Patrick Cathcart Adair (1625-1694)

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Early Irish Presbyterian minister at Cairncastle and Belfast

Biography

Rev Patrick Cathcart Adair was born circa 1625 in Genoch House, Old Luce, Wigtownshire, Scotland to John Adair (1598-1675) and Helen Cathcart (1590-1640) and died 1694 County Antrim, Ireland of unspecified causes. He married Margaret Cunningham (1625-) 1650 in County Antrim, Ireland. He married Jean Adair (1631-1675) 1660 in County Antrim, Ireland. He married Elizabeth Martin (c1625-) 1678 in Belfast, Ireland.

Patrick Adair was Episcopalian until a religious revolution caused him to change to one of the founding fathers of the Presbyterian Church. Much is written of him in the records of the Presbyterian Church.

He was an Irish Presbyterian minister, notable for his part in negotiations with government for religious liberty and settlement through his career. His service covered some 28 years at Cairncastle, County Antrim before he was removed to Belfast where he led the church there for another 20 years to his death.

Ancestry

Patrick was born and raised by a highly respectable family of Wigtownshire, Scotland and took an early interest into ecclesiastical affairs. The Adair family roots go back many years from Scotland to Ireland to the Norman conquest and to Norman clans that lived in Italy.

Their family name originally was not Adair, but Fitzgerald, and their founder was a young man called Robert Fitzgerald, a son of the Earl of Desmond. This Robert Fitzgerald lived in the latter part of the fourteenth century, and was the owner of the lands of Adare, in the South of Ireland. Having, in a family feud, killed a person of distinction, he was obliged to leave his native country and then fled to Scotland.

1637 Prayer Book Riots

StGilesChurch1637 — "Jenny Geddes hurls a stool at the Cathedral Dean" 23-July-1637, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Rev. Patrick Adair was of the family of Adair of Wigtownshire, Scotland (modern day Galloway region), originally Irish (Fitzgeralds of Adare). He is usually treated as son of Rev. William Adair of Ayr (who administered the solemn league and covenant in Ulster 1644), but was probably the third son of Rev. John Adair of Genoch, Galloway. He was eyewitness, 'being a boy,' of the scene in Edinburgh High Church, 23 July 1637, when stools were flung at the dean and bishop on the introduction of the service-book. This places his birth about 1625 and in Scotland. He also schooled at Glasgow College. ^[1]

This incident triggered a nation wide revolt referred to at the "Prayer Book Riots". Protestant Churches in Scotland resisted being integrated into the National Church (Anglican) of England. 23-July-1637 marks the day when a new Book of Cannon was read aloud the church and members protested over changes being announced in doctrine and worship, particularly a statement that the King of England (James I of England (1566-1625)) had supremacy over the church. Unrest was settled the following year by creation of "The National Covenant".

For more history see : National Covernant
See Also : Rioting at St. Giles Landmark Events

He went to the University of St. Andrew’s in 1644[11] and following a two-year theological course was duly licensed to preach.

Ministry to Ireland

He entered divinity classes of Glasgow College in December 1644, and was ordained at Cairncastle, County Antrim, 7 May 1646, by the "army presbytery" constituted in Carrickfergus 10 June 1642 by the chaplains of the Scottish regiments in Ulster. Cairncastle Presbyterian Church is one of the oldest congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The congregation was founded in 1646, four years after the foundation year of the Presbytery of Carrickfergus, which is the oldest presbytery in Ireland.

On a tablet in the porch of the meeting-house, listing the ministers who served Cairncastle Old Congregation (Non-Subscribing), Patrick Adair is the first recorded pastor, and the years 1661-1674 are correctly assigned to his pastorate there, even though he had no meeting-house for several years after his ejection.

In 1648 Adair and his patron, James Shaw of Ballygally, were appointed on a committee to treat with General Monk and Sir Charles Coote, the parliamentary generals in Ulster, for the establishment of presbyterianism in those parts. But, on the beheading of Charles I, the presbyterian ministers of Antrim and Down (Milton's "blockish presbyters of Clanneboye") broke with the parliament and held a meeting in Belfast (February 1649), at which they protested against the king's death as an act of horror without precedent in history 'divine or human,' and agreed to pray for Charles II, who, for his part, promised to establish presbyterianism in Ulster. The parliamentary generals replaced the presbyterian by independent and baptist ministers, and Adair had to hide among the rocks near Cairncastle.^[1]

That he had his liberty in the following year is evident, for in 1650, if not slightly earlier, he married Margaret, daughter of the Rev. Robert Cunningham of Holywood. [18]The Rev. William Adair of Ballyeaston and later of Antrim, who was born in 1651 and whom we shall again have occasion to mention was a son of this marriage.[19] William was in all probability born at Cairncastle. In March 1652 Patrick Adair, who was then a young married man with an infant son, took part in a public discussion between Presbyterian and Independent ministers at Antrim Castle, the seat of Sir John Clotworthy, afterwards first Lord Massereene.

