The Funeral of Mary Theresa, 13th Lady Petre in 1895

The funeral of the Right Hon. Mary Theresa Lady Petre, widow of William Bernard, 12th Baron Petre, and mother of William Joseph, the 13th Baron Petre, and of Bernard Henry Philip, the 14th and present Baron, whose death we recorded last week, took place on Saturday last in the Mortuary Chapel at Thorndon Park.

Lady Petre was 72 years of age, and was the eldest daughter of the Hon. Charles Thomas Clifford, of Irnharn Hall, Lincolnshire, son of Charles, the 6th Lord Clifford. She was married on September 26, 1843, and lost her husband in the July of 1884. She had been suffering for some time past from repeated attacks of bronchitis. She leaves three sons—the present Lord Petre, the Hon. Philip Benedict Joseph Petre, and the Hon. Joseph Lucius Henry Petre ; and eight daughters—the Countess of Granard ; the Hon. Mrs. Isabella Mary Bretherton, of Fareham ; the Hon. Margaret Mary Petre, a nun ; the Hon. Catherine Mary Lucy Petre, the Hon. Theresa Mary Louisa Petre, a nun ; the Hon. Mary Winifrede Petre, a Sister of Charity ; the Hon. Eleanor Mary Southwell Trafford, of Wroxham Hall; and the Hon. Monica Mary Butler Bowdon, of Lancaster. Nearly all of these were able to be present during Lady Petre’s last illness. Her ladyship, who was conscious to the last, received all the rites of Holy Church.

Although it is some years since the neighbourhood of Thorndon was deprived of the Petre family, by reason of the disastrous fire which broke up their home there, the memory of Lady Petre, as well as that of her noble lord and children, lives fresh and is cherished by both rich and poor. The various charities which were instituted during the residence of her ladyship and her late husband have been maintained by the late (13th) Baron and the present Lord Petre. Nor was her ladyship’s charity confined to the country. In London she instituted, among other things, a creche, or day nursery, for poor little children, in imitation of the same institution in Paris. She took a lively interest in all Catholic philanthropic work and her loss will be severely felt.

From the time of her decease until the coffin was removed from Belmont, Bournemouth, the residence of her ladyship, the body was laid in state in the drawing-room, and masses for the dead were said by the Rev. Father Cooney, of Bournemouth. The remains were removed from Belmont at -5.30 on Friday evening, and were conveyed in a hearse by the 6.40 p.m. train from East Bournemouth to Waterloo station. At Waterloo the hearse was taken from the train, and the remainder of the journey to Thorndon was accomplished by road. The coffin was accompanied from Bournemouth by the Hon. Philip and the Hon. Joseph Petre. Thorndon Hall was reached soon after two o’clock on Saturday morning, and the coffin was placed in the mortuary chapel, a short service being held. Mortuary candles were lighted round the coffin, and during the remainder of the night it was watched by members of the congregation and the nuns at Thorndon.

The remains of her ladyship were enclosed in an elm shell lined with white satin, a second elm case, a lead coffin, and an outer coffin of mahogany, covered with crimson velvet. On the lid was a full length brass cross with steps, the base bearing the following inscription : “Mary Teresa, Lady Petre, widow of William Bernard, 12th Lord Petre, Baron of Writhe, born 1st Septr., 1823, died 31st Decr., 7895. R.I.P.”    A small brass plate at the head bore a similar inscription. The brass medieval handles had a coronet over each. At each corner were brass clasps. The coffin was covered by a black pall, with a white cross, white fleur-de-lys on black border, and the family escutcheon at the head. The Norwich express, leaving London at to o’clock, was stopped at Brentwood on Saturday morning for the convenience of the mourners. Most of the mourners arrived by this train, and were driven over to Thorndon Hall. The funeral service took place in the Mortuary Chapel, which had been enlarged by the erection of a marquee at the entrance. This work was carried out by Messrs. H. and T. C. Godfrey, of Chelmsford. The marquee and the passage leading to it were hung ,with black and white drapery. There was a large attendance of the tenantry and those employed on the estate at the service, which was of a most solemn character. The musical portion was arranged by the Rev. C. J. Moncrieff Smyth, of Warley, and was rendered by the following members of the London Priest Choir : The Revv. G. B. Cox, H. Cafferata, E. Pennington, C. Turner, G. Curtis, J. Butler, E. Smith, and J. Heditch. Requiem Mass was sung by the Right Rev. Mgr. Crook, chaplain at Thorndon Hall. The Rev. Edmund Meyer, of lngatestone Hall, was deacon, and the Rev. Dean T. F. Norris, of Brentwood, was sub-deacon. The master of ceremonies was the Rev. W. H. Cologan, of Lilystone Hall, Stock. After the Requiem, Mass Cardinal Vaughan, who was assisted by the Vicar General .(Canon Barry), gave the Absolution. The coffin was then deposited in its last resting-place between those, of her ladyship’s husband and son.

The family mourners were as follows : Lord Petre, the Hon. Philip Benedict Joseph and Mrs. Petre, the Hoh. Joseph Lucius Henry Petre, the Countess of Granard, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Stapleton Bretherton, Mr. E. and the Hon. Mrs. Trafford, Colonel and the Hon. Mrs. Butler Bowden, the Hon. Catherine Mary Lucy Petre, Winifred Lady Howard’ of Glossop, Miss Blanche Petre, the Rev. Augustus Petre, the Rev. John Petre, the Hon. Frederick Petre, Mr. Sebastian H. Petre, the Count de Torre Diaz, and Mr. Philip W. Colley. Among the congregation in the chapel were Colonel Maguire, Colonel Wood, J.P. Captain Digby Neave, J.P., Colonel Disney, Mr. R. J. VValmesley, the Rev. C. Earle (rector of Ingatestone), the Rev. H. J. Tilley (Romford), Mr. J. F. Lescher, J.P., Messrs. F. J. Coverdale (agent), F. Coverdale, C. Gray, and J. Gallagher, from the Thorndon Estate office, Ingatestone ; Mr. E. J. Fooks, solicitor to Lord Peter ; Mr. Philip Witham, solicitor to Lady Petre ; and Mr. W. Walker, steward. There were also present a large number of the tenants of the estate, besides cottagers and workpeople. , Telegrams and letters regretting inability to be present at the funeral were received froth his Grace the Duke of Norfolk, K.G., the Earl of Denbigh, Lord Clifford, Lord Herries, Mr. Edward Petre, the Hon. Mrs. Charles Petre, the Hon. Albert Petre, and the Rev. H. D. Heatley, rector of Ingrave. In accordance with that old Catholic custom at funerals of members of the family, 72 loaves of bread and 72 shillings were afterwards distributed to poor widows of the neighbourhood. We are indebted for much of our report to the columns of The Essex Herald..

