A.I.

The Complex Legacy of Roger Lyndon in 17th Century Ireland

Recently, I asked ChatGPT to help me untangle a seemingly contradictory account of one of my mother’s ancestors, Roger Lyndon of Carrickfergus. With AI’s help, I was able to sort out a contradiction about Roger Lyndon and the “Scotch party” in Northern Ireland in the late seventeenth century. I had misread a passage in a book I found on Google Books and concluded that Captain Lyndon was a rebel who defied the English Parliament by supporting the Scotch party. ChatGPT helped me see a different picture: he was more of a shrewd political operator, trying to thread the needle by appearing to accommodate the Scotch party—most notably by neglecting (or refusing) to burn a copy of the Solemn League and Covenant. In the end, that strategy seems to have backfired.

What follows is a lengthy introduction to put my mother’s line back to Roger Lyndon in context and to show how we are related.

Introduction

A few years ago, I was following a family history thread through my mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s side of the family, that is to say through my mother’s great -grandmother, Mary Emily Knox. I won’t repeat it here but in a previous blog article I listed mother’s mothers nine times going back to a woman named Mary Jenkinson who lived in 17th century England.

In that same article, I wrote about discovering an ancestor named Rev. John Winder (1658-1733), who was Prebendary of Kilroot and close friends with the 18th-century satirist Jonathan Swift. These were the ancestors of Mary Emily Knox’s mother, Sophia Anne Rogers. Her lineage was primarily Anglo-Irish. Sophia’s family were members of the so-called “Protestant Ascendancy” who came to Ireland from England during the Williamite War in the late seventeenth century.

The Rev John Winder came to Ireland as a chaplain to King William III (at the Battle of the Boyne). He was married soon after his arrival to Jane Done (or Doane) daughter of Major Done of Cromwell’s army and Letitia Lyndon, daughter of Roger Lyndon Esq of Carrickfergus

Jane Doane was a lineal descendant of Sir Cahir O’Dougherty and his wife Rose O’Neill the third daughter of Hugh O Neill the last and great Earl of Tyrone.

Sir Cahir left three daughters and the youngest Rose married Captain Roger Lyndon of Carrickfergus whose son Roger married Jane Martin the daughter of John Martin by Letitia Caulfield, sister to the first Lord Charlemont.

Roger Lyndon & the “Scottish Solemn League and Covenant”

A note at the bottom of page 6 of Ulster Journal of Archæology …. United Kingdom, Archer & Sons, 1862, reads:

Roger Lyndon was Mayor of Carrickfergus in 1643 He neglected or perhaps refused to burn a copy of the Scottish Solemn League and Covenant as ordered by the Government and for this omission was brought to the bar of the House of Lords where on his knees he was obliged to enter into security that he would faithfully superintend the burning of the obnoxious covenant.

The “Scottish Solemn League and Covenant” was an agreement established in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. This pact was between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians. The Scots agreed to support the English Parliamentarians in their disputes with the royalists, and both countries pledged to work for a civil and religious union of England, Scotland, and Ireland under a Presbyterian–parliamentary system.

So, from this I thought I had it all figured out that based on his alleged conduct, Roger Lyndon was a Scotch Irish Presbyterian who opposed the government of King Charles I.

Then today, I did another Search of Google books for Roger Lyndon, and I found the following slightly conflicting information in The Town book of the Corporation of Belfast, 1613-1816. N.p., Dalcassian Publishing Company, 1892.:

p. 46. Captain Roger Lyndon A son of Robert Lyndon, who came to Carrickfergus with Chichester. His signature as Recorder occurs in Carrickfergus Records AISS. Rawdon and himself represented the English as opposed to the Scotch party. The latter were much embittered against the former in 1646 and forced them to leave the town and find quarters elsewhere.

Faced with conflicting information I asked ChatGPT to assist me in sorting out the details. First, I asked it what was the “Scotch party.”:

CHATGPT: The “Scotch Party” (sometimes referred to as the Scottish Party) was a powerful political and religious faction in the English Parliament during the English Civil War, specifically reaching its height of influence between 1643 and 1646.

The group was not a formal political party in the modern sense, but rather a coalition of English MPs and peers who worked in close ideological and strategic alliance with the Scottish Covenanters.

1. The Core Alliance

The party was formed around the Solemn League and Covenant (1643). This was a military and religious treaty between the English Parliament and the Scots. In exchange for Scottish military intervention against King Charles I, the English Parliament agreed to reform the Church of England along “presbyterian” lines—essentially making it look more like the Church of Scotland.

2. Key Objectives

The Scotch Party was defined by two primary goals:

  • Religious Uniformity: They sought to establish Presbyterianism as the official state religion of England, doing away with bishops (Episcopacy) but also opposing “Independency” (religious freedom for various Protestant sects).
  • A Negotiated Peace: They generally favored reaching a swift settlement with King Charles I. They wanted to limit the King’s power through law but fundamentally believed in a “Covenanted Monarchy” where the King remained the head of state under religious oversight.

