The Wilton Family of Mullingar, Co. Westmeath

I have done extensive research into the Jones family of Dublin, from whom I descend - the earliest member of our Jones family which I could isolate was Patrick Jones Senior, floorcloth painter of 46 Henry Street.
Patrick's eldest son and heir was Patrick Jones Junior, who married in 1818, as his second wife, a Mary Wilton of Mullingar.   This post, therefore, is a brief foray into the Wiltons of Co. Westmeath, and collates what little information I could gather on the family of Mary Wilton.
http://alison-stewart.blogspot.ie/2011/07/jones-family-of-dublin.html

Deed 732-286-499421, registered 3rd October 1818 - dated 29th August 1818, recorded the marriage settlement of Patrick Jones of Bishop Street,  house painter, and Mary Wilton, spinster of Mullingar. Also named were William Blackhall, woollen draper, and Mary's brother, Henry Wilton of Mullingar.
(The 'Treble Almanack' of 1818 noted William Blackhall, woollen-draper, at 22 Parliament Street, Dublin.)

The deed ran as follows: reciting that by indented deed of release, dated 1st June 1778, Redman/Redmond Nowlan did demise to Thomas Gorman Jr. ground and ale house in Big Booters Lane, now Bishop Street, at a rent of £32 per annum - these premises then became vested in the said Patrick Jones, and the estate of Redmand Nowlan became vested in James Corballis, timber merchant.
An annuity of £91 per annum was granted to Mary Wilton out of the lands of Scurlockstown, Co. Westmeath (for three lives - Alex Murray, Mary Wilton and Henry Wilton);  Alex Murray, in order to more effectually secure the payment of said annuity, did grant to Mary's brother, Henry Wilton of Mullingar, the lands of Scurlockstown for 300 years upon the marriage of Patarick Jones and Mary Wilton;  also, at the time of the 1818 marriage, the house in Bishop Street was to be assigned to William Blackhall and Henry Wilton, so that provision might be made for Mary Wilton should her husband, Patrick Jones, die or become bankrupt, or to provide for any children resulting from the marriage.   If Patrick Jones was to die, the trustees could sell the house in Bishop Street;  if Mary died, then the proceeds of the house could go to her children.
Patrick Jones the Elder, father of Patrick Jones Junior, held, at the time of his death, a house in Henry Street.  Patrick Jones Senior died intestate - his son, Patrick, as his eldest son and heir-at-law, obtained the legal right of administration of his father's property and granted and recited said premises in mortgage to Thomas Smart, carpenter on 12th May 1812.
Also mentioned in this deed of 1818 was the earlier marriage settlement of 30th November 1811 whereby Patrick Jones married spinster Mary Anne Stockdale - two daughters had resulted from this marriage, namely Hannah and Ellen Jones.  Following the early death of Mary Anne Jones, née Stockdale, John and Roger Stockdale had gained judgement against Patrick Jones in His Majesty's Court of the King's Bench in Ireland.
The witnesses to the 1818 deed of marriage was John Shaw, apothecary of Dublin, Michael Walker of Clonegar, Co. Meath, Patrick Jones, Mary Wilton, William Blackhall and Henry Wilton of Mullingar.
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William Blackhall, either one of Mary Wilton's trustees in 1818 or a relation of his, was implicated in other Wilton deeds.  Deed 541-407-357750, dated 14th January 1802, had been drawn up between John Wilton of Mullingar, John Rorke of Dublin,  William Blackhall of Stonehall and James Ryan of Co. Kildare. John Wilton granted his land in Ballynakill, Co. Meath to James Ryan.  John Wilton was entitled to the lands of Springfield and Cooksborough in Co. Westmeath, and to a house in Mullingar. The trustees were here named as John Rorke and William Blackhall.

Yet another deed  (398-70-262355) of 3rd November 1787 named both John Wilton Senior of Marktown (or perhaps Martinstown) and John Wilton Junior of Stonehall, both of Co. Westmeath, farmers, and also William Blackhall Senior and William Blackhall Junior of Martinstown, Co.Westmeath, farmers.  The Wiltons here leased land in Stonehall to William Blackhall Jr.