The above text was found on p.27, 11th January 1896 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 .

Sandars- Molyneux-Seel 1937

Mr. George Edward Sandars, M.B.E. whose marriage to Miss Vera Margaret Molyneux-Seel took place on September 8th at St. Peter’s, Ludlow, is the eldest son of the Rev. George Russell Sandars, Rector of Davenham and Honorary Canon of Chester, and so is a third cousin both of Mr. J. W. E. G. Sandars, of Gate Burton Hall, whose wife is a daughter of Lady Winefride Elwes, and of Mrs. H. A. Burke whose marriage to Mr. Patrick H. A. Burke, Grenadier Guards, took place a couple of months ago. Mr. Sandars, who was at New College shortly after the War, is in the Sudan Political Service and received the M.B.E. in 1933.

The Sandars family was originally seated at Charlwood in Surrey, where the church contains several of their monuments, and the present line descends from an uncle of the famous Dr. Nicholas Sander, or Saunders, the Catholic controversialist and historian, who, on the defection of Queen Elizabeth, resigned his preferments, “ob fidem conservandam,” and went to Rome where he was ordained by Thomas Goldwell, Bishop of St. Asaph, the last survivor of the ancient hierarchy. Dr. Sander has been described as “the most noted defender of the Roman Catholic cause in his time,” and his manuscript treatise on the Holy Eucharist so impressed the Prince-Bishop of Ermland that he took him as one of his theologians to the Council of Trent. He afterwards settled in Louvain, where he became Regius Professor of theology and plunged into controversy including “a Confutation of such false Doctrine as M. Jewel hath uttered,” and about the same time he received a commission to publish in England the papal sentence that under no circumstance could attendance at the Anglican service be tolerated. About twelve years later, in 1579, he went to Ireland as Nuncio, when he showed extraordinary activity in the Earl of Desmond ‘s insurrection, a risk of his life which the leading English exiles, who knew his worth, grievously deplored. Their fears were justified, for after about eighteen months he died, probably of want and cold.

Dr. Sander was the author of the first great history of the English Reformation, a work which was vigorously attacked but which later research has largely justified. An instance of this is’ his account of the matrimonial troubles of John Ponet, Bishop of Winchester, wherein the error of his critics was confirmed on the publication in 1847 of the Diary of Henry Machyn in which there appears the entry : “The xxvij day of July (1551) was the nuw bisshope of W . . . was devorsyd from the bucher (butcher’s) wyff with shame enog (h).” Bishop Ponet, incidentally, appears to have had interesting ideas on the royal supremacy, for he seems to have been responsible, at any rate in part, for the theory “that to give license to sin was sin ; nevertheless, they thought the king might suffer or wink at it for a time”—” it ” being the question of the Princess Mary attending Mass.

Miss Vera Margaret Molyneux-Seel is a daughter of Major Edward Honore Molyneux-Seel, D.S.O.’ the second son of the late Edmund Richard Thomas Molyneux-Seel of Huyton Hey, a Chamberlain to Pope Pius IX, who married a daughter of the Duque de Losada y Lousada. Through his mother, Agnes, daughter of Sir Richard Bedingfeld, fifth Baronet, of Oxburgh, Mr. E. R. T. Molyneux-Seel was descended from three of the beatified English Martyrs, BB. Margaret of Salisbury and Philip and William Howard. His father, Thomas Molyneux-Seel, J.P. & D.L., of Huyton Hey, who built the church of St. Agnes at Huyton, took the name and arms of Molyneux-Seel in 1815, on inheriting the estates of his maternal ancestors. The Huyton property had been inherited by a younger branch of Molyneux of Sefton from the Harringtons, an ancient Catholic family descended from a brother of the Sir William Harrington who fought at Agincourt, and these predecessors are also commemorated in the names of Major Molyneux-Seel’s brother, the late Edmund Harrington Molyneux-Seel of Huyton, the father of Mrs. Carr-Saunders, and of his uncle, Henry Harrington Molyneux-Seel, Richmond Herald, who died in 1882.

The letters P. & 0. must be familiar to many who cannot give off-hand the full name of the great Company which they represent, and the name Brodie Willcox, which has once more come to the fore owing to the celebration of the P. & 0. centenary, probably means little except to Catholics and to those interested in the history of that famous shipping company. To Catholics, certainly, the name has an interest beyond its connection with shipping, for Brodie McGhie Willcox, M.P., was the maternal grandfather of that great Catholic of the last generation, Brodie Manuel de Zulueta y Willcox, third Conde de Torre Diaz. The Conde de Torre Diaz— the title dates from 1846, when it was granted to his grandfather by Isabella II of Spain—was a ” gentilhombre de Camera” to the King of Spain and held the Grand Crosses of Isabel la Catolica and San Gregorio, and in England, where he was also closely associated with the business interests of his family, he was Chairman of the Catholic Seamen’s Home and Institute, the forerunner of the present Chaplaincy to the Port of London, and Vice-President of the Superior Council of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

The third Conde de Torre Diaz ‘s father, whom he succeeded in 1882, was Chamberlain to the King of Spain and a member of the Spanish Senate until the Revolution of 1868, and two of his nephews have suffered similarly from a later revolution, for Don Pedro de Zulueta was an attaché at the Spanish Embassy in London until the proclamation of the Republic caused him to resign, and the Marques de Merry del Val, the eldest son of his sister Josephine, was Spanish Ambassador in London from 1913 until the Revolution.

