Eugene Plummer Macarthy’s conviction for bigamy at the Old Bailey is very brief
THIRD COURT.—Friday, August 22nd, 1862.
PRESENT—Sir JOHN MUSOROVE, Bart., Ald.; and Mr. COMMON SERJEANT.
Before Mr. Common Serjeant.
Reference Number: t18620818-888
888. EUGENE PLUMBER M’CARTHY (44) , Feloniously marrying Mary Ann O’Brien, his wife being then alive; to which he
PLEADED GUILTY .— Confined One Week.
Reference Number: t18620818-889
889. EUGENE PLUMBER M’CARTHY was again indicted for feloniously marrying Emily Verling, his wife being then alive.
No evidence was offered for the prosecution.
NOT GUILTY
from www.oldbaileyonline.org
There has to be some significance in the sentence only being a week.
This goes with Eugene Macarthy’s trial at the Middlesex Sessions on September 2, 1862 for the theft of books from the British Museum. One of the questions from that was who are “Miss O’Bryen”, the wronged wife, “Mr O’Bryen” her brother, and “Dr. O’Bryen, another brother,”. as the principal witnesses; the defence barrister censures “the conduct of the O’Bryens in imputing matters which had nothing to do with the case.” Are they members of the family, and if they are who exactly are they?
There are alternative spellings of names M’Carthy/Macarthy, O’Brien/O’Bryen/O’Bryan but some solid indications they may be John Roche O’Bryen, his only surviving sister Mary Anne O’Bryen, and one of their brothers. The Times report spells all their surnames O’Bryen in its September report of the theft trial, but as O’Bryan in the bigamy indictment report of July 1862. The Old Bailey transcripts has Mary as “Mary Ann O’Brien”. and “Emily Verling,” the name on the second indictment which is interesting. Ellen Verling was the O’Bryens’ great aunt [their grandfather John Roche’s sister] and had a daughter who was also called Ellen, as well as at least two sons, James Roche Verling, a naval surgeon, and Bartholomew Verling. The Times however calls her “Emily Reiley”, and refers to their marriage at St. James’s, Holloway.
The circumstantial evidence is begining to build up, but more comes from Eugene M’Carthy’s indictment for trial at Westminster Police Court, as reported in The Times in July 1862. But in the meantime, the Cork Examiner is enthusiastic, but fairly sloppy in its reporting, just like it was in Pauline Roche’s case four years earlier. It manages to get Mary Anne’s name wrong, the places both weddings took place wrong, and the bigamous second marriage date ten years later than it happened. As well as moving it from Cork to Dublin.
The Cork Examiner, 17 July 1862
LONDON POLICE—WESTMINSTER, TUESDAY.
CHARGE OF BIGAMY—A MAN WITH THREE WIVES.—Eugene P. M’Carthy, a solicitor and public notary in Ireland, described as having no fixed residence, was charged with intermarrying with Catherine Craigh, otherwise Cree, his former wife, Mary Jane O’Brien, being still alive.
Mr. Stephen O’Brien, brother of the second wife, residing at Queenstown, produced papers proving the second marriage in July, 1854, at Dublin, and he further stated that the prisoner subsequently married Mary Ann Bunning, at St. James’s Church, Islington. The first marriage took place on the 29th of January, 1839.
Dr. James O’Brien, brother of the prosecutor, corroborated the evidence.
The prisoner was remanded for the attendance of the witnesses to attest the respective marriages.
This is one of those great stories that you stumble across every so often if you’re lucky. This has the intriguing addition of “Miss O’Bryen”, the wronged wife, and the help from “Mr O’Bryen” her brother, and “Dr. O’Bryen, another brother,”, as the principal witnesses; the defence barrister censures “the conduct of the O’Bryens in imputing matters which had nothing to do with the case.” Are they members of the family?
Middlesex Sessions September 2, 1862
(Before Mr Serjeant GASELEE)
Eugene Plummer Macarthy, 44, a man of gentlemanly exterior, described in the calendar as “formerly a soldier”, with a superior education, was indicted for stealing six printed books, the property of the trustees of theBritish Museum.
Mr. Serjeant Parry (specially retained) and Mr. Poland (instructed by Messrs. Brae and Co, Great Russell-street, Bloomsbury) appeared for the prosecution; Mr. Ribton (instructed by Mr. Morris, of Beaufort-buildings, Strand) defended the prisoner.
This was a somewhat extraordinary case, and the facts, as detailed by the learned counsel who conducted the prosecution, appeared to be as follows :-
A short time ago the prisoner was tried at the Central Criminal Court on a charge of bigamy, there being two indictments against him he pleaded guilty to one of them, and there was no evidence offered in support to the other, and only a short term of imprisonment was passed upon him. At the termination of his sentence he was apprehended on the present charge, taken before a magistrate, and committed for trial The charge against the prisoner was for stealing six books from the British Museum about five yeas ago, he then having the privilege of admission as a reader to the reading-room. Itseemed that the prisoner obtained a ticket of admission to the building upon the recommendation of Mr. W. H. Gordon, of Princess- street, Cavendish-square, on the 22nd of July 1857, upon which day be attended and signed the book required to be signed by readers on their first admission. In the letter of recommendation he was stated to be a member of the Irish bar, and that he was desirous of prosecuting some researches into Irish history connected with his name and family, having for some years ceased to practise at the bar, and that in the interval he had been residing at Toulouse with Vicomte de Macarthy, his father,and that his stay in England would not be protracted. He came frequently to the reading-room, and had the use of a great number of books and MSS., and it would seem that on the very day after his first admission a book which he had, entitled Christian Instruction, was missing from the library.
