[Hercules Henry Graves MacDonnell]
This is the full text of a booklet compiled by Hercules and John Cotter MacDonnell detailing the history of the branch of the MacDonnell family that lived in Tynekill Castle, County Laois, Republic of Ireland, between 1460 and 1641. Tinnakill castle (as it now is called) is about three miles east of Mountmellick at 53°7'41"N 7°15'4"W, Irish grid reference 250150 208600. It stands on the farm lands belonging to Mr. Findlay (NB: may be spelled differently) who kindly allowed my father and I to visit on 24 April 2007. Note, however, that one may not enter the castle, which has a padlocked steel door. The internal photographs were taken through a hole in the door above the lock.
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Chris Oakley, 13 May 2007.
NOTES, HISTORICAL AND PERSONAL, ON THE TYNEKILL BRANCH OF THE MAC DONNELL FAMILY.
Dublin: BROWNE & NOLAN, Ltd., PRINTERS, 24 & 25, NASSAU ST., 1897.
In the "Notes on the Graves Family," printed in 1889, when referring (page 15) to the marriage of Jane Graves with the Rev. Richard MacDonnell, Provost, T.C.D., it was stated that no detailed account of their descendants was there given, "as it would occupy undue space."
This, it will now be seen, was a very sufficient reason in a paper dealing mainly with the Graves Family ; but the MacDonnells may well claim some personal record for themselves.
It was also felt that there is much of the former history of the Clan that should be of permanent interest to members and connections of the Family, and yet which might soon be lost sight of as being difficult to extricate from the mass of ancient documents.
Once the more interesting portions are filtered from the confusion of antiquity, they present tolerably clear results, and should be perused with pleasure by all who are not "incuriosi suorum."
Such an historical outline is here given in part I., and has been executed by my brother, the Very Rev. John C. MacDonnell, with conscientious care. In all history of the kind there must always be some discrepancies and uncertainty ; but it will be found that nothing has here been set down without very careful sifting and consideration.
Part II. is little more than a personal list of the names and dates of the various descendants and collaterals of the Rev. Richard MacDonnell, Pr., T.C.D., Among these my own branch is sufficiently numerous to require a separate chapter.
This Part II. obviously is of no interest " except to the parties concerned." It will, however, enable their descendants to more readily trace the connection of further branches as they multiply in time.
HERCULES H. GRAVES MACDONNELL.
4, Roby Place, Kingstown, Sept. 1892.
In reprinting the "Notes" of 1892, I have added an Appendix containing miscellaneous details likely to have some interest for various members of the Family.
H. H. G. M. D. March, 1897.
Chapter I. From Colla of Tynekill to Richard, Provost, T.C.D. - - 7
Chapter II. Ancestors of Colla - - 19
Chapter III. Summary of Descents - - 25
PART II.—PERSONAL DETAILS AND DATES.
Chapter I. Rev. Richard, Provost, T.C.D. - - 29
Chapter II. Descents from Fergus Charles - - 31
Chapter III. Descents from Robert - - 34
Chapter IV. Children of Rev. Richard, Provost, T.C.D. - - 38
Chapter V. Children of Hercules H. G. MacDonnell - - 47
M.—Settlements in Leinster - - 65
P.—Scholarships, T.C.D. - - 69
R.—Fall of Frederick, 1858 - - 72
THE MACDONNELLS OF TYNEKILL.
THE object of this brief sketch is only to bring into relief, and rescue from the mass of names and pedigrees, those persons and events with which the writer and the other children and descendants of the late Richard MacDonnell, Provost of T.C.D., are more directly concerned.
The materials are drawn from several sources—including the Rev. G. Hill's elaborate history of "The MacDonnells of Antrim" (published in 1873, and now out of print) ; from the " Annals of the Four Masters,'' and O'Donovan's notes on them ; from the Book of Clanranald, and other documents set out in Skene's " History of Ancient Alba," 1880 ; from an article by Sir Erasmus Burrowes, Bart., in the " Ulster Journal of Archaeology," Vol. II., p. 34 ; from a careful personal examination of Grants, &c., and of official " Inquisitions of Leinster," in Latin, in the Public Record Office, Dublin ; and from the Family Pedigree and Notes left by the late Provost MacDonnell.
There is no lack of authentic records of much of the family history, while a few portions are very obscure, and variations in the names and spelling often make it extremely difficult to identify persons mentioned in different documents. This difficulty is increased by the habit of omitting the surnames, or clan-names, using only the personal name.1
We take, as the starting-point of our remarks, COLLA, or Calvagh MacDonnell, who was in possession of Tynekill, in Queen's Co., from early in the sixteenth century till June 18th, 1570, when he was killed at the siege of Shrule, in Mayo. His eldest son HUGH, who was with him at the siege, is called Hugh Boy—i.e.,Yellow Hugh—and also McCallowe—i.e., the son of Colla, Colla, himself, is sometimes called " Boy," and no doubt both he and his son exhibited that type of hair and complexion which re-appears at intervals among his descendants, even down to the present day.
Both Colla and his son Hugh received grants from Queen Elizabeth in 1562—Colla, of the Castle of Tynekill, and what was stated to be 998 acres ; and his son Hugh, of Acregor, and 320 acres. In point of fact, the lands granted were much more extensive, really exceeding 10,000 acres. (See App. B.) Both were obliged to pay a head-rent to the Crown, and were bound to maintain, for the Queen's service, a certain number of gallowglasses, or heavy armed soldiers. But these grants are not to be considered as more than confirming them in the possession of lands which are stated, in at least one of the Patents, " to have come to them from their ancestors." It was the policy of Elizabeth to get the old chieftains to accept grants of their lands from the Crown, no doubt as an acknowledgment of vassalage and a pledge for their loyalty, which was sometimes extremely doubtful. (See App. C.)
When the celebrated Sorley Boy MacDonnell had accepted a patent from the Crown for the Glens of Antrim, he repented ; and when the patent arrived, he had a fire lighted in the court of his Castle, put the patent on the end of his sword, and held it in the flames till it was burned ; and then, holding up his sword, he said—" By this title I hold my lands."
In Colla's time (which included part of the reign of Henry VIII., the reigns of Edward VI. and Mary, and great part of that of Elizabeth) there were three families or '' septs " of MacDonnells, descended from a common ancestor, settled in Leinster—two in the Queen's County (then called Laix, Leix), one at Tynekill, one at Rahin ; and the third in the county Wicklow, in the present barony of Talbotstown. (See App. D.) Tynekill Castle appears to have been erected2 about 1450 by John Carragh, Colla's grandfather, " best Captayne of the English." (See App. E.) The Government "Inquisitions" after the death of Colla, in 1570, and of his son Hugh, in 1619, represent them as bound to pay a Crown rent of £12 9s. 6d., in those days no small annual tax, as well as to maintain a certain number of gallowglasses (12 for Tynekill) for military service. They were empowered also to hold at Tynekill " a Court, Baron, and Leet, as of the Manor of Tennekille, a weekly market, a fair for two days annually— viz., 21st and 22nd of September." We are told that these MacDonnells were a powerful family, and '' very much dreaded " in the country. No doubt, their gallowglasses were used not only in the service of the English Monarch, but to overawe and blackmail their neighbours.
That the family was both wealthy and powerful at this time is well attested, and we can form a good idea of the position they occupied from many recorded incidents. They lived upon the borders of the English Pale, and Tynekill may be regarded as one of its frontier garrisons. They bore the title, which seems to have been hereditary, of " Constables of Gallowglasses." " These gallowglasses were heavy-armed soldiers, who wore iron helmets and coats of mail studded with iron nails and rings. They had long swords and broad battle-axes with keen edges, by a single blow of which they often clove in twain both helmet and skull of their luckless foe." (Sir E. Burrowes.) They probably had also a band of soldiers lightly armed, equipped, like the Scottish kerns, with bow and spear. But the heavy-armed gallowglasses were a terror to their comparatively unarmed neighbours. There still exists a curious Indenture3 of 1578, May 7th — in the time of Hugh Boy, Colla's son—made between the Lord Deputy Sydney and the " three chief Captaynes of the three septs of Clandonells " of Leinster. in which it is conditioned that in consideration of " The auncient and continuell fydelytie, loyaltie, and true service of the Captaynes and septs of the sayde Clandonnells, always borne and done towards her Majestie and her most worthy progenitors, the Bonaghts, soirens, dead payes, and blackmail, heretofore levyed, shall be commuted into a yearly pencone of three hundreth pounds to be paid out of Her Majestie's Exchequer, into the ands of the said three cheefe Captaynes : Provyded that henceforth none of the sayde Captaynes, gent, nor officers, of the sayde three septs in any warlike journey or feat of war, shall use armour or weapon in serving of any other than the Queen's Majestie or her successors." Sir E. Burrowes says that the value computed for the " pencone" was—free quarters at discretion on the neighbouring territories!
We find from the '' inquisition " of 1619, after his death, that Colla was bound to " maintayne twelve able gallowglasses . . . upon sufficient warning to attend upon the Governor of Ireland or his deputy . . . and to goe upon any Irishman bordering upon the aforesaid countrie " (of Leix). It was in the discharge of such duties that Colla was slain, on June 18, 1570, at the siege of Shrule, in Mayo ; and his second son, Alexander, was killed in like manner before Galway, in 1577.4
In such a rude and warlike state of society, Colla and his sons lived and died, their feudal tenure and duties making them practically the rulers of the country round. What a glimpse this gives us, not only of the family of Tynekill, but of the unhappy mixture of cruelty and anarchy that must have prevailed along the borders of the English Pale.
How we should like to know more of the manners and mode of living of these warlike chiefs, and something of the ladies of the family whose names and origin for several generations have not come down to us !
Tynekill Castle had the character of being among the best specimens of its kind, and yet how little was it fitted for any use but war. Sir E. Burrowes says :—" The finished execution of the more ornamental and elaborate portions evince a remarkable contrast to the remains of ruder fortresses in its vicinity. It possesses too the concealed dungeon recently discovered, which is approached by a perpendicular descent in the wall called by the peasants ' The Murtherin Hole.' It only wants the instruments of suspension and torture to assimilate it to those still thus barbarously furnished in some of the castles on the Rhine." The same may be seen too in the McCleod's Castle in Skye.
The title Tynekill means the house in the wood (in Welsh, Tyn-y-Coed). No doubt it was surrounded, when built, with forest. Sir E. Burrowes, writing in 1854, speaks of a few '' aged patriarchs of the forest still remaining venerable companions of the ancient Keep." (See App. F.)
It is situated on the northern side of the Queen's County (the ancient Laix), about three miles south-west of Portarlington, between the Grand Canal and the South Western Railway. It is in the Parish of Coolbanagher, and Barony of Portnahinch.5
Colla was succeeded by his son, HUGH BOY, or BUY, who, notwithstanding his official connection with the English as Commander of one of their frontier garrisons, must have been more than once judged guilty of acts of insubordination or rebellion, as we find from the public records that he received a pardon in 1575. Notwithstanding this he must have again been judged guilty, as Tynekill was granted by the Crown to Bernard Fitzpatrick, Knt., in 1577. However, Fitzpatrick cannot have obtained actual possession of it, as a formal pardon was granted to " Hugh Boy McCallagh, of Tenekylle," A.D. 1600.
Hugh Boy died on August 31st, 1618, and was succeeded by his son FERGUS, who was then 44 years of age, and married.6 This shows that he was not born till after the death of his grandfather, Colla. Of Fergus we know little. His 19 years of possession of Tynekill may have been in more tranquil times for the County of Laix ; or, as gout sometimes skips a generation, the turbulent spirit of his father and grandfather may have lain dormant in him, only to break out afresh in his son JAMES, who was only 20 years of age, but married, when he succeeded him, in 1637.
This James, in his brief career, wrecked all the fortunes of the family. Shortly after his accession to the Castle and estate, he got a re-grant from the Crown of all the lands around, Tennekille, This was a more elaborate document than any previous grant.7 Four years later, in 1641, on the breaking out of the great Rebellion, we find him, though only 24 years of age, figuring conspicuously as a rebel leader, and a Colonel of the " Confederate Catholics."8
He received a visit in 1642 from the Marquess of Antrim, and this visit was afterwards brought up against the Marquess as a proof of disaffection to the Crown and an argument against the restoration of his estates.9
The Lords Justices, by a Proclamation on Feb. 8, 1641, confiscated his lands for Rebellion, and offered a free pardon, and £400, to whoever would bring them James's head. They specially identified him as " James MacFergus MacDonnell." See Gilbert's " Affairs in Ireland," Vol. I., p. 388. They never got his head, but James never got back his property. The only mercy shown was that his wife, Margaret, was allowed (under a decree of 1664, May 15) to retain her rights upon the land ; and on this dower she probably lived for many years. This appears from an Inquisition of 1679, Ap. 17.