Page 26, 18th September 1937

Sir Joshua Walmsley 1794–1871

 After the death of his father, Hugh Walmsley, wrote a rather hagiographic biography of  Sir
Joshua Walmsley which was published in 1879. [The Life of Sir Joshua Walmsley, by his Son Hugh Mulleneux Walmsley. Chapman and Hall, 193, Piccadilly 1879]. It’s a surprisingly good read, large sections of it are from Sir Josh’s notes and diaries, and it’s certainly massively better than at least one of Uncle Hugh’s other books  “The Ruined Cities of Zululand”.  I will be posting extracts in a series called the “Life of Sir Josh”
Joshua_Walmsley
Sir Joshua Walmsley (1794–1871)

Joshua Walmsley (1794–1871) was an English businessman and Liberal Party politician.The son of John Walmsley, an architect, builder and marble mason, he was born in Liverpool on 29 September 1794, and educated at Knowsley, Lancashire, and Eden Hall, Westmorland. After his father’s death in 1807, he became a teacher, and book-keeper at  Eden Hall school; and following an argument in Westmorland he returned to Liverpool in 1811, and started teaching at Mr. Knowles’s school. He apprenticed himself to a corn merchant in 1814, and at the end of his apprenticeship went into the grain business himself.

He was an early advocate of the repeal of the duty on corn, and worked with Richard Cobden, John Bright, and others in the Anti-Corn Law League. In 1826 he took the presidency of the Liverpool Mechanics’ Institution. At about the same time Josh got to know George Stephenson, in whose railway schemes he was interested, and with whom he joined in purchasing the Snibstone estate, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, where rich seams of coal were found.  Along with Stephenson, he was amongst others one of the founding directors of the Clay Cross Company in 1837. He was elected a member of the Liverpool city council in 1835, and worked to improve the police, sanitation and education of the city. He was appointed Mayor in November 1838, and knighted on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s marriage.

He, and Lord Palmerston, unsuccessfully contested Liverpool standing as Liberals in June 1841. He retired to Ranton Abbey, Staffordshire, in 1843, and at the general election of 1847 was elected M.P. for Leicester, but was unseated on petition. He started the National Reform Association about this time, and was its president and chief organiser for many years. In 1849 he was returned as M.P. for Bolton in Lancashire, but in 1852 exchanged that seat for Leicester, where his efforts on behalf of the framework knitters made him popular with the workers but not their employers. He lost his seat in 1857, largely due to organised opposition from the employers, and he practically retired from public life, although he retained the presidency of the National Sunday League from 1856 to 1869.

In 1861, Sir Joshua and Adeline, whose occupation was given as “Lady” were living in some style at Wolverton Park, outside Kingsclere in Hampshire with their youngest son James, and his sisters Emily, and Adah. The whole household comprised of the family, plus Maria Butts (60) who was the cook, three housemaids, one of whom was thirty five, the other two were twenty-four. There were also three male servants, and what was so surprising is how young they were. Richard Pratt, the butler was only twenty-four, there was a sixteen year-old house boy, and Charlie Jacob, the groom was twenty.

He died on 17 November 1871 at Hume Towers, his house at Bournemouth, leaving issue, of whom H. M. Walmsley wrote The Life of Sir Joshua Walmsley (London 1879). He was interred at All Saints Church, Edge Hill, Liverpool. His wife, whom he married in 1815, née Adeline Mulleneux, survived him by two years.

From Wikipedia

The eldest daughter Elizabeth (b 1817) married Charles Binns (b 1815), a member of a prominent Quaker family, in 1839. Charles was the son of Jonathan Binns, a Liverpool-born land agent and surveyor living in Lancaster. Charles became manager of a coal and iron mine in Clay Cross, Derbyshire, which had been established by George Stephenson (and of which Sir Joshua Walmsley was a director), producing coal for transportation by his own railway. Elizabeth had four children (all girls) but then seems to have died in the early 1850s. Charles died in 1887. Emily Rachel Binns, Elizabeth and Charles’s youngest daughter married Samuel Rickman, and is the mother of Reginald Binns Rickman.  Emily Rickman and Adah Russell are first cousins.

Little is known about Sir Joshua’s eldest son Joshua (1819-1872). He joined the Army and attained the rank of captain. He lived in southern Africa for many years and served as a border agent in Natal on the Zulu frontier. His account of his travels formed the basis of a book (novel) by his younger brother Hugh Mulleneux, The Ruined Cities of Zulu Land. He was buried at St Mary’s, Edge Hill in Liverpool on 14th December 1872, having died at “Chantilly, Zulu Frontier, in South Africa” on 20th April the same year.

The next son Hugh Mulleneux ( 1822-1882) also had an exotic career. He too joined the Army, including time with the 25th Bengal Native Infantry, and then volunteered to join the Bashi Bazouks, an unsavoury formation of irregulars in the service of the Ottoman Empire. In due course he rose to the Ottoman rank of colonel. On his eventual return to England in about the mid 1850s he penned a succession of volumes, including several describing his own extensive travels on military service, a biography of his late father and also some adventure novels. He married Angelina Skey (b 1826) in 1870 and took up residence near his father in Hampshire.He was buried at St Mary’s, Edge Hill in Liverpool on 12th December 1882

James Mulleneux (b 1826), by contrast, became a civil engineer. In the 1850s he was lodging and working in Derbyshire. His Egstow address suggests he was involved with coal mining. He died on December 6th,1867 aged 41 and was buried on December 12th with his sisters at St Mary’s, Edge Hill. He died in Torquay. James was unmarried, and his addresses for probate were given as 101 Westbourne Terrace, and also Wolverton Park, Hampshire, both his father’s houses, and “latterly of Torquay, Devon”. Probate was granted to his father’s executors because Sir Josh was the “Universal Legatee”. It wasn’t granted until 1874, about three years after Sir J’s death in 1871. James left £2,000.