On the 23rd of June, 1858, he was expelled from the library for writing on a manuscript, but on his representing to Mr. Panizzi [Sir Antonio Genesio Maria Panizzi (1797 – 1879). He was the Principal Librarian at the British Museum from 1856 to 1866, having been first Assistant Librarian (1831–37), then Keeper of Printed Books (1837–56). He was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1869] that he merely corrected an error, and believed that he was rendering a service to future readers, he was re-admitted to the reading-room in the following month of July. The prisoner represented that he was collecting materials for biographies of his country-men engaged in foreign services, and that some of them had appeared in the Dublin University Magazine, and it was important to a certain degree, as five out of the six of the books which the prisoner was charged with stealing bore upon Irish history and titles of honour.
The Reading Room, British Museum
Three of the books were kept on shelves in the reading-room, from which readers were allowed to help themselves, and they were missed in 1858. The other three required a ticket to be filled up, with the title and reference to the museum catalogue, but it was supposed some fraud had been perpetrated in respect of the tickets for these books, so that they should not be produced against him. Since the prisoner was committed by the magistrates access had been obtained to his papers, and among them had been found a ticket upon which he obtained one of the books,but two other tickets were not forthcoming.
At the August Sessions, at the Central Criminal Court the prisoner was indicted for bigamy, in having married Miss O’Bryen, in 1844, his former wife being then alive. There was also a second indictment for marrying a third wife, the other two being alive, and when he was on bail on these charges, he wrote to Mr Miller the solicitor who was acting for Miss O’Bryen, a letter, requesting that some books which were in Miss O’Bryen’s possession, and belonging to him might be returned to him. When Miss O’Bryen discovered that she was not his lawful wife, she ceased to live with him, and the books and papers were kept in a bag ready to be delivered to the prisoner whenever he should apply for them. Upon the receipt of this letter an examination of the books and papers was made by Mr. O’Bryen, the brother of Miss O’Bryen .
On the 19th of August Dr. O’Bryen, another brother, being at the house in Westbourne place, observed on the table two books, the subject of these proceedings, which he immediately supposed to belong to some public library, and on a little further examination he was led to think that they belonged to the British Museum. On the same day he took these books to the British Museum, and, having shown them to Mr. Rye, the assistant-keeper of the printed books, he at once identified them as belonging to the Museum library. Mr. Rye on the same day went to Westbourne-place, and made a further examination, when other books belonging to the British Museum were found and identified. No doubt being entertained that the prisoner had become unlawfully possessed of the books in question, it was determined to institute a prosecution against him on behalf of the trustees of the British Museum, and he was arrested and charged with the theft, and after being remanded, Mr. Henry committed him for triaL.
Several witnesses having been called to substantiate these facts,
Mr. Ribton rose to address the jury for the prisoner, and said the first thing which would be for their consideration was,-Did the books in question belong to the British Museum, and if so were they removed by the prisoner ? If they were satisfied of that, the next and most important question they would have to consider was,-Were they taken away by him with an intention of stealing them ? That was a very important question to consider, for in point of law the mere taking of an article away was not stealing, unless at the time of taking it there was an intention of stealing it, and to deprive the owner of it altogether. The mere act of applying the article to his own use was not sufficient, and unless they were satisfied that there was an animo furandi, they could not find the prisoner guilty of stealing. Having paid attention to the facts of the case, he would ask the jury whether they could safely and conscientiously say, supposing Mr. Macarthy took these books from the British Museum, that he intended to steal them, by permanently depriving the trustees of the British Museum of them and appropriating them to his own use. There was every presumption that the prisoner intended to return the books, for he attended the British Museum for a legitimate and honourable purpose, for he had written an article called the O’Byrnes of Wicklow, inserted in the Dublin University Magazine, and sometimes wrote for newspaper and periodicals. He had no intention of felony, for when he took them he did so that he might carefully peruse them, and although it might be a breach of the regulations of the Museum to take books away, that was a very different thing from stealing them. Having censured the conduct of the O’Bryens in imputing matters which had nothing to do with the case, he said, even if the jury had a doubt in the case, the prisoner was entitled to acquittal at their hands, and he trusted the benefit of it would be cheerfully acceded to him.
Mr Serjeant Gaselee very carefully summed up the evidence.
The jury, after a few minutes’ consultation, returned a verdict of Guilty of stealing.
Mr. Serjeant Gaselee said it was painful to see a person in the position in life of the prisoner charged with such an offence, as from his education he ought to have set an example, and was not exposed to the same temptations as those they were in the habit of punishing every day. He could well understand that the prisoner felt his position painfully, but the Court had a public duty to perform, and to show that the administration of the law was equal with high and low, rich and poor, and, as the position in society of the prisoner made his offence the more heinous, it would be his duty to pass a severe sentence.
Prisoner.-Oh ! my Lord, I pray you to temper justice with mercy.
Mr Serjeant Gaselee said that was the feeling of the whole bench, but, having given the case the fullest consideration, they had come to a conclusion upon it, and the sentence of the Court was that he be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for 18 months.
Prisoner. –I did not expect so severe a sentence as that.
