, and funneling Scotch-Irish like our own Gardners to Pennsylvania's Donegal Township, where our ancient rights as toll-takers and guardians were reborn in ferry concessions and trading posts. Dismantling the myths of the Gardiner family as mere Dublin developers, let's piece the deeds together from the NLI collections and dismantle the silences around their Ulster grip.

The Mountjoy Inheritance: How Sir Luke Gardiner Claimed Tyrone's Forests

Our audit begins with the core acquisition: Sir Luke Gardiner (c. 1690–1755), the Dublin banker and MP, marries Anne Stewart in 1711, inheriting the Mountjoy estates as her sole heiress (Dictionary of Irish Biography: "Gardiner, Luke (a. 1690–1755)"). This brought in Tyrone lands like Newtownstewart, Rash, and Mountjoy Forest—over 30,000 acres of prime woodland and farmland, with residences at Rash House and The Cottage (Academia.edu: "The Gardiner Family, Dublin, and Mountjoy, County Tyrone," p. 4: "Luke successfully asserted ownership against George Forbes, expanding the family's Tyrone holdings through court advocacy").

The deeds tell the tale of prudent management turning to aggressive speculation. A 1732 lease (NLI MS 36,585/1) from the 3rd Viscount Mountjoy grants three lives or 31 years for lands at Boullis in Clogher parish, Tyrone, to William Stewart—linen and timber output funding Dublin ventures. By 1735, the bargain and sale (MS 36,510/1) conveys Newtownstewart and Mountstewart manors to trustees, securing debts while retaining control.

Luke's grandson, Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy (1745–1798), inherits in 1769, expanding through legal battles (DIB: "Inherited over 30,000 acres in Tyrone"). Leases like the 1804 agreement for Killybrack (MS 36,585/11) to Samuel Johnson show ongoing management—21 years for farmland, tying to Ulster's linen boom that fed our Pennsylvania hemp mills.

Key Deeds and Land Descriptions: The Tyrone Portfolio Unpacked

Diving into the NLI Gardiner Papers (MS 36,501-626), we've surfaced a trove of Tyrone-specific deeds—leases for lives or years, producing wealth from farms, forests, and mills. Here's the forensic breakdown:

1732 Lease of Boullis Lands (MS 36,585/1): Rt Hon William, 3rd Viscount Mountjoy, leases three lives or 31 years of Boullis in Clogher parish to William Stewart. Description: Farmland in barony of Clogher, producing grain and tenants—core to Ulster's export economy.
1735 Bargain and Sale of Newtownstewart and Mountstewart (MS 36,510/1): Viscount Mountjoy conveys manors to Bishop Robert of Cork and William Brownlow for one year. Land: Over 10,000 acres in barony of Strabane, including Rash House—wooded deer parks and tenant farms.
1804 Agreement for Killybrack (MS 36,585/11): Charles John, 2nd Viscount Mountjoy, grants new lease for 21 years to Samuel Johnson. Description: Farm at Killybrack, Tyrone—pending legal claims, tying to family disputes.
1825 Conveyance of Killeny and Mullybeny (MS 36,510/2): 1st Earl of Blessington sells to Robert Waring Maxwell for £1,715. Includes Sherrard survey: Farmland in Tyrone baronies, with defeazance for debt security.
1825 Defeazance for Mullaghmore (MS 36,510/3): Rev Thomas Stack to 1st Earl for £3,500—mortgage on Tyrone lands.
1827 Conveyance of Skelgagh (MS 36,510/4): Earl to Joseph Birney for £3,060—barony of Clogher farms.

Later leases (MS 36,585-588) detail dozens of 31-year or life grants for Tyrone parcels like Gortnacrea, Carrigans, Corickmore—farmers paying rents that funded Dublin's Gardiner Street boom.

Management and the Human Pipeline: From Tyrone Tenants to Pennsylvania Pioneers

Sir Luke's Tyrone estates weren't idle; they produced linen and timber, but more crucially, tenants evicted or relocated to Penn's colony (Ford's The Scotch-Irish in America, 1915, p. 221: "Ulster evictions post-1718"). Our John Gardner—1755 Toboyne warrant-holder (Pennsylvania Archives, Series 3, Vol. XXIV, p. 56)—ties to Galbraith (Indian trader, married Gardner girl; Proceedings, p. 216). Revelation: Luke's management—leases expiring, debts calling—fueled the Scotch-Irish wave, our ancient rights rerouted to Lancaster's Donegal Twp.