Our maternal great-great grandfather was Richard Williams the bookkeeper of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, who lived at their Dublin headquarters at 17 Eden Quay from 1837 till 1857.
This post, which is really nothing more than genealogical gossip, concerns his known acquaintances, Thomas Harvey Todhunter (1799 - 1884) with whom he ran a shortlived business in the mid-1840’s, and Henry Bewley who, although originally a Quaker, as was Todhunter, became a member of the Plymouth Brethren evangelical movement, and eventually founded their meeting place of Merrion Hall, now the Davenport Hotel off Merrion Square.
Thomas Harvey Todhunter’s father, an English merchant who was the son of a Cumberland ship-owner, settled in Dublin in the early nineteenth century - the earliest mention of a Todhunter in Dublin that I’ve found is from 1801 when John Todhunter, a merchant, was living at 56 City Quay.
By 1814 the directories show up a William Todhunter living at 22 Holles Street, but both John and William have businesses at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay. William Todhunter was engaged in the manufacture of turpentine and was also an oil-millar.
Sir John Rogerson’s Quay quickly became the hub for this family of Todhunters; although it’s difficult to discern the family relationships between them, I have to assume that they are all of the same family.
In 1824, J. Todhunter of 85 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, was a corn merchant and factor. The same year, there was Isaac Todhunter, a rope-maker, dealer in pitch, tar, rosin and sailcloth, who was living at 81 Sir John Rogerson’s - by 1846, he was a coal-dealer of 14 Summerhill Parade and Ringsend. (In September 1869, The Limerick Chronicle recorded the death of Louisa, wife of the late Isaac Todhunter, at Leeson Park, Dublin.)
In 1846, John Todhunter, merchant, was of 17 and 19 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, with a residence at 1 Upper Parnell Place. Also noted at 1 Upper Parnell Place were two of his sons, William Todhunter and Joshua Todhunter.
John Todhunter, the merchant of 1 Parnell Place, died on 6th September 1844, aged 73, which gives him a birth year of 1772, therefore he would be the correct age to be the father of Thomas Harvey Todhunter. He was married to Susanna Harvey who was born in 1776, and who died in 1850. The couple’s son, Thomas Harvey Todhunter, would later marry another member of the Harvey family, Hannah Harvey.
The youngest daughter of John Todhunter, Elizabeth Todhunter, married Joshua Reuben Harvey, a doctor in Cork, at the Friends' Meeting House. (This from the Limerick Chronicle of 11th September 1841.)
Thomas Harvey Todhunter also had a sister, Susan, who married Jonathan Pim whose mother was yet another member of the Harvey family,this time a Mary Harvey. Jonathon Pim was a member of the Quaker famine relief committee as were his brothers-in-law, Thomas Harvey Todhunter, William Todhunter and Joshua E. Todhunter. Both Jonathan Pim and Thomas Harvey Todhunter were members of the Statistical Society.
John Todhunter was born in 1772 to Joseph Todhunter and Hannah Robinson - Joseph must be the ship owner of Cumberland and the grandfather of Thomas Harvey Todhunter of 17 Eden Quay and Sir John Rogerson’s.
By 1846, Thomas Harvey Todhunter, who was our Richard William’s business partner for a time, was noted as a merchant of 17 Eden Quay (as was Richard Williams) but was resident at 19 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay.
Thomas Harvey Todhunter was one of the executors of the will of Limerick timber merchant and ship owner, James Harvey who died on 29th February 1848. In 1844, Matthew Barrington of Limerick and Dublin demised to Thomas Harvey land at Little Kilrush, St. Munchins, Limerick, which, in accordance with Thomas Harvey's will, Thomas Harvey Todhunter was to sell on to Daniel Gabbett of Richmond, Limerick. This conveyance was legalised with deed 1848-18-17; this deed was immediately succeeded by another related document, in which a property which had earlier been sold by Matthew Barrington to George Gibbons Williams, the son of the notary Richard Williams, of 38 Dame Street and Drumcondra Castle, was being conveyed to the same Daniel Gabbett of Richmond, Limerick. Both deeds held the proviso 'excepting unto the said Matthew Barrington, his heirs and assigns.'
Many of the Irish Quakers educated their children at the Ballitore School run by the Shackleton family. In 1807, Thomas Harvey Todhunter and, presumably his brother, Joseph Todhunter, were pupils there together; three years later, William Todhunter was a pupil at the same school. By 1823, John Todhunter and Joshua Edmundson Todhunter appear on the school lists - these were the sons of John Todhunter, each of them starting their education at Ballitore at the age of about 6 or 7 years old.
Thomas Harvey Todhunter was married to Hannah Harvey (1806 - 1857), the daughter of the prominent Limerick merchant, Joseph Massey Harvey, and many members of this Harvey family also attended Ballitore School - in 1812, James and Rueben Joseph Harvey were there; they were joined two years later by a Joshua Harvey. Also present at the school were members of other prominent Quaker families - Bewleys, Hanks, Pims etc.
In 1850, the one-year-old daughter of Thomas Harvey Todhunter and Hannah Harvey, Susanna Todhunter, died, as did the 74-year-old Susanna Todhunter who was the widow of John Todhunter.
By 1881, Thomas Harvey Todhunter has moved to 116 Lower Baggot Street along with John Todhunter, and Joshua Todhunter. Earlier, on 24th May 1851, ‘The Illustrated London News’ reported that two men had died near Chesterfield when a goods train had accidentally ploughed into the back of a stationary passenger train. Among the injured were John Todhunter of Dublin, who sustained two broken legs, and his brother, Joshua Todhunter, who sustained a broken shoulder blade. Although Thomas Harvey Todhunter had a son, Dr.John Todhunter who would continue on to be a celebrated Irish writer, the two men who were injured in the train crash were actually his brothers.
(Also of interest here is Joseph Todhunter, the Secretary of the National Assurance Company of Ireland; he lived at the company headquarters of 3, College Green, which, in 1832, had been the residence of William Williams. William Williams of College Green was an early shareholder of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company; this may have been the nephew of Thomas Williams of the Bank of Ireland who had been admitted to the Freedom of Dublin in 1817, but I’ve been unable to find enough corroborating evidence to support this. Joseph Todhunter may have been another brother of Thomas Harvey Todhunter - a boy of this name was a pupil in Ballitore School at the same time as Thomas.)
During the Famine, the brothers, Thomas Harvey Todhunter, William Todhunter and Joshua E. Todhunter, were members of the Central Relief Committee of the Society of Friends in Ireland as were prominent members of the Pim, Harvey and Bewley families. The Quakers, although there were only 3000 of them among a population of almost 8 million, spearheaded the efforts to relieve the suffering of the starving Irish, and have been rightly commended for their efforts.
William Todhunter was put in charge of the distribution of agricultural seed, which was transported free of charge by the Williams’ company, the CDSPCo; he also organised the distribution of replacement fishing gear, many of the fishermen having sold their nets early in the distress in an effort to feed themselves and their families.
William Todhunter died from exhaustion on January 30th 1850, aged 46 (ie: 1804 - 1850) - it was noted that, although he died in Dublin, he had spent some years in Portumna, Galway; other texts mention that he was a Quaker of Cork.
The Central Relief Committe, which coordinated the national relief efforts from Dublin, had been founded by Jonathan Pim and Joseph Bewley.
Jonathan Pim (the son of Thomas Pim) married, in 1828, Thomas Harvey Todhunter’s sister, Susan Todhunter - she too helped with the famine relief effort, distributing food and clothing from their home in Monkstown; Jonathan Pim almost collapsed from exhaustion in 1847, but survived the famine, going on to become the first Quaker MP in 1865. This couple lived at Monkstown, South Dublin, where the beautiful Quaker Meeting Hall can still be seen, and also in Rosbarnagh, Co. Mayo.
Thomas Harvey Todhunter’s brother-in-law was the noted botanist, William Henry Harvey, who lived with the couple at their home in Baggot Street, Dublin.
Joseph Bewley, tea merchant and co-founder of the Quakers’ Central Relief Committee, was the eldest son of Samuel Bewley and Elizabeth Fayle who lived at Rockville, South Dublin.
From the RDS website: Samuel Bewley (1764-1837), tea merchant and manufacturer, 72 Meath Street, was elected a member of the Dublin Society in 1803. A Quaker, he was highly respected for his philanthropic work and was a trustee of the house of recovery, a committee member of the Kildare Place society, and a generous supporter of the Meath hospital, Cork Street fever hospital, the sick poor institute, and Dublin savings bank. In addition to his tea business, he was a silk importer and poplin manufacturer. He was an activist in the revived Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 1820, and a promoter of the National Assurance Company of Ireland. Although critical of the insurance company's controlling board, he accepted the post of treasurer in 1824. In the same year he gave evidence to a parliamentary committee of inquiry as spokesman for the Dublin silk merchants. On 19 March 1835 he presented to the R.D.S. museum the Chinese port clearance documents for the first voyage from Canton to Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire) following the opening of direct trade with China by the ending of the East India Company's monopoly in 1834. He reported with evident satisfaction that the round-trip was made by his (Waterford-built) schooner Hellas between 22 October 1834 and 20 February 1835, captained by Dubliner Anthony Scanlan. Samuel Bewley resided at Rockville, Monkstown, in the 1830s.
Samuel Bewley of Rockville died in 1837 at Mount Street; his son, Charles Bewley, also died in Mount Street but in 1835; Charles was noted as being ‘of Samuel Bewley & Sons.’ In 1824, at the Friends’ Meeting House in Sycamore Alley, Charles Bewley, the son of Samuel Bewley of Rockville, married Hannah, the eldest daughter of John Todhunter of Sir John Rogerson’s Quay. Hannah died on 21st June 1847 - she died of fever at the home of her father, 1 Parnell Place.
Charles’ brother, Joseph Bewley, collapsed from exhaustion and died on 4th November 1851, leaving three surviving children. He made his will on 25th September 1846. At this time, he gave two addresses, Sandford and William Street, Dublin city. He named his wife as Elizabeth, and brothers as Henry Bewley, Samuel Bewley, Thomas Bewley, Williams Bewley and Joshua Bewley. A sister was Susannah, wife of Samuel Pim. A sister-in-law was named as Hannah Bewley (the wife of Charles Bewley); brothers-in-law were Ebenezer Pike, William Cooper Clibborn, George Sutton (married to Joseph's sister Eliza Bewley) and Edward Court or Tulse of Winterbourne, Co. Dublin. A late uncle was Thomas Blake, and a late brother was John Blake Bewley. A sister was Sarah Blake; a niece was Mary Blake Sutton, the daughter of sister Sarah Sutton. One of Joseph Bewley's sons was John Blake Bewley, named after Joseph's dead brother; the oldest son was Samuel Bewley of 6 Dame Street who proved his father's will in 1851.
Joseph and Charles Bewley were also the brothers of Samuel Bewley (1820 - 1877) who was married to Maria Clibborn; Samuel and Maria lived at Sandford Grove in Ranelagh. Samuel Bewley, tea-dealer, died in 1877, leaving £12,000 in the UK. Probate was granted to (his sons?) Samuel Bewley of 9 Trafalgar Terrace, Monkstown, William Frederick Bewley of 56 Bushfield Avenue, and Francis Bewley of Sandford Grove.
The Bewley’s family tea business was at 6 Dame Street with offices at Sycamore Alley. The 1845 Directory shows up another possible brother, Alexander Bewley, a merchant with an office at Sycamore Alley - in 1854 Alexander Bewley took out a shared lease in Forge Lane, Mountmellick, with Henry Bewley who was yet another son of Samuel and Elizabeth of Rockville. Also noted in 1845 at 20 Sycamore Alley was Joshua Bewley, an actuary of the China Tea Co., who had a residence at Rockville and who must surely be yet another close relation.
Yet another possible son of Samuel Bewley and Elizabeth Fayle of Rockville was Thomas Bewley of Cope Street and Rockville who died in 1875; probate was granted to Samuel Bewley of Sandford Grove, also the son of the Bewleys of Rockville.
Henry Bewley, the son of Samuel of Rockville, would have been an acquaintance of our great-great grandfather, Richard Williams - both had close involvement with the Plymouth Brethren evangelical church. Henry Bewley built the Brethrens’ meeting hall in Merrion Square in 1863 at a cost of £25,000. He was a highly successful business man, with a huge amount of capital invested in his business as a wholesale chemist (Bewley & Draper, of Mary Street and 2 Sackville Street), and also in gutta-percha, a rubber-like resin which was used to construct the first transatlantic cables. Henry Bewley also owned a number of coalmines in Germany. He lived, firstly at Lota, Booterstown, then at Willow Park, Booterstown.