In addition to the request from the Corporation, the Lord Mayor has now received an influential and largely signed requisition from bankers, merchants, and traders in the City asking him ” to call a public meeting at the Guildhall at the earliest convenient date to protest against the imposition of the new telephone rates until Parliament has been consulted, and a proper and full inquiry has taken place.” Among the signatures are those of the President and Chairman of the London Chamber of Commerce, Messrs. Cook, Son, and Co., Messrs. Henry Tate and Sons, Messrs. Samuel Hanson and Son, the London Commercial Sale Rooms (Limited), the Corn Exchange Company, Messrs. John Howell and Co., Messrs. T. and R. Morley, Messrs. Mappin and Webb, Messrs. James Spence and Co., Sir Roper Parkington, Sir James Martin, and over 100 members of the Stock Exchange. The meeting will be called at an early date. When the Cardiff Telephones Advisory Committee met yesterday it was announced that several members desired to tender their resignations in order to show their resentment of the action of the Post- master-General in not consulting the advisory committees of the country before determining to advance the telephone rates. This was regarded as a direct breach of the pledge that the advisory committees should be consulted in all matters relating to the telephone service.
Sir Roper and Lady Parkington gave a dinner last~ night at Claridge’s Hotel to meet the Montenegrin Peace Delegates. Among those present were M. Lazare Miouchkovitch, M. de Voinovitch, and M. Jean Popovitch (Delegates), the Greek Minister and Mme. Gennadius, M. Grouitch (Servian Charge d’ Affaires), M. de Fleuriau (French Embassy), Lord and Lady Rotherham, Sir Alfred and Lady Newton, Lady Meiklejohn, Sir Edward and Lady Boyle, Lady McGregor, Sir Benjamin and Lady Franklin, Sir Albert Rollit, and Sir Horatio and Lady Shephard.
I’ve avoided this one for a while, partly because it is out of period, and also partly because it is hard to work through. It does also appear to be slightly showy-offy, which it isn’t intended to be, well maybe a bit.
It does make it a bit slow going around the National Portrait Gallery, as well as getting a bit of a look when I chime up with “That’s another one of yours…”
Where I do think it helps, is in helping to set into context, how the Grehans would have felt about themselves. In a period when lineage, and status was very important to people; and when there was a strong emphasis on family backgrounds, then it is almost impossible to believe that there wasn’t talk of being the descendants of Irish kings, and of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy. It almost certainly colours some of the wedding choices in the C19th.
But a word of warning from Sir Bernard Burke, in the preface to the 1912 edition of Burke’s Irish Gentry.
“Of course, one knows that every Irishman is the descendant of countless kings, princes and other minor celebrities. One admits it, the thing is unquestionable. One knows, of course, also, that every family is the oldest in Co. Galway, or Co. Sligo, or somewhere else, and that, for some reason or other, every Irishman is the ” head ” of his family…”
Elizabeth I – The Armada portrait
However, it does appears that if you are somehow descended from Patrick Grehan Senior (1756 -1832) and Judith Grehan (nee Moore), [in our case, they are great,great,great,great, grandparents, so ha ha Danny Dyer] then you are a fourth cousin of Anne Boleyn [yes that one.], and a fifth cousin of Elizabeth 1st [yes that one, as well.], as well as descended from a number of Kings of Laois, and a fair smattering of Irish Earls.
The first major clue comes from Burke’s Landed Gentry in the 1871 edition. In the lineage of Patrick Grehan III (Patrick Grehan senior’s grandson) there is the following statement.
“(lineally descended from Lewis, the 4th son ofRoger O’More(more commonly, referred to now as Rory O’More), of Leix, by Margaret, dau. and heiress of Thomas, 3rd son of Pierce, 8th Earl of Ormonde). Through this marriage with the co-heiress of Moore, Mr Grehan of Mount Plunkett quarters the arms of O’More of Leix, and Butler, Ormonde.”
Patrick Grehan III had his rights to the arms confirmed in June 1863, so it must have been accepted by the Ulster King of Arms.
Broken down in, I hope, the simplest way; Judith Grehan’s great-grandfather was Edmund Moore,and he, in his turn, was the great-grandson of Lewis More, the youngest son of Rory O’More, and Margaret Butler. So they are separated by seven generations.
Therefore, Judith Grehan is a fourth cousin of Anne Boleyn, seven times removed, and a fifth cousin of Elizabeth 1st six times removed. In order to work out your own relationship simply add on the right number of generations. In the case of my children, it is a fourth cousin of Anne Boleyn, fourteen times removed, and and a fifth cousin of Elizabeth 1st thirteen times removed.
Rather than expand this post too much, I have decided to link to two further posts, containing the workings-out.
The Royal Palace Hotel once stood at 6 Kensington High Street, at the corner with Palace Avenue. It was demolished in the 1960s. The Royal Garden Hotel now stands in its place. I’m not entirely sure the Royal Garden Hotel was an inspired addition to the High Street.
Royal Palace Hotel c.1900Royal Garden Hotel c1967
In 1960, the Royal Palace Hotel was demolished and a new hotel was built in its place designed by Richard Seifert, who was responsible for some of the nastier buildings in London in the 1960’s and 70’s, including Euston Station, Centrepoint at the top of Oxford Street, Kings Mall in Hammersmith, and Tower 42 in the City.
After five years of building works, the new hotel opened in 1965 as the Royal Garden Hotel. In 1966, it hosted the official reception celebrating England’s victory in the World Cup final. I find it very odd I have no memory at all of the hotel being built, even though we played in that part of the park at least once a week, using the path that is just visible in the bottom right-hand corner of the photo above.
My first memory of the hotel is The Monkees waving to thousands, and thousands, of teenage girls in the park from a seventh, or eighth, floor balcony.
The Royal Palace Hotel had a stunningly over-decorated Victorian style, as can be seen from the photos below.
View north from the roof of the Royal Palace Hotel, looking towards Kensington Palace in 1920. On the left-hand side of the picture, you can see the allotments on Palace Green remaining after WW1.