The loss of Tynekill and of the family records make it difficult to trace this portion of the family history. Mr. Hill10 thinks that the family went northwards, and dwelt for a time in Antrim. Certainly they deposited in Glenarm Castle the patent granted to James in 1637.11
If we may hazard a conjecture, they remained in Antrim while James MacDonnell's wife lived, and drew her dower from Tynekill. The Marquis of Antrim was reinstated in his property, in 1665, but James MacDonnell's property was never restored, and his family never returned to the Queen's County. We know not what became of James himself after 1648, whether he died in exile, or lived in retirement in Ireland, which he might have done with reasonable security after the Restoration in 1660.
Fergus, or more correctly, Fergus Charles, his son, migrated to the neighbourhood of Wicklow about 1690, where he took by lease the farm of Coolavina or Coolavin (see App. G). The baptisms of his twin sons, John and Thomas were entered in the Church Register of Wicklow in 1699, June 16.
This raises the question, when and how did Fergus become a Protestant? He could have been only an infant when his family left Tynekill. Probably his mother conformed to the Church to save her dower, and with the hope of getting the estates restored to her son.12 Be that as it may, Fergus brought up all his children as Protestants. There is no entry in the Wicklow register of any of his children except the twins, but that may be accounted for by the fact that there are no entries of any baptisms in the parochial registers from 1665 to March, 1697. It is probable that James's son, FERGUS CHARLES, was baptized before that date, or before his family came to Wicklow.
We find the registry in Wicklow of the baptism of Charles' son, Francis, in 1727, and of Richard, September 14, 1729, and of seven other children down to 1741 (see Chap. III.).
CHARLES MacDonnell, son of Fergus Charles, left his home in the County Wicklow, in 1746, and settled at Baytown, Barony of Dunboyne, in the County Meath (see App. H). His first wife was Mary Hall, elder daughter of Richard Hall, of Newtown Mountkennedy, and their second son was named Richard, after his maternal grandfather ; which introduced the name of Richard into the MacDonnell family.
It is mentioned among stories current in the family (see Provost's Notes, p. 21) that Charles MacDonnell paid a visit to London " to seek for some favour or redress from the King himself" (George II.). Another version of the story is " that he was greatly fretted by the loss of some property or interest in Coolavina, that he had a trial for it here, and that failing here he had it tried again in London, whither he went himself about it, and lost it." It is more probable that he tried to get back, or to get some compensation for, his forfeited property in the Queen's County. We know that he had a suit in the Irish Court of Exchequer, and that an appeal having been made to the House of Lords the final decision was against him. This was, no doubt, the business which took him to London, in 1739 ; and if we could see certain records of the House of Lords, which are not at present accessible, not having been yet arranged and indexed, we might obtain some very interesting information which would throw light on the most obscure portion of the family history, Whether he had an interview with the King, we do not know with certainty, though it is recorded, and not improbable. He certainly brought back a favourable impression of the courtesy with which he had been treated in his unsuccessful mission, and he called bis youngest son George, after the King. This introduced the name George into the MacDonnell family.
Charles, of Baytown, had seven sons and three daughters by his first wife, Mary Hall, who died in 1758. He married a second time in 1760, Jan. 5, Margaret Begg, by whom he had no issue. He died May 7, 1767, and was buried at Kilbride. His eldest son, Francis, continued to reside at Baytown till 1793, April 23. Francis died June 8, 1807, and had several children, but there is now no surviving representative of the family. (See Provost's Notes, and Part II., Chapter II.)
RICHARD, second son of Charles, born 1729, removed from Baytown and resided at Peacockstown, near Ratoath, County Meath (see App. I.), where he married a daughter of Captain Sandys, or Sands. (See Part II., Chapter II.)
Close to Peacockstown was the residence of Mr. Lowther, M.P., who was at one time " Father of the Irish House of Commons." His intimacy with Richard MacDonnell led to his procuring his second son, Robert, a Revenue appointment in the City of Cork. Richard MacDonnell died, in 1805, in his son's house in Cork.
ROBERT settled in Cork, on account of his Revenue appointment. There he married, 1786, August 27, Susanna Nugent, born 1766, of Ardmore (County Waterford), a granddaughter of Alderman Gillett of Youghal. Robert MacDonnell was for a large part of his life a prosperous man, and contemplated retiring from his official post on a substantial property. But the sudden fall in prices after the overthrow of Napoleon brought ruin to his property as well as to many others, and he died in Dublin, an impoverished and disappointed man, on February 23, 1821. He resided for many years at Westgrove, afterwards called High Park, near Douglas, and later, from 1810 to 1815, at Ballindeary, near Cork, between Carigaline and Oyster-Haven. His wife survived him, and died in her son's house, Knocklyon, County Dublin, Nov. 30, 1836. (See App. K.)
RICHARD, his eldest son, born June 10, 1787, obtained a fellowship in Trinity College, Dublin, at the unusually early age of twenty-one, and was Provost from 1852 till his death, January 24, 1867. (See further details in Part II.)
COLLA MACDONNELL'S ANCESTORS.
IN dealing with Colla's ancestors we pass into the region of accepted history, but unaided by family records or traditions. Sir E. Burrowes, in " Ulster A. Journal," says :—" From Ronald, Lord of the Isles, descended the MacDonnells, stout Constables of the Gallowglasses of Tennekille, in the 15th and two following centuries." The line of descent is, on the whole, clear enough, though the history is meagre in details. The "Annals of the Four Masters," in narrating the story of the siege of Struthan (elsewhere called Shrule), state that there were with the English forces " also Calvagh (i.e., Colla), the son of Turlogh, son of John Carragh, son of MacDonnell, and his two sons, with their forces." Here we have at least the names of Colla's father and grandfather. He is by several annalists called McTurlogh (or the son of Turlogh} and his grandfather, John Carragh, is mentioned as having built the Castle of Tennekille about the year 1450. The annals of Ferbisse13 state " that John (evidently the same John Carragh), son of MacDonnell, the best Captayne of the English, was slain in Offaly in 1466."
The words "son of MACDONNELL," used by both these ancient annalists, seem to point to some noted chieftain, as the name MacDonnell was common to them all. This suits the elder Turlogh, who was the founder of the three Leinster septs of MacDonnells.
For the rest of the descent, let me cite O'Donovan, who, in his notes on the " Four Masters," summarises the history:—The Clandonnell, of Leinster, the posterity of Turlogh Oge, descend from that most powerful of all the Clans of the Highlands of Scotland, the Lord of the Isles, and through MARCUS, according to these writers, a younger son of AEngus Oge,14 the hero of Sir Walter Scott's ' Lord of the Isles,' who had married a daughter of O'Kane. The eldest brother of this Marcus was John (Eoin), who died in 1387, who by a first alliance is ancestor of the Chieftains of Clanranald and Glengarry, and by his subsequent marriage with Princess Margaret of Scotland, daughter of King Robert II., had issue (among others)—Donnell or Donald, Lord of the Isles. John Mor, who espoused the heiress of Bisset of the Glens of Antrim, founder of family of Earls of Antrim. Alexander, said to be the ancestor of Keppoch.
MARCUS, the ancestor of the Leinster branch, was slain, according to the ' Annals of Ulster,' in the year 1397. The death of his son Turlogh is recorded in the same annals in the year 1435. This Turlogh had a son, Turlogh Oge, in whose time the family appear to have settled in Leinster.
The above account is both consistent in itself and with all ancient authorities, except in one particular—that John Carragh, the builder of Tynekill, who, according to the " Annals of the Four Masters," came between the two Turloghs, is omitted ; though O'Donovan in the next sentence mentions his being slain in Offaly in 1466. John Carragh's existence and work are abundantly attested by others as well as the Four Masters. In fact, the chronology almost requires another generation for the interval between the death of Marcus, in 1397, and that of Colla in 1570. All is easy if we suppose that the second Turlogh was grandson, not son, of the first, and that the first Turlogh was regarded as the real founder of the Leinster septs, and so distinguished by the name " MACDONNELL."
The interval between the deaths of Colla and his grandfather is a long one—104 years—but not impossible, and both the dates are sufficiently attested.
Having traced the descent of Colla from AEngus Oge,15 we need not go further, except to repeat the historical and well-known descent of AEngus Oge from Somerled, the founder of the Island Kingdom.
It is given by all authorities thus : —
1. SOMERLED, or Somhairle, who expelled the Norwegian rulers, and founded the Kingdom of the Isles.16 His seat of Government was the Island of Isla (Islay). His mother was a Norwegian, and his name in Norse means a " Summer Soldier," a title given to the Norsemen who, after resting in port in winter, sallied out in Summer upon their predatory expeditions. He was slain or assassinated at Renfrew, in the reign of King Malcom IV., in 1165, and was buried in Iona, according to some authorities in the Monastery of Saddell, in Kintyre.
2. ROLAND, or Reginald, or " MacSomerled."
3. DONNELL, from whom the MacDonnells take their name, to distinguish them from the descendant of his brother, Rorie, who formed the clan of the MacRories of Bute. The two brothers Donnell and Rorie are recorded to have attacked Derry (with 70 ships) in 1286.
4. AENGUS MOR, who married the daughter of Colin Campbell, and died in Isla in 1294.
5. AENGUS OGE, identical with the " Lord of the Isles," called Ronald by Sir Walter Scott in his poem of that name. Sir Walter states he changed the name of AEngus to Roland, to better suit his verse. He was noted for his support of Robert Bruce, whom he sheltered in his Castle of Dunavertie, and afterwards in the island of Rathlin. He afterwards fought on his side and shared his triumph at Bannockburn. He married Agnes O'Kane, or O'Cathan, of Ulster. He was the Father of Eoin, whose history is briefly sketched above, and was either the father, or according to others, the grandfather, of Marcus, the progenitor of the Leinster MacDonnells.17 He died at his Castle of Finlagan, in Isla, 1326, and was buried at the chapel of St. Oran, lona. (See App. L.)
Thus it appears that the Antrim and the Leinster MacDonnells are both directly descended from AEngus, Lord of the Isles.
Marcus must have removed to Ireland some time before his nephew, John Mor, as he was slain in 1397, and it was in 1399 John Mor married Margery Bysset, and so became possessor of the Antrim Glens, which, notwithstanding their forfeiture after the great Rebellion of 1641, were restored in 1665, and remain still in the possession of the Earls of Antrim. There may have been some common cause that attracted Marcus and John Mor MacDonnell to Ireland, but this part of the history is very obscure. (See App. M.) Certain it is that the families in Antrim and Leinster kept up their intimacy as kinsmen down to and for some time after the great catastrophe of 1641. I have given instances of this above (pp. 14 & 15).
The Coat of Arms handed down in his family to the late Provost (of which a copy is prefixed to the head of this sketch) attests in itself the kindred origin of the families. Of both alike it may be said :—
" Their banners bore
A galley driven by sail and oar."
There are some variations in the arms of different branches of the family. In one the galley has three masts, in another only one ; some show the oars, which are not visible in that given above. In one there is a veritable salmon ; in others it is replaced by an allegorical dolphin. But all alike carry back our thoughts to the time when the MacDonnells were a kind of amphibious race, wandering from island to island, or plying their oars between Islay and Cantyre on one side, and the little harbour of Brittas, now the bay of Ballycastle, on the other. They were as great wanderers in the early stages of their history, as the disinherited descendants of the Leinster Clan Donnell have been in recent times. Their occupations, whether as Island chiefs, or English constables of Gallowglasses, have been replaced in their descendants hy the more peaceful pursuits of science, or professional life, Witness the late Dr. MacDonnell, of Belfast, and Sir Alexander, his brother, the descendants of Colla MacDonncll, Sorley Boy's brother : and the late Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, the descendant of Colla MacDonnell of Tynekill.