Following the death of his only son in the 1850s, he turned to philanthropy, giving away huge sums to beneficial causes; he was associated with the Bible Tract Depository on D’Olier Street, which published the religious tracts which were so popular in the Victorian era.
Henry married Ann Pike, the daughter of Jonathan Pike in 1835.
Henry Bewley died in July 1876 and was interred at Mount Jerome Cemetery. His funeral was attended by most of the leading merchants and traders of the day. Prayers were read by the grandson of Arthur Guinness, the Rev.Grattan Guinness, who was an associate of Thomas Barnardo; the two men were involved in the Barnardo Childrens’ Homes in the UK. Thomas Barnardo had been a close acquaintance of our Richard Williams before Thomas moved to London.
The chief mourners at Henry Bewley’s funeral were his only son, Henry Thomas Bewley, who was born after the death of his first one. Also present was his nephew, Samuel Bewley Junior of Sandford Hill, who was the son of Henry’s brother, Samuel. His two brothers-in-law, William Pike and Ebenezer Pike, were in attendance - Ebenezer Pike was from Besborough, Cork; he died in 1883, leaving a massive £80,000 to his wife. There were two other Bewleys present at Henry’s funeral, although it’s unclear who their parents were - John E. Bewley and James Arthur Bewley.
The probate of Henry Bewley's will was granted to Samuel Bewley of Sandford Grove, Ranelagh and to William Fry, solicitor of 13 Lower Mount Street. William Fry was also the solicitor of our branch of the Williams family.
Both the Pims and the Bewleys held stock in the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company. Jonathan Pim and Thomas Pim were noted as proprietors of the company in 1826, as were Joseph and Alexander Bewley. By 1828, James Pim Junior of William Street was included, as was Joseph Harvey. In 1828, one of the trustees of the business was Joseph Robert Pim.
A T.W. Bewley of Sandford Grove, Ranelagh, still held £20 worth of stock in the CDSPCo when it was being wound up in 1931.
The descendant of Thomas Harvey Todhunter, Benedict Heal, has done excellent research into his family tree and has kindly allowed me to add a link to his own family history site here -
http://www.benedictheal.com/personal/family/FH/fam232.html
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Friday 23 March 2012
The name 'Geraldine O'Moore Creighton'.
Our great-great-grandmother, Geraldine O’Moore Creighton was the second wife of Richard Williams, the book-keeper of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company. They married in Dublin in 1847.
Geraldine’s parents were the English evangelical minister, Rev. David Hill Creighton, and Eliza Willis, the daughter of the Portarlington schoolmaster, Thomas Willis. They married in Portarlington, Laois, on January 31st 1810, where David Hill Creighton was stationed, and had their first daughter, Geraldine O’Moore Creighton in about 1811; she was followed by her younger sisters, Louise, who died almost immediately, Eliza Willis Creighton, Louisa Adelaide and Mary Anne.
The subject of this post is Geraldine’s name, Geraldine O’Moore, which is a mysterious choice of middle name for the daughter of a very Anglo-Irish Protestant couple at the beginning of the nineteenth century. No other members of the Willis or Creighton families carried the names ‘O’Moore’ or ‘Geraldine’ prior to our great-great-grandmother’s birth in 1811. The name itself is a highly traditional Irish Catholic name, and, given that Geraldine’s father, David Hill Creighton, had been born in Dorset, England, the couple must have had some specific reason for giving their daughter this particular name.
Irish children at that time were almost always named after an older relative or close family friend, but I’ve failed to find any close or plausible link to any member of any O’ Moore family. Perhaps a member of the O'Moore family stood as godparent to Geraldine when she was baptised?
This post, therefore, is pure speculation. If anyone out there can shed any light on this mystery, please let me know!
Geraldine is the female version of Gerald, or Gearóid, or Garrett, and the only possible link that I can find would be with Garrett O’Moore of Cloghan Castle in King’s County/Co.Offaly. The link is spurious to say the least, but, for the record and for the moment, I'll compile here what I can unearth about the O'Moore family of Cloghan Castle, bearing in mind that I've come across very few families bearing the O'Moore name.
Garrett O’Moore married a Jane Foster in 1806 - the LDS site says the marriage took place in Monkstown, South Dublin, rather than Offaly, but it wasn’t unusual for gentry types to marry in Dublin at that time. Geraldine’s mother, Eliza Willis, was the daughter of the schoolmaster, Thomas Willis, and his first wife, Betty Foster. I wonder, therefore, was Garrett O’Moore’s wife, Jane Foster, a relation of the Willis family?
The O’Moore or Moore family were an old Gaelic family of Laois who participated in the 1641 rebellion; following the uprising, their lands were confiscated, but under the Act of Settlement of 1652, they were granted land at Cloghan in the neighbouring county of Offaly.
Garrett O’Moore lived from 1737 till 1824; Jane Foster was most likely a second wife, who he married 16 years before his death. Jane O’Moore died at Denzille Street/Holles Street in Dublin in 1832.
Garrett was the son of John O’Moore of Annabeg; Garrett’s sister, Margaret, married Connor O’Kelly in 1766.
Garret O’Moore had a son, also named Garret O’Moore, who lived from 1784 till 1833 - the son’s wife was Mary Bateman, who died at Cloghan Castle, Offaly, in 1831. In February 1858, Bridget Bateman, died aged 64 - she was noted as the sister-in-law of the late O'Moore of Cloghan Castle, and as the 3rd daughter of the late John Bateman of Altavilla, Limerick, and of Oakpark, Co. Kerry. A Captain John Bateman MP of Oakpark, Tralee, died in October 1863 in Croyden. Earlier in October 1848, Mrs. Arabella Bateman of Oakpark, died aged 84; she was the widow of the late Rowland Bateman of Oakpark, and mother of the M.P. John Bateman.
In December 1827, Garrett O'Moore was selling 4000 acres of land in Mayo; his Dublin address was noted as Redesdale, Stillorgan.
This Garrett O'Moore died suddenly in November 1833 - the papers noted that he dropped dead at about 12 o'clock in the offices of Mr. Birmingham in Smithfield, Dublin.
From the Trinity Admission Records:
Garrett O’Moore: S.C. (Mr.Scott, Norfolk), June 12th 1802, aged 17; son of Garrett, Miles; born King’s County. BA Vern 1806. (Miles signifies that his father was of the military.)
Garrett O’Moore, SC (Mr. Eaton) July 4 1825, aged 15, son of Garrett, generous, born Dublin. BA Aest. 1830.
Hubert O’Moore, Pen (Eaton Coll.), Nov. 3 1833, aged 16, son of Garrett, generous, born King’s County. BA Aest 1834. (A brother of the above Garrett O’Moore.)
Hubert died in Dublin on October 3rd 1846.
John Edmund O’Moore, SC (Mr.Eaton), Oct 19 1829, aged 17, son of Garrett, generous, born King’s. BA AEST. 1834. (Generous means gentleman.)
John Edmund O’Moore, the son of Garrett O’Moore, was a solicitor who lived at Elm Lodge, Fairview, Dublin - he was noted there in both 1846 and 1880.
In Jersey in May 1854, the death occurred of the wife of Lieutenant-Colonel Creagh, who was noted as the eldest daughter of the late O'Moore of Cloghan Castle.
A great scandal occurred in October 1852 when the 40-yr-old Garrett O'Moore eloped with a Miss Blair, aged 17, who was then living with her mother and stepfather, Captain Meaher.
On 30th August 1864, at Sees, Normandy, Garrett O'Moore, D.L., of Cloghan Castle died aged 52, leaving a widow and young children. The remains were removed to Paris for burial.
All the land, including Cloghan Castle, of Garrett O’Moore, was put up for sale in 1852 by the Encumbered Estates Court and were subsequently purchased by the Graves family of Dublin.
Cloghan Castle was beside the river Shannon, and two miles from Banagher, Offaly. It had an excellent garden and farmyard with coach-house, stables, cow-houses, barn, piggery and fattening houses. The castle’s estate consisted of 5 acres and was advertised as ideal for shooting and fishing.
The Castle had been built in 1200 AD in the time of King John; it was four stories high. It had been taken by Sir William Russell in 1595, the Lord Deputy who put 46 of the garrison to the sword, its owner, O’Madden, having refused to surrender. The castle had been home to the family of Garrett O’Moore since Elizabethan times, he having been banished from Leix in Queen’s County.
The castle had three cellars, hall and pantry, drawing room, state bedroom, 2 other bedrooms, nursery and three servants rooms upstairs. Attached to the castle was a servants’ hall, a large loft and an unfinished water closet. There was also a new three story extension, suitable as a modern residence for a gentleman of fortune.
The adjoining land was divided into 10 separate lots, mostly tenanted by reliable people who paid their rent on time.
In 1856, No. 42 Leeson Street, Dublin, was also put up for sale - Garrett O’Moore had leased it in 1803 along with a John Scott, as trustees of Lady Dunboyne.
About five miles south-east of Cloghan is Ballyboy which was noted in 1814 as the county seat of a Thomas Foster. Portarlington is another 30 miles east of Ballyboy.
I’ll add more to this post as I discover better information....
Geraldine’s parents were the English evangelical minister, Rev. David Hill Creighton, and Eliza Willis, the daughter of the Portarlington schoolmaster, Thomas Willis. They married in Portarlington, Laois, on January 31st 1810, where David Hill Creighton was stationed, and had their first daughter, Geraldine O’Moore Creighton in about 1811; she was followed by her younger sisters, Louise, who died almost immediately, Eliza Willis Creighton, Louisa Adelaide and Mary Anne.
The subject of this post is Geraldine’s name, Geraldine O’Moore, which is a mysterious choice of middle name for the daughter of a very Anglo-Irish Protestant couple at the beginning of the nineteenth century. No other members of the Willis or Creighton families carried the names ‘O’Moore’ or ‘Geraldine’ prior to our great-great-grandmother’s birth in 1811. The name itself is a highly traditional Irish Catholic name, and, given that Geraldine’s father, David Hill Creighton, had been born in Dorset, England, the couple must have had some specific reason for giving their daughter this particular name.
Irish children at that time were almost always named after an older relative or close family friend, but I’ve failed to find any close or plausible link to any member of any O’ Moore family. Perhaps a member of the O'Moore family stood as godparent to Geraldine when she was baptised?
This post, therefore, is pure speculation. If anyone out there can shed any light on this mystery, please let me know!
Geraldine is the female version of Gerald, or Gearóid, or Garrett, and the only possible link that I can find would be with Garrett O’Moore of Cloghan Castle in King’s County/Co.Offaly. The link is spurious to say the least, but, for the record and for the moment, I'll compile here what I can unearth about the O'Moore family of Cloghan Castle, bearing in mind that I've come across very few families bearing the O'Moore name.
Garrett O’Moore married a Jane Foster in 1806 - the LDS site says the marriage took place in Monkstown, South Dublin, rather than Offaly, but it wasn’t unusual for gentry types to marry in Dublin at that time. Geraldine’s mother, Eliza Willis, was the daughter of the schoolmaster, Thomas Willis, and his first wife, Betty Foster. I wonder, therefore, was Garrett O’Moore’s wife, Jane Foster, a relation of the Willis family?
The O’Moore or Moore family were an old Gaelic family of Laois who participated in the 1641 rebellion; following the uprising, their lands were confiscated, but under the Act of Settlement of 1652, they were granted land at Cloghan in the neighbouring county of Offaly.
Garrett was the son of John O’Moore of Annabeg; Garrett’s sister, Margaret, married Connor O’Kelly in 1766.
Garret O’Moore had a son, also named Garret O’Moore, who lived from 1784 till 1833 - the son’s wife was Mary Bateman, who died at Cloghan Castle, Offaly, in 1831. In February 1858, Bridget Bateman, died aged 64 - she was noted as the sister-in-law of the late O'Moore of Cloghan Castle, and as the 3rd daughter of the late John Bateman of Altavilla, Limerick, and of Oakpark, Co. Kerry. A Captain John Bateman MP of Oakpark, Tralee, died in October 1863 in Croyden. Earlier in October 1848, Mrs. Arabella Bateman of Oakpark, died aged 84; she was the widow of the late Rowland Bateman of Oakpark, and mother of the M.P. John Bateman.