Emily (b 1830) became the second wife of William Ballantyne Hodgson (b 1815), a noted teacher, newspaper proprietor and academic. Hodgson was employed at the new Mechanics’ Institution (later Liverpool Institute) when Sir Joshua was mayor (and Emily but a child) and went on to become its Principal. He married Emily in 1863 and they mostly lived in London till Hodgson was appointed the first Professor of Political Economy in Edinburgh University in 1871. After he died in 1880, Emily stayed on in Edinburgh with their two children (one son and one daughter).

The youngest daughter Adah (b 1839) married a Welsh banker, William Williams, in 1866. They went to live in Merionethshire and had at least two daughters. Adah possibly died as early as 1876. Their daughter Adah Adeline Walmsley Williams (1867–1959) married Charles Russell in 1889

information from http://www.researchers.plus.com

 

Callaghan Of Cork – BLG 1833 and 1847

From Burke’s Landed Gentry – 1833

Callaghan armsCallaghan Of Cork

CALLAGHAN DANIEL esq of Lotabeg in the vicinity of Cork now, for the third time MP for that city. Mr Callaghan who was born 7th June 1786 succeeded his father in April 1824

Lineage

Daniel Callaghan esq. one of the most enterprising and successful merchants of Ireland b. in 1760, espoused in 1782 Miss Mary Barry of Donnalee and dying in April 1824 left by that lady who survives, six sons and three daughters viz:

  1. John who m Miss Gosset of the Island of Jersey niece of the late Dr Gosset of bibliographical celebrity by whom he has two sons and one daughter
  2. Daniel MP in three successive parliaments for his native city as stated above
  3. Gerard MP for Dundalk in 1818 and subsequently for Cork married Miss Clarke daughter of J Calvert Clarke esq of Teddington Middlesex and died 26th February 1833 leaving issue
  4. Patrick
  5. Richard a barrister
  6. George late of the 15th dragoons
  1. Catherine espoused James Roche esq of Aghada county Cork
  2. Anne
  3. Mary

Arms –  Az in base a mount vert on tb sinister a hurst of oak trees therefrom issaant a wolf passant ppr. Crest A naked arm holding a sword with a snake entwined. Motto Fidus et audax. Estates, In the county of Cork Seat Lotabeg

and from BLG 1847

Callaghan Of Cork

CALLAGHAN DANIEL esq of Lotabeg in the vicinity of Cork now, for the third time MP for that city. Mr Callaghan who was born 7th June 1786 succeeded his father in April 1824

Lineage

Daniel Callaghan esq. one of the most enterprising and successful merchants of Ireland b. in 1760, espoused in 1782 Miss Mary Barry of Donnalee and dying in April 1824 left by that lady who survives, six sons and three daughters viz:

  1. John who m Miss Gosset of the Island of Jersey niece of the late Dr Gosset of bibliographical celebrity by whom he has two sons and one daughter
  2. Daniel MP in three successive parliaments for his native city as stated above
  3. Gerard MP for Dundalk in 1818 and subsequently for Cork married Miss Clarke daughter of J Calvert Clarke esq of Teddington Middlesex and died 26th February 1833 leaving issue
  4. Patrick
  5. Richard a barrister
  6. George late of the 15th dragoons

I Catherine espoused James Roche esq of Aghada county Cork

II Anne

III Mary

Arms –  Az in base a mount vert on tb sinister a hurst of oak trees therefrom issaant a wolf passant ppr Crest A naked arm holding a sword with a snake entwined Motto Fidus et audax Estates In the county of Cork Seat Lotabeg

Lady RP’s Appeal for Montenegrin Families 1912

FOR MONTENEGRIN FAMILIES.

SIR,—May I appeal through your columns for help on behalf of the families of the brave Montenegrins who are fighting in the present sad war? They are so very poor that all contributions will be welcome, either in the form of money or provisions, such as tinned food, &c. ; blankets or woollen clothing especially will be acceptable, their mountain climate being extremely severe in the winter.

I will undertake to forward any goods which your readers may be kind enough to send me. Cheques should be crossed ” Union of London and Smith’s Bank,” and large parcels should be addressed, carriage paid, to Lady Roper Parkington, Montenegrin Consulate, 24, Crutched Friars, E.C.

Yours faithfully,

MARIE LOUISE PARKINGTON. 58, Green Street, Park Lane, W.,

October 16, 1912.

The above text was found on p.28, 19th October 1912  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 .

John Smith-Barry 1793 – 1837

Fota House 2
Fota House, co. Cork. The Smith-Barry’s Irish estate

John Smith-Barry (1793-1837)  was the grandfather of both Cecil Smith-Barry ( Pauline Barry[nee Roche]’s son in law, and also Arthur Smith-Barry, Lord Barrymore. In turn, John’s great-grandfather, James Barry, (1667-1748) was the 4th Earl of Barrymore. Pauline Roche (1835 -1894) has been part of the story for a while, she married William Henry Barry in 1857.  I’m becoming increasingly sure that she helps place a lot of things into context.  This is one of a series of posts covering her marriage into the Barry family, and her daughter’s marriage into the related Smith-Barrys, and a look at where they all fit into both Irish, and British society.  Pauline Roche is Ernest O’Bryen’s first cousin

 John Smith-Barry’s (1793-1837) father, James Hugh Smith Barry (1748-1801) had inherited Belmont Hall, in Cheshire, on the death of his father John Smith Barry in 1784, and lived there until he also inherited the family’s estates in Ireland, and the Marbury estate, also in Cheshire, on the death of his uncle Richard Barry in 1787. James had travelled widely in Europe and the Middle East, as a young man on the Grand Tour, between 1771-6, borrowing large amounts of money and amassing a huge collection of ancient statuary, vases and paintings, mostly by Italian masters. The collection was initially housed in Belmont Hall, until it was sold. James Hugh Smith Barry spent little time at Marbury but clearly intended to make changes to the Hall. In his twenty eight page will of July 1799, eventually found in a trunk at Belmont Hall, he directed his executors to catalogue his collection and remove it to Marbury, providing it with a gallery and custodian. He also willed that all his five children, whose mother was Ann Tanner, be made legitimate and known as Smith Barry. James Hugh Smith Barry died in 1801, two years after making his will, but it wasn’t until 1814 that John Smith-Barry fully inherited the estates.

