The Irish Bomfords

ChapterXII

The Children of Oliver and Laurence  1759 - 1769

 

12.1.1  Arthur of Rathfeigh and his wife Mary (Tarleton)

12.1.2  Mary Bomford and her Three Daughters

12.1.3  The Tarleton Family

12.2  Laurence of Killeglan

12.2.2  Death of Laurence   August 1761

12.2.3  Death of Jane (Smith)  1769

12.2.4  Laurence and Jane’s Children

12.2.5  Marriage - Wilson Bomford &. Anne Bomford  January 1759

12.2.6  Children of Wilson and Anne

12.2.7  Leases - Ballyowen  1799 and 1803

The Earl of Carhampton

12.2.8  Laurence Bomford, eldest Son

12.2.9  Thomas Shinton Bomford, 2nd Son

12.2.10  Wilson Bomford. 3rd Son

12.3  Summary - Offspring of Laurence of Killeglan, 3rd Son of Colonel Laurence

 

12.1

A short chapter to bring up to date the children of Oliver and Laurence. Chapter 7 dealt with these two branches of the Bomford family up to about 1759. This chapter fills in some omissions and brings the families on in time.

12.1.1  Arthur of Rathfeigh and his wife Mary (Tarleton)

Arthur, the fourth child of Oliver, and Mary Bomford were living at Rathfeigh in 1742, the year of their marriage (7.15). They are next heard of in Dublin in 1753 and there they stayed. The following deed of 1767 gives a clue to Arthur’s death. Both Digby and his wife Mary Tarleton had to die and the deed produced, before 1767, so Arthur Bomford’s death would be about 1765.

Bequest of Tarleton Property  24th June 1767

Between

1. Weldon Tarleton of Mt Mellick, Queen’s Co, Gentleman, executor of the wills of both Digby Tarleton and his wife, Mary Tarleton (Tew, 9.3.7), both deceased

2. Mary Bomford (Tarleton) of the City of Dublin, widow (of Arthur Bomford)

Ann Tarleton of the City of Dublin, widow

Arabella Martin of the City of Dublin, spinster

Barbara Tarleton of Kelly, King’s Co, widow 

Elizabeth Johnston of Castlebrock, Queen’s Co, widow.

3. James Wilson of Parsonstown, Co Meath, (brother-in-law of Digby Tarleton the younger).

The women of Party 2 had been bequeathed 1/9th of 1/3rd share of Digby Tarleton’s property, which they now make over to James Wilson in the lands in Culmullen, Agherskeagh, Monalvy and Rathcore.  (Book 256 Page 277 No 166076)

These lands are all very close to Bomford properties; at this date Culmullen is in the hands of Stephen of Rahinstown, part of Monalvy will become the property of George Bomford.

Agherskeagh is just to the west of Agher, and Rathcore is just to the west of Rahinstown. These properties probably came to Digby Tarleton as part of his wife’s inheritance from Mark Tew of Culmullen. Mark died in 1739 (Vicars) and he was a nephew of Elizabeth Tew who married Thomas Bomford in 1691. However it was to John Tew that the Rev John Bomford leased Culmullen in October 1757 (9.3.5).

12.1.2  Mary Bomford and her Three Daughters

I have dated Arthur’s death as c1765 but his wife Mary lived on for a few years in Dublin. Betham records the following intestate will “Bomford, Mary, Dublin, widow, to Arabella Bomford the daughter. Administration granted 15th March 1779.”

So Mary (Tarleton) died in 1778 or 1779 and had a daughter, Arabella. Arabella is not a Bomford name but it was the name of Mary Tarleton’s mother.

In 1781 Arabella Bomford married William Healy and I suspect she had two sisters.  The diocese of Dublin records three Bomford marriage licences dated shortly after Mary's death  –

12.1.3  The Tarleton Family

Burke of 1912 gives a Tarleton family tree but records no names for any of the daughters. However Betham has ten Tarleton wills, which work in well with Burke, and so the following Tarleton tree can be made.

There are two branches of the family and both are of ‘Killeigh’, King’s Co, which is a village in the Parish of Geashill, 10 miles from Portarlington on the road to Tullamore. The name ‘Digby’ must indicate that there was a family connection with the Digby family who owned much land around Geashill. At the time of this Tarleton deed (1767), Henry Digby was alive; he was the 7th Baron Digby of Geashill and also the 1st Earl Digby.

One branch starts with Edward Tarleton who died in 1694. There is not much of interest in this branch except that Edward’s grand-daughter Mary married Mr Wheatley, and Stephen Bomford’s mother-in-law was Dorcas Wheatley, so these Wheatleys may be related, perhaps brother and sister.