In December 1827, Garrett O'Moore was selling 4000 acres of land in Mayo; his Dublin address was noted as Redesdale, Stillorgan.
From the Trinity Admission Records:
Garrett O’Moore: S.C. (Mr.Scott, Norfolk), June 12th 1802, aged 17; son of Garrett, Miles; born King’s County. BA Vern 1806. (Miles signifies that his father was of the military.)
Garrett O’Moore, SC (Mr. Eaton) July 4 1825, aged 15, son of Garrett, generous, born Dublin. BA Aest. 1830.
Hubert O’Moore, Pen (Eaton Coll.), Nov. 3 1833, aged 16, son of Garrett, generous, born King’s County. BA Aest 1834. (A brother of the above Garrett O’Moore.)
Hubert died in Dublin on October 3rd 1846.
John Edmund O’Moore, SC (Mr.Eaton), Oct 19 1829, aged 17, son of Garrett, generous, born King’s. BA AEST. 1834. (Generous means gentleman.)
John Edmund O’Moore, the son of Garrett O’Moore, was a solicitor who lived at Elm Lodge, Fairview, Dublin - he was noted there in both 1846 and 1880.
In Jersey in May 1854, the death occurred of the wife of Lieutenant-Colonel Creagh, who was noted as the eldest daughter of the late O'Moore of Cloghan Castle.
A great scandal occurred in October 1852 when the 40-yr-old Garrett O'Moore eloped with a Miss Blair, aged 17, who was then living with her mother and stepfather, Captain Meaher.
On 30th August 1864, at Sees, Normandy, Garrett O'Moore, D.L., of Cloghan Castle died aged 52, leaving a widow and young children. The remains were removed to Paris for burial.
All the land, including Cloghan Castle, of Garrett O’Moore, was put up for sale in 1852 by the Encumbered Estates Court and were subsequently purchased by the Graves family of Dublin.
Cloghan Castle was beside the river Shannon, and two miles from Banagher, Offaly. It had an excellent garden and farmyard with coach-house, stables, cow-houses, barn, piggery and fattening houses. The castle’s estate consisted of 5 acres and was advertised as ideal for shooting and fishing.
The Castle had been built in 1200 AD in the time of King John; it was four stories high. It had been taken by Sir William Russell in 1595, the Lord Deputy who put 46 of the garrison to the sword, its owner, O’Madden, having refused to surrender. The castle had been home to the family of Garrett O’Moore since Elizabethan times, he having been banished from Leix in Queen’s County.
The castle had three cellars, hall and pantry, drawing room, state bedroom, 2 other bedrooms, nursery and three servants rooms upstairs. Attached to the castle was a servants’ hall, a large loft and an unfinished water closet. There was also a new three story extension, suitable as a modern residence for a gentleman of fortune.
The adjoining land was divided into 10 separate lots, mostly tenanted by reliable people who paid their rent on time.
In 1856, No. 42 Leeson Street, Dublin, was also put up for sale - Garrett O’Moore had leased it in 1803 along with a John Scott, as trustees of Lady Dunboyne.
About five miles south-east of Cloghan is Ballyboy which was noted in 1814 as the county seat of a Thomas Foster. Portarlington is another 30 miles east of Ballyboy.
I’ll add more to this post as I discover better information....
Wednesday 21 March 2012
James Gibbons, 38 Dame Street - who was he?
Who was the James Gibbons who was in business with Richard Williams at 38 Dame Street in the early years of the nineteenth century as notaries to the Bank of Ireland? I am in no way related to the Gibbons family, but have done much research into the Williams family, founders of the Dublin Steam Packet Company, and was curious about the origins of Gibbons family accordingly.
Gibbons and Williams were notaries to the Bank of Ireland, and appear in the Dublin street directories as such from 1800 (I believe this is the earliest entry, although James Gibbons was mentioned earlier in the 1780s as a notary to the Bank of Ireland when it first opened.) The ‘Treble Almanack’ of 1832 names the notaries to the Bank of Ireland, and a variety of other Irish banks, as Messrs. Gibbons and Williams, although at some stage James Gibbons parted company with Richard Williams.
It seems that the Gibbons family actually lived at 38 Dame Street. The Treble Almanack of 1815 notes the attorney E.H. Gibbons at this address. The same year, Thomas Gibbons Junior was one of 21 managers elected to the board of the charitable Richmond National Institute of Great Britain St/Parnell St. By 1824, E.H. Gibbons, the attorney, had moved north of the Liffey to 27 Queen Street in Smithfield and was resident there with Edward Gibbons who was possibly his son.
The records of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, founded by Charles Wye Williams and his brother, Richard Williams, who worked with James Gibbons in 38 Dame Street, makes mention of Thomas Gibbons from 1823; there is never any reference to James Gibbons who must have been elderly by that stage.
In 1823, Thomas Gibbons of Dame Street was an early proprietor of the shipping company, as was Hutchins Thomas Williams of Dame Street, both men holding stock to the value of £500. The following year, both have moved - Thomas Gibbons was of Fitzwilliam Square while Hutchins Thomas Williams was at Belvidere Place. By 1828, both men have increased their holding in the CDSPCo - Thomas Gibbons held £2,400 of shares while Hutchins held £4,400. A law case of 1829 mentions a clerk, Thomas H. Gibbons, who worked at a dwelling-house in Dame Street along with Hutchins Thomas Williams - Hutchins' sister was resident in the same house and was ill at the time of the incident.
The records of the Keeper of the Public Records for Dublin gives three possible marriages for Thomas Gibbons, but no address for any of them - in 1810, Thomas Gibbons married Eliza Byrne; in 1814, Thomas Gibbons married Catherine Chamney; in 1824, Thomas Gibbons married Sarah Bradbury.
These records also record the death of a James Gibbons of Bolton Street, Dublin, in 1834.
By 1833, the firm of Gibbons and Williams comprised Richard Williams (of Drumcondra Castle) and his close relative Hutchins Thomas Williams; these two dissolved their partnership in 1833 - Richard continued in business as Richard Williams & Son, while Hutchins continued in business as Gibbons and Williams.
When Hutchins’ company went bankrupt because of his embezzlement of clients’ funds in 1835, James Gibbons Junior of Ballynegall, Westmeath, quickly issued a statement that he was not involved in the firm of Gibbons and Williams. Calling himself ‘James Gibbons Junior’ signifies that he was the son of an earlier James Gibbons - I suspect that the original notary to the Bank of Ireland who went into partnership with Richard Williams in about 1800 was James Gibbons Senior of Ballynegall.
The Belfast Telegraph of Jan.27th 1835, reported on the failure of the firm of Gibbons and Williams in Dublin. The piece states that one of the firm had his estate in Westmeath, which seems to confirm my suspicion that both James Gibbons Senior had been in business with the Williams family on Dame Street.
'A complete panic pervaded the mercantile interests of this city on Thursday at the closing of this house, so long deemed of the highest character, credit and respectability....the paper of the bank is said to have obtained a large circulation in the county Westmeath, where the estate of one of the firm is situate...'
'The Waterford Mail' of 21st January 1835 clarified things when the bank of Hutchins Thomas Williams collapsed: 'It's not the well known house of Gibbons and Williams that has failed, that one having been dissolved two years ago, and neither James Gibbons of Ballinagall, who retired, nor Mr. Richard Williams of Dame Street, now head of Richard Williams and Son, were ever connected with the bank of Hutchins Williams who operated under the name of Gibbons and Williams....the young Mr. Gibbons who worked there was son of the late Thomas Gibbons and nephew of Mr. James Gibbons....' The article went on to state that Hutchins and Richard Williams didn't see eye to eye, and that Hutchins Williams had used the name of Gibbons and Williams with the consent of James Williams.
'Pue's Occurrences' of 24th March 1757 noted the recent marriage of Thomas Gibbons, Notary Publick' to Miss Tate of Lisburn. Given that a relation of James Gibbons of Ballinagall was named as Adam Tate Gibbons, I would presume that this early Thomas Gibbons was an early member of the Gibbons family, and very likely the father of James Gibbons Senior (1761 - 1835), Thomas Gibbons of Fitzwilliam Square and Adam Tate Gibbons.
James Gibbons (1761 - 1835) Senior of Ballynegall, Westmeath, died at Cheltenham on 15th March 1835. James Gibbons - Senior or Junior? - built Ballynegall House in about 1808 for the enormous cost of £30,000. Although now in ruins, its portico was removed and currently forms part of Straffan House in Kildare. In 1844, the Limerick Chronicle recorded the death in Ballynegall of Mary Amelia, aged 90, the widow of James Gibbons, Esq. If she had been born in 1754, then presumably her husband had been born in roughly the same year.
The subscribers lists to the ‘Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor of Ireland’ lists the Gibbons (unhelpfully) as follows in their 1820 edition:
James Gibbons,Esq.,Junior, of Ballynagall. ( He was aged 28 in 1820.)
James Gibbons, Dame Street
Mrs. Gibbons, Ballynagall.
The Trinity College admission records seem to confirm that James of Ballinagall was the son of James of Dame Street since the date of birth is correct, although this may well be pure coincidence: 'Gibbons, James, S.C. (P.T.), October 5th 1806, aged 15, son of James, Notarius Publicus; born Dublin; B.A. Aest 1810, MA Vern 1820.'
In 1824 at Ballynagall, James Gibbons (Junior or Senior?) donated land and £1,892 towards the construction of the Protestant church there. In the 1820s he was also involved with the establishment of the county jail and courthouse in Westmeath.
On 12th May 1823 in Drumcree, Co. Westmeath, by the Rev. William de Courcy of Drumcree Church, James Gibbons, only son of James Gibbons of Ballynegall, married Alicia Frances, the daughter of William Smyth of Drumcree. Rev. William de Courcy's children married into the family of Thomas Williams of Sackville Street who himself had links to the Dublin Steam Packet Company, and might have been a distant relation of the Williams who founded the business. William de Courcy was married to a member of the Drumcree Smyth family.
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2015/10/john-and-thomas-williams-of-grafton.html
The young Thomas Gibbons (or Thomas H. Gibbons in some records) who was working alongside Hutchins Thomas Williams in the bank of Gibbons and Williams when it failed in 1835, was noted as the nephew of James Gibbons (Senior) of Ballynagall, who had been in business with Richard Williams. He was possibly the son of Thomas Gibbons of Fitzwilliam Square.
In 1774, Thomas Gibbons was the secretary of the Incorporated Society for Promoting English Schools in Ireland. His office was at 6 Suffolk Street.
(On 14th July 1842 in Cobh, Co. Cork, the second daughter of a deceased John Gibbons, Jane Gibbons, married Quayle/Quaile Welsted Hawkes of Sirmount, Ovens, Co. Cork. ('The Cork Examiner', 18th July 1842.) Online researchers have named Jane Gibbons as the daughter of Thomas Gibbons rather than John Gibbons.
In 1866 the Landed Estsates courts were selling off the estate of a James Symes in Portarlington and Eccles Street, Dublin. The newspaper announcement for the sale of these properties also named Quaile Hawkes and his wife, Jane Hawkes otherwise Gibbons, along with spinster Mary Curtis and the minors John Gibbons Curtis, Catherine Curtis and Susan Curtis. The name 'John Gibbons Curtis' would suggest that Jane Hawkes was indeed the daughter of the late John Gibbons rather than Thomas.)
In March 1830, 11 Fitzwilliam Square and its contents, was being auctioned off following the death of its owner, Thomas Gibbons.
On 27th September 1838, Mary, the eldest daughter of the late Thomas Gibbons of Fitzwilliam Square, married William Curtis, the youngest son of Thomas Curtis of Lehenagh, Cork. ('Dublin Evening Post', 2nd October 1838.)
On 15th June 1854, in Ovens, Co. Cork, Kate, the youngest daughter of the late Thomas Gibbons of Fitzwilliam Square, married John Dowman, Captain, Unattached. ('Dublin Evening Mail', 19th June 1854.)