We may point to Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell, the late Provost's eldest son, as a unique specimen of the old MacDonnell spirit, accommodating itself to the needs of the 19th century. His appearance and complexion in early life would have justified the epithet "Boy," applied to some of his ancestors; while his spirit found its appropriate exercise in the government of so many colonies in various quarters of the globe. In such duties his proud and restless spirit expended its energies, as did that of his father, the Provost, in his firm and impartial government of Trinity College. Perhaps neither would have been as useful or happy as Squire on the lands of Tynekill, if those lands had not been forfeited by the Rebellion of their ancestors against English rule in Ireland.
JOHN C. MACDONNELL,
Prebendal House, Peterborough.
Sept. 8, 1892
SUMMARY OF DESCENTS.
1. Somerled, founder of the Kingdom of the Isles. Slain at Renfrew, 1164.18
2. Reginald, Ronald, or Randal " MacSomerled ; " died 1207.
3. Donnell, source of the clan MacDonnell. Attacked Deny, with 70 ships, in 1211. Died 1249.
4. Angus Mor. Married daughter of Colin Campbell. Battle of Largs, 1263. Died in Isla, 1294.
5. Angus Oge, same as the Ronald, "Lord of the Isles" in Sir W. Scott's poem. Married Agnes O'Cathan. Fought at Bannockburn, 1314. Died in Isla, in 1326, and was buried in Iona.
6. John, or Eoin (senior). 1337 married first, Amie nin Ruarie, of Ulster. Made prisoner at Poitiers, 1356. Died 1387. (See App. N.)
7. Marcus ; he migrated to Ireland, where he was slain, 1397.
8. Turlough "MacDonnell," died 1435. Source of three Leinster Septs.
9. Carragh, builder of Tynekill, about 1436 ; slain at Offaly, 1466.
10. Turlough Oge, whose son was slain at Leix, in 1504.
11. Colla, or Calva, also called MacTurlogh ; got grant of Tynekill, 5th Eliz., 1562; slain at Shrule, June 18, 1570.
12. Hugh Boy, or MacColla, born 1546; pardoned, 1600; died, August 31, 1618.
13. Fergus, born 1575 ; died in Tynekill, 1637.
14. James, born 1617 ; got re-grant of Tynekill, 1637 ; a Colonel of "Confederate Catholics;" Tynekill forfeited, 1641.
15. Fergus Charles, removed to Coolavin, 1690.
16. Charles, or Sorley, married daughter of Richard Hall ; removed to Baytown, 1747 ; died, May, 1767.
17. Richard, born, September 14, 1729 ; removed to Peacockstown ; died 1805.
18. Robert of Highpark, Cork, born 1764 ; died, February, 23, 1821.
19. Richard, Provost T.C.D., born, June 10, 1787; died, January, 24th, 1867.
SOME PERSONAL DATES AND DETAILS.
THE REV. RICHARD MACDONNELL, Provost, Trinity College, Dublin, of whose ancestors an historical sketch has been given in Part I., was born near Douglas, Cork, 1787, June 10.
He was a Scholar of T.C.D. in 1803, and a Fellow in June 13, 1838, just as he had reached 21.
1813, an LL.D., and went to the Bar. This he afterwards gave up, and took Holy Orders.
1814, signed the petition in favour of Catholic Emancipation. (See App. O.)
1816, Professor of Oratory.
1820, Professor of Mathematics.
1825, published advanced views on Reforms in Academic Education, which were afterwards gradually adopted.
1851, December 30 ; 1852, January 24, appointed Provost, T.C.D., by the Earl of Clarendon, then Lord Lieutenant.
This office he retained till the close of his life. He died in the Provost's House, 1867, January 24, and was interred, with a public funeral, in the vaults of Trinity College Chapel.
He married 1810, January 26,19 JANE, daughter of the Very Rev. Richard Graves20 Dean of Ardagh. She survived her husband, and died 1882, January 8, in her 89th year, at Rostrevor-terrace, Rathgar, and was interred at St. Paul's, Bray.21
Their children were,:—Nine sons and five daughters ; see below, Chapter IV.
DESCENTS FROM FERGUS CHARLES.
SOME further details may be recorded of the descents from Fergus Charles (the son of Colonel James of Tynekill), mentioned in pages 15 and 16.
It should be observed, that though he was generally called Charles, there seems no doubt that his full name included Fergus, which was probably derived from his grandfather. Certainly the Provost records an interview, as recently as in 1827, December 24, with Margaret (Begg) the widow of his son Charles, of Baytown ; and her recollection was distinct and positive as to her father-in-law's names.
CHARLES, or Sorley (senior), son of Fergus Charles, in 1746 moved from Coolavin to Baytown. 1767, May 7, died. Interred at Kilbride, near Dunboyne. 1726, married, first, Mary, elder daughter of Richard Hall, of "Three Trouts Farm ; " she died 1758. Oct. 1.
Their children are recorded in the Wicklow Registry:—
1. Francis (a) born 1727, Feb. 26.22
2. RICHARD (b) born 1729, Sept. 14.
3. Anthony, born 1731, April 20.
4. Charles, junior, born 1732.
5. Catherine, born 1734.
6. Anne, born 1736, Nov. 16.
7. John, b. 1737, Dec. 12
8. Cornelius, b. 1739, Dec. 31, of Furniekelly House.
9. Sarah, b. 1741, Dec. 29.
10. George, b. 1748 ; his birth is not in the Wicklow Registry, his father having removed thence to Baytown, in 1747. He was named after George II. He died 1780, July 21.
Charles or Sorley, senior, married, secondly, Margaret Begg. She had no issue, and survived him till after 1827.
RICHARD, Provost's grandfather, and second son of Charles or Sorley 1729, Sept. 14, b. at Coolavin.
1747. Removed to Peacockstown.
1805, Jan. 12, died at Cork.
1760. Married Miss Sandys, or Sands, a descendant of Captain Sands, whose brave action at the Siege of Athlone, in 1691, is commemorated in Smollett's History.23
Their children were :—
I. Charles, b. 1762. 1806, died in Cork, without issue.
II. ROBERT, Provost's father, b. 1764, of High Park, near Douglas, Cork; 1786, Aug. 27, married Susanna Nugent,24 who was born 1766, and died 1836, Nov. 30, at Knocklyon, County Dublin.
A complete account of their children will be found in the next chapter.
Robert died in Dublin, 1821, Feb. 23, and was interred there at St. Peter's.
III Francis, b. 1766. He was an Officer, and present at the engagement at New Ross, in 1798.
He married Miss Flood, and their children were:—
1. John, in 33rd Regt.; killed at Vittoria, 1813.
2. Francis, drowned in river Dodder.
3. Richard, died young.
4. Rev. Luke Gardiner, died 1870 ; Rector of Glankeen, Co. Tipperary ; married the daughter of Dr. L'Estrange, one of the founders of the College of Surgeons, Dublin 25
DESCENDANTS OF ROBERT.
The entire family of Robert Macdonnell and his wife Susanna were as follows :—
I. Rev. RICHARD MacDonnell, Provost T.C.D., already referred to (pages 17 & 29).
II. ANNE Macdonnell, b. 1788, died 1804, January 10.
III. LYNDON Macdonnell, born 1788, Oct. 5, died 1863, Nov. 15. She married Rev. William Alleyne Evanson, Vicar of Lechlade and Inglesham, Wiltshire, who died 1857, March 2.
Their children were :—
1. Charles Evanson, who died 1874, July. Married, 1st, Mary Payne, and had 3 sons, who died at the ages of 19. Married, 2nd, Catherine Marks; they had 7 children.26
2. Richard MacDonnell Evanson, died 1890, Nov. 17. He married Matilda Maskyline, They had 15 children.27
3. Robert Macdonnell Evanson. There were 3 children.28
4. Susanna Evanson. She married Rev. Francis M. Rowden.29
5. Hariette Allen Evanson. Married Rev. Edward Cay Adams,30 Rector of Hawkchurch, Axminster.
6. Edward Evanson, died young, unmarried.
IV. REV. CHARLES FRANCIS Macdonnell, LL.D.; b. 1780, Dec. 9, died 1869, Oct. 21 ; of Vicar Kineagh, Co. Carlow.
Married 1st Maria, daughter of George John Furnisse. Their children were : —
1. Robert Harkness; born 1821 ; March 4.
1838. Lieut., 56th Regt.
1847, Jan. 10, married Barbara Palmer,
1855, Capt R., Dublin Fusiliers.
1861, removed to Melbourne, and in 1884 settled as a resident in South
Brisbane.
There were 5 sons and 4 daughters.31
2. Elvira, married James O'Dowd.32
3. Maria, deceased.
Married 2nd—Francis Boys. Their son, Richard Charles died at age of 20.
Married 3rd, 1853—Eliza L'Estrange. She died 1893, Oct. 26. Their children were :—
1. Charles, born 1854, died 1872.
2. Julia, married Rev. Ab. Watson.
3. Emma, married Mr. Brown,
4. Francis Elizabeth Maria.
5. Anna,
V. ROBERT MacDonnell, born 1782, Sept. 21, died 1828, in London. Married, 1817, Margaret Lea, who died about 1825, in London. Children—
1. Robert Lea, M.D., born 1818. Married 1842, October 20th, at St. Thomas's Dublin, Margaret Coates, who now resides in Montreal. He settled in Canada, 1845 ; became Professor of Institutes of Medicine at McGill College, Montreal ; 1851, Professor of Clinical Medicine ; was Surgeon to St. Patrick's Hospital, and Editor of two Medical Journals. He attained the highest position in his profession, but was killed at Montreal by a fall from his sleigh, 1878. January 30.33
2. Richard, born 1820. Died 1897, Feb. 6. Resided in Canada, and then in Philadelphia. Married in Montreal 1853, Aug. 4, Sarah Nelson, who died 1889, Nov. 23. 34
3. Margaret Lea, married, in London, George Bailey, died at Sydney, 1885, Aug. 23.
4. Julia, died at Raglan Castle, 1883, March 9.
She married, 1st—1843, Sir Valentine Blake, M.P., of Menloe, Galway, who died
1847, Jan. 29. Their son was Valentine Blake.35
Married, 2nd—Captain Cuxon.
VI. Rev. GEORGE MacDonnell, born 1802, Dec. 9, died 1874, July 10 : Vicar of Killgeffin, Co. Roscommon, where he was buried.
Married 1st—Isabella Bolton. Their children were :—
1. Robert George, born 1848, died 1864, April 10, at Killgeffin Glebe.
2. Malcolm, born 1853 ; died 1891 ; Aug. 3, at Greenwood, New York.
Married 2nd—Anne Hanna, who survives him.
CHILDREN OF REV. RICHARD MACDONNELL,
SONS.
I. ROBERT, born 1812, Aug. 29, at Raheny Glebe; obtained a First Place at entrance, a First Scholarship and high honours in T.C D., and died at Sorrento Cottage, 1833, June 21. Interred at Bray. (See App. P.)
II. SIR RICHARD GRAVES, K.C.M.G., and C.B., born at 26 Harcourt-street, 1814,
Sept. 3; died at Hyeres, 1881, Feb. 5.
In 1833 a Scholar, and then a Graduate of T.C.D,
1838. Called to Irish Bar, and in 1842 to English.
1843. Chief Justice of Gambia Settlement, of which he became Governor in 1847.
1852. Transferred to St. Lucia, and then to St. Vincent.
1854, Nov. Governor of South Australia ; and
1855, Nov. 28. Was knighted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
1864. Mainly instrumental in having the Act passed tor Governors' Pensions.
Governor of Nova Scotia, which he resigned on the changes caused by the
formation of the Dominion.
1866. Governor of Hong Kong.
1872. He finally retired from office.
1874. Sept. Issued an Address to the Electors of Dublin University ; but
finding his deafness increasing, subsequently retired. He was then successively
in 58, Curzon-st., 66, Onslow Gardens, and 11, York-terrace, in London; as well
as in various places in France and Italy ; and finally at Hyeres, where he
died, 1881, Feb. 5. His remains were interred at Kensal Green.
Married Blanche Anne, daughter of Francis Skurray, of Stanhope-place, Hyde Park, and of Percy Cross Lodge, Fulham ; and after wards of 5, Brunswick-square, Brighton,
In South Australia, Sir Richard gave his name to the " Macdonnell Range" of mountains, 23° S. Latitude, and to the " Macdonnell Port," and District 37° S. Latitude, " Lake Blanche," and " Cape Blanche," derived their names from Lady MacDonnell.
