"A peremptory, bold companion: Major John PIGOTT of Grangebegg.

[Ruins of the Tower House of Grangebegg, Borris-in-Ossory, Queen's County, Ireland, 2004.]

"In Disert did inhabit a peremptory, bold companion, Sir John PIGOTT, a captain of foot before these commotions, confiding too much in the strength of his castle, in the number of his men, in the abundance of both provision & ammunition, & in his own supposed skill, & also in the ancient friendship of the house of Tyrone (whereof he was fosterer by his mother's side of the OVENTONs) would not by any means surrender, either for friendship or in intimation of the rest, though severally attempted by noble messengers, & honourable quarter of life, goods, arms & castle, only to swear fealty to King & country.
"Shewing himself so stiffnecked, the Catholic General (though his well-wisher) grew mighty descontented, commanded Colonel O'FARRELL & Coloner Roger McGUIRE's regiments to take that Castle..." [Report of the 1646 "Aphorismal Discovery, Vol. 1" & cited by Michael CAREY in his History of the Queen's County, 1857.]

Whether John PIGOTT, formerly of Grangebegg, had entered into "negotiations" with his beseigers, or whether his brother-in-law Barnaby O'DUNNE had, fearing the worst, made his escape by breaching his relation's terms & opening the door to the ensuing attack, we may never know. But we do know that PIGOTT was killed, along with his youngest son William, & some 40 or more other members of the garrisoned estate.

The date was 6 Oct 1646, & the King, to whom John had been loyal at the outbreak of the Catholic Rebellion in Oct 1641, had lost his support by actively seeking Irish Catholic reinforcements to his own depleted Army in England. John had laid down his arms at the Cessation negotiated in Sep 1643.

The women folk, including his widow Martha & undoubtedly several of their daughters, although witnesses to the atrocities, were, under O'NEILL's own instructions, allowed to go unmolested, despite being stripped naked, in a move probably designed to winkle out those men who had disguised their gender under women's attire.

His naked body lay, unburied for some time, in the ditch where it was thrown.

John was the eldest son & heir of Sir Robert PIGOTT (1565-ca1642) of Dysart, Queen's County, by his 1st wife Anne ST LEGER (died 1599). He was probably born in Dysart, around about 1590. His father, created Knight in 1609 for his part in the clearing of the O'MOREs out of the County (see his separate post in this blog), had probably handed over the running of the Dysart estate as early as Mar 1639 - John recorded his residence there when re-elected as the Member for the Queen's County in the Irish Parliament. John's earlier election, in Jul 1634, had recorded him as residing at Grangebegg, an imposing tower house in Borris-in-Ossory, the ruins of which are still standing (see attached photograph above).

John's early career is overshadowed by that of his father. He was about 10 when his mother died, & , from about 1601-02, he was raised by his step-mother, Thomasine PIGOTT alias CASTILLION alias PEYTON, along with his 5 surviving blood-siblings, his 2 CASTILLION step-siblings (which included Catherine, the mother of his future daughter-in-law), to which number was added half-siblings from the 2nd marriage.

He himself was married to Martha COLCOUGH, daughter of Sir Thomas COLCLOUGH of Tynterne, Co Wexford, by his spouse Martha LOFTUS (daughter of Adam LOFTUS, Archbishop of Dublin). We have no particulars of the marriage, which probably occurred about the time John came of age, probably around 1610-12.

And there were 11 known children of the marriage, who were probably raised at Grangebegg:

1. Robert PIGOTT, the eldest son & heir; reported to have been killed at the fall of the Fort of Maryborough, in Sep 1646, about a week before the sack & storm of Dysart; married Anne GILBERT, daur of Sir William GILBERT (died 1654) of Kilminchey, Queen's County, by his spouse Catherine CASTILLION (John's step-sister), with issue two children, living as orphans, 1654, one of whom was Thomas PIGOTT (died 1702), the heir to Dysart.

2. Thomas PIGOTT; an Army Colonel, he went to England during Civil War & remained there, eventually settling at Brockley Park, Somerset, & becoming Master of the Court of Wards & Liveries in Ireland under Charles II; died 31 Nov 1670; marr Florence, widow of Thomas SMYTH of Long Ashton, Somerset, & daur of John, Lord POULET of Hinton St George, Somerset; with issue. Ancestor of the SMYTH-PIGOTTs of Somerset.

3. Alexander PIGOTT; of Innishannon, Co Cork; served with distinction in the Earl of Inchiquin's Regiment, Civil War; Lt-Col in the Army; will dated 1680, proved 1683; marr Ann, the widow of Thomas ADERLY, & the daur of Sir Edward BOLTON of Brazil, Co Dublin, with issue. Ancestor of the PIGOTTs of Chetwynd, Co Cork, of Loughrea, Co Galway, & the Baronets of Knapton.