Two events to which we are unable to assign dates occurred during Adair’s pastorate at Cairncastle; the death of his first wife and his remarriage to his cousin Jean, second daughter of Sir Robert Adair of Ballymena.

In March 1652 he took part in a public discussion on church government between presbyterian and independent ministers at Antrim Castle. He was the mouthpiece of the ministers who declined (October and November 1652) to take the engagement to be true to the commonwealth against any king, and was one of two ministers appointed to wait on General Fleetwood and the council in Dublin (January 1653) to seek relief therefrom. Being told that Roman Catholics might plead conscience as well as they, Adair drew a famous distinction between the consciences of the parties, 'for papist consciences could digest to kill Protestant kings.' No relief was obtained, and commissioners were sent from Dublin in April to search the houses of such ministers as had not sought safety in flight. Adair's papers were seized, but restored to him through the daring act of a servant-maid at Larne.^[1]

The commissioners devised a plan for transplanting the Ulster presbyterians to Tipperary, but the scheme was abortive; and in April and May 1654 we find Adair in Dublin pleading for the restoration of tithes to the presbyterian ministers, and obtaining instead a maintenance by annual salary (the first donum to Irish presbyterians). They got £100 a year apiece till the Restoration, but preserved their independence, not observing the commonwealth fasts and thanksgivings.^[1]

Adair was one of eight ministers summoned to the general convention at Dublin, February 1660, at a time when there were hopes of a presbyterian establishment, soon dispelled by the restoration of Charles II. Jeremy Taylor, consecrated bishop of Down and Connor 27 January 1661, summoned the presbyterian ministers to his visitation, and on their not attending declared their churches vacant. Thus Adair was ejected from Cairncastle parish church. He went to Dublin to seek relief for his brethren from the Duke of Ormond, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, but could obtain only permission for them to "serve God in their own families".^[1]

In 1663 he was apprehended and sent to Dublin on a charge of complicity in Blood's plot, but discharged after three months with a temporary indulgence on condition of living peaceably. About 1668 a meeting-house was built for him at Cairncastle. Adair was one of the negotiators in 1672 for the first regium donum granted to presbyterians by Charles II.^[1]

1674 Removal to Belfast

On 13 October 1674 the Antrim meeting removed Adair to Belfast, in succession to Rev. William Keyes (an Englishman), not without opposition from the Donegal family, who favoured the English rather than the Scottish type of presbyterianism. After the defeat of the Scottish covenanters at Bothwell Brig (June 1679) fresh severities were inflicted on the Ulster presbyterians; their meeting-houses were closed and their presbytery meetings held secretly by night. James II's Declaration of Indulgence (1687) gave them renewed liberty, which was confirmed by the accession of William III, though there was no Irish toleration act till 1719. Adair and John Abernethy (the father of Rev John Abernethy (1680–1740)) headed the deputation from the general committee of Ulster presbyterians, who presented a congratulatory address to William III in London 1689, and obtained from the king a letter (9 November 1689) recommending their case to Duke Schomberg. William, when in Ulster in 1690, appointed Adair and his son William two of the trustees for distributing his regium donum.^[2]

Late in life he drew up A True Narrative of the Rise and Progress of the Presbyterian Government in the North of Ireland, extending from 1623 to 1670, which it is to be regretted that he did not finish. For the religious history of the period it is invaluable.^[3]

Marriage and Family

Rev Adair was married as many as three times and there is little certainty which of his five children came from which wife.

Adair died in 1694, probably at its close, as his will was proved 6 July 1695. He left four sons, William (ordained at Ballyeaston 1681, removed to Antrim 1690, and died 1698), Archibald, Alexander, and Patrick (minister at Carrickfergus, died June 1717), and a daughter Helen. These 5 are listed in his will. ^[3]

1st Marriage: Margaret Cunningham

He married first, in 1650, if not slightly earlier, to Margaret Cunningham (1625-), daughter of the Rev. Robert Cunningham of Holywood. The Rev. William Adair of Ballyeaston and later of Antrim, who was born in 1651 and whom we shall again have occasion to mention was a son of this marriage. William was in all probability born at Cairncastle.

