Early Irish Gastons

Genealogist Charles Hanna, in his landmark "Ohio Valley Genealogies" (1900) listed among probable ancestors of the US Gastons a "John Gaston" who appeared on the Hearth Money Rolls of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, in 1669. 

However, succeeding generations have found not just one, but several Gaston -- or "probable" Gaston -- households throughout Antrim during this period.  They are listed on the following table, and the list is still incomplete as new Gastons keep turning up.  Spelling variations are easily explained by the fact that many of the householders on these rolls were likely illiterate; the name was spelled by the tax collector as pronounced by the taxee.  Given the local and regional speech variations common in Ireland, it would hardly be surprising if "Gaston," "Gelstone" and "Gestan," for example, all reflected regional pronunciations of the same name.

True to its name, the Hearth Money tax was based on the number of fireplaces in the home, and the feared collector was known as the "Smoke Man."  The tax was imposed only on householders, indicating that all Gastons listed on the attached table were heads of families, or at least had established their own homes.  Of particular interest to US and Canadian Gastons is the "mid-Antrim" group clustered around Ballymena, and encompassing John, Robert, William and the "Widow" Gaston.   All of these male names were in common use among the early North American Gastons.

Further, William Gaston and "Widow Gaston" of Killagan parish lived in or around Clough Mills, near to which is Carnlea and through which runs the Cloughmills Water.  It is interesting to compare this William with the reputed founder of the Southern Branch of American Gastons, who has come down to us as "William Gaston of Caranleigh, Cloughwater." According to tradition, this "William of Caranleigh's" children began migrating to South Carolina in the 1740s. 

While 1669 William of Killagan is too old to have been "William of Caranleigh" -- who was still alive in the 1770s -- it's still the right name in roughly the right location. The existence of a documented William Gaston, living on or near the Cloughmills Water, thus supports tradition that the American Gastons originated in the Ballymena area, while giving rise to speculation that he was the father -- or at minimum an uncle -- of the "William of Carnleigh" whose children spread throughout much of the Southern US.

It is difficult not to believe that William, John and Robert Gaston -- all of whom lived within a few miles of Ballymena in the 1660s -- are indeed the sons of "Jean Gaston, the Huguenot."  And who is the "Widow Gaston," living near William in a home of her own?  Again we are reminded of the legend that Jean Gaston did not migrate to County Antrim, but his children did -- perhaps bringing their widowed mother with them?

COUNTY ANTRIM, 1666-69

Name	Barony	Parish	Townland	Source	Comments
Louis Gaston	Upper Masserene	Blaris*	Lisburn	Best1	Not necessarily in Lisburn proper.
John Gaston	Upper Masserene*	Magheragall		Hanna2	Does not appear in Carleton’s list, but a “John Gamble” does.
Andrew Gaston	Upper Masserene	Killead	Carmavy	Carleton3, McKavanagh4	1666, 1669: “Gelstone”
John Gaston Sr.	Upper Masserene	Killead	Carmavy	Carleton, McKavanagh	1666, 1669: “Gelstone”
John Gaston Jr.	Upper Masserene	Killead	Carmavy	Carleton, McKavanagh	1669: “Gelstone”
John Gaston	Lower Toome or Kilconway5	Craigs6	See Comments	Macafee7,Carleton,	1666 “Gaston,” 1669 “Gestan.” Return is for “4 small Townes of ye Creage” See Note 6.
Robert Gaston	Lower Toome	Ahogill or Kirkinriola (See Note 6)	Carnlea, Galgorm Estates8	Carleton, Flournoy, Smyth-Wood	“Galgorm Parks” per Smyth Wood; Barony of “Tuam” in original. Parish of Kirkinriola includes city of Ballymena.
Widow Gaston	Kilconway	Killagan	See Comments on William of Kilconway	Macafee, Carleton	1669: “Gustone.” Probably not living with William since hearth tax was imposed only on householders.
William Gaston	Kilconway	Killagan	See Comments	Macafee, Carleton	1666 “Gastowne,” 1669 “Gustone.” Lived in one of the following townlands: Ballylig, Broughanmore, Carnberg, Clough Mills, Culcrum, Drumadoon, Drumavaddy, Kilmandil, Loughill or Mount Hamilton.
Thomas Gaston	Cary	Ramoan	Novally	Smyth-Wood, Macafee, Carleton	1666 and 1669. Town of “Nobilly” in original, per Smyth-Wood.
William Gaston	Upper Toome	Ballyscullion	Taylorstown or Grange Park	Carleton	1669: “Castin”
William Gaston	West O’Neilland, County Armagh	Grange	Greenan	Carleton	1666: Barony of “Onealand” and Town of “Greenagh” in original