III. HERCULES HENRY GRAVES MacDonnell, J.P., for Co. Dublin, born in Lower Baggot-street, 1819, Jan. 3. Privately baptized ; and along with his brothers Robert, Richard, and John, received and registered at St. Peter's, 1828, April 11.
1835, July, entered T.C.D., getting the First Place.
1837. He was the first to obtain Scholarship, one year before the ordinary time. Eight First Honours in Classics and Mathematics.
1839 The First Gold Medal in Ethics and Logics.
1842. Called to Irish Bar, and in 1846 to the English Bar, at Lincoln's Inn.
1853, Oct. 13. Registrar of Court of Bankruptcy, Dublin.
1854, Oct. 11. Secretary to Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland. This post he held till his retirement in 1885.
1864. Visited the principal towns in Europe for the Dublin International Exhibition of 1865.
One of the original founders of the University Choral Society in 1836 ; and in 1856 joined in re-organizing the Royal Irish Academy of Music, of which he continued an Hon Secretary for 20 years. In 1864 he had joined in founding the Strollers' Club ; and from 1885 to 1895 arranged and edited their collection of 97 Male Part, Songs.
Married at St. George's, Hanover-square, 1842, July 16, Emily Anne Moylan, who was born in Rue de Mondovi, Paris, 1822, Jan. 28, and who died at Norword, 1883, Feb. 16. (See App. Q.)
There were eight children, of whom details are given in the next chapter. 1. Mary Frances, 2. Emily Heloise. 3. Richard Graves. 4. Jane Hariett Elizabeth. 5. Charles Edward. 6. Hercules Henry. 7. Alfred Creagh. 8. Frederick Theodore.
IV. Very Rev. JOHN COTTER MacDonnell, born at Baggot-street, 1821, February 24.
In 1841 a Classical Scholar T.C.D., and in 1842 a Gold Medallist in Ethics and Logic.
1846. Ordained, and Curate of Fenagh, Co. Carlow.
1849. Vicar of Kilsallaghan.
1854. Vicar of Laracor, Co. Meath.
1857. Donnellan Lecturer, T.C.D.
1860. Presented by the University with degree of D.D.
1862. Dean of Cashel.
1872. Canon of St. Patrick's, Dublin.
1873. Vicar of St. Mary's, Leicester.
1874. Rector of Walgrave.
1880. Rector of Misterton, Lutterworth.
1883. Canon Residentiary of Peterborough.
1891. Proctor to the Convocation of Canterbury.
1896, Oct., Published the " Life and Correspondence of Archbishop Magee," in two volumes.
Married, 1853, April 21, Charlotte Henrietta, daughter of Rev. Charles W. Doyne, Rector of Fenagh, Co. Carlow. She died 1895, February 5, at the Prebendal House, Peterborough.
Their children were, sons :—
1. Charles Eustace Henry, born at Laracor, 1855, April 28 ; died 1865, April 12.36
2. Richard Doyne, born at Laracor, 1856, Oct. 24; captain in 17th Madras Light Infantry. Retired in 1889. Settled in Canada, 1891, 1894, Aug. 14, m. Gertrude Amelia Lockhart (b. 1869;, at Toronto.
3. Frederick Vicars, born at Provost's House, Dublin, 1858, July, 25. Married, 1886, June 1, Helen Porter Sievright, daughter of Joseph Sievright, of Edinburgh. Their son Colla Ion, was born 1887, April 19.
4. Philip John Cotter, born at Sorrento House, Dalkey, 1862, Feb. 19 ; settled in Canada, 1881. Married at Toronto, 1893 Sept. 12, Lily Smith.
daughter:— Charlotte Jane (Cissie), born at Provost's House, Dublin.. Married at Misterton, 1880, Sept. 9, Shirley Harris, only son of Sir Wm. Salt, Bart., of Maplewell, Loughborough ;37 whom he succeeded as 3rd Baronet, 1892, July, 7.
V. CHARLES EUSTACE38
MacDonnell, Captain and Brevet Major 29th Regt., born at Baggot-street, 1823, Aug. 17 ; died at Chatham 1853, August 5.1842. Gazetted to the 29th Worcestershire Regt.
1846. Through campaign of the Sutlej as Lieutenant and Adjutant ; was present at battles of Ferozeshah, in 1845, Dec. 21 and 23 ; and at Sobraon, 1846, Feb. 10. Here, in storming the entrenched camp, he was struck by a ball over the left eye ; it passed round, carrying off part off the bone, destroying the sight of the eye, and greatly injuring the whole nervous system.
1848-9. Was in the Punjab Campaign as Major of Brigade, at the passage of Chenal, under Lord Gough ; and as D. A. Adj.-General of Division was at the battles of Chillianwallagh and Goojerat, 1849.
1849. Returned on sick leave, and completed his course, in 1851, in T.C.D.. taking the highest place.
1852. Passed senior department in Sandhurst.
1853 In command of Depot at Chatham ; where he died 1853, Aug. 5 ; and was interred, with military honours, at Gillingham Church. 39
Married 1853, June 7, Ellen, daughter of John Cotter, of Ashton, near Cork.
VI. Rev. RONALD MacDonnell, D.D., b. 1825, May 4 ; died 1889, Dec. 22.
First Honours in Classics and Science, in T.C.D. ; Fifth Scholarship and First Gold Medal in Logics and Ethics.
1846 and 1847, three Vice-Chancellor's Prizes for Essays, and the Elrington Theological Prize.
1848. First at General Divinity Examination.
1853. July 6, Vicar of Marmulane, Passage, Cork.
1857. Rector of Monkstown, Co. Dublin.
1878. Retired, owing to failing health, but took the small Parish of Tullow, Carrickmines, as less laborious.
1884. From this too he retired, and growing gradually weaker, died at 5, Vesey-place, Kingstown, 1889, December 22. Both he and his wife were interred in the Grange Cemetery.
Married, 1857, Aug. 26, Jane, daughter of Edward Rotheram of Crossdrum, Co. Meath.
She died at Vesey-place, Kingstown, 1884, Oct. 20.
Their children were five sons and three daughters :—
1. Rev. Ronald, D.D., born 1862, Jan. 7.
1886. Ordained Curate of St. John's, Monkstown, and then of St. Ann's, Dublin, and in 1891 Rector of Clondalkin, which he resigned, being ordered to a milder climate. 1893, removed to Adelaide.
Married, 1888, May 23, Grace Edith Joy, daughter of Gordon E. Tombe, of Bromley, Delgany.40
2. Richard Graves, born 1864, Oct. 18. 1885, Lieutenant R. Berks. Regt. Captain 1894. 1895, Oct. 14, married Effie Annie, second daughter of Major-General Green.
3. Edward Rotheram, born 1866, Oct. 19 ; died 1867, July 23.
4. Kenneth Campbell, b. 1868, July 23. 1890, purchased land near
Grenfell, Assinaboia, N.W. Canada; called it " Glengarry Farm."
Married 1891, Sept. 16, Lydia Hester, third daughter of John Hunt, of Stanton
Farm.41
5. Charles Edward Rotheram, born 1878, Nov. 19, died 1880, July 23.
Daughters—
1. Barbara Frances (Arba).
2. Jane.
3. Susanna.
VII. WILLIAM SHERLOCK Macdonnell, born 1829, Dec. 25 ; died 1835, Jan. 26.
VIII. FREDERICK JAMES Macdonnell, born 1832, Nov. 1; killed in action at Koorsee, 1858, March 23.
Studied at T.C.D., and then at Addiscombe College.
1853. Indian Commission; served more than four years with 14th Native Bengal Infantry.
1857. Narrowly escaped death when regiment mutinied at Jhelum.
Served under Sir Henry Lawrence and General Greathead, and was attached to the 2nd Punjab Cavalry or " Probyns Horse" as Brigade Adjutant, and second in Command. While in this he was shot through the head at Kursee, twelve miles from Lucknow, that being probably the last shot fired in the Mutiny.42 A monument was erected to him at Lucknow by his brother officers. (See Appendix R)
IX. ARTHUR ROBERT Macdonnell, Major-General R.E., and J.P., Co. Nairn ; born at Sorrento, 1835, July 8.
1851. Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.
1854, Oct. 23. Gazetted R.E.
1861. In India ; had served in the Abyssinian Expedition under Sir Robert Napier, for which he was made Brevet Major, and, in command of the Bombay Sappers, was in the action of Arogee and capture of Magdala, being mentioned in the official despatch as " having rendered valuable and important services."
1884, Sept. Retired as Major-General.
Married, 1st—1865, Feb. 23, Araminta, daughter of Rev-Arthur Preston, Rector of Kilmeague, Co. Kildare. She died at Fort George 1877, Feb. 8.
Their son, Arthur Richard, born in India, Dec. 1865, died at the age of nine months.
Married, 2nd—1879, June 30, Florence Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Nightingale, Bart. She died at Nairn, 1888, Sept. 14.
DAUGHTERS OF REV. RICHARD, PROVOST, T.C.D.
I. ELIZA, b. 1811, and died 1822, May 10.
II. SUSANNA, b. 1816, and died at Shrewsbury, 1829, Jan. 13.
III. JANE CATHERINE, married, 1857, Jan. 14, James Carisbrooke Lyon, late 52nd Light Infantry, who died 1880, Sept. 27.
IV. ANNA MARIA, married 1st at St. Ann's—1861, Nov. 5, Captain Henry Needham,
late 68th Regiment, who died 1884, Feb. 2. Aged 67.
Daughter—Anna Mary, b. 1866.
Married, 2nd—1886, July, Mons. Emile Luquiens, who died 1888.
V. REBECCA JANE (Eba).
DESCENDANTS OF HERCULES H. GRAVES MACDONNELL.
I. MARY FRANCES MacDonnell, born at Upper Mount-street, 1843, April 23.
Married, 1st, 1864, Sept. 15 (at Sorrento Cottage) William Rupert Henn, B.L., of Herbert-street. They purchased at Madeira the Villa do Rochedo, where he died,. 1868, Jan. 4.
Their children were :—
1. Maria Henn (known as Mie-Mie), born 1865, Sept. 7, in Upper Leeson-street.
2. Emily Heloise, b. 1866, Dec. 22, in Madeira. She married (at English Church, Wiesbaden), 1887, March 3, Cornelis Cruijs, of Amsterdam ; they resided at Singapore, and Deli in Sumatra, till 1891; and then at Hilversum.43
Married, 2nd—At St. Peter's, Dublin, 1877, April 1 Augustus M. Newton Dickenson.44
Their children were :—
1. Cecil Dickenson, born at Lower Baggot-street, 1878, March 20.
2. Geraldine Hester Mary, born at Eden Park,, Kingstown, 1879, March 22.
3. Mary Frances Dorothea, born at 62, Upper Leeson-street, 1880, Oct. 24.
4. Violet, b. at 11, Upper Merrion-street, 1883, Jan. 23.
II. EMILY HELOISE,45 b. at 3, Upper Mount-street, 1844, June 1. Married 1867, June 27, at St. Mark's, Woolston, Southampton, Charles Boissevain, of Amsterdam,46 b. 1842, Oct. 28. (See App. T.)
They had five sons and six daughters :—
1. Charles Ernest Henri Boissevain, b. 1868, May 9. Married, 1891, Feb. 19, Maria Barbera, daughter of J. Menso Pijnappel,47 and Helena Brugmans.
2. Mary, born 1869, October 27 ; married at English Church, Amsterdam 1888, September 20, Cornelius Van Eeghen48 (See Appendix V.)
3. Alfred Gideon, born 1870, December 28 ; Officer in Dutch Navy, 1890.
4. Robert Walrave, b. 1872, March 12 ; Officer in Dutch Navy, 1890.
5. Hester, b. 1873, Aug. 16 ; married, 1895, March 7, Jan Van Hall.49
6. Olga Emilie, b. 1875, Oct. 27.
7. Hilda Gerarda, b. 1877, July 12.
8. Eugene Jan, b. 1880, May 20.
9. Petronella Johanna, b. 1881, Dec. 24.
10. Jan Maurits, b. 1883, Feb. 5.
11. Catharina Josephina, b. 1885, Jan. 23.
III. RICHARD GRAVES MacDonnell, b. at Upper Mount-street, 1845, Sept. 10. Killed at sea, 1862, Feb. 24, on board the sailing ship " Victor Emmanuel," by a fall from the topsail yard in the Atlantic, Long. 11° 20'W., Lat. 46° 14'N.