Adam Tate Gibbons, the brother of James Gibbons Senior, was born circa 1772, and spent some time in the army. His military record appears in the book ‘A Record of the Services of the Fifty-first (Second West York)’ and shows that he was an ensign in the 71st Regiment in 1791, Lieutenant in 1792, Captain in 1798, joined the 10th Foot in 1801, then the 51st in 1804, before retiring in 1805. He became a merchant with the East India Company and died in Bengal on 10th November 1822. His widow, Anna Elizabeth, later married a Thomas Stanuell - they lived at Tickhill, York, UK, and named one of their children as Charles Gibbons Stanuell. Charles Gibbons Stanuell or Stanwell married Margaret, the daughter of Captain Samuel Athill of the East India service Bombay engineers, in St. Pancras Church on 14th August 1851. A solicitor, he settled in Dublin, living at a variety of addresses - Lower Mount Street, 23 Kildare Street and 6 Eccles Street.
Adam Tate Gibbons had an only son, Thomas James Gibbons, who graduated from Oxford in 1833, aged 18. Thomas became the final owner of Ballynagall House, selling it in 1863.
Thomas James Gibbons, formerly of Madras, died, aged 48, at Greenwood Lodge, Wargrave, Oxfordshire, on 15th May 1864.
The daughter of Adam Tate Gibbons was Mary-Anne Gibbons who married in 1832, Rev. Thomas Smyth of Drumcree, who was the son of Thomas Hutchinson Smyth of Drumcree and Abigail Hamilton of Belfast who had married in 1796. Thomas Hutchinson Smyth of Drumcree was the son of Thomas Smyth of Drumcree and Martha Hutchinson of Lisburn.
James Gibbons Junior had married to Alicia Frances Smyth, who was the daughter of William Smyth of Drumcree, Westmeath. Alicia’s sister was Letitia who married John Berry of Middleton (and it was their son who owned Ballynegall House following the death of James Gibbons Junior); a third sister married Rev. Michael de Courcy, two of whose children married the son and daughter of Thomas Williams, linen-merchant of 50 Lower Sackville Street, who I suspect was a member of the Williams family of the Dublin Steam Packet Company.
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2011/09/hutchins-thomas-williams-son-of-thomas.html
Gibbons and Williams were notaries to the Bank of Ireland, and appear in the Dublin street directories as such from 1800 (I believe this is the earliest entry, although James Gibbons was mentioned earlier in the 1780s as a notary to the Bank of Ireland when it first opened.) The ‘Treble Almanack’ of 1832 names the notaries to the Bank of Ireland, and a variety of other Irish banks, as Messrs. Gibbons and Williams, although at some stage James Gibbons parted company with Richard Williams.
It seems that the Gibbons family actually lived at 38 Dame Street. The Treble Almanack of 1815 notes the attorney E.H. Gibbons at this address. The same year, Thomas Gibbons Junior was one of 21 managers elected to the board of the charitable Richmond National Institute of Great Britain St/Parnell St. By 1824, E.H. Gibbons, the attorney, had moved north of the Liffey to 27 Queen Street in Smithfield and was resident there with Edward Gibbons who was possibly his son.
The records of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company, founded by Charles Wye Williams and his brother, Richard Williams, who worked with James Gibbons in 38 Dame Street, makes mention of Thomas Gibbons from 1823; there is never any reference to James Gibbons who must have been elderly by that stage.
In 1823, Thomas Gibbons of Dame Street was an early proprietor of the shipping company, as was Hutchins Thomas Williams of Dame Street, both men holding stock to the value of £500. The following year, both have moved - Thomas Gibbons was of Fitzwilliam Square while Hutchins Thomas Williams was at Belvidere Place. By 1828, both men have increased their holding in the CDSPCo - Thomas Gibbons held £2,400 of shares while Hutchins held £4,400. A law case of 1829 mentions a clerk, Thomas H. Gibbons, who worked at a dwelling-house in Dame Street along with Hutchins Thomas Williams - Hutchins' sister was resident in the same house and was ill at the time of the incident.
The records of the Keeper of the Public Records for Dublin gives three possible marriages for Thomas Gibbons, but no address for any of them - in 1810, Thomas Gibbons married Eliza Byrne; in 1814, Thomas Gibbons married Catherine Chamney; in 1824, Thomas Gibbons married Sarah Bradbury.
These records also record the death of a James Gibbons of Bolton Street, Dublin, in 1834.
By 1833, the firm of Gibbons and Williams comprised Richard Williams (of Drumcondra Castle) and his close relative Hutchins Thomas Williams; these two dissolved their partnership in 1833 - Richard continued in business as Richard Williams & Son, while Hutchins continued in business as Gibbons and Williams.
When Hutchins’ company went bankrupt because of his embezzlement of clients’ funds in 1835, James Gibbons Junior of Ballynegall, Westmeath, quickly issued a statement that he was not involved in the firm of Gibbons and Williams. Calling himself ‘James Gibbons Junior’ signifies that he was the son of an earlier James Gibbons - I suspect that the original notary to the Bank of Ireland who went into partnership with Richard Williams in about 1800 was James Gibbons Senior of Ballynegall.
The Belfast Telegraph of Jan.27th 1835, reported on the failure of the firm of Gibbons and Williams in Dublin. The piece states that one of the firm had his estate in Westmeath, which seems to confirm my suspicion that both James Gibbons Senior had been in business with the Williams family on Dame Street.
'A complete panic pervaded the mercantile interests of this city on Thursday at the closing of this house, so long deemed of the highest character, credit and respectability....the paper of the bank is said to have obtained a large circulation in the county Westmeath, where the estate of one of the firm is situate...'
'Pue's Occurrences' of 24th March 1757 noted the recent marriage of Thomas Gibbons, Notary Publick' to Miss Tate of Lisburn. Given that a relation of James Gibbons of Ballinagall was named as Adam Tate Gibbons, I would presume that this early Thomas Gibbons was an early member of the Gibbons family, and very likely the father of James Gibbons Senior (1761 - 1835), Thomas Gibbons of Fitzwilliam Square and Adam Tate Gibbons.
The subscribers lists to the ‘Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor of Ireland’ lists the Gibbons (unhelpfully) as follows in their 1820 edition:
James Gibbons,Esq.,Junior, of Ballynagall. ( He was aged 28 in 1820.)
James Gibbons, Dame Street
Mrs. Gibbons, Ballynagall.
The Trinity College admission records seem to confirm that James of Ballinagall was the son of James of Dame Street since the date of birth is correct, although this may well be pure coincidence: 'Gibbons, James, S.C. (P.T.), October 5th 1806, aged 15, son of James, Notarius Publicus; born Dublin; B.A. Aest 1810, MA Vern 1820.'
In 1824 at Ballynagall, James Gibbons (Junior or Senior?) donated land and £1,892 towards the construction of the Protestant church there. In the 1820s he was also involved with the establishment of the county jail and courthouse in Westmeath.
On 12th May 1823 in Drumcree, Co. Westmeath, by the Rev. William de Courcy of Drumcree Church, James Gibbons, only son of James Gibbons of Ballynegall, married Alicia Frances, the daughter of William Smyth of Drumcree. Rev. William de Courcy's children married into the family of Thomas Williams of Sackville Street who himself had links to the Dublin Steam Packet Company, and might have been a distant relation of the Williams who founded the business. William de Courcy was married to a member of the Drumcree Smyth family.
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2015/10/john-and-thomas-williams-of-grafton.html
James Gibbons Junior (1792 - 1846) of Ballinagall , who was JP, DL and High Sheriff for County Westmeath, died on 22nd February 1846, aged 54, whilst hunting; he died intestate, leaving no children. He died in Leamington at the house of Richard Coote, or at the house of the widow of William Bennitt of Drumlavery, Co. Cavan. Ballynegall Manor passed to the nephew of his wife, James William Middleton Berry, who died in 1855, and then to his cousin Thomas James Smyth, who sold the house in 1863. Thomas James Smyth was the son of Adam Tate Smyth (1772 - 1822), who was (I believe) brother of James Gibbons Senior ((1761 - 1835).
The young Thomas Gibbons (or Thomas H. Gibbons in some records) who was working alongside Hutchins Thomas Williams in the bank of Gibbons and Williams when it failed in 1835, was noted as the nephew of James Gibbons (Senior) of Ballynagall, who had been in business with Richard Williams. He was possibly the son of Thomas Gibbons of Fitzwilliam Square.
In 1774, Thomas Gibbons was the secretary of the Incorporated Society for Promoting English Schools in Ireland. His office was at 6 Suffolk Street.
Thomas Gibbons, banker, of Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin, was a proprietor of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company in 1824, which had been founded by Richard Williams’ brother, Charles Wye Williams.
(On 14th July 1842 in Cobh, Co. Cork, the second daughter of a deceased John Gibbons, Jane Gibbons, married Quayle/Quaile Welsted Hawkes of Sirmount, Ovens, Co. Cork. ('The Cork Examiner', 18th July 1842.) Online researchers have named Jane Gibbons as the daughter of Thomas Gibbons rather than John Gibbons.
In 1866 the Landed Estsates courts were selling off the estate of a James Symes in Portarlington and Eccles Street, Dublin. The newspaper announcement for the sale of these properties also named Quaile Hawkes and his wife, Jane Hawkes otherwise Gibbons, along with spinster Mary Curtis and the minors John Gibbons Curtis, Catherine Curtis and Susan Curtis. The name 'John Gibbons Curtis' would suggest that Jane Hawkes was indeed the daughter of the late John Gibbons rather than Thomas.)
In March 1830, 11 Fitzwilliam Square and its contents, was being auctioned off following the death of its owner, Thomas Gibbons.
On 27th September 1838, Mary, the eldest daughter of the late Thomas Gibbons of Fitzwilliam Square, married William Curtis, the youngest son of Thomas Curtis of Lehenagh, Cork. ('Dublin Evening Post', 2nd October 1838.)
On 15th June 1854, in Ovens, Co. Cork, Kate, the youngest daughter of the late Thomas Gibbons of Fitzwilliam Square, married John Dowman, Captain, Unattached. ('Dublin Evening Mail', 19th June 1854.)
Adam Tate Gibbons had an only son, Thomas James Gibbons, who graduated from Oxford in 1833, aged 18. Thomas became the final owner of Ballynagall House, selling it in 1863.
Thomas James Gibbons, formerly of Madras, died, aged 48, at Greenwood Lodge, Wargrave, Oxfordshire, on 15th May 1864.
The daughter of Adam Tate Gibbons was Mary-Anne Gibbons who married in 1832, Rev. Thomas Smyth of Drumcree, who was the son of Thomas Hutchinson Smyth of Drumcree and Abigail Hamilton of Belfast who had married in 1796. Thomas Hutchinson Smyth of Drumcree was the son of Thomas Smyth of Drumcree and Martha Hutchinson of Lisburn.
James Gibbons Junior had married to Alicia Frances Smyth, who was the daughter of William Smyth of Drumcree, Westmeath. Alicia’s sister was Letitia who married John Berry of Middleton (and it was their son who owned Ballynegall House following the death of James Gibbons Junior); a third sister married Rev. Michael de Courcy, two of whose children married the son and daughter of Thomas Williams, linen-merchant of 50 Lower Sackville Street, who I suspect was a member of the Williams family of the Dublin Steam Packet Company.
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2011/09/hutchins-thomas-williams-son-of-thomas.html
Saturday 17 March 2012
Dr. Richard Grattan, Drummin House, Kildare
Our maternal 3-times great-grandparents were Eliza Willis of Portarlington and Rev. David Hill Creighton of Blandford Forum, England.
Eliza Willis was the eldest child of the schoolmaster, Thomas Willis, and his first wife, Betty Foster. She was born on December 27th 1781, and died 15th March 1866.
Eliza married David Hill Creighton on 31st January 1810 in the French Church in Portarlington.
Her brother, William Willis, was born to Thomas Willis and Betty Foster in Portarlington on November 1st 1783 and died 8th May 1848. He entered holy orders as did so many of this family, after studying at Trinity College, Dublin.
William Willis was married to Frances Grattan (1805 - 1866), the daughter of Richard Grattan., JP., of Drummin House, Kildare. They were married on 31st May 1826 in Limerick by, I presume, William’s brother, named in the Freeman’s Journal as the ‘Rev. Doctor Willis’.
The Grattan Family of Drummin/Drummond, Kildare - Frances Willis, née Grattan, was the third daughter of Richard Grattan JP and Elizabeth Biddulph of Drummin House, Kildare.