The other branch starts with John Tarleton of Killeigh who married Anne Brereton, grand-daughter of Sir William Gilbert of Queen’s Co. He died on 20th December 1700 having had one son.

Digby of Killeigh, born 1681, married June 1705 Arabella, daughter of William Weldon of Rahinderry, Queen’s Co (8.9.1). He died in 1742 (Will September 1741, proved March 1742) having had ten children:

1.  Digby of Killeigh married 1737 Mary, daughter of Mark Tew of Culmullen so her aunt was Elizabeth (Tew) wife of Thomas Bomford the elder. He died 1755 (Will 1753, proved June 1755) and she died between 1755 and 1767, they had no children. Both are subject to the above deed.

2.  John of Killeigh, born 1711 and died 1758 (Will 1750, proved August 1758). He married Barbara, daughter of Adam Mitchell of King’s Co, she moved to Kelly, King’s Co, after John died. They had four sons who all died young, and a fifth, John Weldon Tarleton who inherited Killeigh and died in 1824. His grandson still had Killeigh in 1900.

3.  Anne;  this may be the Anne of the deed (12.1.1) but if so she must have married a Tarleton, but it is more likely that she died young. [Ann of the deed is spelt differently too.]

4.  Elizabeth married Mr Johnston of Castlebrock. He died before 1767 and she some time later. They had a son, Digby Johnston.

5.  Arabella married John Rotheram. Neither are in the above deed so both probably died before 1767.

6.  Katherine married Mr Martin of Dublin. Both died before 1767 and it is their daughter, Arabella Martin of Dublin, who is mentioned in the deed.

7.  Cecilia married Mr Parsons. They are not mentioned in the deed so may be both are dead.

8.  Weldon Tarleton of Mountmellick, Queen’s Co, died 1775 (Will made and proved 1775). He married Anne of Dublin who died in 1779 (Will made and proved the same year). He was the executor of the wills of his brother Digby and his wife Mary. They had six children, all minors in 1775: “Digby, John, Robert, Arabella, Elizabeth, and Anne”.

9.  Mary born c1721 married c1742 Arthur Bomford of Rathfeigh. He died c1765 and she c1779; they had 3 girls (12.1.2).

10.  Frances is not included in the above deed so probably died young.

12.2  Laurence of Killeglan

Laurence of Killeglan, third son of Colonel Laurence Bomford, his wife Susanna (Wilson) and their five children are all recorded in the tree in paragraph 7.1.2. We know nothing about the three daughters of Laurence, Isabella born c1712, Ellinor born c1714 and Mary born c1716, on the other hand a fair amount has come to light about the two boys, Laurence who inherited Killeglan, married Jane (Smith) and had children (12.2.4), and Wilson who became a brewer and distiller in Dublin and also married (12.2.5) and had children (12.2.9).

12.2.2  Death of Laurence   August 1761

Susanna’s eldest son, Laurence, was born about 1710 and inherited Killeglan and the other properties when he came of age about 1731. In May 1744 he married Jane Smith of Dublin (7.3). They had three children, Laurence, William and Susanna, all of whom were recorded in Betham’s extract of prerogative wills (Vol 6, p 40). This extract reads -

Laurence Bomford of Dublin Gent 9th August 1761 (will) 29 same (probate)

Robert Fetherston and Gertrude his wife

Children Laurence William and Susanna,

Wife Jane B

So Laurence died in August 1761, aged about 51, leaving his wife and three children. All the children were minors; the oldest could only be about 16.

‘Robert Fetherston and Gertrude his wife’ - Gertrude is a second cousin of Laurence through the Wilson family, see the Wilson family tree under 7.9.1 and the Fetherstons at 10.7. They lived at Whiterock, Co Longford, and leased the land around Farragh from Thomas Bomford the younger of Clounstown; about 1772 the Bomford lease of these lands terminated and Robert Fetherston took over. It is not known in what way this Laurence is connected with Robert Fetherston as the actual will, like so many others, was destroyed in the Four Courts fire of 1922; but I assume that it must be something to do with the Farragh property.

12.2.3  Death of Jane (Smith)  1769

Betham’s extracts of Intestate Wills includes -

Jane therefore died in late 1768 or early 1769, and before her affairs were settled Laurence, her eldest son, died. The second administrator was appointed in February 1773 and he was the second son, William.

12.2.4  Laurence and Jane’s Children

Laurence must have died between 1769 and 1772; aged about 26, being of this age he probably never married.

William was the second son and the only time he is mentioned in the deeds is as a witness in the lease of Ballyowen of March 1799 (12.2.6) in which he is a “Gent of Dublin”. It is very likely that William married and had a son named Launcelot. We know quite a lot about Launcelot and his family but he cannot be definitely connected and so must remain for the time being amongst the unplaced Bomfords in paragraph 17.4.1.