IV. JANE HARRIET ELIZABETH, born 1847, August 13, died at Sorrento Cottage, of Scarlatina, 1859, July 25.
V. CHARLES EDWARD, b. 1849, March 14, died at Sorrento Cottage of Scarlatina, 1859, July 31, interred at the Old Cemetery, Monkstown.
VI. HERCULES HENRY, M.D., and J.P. Co. Louth, b. at 2, Harcourt-place, 1851, March 23. At Dungannon School and then at Dr. Stacpoole's, Kingstown.
1867, entered T.C.D. ; and in 1864 and 1875 obtained the Degrees of M.D. and Chir. M.
1877, Jan. 30, elected Surgeon to the Louth Infirmary, and Medical Officer of H.M. Prison, Dundalk.
Married, 1878, June 1, at Disley, Cheshire, Fannie Keogh Burd, b. 1854, May 9, of the Glen Lodge, Sligo.50
Their children were :—
1. Hercules Neville Francis,51 b. at Dundalk, 1879, May 29.
2. Mervyn Sorley, b. at Sligo, 1880, July 24.
3. Iole Hylla, b. at Dundalk, 1884, Jan. 10
VI. ALFRED CREAGH52 MacDonnell, R.E., b. at 61, Upper Baggot-street, 1855, Jan. 28.
1871. Cheltenham College.
1873. Woolwich Academy, from which he passed 4th for R.E. in 1875, Feb. 15.
His services are given in Hart's Army List :—
" Served in the Afghan War of 1878-9 (medal), with the Queen's Own Sappers and Miners ; and as Assistant Field Engineer with Peshawar Valley Field Force, and took part in the Bazar Valley Expedition (Medal). Served with the Rumpa Field Force in 1879-80, in command of a company of the Queen's Own Sappers and Miners, and as Superintendent of Army Signalling. Served in the Soudan Campaign in 1885, with the Indian Contingent (medal, with clasp and Khedive's Star)."
Became Captain R.E., 1885, Aug. 18, and in 1889 D.A.A. General for Instruction at Kasawli. (See App. V.)
1894, May 18, Major, R.E.
1895, Decr. 16 Instructor in Survey, Military School of Engineering, Chatham.
Married, 1881, Feb. 22, at the Parish Church, Hove, Brighton, Adele, fourth daughter of General Herbert Stacy Abbot, born 1854, Oct. 1.
Their son, Herbert Creagh, b. at Bangalore, 1884, Mar. 30.
VIII. FREDERICK THEODORE MacDonnell, M.A., born at 61, Upper Baggot-street, 1860, June 27, was educated at Rossall School, 1870 to 1879 ; in 1879, entered Clare College, Cambridge, and graduated in 1882.
Assistant Master at Elstree, 1883 to 1891.
Called to the English Bar, at Inner Temple, 1887.
1895. Aug. 1, married at All Saints Church, Wath-upon-Dearne, Sylvia Frances, only daughter of Frank N. Wardell, H. M. Senior Chief Inspector of Mines.
In the good old times—when reading and writing were left to the clergy and a few ladies, and when fighting was the only noble, manly vocation—both names and spelling of people, who could neither read nor spell, naturally went through serious variations.
Even such as could write were not very strong in it.
James MacDonnell—not of Tynekill but of " Dunnwark and Glenis "—had a great opportunity. While a lad he was detained (against his will) at Holyrood, with the Scotch Court. There the Dean (Wm. Henderson) took him in hands, and made him the first scholar of the family ! We have a specimen of the result of the Dean's teaching.
A letter of James's is extant, dated 1546, January 24 ; and, being to the Privy Council, it may be supposed to have been penned with some care. It is in the State Papers, Vol. III., p. 548.
He begins: "We James McConaill," &c. He signs at end " McConil," and in the middle he refers to members of the family as "Donald " and " Donaldsone."
In 1551 this same James is referred to by Sir Thomas Cusacke as "James McConnyll."
An Alexander Macdonnell—who could not write—about 1530, affixed his name to a document to Sir John Campbell in this way : " I, Alexender Konnel de Dunoweg, with my hand on the pen."
All these are really identical names. When the C was used for the D, it was meant to convey, in English letters, the sound of the Gaelic pronunciation. So Connyll had nothing to do with Connell, which was quite a distinct name.
The original Gaelic, according to O'Donovan, was " Mac Domhnaill," pronounced (q. p.) "Mac Donnell." (See O'Donovan, in Hill, p. 44.)
In 1699, Fergus Charles registered his twin sons, in Wicklow Church, under the name " McDonnell." But his son Charles, between 1727 and 1741, registered there six sons, and three daughters, almost all with some variation in each.
He began with " McDonnell," then made it " McDannell," then " McDanel," and at length "McDaniel."
The last form is one in frequent use in conversation amongst the people at the present day. At Dalkey, my father was " Dr. McDaniel," until in 1852 the title " Provost" superseded the name.
In two deeds, of 1737, Ap. 13, at Coolavin, it is " McDaniel ; " and again in the Lease of Baytown, of 1746, January 3, where Charles is identified as " of Coolavin." Yet in subsequent Chancery proceedings in 1793, arising out of that Lease, and quoting it, the name is always " McDonnell."
In official appointments of Robert (the Provost's father), in 1791 and 1798, and in the certificate of his being a Freeman of Cork, in 1802, as well as in various Registries of trees planted in High Park from 1798 to 1805, it is always "McDonnell."
But in an official appointment of Robert, in 1805, it is " Mac."
In a Lease of 1806, June 21, it is " Mc " in the body of the deed ; but his signature is bold and clear " Robt. MacDonnell."
The Provost made a memorandum in an old Family Bible (1861, March 20) :
"Until 1806, my father, and of course his sons, spelled the " Mac " short—thus "Mc."
It seems quite certain that in the second Crown Grant (which was 12th Car. I., 1637, September 7) the extent of the lands was greatly underrated. The townlands conveyed are all distinctly named, and are thirty in number. In no way could their contents be so small as 998 acres. Acregar is the only one of which the extent is separately given, and then only as half what it really contained. The figures probably followed the previous grant of Queen Elizabeth in 1562. The Crown did not know what it was granting, and the MacDonnells evidently did not want too great arithmetical accuracy when the error was enormously to their advantage !
In any case, although all the townlands cannot be identified with accuracy, the following can be traced, and their acreage ascertained in English measure, omitting roods and perches ;— Ballycrossele, 116 ; Portnahinch, 175 ; Ballycarroll, 391 ; Ballycullabeg, 599 ; Clonterry, 393 ; Dangans, 493 ; Kilnacash, 154 ; Coolnaveroge, 1,316 ; Coolagh, 974 ; Acregar, 647 : Strahard, 629 ; Derrygill, 795 ; Derryclony, 625 ; Kilmainham, 468; Cappakeel, 1,527 ; Clencosney, 141; Derrydavy, 250.
Thus these 17 townlands practically included 10,000 acres, British ; besides Tynekill itself, and whatever may have been on the remaining townlands not now identified.
The Crown did not intend to be very precise when it further ratified so vague and elastic a grant as " all MacDonnell might claim as formerly possessed by his ancestors ! "
There is another curious instance of like official ignorance or carelessness. An inquisition was held at Maryborough in 1679, April, 17, under a Royal Warrant for the purpose, dated 1679, March 7 ; it found the forfeiture of the lands of " Jacobus MacDonnell, Hibern. Papist " as a rebel, and ascertained various parties to whom grants of portions had been made. Among others, the townland of Derrigill had been granted to " Major et Burgensibus Civit, Gloucester in Anglia." This is there stated to contain 310 acres, but it really contained 795.
Since the invasion under Henry II., it was the constant effort of the English Government to abolish the old Irish tribal tenure of land under the Brehon Law, and to substitute the feudal system.
Under the Brehon Law, the common land of the tribe was enjoyed by all its members. The ownership was vested in the tribe, and the right of user was based on tribe-membership only. On the death of one chief another was elected, not necessarily as an eldest son, but as a fitting champion for the clan.
Hence an act of treason by the chief might cause his own punishment, but would not justify the forfeiture of such lands as were held for the clan community, and not by him individually.
The feudal system, on the contrary, supposed the land to belong ultimately to the Crown, and it therefore reverted to the Crown either upon the failure of heirs, or in the more frequent event of attainder for treason. The forfeiture in that case was not merely of the life interest of the rebel, but of his demesne lands, and of every interest in the tribal land absolutely.
Hence Irish chiefs who felt their acts had made their position insecure, accepted grants ; and the Crown gave them with less reluctance, as fresh acts of rebellion would be likely to insure absolute forfeiture of the lands.
The Leinster septs of MacDonnell seem to have won the favour of Queen Elizabeth. Having granted Tynekill to Colla in 1562, the Queen next year gave to Malmory MacEdmond MacDonnell (another of the three " Cheefe Captaynes") the lands of Rahin and Derrie, and 717 acres, in the Queen's County. This property, like Tynekill, was forfeited and passed from the MacDonnell's in 1601.
Rahin, or Raheen, is in the Ordnance 6-inch Map No. 17, and is about 5 miles S.W. of Maryborough, and 10 of Tynekill Ruins. The entire district is full of the remains of old castles and churches. Churches then had usually to seek shelter under tha protection of the sword. The country must formerly have been the scene of frequent conflicts. It seems to have been like the Scotch Border Land, and the suppression of depredators caused or excused, arbitrary measures and fierce execution.
The modern residence of " Raheen House " is a place of 201 acres ; there is a Roman Catholic Church adjoining, and an old grave yard. To the south are the remains of " Raheen-Donnell," and immediately to the north is Tinnekill House, till recently occupied by the late Mr. Lawler, M.P.
The names are still racy of the MacDonnells.
The third Leinster sept settled in the barony of Talbotstown, Co. Wicklow. Their district which ran along the foot of the mountains, was known as the " ClanDonald Countrie," until after the rebellion of 1641. They were distinguished as " notorious commanders of rebels ;" especially one Alexander the " Constable of Wicklow," or commander of the Gallowglasses.
This curious title had its origin during the confusion of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when the Government had no longer the power to protect their settlers or the owners of lands. The native Irish were everywhere attacking and recovering in detail their lost possessions. Hence the owners formed themselves into associations for defence ; they jointly maintained a military force, and selected as their leader one of their boldest members, whom they called their " Captayne." As their object was ostensibly to guard the English Pale, the description of the leader as " Captayne of the English " was not unnatural, though not quite true ! We find such a Fraternity in 1480, established as " The Brotherhood of St. George." Thirteen gentlemen were chosen from four counties of the Pale. They met annually and selected a captain ; they maintained 120 mounted archers, 40 horsemen, and 40 pages.
So, in the grant from Elizabeth, of Rahin, in the Queen's Co., to Malmory MacEdmund MacDonnell, he is styled " one of the three Cheefe Captaynes " of the three Septs of the ClanDonnells of Leinster.
Again, about 1563, when Shane went to visit Queen Elizabeth, to seek pardon for his rebellion in assuming the name of " O'Neill " under the forbidden Brehon Laws, the sight of his manly form and shapely limbs procured him not only forgiveness, but the official title, " Captayne of Tyrone."
We visited the old Castle in 1893, July 19th, and found that the ruins of the Keep are extremely solid. They indicate a Castle of a superior class for military purposes, to which to retire for defence, but certainly not an agreeable residence ! It is well-finished work, the stone finely cut, and the quoins carefully fitted. The walls are 8 feet 8 inches thick below ; the material is a limestone, containing fossils, both hard and heavy. The S.W. side is quite 38 feet in width, the S.E. 30, and the height about 85 feet.
Within the walls are curious recesses and passages, besides a winding stone stairs to the summit, still complete. Some of the arches shown in a drawing of 1853 have since fallen, but the groined arches supporting the top storey still remain.
All this makes it probable that the structure received assistance from the Viceroy, when he carried out his system of making and repairing forts along the frontier, at the close of the fifteenth century ; the MacDonnells had fixed themselves there earlier, about 1436, but they scarcely executed so solid a work as this without some such aid.