Marbury_Hall_(c1819)
Marbury Hall c.1819

John Smith Barry (1793-1837) James Hugh Smith Barry’s eldest son,  inherited the family’s estates at Marbury in Cheshire, and in Ireland in 1814. He preferred to live on the family estates in Ireland, in co. Cork, and co. Tipperary, and chose to live at Fota House, co.Cork. Fota House was originally a two-storey hunting lodge set in a large estate near to Barryscourt Castle. When the Barrymore’s family home was at Castlelyons, they used Fota as a base for fishing, shooting and yachting. John Smith Barry commissioned the architect, Sir Richard Morrison to create the current house in the 1820’s and the family made Fota House their main residence.  

John Smith-Barry was born illegitimately in 1793. He was the eldest son of James Hugh Smith-Barry (1748-1801). He married, firstly, Eliza Mary Courtenay, daughter of Robert Courtenay, on 21 April 1814. She died on 16 April 1828. John Smith-Barry’s sister Caroline married Eliza Courtenay’s brother George. John Smith-Barry had a second childless marriage to Mary Felicia Heron in September 1835. He died on 24 February 1837. John, and Eliza had five children.

  • James Hugh Smith-Barry b. 27 Jan 1816, d. 31 Dec 1856. (Father of Arthur Hugh SB 1843-1925-Lord Barrymore)
  • Anne Smith-Barry b. 14 Mar 1817 d. 8 Dec 1834 unmarried.
  • John Smith-Barry b. 25 Sep 1818 d. 9 Apr 1834 unmarried.
  • Captain Robert Hugh Smith-Barry b. 13 Jan 1820, d. 25 Apr 1849 unmarried.
  • Captain Richard Hugh Smith-Barry b. 21 Feb 1823, d. 23 Jan 1894 (father of Cecil Smith-Barry 1863 -1908)
ballyedmond-approach
Ballyedmond House, co. Cork

James Hugh Smith-Barry (1816-1856) inherited both Marbury Hall, and Fota House  on the death of his father in 1837. His mother’s family,the Courtenays,  owned Ballyedmond, in Midleton, co. Cork, which was inherited in turn by Eliza Courtenay’s brothers, George, and then John.  John Courtenay, who appeared to be unmarried, left Ballyedmond to his nephew [and James Hugh’s youngest brother] Richard Smith-Barry in 1861. He, in turn, leaves it to his son Robert Courtenay Smith-Barry [Cecil Smith-Barry’s eldest brother], who, in turn, leaves it to his nephew Guy Forster/Smith-Barry on his death in 1930.

John Smith-Barry’s  sisters all appear to marry well. But they are without doubt part of the Ascendancy.

Narcissa Smith-Barry married Hon. George William Massy, the second son of Hugh Massy, 3rd Baron Massy of Duntrileague on 28 April 1821.She drowned on 9 January 1831.The Massys were a Protestant Ascendancy family who had come to Ireland in 1641 and owned extensive lands in Counties Limerick, Leitrim and Tipperary.They were also Irish politicians, and George’s  grandfather, and great-grandfather had both been M.P.’s for Limerick, and Hugh Massy, George’s  great-grandfather, received his peerage in 1776. George’s great-nephew John Thomas, 6th Baron Massy inherited Killakee House, Killakee, co. Dublin from an aunt in 1880.  

Killakee_house c. 1865-1914
Killakee House, co. Dublin, c. 1865-1914

He used the house to entertain visitors while shooting game at Cruagh and Glendoo and to host parties where long lines of guest’s carriages could be seen stretched along the road leading to the house. Lord Massy employed a small army of staff, ranging from coachmen, stablemen, house servants, gardeners, cooks, and gamekeepers. During shooting expeditions, large dining shelters would be set up in the woods, where shooting parties would adjourn for lunch. Tables would be laid out there with the finest tableware, and food would be transported in pony carts from Killakee House. It was during this time that that the family’s riches reached its peak and, ironically, when it started to decline. By the time Lord Massy died in 1915, the estate was hopelessly in debt to the bank.

John Thomas’s grandson, Hugh Hamon Massy, next inherited Killakee. Hamon Massy was faced with a serious crisis, with the magnificent gardens alone requiring a large number of outdoor workers and gardeners. Massy still attended social events and drove around in the last of his grandfather’s motor cars, but by 1919, huge quantities of silver plates, jewellery, furniture, and a large art collection were sold in an auction that lasted several days. It soon became clear to the bank that the family were unable to deal with their financial problems. In May 1924 an officer and two assistants arrived to take possession of Killakee House. Massy, who was unwell, was lifted out of the house on his mattress and deposited on the nearby public road. The incident was widely reported in the national newspapers and the bank soon placed a caretaker in the house. By agreement with the bank, the family was later permitted to take possession of Beehive Cottage, a three-roomed gate lodge located near the gate to Killakee House. For thirty-four years following his eviction he was regularly seen collecting timber for his kitchen fire in the nearby woods. In 1941 the bank, unable to find a buyer, sold the house to a builder who salvaged what was left of Killakee House. Having removed the slates, timbers and floors, the builder demolished the house, in the sight of Hamon Massy who was still living in the nearby gate house. The woods were taken over by the forestry department and Massy was employed in a charcoal making business in the nearby forest.