The 'Freeman's Journal' of 4th July 1877 reported from the Record Court in Dublin on a law case, Blackhall v. Gibson, which was an action of ejectment for non-payment of rent of the lands of Blackmills, Co. Westmeath.  The plaintiff claimed under a devise in the will of Henry Wilton, late of Mullingar, who died in 1810.  Blackhall stated that the three children of an older brother of his, and also the childrens' mother, had emigrated to the US in 1835 and that he had only ever had one letter from them. The court found in his favour.  This case was immediately followed by a second, also Blackhall v. Gibson, and again an ejectment for non-payment of rent on lands of Stonehall, and was brought for the purpose of establishing title of the plaintiff who claimed as heir-at -law of his grandfather, William Blackhall of Clongriffin/Clongriffen, Co. Meath who had died there in 1820.
The 'Westmeath Journal' of 15th March 1827 noted that the demesne of Cookesborough in possession of Mr. J. Wilton and his undertenants was to be let.
Stonehall is in Multyfarnham, Co. Westmeath, 17 kms north of Mullingar town;  other townlands named in these Wilton deeds cluster in this same area, namely, Martinstown, Ballynakill, Springfield and Cookborough.

A John Wilton was running a coach service in Mullingar in the 1780s - he advertised this extensively in the papers of the day.  'Saunders Newsletter' of 2nd December 1806 reported that Mr. John Wilton of Mullingar was running coaches everyday between Thomastown and Mullingar, and then on to Longford, and could therefore meet passenger off the Royal Canal which had recently opened  at Thomastown and which now linked this area to Dublin.

Henry Wilton
As noted in the 1818 marriage settlement of Patrick Jones and Mary Wilton, Henry Wilton of Mullingar was named as the brother of Mary Wilton.  Their parents were not mentioned.

A deed (1840-23-244) of 25th November 1840 drawn up between Henry Wilton and Laurence Middleton of Mullingar, noted that Henry was leasing a house and 11 acres in Mullingar to Laurence Middleton for the lives of Andrew Dudgeon, his wife Elizabeth Dudgeon, née Wilton, and Alexander Dudgeon, the 4th son of Ralph Dudgeon of Clones, Co. Monaghan.

'Saunders Newsletter' of 19th February 1817 noted the death on 15th February 1817 in Blessington Street, Dublin, of Elizabeth, wife of Andrew Dudgeon and daughter of Mr. Wilton, late of Mullingar.

'Saunders Newsletter',  4th October 1817, the year before Mary Wilton married the short-lived Patrick Jones of Bishop Street,  ran an advertisement for the letting of 'Wilton's Inn' of Mullingar on the Royal Canal, 60 miles from Dublin.  The future tenant could also lease 50 acres of land adjoining the town.  Application was to be made to either Andrew Dudgeon, solicitor of 22 Blessington Street, Dublin, or to Henry Wilton on the premises.

The 'Westmeath Journal' of 18th March 1824 was advertising the Westmeath Steeplechase, one of whose organisers was Henry Wilton of Mullingar.   He was named as a church warden of Mullingar Parish Church by the 'Westmeath Journal' of 14th July 1825.

The 'Roscommon and Leitrim Gazette' reported on 26th June 1824 that, in Mullingar on 17th June, the house, barn, stables and car-house, half a mile from Mullingar, the property of Henry Wilton of Monte Video, had been maliciously burnt.   Later, on 26th February 1829, the 'Westmeath Journal' reported that Henry Wilton was leasing out his house, Monte Video, five minute's walk from Mullingar.

The Landed Estates Court Rentals put up for sale, on 3rd June 1858, 6 Main Street, Mullingar.  The original lease had been signed on 16th December 1833 from Rt. Hon. Viscount Forbes to Henry Wilton for three lives - namely, Henry Wilton himself, Edward Maxton and William Malcolm Maxton.  Now, in 1858, only two of these were still alive, Henry Wilton, aged about 70 and Edward Maxton now about 35.   Henry Wilton, therefore, had been born in about 1788.

