Searching for Seven and Finding More

boston collegeThanks to Úna Wogan for finding this gem.

A Boston College project has made available advertisements taken out by Irish immigrants looking for Irish people in America. The advertisements were placed in the Boston Pilot. Seven names from the Parish of Powerscourt appear. They are listed in the table below.

You can broaden the search, and in searching my own surname I came across a husband and wife duo of Michael and Ellen Seery being sought by Ellen’s mother. They were listed as being from Dublin, which would usually lead to no further thought, except that Ellen’s mother was named Jane Grimes. There is a Seery-Grimes connection in Enniskerry. John Grimes married Winifrid Seery in 1833, and was best man to Winifrid’s brother, Daniel Seery in the same year. Is it too much to hope that Michael and Ellen Seery were from Enniskerry, and ended up in Boston in 1848?  I’ve always liked Boston…

You can search the Boston College “Information Wanted” project at http://infowanted.bc.edu/

First Name Townland Travel Date Seeker’s Name Date of Ad
Peter Burns Cloon 1848 James Greegan (Brother in law) Feb 1868
Thomas Costlar (Powerscourt Parish) 1851 Alice Costlar (Wife) Dec 1854
Michael Gallagher Ballybrew 1855 Charles Gallagher (Brother) Aug 1858
Owen Magurk Aurora 1853 James Magurk (Brother) Nov 1865
Patrick McEnerney (Powerscourt Parish) Catherine Cullen Oct 1856
Owen Magurk (Powerscourt Parish) 1851/2 Margaret Magurk (wife) May 1856
Catherine Nicholson (Powerscourt Parish) Jane Heyden (sister) Apr 1857

List of those with burial rights in Powerscourt

When the new church at Powerscourt gates was built, Mervyn, 7th Viscount, “requested Mr William Buckley, the then innkeeper of the Powerscourt Arms Hotel Enniskerry, who was then churchwarden, to furnish me with a list of the parishioners…[so that] the burials in the old churchyard are restricted to those families who had rights prior to 1869.” – where the old churchyard was that beside the house.

As luck would have it, this list still exists in the Powerscourt Papers at the National Library of Ireland, and I have reproduced it below. Some of the names have been annotated in pencil “decd” – so the list was obviously updated at some stage. It is in two parts: those living in the Parish and those outside. A note on the front page said that a copy of the list has been given to (I think) H Galbraith in 1879.

MS 43,061 /10: List of those with right of burial in the churchyard in Powerscourt Demesne; 2pp undated

List of those resident in the parish

Anthony Beale and family Killough
James Booth do Bahana
Thomas Bradner do Tonygarra
William Buckley decd do Enniskerry
Francis Buckley do Lackendarra
Robert Buckley do Onagh
John Buckley do Knockbawn
John Buckley do Ballybrew
John Thomas Buckley do Enniskerry
Henry Buckley decd do Enniskerry
Samuel Buckley do Glasskenny
Loftus Buckley do Deerpark
William Burn/Bunn do Killegar
Thomas Burton do Annacrevy
Mrs Burton do Annacrevy
Alice Burton do Barnamire
Richard Burton do Barnamire
William Burton do Barnamire
Bethel Burton decd do Barnamire
Mrs Bernard do Enniskerry
William Correll decd do Enniskerry
Anne Curley Enniskerry
Maryanne Darlington Monastry
John Evans decd and family Crone
Thomas Fanning do Stylebawn
Catherine Green do Enniskerry
Robert Graydon do Coolekey
Mrs Harricks do Glasskenny
William Hicks do Kilmolin
Leonard Hicks do Cluen?
John Hicks do Cluen?
Mrs Harrisson do Ballinagee
Thomas Halpin decd Monastry
John Hopkins and family Deerpark
Mrs Jones do Ballinagee
John Jones do Tinnehinch
Mr Henry Keegan decd do Bahana
Mrs Saul Keegan do Bahana
Mr RP Keegan do Ballinagee
John Long do Killough
Miss Larkin do Charleville
Viscount Monck do Charleville
Miss Moore Ballinagee
Thomas Miller decd and family Glasskenny
Mary McMullen do Monastry
Matthew Noble do Tonygarra
Patrick Noble do Annacrevy
Philip O’Connor do Annacrevy
Henry Pearson do Killough
Mrs Patrickson do Killegar
Viscount Powerscourt do Powerscourt
James Quigley do Enniskerry
Timothy Quigley decd do Kilmolin
Henry Quinn do Killough
William Quinn do Charleville
Mrs Roe do Coolekey
Henry Sandys decd do The Dargle
Henry Sutton do Long Hill
Mrs Sutton do Ballyreagh
Mrs Stronge decd do Berryfield
John Townsend do Killough
Henry Townsend do Ballyornan
Saul Tourson do Cluen?
Mrs Tourson do Kilmolin
Mrs Tourson do Enniskerry
Robert Townsend decd and family Deerpark
Thomas Walker decd do Curtlestown
Margaret Walker Enniskerry
Henry Ward Parknasillogue
Francis Ward and Family Parknasillogue
Robert Williams do Ballybrew
Mrs Maude Williams do Ballybrew
Abraham Williams do Cookstown
William Williams do Ballinagee
Miss Williams do Enniskerry
Michael Walker do Ballybawn
Edward Young decd do Barnaslingan
John Hillman do Monastry
George Hillman do Monastry
Mrs Curley Enniskerry