The Grattans of Clonmeen (who I'm still trying to decipher....):
The Grattans of Drummin descend from the Grattans of Clonmeen who were noted there from about the end of the 17th century...
A Symon/Simon Grattan of Rinaghan, Carbery, Kildare, died there in 1697. He also owned or leased property in James St, Dublin, but I can find no further reference to Simon Grattan.
A John Grattan of Clonmeen died in 1741; a second John Grattan of Clonmeen died there in 1754.
These Clonmeen Grattans were buried in Carbery. An early headstone there reads: 'Here lieth the body of Mary daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Grattan who departed this life the 26th (?) 1721 aged 17yrs. Also Robert Grattan who departed this life December 7th 1748 aged 77. And Elizabeth Grattan who departed this life December 6th 1758 aged 73.'
John E.Grattan (1696 - 1740) of Clonmeen:
'This stone was placed by Martha Grattan in memory of her husband John E. Grattan who departed this life June 1740 in ye 44th year of his age...'
Also: 'On April 17th 1756 Olivia Grattan daughter of John E. and Martha Grattan of Clonmeen appoints this stone to be erected in memory of her said parents whose remains lye in the body of this church but their descendants have chosen this place on the northerly side for their internment. Here lye Ann and Elizabeth Whitterig, granddaughters to John E. and Martha Grattan. Here lyes the body of Miss Martha Whitterig who died October 1763 in the 16th year of her age. Here also lyeth the body of the mentioned Olivia Grattan who departed this life ye 15th October 1786 in the 66th year of her age.'
(NB: John Grattan, son of Dr. James Grattan and Elizabeth Tyrrell, was married to Martha Mason, but it's unclear if these were the John and Martha Grattan of Clonmeen mentioned above). One of their daughters, Anne Grattan, who died on August 6th 1748, married the wealthy merchant, William Lunell of Dublin, while a second daughter, Mary Grattan, married William Whitmore and had a daughter, Olivia Whitmore, who married Arthur Guinness of Beaumont.
John Grattan and Martha Mason also had a son, Rev. William Grattan, which confuses the issue still further, given that there are so many Rev. William Grattans in this genealogy!
Rev. William Grattan (1715 - 1761) of Carbery married Catherine, the daughter of Counsellor Sherlock, and was recorded as dying at Sherlockstown, Kildare, in July 1761. His headstone in Carbery reads: 'Here lyeth the body of Rev. William Grattan of Drummin who departed this life July 1st 1761 in the 46th year of his age. This is the appointed burial place of his widow and children.'
This Rev. William Grattan of Drummin was the grandfather of Dr. Richard Grattan of Drummin House, and the father of Richard Grattan JP of Drummin.
Betham's Extracts records the will, dated 2nd July 1791, of Richard Sherlock of Dublin, wherein he named his wife as Anne Martin, and his nephews as Richard Grattan (JP) of Drummin and Rev. William Grattan. This Rev. William Grattan must be the son, as was Richard Grattan JP, of Rev. William Grattan and Catherine Sherlock. Also named in Richard Sherlock's will was his niece, Ellinor Sherlock of Marlboro Street and her son William Sherlock.
Deed 132-331-89496, dated February 1745, details an arrangement between John Grattan of Clonmeen, Kildare, and his son and heir, Rev. William Grattan, whereby it was agreed that, during his life, John Grattan should hold land known as Demesne - still called that today - and that he would pay £6 8s. 6d. per annum to the heirs and assigns of Robert Grattan. His son and heir, Rev. William Grattan was to get half of Clonmeen, somewhere indecipherable such as Derenany as well as a windmill in the same townland, Ballyshannon, Knockballyboy, Phillipstown and Killaderry. Most of these places are close to Carbery, Drummin/Drummond and Edenderry. Clonmeen was two miles north of Edenderry.
The Grattans of Drummin:
In October 1781, Mrs. Grattan, the wife of the late Rev. William Grattan, died at Drummin, Kildare.
Rev. William Grattan was the father of Richard Grattan the Elder, who married, in 1788, Elizabeth Biddulph, the daughter of Francis Biddulph and Eliza Harrison of Vicarstown, Queen's County.
I also read through Deed 634 - 515 - 438150, dated July 1811, between Richard Grattan the Elder, William Scott of Fishertown, Queen's County, Francis Harrison Biddulph of Dublin, Rev. Richard Clarke, and Richard Grattan, eldest son and heir apparent to Richard Grattan the Elder, the younger Richard being Dr. Richard Grattan of Drummin. This deed recited an earlier marriage settlement of 18th February 1788, which had been drawn up at the time of the older Richard's marriage to Elizabeth Biddulph; at the time of this marriage, Richard Grattan granted to William Scott and Francis Biddulph 355 acres of land in Kildare, including Drummin, to be was held in trust. The current deed of 1811 was to legalise the release of this land to the younger Richard Grattan, possibly at the time of his first marriage, although this wasn't mentioned in this deed.
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2014/03/the-biddulph-family-of-rathrobin-and.html
The children of Richard Grattan Senior, who was buried in Carbery on 26th September 1839, and Eliza Biddulph were:
1) Their first child, a son, died in infancy - an old family tradition had it that the firstborn son would never live at Drummond.
The Grattans of Drummin House, Edenderry, Kildare, were known to be related to the Irish orator and nationalist MP, Henry Grattan, but I've been unable to decipher how correctly - both Grattan families had their origins in Kildare, however. In his book 'Considerations on the Human Mind', Richard Grattan MD mentions his relative, the writer, T.C. Grattan - this was Thomas Colley Grattan of Kildare, who descended from Rev. Patrick Grattan of Belcamp, Santry, as did Henry Grattan, the great Irish policitian.
Dr. Richard Grattan later attended Trinity, Dublin : 'Grattan, Richard. Pen. (Mr. Leney) November 14th 1805, aged 16. Son of Richard, Generosus; born Queen's County; B.A. Vern 1810; (M.D. Edinburgh)'
He married Rosetta Alathea/Esther Haigh in 1829. Rosetta Grattan, of York St., Dublin, and Edenderry, Kildare, who was the daughter of Rev. Dr. Martin of Dublin, vicar of St. Patrick's Cathedral, died 13rd August 1834 and was buried in St. Patrick's. Rosetta Alathea Martin had previously been married to William Haigh of Westfield House, Doncaster, who died, aged 63, on 12th May 1828. He had been a civil magistrate in Ireland, and was the agent of Earl Fitzwilliam's estates there. Rosetta's sister, Jane Haigh, married Thomas Alexander of Frowick House, Essex, and of Buncrana, Donegal, in 1836.
Richard himself referred to the death by cholera of his wife, Rosetta, in his book 'Considerations on the Human Mind' -
'My wife died (of cholera) after a few hours' illness, on Wednesday, the 13th of August, (1834), a little before sunrise - having throughout her illness expressed the most anxious wishes to see me, and continuously desired me to be sent for. At the time of her death I was travelling in the mail, and asleep, when I was suddenly awakened by a rush of something which startled me, and caused me, at the instant, to think it was my wife. Again, in travelling, also in the mail, on the night of the same day, about ten o'clock, having fallen asleep, I was startled as before, with the same feeling, but stronger, as if a handkerchief had been thrown in my face by my wife to waken me. (She was "buried by torchlight" that night.)......
......'When conversing with my wife's family on the subject of her death, one of them, her brother, exclaimed , "Oh, but did you hear what happened in your house in the country?" "No; what was it?"
"The strangest thing in the world - sure, Rosetta appeared to your children the night she was buried."
"Nonsense," I said, "that is too ridiculous; they must have been dreaming, as I was when I was in the coach, and thought she wakened me." "It is perfectly true," he replied, and then he told me what I tell you.
....Three children, one five, another three, and the third not quite two years old, were put to bed in their nursery at their usual hour. They were all asleep, when, about ten o' clock, on the night of the day when their mother died, and before any person in the house had been informed of her death, the children ALL suddenly awoke, screaming under the influence of fright, the two elder exclaiming "There's mamma! there's mamma!'
The same publication mentions two older children, daughters aged nine and ten, at the time of Rosetta's death in 1834.
The baptismal register of Carbery church notes that a daughter, Elizabeth Grattan, was born to Richard and Rosetta Althea Grattan of Drummin on 10th January 1833, and was baptised there on 13th February 1833.
In December 1845, Dr. Richard Grattan of Drummin lost a hand between the rollers of a threshing machine. The Quaker nationalist, Alfred Webb, recalled that Dr. Grattan of Carbury had lost an arm in a threshing machine.
The Kildare Lent Assizes for 1847:
In 1847, at the height of the Famine, Jane Maher and Garret Lynam were accused of poisoning, with arsenic, Richard Grattan Junior (1831 - 1846), aged 15, the son of Richard Grattan MD and Rosetta Haigh of Drummin House, Kildare. Richard Grattan had attempted to alleviate the distress of his tenantry by purchasing a large quantity of Indian corn. Indian corn was deeply unpopular, being difficult both to prepare and digest. It arrived in Drummin on the 14th or 15th of August 1846- when the servants refused to touch it, Richard Grattan ordered that it be served to his own family as breakfast porridge, or stirabout, on the mornings of the 17th and 18th August. The servants still refused to eat it, and gave the leftovers to four calves which subsequently died.
At the time of the trial, Grattan testified that he was living at Drummin with his wife, five children (only three were named during the trial - Anne, William and the young victim, Richard, but the remaining two were mentioned as sisters to Anne) and five servants, two of whom were the suspects in the poisoning case - the cook, Jane Maher, and the steward, Garret Lynam. Grattan helped Jane Lynam to prepare the porridge in the kitchen; shortly after breakfast on the 18th, Grattan's family fell ill, and his son, Richard Junior, died about a day later.
The burial register of Carbery Church noted that Master Richard Grattan of Drummin was buried on 21st August 1846 aged 15.
The trial failed to find enough evidence to convict the two defendants, and the pair were released.
In the course of the trial, a Mr. John Grattan, possibly John Grattan of Belfast, was also mentioned.
The poisoned child, Richard Grattan, died aged 15, on 18th August 1846.
On December 17th 1859, William Grattan, aged 22, eldest son of Richard Grattan M.D., died at Drummin House, Kildare - the death of this beloved son seems to have prompted the writing of 'Considerations on the Human Mind' as much of the book is devoted to his memory, and to the memory of his lately departed cousin, Biddulph Warner.
William and his father were buried in Carbery graveyard - 'William son of Richard Grattan Esqr. MD, Drummin House. Born October 1837, died December 1857. "Farewell, dear William, for a time, Farewell ere longue both shall surely meet again, till then - child of my findest hopes, Farewell." Richard Grattan, born January 1790. Died May 25th 1886.'
The 1901 census shows two unmarried sisters living in a 15-room house in Drummin, Kildare - Anne Grattan who had been born in Dublin in 1834, and her sister, Elizabeth Grattan, who had been born in Kildare in 1837. (I had originally confused this Anne Grattan with her paternal aunt, Anne Grattan who had married George Cooke in 1850, but a newspaper announcement of 1850 clearly stated that the older Anne was the daughter of the LATE Richard Grattan of Drummin,)
From 'Walford's County Families' of 1901, it is stated that Anne Grattan of Drummin House was indeed the eldest daughter of Richard Grattan and of Rosetta Alathea who was herself the daughter of the Rev. Dr. Martin of Dublin. Anne Grattan's sister, Elizabeth Grattan, who was also living at Drummin in 1901, was born in 1837 according to the census, so would have been born three years after the death of Rosetta Alathea Grattan, who was Anne's mother.
Anne Grattan died at Drummin House, Carbery, Co. Kildare, on 20th November 1915, and her will was granted to Robert Cecil Grattan de Courcy Wheeler, of Drummin, who also erected the sisters' gravestone in Carbery -
'In memory of Anne Grattan who died 20th November 1915 aged 87 years, eldest daughter of Richard Grattan MD of Drummin House and of her sister, Elizabeth Grattan, who died 29th january 1922 aged 90 years. Erected in their memory by Robert Cecil Grattan De Courcy Wheeler of Drummin.'
The register entry for the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland has the following for Richard Grattan: 'Grattan, Richard - L, 17th Sept 1814; F, 14th April 1817; C., 1817 - 1822; MD, Edin; BA, Dublin. Drummin House, Carberry, Enfield, county Kildare.'
