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 in 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, from 1752 to 1756.
Trouble is, a Rev. Halfpenny is also listed 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 succesor, Anthony Conwell, is listed as a 'popish priest,' living in Ballymulligan, in the 1766 religious census.