Susanna is mentioned in the Upton Papers but nothing further has come to light about her.

12.2.5  Marriage - Wilson Bomford &. Anne Bomford  January 1759

Anne Bomford was the eldest daughter of Thomas and Jane (Shinton) of Clounstown, and great grand-daughter of Colonel Laurence. She was born sometime after 1732.

Wilson was the younger son of Laurence and Susanna (Wilson, 7.9.1 note 3d), and grandson of Colonel Laurence. He was born about 1718. So the married couple were of different generations and Wilson must have been nearly 20 years older than Anne. This was not unusual in those days but without the Upton Papers I would never have connected these two in marriage. Indeed no other evidence has come to light. The date of the marriage is given as January 1759 when Anne was about 25 and Wilson about 44.

http://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000530550#page/24/mode/1up records from the Genealogy Office manuscript collection (Marriages from Exshaw 's & Hibernian Magazines Vol.1; 1741-1800 ):

.

Around 1751 and before his marriage Wilson was ‘of Rathfeigh’, and he may have kept Rathfeigh as his country base; I have used base rather than home because Rathfeigh actually belonged to his cousins, Oliver’s sons, firstly Arthur and then Oliver the younger. However at some early stage Wilson must have gone to Dublin because he became a brewer and distiller. He was probably an apprentice, as were his cousins Thomas and John. We do not know into what trade the latter two were apprenticed: but Wilson is quite well documented in his later years in Watson’s Dublin Almanack. The first entry is of 1776, when Wilson would be in his mid to late fifties, and reads -

“Wilson Bomford, brewer and Distiller of 11 Phrapper Lane.”

By this date he probably owned his own business since an ordinary employee would hardly have an entry in the Almanack. From 1776 to 1783 Wilson remained at Phrapper Lane, off King Street. In 1783 there is a change of address to No 11 Beresford Street, which is also off King Street. He is not mentioned again in the Almanack although his son is, so he may have handed over the business to his son that year and retired.

Nowadays this area of Dublin is very run down, but when Wilson was there it was an area of large town houses belonging to the nobility. For instance neighbouring Blackhall Place and Blackhall Street was set out in 1789 from a portion of Oxmantown Gardens, originally Ostmantown, the town of the Ostman or Viking; and the adjoining Blue-Coat School, designed by Thomas Ivory was built between 1773 and 1783. Phrapper Lane and Beresford Street are a few hundred yards further north and shown in a map of 1756 as a thin ribbon of houses bordering King Street on only one side; the houses backed onto fields and King Street led into the ancient road of Stoneybatter (Stony Road) which was one of the ‘Grand Highways’ radiating out from ancient Tara. More to the point to Wilson, Stoneybatter was the road by which he left Dublin for the family houses of Killeglan, Clounstown and Cushenstown.

The Almanack does not make it clear whether these addresses belonged to Wilson’s private house or to his business, but I would think that his place of business would be in the old town to the south of the river and that he lived in this newly developed area. He probably commuted each day crossing the Liffey by Arran Bridge, later known as Bridewell Bridge and then as Ellis Bridge; in 1768 it was rebuilt as Queen’s Bridge, now it is called Queen Mary Bridge and in my view it is a horribly narrow hump-backed bridge to be avoided, but to Wilson it was a handsome new bridge.

Wilson’s wife, Anne, would of course have lived in Dublin with him. It is not known when she was born but it was not before 1732. She would have been older than her brother Thomas but probably younger than her eldest brother William who was married in 1754. She was brought up with her parents at Clounstown and probably stayed on there after her father died in 1757 and until she married Wilson.

Death of Wilson and Anne

Anne probably died first; it is not known when exactly. She was left £300 in the will of her father, Thomas of Clounstown, and in January 1764 a trust was set up to cover Thomas’ various bequests. Anne was mentioned by name in this deed. The trust hit trouble and in July 1784 Clounstown had to be sold to settle all the outstanding debts. This deed includes all the legatees but does not include Anne, so Anne must have died before 1784.

Wilson lived on for another six years. His death is recorded in the Prerogative wills: “Bomford Willson of Dublin Brewer died 1790”; and according to the Diocese of Dublin page 109 he died intestate.

12.2.6  Children of Wilson and Anne

These two deeds, concerning Ballyowen, name three sons of Wilson and Anne; there may be other sons and it is likely that there were some daughters as well but, as yet, they are undiscovered.