As far as can be ascertained these ruins have remained much in their present state for a very long time. A Michael MacDonald, of Brittas, Mountmellick, states that his grand-uncle, John MacDonald, occupied the ruins in the last century, and kept an armoury there for the manufacture of swords. The old name and the spirit of war seemed still to have haunted the old spot !
They are now in the possession of Mr. John Conroy, who holds them and the adjoining land, as well as Tinnekill Lodge.
There is a considerable place near to the N.E. called " Woodbrook House."
This is a townland in the County Wicklow, on the 6-inch Ordnance Map No. 25, and on the 1-inch No. 130.
It contains 398a. 3r. l0p.
It is a quarter mile north of Newrath Bridge, lying between the Dublin road and the " Broad Lough," or long tidal water that runs for three or four miles close along the shore and next the railway from Wicklow. In 1893, on July 19th, we visited the place from Rathnew Station.
On the Ordnance Map, as surveyed in 1838, there is a house marked as the " Old Mill," next the stream from Newrath Bridge.
This would appear to be the farm and place occupied by Fergus Charles in 1690, and held by him and his son Charles till 1747.
The old mill-pond and mill-stream are perfectly marked. The channel is dry now, cut from 8 to 10 feet deep, and the bed is overgrown with bushes and large ferns.
In the more recent edition of the Ordnance Map in 1888, the " Old Mill " no longer appears, and in its stead is a place with house and gardens called " Coolawinnia," which is also given as the name of the townland. A second and separate dwelling is marked, about one-third of a mile to the north ; but both these changes may have been made since 1838.
" Killadreeney," where Sarah lived, is about a mile north of Coolavina. There is an old graveyard there, examined by the Provost, 1825, August 14th.
It is a curious coincidence that two adjoining townlands are called " Tinakelly ;" and it is possible that this name may have some connection with the Tynekill or Tennekille of the MacDonnells of the Queen's County in 1641.
From a deed of 1737, April 13th, it appears that Charles purchased the moiety of a small holding of 6 1/2 acres within the manor of Newtownmountkennedy. Obviously this was done because his wife Mary and her sister Sarah were both daughters of Richard Hall, who had died intestate. They thus became joint owners ; and so by purchasing Sarah's share the two shares were united in his wife.
" Farniekelly House" is on Map 101, near Delgany ; it was held by Cornelius, sixth son of Charles.
An old man of 93, a Mr. Murphy, lived in .Delgany in 1826, and then told the Provost he recollected two MacDonnell boys at school, who had gone to Co. Meath, about 80 years before.
Baytown was taken by Charles previous to leaving Coolavin in 1747. The lease was made to him (described as of Coolawin), on January 3rd, 1746, by the Rev. Dr. John Antrobus, at the rent of £130, with other payments. It was described as Baytown, in the parish of Kilbride, and Barony of Dunboyne, and as rather more than 216 acres Irish, equal to 352 acres English. This agrees sufficiently with the modern Ordnance Survey, 356 acres, as, of course, the church and graveyard were not included.
Baytown consists of two separate portions ; one of 298 acres English, the other of 58. After Charles's death, in 1767, his son Francis held the larger portion, and his son Cornelius the smaller. His son Richard removed to Peacockstown about 3 miles to N.W. Baytown lies to N.E. of Dunboyne, and is in the 1-inch Maps Nos. 101 and 102.
The head rent had been sold by the Executors of Dr. Antrobus, 1762, March 3rd, to Michael Sweeney for £2,950 ; and possession was given by the MacDonnells to his son, John Sweeney, in 1793, April 23rd. It was then let to John Garnett, of Huntstown, and Michael Doyle, of Copage.
In the Survey of 1836 there were no traces of buildings except the ruins of the church and the old graveyard of Kilbride.
It was in this graveyard Charles MacDonnell was buried in 1767, May 7th, and also Ruth (Yeates) widow of Francis in 1806. It was used for the interment of both Protestants and Roman Catholics. There is now no record of interments—the parish of Dunboyne, to which Kilbride has been since annexed, having no entries before 1827, and the Public Record Office in Dublin none earlier than 1818.
It should be observed that " Baytown Park " is a different place, in the parish of Dunboyne, not of Kilbride.
Richard MacDonnell resided here for a considerable time previous to 1793, but how long is not exactly ascertained.
It is situated on the Dublin road to Ratoath, about 2 1/2 miles to the S.E. of that town. It is on Ordnance 6-inch Map No. 45, and on the 1-inch Map No. 101.
It contains 254a. lr. 34p. The house was at the N.W. end.
It lies between two adjoining places, Glascarn and Mullinahob. Not far, upon the eastern side, was " Kilrue House," then the residence of a great friend, George Lowther, M.P. for the Co. Meath. His place is marked as " in ruins " in the Survey of 1836.
Two fine portraits of Robert and his wife Susanna, were painted shortly after their marriage, by James Barry, R.A. These belonged to the Rev. Charles MacDonnell, from whom they passed to his friend, an Amateur Collector, Mr. Charles Price. On his death, they were purchased, about 1890, by James Doyne, of Seafield, and were afterwards, in 1893, transferred to Dr. Hercules MacDonnell, at Dundalk.
Barry was a very distinguished painter, who was born in Cork, in 1741, and died in 1806. His merit attracted the attention of the great Edmund Burke, who enabled him to study in Italy. In 1770, he settled in London, where he became a Royal Academician, and their Professor of Painting. He occupied six years in painting heroic subjects for the room of the Society of Arts, Adelphi ; these remain to attest his high ability.
His Portrait of Edmund Burke is in the National Gallery of Ireland, No. 128.
The tomb of Angus Oge has survived, in the chapel of St. Oran, in Iona, where his body was brought from the seat of his power, Finlagan, in Isla. A photograph of it is below.
The inscription, made in 1326, is as follows :—
" HIC JACET CORPUS ANGUSII, FILII ANGUSII MACDOMNILL DOMINI DE ILA."
The general history of Ireland during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries furnishes several explanations why during that period the MacDonnells should not merely have crossed to the northern portions, as they did habitually, but why many of them should have seized opportunities of seeking their fortunes in more southern counties. The discontent then was not confined to the Irish, but was prevalent also among the settlers, for the rule of the Government had become practically powerless either to control its enemies, or protect its friends. Hence the overthrow of the English at Bannockburn, in 1314, offered a favourable opportunity, and became the signal for open revolt.
The MacDonnells had already given a shelter to Robert Bruce, at Rathlin, in the time of his adversity, and now overtures were made to him by a number of Irish chieftains to send over his brother, Edward Bruce, to whom many were willing to offer the Crown of Ireland.
Accordingly, Edward Bruce landed, in 1315, near Carrickfergus, with an army of 6,000 Scots.
As unquestionably the MacDonnells were devoted friends of the Bruces, and as their clansmen had fought at Bannockburn to the number, it is said, of 10,000 men, it may be presumed that many of them continued to follow the Bruce fortunes on this expedition. Much might be won by the adventurous sword, and the country was one with which they were already connected in the North. Thus Marcus or Eoin, one or both, may possibly and naturally have even then come to Ireland, and subsequent events may have induced them or their descendants to remain.
It should be remembered that this " Scottish invasion " purported to be directed not against the Irish, but against their rulers. Hence the rebellion spread rapidly, and received the aid of the principal chieftains, so that Edward Bruce was soon crowned as King at Dundalk, in 1315.
Robert Bruce arrived soon after with reinforcements, and swept the country up to near Dublin, plundering and burning towns, castles, and churches. The desolation he spread was so terrible that his Irish allies drew back; while, in a country thus left without resources, famine and pestilence soon prevailed, and ultimately paralyzed his own army.
He was obliged to leave Ireland owing to troubles in Scotland ; fresh troops were then brought against Edward Bruce, and at Dundalk, in 1318, he was defeated and slain and the remnant of this army dispersed. But even that dispersal is consistent with individuals having remained in Ireland. Meanwhile the settlers had been utterly ruined by these Scotch raids, and by the exactions of both friend and foe. Large districts were wholly cleared of the English yeomen population, particularly in Leinster and Leix. The deserted lands were either re-occupied by native clans, or seized by strong hands. The English Colony was practically extirpated. This state of confusion continued for quite a century with little intermission, and was most likely to attract warlike adventurers. Indeed, towards the close of the century, King Richard II. attempted to restore order. Twice he landed at Waterford (in 1394 and again in 1399) with a considerable army, but on both occasions he had to return to England before any permanent effect could be produced. His policy had been mainly to subsidize and grant lands to the predatory chiefs, but this wholly failed the moment he withdrew.
During the fifteenth century the " Wars of the Roses " absorbed all the energy of England. Ireland was left to continue in its own confusion. In 1480 the military establishment of the Government was reduced to 80 mounted archers and 40 mounted " spears," while the revenue of the Exchequer was barely £600 !
Dykes and forts were built by the inhabitants for their own protection, while many of the chieftains received contributions from neighbouring districts in consideration of not robbing them—too much.
The Crown itself " Indentured " chiefs to keep quiet. Thus Louth and Dundalk, were " Indentured " to O'Neil, and the Crown paid 80 marks to McMurrough of Leinster.
No doubt the fort of Tynekill was first built really for the defence of the MacDonnell acquisitions. This was begun before 1450 ; but such forts soon afterwards had the full approval of the Government ; Lord Kildare, when Governor, had the ruined towers rebuilt in Leinster, and new castles constructed on the border of the Pale. It thus became the interest of the owners of these castles to keep back the native Irish ; and, while preying on them, to get the favour and money of Government for their repression.
In this state of chaos it would not be surprising if either Marcus or, after him, his bold sons possessed themselves of no small tract. Turlough, who founded the three Leinster Septs, and whose daring character won for him a special name of " The MacDonnell," was not likely to lose opportunities of profitable plunder.
There was another period in which there was a special and considerable immigration of MacDonnells.
In 1431, Donnell Balloch, with an army of Islemen and of Antrim glensmen, landed at Lochaber, and attacked with great fury the Royal Army under the Earl of Mar, at Inveriochy. The slaughter of the Royal troops was terrible; but the victors had soon after to retire from the King's threatened vengeance, and seek safety in Antrim. Of course such numbers arriving about the same time could not remain in one region, and they would naturally overflow into other counties.
This immigration of 1432 may have been connected with the rise of Tynekill towards 1436.
It has been noticed that historians are not unanimous as to whether MARCUS was the son or grandson of AEngus Oge, Lord of the Isles. In either case the Antrim and Leinster MacDonnells are equally, and directly, descended from him. The descent as grandson is thus given :—
JOHN, senior, son of AEngus, who died 1387, was twice married—
First to Amie nin Ruarie.
Of his sons by that marriage were :—
Reginald, or Ronald, the source of the Clanranald and Glengarry lines; died, 1386.
John, junior, who was defeated by his half-brother Donald, and fled to Ireland ; in 1399, he married Margery Byset, and was the source of the Antrim MacDonnells.
Marcus, the source of the Leinster lines, slain, 1397.
Alexander, source of the Keppoch lines.
JOHN (senior), married, secondly (1358) Lady Margaret Stewart whose father became King Robert II., in 1371.
Donald, one of their sons succeeded, by election, as Lord of the Isles, married Margaret, daughter of the Earl of Ross, and obtained that title ; was victorious in the battle of Harlaw, in 1411 ; and died, 1425.
The Provost's early advocacy of Emancipation was the source of a most friendly feeling on the part of one, in other respects, a political opponent. This appears clearly in a letter from O'Connell to Sir Benjamin Hawes, the Colonial Secretary, given in the O'Connell correspondence, by W. J. Fitzpatrick, F.S.A., vol. ii., p. 389.
To the Under Secretary for the Colonies.
DARRYNANE ABBEY, CAHIRCIVEEN, 19th October, 1846.
MY DEAR HAWES,—This letter will be handed to you by the Chief Justice of Gambia, Richard Graves MacDonnell, who is returned from Gambia on leave of absence. He has served three years and a half, equal to a half century in our climate. He has had the fever over and over again. At length he has got leave of absence in the usual course ; but, unhappily, his passage home was so exceedingly tedious that it has cut up his vacation most sadly.
He is a gentleman of great talent, considerable energy and perseverance ; but, alas ! the prospect of returning so soon to Gambia is fearful, especially to his family and friends.