4. John PIGOTT; of Rahineduff, Queen's County; a Captain in the Army; died 1668; marr Mary, the widow of Pierce MOORE of Rahineduff, & the daughter of Francis EDGEWORTH of Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, by his spouse Jane TUITE, with issue.

5. William PIGOTT; youngest son; killed with his father at Dysart, 6 Oct 1646.

i. Thomasine PIGOTT; said to have married Foulk COMERFORD of Inchiclohan, although there are some date difficulties in determining which Foulk COMERFORD this might have been; said to have been mother of Garret COMERFORD, b ca 1611, but this appears to be, & in my view clearly, impossible.

ii. Martha PIGOTT; marr Henry GILBERT of Kilminchey, the brother of her elder brother Robert's wife Ann GILBERT, with issue.

iii. Jane PIGOTT; living 1670; marr Major Ion GROVE of Dulhallow, Co Cork, with issue.

iv. Mary PIGOTT; living 1670; marr, as his 4th, or perhaps 5th wife, Dudley PHILLIPS of Newton Limivady, with issue.

v. Sybilla PIGOTT; living 1670; marr 1stly, before 1662, Thomas FITZGERALD of Morett & Kilcromin, Queen's County, with issue; she marr 2ndly, Walter BERMINGHAM of Dunfert, Co Kildare.

vi. Ann PIGOTT; probably marr 1stly, James PIERCE, & 2ndly, in 1670, Henry PAKENHAM, M.P. for Navan, with issue.

John was a Captain in the Army when he was named, on 9 Jul 1641, with his father Sir Robert, in certain orders dated of the Irish Parliament, relating to the Advowson of the Rectories of Dysart-enos & Kilteale, Queen's County.

He was certainly part of the Irish Establishment [see Ormond MSs, Series 1, Vol. 1, p. 123] when the Civil War broke out in Oct 1641, and either was, or quickly became attached to the Earl of Kildare's Regiment in Leinster, under the Colonelncy of Sir Charles COOTE (the proprietor of the Mountrath smelter where John's Dysart iron ore was smelted), & with other Captains including his half-brother William PIGOTT, & eventual half-brother-in-law Primeiron ROCHFORT.

But he was also still in Parliament, & on 16 Nov 1641 was, with others, appointed to a commission to treat with the rebels in Ulster.

By 1642, ORMOND [MSs, Op Cit.] recorded that John & William PIGOTT, both Captains, were attached to the Athy Garrison. It was probably from here, & sometime around March to April 1642, that John was reported to have been in Rosse, Co Wexford, having just visited his brother-in-law (the COLCLOUGH family were of that county) in Wexford, at a farm 4 miles from Rosse, & held by Job WARD, Esq. It appears that he may have gave information to a protestant prisoner in Rosse concerning the destruction of some of his property. [See William WHALLEY's evidence before the 1642 Commissioners, cited in HORE's "History of Wexford," 1901, Vol. 1, p. 311.]

John was also said [see Rolf LOEBER's "Warfare & Architecture in County Laois," a chapter in "Laois, History & Society," Ed NOLAN & LANE, Dublin, 1999] to have been involved in the Seige of Villier's Manor at Borris-in-Ossory, where numerous Protestants had fled for safety at the end of 1641. It was the Duke of Buckingham's estate, & leased to Sir William ST LEGER, the Lord Deputy of Munster (& John's cousin german); it was garrisoned with a Constable & 30 wardens due to its strategic importance for guarding the main road to Roscrae, Co Tipp. John FITZPATRICK laid seige to it for 17 weeks until relieved by Sir Charles COOTE at Easter 1642, & John was probably part of this relieving force.

Some idea of the condition of the place can be gleaned from the following report:

"In 1642, accompanied with the Lord Upper Ossory, Andreas FITZPATICK of Castle Fleming, Colonel FITZPATRICK of Rathdonagh, with about six or seven hundred men, he besieged the castle of Borras, whither all the Protestants of the Barony had retired in the beginning of the rebellion for protection, but was obliged by Sir Charles COOTE to raise the seige on Easter Day that year; to which, however, he returned about Lammas, & so reduced the place, that the besieged for a long time fed on horses, dogs, cats, bean leaves, potatoe-tops & cowhides, being without bread, drink or salt; and about All-Hallowtide, Colonel PLUNKET, with about 1000 men, demanded the surrender of the castle in the King's name, saying that if the warders hed the castle, to the King's use, he would send in more armed men to asist them; unto which Andrew BRERETON, of Killadowle, Queen's Co, Gent (being left by Sir Charles COOTE, Chief Commander of the place), replied that if he would shew any authority, under the King, for what he required & offered, that he would obey. Whereupon (for the want of such authority) he departed." [COLLINS, "Peerage of England; Genealogical, Biographical & Historical," 1812, Vol. 3, pp. 304-05.]