Color Key:

Red = Lisburn area (south Antrim)

Purple = About 10 miles northwest of Lisburn

Green = Ballymena area (mid-Antrim)

Navy = North Antrim coast

Black = Other areas (still trying to fit ‘em in)

Notes:

* Assumed from other evidence.

1. The Parish Registers in the Lisburn area show the gradual settling of foreign Protestants. In 1658 Louis Gaston is found.” E. Joyce Best, The Huguenots of Lisburn: The Story of the Lost Colony, edited by Kathleen Rankin (Lisburn Historical Society 1997)

2. "Appears on the hearth-money rate list for Ireland 1669, is of Magheragall, Antrim." William Hanna, Ohio Valley Genealogies (1900) at 40.

3. Heads and Hearths: The Hearth Money Rolls and Poll Tax Returns for County Antrim 1660-69, edited by S. T. Carleton, M.A.

4. Rev. Patrick J. McKavanagh, Glenavy: The Church of the Dwarf, 1868-1968 (Irish News Ltd., Belfast) Also on the 1669 Carmavy roll are Hugh Gilpatricke and Thomas Kilpatricke. Many American Gastons descend from Hugh Gaston and Jennet Kirkpatrick/Kilpatrick Gaston.

5. “Kilconway [was] an area set aside for servitors. Servitors were soldiers and officials who were rewarded with land for their efforts against the Native Irish. Servitors were allowed to rent lands to the native Irish - theoretically the others were not.” Bill Macafee, www.billmacafee.com, comment on 1630 Antrim Muster Rolls.

6. On some maps, Craigs is shown as a separate parish, bordering Ahogill parish to the south. On others it has been combined with Ahogill parish, and “Craigs” is listed as a townland within Ahogill. Carleton explains: “Both the Ballymena and Galgorm Estates transgress parish boundaries and are undivided into townlands, so the Parishes of Ahogill, Craigs and Kirkinriola cannot be separated.” Craigs parish is split between the baronies of Lower Toome and Kilconway. In 1666 it is found on the rolls of Ahogill Parish (adjacent to Craigs on the south); in 1669 it is included partly in the rolls of Rasharkin Parish (adjacent to Craigs on the north).

7. Macafee’s website, www.billmacafee.com, covers only the baronies of Cary, Dunluce and Kilconway in North Antrim, plus the baronies of Coleraine and North East Liberties in County Londonderry.

8. Janet Flournoy, Gaston Genealogy Forum Post 2372 (8/19/2006): “My mother's information said Irish William was from ‘Carnlea on Cloughwater’ ... I visited the library at Ballymena, County Antrim, and Elizabeth in the local studies department, showed me a map with the townland of Carnlea (which has the Cloughwater running through it). Elizabeth also found a hearth list of Carnlea that showed a Robert Gaston in 1669!” Carleton lists this Robert Gaston in Galgorm Estates, but “Carnlea” is also cross-referenced as lying within Galgorm Estates. Thus Flournoy’s Robert of Carnlea and Carleton’s Robert of Galgorm are almost certainly the same person.

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