In the Dublin directory of 1818, Dr. Richard Grattan was mentioned as a Censor of The King's and Queen's College of Physicians; he was also one of the Inspectors of Apothecaries Shops, appointed by Act of Parliament.
In 1818, his Dublin address was 32 Peter Street, and, in 1829, 23 York Street.
In 1848, Dr. Richard Grattan, who had strong nationalist sympathies, signed the William Smith O'Brien petition.
Dr. Richard Grattan, Drummin House, was vehemently patriotic, and was the author of ‘Vox Hiberniae e Deserto Clamantis: or, Ireland, her Grievances and their Remedies’, which was published in 1870.
On his kinsman, Henry Grattan: ‘...Henry Grattan, returned as a representative through the patronage of the Earl of Charlemont, by his eloquence and liberal views soon became a leader in the Irish parliament. He was a strenuous advocate for Catholic emancipation. He claimed and obtained free trade for Ireland. Supported by the Irish Volunteers, he set the English minister at defiance, and compelled England, terrified by her ignominious defeat in the war with the United States, to ratify his resolution that no power on earth has the authority to make laws for Ireland, except the King, Lords, and Commons of IRELAND...my efforts, however feeble, have always been in accord with the principles of Henry Grattan...I have devoted my attention chiefly to the improvement of the hard-working and industrious classes....I have no faith in the wisdom, no confidence in the justice of an English Parliament in its dealings with Ireland...’
On being Protestant in Ireland: ‘In this hatred of oppression no men have been more prominent than Protestants...Born in Ireland, dwelling in Ireland, Irish in feeling and bound to their fellow countrymen by the strong ties of a common nationality and of mutual interest, there never have been wanting amongst them brave hearts and strong minds to resist aggression, from whatever quarter it might come.’
On the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland: ‘The greatest triumph of modern advancement has been that of the total separation of the Church and State in Ireland. The disestablishment of the Irish branch of the English Church is indeed a great gain...the English parliament...has profited by the example of America, and is gradually adopting the democratic principles of the younger country, which has sprung from herself, speaks her language, and...can never forget or cease to be proud of her English origin.
‘...And why should it not be so with Ireland? Ireland wishes to be connected to England by the golden link of the crown, but will no longer submit to be her slave. England and Ireland may and ought to move together in their foreign relations, but as regards the internal affairs of Ireland these must be managed by Ireland for her own benefit, and without English interference.’
‘I am the Senior Fellow of the College of Physicians - the father of the profession in Ireland...But I am not a mere doctor. Many years ago I retired from the laborious practice of the profession. I preferred to reside on my own land, the greater part of which I inherit, and for which I pay no rent. For more, I pay a small chief rent, and for the rest, all of which I hold in perpetuity, I pay the fair value. Altogether I have as much as I want, a surface of nearly two thousand acres, much of which is waste. I have set some in farms to tenants; I give leases of three lives or thirty-one years, whichever shall longest last. I keep about three hundred acres in my own hands, and intend that so much shall always be attached to the family residence. I set some of this for grazing by the year. I do not allow any house to be erected on it; whatever improvements are required I make myself. I have drained a large surface of land, and planted a good deal, so that I have given an improved character to the entire country in my immediate vicinity. I live on good terms with my tenants. I do not wish to exterminate the labourers, of whom I employ a good many. They are all Catholics, decent, hardworking people - orderly and obedient. I respect their creed, and they never think of finding fault with mine....I disapprove of the distribution of tracts offensive to Roman Catholics. I do not subscribe to the Bible Society. My principles are rationalistic - that is, they are those of Protestantism carried to their legitimate extent, according to the strict rules of logical ratiocination.’
On his associations with Daniel O’Connell, the great Irish statesman: ‘The last time I stood by his side in public was when he seconded my resolution that we would never pay one shilling of tithes...We had resolved to disendow and disestablish the church altogether. Under the flag of civil and religious equality we had banded ourselves together...when without our knowledge a compromise was entered into by O’Connell and the Ministry. By means of this arrangement the tithes were converted into a permanent rent charge, payable by the landlords. The tithes no doubt were abolished, but the money charge was continued, and the Church was better off than ever.
‘...O’Connell acted his part well and nobly. Who but O’Connell could have thundered at the door of the English Commons, and bursting it in, stand proudly and alone in the midst of the elect of the British empire, bearding and defying them?...A giant, he possessed a giant’s strength, and he used it...O’Connell had to pull down before he could build. He had to undermine the strong towers and breach in the embattled walls of Protestant ascendancy, strengthened and consolidated as it was by the crushing exercise of penal laws and arbitrary power. He left the ground cumbered with rubbish, but the work was done by him, supported as he was by the liberal Protestant party. Since then the Established Church has fallen, and the rubbish has been removed.’
‘The case of Ireland is one of peculiar hardship. With the exception of the linen trade of the North, we do not possess a single manufacture. During the long and calamitous period of the last forty-seven years, since the Union with England was forced upon this country, the jealous policy of the stronger nation has been perseveringly directed to destroy the trade and manufactures...added to this, the unceasing drain from Ireland by remittances to absentees - the fraudulent and repeated changes in the value of the currency - the destructive monopoly of the Bank of Ireland...have deprived this country both of capital and of credit.
‘England, by means of the Union, have placed us at her mercy, and deprived us of a resident legislature, the only safeguard of our national rights, now that we are famine-worn and fever-stricken, tells us that we are a nation of mendicants - that our country is not our own - that the produce of our cornfields and of our rich pastures is theirs, the property of English monopolists, and must be exported...to feed the English mechanic, even though two millions of the people of Ireland shall perish from want of food. And again and again she repeats that of money, even of our own money which we have paid into the English Treasury, not a guinea will be advanced to us, to relieve us in our present great distress.’
Eliza Willis was the eldest child of the schoolmaster, Thomas Willis, and his first wife, Betty Foster. She was born on December 27th 1781, and died 15th March 1866.
Eliza married David Hill Creighton on 31st January 1810 in the French Church in Portarlington.
Her brother, William Willis, was born to Thomas Willis and Betty Foster in Portarlington on November 1st 1783 and died 8th May 1848. He entered holy orders as did so many of this family, after studying at Trinity College, Dublin.
William Willis was married to Frances Grattan (1805 - 1866), the daughter of Richard Grattan., JP., of Drummin House, Kildare. They were married on 31st May 1826 in Limerick by, I presume, William’s brother, named in the Freeman’s Journal as the ‘Rev. Doctor Willis’.
The Grattan Family of Drummin/Drummond, Kildare - Frances Willis, née Grattan, was the third daughter of Richard Grattan JP and Elizabeth Biddulph of Drummin House, Kildare.
The Grattans of Clonmeen (who I'm still trying to decipher....):
The Grattans of Drummin descend from the Grattans of Clonmeen who were noted there from about the end of the 17th century...
A Symon/Simon Grattan of Rinaghan, Carbery, Kildare, died there in 1697. He also owned or leased property in James St, Dublin, but I can find no further reference to Simon Grattan.
A John Grattan of Clonmeen died in 1741; a second John Grattan of Clonmeen died there in 1754.
These Clonmeen Grattans were buried in Carbery. An early headstone there reads: 'Here lieth the body of Mary daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Grattan who departed this life the 26th (?) 1721 aged 17yrs. Also Robert Grattan who departed this life December 7th 1748 aged 77. And Elizabeth Grattan who departed this life December 6th 1758 aged 73.'
John E.Grattan (1696 - 1740) of Clonmeen:
'This stone was placed by Martha Grattan in memory of her husband John E. Grattan who departed this life June 1740 in ye 44th year of his age...'
Also: 'On April 17th 1756 Olivia Grattan daughter of John E. and Martha Grattan of Clonmeen appoints this stone to be erected in memory of her said parents whose remains lye in the body of this church but their descendants have chosen this place on the northerly side for their internment. Here lye Ann and Elizabeth Whitterig, granddaughters to John E. and Martha Grattan. Here lyes the body of Miss Martha Whitterig who died October 1763 in the 16th year of her age. Here also lyeth the body of the mentioned Olivia Grattan who departed this life ye 15th October 1786 in the 66th year of her age.'
(NB: John Grattan, son of Dr. James Grattan and Elizabeth Tyrrell, was married to Martha Mason, but it's unclear if these were the John and Martha Grattan of Clonmeen mentioned above). One of their daughters, Anne Grattan, who died on August 6th 1748, married the wealthy merchant, William Lunell of Dublin, while a second daughter, Mary Grattan, married William Whitmore and had a daughter, Olivia Whitmore, who married Arthur Guinness of Beaumont.
John Grattan and Martha Mason also had a son, Rev. William Grattan, which confuses the issue still further, given that there are so many Rev. William Grattans in this genealogy!
Rev. William Grattan (1715 - 1761) of Carbery married Catherine, the daughter of Counsellor Sherlock, and was recorded as dying at Sherlockstown, Kildare, in July 1761. His headstone in Carbery reads: 'Here lyeth the body of Rev. William Grattan of Drummin who departed this life July 1st 1761 in the 46th year of his age. This is the appointed burial place of his widow and children.'
This Rev. William Grattan of Drummin was the grandfather of Dr. Richard Grattan of Drummin House, and the father of Richard Grattan JP of Drummin.
Betham's Extracts records the will, dated 2nd July 1791, of Richard Sherlock of Dublin, wherein he named his wife as Anne Martin, and his nephews as Richard Grattan (JP) of Drummin and Rev. William Grattan. This Rev. William Grattan must be the son, as was Richard Grattan JP, of Rev. William Grattan and Catherine Sherlock. Also named in Richard Sherlock's will was his niece, Ellinor Sherlock of Marlboro Street and her son William Sherlock.
Deed 132-331-89496, dated February 1745, details an arrangement between John Grattan of Clonmeen, Kildare, and his son and heir, Rev. William Grattan, whereby it was agreed that, during his life, John Grattan should hold land known as Demesne - still called that today - and that he would pay £6 8s. 6d. per annum to the heirs and assigns of Robert Grattan. His son and heir, Rev. William Grattan was to get half of Clonmeen, somewhere indecipherable such as Derenany as well as a windmill in the same townland, Ballyshannon, Knockballyboy, Phillipstown and Killaderry. Most of these places are close to Carbery, Drummin/Drummond and Edenderry. Clonmeen was two miles north of Edenderry.
The Grattans of Drummin:
Rev. William Grattan, who the father of Richard Grattan JP, took out a lease on approximately 580 acres of land at Drummond, Kildare, in 1746. This lease was renewed by his grandson, Richard Grattan MD, in 1840 for the lives of himself and his two sons, Richard and William Grattan. Also mentioned in the lease was Nicholas Biddulph, brother-in-law of Richard Grattan MD.
In June 1850, the estate of Hercules Robinson, ie, Drummond, Kildare, was up for sale in the Encumbered Estates Court. The estate was held by Richard Grattan MD under two leases, one a renewal of one originally made on 17th February 1846 to William Grattan for three lives, not mentioned in the sales details, and renewed on 4th February 1840. A second lease was dated 1840, made out to Richard Grattan MD, for three lives, ie, himself, Nicholas Biddulph (his brother-in-law) and William Grattan, all still alive in 1850 at the time of the sale. Yet another lease was made out to the same Richard Grattan MD for three lives, himself and his two sons, Richard and William.
Rev. William Grattan of Drummin died on 1st July 1761 - 'Here lyeth the body of Rev. William Grattan of Drummin who departed this life July 1st 1761 in the 46th year of his age. This is the appointed burial place of his widow and children.'
Rev. William Grattan of Drummin died on 1st July 1761 - 'Here lyeth the body of Rev. William Grattan of Drummin who departed this life July 1st 1761 in the 46th year of his age. This is the appointed burial place of his widow and children.'
In October 1781, Mrs. Grattan, the wife of the late Rev. William Grattan, died at Drummin, Kildare.
Rev. William Grattan was the father of Richard Grattan the Elder, who married, in 1788, Elizabeth Biddulph, the daughter of Francis Biddulph and Eliza Harrison of Vicarstown, Queen's County.
