The Plantation in County Down

There is a revealing account published in 1888 by one John Harrison to the Scots Plantation of County Down, which again name-checks some of those very same families that appear in the Belfast Auction Lots, such as the Montgomery family. Harrison dates the arrival of these families back to 1606, notably from Ayrshire, and describes how the Scots settlers absorbed the lands described in the Auction Deeds. Even these beneficiaries of English policy were not however entirely open to the idea of adopting the English state religion, and brought their own clergy with them, men like Thomas Nevin. In their interactions with English settlers, it seems that those English with a Puritan background found the Presbyterian movement far more to their taste than the established church. Hence there seems to have been a certain amount of denominational mobility. Not really what the English intended, but that is another story.

Much of the land in question was originally in the possession of an Irish Chieftain, Con O'Neal. Down on his luck, O'Neal was prepared to deal with the likes of the Montgomery and also Hamilton families. This ended with his lands being divided between himself, the Montgomerys and the Hamiltons, with Scots settlers being provided to O'Neal along with rental on the remaining third of his estate, an agreement, note that was witnessed by one Richard Hadzor. 

Lands changing hands. Note the appearance again of the Nevin family, but
also a certain John Potter (From the 1881 Auction Lots)

None of this seemed ultimately to do any more than slightly prolong O'Neal's tenuous hold on his legacy. Each time he runs into trouble, the Montgomery and Hamilton families are on hand to help him - at a cost. The shrinkage of the O'Neal lands is detailed in a rather serious JSTOR article, and in a rather more sensational version by Ron Chepesiuk in: The Scotch-Irish: From the North of Ireland to the Making of America.

In this latter version Con O'Neal was having a drunken party, and fuddled by alcohol sent his men to Belfast to relieve the authorities of more stocks of his wine which they had impounded at the port. One thing led to another, and his servants fell into a fight with English soldiers, in which one of the soldiers was killed. Now O'Neal had a price on his head. His Scottish friend, Hugh Montgomery stepped into the breach to help him - in return for O'Neal lands! Hugh sent his relative Thomas to Carrickfergus castle, where he gained entrance to O'Neal's room by making love to the daughter of the keeper. He had brought O'Neal food in the shape of some cheese in which was concealed a rope. O'Neal scrambled down the rope, made his way to a waiting ship and escaped to Scotland. It is not reported what type or volume of cheese was needed to conceal the rope.

Whether through such escapades, or whether through more formal agreements, or outright confiscation, the end result is pretty much what we know. The old Irish chieftains disappear from the scene and land ownership passes into the hands, by and large, of the English and Scottish settlers.