Swift - Houston - Clemens
Swift - Houston - Clemens
If you are interested, at Ballynure which is approximately a nine-mile drive inland, in the old graveyard opposite Christ Church (Church Road, Ballynure) there is a plaque to the author Jonathan Swift of 'Gulliver Travels' fame. He was responsible for and ministered from the church at Kilroot. Although he lived at Kilroot, the church there was said to have been in ruins at the time and he preached here and also at Templecorran, Ballycarry. In the graveyard you will find an ancestral connection to the author Samuel Leghorne Clemens (Mark Twain). One of the oldest headstones belongs to Ellinor Clements, the daughter of Alexander Dallvay (Dalway) who died in 1628, aged 35, she was married to Edward Clements. The Clements were originally known as Clemens and their history in the area goes back to the time of King John (1210) when lands were granted to the family. Nearby you will find Clements Hill (between Straid and Ballynure), this is the ancestral lands of the Clemens and to which the author refers to in his writings.
Above: Jonathan Swift by Charles Jervas, Sam Houston by Mathew Brady, Samuel Clemens by A.F. Bradley.
Sam Houston ancestors came from Ballyboley, 3km from Ballynure. A plaque at the entrance to Ballyboley Forest on the Shane’s Hill Road marks the connection. John Houston and family emigrated to Pennslyvania in 1735 later moving to Timber Ridge, Virginia. He was the great, great grandfather of Sam Houston who during his life was governor of two states, twice president of Texas and a Senator. He supported the Cherokee Indians all his life and with whom he lived for six years. Most will know him from the Alamo and the struggle for Texan Independence when he led the Texan Army to victory and turned the tide against the Mexican army. The city of Houston is named after him. It is amazing to think that here within a few miles we have the ancestral roots of three great Americans. Sam Houston, Samuel Clemens and Andrew Jackson.