Robert Conyngham d.1685
Robert CONYNGHAM, d.1685
Biographical Note
A younger son of William Conyngham (d.1666) who was one of Oliver Cromwell’s Commissioners in County Armagh during and after the 1641 rebellion. Brother to William ‘Good-Will’ Conygham (d.1721) of Springhill, County Londonderry. Descended from Scots Presbyterians, probably from Ayrshire, who settled in Ulster during the reign of James I. No further biographical details concerning Robert are presently discoverable; he is a figure known through his book inscriptions.
Books
The extent and disposition of Robert’s library are not known. Two books -- Randle Cotsgrave’s Dictionarie of the French and English tongues (1632) and John Goodman’s A serious and compassionate inquiry (1684?) -- are in the library at the National Trust’s Springhill.
Characteristic Markings
Robert inscribed his books. Both note the date of purchase; one includes the place of purchase and that it was a gift.
Sources
- Lenox-Conyngham, Mina, Springhill: An Old Ulster House and the People Who Lived in It, Belfast, 2005, 21.
- Purcell, Mark, The Big House Library in Ireland, Swindon, 2011, 44.