3. Key Figures

The faction was led by prominent members of the “Peace Party” and Presbyterian-leaning aristocrats, including:

  • Denzil Holles: A leading figure in the House of Commons who became a fierce rival of Oliver Cromwell.
  • The Earl of Essex: The initial commander of the Parliamentary army.
  • The Earl of Manchester: Another high-ranking commander who eventually clashed with more radical military leaders.

4. Conflict with the “Independents”

By the mid-1640s, the Scotch Party found itself in a bitter struggle with the Independent Party (or the Army Party).

  • The Scotch Party wanted a national, compulsory Presbyterian church and a quick peace deal with the King.
  • The Independents (led by Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton) favored religious toleration for various congregationalist groups and were more committed to a total military victory over the King.

The Decline

The Scotch Party’s influence began to wane after the Self-Denying Ordinance (1645), which forced many of their leaders (like Essex and Manchester) to resign their military commands, leading to the creation of the New Model Army. By 1647 and 1648, as the New Model Army became the dominant power in England, the influence of the Scottish alliance faded, eventually leading to the Second English Civil War, where the Scots actually switched sides to support the King against the Independents and the Army.

Was there a specific historical figure or document that brought this group to your attention?

Then I told ChatGPT about my ancestor and the conflicting information:

CHATGPT: That is a fascinating piece of family history. The “Scotch Party” in the context of your ancestor, Roger Lyndon, and the town of Carrickfergus, refers to a very specific, high-tension period of the 1640s where the politics of the English Civil War bled directly into the “War of the Three Kingdoms” in Ireland.

The Conflict in Carrickfergus (1643–1646)

In Ulster during this time, the “Scotch Party” and the “English Party” weren’t just political factions—they were rival military and religious interests competing for control of the north of Ireland.

  • The Scotch Party: This faction consisted of the Scottish Covenanter army under General Robert Monro and the local Presbyterian settlers. They were fiercely loyal to the Solemn League and Covenant. They wanted to impose Presbyterianism on all of Ireland and England and were often at odds with the English administration in Dublin.
  • The English Party (The “English Interest”): This group, which included your ancestor Roger Lyndon and Colonel Arthur Chichester, represented the English Crown and the Anglican (Episcopal) establishment. They were generally “Royalist” in their leanings or at least favored the traditional English legal and church structures over the Scottish Presbyterian model.

Roger Lyndon and the “Obnoxious Covenant”

The story of Roger Lyndon being brought to the House of Lords on his knees is a perfect illustration of the chaos of 1643.

  • The Order: The government in Dublin (representing the King’s interest) viewed the Scottish Covenant as a treasonous document because it bypassed the King’s authority. They ordered all copies to be burned publicly to show defiance against the Scottish influence.
  • The “Omission”: As Mayor, Roger Lyndon was the man responsible for carrying out this order in Carrickfergus. By “neglecting” or refusing to burn it, he was essentially trying to walk a tightrope. If he burned it, he would infuriate the Scottish army (who physically occupied or surrounded the town); if he didn’t, he was a rebel in the eyes of the English government.
  • The Humiliation: His being forced onto his knees at the “Bar of the House” was a standard 17th-century ritual of submission. It was the government’s way of re-asserting that the English law, not the Scottish Covenant, was supreme.

The 1646 Expulsion

The note you found about 1646 refers to the moment the “Scotch Party” finally lost patience with the English loyalists. In 1644, General Monro had actually seized Carrickfergus by surprise, ousting Colonel Chichester.

By 1646, the bitterness between the two groups peaked. The Scottish Covenanters viewed the English party (including Lyndon and Rawdon) as “malignants” or secret Royalists who were hindering the “Godly” cause of the Covenant. They eventually forced the English leaders to leave, as the town became a primary stronghold for the Scottish army until it was later taken by the forces of the Commonwealth (Oliver Cromwell’s side) in 1649.

Family Connection: The Lyndons

It’s worth noting that the Lyndons were a powerhouse in early Carrickfergus:

  • Robert Lyndon (Roger’s father) likely arrived during the plantation era under Sir Arthur Chichester (the founder of modern Belfast/Carrickfergus).
  • Roger Lyndon himself wasn’t just a mayor; he was a captain of the local militia and a key legal figure (Recorder).
  • His son, Sir John Lyndon, went on to become a prominent judge in the Court of King’s Bench in Dublin, showing that the family successfully navigated the restoration of the monarchy after the wars ended.

It sounds like Roger was a man caught between two fires: a Scottish army at his gates and an English Parliament demanding his total obedience. Given the circumstances, “neglecting” to burn that book was probably a very pragmatic attempt to keep his town from being sacked!

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