Jane Grehan (1782- Abt. 1866, aged 84), was the daughter of Patrick Grehan Senior and Judith Moore. She is a great,great,great,great, aunt. She seems to be rather a shadowy figure; but from the extract below from the New Hall records at least we know what her school fees were. And from the look of it, great,great,great,great, grandpa Paddy Grehan Senior was paying the equivalent of an Eton education for a girl in 1798. So good on him for that…
RECORDS OF THE ENGLISH CANONESSES OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE OF LIEGE, NOW AT NEW HALL.1652-1793.EDITED BY RICHARD TRAPPES-LOMAX.
[Trappes-Lomax, Richard, late Captain 3rd Batt, K.O. Lancaster Regiment, J. P. for Lancashire — born 1870, eldest son of Thomas Byrnand Trappes, of Stanley House, Clitheroe, by Helen,daughter of Thomas Lomax, of Westfield, Preston, who inherited the Clayton and Great Harwood properties from her uncle, James Lomax, D.L., K.C.S.G.; educated at Stonyhurst; took name of Lomax 1892; served in the South African War 1900-1901; married (1894) Alice, daughter of Basil Fitzherbert, of Swynnerton, Co-editor with Mr Joseph Gillow of “The Diary of the English Nuns of the Immaculate Conception at Paris”. The Manor of Clayton- le-Moors came to the Lomax family by marriage with the heiress of John Grimshaw of Clayton Hall about 1720. The Trappes family was formerly seated at Nidd Hall, Yorkshire. from the Catholic Who’s Who and Yearbook 1908.]
A history of this community was printed for private circulation, on the occasion of its Centenary at New Hall, in 1899 ;and to it I am indebted for the following brief account :
About 1480, one John a Broeck, a Canon Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, established a Monastery at Mount St. Odile, near Cologne, and another a few years later at Kinroy, near Maesych on the Meuse. This he soon after transformed into a Convent of Canonesses. The Order flourished, and rapidly spread over the Low Countries.
In 1641, Susan Hawley and Frances Carey entered the Sepulchrine Convent at Tongres, with a view to founding an English Convent of the same order. In the autumn of the following year they established themselves at Liege, accompanied by a Belgian lay sister and a Mother Margaret of the Tongres Community. They settled in a house on the Hill of Pierreuse.
In 1656 they numbered fifteen choir nuns, four young professed, and four novices. After ten years on the Pierreuse they moved to a house in the Faubourg d’Avroy (1655-6). In 1794 the Revolutionary wars compelled them to move to Maestricht, and thence to London. After a two years stay at Holme Hall, near Market Weighton, in Yorkshire, they moved to Dean House, near Salisbury, (1796)and in 1798 to The following records from the Convent Archives comprise :
A. The Chapter Book.
B. The Benefactors Book.
C. The Dead Book, or Necrology.
D. An Account of the Beginning of the Convent at Liege.
E. An Account of the Revolutionary Troubles, migration to
England, and settlement at New Hall.
F. Lists of the girls at the Convent School, 1770-1799.
G. Notes of Deaths from the Book of Pensioners and Boarders.
H. Charities received, 1651-1663.
I. Accounts of Pupils and Boarders, 1651-1777.
The above have been transcribed by Mother Aloysia James (Kendal) and Sister Ann Frances (Trappes-Lomax)
.
RECORDS OF THE ENGLISH CANONESSES OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE OF LIEGE p.157
F. NAMES OF THE SCHOOL GIRLS.
[Original list of school girls from 1796]
DEAN HOUSE, WILTSHIRE.
Miss Goldie came upon ye 18th of June 1797 she pays 40 Guineas a yr She left us ye 18th June 1798. pd all.
The Honble Miss & Miss Christina Clifford came here upon ye 22d of Augst 1797. They pay 37 Guineas a yr each they do not drink Tea. They accompanied us to New Hall where Miss Clifford
died ye 1st of July 1805. Miss Christina left us ye[?] of May 1806.pd all.
Miss Smith came here upon ye 24th of Augst 1797. She pays £23. 3s. including washing she does not drink Tea, she accompanied us to New Hall. She left us ye 7 of Augst 1800. pd all.
Miss Nihell came here upon ye 20th of Sepbr 1797, she pays 25 Guineas a yr including washing She accompanied us to New Hall. She left us ye 5th of Decbr 1807.
Miss Tuite came here ye 6th of Novbr 1797, she pays 40 Guineas a yr. She left us ye 16th of Novbr 1798. pd all.
The 2 Miss Wrights came ye 23d of Octbr 1797, they pay 40 Guineas a yr they accompanied us to New Hall. Miss Mary Wright left us ye 30th of Janry 1801. Miss ann Wright left us ye 9th of Augst 1802. pd all.
Miss O. Toole came here upon ye 13th of Decbr 1797. She pays 40 Guineas a yr She accompanied us to New Hall. She left us ye 26th of June 1800.
The 2 Miss Whites came here ye 13th of Decbr 1797. They pay 30 Guineas a yr & are not found in Tea & Pocket money. They accompanied us to New Hall. Miss White left us ye 22d of June1806. Miss Margaret White left us June ye 28th 1808. pd all.
Miss C. Stourton came here upon ye 3d of July 1798, she pays 40 Guineas a yr, she accompanied us to New Hall. She left us ye20th of June 1800.
Miss Isabella McDonald returned to us ye 14th of Janr v 1798.she accompanied us to New Hall. She left us ye 28th of May 1800.pd all.
Miss Charlotte Conolly came here ye 10th of Sepbr 1798. She accompanied us to New Hall. She left us ye 10th of June 1803 she pays 40 Guineas a yr. Pd all.
Miss Melior Weston came here on ye 28th of Sepbr 1798. She pays 20 Guineas a yr. She accompanied us to New Hall. She left us ye 23d of Febry 1804. pd all.