I also read through Deed 634 - 515 - 438150, dated July 1811, between Richard Grattan the Elder, William Scott of Fishertown, Queen's County, Francis Harrison Biddulph of Dublin, Rev. Richard Clarke, and Richard Grattan, eldest son and heir apparent to Richard Grattan the Elder, the younger Richard being Dr. Richard Grattan of Drummin. This deed recited an earlier marriage settlement of 18th February 1788, which had been drawn up at the time of the older Richard's marriage to Elizabeth Biddulph; at the time of this marriage, Richard Grattan granted to William Scott and Francis Biddulph 355 acres of land in Kildare, including Drummin, to be was held in trust. The current deed of 1811 was to legalise the release of this land to the younger Richard Grattan, possibly at the time of his first marriage, although this wasn't mentioned in this deed.
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2014/03/the-biddulph-family-of-rathrobin-and.html
The children of Richard Grattan Senior, who was buried in Carbery on 26th September 1839, and Eliza Biddulph were:
1) Their first child, a son, died in infancy - an old family tradition had it that the firstborn son would never live at Drummond.
2) Richard Grattan MD of Drummin was born on 23rd January 1790.
3) Possibly John Grattan, apothecary of Cornmarket, Belfast, born circa 1801 in the Dublin region, died 24th April 1871 in Belfast. This has yet to be confirmed.
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2013/09/notes-on-family-of-frances-grattan-of.html
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2013/09/notes-on-family-of-frances-grattan-of.html
4) Frances Grattan, born circa 1805, married William Willis.
5) Nicholas Grattan, dentist of Killeagh, Co. Cork, born 23rd March 1808, died in Cork in 1869.
6) Catherine Grattan, who married a Colonel Hamilton of Toronto.
7) Ellen Grattan, named in her brother's will - ie: the will of John Grattan, apothecary of Belfast, and also named in a letter home by Catherine Grattan Hamilton of Toronto.
8) Anne Grattan, daughter of the late Richard Grattan JP of Drummin, Kildare, married in Dublin on 12th September 1850, George Cooke, the son of Randal Cooke. The wedding in St. George's was witnessed by Richard and John Grattan. At the time, Anne Grattan's address was 22 Pembroke Place, Dublin, and George Cooke's was 4 Drumcondra Terrace, where the couple's son, George Grattan Cooke, was born on 9th April 1852. George Grattan Cooke followed his grandfather into the medical profession, first with the Royal Navy, then taking up a post in 1877 as the district medical officer for the Mandeville area of Jamaica, where he married Henrietta Emma Calder. This couple had Kathleen Isabelle Cooke, born 21st February 1885, who married Arthur Guy Robinson in Jamaica on 19th June 1907.
A first cousin of the above children was the poet and novelist, Biddulph Warner, who must have been the son of Elizabeth Biddulph's sister. Biddulph Warner was the son of Patience Biddulph and Henry T. Warner of Marvelstown, Meath. Both Patience Biddulph and Elizabeth Biddulph were the daughters of Francis Biddulph of Vicarstown, Queen's County. Francis was the son of John Biddulph of Stradbally, Queen's County.
A first cousin of the above children was the poet and novelist, Biddulph Warner, who must have been the son of Elizabeth Biddulph's sister. Biddulph Warner was the son of Patience Biddulph and Henry T. Warner of Marvelstown, Meath. Both Patience Biddulph and Elizabeth Biddulph were the daughters of Francis Biddulph of Vicarstown, Queen's County. Francis was the son of John Biddulph of Stradbally, Queen's County.
The Grattans of Drummin House, Edenderry, Kildare, were known to be related to the Irish orator and nationalist MP, Henry Grattan, but I've been unable to decipher how correctly - both Grattan families had their origins in Kildare, however. In his book 'Considerations on the Human Mind', Richard Grattan MD mentions his relative, the writer, T.C. Grattan - this was Thomas Colley Grattan of Kildare, who descended from Rev. Patrick Grattan of Belcamp, Santry, as did Henry Grattan, the great Irish policitian.
Richard Grattan, Frances Willis's brother or perhaps her father, was an old schoolfriend of Feargus O'Connor - they had both been educated by Thomas Willis at his school in Portarlington. Feargus, it is said, tried to elope with one of Thomas's daughters, possibly Eliza Willis, our 3 x great grandmother. Her brother, William Willis, would go on to marry Frances Grattan.
Dr. Richard Grattan of Drummin House, brother of Frances Willis:
A prolific writer, I gleaned much of the following information from his own works. He was born on 23rd January 1790 and recalled that his father was 'a zealous cleric and a benevolent doctor'.
Dr. Richard Grattan later attended Trinity, Dublin : 'Grattan, Richard. Pen. (Mr. Leney) November 14th 1805, aged 16. Son of Richard, Generosus; born Queen's County; B.A. Vern 1810; (M.D. Edinburgh)'
He married Rosetta Alathea/Esther Haigh in 1829. Rosetta Grattan, of York St., Dublin, and Edenderry, Kildare, who was the daughter of Rev. Dr. Martin of Dublin, vicar of St. Patrick's Cathedral, died 13rd August 1834 and was buried in St. Patrick's. Rosetta Alathea Martin had previously been married to William Haigh of Westfield House, Doncaster, who died, aged 63, on 12th May 1828. He had been a civil magistrate in Ireland, and was the agent of Earl Fitzwilliam's estates there. Rosetta's sister, Jane Haigh, married Thomas Alexander of Frowick House, Essex, and of Buncrana, Donegal, in 1836.
Richard himself referred to the death by cholera of his wife, Rosetta, in his book 'Considerations on the Human Mind' -
'My wife died (of cholera) after a few hours' illness, on Wednesday, the 13th of August, (1834), a little before sunrise - having throughout her illness expressed the most anxious wishes to see me, and continuously desired me to be sent for. At the time of her death I was travelling in the mail, and asleep, when I was suddenly awakened by a rush of something which startled me, and caused me, at the instant, to think it was my wife. Again, in travelling, also in the mail, on the night of the same day, about ten o'clock, having fallen asleep, I was startled as before, with the same feeling, but stronger, as if a handkerchief had been thrown in my face by my wife to waken me. (She was "buried by torchlight" that night.)......
......'When conversing with my wife's family on the subject of her death, one of them, her brother, exclaimed , "Oh, but did you hear what happened in your house in the country?" "No; what was it?"
"The strangest thing in the world - sure, Rosetta appeared to your children the night she was buried."
"Nonsense," I said, "that is too ridiculous; they must have been dreaming, as I was when I was in the coach, and thought she wakened me." "It is perfectly true," he replied, and then he told me what I tell you.
....Three children, one five, another three, and the third not quite two years old, were put to bed in their nursery at their usual hour. They were all asleep, when, about ten o' clock, on the night of the day when their mother died, and before any person in the house had been informed of her death, the children ALL suddenly awoke, screaming under the influence of fright, the two elder exclaiming "There's mamma! there's mamma!'
The same publication mentions two older children, daughters aged nine and ten, at the time of Rosetta's death in 1834.
The baptismal register of Carbery church notes that a daughter, Elizabeth Grattan, was born to Richard and Rosetta Althea Grattan of Drummin on 10th January 1833, and was baptised there on 13th February 1833.
In December 1845, Dr. Richard Grattan of Drummin lost a hand between the rollers of a threshing machine. The Quaker nationalist, Alfred Webb, recalled that Dr. Grattan of Carbury had lost an arm in a threshing machine.
Following the death of his first wife, Rosetta Althea Martin in 1834, Richard Grattan married a second time.
'Saunders Newsletter' of 13th October 1836: 'Married on the 12th instant, at St, Thomas's Church, Richard Grattan of Drummin House, Kildare, to Grace Nixon, third daughter of William Gillespie of Lower Gardiner Street.'
The baptismal register of Carbery Church noted that a son, William, was baptised by Richard and Grace Grattan of Drummin on 5th November 1837. His date of birth was also noted but was illegible. Oddly, a later entry in the same register noted the date of baptism as 8th October 1837.
A second son of Richard and Grace Grattan of Drummin was baptised as Christopher Hutchinson Grattan on 22nd January 1838, and this was the man who proved his mother's will when she died at Drummin House on 28th April 1881.
At the beginning of the Great Famine, Richard Grattan wrote a letter detailing the first major failure of the potato crop, both on his own farm and in Co. Kildare in general, in October 1845, to John William Gillespie of 93 Lower Gardiner Street, and this man must surely be a relation of his wife, Grace Nixon Gillespie of Lower Gardiner Street. A Christopher Gillespie was a wine merchant of Lower Gardiner Street.
'Saunders Newsletter' of 13th October 1836: 'Married on the 12th instant, at St, Thomas's Church, Richard Grattan of Drummin House, Kildare, to Grace Nixon, third daughter of William Gillespie of Lower Gardiner Street.'
The baptismal register of Carbery Church noted that a son, William, was baptised by Richard and Grace Grattan of Drummin on 5th November 1837. His date of birth was also noted but was illegible. Oddly, a later entry in the same register noted the date of baptism as 8th October 1837.
A second son of Richard and Grace Grattan of Drummin was baptised as Christopher Hutchinson Grattan on 22nd January 1838, and this was the man who proved his mother's will when she died at Drummin House on 28th April 1881.
At the beginning of the Great Famine, Richard Grattan wrote a letter detailing the first major failure of the potato crop, both on his own farm and in Co. Kildare in general, in October 1845, to John William Gillespie of 93 Lower Gardiner Street, and this man must surely be a relation of his wife, Grace Nixon Gillespie of Lower Gardiner Street. A Christopher Gillespie was a wine merchant of Lower Gardiner Street.
The Kildare Lent Assizes for 1847:
In 1847, at the height of the Famine, Jane Maher and Garret Lynam were accused of poisoning, with arsenic, Richard Grattan Junior (1831 - 1846), aged 15, the son of Richard Grattan MD and Rosetta Haigh of Drummin House, Kildare. Richard Grattan had attempted to alleviate the distress of his tenantry by purchasing a large quantity of Indian corn. Indian corn was deeply unpopular, being difficult both to prepare and digest. It arrived in Drummin on the 14th or 15th of August 1846- when the servants refused to touch it, Richard Grattan ordered that it be served to his own family as breakfast porridge, or stirabout, on the mornings of the 17th and 18th August. The servants still refused to eat it, and gave the leftovers to four calves which subsequently died.
At the time of the trial, Grattan testified that he was living at Drummin with his wife, five children (only three were named during the trial - Anne, William and the young victim, Richard, but the remaining two were mentioned as sisters to Anne) and five servants, two of whom were the suspects in the poisoning case - the cook, Jane Maher, and the steward, Garret Lynam. Grattan helped Jane Lynam to prepare the porridge in the kitchen; shortly after breakfast on the 18th, Grattan's family fell ill, and his son, Richard Junior, died about a day later.
The burial register of Carbery Church noted that Master Richard Grattan of Drummin was buried on 21st August 1846 aged 15.
The trial failed to find enough evidence to convict the two defendants, and the pair were released.
In the course of the trial, a Mr. John Grattan, possibly John Grattan of Belfast, was also mentioned.
The poisoned child, Richard Grattan, died aged 15, on 18th August 1846.
On December 17th 1859, William Grattan, aged 22, eldest son of Richard Grattan M.D., died at Drummin House, Kildare - the death of this beloved son seems to have prompted the writing of 'Considerations on the Human Mind' as much of the book is devoted to his memory, and to the memory of his lately departed cousin, Biddulph Warner.
William and his father were buried in Carbery graveyard - 'William son of Richard Grattan Esqr. MD, Drummin House. Born October 1837, died December 1857. "Farewell, dear William, for a time, Farewell ere longue both shall surely meet again, till then - child of my findest hopes, Farewell." Richard Grattan, born January 1790. Died May 25th 1886.'
The 1901 census shows two unmarried sisters living in a 15-room house in Drummin, Kildare - Anne Grattan who had been born in Dublin in 1834, and her sister, Elizabeth Grattan, who had been born in Kildare in 1837. (I had originally confused this Anne Grattan with her paternal aunt, Anne Grattan who had married George Cooke in 1850, but a newspaper announcement of 1850 clearly stated that the older Anne was the daughter of the LATE Richard Grattan of Drummin,)
From 'Walford's County Families' of 1901, it is stated that Anne Grattan of Drummin House was indeed the eldest daughter of Richard Grattan and of Rosetta Alathea who was herself the daughter of the Rev. Dr. Martin of Dublin. Anne Grattan's sister, Elizabeth Grattan, who was also living at Drummin in 1901, was born in 1837 according to the census, so would have been born three years after the death of Rosetta Alathea Grattan, who was Anne's mother.