Not resident in this parish

Edward Keegan and Family Kilternan
Anne Davis do Dublin
Mrs Dalton do Bray
John Buckley do Killincarrig
Mrs Wm Fox do Coolegad
Captain Needham do
Mrs Murray
Mr Shaw do Celbridge
Mr Houghton do Ballybride
George Heatley do Glencormick
Mr McCready do Dublin
James Sutton do Ballycorus
Thomas Saunders do Dundrum
Mr Ormsby do Dublin
John Richardson do Kilgobbin
Benjamin Buckley do Rathgar
Benjamin Buckley do Ballybeta
Mr Le Grange and family Fassaroe
John Pharr do Ballinastow
George Fox do Kilternan
Mr Tracy do Bally—duff
John Williams do Donnybrook
Edward Pharr do Rathmines
Charles Douglas do Palermo, Bray
James Buckley do Ballinastow
Alexander Roe in Australia
David Tourson do Bray
Mr Wm Harpeur? Do Stillorgan
Mr Vernier/Verrier do The Astle
Represantitves of Mr Hamilton
do Mr Ferrier Dublin
do Mr Woodburne Dublin
do Mr Underwood Dublin
do Mr Kennan Dublin
do Revd Wm Walker? England
do Mr Wm Collins Templeogue
do Captain Hoare
do Mr James Tracey Ballycorus
do Mr James Shirley Enniskerry
do Mr H M Mason Dublin
do Mr Frette? Dublin
do Mr Anthony Leeson Ballinastow
do Mr John Johnson Dublin
do Mr Flood Cookstown
do Mr Thomas Fox Killmurray
do Mr Devine Dublin
do Mr Thos Collins Ballybetha
do Major De Butts
do Mrs Stronge Glenamuck
do Mr Clark Dublin
do Mr Bessonnett (added in pencil) Dublin

Brassington & Gale Valuation of Powerscourt 1853: Tenant Names (Archive Month #18)

In 1853, during the minority of the 7th Viscount Powerscourt, the firm Brassington and Gale (Bachelor’s Walk) were requested to carry out a valuation of all property on the Estate, to assist the Guardians of the estate in deciding on rents that should be charged for land. They produced a ledger of incredible detail, which is now in the National Library of Ireland (MS 2740) that lists all of the townlands in the Wicklow estate (Enniskerry and Castlemacadam), the tenants in each of the holdings in these townlands, their area and their value.

Below, I have reproduced some of this—namely the townlands, their total acreage and value, and the tenants names given in each. There is a return for each holding, so in many cases a tenant’s name will appear more than once. For each holding, the original lists several sub-sections—e.g. arable fields, rocky land, boggy land and their component values and areas—this isn’t reproduced. Therefore the list below should be read as all of the holdings within a townland, bearing in mind that their value was comprised of several sub-sections. Also, some holdings have joint tenants—I would imagine that these are usually related in some way.

Of course, there were many more tenants than are listed here—I suppose they sub-let land from the listed tenants. I am really just listing these names as a genealogical resource, so hope it is of some interest. There does seem to have been a map to accompany this report, but I haven’t seen it yet (I’m not even sure if it still exists). I have occasionally recorded details of note, usually any significant buildings that were noted or anything that was occupied directly by the estate (!In hand”). Unfortunately, details in the village were scant – buildings were only listed as dwellings, sub-divided by whether they had slated or thatched roof. Businesses or types of buildings, with some rare exceptions, were not indicated.

[table id=8 /]

The long life of Mary Heffernan

A great find from Úna Wogan, posted on the Discussion Board and well worth repeating here, this is an extract from an article in the Liverpool Mercury dated March 30th 1838.

I thought the piece was lovely. Maybe someone out there has Heffernan ancestors:

“Longevity – Died on the 7th instant at Ballybrew, in the parish of Powerscourt, aged 110 years, Mary Heffernan. She was eleven years old at the time of the hard frost which commenced in 1739. She wet nursed the late Mr Robin Walker, who died about eight years since at the advanced age of eighty. This aged woman’s faculties continued perfect till within a few hours of her death. During the last year of her life she was able frequently to walk to Enniskerry, a distance of two miles, and return the same day”

Good genes to have if anyone is related!