Miss Addis came here on ye 3d of Octbr 1798. She accompanied us to New Hall. She pays 40 Guineas a yr. She left us ye 4th of May 1800. pd all.
Miss Coppinger came here the same day. She pays 20 Guineas a yr. She accompanied us to New Hall. She left us ye [?] of Augst 1800. pd all.
Miss Bourke came here upon ye 4th Octbr 1798. She accompanied us to New Hall, she pays 40 Guineas a yr. She left us ye 16th of Novbr 1801. pd all.
Miss Grehan came here upon ye 29th of Novbr 1798. She pays 40 Guineas a yr. She accompanied us to New Hall. She left us ye 23d of April 1804. pd all.
Miss Power of Waterford came here on ye 17th of Decbr 1798, she pays 40 Guineas a yr,she accompanied us to New Hall. She left us ye 24th of May 1802.
There is a post about the 125th anniversary of the school and convent here
This wedding has been confusing me for some time. There are some members of the family there. Notably, Uncle Alfred O’Bryen, and, inevitably, the Roper Parkingtons, whose granddaughter marries Alfred’s nephew twenty six years later. I’m also pretty confident that Miss Bullen is Aunt Florence who marries Uncle Rex who is Alfred’s youngest brother. But I find the connections, or rather the lack of connections baffling at the moment.
The Leeming family are extremely wealthy Lancashire corn merchants, and are old recusant Catholics, and have married members of the Brettargh, and Whiteside families at various points. The bride’s family appear to be Londoners. Mary Clare’s mother was a Rees, and she was born in London, as was her father. Her paternal grandfather was from Lancaster. The first few guests mentioned after the bride’s mother, and brothers are likely to be uncles and aunts. Mrs Dolan is the bride’s aunt, and Mr Behan is John Henry Behan, who is her first cousin, and he was born in Dublin. But the wedding seems to be northern boy marries London girl. There’s an eleven year age gap, but that’s fairly common at the time.
We’ll do the wedding next, and speculate at the end.
Our Lady of Victories 1908. The church served as the Pro-Cathedral between 1869 and 1903.
On the 15th inst., at the Pro-Cathedral, Kensington, by the Rev. W. H. Leeming (brother of the bridegroom), assisted by the Rev. Gilbert Dolan, O.S.B. (cousin of the bride), and the Rev. Father Fanning (Administrator, Pro-Cathedral), MR. JOHN LEEMING, second son of the late Richard Leeming, of Greaves House, Lancaster, and Lent-worth Hall, Wyresdale, was married to MARY CLARE, daughter of the late Dr. Hewitt, of Holland-road, Kensington, and of Mrs. Hewitt, of 16, Argyll Mansions. The bride, who was given away by her brother, was attired in a gown of rich white satin trimmed with old Irish Point (the gift of her cousin), and wore a handsome diamond star (the gift of the bridegroom), her bouquet being composed of lilies of the valley. The bridesmaids were Miss Rose Roskell, Miss M. Kendall, Miss Bullen, and Miss F. Leeming, who wore dresses of mauve crepe trimmed with white chiffon and ivory straw hats trimmed with orchids and white plumes ; they carried bouquets of white lilac and mauve orchids which with their bar-brooches of rubies and diamonds were the gift of the bridegroom. The bride was also attended by her little cousin, Miss Elaine Rees, picturesquely attired in white. The best man was Mr. J. W. Leeming. After the nuptial Mass, which was celebrated by the Rev. Gilbert Dolan, O.S.B., Father Leeming announced that he had received from Rome the Holy Father’s blessing for the bride and bride-groom. A reception was held at the Royal Palace Hotel, Kensington, and later in the afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Leeming left for Dover en route for the Riviera. The bride’s travelling dress was of grey cloth trimmed with white satin, and she wore a black hat with pink roses and white bird of paradise.
Royal Palace Hotel, Kensington High Street.
Among the presents were: Mrs. Hewitt, dinner service, dessert service, and old Derby tea service; Mr. J. C. Hewitt, cheque ; Mr. E. Hewitt, cheque ; Mr. Rees, diamond and pearl watch and bow ; Mrs. Rees, embossed silver sugar bowl and sifter ; Mrs. Dolan, handkerchief of Irish Point ; Mrs. Kelleher, old Irish Point lace, old silver teaspoons, and two large spoons in case ; Mr. Behan, antique silver bowl ; Mr. and Mrs. W. Mahoney, diamond and sapphire bracelet ; Mr. and Mrs. Hasslacher, dessert knives and forks ; Mrs. Charles Hasslacher, silver teaspoons ; Mrs. Schiller, silver brushes ; Mr. A. O’Bryen, silver fish carvers ; Major and Mrs. Roper Parkington, cut glass and silver claret jug ; Mrs. Charles Leeming, silver bacon dish ; Miss Mason, champagne bottle holder ; the Misses Roskell and Kendall, fan and silver buttonhook, etc.; Mr. and Mrs. Brettargh Leeming, silver toilet set in case ; the Misses Leeming, case of silver repousse fruit dishes, spoons, sugar basin and sifter, and grape scissors ; the Rev. W. H. Leeming, silver fish knives and forks ; Mr. J. W. Leeming, pair of Worcester candelabra ; Mr. William Leeming, silver tea and coffee service ; Mrs. Coffin, Crown Derby afternoon tea set, tray, and silver spoons ; Mrs. Robinson, silver paper knife and book- marker ; the Very Rev. Dean Brettargh, silver lemon-squeezer ; Mr. and Miss Hatch, horn and silver candlesticks ; the Very Rev. Dean Billington, Picturesque Mediterranean, three volumes ; Miss Coulston, antique silver sugar-basin and sifter ; Mr. and Mrs. Gibson, pair of bronze and brass candesticks ; Mr. and Mrs. H. J. Knowles, four silver bonbon dishes ; Mr. and Mrs. R. Preston, case of silver salt-cellars ; the Rev. W. Wickwar, cut-glass and silver celery-glass ; the Rev. J. Roche, case of silver spoons ; Mr. J. Pyke, silver and cut-glass lamp ; Mr. T. J. Walmsley, silver and cut-glass lamp ; Mr. J. F. Warrington, engraving after Erskine Nicol; Mr. Charles Broadbent, silver cigarette-case ; Miss C. Hall, two silver napkin rings ; Mr. and Mrs. F. Batt, two silver and cut-glass scent bottles ; indoor and outdoor servants at Greaves House, silver salver ; tenants and workmen at Lentworth Hall Estate, silver cake-basket ; keeper’s wife and servants at Lentworth Hall, silver and ivory cake knife ; tenants, Out-Raw-cliffe Estate, gold-mounted walking-stick.