He is the son of an old circuit companion of mine, a most particular friend, and one of the most respectable gentlemen in the community. The father has been for several years past a fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, having never mitigated the kindness of his friendship for me, though he says he knows he has two faults in my eyes—first, that he is a Protestant Parson, and, secondly, that he is a wicked anti-Repealer. You will not find fault with him on either ground, and I certainly do not esteem him the less for the one or the other, knowing, as I do, that he is a high-minded gentleman.
You may perceive, from the warmth with which I write, my most sincere anxiety to be of service to this young gentleman. He wants to have his leave of absence as much extended as possible ; in fact, he wants to have a year of his time cut off in the Gambia, or to be removed to a situation less pestiferous, though not more emolumentary.
You cannot imagine how much you would gratify and delight me if you could assist this young gentleman in his purposes. It will be conferring a great personal obligation upon me.
I have, &c., &c.,
DANIEL O'CONNELL.
It will not be out of place to record here the names of some of the family who gained Scholarships in T.C.D.
1829. Richard Graves Meredith (Grave's Notes, p. 14), the First Scholarship.
1830. Robert MacDonnell (p. 14), the First.
1833. Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell (p. 35), the Fifth.
1836. Edmund A. Meredith (Graves' Notes, p. 15), the Second.
1837. Hercules H. Graves MacDonnell, a Fourth, bracketted as equal along with George Salmon, afterwards Provost, T.C.D. This was the first instance of a Scholarship being won in the Senior Freshman year, the ordinary time being the Junior Sophister, one year later in the course.
1841. The Very Rev. John C. MacDonnell (p. 37), the Seventh.
1844. Rev. Ronald MacDonnell (p. 39), the Fifth.
1844. Edward Graves Mayne (Grave's Notes, p. 18), the Fourth.
The earliest Moylan of whom we have a record was JOHN MOYLAN, senior, of Cork, about 1640.
His three children were :—
I. JOHN Moylan, junior, of whom hereafter.
II. Catherine, who married John Shea.
III. David, who married, 1st—Miss Greatrakes.
Their children were :—
1. Right Rev. Dr. FRANCIS, born 1735 ; died 1815, Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork. His monument is in Cork Cathedral.53
2. Stephen, a General in the American War of Independence. Was a friend of Lafayette, and an A.D.C. to Washington. Fell in battle about 1780.
3 and 4. Two daughters, Ursulines, who died at the Abbaye au Bois, in Paris.
David, married, 2nd—Miss Doran, of Galway.
JOHN Moylan, junior, was father of—
DENIS Moylan, senior, who married, 1740, Mary Scully.
There were nine children :—
1. John, married Miss Barry. 2. Richard, married Sheehy. 3. DENIS, junior, of whom hereafter. 4. Daniel. 5. Alice, married Morrogh. 6. Catherine, married Dr. J. O'Regan. 7. Joanna, married Braye. 8. Anne, married Scully. 9. Mary, married Sheehy.
DENIS, junior, third son of Denis, senior. He lived for many years at North Abbey, Cork ; but in 1821, he retired to Versailles, where he remained till his death, in 1823, Oct. 18.
Married, 1st—Catherine Creagh, who died, 1803.
The children of that marriage, were :—
1. John Creagh Moylan who died, 1824, January 23, unmarried and intestate.
2. DENIS CREAGH Moylan, born 1794, at Douglas, Cork. He died at 18, Queen-square, Westminster, 1849, Nov. 19. He was at the English Bar, and in 1844, became Judge of the Westminster County Court. He published some legal works, and a translation of Manon Lescaut from the French of Abbe Provost, and in 1841, The Opinions of Lord Holland, a work that was at once reviewed by Macaulay and pronounced by him to be most interesting and valuable.
1820, Jan. 24, he married, at Myross, Co. Cork, Mary Morison King who was born at Barbadoes in 1792, and who died 1855, May 7, at 79, Sydney-place, Cork. She was interred with her husband in Brompton Cemetery, grave No. 4119, letter A D.
Their only child was—
EMILY ANNE, born 1822, Jan. 28, at No. 2, Rue de Mondovi, Paris
1842, July, 16, she married, at St. George's, Hanover-square, Hercules H. Graves MacDonnell. She died at 7, Castledine-road, Norwood, 1883, Feb. 16, and was interred at the Crystal Palace Cemetery, grave 680.
Said DENIS MOYLAN, junr.
1804., April, married 2ndly, Maria, only daughter of Dr. Thomas Casey.
The children of this Second marriage were—
1. Charles Casey, born 1806, Captain 72nd Regt., died unmarried, 1854, at Barbadoes.
2. Thomas, B.L., born 1807, died unmarried, 1857, April 16, at Upper Baggot-street.
3. Richard, died young.
4. Anna Maria, born 1810, better known as " Annamie ;" unmarried, died 1864, at Upper Baggot-street.
Lord Roberts refers to this engagement, Vol. I., p. 409 :— " Hope Grant pushed on with the mounted portion of the force, and we soon came in sight of the enemy in full retreat. The cavalry, commanded by Captain Browne—now General Sir Samuel Browne, V.C., G.C.B.—was ordered to pursue. It consisted of Browne's own regiment (2nd Punjab Cavalry), a Squadron of the 1st Punjab Cavalry under Captain Cosserat, and three Horse Artillery guns. At the end of two miles, Browne came upon a body of the mutineer's formed up on an open plain. The cavalry charged through them three times, each time thinning their ranks considerably ; but they never wavered, and in the final charge avenged themselves by killing MACDONNELL (the Adjutant of the 2nd Punjab Cavalry), and mortally wounding Cosserat."
" I arrived on the ground with Hope Grant just in time to witness the last charge, and the fall of these two officers ; and deplorable as we felt their loss to be, it was impossible not to admire the gallantry and steadiness of the Sepoys, every one of whom fought to the death."
" On the 24th March we retraced our steps, halting for the night at the old cantonment of Muriao, where we buried poor MACDONNELL."
Was one of seven children, who were :—
1. Daniel Boissevain, born 1831, died 1849; 2. Walrave, born 1833, died 1854 ; 3. Annette Jeanne Henriette, born 1835 ; 4. John, born 1836, December 12 ; 5 and 6. Charles and Hester (twins), born 1842, October 28 ; 7. Jacob Pieter, born 1844, September 10.
The Boissevain family of Amsterdam is derived from that of " Boiscevin," originally settled in the region of the Cevennes. Having early embraced the Reformation, they must have shared and suffered in the religious wars in that district, throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries ; even after the Edict of toleration was signed at Nantes by Henry of Navarre, in 1598, the persecutions were frequently renewed, and many of the Huguenots fled to seek safety elsewhere. This was especially the case about 1629, when Louis XIII. (surnamed the "Just") destroyed the town of " Privas," and other places, and laid waste much of the Cevennes.
At all events the Boiscevins appear to have been transplanted to Bergerac (on the Dordogne, about 40 miles east of Bordeaux) a town which had been dismantled by Louis XIII. in 1621, for its calvanistic tendencies. There they appear to have occupied a good position until the momentous revocation of the Edict of Nantes, October 24th, 1685. This at once forced half a million of the most useful citizens of France to abandon their country, and seek a refuge elsewhere.
Some of the Boiscevins also fled, endeavouring to escape to Holland. The father, with his wife and two little daughters, attempted to pass the frontier. He himself was captured and shot, His wife and the two girls were concealed in a waggon of hay. The soldiers of the guard thrust their lances through the hay ; they pierced both children (who never recovered), and they wounded the mother in the thigh. The brave woman, who at the time was enceinte allowed no sound to be wrung from her either by pain or terror. The waggon passed on with its wounded and dead. She arrived at the Hague, where she bore a son, who received the name of " Lucas."
Thus he was the first of the Boissevains born in Holland and the founder of the present Dutch family. Hence the name Lucas is one that should be preserved.
In Amsterdam public attention has been recently called to two ancestors of the Boissevain family—Lucas de Clerq and his wife, Feyntje Van Steinkiste.
In 1635 portraits of these had been painted at Haarlem by the celebrated Frans Hals. The two valuable pictures were in February, 1891, presented to the City of Amsterdam by the representatives of Lucas de Clerq's family.
They have been conspicuously placed in the Dutch National Gallery, or Rijks Museum.
The Van Eeghan family are also connected with the de Clerqs ; and thus the children of Mary Van Eeghan are doubly descended by two separate lines, from the subjects of these remarkable portraits.
OFFICE OF DIRECTOR OF MILITARY EDUCATION, SIMLA, 11th December, '91.
MY DEAR MACDONNELL,—The results of your centre of instruction at Kasawli have been better than at any other centre for the year ('91).
More officers attended your classes, they were awarded the highest percentage of marks, and you obtained 28 " Stars " as " Distinguished," the next centre in order of merit obtaining only 19.
No officer at your classes completely, or even partially failed to pass the examination for promotion.
I regret very much that you are leaving my department.
You have been a most successful Instructor, and have always worked with ability, zeal, and energy ; and in wishing you farewell, I take the opportunity of thanking you for the ready support you have given to my efforts to increase the efficiency of the Military Education of the Army.
I wish you every success in your future career.
Yours sincerely,
R. C. HART.
1 Even the clan names have many variations. One of the earliest forms of MacDonnell is distinctly preserved on the tomb of Angus, A.D. 1326, in the Chapel of St. Oran, Iona. " Angusii MacDomnill, Domini " " de Ila." Other forms are of great antiquity, as " Domhnaill," or "Domnail," and also "Domneil," " Dohmnull," and " Domvall." The use of a " d " at the end is of more modern times. (See App. A.) Amongst other variations of names, some may be noticed - " Tynekill" is spelt " Tinnekill " in the Ordnance Map, but is elsewhere often " Tenekill," and "Tennekille ; " " Somerled " is also "Somairlee," .and " Sorley," or "Charles." "Alaster" was also " Alasdair" and " Alexander." " Colla " was " Calvagh " and " Callowe." " John" is modern for " Eoin."
2 See Sir E. Burrowes' article in Ulster Archaological Journal
3 Enrolled in the records of the Paymaster of Civil Service.
4 From a memorial presented to the Earl of Essex, in 1599, it appears that the Tennekill MacDonnells were then in rebellion along with the O'Moores.
5 In Ordnance Survey, 6-inch scale, Sheet 8 of Queen's County ; 1-inch scale, Sheet 119.
6 Inquisition post mortem at Maryborough, in 1619, March 6. From an Inquisition of 1637, May 31, it appears that by Patent of 19th, James I., the annual tax was raised from £12 9s. 6d. to £13 19s. 6d.
7 This grant of 12 Car. I. (1637) is set out in full in the Public Record Office, Dublin (14, 3, f. 181, d.). It is of great length, exceeding 50 folios, and gives him " Vill et sept Tenekilly," and 30 Townlands by name, '' and all that had been in possession of his Ancestors.'' This last clause may be very comprehensive, and may have enabled him to include wide claims for the family. It may also help to explain why he sought, or accepted, this gram- at all. (See App. B.)
8 Colonel James's name is recorded in the list of the leaders of the General Assembly of the Irish Confederation, printed at Waterford, in 1644. He is also returned in a Memorandum of their available forces as having " 1,000 men, but 200 armed." His signature also appears in a protest " against Cessation," in June, 1648, made by several members of the Confederation who declined to come to terms with the Lord Deputy, and who preferred to fight it out. The " moderate " party, however, prevailed, and before the close of 1648 concluded with Ormonde a treaty of " Cessation." The King was executed in January, 1649 ; and soon after Cromwell landed with his army at Dublin.
9 See also Hill's MacDonnells, pp. 327-8.
10 See MacDonnells of Antrim, p. 327.
11 It was seen there, about 1854, by Mr. J. Huband Smith, author of an Article in Ulster Journal of Archaeology, Vol. II., p. 121. Whether it is still there is extremely doubtful.