Henry Wilton lived for a time at Monte Video Cottage in Mullingar.

The unmarried Henry Wilton (1788 - 1860) of Montevideo Cottage, Mullingar, and of The Retreat, Finglas Road, Dublin, died on 25th October 1860 - his will was granted to his spinster sister, Ann Wilton of 68 Aungier Street, who died at 2 Peter Place on 23rd September 1866. The 'Clare Journal' also reported Henry Wilton's death, and noted that he had died at Bell View in Finglas.

Henry Wilton of Monte Video had links to the lands of Clonmoyle and Tullanisky, south of Mullingar - the 'Westmeath Journal' of 18th March 1824 advertised the letting of Mr. Wilton's lands of Clonmoyle and Tullimsky (sic), which comprised 254 acres and which was situated 1 mile from Mullingar.  Proposals were to be received by both Henry Wilton of Monte Video and by John Wilton of 3, College Green, Dublin.

These lands of Clonmoyle and Tullanisky were associated with another cluster of Wiltons, who seem to be related.  The first of this second Wilton family, that I can isolate,  was John Wilton of Rathcarn or Rathcane, Co. Westmeath, who had business links with the Williams family of Dublin who were prominent in the glassmaking industry.

John Wilton of Rathcarn/Rathcane, Co. Westmeath:
Deed 324-2-211172, dated 28th February 1777, concerned the sale of land, ie, Clonmoyle and Tullanisky, plus land of Stonestown, all in Fortullagh, Co. Westmeath.  John Wilton of Rathcarn, Co. Westmeath sold a moiety of his share of land, ie, 371 acres, for £500 to John Alderton of Dublin.

These lands of Clonmoyle and Tullanisky were mentioned in the 1783 will of this same John Wilton, which was lodged in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.  John Wilton was late of Rathcarn/Rathcam, Co. Westmeath, and of Potter's Alley, Dublin.   In his will, which he drew up on 11th March 1783, he named three sons, Thomas Wilton, John Wilton and George Wilton, and also three daughters, Elizabeth Wilton, Rose Wilton and Mary Wilton.  The mother of all six of his children was Mary Neary or Nairy, who had lived with John Wilton for the past 30 years;  he was now adopting the six children, and the will made ample provision for both them and his partner.
To his second son, and obvious favourite, John, he left his share of the lands of Clonmoyle and Tullaniksy which were currently tenanted by a John Jones. Should son John not have any children to inherit this property, then the land was to pass to eldest son Thomas.  Should he have no issue, then it was to go to third son George, and should he die childless, the land was to be sold and the proceeds to be divided between the three daughters and their mother.
His lands of Gortumblo/Gortunloe and Redmondstown, Co. Westmeath, were to be sold by Patrick Mullingan, Dublin attorney, and by William Williams, his business partner, and the said proceeds were to go to Bridget Neary, and, after her death, to his children.  Other land mentioned in the will was land in White Cliff, Hull, Yorkshire, and in Baldonnell, Co. Dublin.
John Wilton also alluded to his co-partnership with Dublin glassmaker, William Williams of The Strand, who was to ensure that his family be supported in a frugal manner after his death and that they should all live together.  He left his house in Potters Alley to Bridget, including his furniture and plate in England, Ireland and France.
A brother was named as Henry Wilton (not the Henry Wilton who was the brother of Mary Wilton, wife of Patrick Jones, but an earlier Henry Wilton), to whom he only left £10, given that this Henry was aged and childless, and that he had already benefitted from a bequest of land from a brother, Walter Wilton, and that he, John, had already assisted Henry in expanding his property.  John Wilton claimed that his brother, Henry, already lived in a state of opulence, and that he, John, wished to provide mostly for his own partner and children  who would have no other means of income.  John also left £10 to his sister Rose Wilton.
John Wilton Sr. of both Rathcarn, Co. Westmeath, and of Dublin, died on 31st January 1786 as confirmed by later deeds drawn up by his grandson in 1832.  His will was finally proved in London on 1st December 1794.
John Wilton of Rathcarn, Co. Westmeath, was the son of Hugh Wilton and Elizabeth Wakely.