Caroline Augusta Smith-Barry married George Courtenay  on 29 July 1814. She died on the 28th May 1853. They lived at Ballyedmond, in co. Cork. George  held the office of High Sheriff of County Cork in 1826, the year after his brother-in-law John Smith-Barry.  George Courtenay was the son of Robert Courtenay and Catherine Nash and d. 10 Dec 1837. George Courtenay and Caroline SB have one daughter Caroline Augusta Courtenay who married Mountifort Longfield   in 1840. He sounds like a parody of an appalling landowner.

castle-mary
Castle Mary, co. Cork

The Longfields  lived at Castle Mary, co Cork. There are many stories told in the country side that crept into the folklore. Mountiford  is depicted as ill-natured and very selfish. He did not allow any to walk on his land and the story goes that a priest in the area would still always walk this way even in spite of the restrictions the story becomes something like Jack of the beanstalk and the giant. Children were not allowed to pass  through to get to school.The other story is that he rode over a child that was playing in the road with his horse when he was on his way to Ballycotton.He was very hard on his tenants and evicted them if they were unable to pay the rent and destroyed their homes. 35 homes were demolished. In a newspaper article it states that 73 families were evicted that is 378 people. He also received criticism for contributing £5 to the famine relieve fund which he later denied.  Mountiford married Caroline Augusta in 1840 and had 13 children – only one son. Mountiford (1858-1929) educated in Eton and Oxford. He married Alice Elizabeth Mason (1865-1946) in 1891 who had a sizable dowry.(She is often described as being forceful)  In 1920 on Sunday night 19 September the estate was burned. Allegedly by the IRA from the village Ballinacurra. The possible reasons mentioned – Col Longfield did not contribute to the IRA war fund. Or that the estate may be used as military barracks or tit-for-tat burnings. The Longfields were not at home at the time and there was only a small staff present, losses were £50,000.  Apparently the family was devistated as the three girls considered themselves as Irish girls. With his death the male line of Longfields came to an end. After his death much of the estate was sold. Mountiford was very disappointed when his third daughter was also a girl as he wanted a son and heir but she – Cynthia was lively and pretty. Of his three daughters Cynthia Longfield became world renown for her research on dragonfly’s. This bit is from housetorian

George Courtenay left the Ballyedmond estate to his brother John, on his death in 1837, and John left the estate to Richard Smith-Barry, his sister Eliza’s youngest son in 1861. Robert Smith-Barry seems to be living at Ballyedmond, with Sara Louise Johnston, a widow six years older than he is, in both the 1901, and 1911 censuses.

Louisa Smith-Barry married Rt. Hon. Thomas Berry Cusack-Smith, son of Sir William Cusack-Smith, the  2nd Baronet., on 7 September 1819. They had one son, William and five daughters, Hester, Marianne, Anne, Caroline and Frances. He died on 13 August 1866, at their home, 8 Merrion Square, Dublin; now the headquarters of The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. She died on 18 April 1872.

In a slightly curious irony, Sir Thomas Berry Cusack-Smith, who, as  the Master of the Rolls in Ireland, heard the appeal on Pauline Roche’s case in 1855, later became Mary Barry’s  great-uncle. His wife Louisa was Mary’s husband Cecil Smith Barry’s great-aunt. Mary Smith-Barry (nee Barry) was one of Pauline and William Barry’s daughters.

Sir Thomas Berry Cusack-Smith PC (1795 – 13 August 1866) was an Irish politician and judge. He was nicknamed “TBC Smith” or “Alphabet Smith”. He was the younger son of Sir William Cusack-Smith, 2nd Baronet, Baron of the Exchequer and his wife Hester Berry, and grandson of Sir Michael Smith, 1st Baronet, Master of the Rolls in Ireland from 1801 to 1806. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, entered Lincoln’s Inn in 1817 and was called to the Irish Bar in 1819. He was briefly Member of Parliament for Ripon (1843 -1846). 

Thomas Cusack-Smith followed in his  father’s footsteps as Solicitor-General in Ireland, and his grandfather’s footsteps to become Master of the Rolls in Ireland. Like his father, Thomas was a notable eccentric. He was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland briefly in 1842, and then Attorney-General for Ireland from 1842 until 1846, in which role he prosecuted Daniel O’Connell at his trial on charges of conspiracy, sedition, and unlawful assembly.

His conduct of the O’Connell trial attracted severe criticism, and the House of Lords later quashed the guilty verdict for gross irregularities. Like his father he had a reputation for eccentricity and bad temper: during the trial of Daniel O’Connell he challenged one of the opposing counsel, Gerald Fitzgibbon, to a duel, for having allegedly accused him of acting from “private and dishonourable motives”. The Lord Chief Justice, Edward Pennefather, suspended the proceedings, in order to afford the parties time for reflection, observing that “the Attorney-General is the last man in his profession who ought to have allowed himself to be betrayed into such an expression of feeling as has been stated to have taken place.” The judges, gravely embarrassed, strongly criticised Cusack-Smith for his actions and persuaded him to drop the matter.

His frequent outbursts of bad temper were often attributed to chronic indigestion. An admirer described him as having “a touch of genius” but admitted he was rough and harsh in manner. Charles Gavan Duffy described him as “dignified” but so unhealthy and ghastly in appearance as to resemble “an owl in daylight”. Daniel O’Connell called him “the vinegar cruet”.

Thomas’s father, William Cusack-Smith had also had his run-ins with Daniel O’Connell. William was an eccentric judge who offended Daniel O’Connell so much, he raised a motion in the House of Commons, carried by MPs on 13 February 1834, to appoint a select committee to enquire into the conduct of Lord Smith in respect of his neglect of duty as a judge, and the introduction of political topics in his charges to grand juries. On the count of neglect, Cusack-Smith had been accused of rarely beginning his court sessions until after noon, occasionally running them until late into the night. The accusation of introducing political topics stemmed from statements made from the bench to grand juries condemning partisan agitation practices that were, that were themselves perceived as inflammatory due to their one-sided nature. The resolution to appoint the committee was rescinded by a majority of six, a week later.

  • James Smith-Barry (1798 – 1861) lived at Lota Lodge, died without issue 29th October 1861 aged 63. James Smith, s. James Hugh, of Dublin (city), arm. Brasenose Coll., matric 7 July, 1815, aged 17 ; of Lota Lodge, co. Cork, died s.p. from Alumni Oxoniensis (1715-1886).  He appears to have married yet another Eliza Smith Barry.