Anne Grattan died at Drummin House, Carbery, Co. Kildare, on 20th November 1915, and her will was granted to Robert Cecil Grattan de Courcy Wheeler, of Drummin, who also erected the sisters' gravestone in Carbery -
'In memory of Anne Grattan who died 20th November 1915 aged 87 years, eldest daughter of Richard Grattan MD of Drummin House and of her sister, Elizabeth Grattan, who died 29th january 1922 aged 90 years. Erected in their memory by Robert Cecil Grattan De Courcy Wheeler of Drummin.'
The register entry for the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland has the following for Richard Grattan: 'Grattan, Richard - L, 17th Sept 1814; F, 14th April 1817; C., 1817 - 1822; MD, Edin; BA, Dublin. Drummin House, Carberry, Enfield, county Kildare.'
In the Dublin directory of 1818, Dr. Richard Grattan was mentioned as a Censor of The King's and Queen's College of Physicians; he was also one of the Inspectors of Apothecaries Shops, appointed by Act of Parliament.
In 1818, his Dublin address was 32 Peter Street, and, in 1829, 23 York Street.
In 1848, Dr. Richard Grattan, who had strong nationalist sympathies, signed the William Smith O'Brien petition.
Dr. Richard Grattan, Drummin House, was vehemently patriotic, and was the author of ‘Vox Hiberniae e Deserto Clamantis: or, Ireland, her Grievances and their Remedies’, which was published in 1870.
On his kinsman, Henry Grattan: ‘...Henry Grattan, returned as a representative through the patronage of the Earl of Charlemont, by his eloquence and liberal views soon became a leader in the Irish parliament. He was a strenuous advocate for Catholic emancipation. He claimed and obtained free trade for Ireland. Supported by the Irish Volunteers, he set the English minister at defiance, and compelled England, terrified by her ignominious defeat in the war with the United States, to ratify his resolution that no power on earth has the authority to make laws for Ireland, except the King, Lords, and Commons of IRELAND...my efforts, however feeble, have always been in accord with the principles of Henry Grattan...I have devoted my attention chiefly to the improvement of the hard-working and industrious classes....I have no faith in the wisdom, no confidence in the justice of an English Parliament in its dealings with Ireland...’
On being Protestant in Ireland: ‘In this hatred of oppression no men have been more prominent than Protestants...Born in Ireland, dwelling in Ireland, Irish in feeling and bound to their fellow countrymen by the strong ties of a common nationality and of mutual interest, there never have been wanting amongst them brave hearts and strong minds to resist aggression, from whatever quarter it might come.’
On the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland: ‘The greatest triumph of modern advancement has been that of the total separation of the Church and State in Ireland. The disestablishment of the Irish branch of the English Church is indeed a great gain...the English parliament...has profited by the example of America, and is gradually adopting the democratic principles of the younger country, which has sprung from herself, speaks her language, and...can never forget or cease to be proud of her English origin.
‘...And why should it not be so with Ireland? Ireland wishes to be connected to England by the golden link of the crown, but will no longer submit to be her slave. England and Ireland may and ought to move together in their foreign relations, but as regards the internal affairs of Ireland these must be managed by Ireland for her own benefit, and without English interference.’
‘I am the Senior Fellow of the College of Physicians - the father of the profession in Ireland...But I am not a mere doctor. Many years ago I retired from the laborious practice of the profession. I preferred to reside on my own land, the greater part of which I inherit, and for which I pay no rent. For more, I pay a small chief rent, and for the rest, all of which I hold in perpetuity, I pay the fair value. Altogether I have as much as I want, a surface of nearly two thousand acres, much of which is waste. I have set some in farms to tenants; I give leases of three lives or thirty-one years, whichever shall longest last. I keep about three hundred acres in my own hands, and intend that so much shall always be attached to the family residence. I set some of this for grazing by the year. I do not allow any house to be erected on it; whatever improvements are required I make myself. I have drained a large surface of land, and planted a good deal, so that I have given an improved character to the entire country in my immediate vicinity. I live on good terms with my tenants. I do not wish to exterminate the labourers, of whom I employ a good many. They are all Catholics, decent, hardworking people - orderly and obedient. I respect their creed, and they never think of finding fault with mine....I disapprove of the distribution of tracts offensive to Roman Catholics. I do not subscribe to the Bible Society. My principles are rationalistic - that is, they are those of Protestantism carried to their legitimate extent, according to the strict rules of logical ratiocination.’
On his associations with Daniel O’Connell, the great Irish statesman: ‘The last time I stood by his side in public was when he seconded my resolution that we would never pay one shilling of tithes...We had resolved to disendow and disestablish the church altogether. Under the flag of civil and religious equality we had banded ourselves together...when without our knowledge a compromise was entered into by O’Connell and the Ministry. By means of this arrangement the tithes were converted into a permanent rent charge, payable by the landlords. The tithes no doubt were abolished, but the money charge was continued, and the Church was better off than ever.
‘...O’Connell acted his part well and nobly. Who but O’Connell could have thundered at the door of the English Commons, and bursting it in, stand proudly and alone in the midst of the elect of the British empire, bearding and defying them?...A giant, he possessed a giant’s strength, and he used it...O’Connell had to pull down before he could build. He had to undermine the strong towers and breach in the embattled walls of Protestant ascendancy, strengthened and consolidated as it was by the crushing exercise of penal laws and arbitrary power. He left the ground cumbered with rubbish, but the work was done by him, supported as he was by the liberal Protestant party. Since then the Established Church has fallen, and the rubbish has been removed.’
‘The case of Ireland is one of peculiar hardship. With the exception of the linen trade of the North, we do not possess a single manufacture. During the long and calamitous period of the last forty-seven years, since the Union with England was forced upon this country, the jealous policy of the stronger nation has been perseveringly directed to destroy the trade and manufactures...added to this, the unceasing drain from Ireland by remittances to absentees - the fraudulent and repeated changes in the value of the currency - the destructive monopoly of the Bank of Ireland...have deprived this country both of capital and of credit.
‘England, by means of the Union, have placed us at her mercy, and deprived us of a resident legislature, the only safeguard of our national rights, now that we are famine-worn and fever-stricken, tells us that we are a nation of mendicants - that our country is not our own - that the produce of our cornfields and of our rich pastures is theirs, the property of English monopolists, and must be exported...to feed the English mechanic, even though two millions of the people of Ireland shall perish from want of food. And again and again she repeats that of money, even of our own money which we have paid into the English Treasury, not a guinea will be advanced to us, to relieve us in our present great distress.’
Friday 2 March 2012
Joseph Lysaght Pennefather - The Clonmel Tithe Trial
I sourced the information for this post from the book ‘Tipperary’s Tithe War 1830 - 1838’ by Noreen Higgins.
The barrister, Joseph Lysaght Pennefather, was one of nine children from a second marriage of Rev. John Pennefather to Elizabeth Percival. He was the half-brother of our 4 x great grandfather, Edward Pennefather, who had been born to the Rev. John Pennefather and his first unknown wife. Edward named a son after Joseph Lysaght Pennefather.
Joseph Lysaght Pennefather was a barrister who opposed his father on the tithe question. Rev. John Pennefather was the rector of Newport Union which generated a healthy income of £1500 per year in tithes.
The trial of Joseph Lysaght Pennefather was heard before Judge Torrens at Clonmel on Monday 29th October 1832. Joseph’s attorney was Richard Lalor Shiels. Joseph was charged with conspiracy to hinder tithe collection and with inciting others to resistance at the Borrisokane tithe sale of 22nd September 1832, where he displayed a placard which read ‘No Tithes and Repeal of the Union’. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying his precence at Borrisokane had been accidental and unpremeditated.
The Rev. Pierse Goold was rector of the Finoe and Cloughbryan Union near Borrisokane, where resistance to the tithes had been virulent. His son, Rev. Richard Goold, acted as his curate and tithe agent, contrary to Anglican Church law. Richard had attempted, with the help of a large body of police, to collect arrears on the 7th or 8th of September. Those in arrears had their cattle seized and put up for auction; when the auctioneer refused to take part in the sale, Rev. Richard Goold stood as auctioneer in his place. Nobody put in a bid and Richard found himself boycotted by the local community.
During the trial of Joseph Lysaght Pennefather, Rev. Goold gave evidence, saying that, during the tithe sale, he’d seen a jaunting car with a large placard driving through the crowd. He’d also heard that a gentleman had addressed the crowd in the yard of Murphy’s Hotel. Constable Robert Young stated that he’d seen Joseph Lysaght Pennefather with the placard and that Joseph had addressed the crowd, saying ‘...any man who bids or takes part in the sale, mark him!...and hold him up as an enemy of the people.’
Joseph Lysaght Pennefather was found guilty. He was given five months in Clonmel Gaol and a fine of £100. The fine was remitted but he later stated that he had no regrets and that the tithe system was most oppressive.
Other men jailed at the Clonmel Tithe Trials were Laffan, Doheny, Bradshaw and Mulcahy.
Joseph continued to oppose the tithe system. In January 1834, a Great Repeal meeting was held at Cashel to demand the abolition of the tithes and a restoration of the National Legislature in Dublin. Both Joseph Lysaght Pennefather and Richard Lalor Shiels spoke at the meeting.
Joseph was involved, along with many O’Connell supporters, in the 1836 Tipperary Society which called for an end to agrarian crime by secret rural societies such as The Whiteboys. The aims of the Society were to prevent faction fighting at fairs, to refuse to employ or associate with people of bad character, and to report to the local magistrate any suspicion of bad character or any facts that might prevent outrages.
The barrister, Joseph Lysaght Pennefather, was one of nine children from a second marriage of Rev. John Pennefather to Elizabeth Percival. He was the half-brother of our 4 x great grandfather, Edward Pennefather, who had been born to the Rev. John Pennefather and his first unknown wife. Edward named a son after Joseph Lysaght Pennefather.
Joseph Lysaght Pennefather was a barrister who opposed his father on the tithe question. Rev. John Pennefather was the rector of Newport Union which generated a healthy income of £1500 per year in tithes.
The trial of Joseph Lysaght Pennefather was heard before Judge Torrens at Clonmel on Monday 29th October 1832. Joseph’s attorney was Richard Lalor Shiels. Joseph was charged with conspiracy to hinder tithe collection and with inciting others to resistance at the Borrisokane tithe sale of 22nd September 1832, where he displayed a placard which read ‘No Tithes and Repeal of the Union’. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying his precence at Borrisokane had been accidental and unpremeditated.
The Rev. Pierse Goold was rector of the Finoe and Cloughbryan Union near Borrisokane, where resistance to the tithes had been virulent. His son, Rev. Richard Goold, acted as his curate and tithe agent, contrary to Anglican Church law. Richard had attempted, with the help of a large body of police, to collect arrears on the 7th or 8th of September. Those in arrears had their cattle seized and put up for auction; when the auctioneer refused to take part in the sale, Rev. Richard Goold stood as auctioneer in his place. Nobody put in a bid and Richard found himself boycotted by the local community.
During the trial of Joseph Lysaght Pennefather, Rev. Goold gave evidence, saying that, during the tithe sale, he’d seen a jaunting car with a large placard driving through the crowd. He’d also heard that a gentleman had addressed the crowd in the yard of Murphy’s Hotel. Constable Robert Young stated that he’d seen Joseph Lysaght Pennefather with the placard and that Joseph had addressed the crowd, saying ‘...any man who bids or takes part in the sale, mark him!...and hold him up as an enemy of the people.’
Joseph Lysaght Pennefather was found guilty. He was given five months in Clonmel Gaol and a fine of £100. The fine was remitted but he later stated that he had no regrets and that the tithe system was most oppressive.
Other men jailed at the Clonmel Tithe Trials were Laffan, Doheny, Bradshaw and Mulcahy.
Joseph continued to oppose the tithe system. In January 1834, a Great Repeal meeting was held at Cashel to demand the abolition of the tithes and a restoration of the National Legislature in Dublin. Both Joseph Lysaght Pennefather and Richard Lalor Shiels spoke at the meeting.
Joseph was involved, along with many O’Connell supporters, in the 1836 Tipperary Society which called for an end to agrarian crime by secret rural societies such as The Whiteboys. The aims of the Society were to prevent faction fighting at fairs, to refuse to employ or associate with people of bad character, and to report to the local magistrate any suspicion of bad character or any facts that might prevent outrages.
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