The above text was found on p.26,19th February 1898, in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher. The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .
The Leeming family are Lancashire corn merchants, and are old recusant Catholics, and have married members of the Brettargh, and Whiteside families at various points, they are also related to the Gillow family,the famous Lancaster furniture makers who made furniture for Queen Victoria, amongst others. Richard Leeming, John’s father had bought Greaves House, in Lancaster for £11,000, in March 1874 . It’s not entirely when he acquired Lentworth Hall, and the Out-Rawcliffe Estate.
Richard Leeming died in 1888, leaving his properties in the hands of Trustees (his brother William, and three sons Richard, John, and James Whiteside Leeming. Slightly oddly, the trustees didn’t include Father William Leeming), and a great deal of money [almost £ 250,000]. His will allowed the Trustees to sell Greaves House – after the death of his widow Eliza – on the condition that two or more unmarried daughters would be permitted to live there rent-free if they wished. In January 1937 Mary Eliza died leaving her last sister Mary Frances Leeming no longer legally permitted to live in the house. It seems faintly harsh as she had lived in the house from the age of five until she was sixty three, but she was independently wealthy and ended up in Warton near Carnforth. So still close to home.
There are a large number of the extended Leeming family at the wedding, including “the Misses Leeming,” who were the groom’s four unmarried sisters, who were still living in Lancaster. “The Rev. W. H. Leeming, Mr. J. W. Leeming, and Mr. and Mrs. (Richard) Brettargh Leeming,” brothers, and a sister in law, of the groom. A pair of uncles – “Mr. William Leeming, and the Very Rev. Dean Brettargh,”.
There’s a mixture of the great, and the good from Lancashire. Mr Preston was Mayor of Lancaster four times between 1894 and 1911, and was also at Alfred O’Bryen’s wedding in 1901. “Mr. J. Pyke, ” is Joseph Pyke, of Preston, who was another corn merchant, and was also Alfred O’Bryen’s best man. He went to school with “Mr. T. J. Walmsley, and Mr. J. F. Warrington,” at Ushaw in county Durham. The bride’s brother “Mr. E. Hewitt,” Edmund Hewitt was also at Ushaw. They all overlapped one way or another with Fr. Philip O’Bryen who was also there, and I rather suspect Alfred O’Bryen was at Ushaw, like Philip who was three years younger; and that their two youngest brothers (Ernest, and Rex) were rather different in attending Stonyhurst. It would help explain why Alfred was a guest at this wedding, and why various of the guests at this wedding were at his two years later.
But I am completely baffled by why “Mr. and Mrs. Hasslacher, and (Mr?) and Mrs. Charles Hasslacher,” and “Major and Mrs. Roper Parkington” [ It was before his knighthood in 1902] were all there. The Hasslachers were all wine shippers at James Hasslacher & co. Charles Hasslacher took on the firm after his father James’ death in 1903. John Roper Parkington was a friend of the Hasslachers, and they were guests at his silver wedding later in 1898.
It could be a Kensington connection; The Hasslachers were living at 65 Holland Park, and the Hewitts were about three quarters of a mile away in Holland Road. But I still can’t get the Roper Parkington connection.
The irony of this entry isn’t mentioned. 2,745 acres were advertised advertised for sale under a bankruptcy proceeding in January 1870, with part re-advertised in May 1870. So sadly, by the time the fourth edition of Burke’s Landed Gentry came out, the gent was landed no longer !
Grehan of Mount Plunkett. from Burke’s Landed Gentry (1871)
Grehan Patrick, esq. of Mount Plunkett and St John’s co Roscommon, J.P., b 21 March 1818; m. 4 April 1842, Frances, eldest dau. of the late John Pitchford, esq. of Norwich, a descendant of the old family of Pitchford of Shropshire, and has issue,
Wilfrid b. 6 Aug 1848
Charles b. Nov 1850
Gerard b. May 1852
Francis b. Oct 1855
Mary O’Conor Graham
Alice
Louisa
Clare
Agnes
Lineage – The family of Grehan claims descent from the Grahams of Montrose, and tradition narrates that its ancestor, escaping from the persecutions in Scotland, fled to Ireland and changed his name to Grehan.