 

 

Marriage Settlement – Laurence O’Brien and Jane Hewitt 1778

Transcription of Marriage Settlements

TRANSCRIPTION OF THE MARRIAGE SETTLEMENT OF LAURENCE O’BRIEN AND JANE HEWITT DATED 10th MARCH 1778  (237348)

To the Registrar appointed by Act of Parliament for the publick registring of Deeds Conveyances & Wills

Memorial of Articles of Agreement made concluded and agreed upon the tenth Day of March one thousand seven hundred and seventy eight Between Laurence O Brien of Castle Townsend in the County of Cork Merchant of the first part Henry Hewitt Esq. & Jane Hewitt Spinster his only daughter both of Castle Townsend aforesaid of the second part & John Sarsfield of the City of Corke Merchant & Richard Connell of the said City Esq. of the third part reciting that by Indenture bearing date the fourteenth Day of October one thousand seven hundred and seventy two & made between Elizabeth Crofton of the City of Corke Widow of the one part & the said Laurence O Brien of the other part the said Elizabeth Crofton for the consideration therein mentioned did demise unto the said Laurence O Brien his Exeors Admins & Assigns then being in his actual Possession for the term of sixteen years from the twenty fifth day of March then last past All That that part of the Farms & Lands of Burrgashogh called Colbane then held by the said Laurence O Brien containing twenty three Acres english Statute Measure & under yearly Rent of nine pounds six shillings & eight pence & also reciting that by Indenture bearing date the twenty fifth Day of February one thousand seven hundred and seventy seven & made between Richard Townsend of Castle Townsend aforesaid Esq. of the one part & the said Laurence O Brien of the other part the said Richard Townsend for the consideration therein mentioned did demise unto the said Laurence O Brien All That his the said Laurence O Brien’s Dwelling House Malt House & Stables together with a little Field adjoining the said Holdings situate in the Barony of Carbery & County of Corke in his actual Possession then being To Hold the said demised Premises unto the said Laurence O Brien his Heirs & Assigns for & during the natural Lives & Life of the said Laurence O Brien Francis Goold & Wm Galway & the Survivor of them at the yearly Rent of seven pounds & reciting that a Marriage was shortly to be made & solemnized between the said Laurence O Brien & Jane Hewitt then the said Articles witness that in Consideration of said Marriage & of three hundred pounds the Marriage Portion of the said Jane Hewitt paid by the said Henry Hewitt to the said Laurence O Brien & in Consideration of ten shillings paid to the said Laurence O Brien by the said John Sarsfield & Richard Connell the said Laurence O Brien did for him his Exeors Admins & Assigns settle unto the said John Sarsfield & Richard Connell & the Survivor of them & the Heirs & Assigns of such Survivor that part of said Lands of Burrgashogh called Colbane & also All That the said Laurence O Brien’s Dwelling House Malt House & Stables together with the little Field adjoining the said Holdings situate in the Barony of Carbery & County of Corke they the said John Sarsfield & Richard Connell permitting the said Laurence O Brien to take & receive the Rents Issues & Profits of the hereinbefore mentioned Lands & Premises for & during so many years of said Term as he shall live for & as his Joynture out of the Rents of the said Lands & Premises with full power to distrain for the same & also to the use & Behalf of any Child or Children of the said Laurence O Brien by the said Jane Hewitt if more than one Child to be disposed of in such manner as the said Laurence O Brien should think proper by any Deed to be by him executed in his life Time or by his last Will & Testament in Writing & for Want of such Appointment by Deed or Will to be equally divided between them share & share alike & that in Case the said Laurence O Brien should survive the said Jane Hewitt & should thereafter marry any other Wife or Wives by whom he may have Issue that then they the said John Sarsfield & Richard Connell & the Survivor of them should be deemed to be seized & possessed of all & singular the Lands & Premises aforesaid & of all & every other that real freehold & personal Fortune & Estate whereof the said Laurence O Brien may die possessed or intitled unto thereout by Lease Sale or Mortgage to levy & raise the sum of five hundred pounds for the Use of the Children begotten by the said Laurence O Brien on the Body of the said Jane Hewitt and if but one Child the sum of two hundred & fifty pounds & no more And the said Articles further Witness that if the said Laurence O Brien should survive the said Jane Hewitt that it should be lawfull for the said Laurence O Brien to settle & convey all & singular the Lands & Premises aforesaid as a security for any Joynture not exceeding eighty pounds yearly for may after to be taken Wife or Wives provided always that such Joynture to be so settled on such Wife or Wives should not barr affect lessen or prejudice such provision before mentioned for any Child or Children to which said Articles of Agreement the said Parties put their Hands & Seals Witness thereto are Thomas Hardy of the City of Corke Gent & Matthew Thomas Hewitt of Castle Townsend aforesaid Esq., & this Memorial is witnessed by the said Matthew Thomas Hewitt & Percy Rugge of the said City of Cork Gent.

Note:

  Joynture – sole estate limited to wife, to be employed by her after her husband’s death for her life.

  Portion – dowry.

Easter Sunday at the Providence (Row) Night Refuge 1897

This is seventeen days before Alfred’s death on the 5th May 1897, and about six weeks before Frank’s wedding a month later on the 6th June.

ProvidenceRowPROVIDENCE (Row) NIGHT REFUGE AND HOME.—On Easter Sunday at the Providence (Row) Night Refuge and Home, Crispin Street, Spitalfields, E., in accordance with the custom of the late Mgr. Gilbert, a special dinner, consisting of hot soup, meat, potatoes, and bread, was provided for the inmates, who numbered over 300. In the absence of the Hon. Manager, Mr. Alfred Purssell, through illness, his son, Mr. F. W. Purssell, presided, and was supported by the Rev. M. Fitzpatrick, the Misses Purssell, Miss B. G. Munk, Mr. and Mrs. Secrett, Mr. J. W. Gilbert (Secretary) &c.