12 Another instance shows that this was probably not an unusual course. The details are to be found in the " Clerk of Parliament's " Office, House of Lords. From two Private Acts, in manuscript (1st Anne, and 8th Geo. II.), it appears that Hannah, on her marriage with Randal MacDonnell, of Antrim, brought him £7,000, which was to be secured for her in lands or mortgages. Randal was afterwards, in 1690, outlawed for treason, and his lands forfeited, on which the £7,000 had been secured. The Crown, however, after his death, consented to save the interest of his widow and children, and made a grant, 1696, Nov. 6, to a trustee to preserve £300 a year for them. In both the Acts this clemency is accompanied, and perhaps explained, by full and very stringent provisions, that all the parlies so deriving benefit should become Protestants, and their children also, within six months of attaining twenty-one.
13 Otherwise MacFirbis
14 According to the Book of Clanranald, Marcus was son of Eoin, or John, and thus grandson, not son, of AEngus Oge. So too O'Hart, I. 535. Scotch chroniclers have been most zealous in writing and fighting about every branch of the families that continued within Scotland; but they too generally neglected such as went forth and settled elsewhere. Indeed we may except the Antrim MacDonnells, for they long and vigorously forced Scotch attention to them ! Thus, Marcus, having early removed to Ireland, scarcely received any notice ; but the Irish authorities are sufficiently definite about the main facts.
15 It should be observed that in these Notes no reference has been made to the long-standing controversy, as to who should be considered the representative of the Lord of the Isles. The Leinster MacDonnells have no part in that. They have no claim to be the representatives, but they certainly are the descendants of the Lord of the Isles.
16 He married Sabina, daughter of Olaus, King of Isle of Man.
17 Eoin was also the source of the Glengarry MacDonnells. John, a natural son of AEngus Oge, was the source of the MacDonnells of Glencoe.
18 The old books of Ballymote and Leccan (Skene, iii. 466), carry back the lineage of Somerled, with reasonable probability, through four generations to Jehmarc, who did homage to Canute in 1029. Legendary lore—being all that is attainable before that date—adds eight generations, tracing further back to Colla Uaish, who, in 327, was on the throne of Ireland.
19 The marriage was solemnized by the Rev. Henry Stewart, then Incumbent of Craggan, and in 1818, of Loughgilly. The Parochial records are not forthcoming.
20 See notes on Graves' family, pp. 11 and 15.
21 The inscription on the tombstone at Bray is as follows :—" This stone and burial-ground belong to the Rev. Richard MacDonnell,. F.T.C.D. Underneath are interred the remains of his eldest daughter, Eliza, who died on the 10th May, 1822, aged 11 years. Also of his son, Robert, born 29th August, 1812, deceased 21st June, 1833. Also of his son William Sherlock, born Dec. 25, 1829, deceased Jan. 26, 1835. Also of his beloved wife, Jane, born March 2, 1793, who in perfect peace passed to her rest Jan. 8th, 1882.
"In loving memory of the Rev. Richard MacDonnell, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, born June 10, 1787, deceased Jan. 24, 1867, whose remains arc interred beneath the College Chapel."
" If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him."
" And so shall we ever be with the Lord,"—1 Thess. iv. 14, 17.
22 Francis (a) the Provost's Granduncle, born 1727, February 26 ; died 1807, June 8. Lived at Baytown, till 1793, April 23. 1756, November 16, married Ruth, daughter of Isaiah Yeates, of Dawlstown. 1806, March 13, Ruth died, and was buried at Kilbride.
Their children were :—1. Charles, born 1757 ; died 1804, unmarried. 2. Molly, born 1759. 3. Isaiah, born 1762 ; died 1804, unmarried. 4. Francis, born 1764 ; died 1804. 5. Anne, born 1767. 6. George, born 1769 ; married 1800, Elizabeth Lyndsay ; no issue. 7. Lyndon, born at Baytown, 1780.
23 Book I., cap. III., sec. 9. The Provost said this passage was frequently pointed out to him, with great pride, by his father, Robert MacDonnell.
24 Alicia Gillet, third daughter of Alderman Gillet, in 1700, had married Christopher Fudge, of Chusha, Co. Waterford. Their second daughter, Mary Fudge, married Mr. Nugent, and their children were:—1. Alicia, Mrs. Cleary. 2. Anna, Mrs. Foley. 3. Susanna, who married the above ROBERT MacDonnell. 4. Mary, Mrs. King. 5. Sarah. 6. Garrett. His son is the Ven. Garrett Nugent, Archdeacon of Meath. 7. Catherine, Mrs. Bowles, mother of Mrs. Haynes.
25 Their children were :—1. Francis F. Augustus, of 18th R. Irish. 2. Edmund Angus Henry, shipwrecked 1852. 3. Rev. George Alcock, Vicar of Bisbrook, Uppingham. 4. Albert Henry, in United States. 5. Frederick William, died in Australia. 6. Ada F. S., married Rev. F. Kirton, Vicar of St. Gabriel's. 7. Maria, Mrs. Tichnay. 8. Lucie, Mrs. S. F. Boyer. 9. Adeline, Mrs. Alfred Green.
26 Two sons died in infancy ; the others were :—1. Catherine Mary. 2. Henrietta Margaret Anne, who married, 1890, July 30, Robert Gwyer Gilford. 3. Flora MacDonnell, who married 1888, June 14, Cecil Henry Lavington. 4. Frederick MacDonnell, who married, 1884, Jan. 9, Alice Starbuck. 5. Alice.
27 Of these Evelyn, died 1889, October. 2. Wyndham. 3. Arthur MacDonnell Evanson, married Catherine Tarver; they have one child.
28 1. Robert Valentine Blake, married Matilda Baylee. 2. Lyndon Emily, married Rev. Charles Baker. They had three children—Bernard Cazil Baker, Basil Rupert, and Mary Baker. 3. Lancelot Herbert.
29 They had one child. Izabel.
30 Their children were ; —1. William Pigott Cay Adams, b. 1846, Sept. 26, who died, 1880, Nov. 13. 2. Edward Cay Adams, married, 1886, Margaret Ellen Thomas. 3. Frances Kay Adams. She married, 1882, Oct. 7, Capt. Benjamin Briscoe; he died, 1888. They had three children—Frances Mary Briscoe, b. 1883, Nov. 5 ; Margaret Catherine Briscoe, b. 1884, Nov. 29 ; and Ralph Benjamin Briscoe, b. 1886, March 14.
31 Robert's sons :—1. Robert Wynne. 2. Thomas Palmer. 3. Richard. 4. Charles. 5. Rev. George Norbury. Daughters:—1. Jane Maria. 2. Constance. 3. Evangeline. 5. Sara Blanche Barbara.
32 Their children :—1. John. 2. Richard. 3. Willie. 4. Frederick. 5. Elvira, deceased.
33 Children :—1. Richard Lea, M.D., b. 1853. He was on the staff of the Montreal General Hospital: was Demonstrator of Anatomy, Professor of Hygiene and Clinical Medicine; he was a valuable contributor to both the Montreal and the New York Medical Journals. His distinguished professional career was cut short by death on 31st July, 1891. In 1885, he married Constance Anne Barlow, 2. Harriet Julia. 3. Emily Jane (Lillie).
34 Their children were:—1. William Colin Campbell, born at Montreal, 1857, July 15 ; resides in N.W. Dominion. 2. Richard Graves, b. 1859, Oct. 27. 3. Julia Caroline, died in infancy. 4. Olivia Stephens, married at Philadelphia, 1891, Feb. 28, Edward W. Crittenden.
35 Valentine Blake married, 1871, a daughter of Rev. John Dill; she died in London, 1882, Aug. 8.
36 Charles was interred in Chancel of St. Patrick's Cathedral, on the Rock of Cashel.
37 The Children of Charlotte and Sir Shirley Salt were, sons : — 1. John William Titus, b. 1884, Nov. 30. 2. Robert Shirley MacDonnell, b, 1887, Feb. 28. 3. Shirley Edward Philip, b. 1891, Sept. 18 ; died at Gliffaes, 1895, Dec. 23. Daughters :—1. Dorothy Dove. 2. Kathleen Mary.
38 For name Eustace, see Graves' Notes, p. 12.
39 A tablet was erected to his, and his brother Frederick's, memory, in Monkstown Church, Co. Dublin. The following is the inscription; — " Sacred to the memory of two gallant brothers, the beloved sons of the Rev. Richard MacDonnell, Provost, T.C.D. Charles Eustace MacDonnell, Capt. and Brevet-Major in H. M. 29th Regiment. He served in the campaigns of the Sutledge and the Punjab, and fought in the battles of Ferozeshah, Sabraon, Chillianwallah, Goojerat. His health sank from the effects of continued active service under the sun of India, and from a severe wound received in storming the entrenched camp at Sobraon. He expired at Chatham, August 5, 1853, aged 29 years.
" Frederick James MacDonnell, of the 14th Bengal Native Infantry. After the mutiny of that regiment he was attached to the 2nd Punjab Cavalry, and rose to be second in command of that corps. Having distinguished himself in twenty engagements, he was killed in a charge of cavalry at Korsee, near Lucknow. March 23, 1858, aged 25 years."
40 Their children were:—1. Edith Lorne, born 1889, May 26. 2. Ronald Gordon, b. 1890, August 4. 3. Charles Brace Joy, b. 1896, Oct. 4.
41 Their sons, 1. Victor, born 1892, July 9. 2. Conrad, b. 1894, October 22.
42 The following is the account given by his Commanding Officer to the Provost :— " Camp Lucknow, March 26, 1858. " He fell fighting gallantly at the head of his regiment. His death was instantaneous. A musket fired at not more than two yards distant; the ball penetrated the brain. His death occurred on the evening of 23rd inst., some twelve miles hence. The Punjab Cavalry, under my orders, attacked the enemy. Four times we charged through them with but little loss. The fifth occasion changed that little into severe loss, when your son fell in the act of cutting down one of the enemy. We brought his body back to Lucknow, and buried him yesterday morning in the Station Burial-ground. * * * The Service never lost a more gallant soldier, no regiment a more zealous and efficient officer. He was beloved and admired for his many good qualities."
43 Their children were :—1. Frans William Cruijs, b. at Singapore, 1888, Feb. 27. 2. Susanna Catarina, b. at Deli, 1889, July 10. 3. Emily, b. at Deli, 1891, Feb. 10, died 1892. 4. Hugo Cornelis, b. 1893, Nov. 12, at Hilversum.
44 Son of Rev. N. Dickenson, who died 1882, Nov. 19.
45 Called after the family friend Heloise de Mailly
46 Editor of the " Handelsblad," and son of Gideon Jeremiah Boissevain, Heerengracht, Amsterdam, who died, 1875, May 14, aged 79; and of Marie Van Heukelom. The family is descended from French Huguenots, who after the revocation of Edict of Nantes (1685), sought refuge from France in Holland
47 Leader of the Bar at Amsterdam, and member of the first Chamber of Holland. Their children were:—1. Menso, b. 1892, April 19. 2. Charles Hercules, b. 1893, Oct. 18, 3. Robert Lucas, b. 1895, April, 26. (See App. U.)
48 Their children are ;—i. Hendrik, b. 1889, Aug. 19. 2. Emily Heloise, b. at Zandvoort, 1890, Aug. 3. 3. Alfred, b. 1892, Nov. 10. 4. Mauritz Jan, b. 1897, March 2.
49 Their son Frederick Maurice, b. 1896, May 12, at Baltimore, U.S.
50 Her mother, Elizabeth Cochrane, was one of four children of James Cochrane, of Glen Lodge, and married John Burd.
51 These two latter names were given in memory of two intimate friends, Neville Coghill and Francis McDowell ; both slain at the Battle of Isandula, 1879, Jan. 22.
52 The name Creagh is derived from Patrich Creagh, of Cork, b. 1705, died 1785. He married, in 1733, Jan. 19, Mrs. Catherine O'Keeffe. He purchased some property, part of which passed through his son, John Creagh, to John's daughter, Catherine Creagh. She in 1783, April 16, married Denis Moylan, grandfather of Emily (Moylan) MacDonnell.
53 Bishop Moylan took a prominent part in public life before the Union. In the expectation, or rather on the promise, of ample concessions to the Catholics, he aided the Crown to overcome the objections of his co-religionists. The Duke of Rutland wrote of him enthusiastically (1800, Jany. 27) : " There can be but one opinion of the firmness, the steadiness, and manliness of Dr. Moylan's character ; which, it was agreed by all who had the pleasure of meeting him here, was as engaging as his person, which arouses and bespeaks as much good will, as can well be imagined in a human countenance." Fitzpatrick's Secret Service , p. 257