John, Henry, Walter and Rose Wilton, had all been born  to Hugh and Elizabeth in Dublin the 1720s.   I wonder was the elderly, opulent Henry Wilton, who was aged and childless in 1783, the same Henry Wilton who died in Westmeath in 1810 and who named William Blackhall under a devise in his will?
The children of Hugh Wilton and Elizabeth Wakely, who had married in 1716, were baptised as follows in St. Mary's, Dublin, although son John Wilton must have been christened elsewhere:

• Henry Wilton, 5th August 1718.
• Kathrin Wilton, 17th October 1720.
• Rose Wilton, 18th April 1722.
• Elinor Wilton, 17th July 1723.
• Mary Wilton, 12th November 1724.
• Walter Wilton, 16th April 1727 - a Walter Winton died in Cashel, Tipperary, in 1763.
• Thomas Wilton, 4th July 1729.
• Robert Wilton, 3rd March 1730.

Other Westmeath Wiltons were  John Wilton of Stonehall who died there in 1757 and John Wilton of Stonehall who died in 1792.  I came across a marriage in the 'Marriage Licence Bonds, Diocese of Meath', dated 1787, between a John Wilton and a Bridget Tremble.

The Trinity Records ('Alumni Dublinenses', 1924 edition) name a few Wiltons who all seem to fit into the above family:
Hugh Wilton (father of John, Henry, Walter and Rose?) was admitted to Trinity on 5th October 1711 aged 19, and was named as the son of the nobleman Henry Wilton of Gaulstown, Co. Meath.
John Wilton was admitted to Trinity aged 17 on 6th May 1735, the son of Hugh Wilton, nobleman.  A Hugh Wilton of Rathcane, Co. Westmeath, died there in 1752.
Rose Wilton, a spinster, died in Dublin in 1798, and was probably the sister of John Wilton who made his will on 11th March 1783.

The children of John Wilton and Bridget Neary/Mary were mentioned in deed 528-3-344334, whose date I neglected to transcribe in the Registry of Deeds.  This was a deed of assignment between Thomas Wilton of Dublin, Benedict Hamilton of Harcourt Street, Elizabeth Hamilton, otherwise Wilton, his wife, and widow Rose O'Hegarty, otherwise Wilton, and John Wilton of Dublin.  The deed concerned the lands of Baldonnell, Co. Dublin, which had been named in John Wilton's will of 1783, and which, according to this deed, had been firstly owned by John Preston, and then by John Wilton of Dublin who passed it on to his above-named children.

Three later deeds, drawn up at the same time, late April 1832, continued the story. (Deeds 883-163-5855164, 883-164-588165, and 883-166-585166.)  John Wilton of Rathcarn, Co. Westmeath, then of Dublin, made his will in March 1783.  He left his lands of Clonmoyle and Tullanisky to his second son, John Wilton, so that the profits of this land should stand as a provision for the younger children of John Wilton Jr.
John Wilton Jr. died intestate on 30th July 1830, leaving one son, John Lucas Wilton, Lieutenant in the 70th Regiment, and also four daughters, namely, Amelia, wife of William Henderson, Maria Olivia, Hariet, wife of Robert Power of Bloomfield, Co. Kildare, and Louisa Wilton of Carnarvon, North Wales.   These deeds confirmed that John Wilton Sr. of both Rathcarn, Co. Westmeath, and of Dublin, had died on 31st January 1786.

Captain John Lucas Wilton (1802 - 1867) married Elizabeth Frances Carr in 1834. He died in South Stoneham, Hampshire, in 1867.  Elizabeth Frances Wilton died in Richmond, Surrey, in 1864. They had three daughters, Charlotte Wilton, born in Gibraltar in 1839, Georgina Wilton born in Co. Wexford in 1841 and Louisa Wilton born in Co. Wexford in about 1848.  The UK census reveals the family living in Stockport, Cheshire in 1851.      In 1871 the three unmarried Wilton sisters were living together at 19 Ledbury Road, Paddington, London.