Gordon says that Patrick junior was a minister at Carrickfergus and that he died in June 1717. William, his eldest son by Margaret Cunningham, was an executor of his father’s will, and his third son Alexander, a witness to it.

William Adair (1650-1698) - named in will as executor, oldest son (ordained at Ballyeaston 1681, removed to Antrim 1690, and died 1698). Son of Margaret Cunningham. The church (Synod of Ulster) made him a payment for work done to copy his father's writings.
Archibald Adair (1651-1725) - named in will.
Alexander Adair (1652-1715) - 3rd son listed in will. Witness to will. Descendant Line of "Cherokee Adairs" in America.
Helen Adair (1654-1740) - named in will
Patrick Adair (1658-1717) - named in will(minister at Carrickfergus, died June 1717)

2nd Marriage: Jean Adair

Second, his cousin Jean Adair (1631-1675), second daughter of Sir Robert Adair of Ballymena;

3rd Marriage: Elizabeth Martin

His will was dated 26 January 1693, but probate was not taken out until 6 July 1695, more than a year after his death. ‘In his will’ says Classon Porter, ‘Mr Adair mentions a sum of four hundred pounds belonging to him which was in the hands of Lord Donegall, and the interest of which he leaves to his wife as a jointure.’ This was his third wife, Elizabeth Anderson (née Martin), a widow whom he married while he was minister at Belfast. Her maiden name was Martin.

Children

Offspring of Rev Patrick Cathcart Adair and Margaret Cunningham (1625-)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
William Adair (1651-1698)	1651 Cairncastle, County Antrim, Ireland	1698 Genoch, County Antrim, Ireland
Archibald Adair (1651-1725)	1651 Cairncastle, County Antrim, Ireland	1725 Genoch, County Antrim, Ireland
Alexander Adair (1652-1715)	1652 County Antrim, Ireland	1715 Genoch, County Antrim, Ireland	Margaret Agnew (1657-1715) Helen Douglas (1665-1707)
Helen Adair (1654-1740)	1654 Cairncastle, County Antrim, Ireland	1740 County Antrim, Ireland
Patrick Adair (1658-1717)	1658 Cairncastle, County Antrim, Ireland	June 1717 Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Ireland

Siblings

Offspring of John Adair (1598-1675) and Helen Cathcart (1590-1640)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Patrick Cathcart Adair (1625-1694)	1625 Genoch House, Old Luce, Wigtownshire, Scotland	1694 County Antrim, Ireland	Margaret Cunningham (1625-) Jean Adair (1631-1675) Elizabeth Martin (c1625-)
Samuel Adair (1627-1694)	1627 Genoch House, Old Luce, Wigtownshire, Scotland	1694
Jenifer Adair (1629-)	1629 Genoch House, Old Luce, Wigtownshire, Scotland

Residences

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gordon 1885, p. 72.
^ Gordon 1885, pp. 72,73.
^ ^a ^b Gordon 1885, p. 73.

Patrick Adair of Cairncastle - Antrim Historical Society.
Patrick Adair - Dictionary of Irish Biography.
Patrick Adair, Presbyterian Minister in Turbulent Times - Family Legends Blog.
Rev. James Kirkpatrick .An Historical essay upon the loyalty of Presbyterians.. (Belfast) 1713 p.166
Rev. Patrick Adair, A true narrative of the rise and progress of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (1623-1670)… with an introduction and notes by W.D. Killen D.D.(Belfast etc; 1866) pp xiii-xiv
Rev. Thomas Witherow Historical and literary memorials of Presbyterianism in Ireland (Belfast 1879) I,34-45
Rev. George Hill An historical account of the MacDonnells of Antrim…. (Belfast 1873; reprinted, with an introduction
Rev. Classon Porter Ulster biographical sketches (Belfast 1884) p.11. For notices of Porter’s life see (Rev. James Kennedy) Historical sketch of the first Presbyterian congregation of Larne….(Belfast,1889) pp20-23; D.N.R., s.v. Porter, John Scott.
Rev. James Mc Connell. et.al. Fasti of the Irish Presbyterian Church (Belfast, var.dd.), entry no.26.

Footnotes (including sources)

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[FOOTNOTEGordon188572-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Gordon 1885, p. 72.

[FOOTNOTEGordon188572,73-2] Gordon 1885, pp. 72,73.

[FOOTNOTEGordon188573-3] Gordon 1885, p. 73.

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