John appears to have been, at some time, appointed Governor of the Garrison at Athy (see below). But he was not named in a report dated 15 Apr 1642, concerning ORMONDE's return to Dublin, & his encounter with the Rebel Army near Kilrush, having left the Athy Garrison under the care of Captains Erasmus BURROWES, GRIMES & Thomas WELDON & their companies. Although by 15 Aug 1642, Captains BURROWES, PIGOTT & GRIMES had defeated 800 rebels near Athy, & slew about 200 of them.

By 18 Sep 1643, ORMOND had negotiated a Cessation of Arms. GRAHAM wrote that the Irish:

"...continued the seige of Castlecoote after the Cessation was published. The Earl of Castlehaven, after he had been fully informed of it, battered the Castle of Disert in the Queen's County, and when he had taken & plundered it, he shewed the Garrison the Articles of the Cessation, pretending that they were just come to hand, and that he was sorry they did not get here sooner..." [See Richard COX's "Hibernia Anglicana," Vol. ii, p. 135.]

It would appear that the PIGOTTs were allowed back into possession, although it is likely that one of the conditions was that John lay down his arms for the duration, and it appears that he did. Until the rebel army under Sir Phelim O'NEIL came calling again in late 1646.

And we find some poignant correspondence in the Egmont Manuscripts [Vol. 1, Part 1, pp. 329-31, Historical Manuscripts Commission], which chronicle the deterioration in the security of Ireland at that time, & specifically as it affected Dysart in Leix.

Roger BRERETON, in Dublin, had written to John's 2nd son, Col Thomas PIGOTT in Somerset, a letter dated 5 Jan 1646, which stated:

"Your father, mother, & friends in Leix are all in good health & daily expect to hear good news from England."

By 10 Nov, we find in a letter of Col Thomas PIGOTT to Sir Phillip PERCIVAL in London:

"...Alexander writes me word that my brother Robin was slain when Maryborough was taken. What is become of my father I cannot hear, not now the rebels are in Dublin..."

And by 13 Nov, Thomas, again in a letter to PERCIVAL:

"...the cruel massacre of my father & younger brother I believe you have heard. The Lord grant me & mine patience to bear it... I daily expect my mother over..."

And again, on 20 Nov, also to PERCIVAL:

"The sad story of my father's death I received from Sir Adam LOFTUS, & he from my mother, to whom I hope God will proportion her patience to her affliction, & grant that we might make good use of it. I fear 'tis but the prologue to the rest of the poor Protestants there. It much moderates my grief that he died in a good cause, & left a good favour behind him. I pray God give me grace to look & submit to His pleasure, as in this, so in all past & to come afflictions & sufferings of my friends there, for I do not see an end to them."

And we continue with CAREY's account of the storm & sack of Dysart, on 6 Oct 1646, with which we began this article:

"...With PIGOTT were six-score musketeers, well appointed, the house strong enough as was thought for such a party. No sooner did this party arrive at the fort, & merely advancing, than a volley of shot issued from the castle, whereof one Alexander McALLEN, a captain of Roger McGUIRE's regiment, was killed; hereby growing discontent, advancing towards the hagard whence (as the ill-luck of the defendants would have it) the wind with a good blast did blow towards the castle, commanded to set the same on fire, the musketeers still playing on the enemy, the pikemen carrying on the points of their pikes lighted sheaves, throwing them as thick as hail into the castle windows, & thrusting armed men to oppose if any offered to quench the angry progress thereof, enkindled also the door through the grate, so that the defenders could act no service, were all smoked & returning to corners, as from the fury of both fire and sword, were slaughtered within before any entered the door, such outcries were heard within as if on doomsday.

"Bryen Oge O'DWYNE, a rank Puritan, a brother-in-law of said PIGOTT, & chief mover of his obstinacy, ran to the castle door, now half-burnt, some of the assailants offering to enter, presented himself to Colonel FARRELL, & begged his life; it being promised with all the danger of his own, defended him from the militia fury, who, rushing in, did butcher all that came in their way, both PIGOTT & others, except women & children, as by the General commanded under pain of death not to offer violence to either of theses classes; ten or eleven men were mercifully saved under female disguise.

"The house was very rich, and in an instant rifled all for the common soldiers, or such as laboured most for it. Thus was Disert taken by force, PIGOTT & the wooden-legged minister slain."