The present Stephan Grehan, esq. of Rutland Square, Dublin succeeded by the recent death of his cousin Major Grehan, s.p. to the representation of the Grehan family. His cousin, Patrick Grehan, esq., now of Mount Plunkett, is the son of the late Patrick Grehan, esq. of Dublin ( by Catherine his 1st wife, dau. of George Meecham, esq., and co-heiress of her mother Catherine, dau. and eventual co-heiress of William Hodson, esq. of St John’s, co. Roscommon) and grandson of Patrick Grehan, esq. of Dublin who m. Judith, dau. and eventually co-heiress of Edward Moore, esq. of Mount Browne, co. Mayo (lineally descended from Lewis, the 4th son ofRoger O’More, of Leix, by Margaret, dau. and heiress of Thomas, 3rd son of Pierce, 8th Earl of Ormonde). Through this marriage with the co-heiress of Moore, Mr Grehan of Mount Plunkett quarters the arms of O’More of Leix, and Butler, Ormonde.
Arms–Or, a trefoil, slipped, vert, on a chief, sa., three escallops, of the first; quartering O’More of Leix, Butler of Ormonde, and Hodson of St. John’s–the family of Hodson of St. John’s, is one of considerable antiquity, and at the decease, in 1829, of the last male heir, Oliver Hodson, Esq., a moiety of the St. John’s estates devolved on the present Patrick Grehan [III], Esq.
Crests–A demi-lion, gu. gorged, with three escallops
Motto–Ne oubliex
Seat–Mount Plunkett, Licarrow, Roscommon
Clonmeen Lodge
So that’s what Bernard Burke has to say; the reference to Stephan Grehan ([1776] – 1871) is slightly confusing, particularly in regard to “succeeded by the recent death of his cousin Major Grehan, s.p. to the representation of the Grehan family”. This branch of the Grehan family are the Grehans of Clonmeen, in co. Cork, and the elder Stephan Grehan really did live until 95. This branch of the family were rather better at holding on to their land than Uncle Patrick. They descend from Peter Grehan, Patrick Grehan Senior’s eldest brother, and his wife Mary Roche. Her brother John Roche married Mary Grehan, their sister. Stephan Grehan ([1776] – 1871) succeeded his father Peter, and was the principal beneficiary of his uncle John Roche. John Roche’s legacy brought Clonmeen into the family, and they successfully held onto it for roughly the next one hundred and fifty years. The family sold Clonmeen in 1975, and the estate and family papers are now in the Boole Library, University College, Cork. At its height in the 1870’s the estate amounted to 7,000 acres [approximately 11 sq. miles] in co. Cork
There are three Patrick Grehans in this post, I am going to use suffixes to distinguish between them. The suffix was not used by them and does not appear in any records. Patrick Grehan IIIis Celia O’Bryen’s brother, and so a great, great, great uncle. He was the son of Patrick Grehan Junior (1791 – 1853), grandson of Patrick Grehan Senior (1758 – 1832), and Thady Grehan’s (c.1726 – 1792) great grandson. But this post is principally about Uncle Patrick.
St Leonards Bromley-by-Bow
He was born in Ireland in 1818, and died 1877 in Hampstead. He married Fanny (Frances Susan) Pitchford in 1842 in Poplar, [probably the parish of St Leonard, Bromley (not the South London one)] London. She was born 1821 in Stratford, (the Olympics one, not the Shakespeare one) then in Essex, and died 1893 in Hampstead.
I’ve struggled with whether the Grehans regarded themselves as Irish, or English, or British. In all probability, it’s a mixture of all three, with further shading done with a mixture of class, and religion. The family is fairly mobile, moving between Ireland , and England, and a substantial part of Patrick Grehan III’s early life seems to have been in England, though he was born in Ireland. He is the eldest of the three children of Patrick Grehan Junior by his first wife Catherine Meecham.
Patrick III (born 21 Mar 1818)
Joseph Maunsell (born about 1829)
Celia Mary (born about 1831)
Patrick was born in Ireland, Maunsell in “foreign parts” according to the 1841 census, and Celia in Preston. Initially, it all seems rather peculiar. But as both Patrick, and Maunsell went to Stonyhurst; and Patrick was there between September 1830 and July 1836, it would help explain Celia’s birth in Preston, nearby.
Stonyhurst College
So far, it’s relatively uncomplicated. We have an affluent Anglo/Irish family sending their sons to the oldest Catholic boys school in England. Stonyhurst had started as the Jesuit College at St Omer in what was then the Spanish Low Countries in 1593, moving to Bruges in 1762, then to Liège in 1773, and finally moving to Lancashire in 1794. Patrick Grehan III was following a family tradition, his father and both uncles went to Stonyhurst soon after it moved to England. Their cousin Stephan Grehan was one of the last pupils to have studied in France, the school being forced to move because of the French Revolution. The tradition continued in the family, with some of Patrick Grehan Junior’s sons, grandsons, great grandsons, and great great grandsons all attending as well.
In 1841, the Grehans were living at Furze Hall, in Fryerning, Essex, where we find Patrick Grehan Junior aged fifty, his wife Harriet, and ten year old Celia, four year old Ignatius,[his only child with his second wife Harriet (nee Lescher)] and four servants. Patrick Grehan Junior had married Harriet Lescher as his second wife, in Brighton in 1836. It was the start of a long inter-linking between the Grehan and Lescher families.
Two Lescher brothers, Joseph Francis, and William had emigrated from Kertzfeld, in Alsace by 1778, eleven years before the fall of the Bastille. The two brothers became partners in a starch factory.Joseph purchased the estate of Boyles Court in Essex in 1826, but William remained in London, in Bromley, East London where he had married in 1798. The two households are about twenty miles apart. Boyles Court, is still in the countryside just outside Brentwood, and just outside the M25. It’s about four miles west of the Petre family at Thorndon Hall, and about ten miles from Furze Hall.
