This is the oldest written document I can find referencing the Harbison family of Co. Derry. It's a lease, more likely a sublease, between Henry Harbison and one William Hayes. The lease was filed on July 14, 1764, though it is internally dated to November 1758.
The property it describes is 32 acres 1 rood, between the Ballynenagh boundary and the Coagh- Magherafelt road, probably that numbered 23 on the Griffith's valuation map.
So far, so good.
The question is, who was Henry Harbison? He may have been a priest. His grave in Ballyeglish Old Cemetery is listed in Around the Loup, and dates to 1762. And priests are explicitly said to have been buried there. And he is listed as a priest in Artrea parish, serving from 1752 to 1756.
The 1740 Protestant Householder's Index, compiled by Bill Macafee, contains the names of both Henry Herbeson and William Herbeson, probably his brother and more than likely in my direct line; both are residents of Artrea parish in the barony of Loughinsholin. While they were almost certainly Catholic, Macafee argues with some statistical evidence that in Loughinsholin, they collected both Planter and Native names. I will be doing a direct comparison with the 1766 Religious Census to see if this holds up.
Trouble is, a Rev. Halfpenny is also listed in Around the Loup as a priest there, and Halfpenny supposedly hid with Henry when the pursuit got too hot. These were Penal days, and being a priest could be fatal. So who knows? Henry was either a priest, or sheltered a priest.
His successor, Anthony Conwell, is listed as a 'popish priest,' living in Ballymulligan, in the 1766 religious census.
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