John's will was not proved until 14 Apr 1654 [Gen Office MS 113, p. 365].

But, in the meantime, his widow, Martha, had much difficult business to attend to in England.

She arrived in Milford, in Wales , shortly before 5 Feb 1647, on which date her son Thomas had written, from Ashton near Bristol, of his intention to go there & fetch her. But he cancelled his plans, & sent for instead, citing his grief over the death of his infant son on 11 Feb.

She was in Ashton by 26 Feb, about to head to London by the first coach, & seeking accommodation in London near to Sir Phillip PERCIVAL.

PERCIVAL wrote to Thomas on 23 Mar that Martha was "...well, & shall want no help that I can give her..." But by 18 Jun, Thomas was pleading with PERCIVAL for his "...care for his poor mother, who lies like a cripple at the pool..."

Sir Phillip PERCIVAL, M.P, was Commissioner for the Victualling of the Army in Ireland. Col Thomas was his agent in Bristol, appointed to report on Irish movements through that port. His wife was Catherine USSHER a first-cousin-german of Martha (their mother's being the LOFTUS sisters, Isabella & Martha).

By 30 Jul 1647, Thomas is more up-beat, and:

"...glad to hear that my mother has broken the ice as regards her business, & pray God to send her a good issue."

This business was undoubtedly connected with her petition to the Parliament, dated 24 Jul 1647:

"Petition of Martha PIGOTT, relict of Sergeant-major John PIGOTT, deceased, on behalf of herself & her children. Petitioner's husband, about the beginning of the rebellion in Ireland, was appointed Governor of Athy, on the River Barrow, where he did very good service until the cessation of arms, when, not wishing to serve against the Parliament, he retired to his Castle of Disert, in the Queen's County, which at great expense he fortified as best he could against the rebels.

"About the beginning of October last, he was attacked by them when they were advancing to besiege Dublin, & at last, after defending the Castle as long as he could, overpowered by numbers, he surrendered, on promise of quarter. The rebels, in spite of their promise, rushed in, stripped her husband, herself & her children naked, dragged him down the stairs, & cruelly murdered him, his son William, Mr BRERETON a minister, & 30 other English Protestants; which done, they placed her husband & the minister in chairs, & having torn all the Bibles in the house, put some of the leaves into the dead minister's hands & bade him preach to his patron. Then they drew away Petitioner & her daughter, naked as they were born, throwing her dead husband's body into a ditch, where it lay unburied for 3 days. She & her children afterwards escaped to Dublin, & thence to England, where, besides the lamentableness of their condition, they are in the want of the means of subsistence.

"She prays that some present relief may be given her out of the arrears of her late husband, which amount to upwards of 2,000 pounds; his estates, worth 900 pounds per annum, & personnal etstate worth 5,000 pounds & more, having been destroyed by the rebels." [House of Lords Calendar, 24 Jul 1647, Appendix to the 6th Report, Historical Manuscripts Commission.]

On 29 Sep 1647, she acknowleged receipt of 15 pounds from PERCIVAL, by order of her son Thomas, "...which he paid for the Lord of Inchiquin's daughter."

Her petition was specially recommended to the House of Commons, under Further Orders of the Committee dated 12 Nov 1647, with recommendations in her favour. Another reminder was dispatched to the Commons on 18 Jan following, together with another petiton of her son Thomas.

Finally, on 17 Feb, an order was made to pay her 200 pounds for her crying wants, with another dated 6 Aug for a further 175 pounds.

By Feb 1648, the matter was with the Committee for Advanced Money, to whom she made a further petition:

"Parliament, considering the great service of her late husband in Ireland, & her loss of goods & estate, assigned her 200 pounds a year ago, but she has not received half, having contracted debts, has been forced to retire into the country. Begs payment of the remainder, that she may pay her debts, & transport herself & her children to Ireland."

And again, to the same Committee, in Aug 1649, Martha:

"...petitions Lord HOWARD for payment of the 100 pounds still due, that her children may not starve..."

History does not record what happened to Martha, although the wording of her son Thomas's will suggests she may have still been living, in Mar 1670, when Thomas bequeathed to his own son, John, a "...copyhold in Queen's County after my mother's death..."

It has not yet been established whether these lands may have been the following, in which case Martha may have re-married:

"5 May 1663 - Martha HARTPOLE, widow of Captain William HARTPOLE, killed at the storming of Drogheda, 1649, Custodiam of lands in Queen's County, to Col Thomas PIGOTT, for petitioner's use." [Ormonde MSs, Historical Manuscripts Commission.]

Major John PIGOTT was my gtx8 grandfather.