In the men’s refectory, Mr. F. W. Purssell gave a short address. He said that they came there on behalf of the Hon. Manager and the committee to bid the inmates welcome to the refuge. Whilst deeply regretting the misfortune which had forced them to accept its hospitality, he trusted that it might be the means of reinstating them in life. Although it was very hard to be poor, poverty was not necessarily a disgrace. The refuge had been established by the late Mgr. Gilbert to help the deserving poor, and his work was still being continued. There was every prospect this year of a revival in trade owing to the many public celebrations which were to take place, and he (Mr. Purssell) hoped that when Easter came round next year, all the inmates present would have homes of their own. In conclusion, he announced that the Rev. Mother would give each inmate sixpence as an Easter gift on leaving the refuge next morning. Three ringing cheers for the Rev. Mother and the Sisters of Mercy, and for Mr. Purssell were followed by dinner, which was served by the Sisters. The visitors then proceeded to the women’s room and to the servants’ homes, in each of which Mr. Purssell addressed a few kindly words to those present. During the course of the afternoon oranges were distributed, and additional fare was given at the tea in the evening. Altogether the poor people had a very enjoyable day, and the Sisters and visitors must have been gratified at the joy and happiness to which they by their help contributed.

The above text was found on p.36, 24th April 1897 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 .

Alfred Purssell writes a begging letter in 1896

The Providence (Row) Night Refuge was founded in 1860, and heavily supported by Alfred Purssell, and his children, and sons-in-law almost from its foundation. Wilfrid Parker, Alfred Purssell’s  son in law, was chairman of the committee in 1931, Wilfrid’s nephew George Bellord was also on the committee. George’s father, Edmund Bellord (Agnes Purssell’s husband) had also chaired the committee. Frank Purssell had also been on the committee, and deputised for his father at times.

AP begging letter
Alfred Purssell’s letter, probably from 1896,

 

Jamaica Buildings,
St Michael’s Alley,
Cornhill, London
EC

 

 

The Honorary Manager of the Providence (Row) Night-Refuge & Home, Mr Alfred Purssell, C.C., presents his respectful compliments to Her Grace The Duchess of Newcastle, and begs once more to plead for this most deserving charity.

During the Winter Months, the Refuge provides every night nearly three hundred night’s lodgings, suppers & breakfasts to homeless wanderers free of cost. From the foundation of the Refuge thirty six years ago by the late Rev. Dr. Gilbert, nearly one million two hundred and fifty thousand night’s lodgings suppers and breakfasts have been provided.

The work of the charity does not end at “feeding the hungry” and “harbouring the harbourless”. It is also the means of enabling many of those, who find shelter within the walls of the Refuge, to begin life afresh, and to obtain again a position for themselves in the world. Those, for example, who through dire necessity, to save their families from starvation or worse, have parted with their tools, are enabled to recover them: sellers of fusees (large matches), flowers, newspapers, bootlaces, and the like, without hope or money, are supplied with a little stock: rent is paid and a small allowance granted to mothers and children, when the breadwinner through sickness is unable to work: the ragged are also clothed and situations obtained for them.

It is specially desired to call the attention of the charitable to some distinguishing marks of the Charity. In the first place it is absolutely non-sectarian. There are no questions as to nationality or creed. Whilst there is accommodation in the Refuge, no bona-fide applicant is refused, the sole passport necessary being genuine poverty and want. Secondly no effort is spared to secure the benefits of the Charity for the really deserving. The imposter, the professional beggar is soon detected. All the inmates are called upon to make a statement as to their last employment, and the cause of their misfortune, which is afterwards inquired into. By this means the benefits are secured for the bona-fide poor. It must be distinctly understood however that the poor applicant is not kept waiting for relief, but is lodged and fed, whilst the investigation is proceeding. Nor are the fallen debarred from participating in them, truth being considered a guarantee of desire to amend.

This winter special help is needed. There are no signs of any diminution in the poverty and distress around us. If the weather is severe, the sufferings of the poor will be materially increased. At times so great do their misery and wretchedness become, that those who are attempting to alleviate the distress are well nigh discouraged. The thought that hundreds of men, women and even children have in the depths of winter no home but the streets is simply appalling. There is a worse aspect to the question than this. How many of our poorer brothers and sisters in this vast metropolis are driven to crime. As degradation, by the want of food and shelter. Men and children become thieves; women and girls, alas! Barter their most valuable possession, their priceless innocence for food and shelter. These unfortunate ones find in the Refuge the means of reforming their lives, and of turning their backs for ever on the sinful past.

Will you kindly help the Committee of the Providence (Row) Night Refuge and Home in their great work amongst the poor? If you could pay a visit to it, one night during the winter months, and see for yourself the good that is being done by it, you would willingly do so.

Hear the opinions of some who have visited it:- Mr James Greenwood, the “Amateur Casual”, writing in the “Ludgate Monthly” has said “Outcasts of all kinds and from all parts find shelter there, and all are sure of something for supper and a bed, and a big roll, and a mug of cocoa ‘as a comforter’, “before they start on their way next morning…. The Managers of the Home have been thus unostentatiously engaged for many years, and the good they have effected is incalculable.”

The late Mr Montague Williams Q.C., in “Later Leaves” says of this Refuge: “There is no more Excellent institution…. The place is beautifully clean…. This institution, which is not nearly so well known as it deserves to be, is in the heart of Spitalfields.”

The “Daily Chronicle” has said: “Christianity is certainly not played out at the corner of Crispin St., and Raven Row, although it may be doubled, whether it ever found more depressing material to work upon.”

As an example of the distress, which exists in our midst may be mentioned that in the Refuge last year, amongst those assisted were an Architect, an Optician, clerks, waiters, valets, woodcarvers, ivory-turners, weavers, painters, a professor of music, a linguist, certificated teachers, dressmakers, domestic servants, etc., etc.

In addition to the Refuge, there are two homes, one for Servants, who partially support themselves by work, the other where women out of engagements can board and lodge at a small cost per week, whilst searching for situations.

An especial appeal for help is made this year, in order that funds may be raised to extend the work, which has now been carried on so effectively for thirty-six years. The Refuge was founded by the late Rev. Dr. Gilbert in 1860 with fourteen beds. It has now accommodation for nearly three hundred. Will you assist in extending the good work?

The smallest donation will be gratefully acknowledged, and the heartfelt prayers of the hungry you help to feed, of the houseless you help to lodge, the naked you help to clothe, the fallen you help to brighter and happier lives will be bound to

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