According to “the Life of Sister Mary of Saint Philip” (Fanny Lescher). “William Lescher’s youngest sister Harriet had married Patrick Grehan of Worth Hall. Her stepson, Patrick Grehan, married Fanny Pitchford in 1842, and the young couple made their home at “ The Furze ” at Southweald in Essex, near Boyles Court. In this same year, Fanny Lescher made her social debut at the wedding of another cousin, Eleanor Walmesley, who married Lord Petre’s second son.”
It all gets massively intertwined at this point. But to try to put it as simply as possible. Patrick Grehan Junior married twice, first to Catherine Meecham in 1817, and then, after she died to Harriet Lescher in 1836. The relatively straightforward statement “Her stepson, Patrick Grehan, married Fanny Pitchford” should also include the fact that Fanny Pitchford is also Harriet’s great niece. William and Harriet’s mother was Mary Ann Copp (1775 –1858), and her elder sister, the splendidly named Cleopha Copp had married John Nyren (1764 -1837). He was a first-class cricketer, and the author of “The Young Cricketer’s Tutor, comprising full directions for playing the elegant and manly game of cricket, with a complete version of its laws and regulations, by John Nyren; a Player in the celebrated Old Hambledon Club and in the Mary-le-Bone Club.” published in 1833 which was one of the first published Laws of cricket. Their daughter Susan Nyren married John Pitchford (1772 c.-1839) who was a chemist, and political radical in Norwich. He had also been educated by the Jesuits in St Omer.
So radical, and Catholic; it’s a combustable mixture at a time when both were regarded with suspicion. Paddy and Fanny were marrying only seven years after the Marriage Act of 1836 had been passed, allowing Catholics to legally marry in Catholic churches; and Catholics in public life were regarded suspiciously up to, and beyond, the turn of the C19th.
It’s not entirely clear whether the newly-weds lived with his father, and step-mother at Furze Hall, or whether Patrick and Harriet had moved. They later lived for a time at his brother’s house, Worth Hall, in Sussex. But certainly in 1841, various sides of the family were in very close proximity. Two of Harriet Grehan’s nephews, Edward and William Lescher were at Stonyhurst, as was her step-son Joseph Maunsell Grehan. All are clearly visible on the census return that year.
“The Grehans left Southweald, in Essex, in the autumn of 1847 to fix their home at Mount Plunket in County Roscommon..” according to the Life of Sister Mary of Saint Philip (Fanny Lescher). It’s an extraordinary time to move to a poor, rural, part of Ireland. It’s the height of the Famine, in one of the areas that suffered most. They lived at Mountplunkett, Roscommon, Ireland, in the 1850s; leased by Patrick III in 1847 and then bought by him in 1851.In the 1850s Patrick Grehan III also held lands in the parishes of Killinvoy and St Johns, co. Roscommon, which he had inherited via his maternal grandmother, Catherine Hodson, who was the co-heiress of William Hodson, Lord of the Manor of St. John’s, co. Roscommon.
Patrick Grehan Junior died in Clifton, Bristol,in 1852, and his will was proved in London on the 24th March 1853, where Patrick III was the residual legatee. He had previously been left £ 1,000 in his grandfather Patrick Grehan Senior’s will, and received that in 1832.
Patrick Grehan III claimed descent from Rory O’More of Leix, and Thomas, 3rd son of Pierce, 8th Earl of Ormonde, via his paternal grandmother Judith Moore.As a result, Patrick III was granted Arms in 1863 that included those from St. John’s and quartered O’More of Leix and Butler of Ormonde. There is a record of the confirmation of arms to Patrick Grehan III, in 1863
National Library of Ireland: Copy of confirmation of arms to Patrick Grehan (III), Mount Plunkett & St Johns, Co Roscommon, grandson of Patrick Grehan (Senior)of Dublin, merchant, 5 June 1863. GO MS 109: 13-14
In January 1870 the Estate of Patrick Grehan III amounting to 2,745 acres in the baronies of Athlone, Ballintober, Ballymoe and Castlerea was advertised for sale under a bankruptcy proceeding. The Mountplunkett estate and the part of South Park Demesne in the barony of Castlereagh were re-advertised in May 1870. The Irish Times reported that these lots were sold to Rev. W. West and Owen O’Connor.
Patrick Grehan III died in Hampstead, in early 1877, at almost the same time as his step-mother Harriet Grehan. This seems to have been at the house of Frank Harwood Lescher [Harriett’s nephew and Patrick Grehan III’s son-in -law] Mary O’Conor Graham Grehan [Patrick Grehan III’s daughter] had married her cousin Frank Harwood Lescher [Harriett’s nephew] in 1873.
This is a fairly short post. The Roper Parkington Golden Wedding notice in 1923 told us where they were both living.
” J. Roper-Parkington, J.P., of Melbourne House, Chiswick, to Marie Louise, daughter of the late A. Sims Silvester, Esq., of Stanhope Lodge. Chiswick,”
As is clear on the map, they were living about 500m apart at either end of Turnham Green Terrace. Our Lady of Grace, where they got married is about the same distance again. Then, another 500m west is Heathfield Terrace where JRP life-long friend Edward Tancred Agius was living, and where he brought his bride Maria Muscat to in 1873. There is an interesting age gap between the two men. JRP is thirty, and ETA just twenty, but the friendship lasted the rest of their lives, and they died within months of each other in 1924. Both wives are closer in age, Maria Agius is eighteen, Marie Louise Roper Parkington is twenty four. Both couples have their first child within eighteen months of the Roper Parkington wedding, and have similarly aged children; although the RP’s stop at four unlike ETA and Maria who have a grand total of fifteen children.
THIRD COURT.—Friday, August 22nd, 1862.