12.2.7  Leases - Ballyowen  1799 and 1803

Lease - Ballyowen  26th March 1799

Right Honourable Earl of Carhampton leases to Laurence Bomford of Mitchersmount, Co Dublin, the lands of Ballyowen in the Barony of Newcastle, Co Dublin, containing 44 plantation acres (71 statute) for the lives of Laurence Bomford; and Thomas Bomford and Wilson Bomford, two brothers of the said Laurence, at a rent of £100.

Witnessed:  William Bomford, Gent of Dublin (Must be their cousin, the son of Laurence of Killeglan); Thomas Hylands of Dublin, Steward to Lord Carhampton.  (Book 557 Page 191 No 369769)

Lease - Ballyowen  14th July 1803

Laurence Bomford of Castleknock, Co Dublin, leased to John Scott of Londonderry the lands of Ballyowen, Co Dublin, containing 44 plantation acres for the same conditions as of the lease to Laurence Bomford dated 20th March 1799 by the Right Honourable Earl of Carhampton for the lives of the said Laurence Bomford and

Thomas Bomford and Wilson Bomford, two brothers of the said Laurence at a rent of £100.

Witnessed:  Lancelot Bomford of Dublin, Attorney at Law (Unplaced Bomford (17.4.1), but see also 12.2.4 above).  (Book 554 Page 421 No 369770)

The rents are the same so it is likely that Laurence raised a mortgage on Ballyowen in the later deed. Ballyowen is situated just to the east of Lucan near the Liffey.

The Earl of Carhampton

Simon Luttrell was created Baron Irnham of Luttrellstown, near Clonsilla, Co Dublin, in 1768 and Earl of Carhampton in 1785. Arthur Young at the start of his ‘Tour of Ireland’ was very taken with the great extent of over 600 acres of plantation and the beauty of the woods in particular the lake and glen leading down into the Liffey. Simon had a son and two daughters.

His son, General Henry Luttrell was one of the main opponents of John Wilkes, Member of Parliament and editor of the ‘North Britain’ who published a libellous article and was expelled from Parliament to the dismay of many MP’s. An earlier Colonel Henry was notorious and was finally murdered in his sedan chair in the streets of Dublin in 1717.

Of the two daughters, Anne married George III’s brother, the Duke of Cumberland, and Elizabeth is said to have committed suicide in Augsburg after being sentenced to sweep the streets chained to a wheelbarrow on a charge of picking pockets.

General Henry, 2nd Earl of Carhampton, sold Luttrellstown about 1800 to Luke White, a self made millionaire who remodelled and renamed the house Woodlands Castle.

Luke White, born 1752, was a chapman or salesman of pamphlets who progressed to publishing, but it is a mystery how he accumulated enough money to buy Luttrellstown Castle and to live there at a level of grandeur that had beggared the Earl of Carhampton. His son became the first Lord Annaly of Longford.

12.2.8  Laurence Bomford, eldest Son

Watson’s Almanack from 1785 to 1787 records, “Laurence Bomford, Table-Beer Brewer, of 11 Beresford Street.”

Wilson was living at No 11 Beresford Street from 1783 so for a time at least father and son were living together. They were both in the brewing business and it was probably the family business. However Laurence has gone into a higher class of business, catering for the gentry with ‘table-beer’.

There is no mention of a Bomford in Beresford Street in 1788 so it looks as though they got rid of the house and moved out of town into the suburbs. In 1799 Laurence is ‘of Mitchersmount, Co Dublin’ and in 1803 ‘of Castleknock’.  Mitchersmount has not been found but it may the name of the house, perhaps in Castleknock, a village just outside Phoenix Park on the Dublin - Kells Road.

Nothing more is known about Laurence except that he would have been born about 1760 so in 1803 he would be about 43.  The records of Killucan Castlelost Parish, Rochfortbridge, in the Church of Ireland Library, Dublin, include, somewhat cryptically, under burials, '1827, Law [or Low? - possibly Lawrence] Bomford, grand nephew[?] next of kin to founder of Wilson’s Hospital, Cottage, Killucan, Peter William Wilson' (Eva North email 17 April 2009).  That is possibly this Laurence. That is confirmed in Nick Reddan's newspaper extracts from the Westmeath Journal, 19 April 1827: 'On the 12th inst. at his brother's house at Killucan, after a long protracted illness, Laurence Bomford, Esq., grand-nephew and next a kin to the late Mr. Wilson, the founder of Wilson's hospital, in this county.'

Nowadays one thinks of brewing and distilling as big business, but this was not so in the 1700s; there were many small businesses catering for drinkers, and it was one of these smallish businesses that Wilson and Laurence owned. Indeed these two Bomfords probably did very well because, quite apart from being able to retire to houses in the country, the Irish in general and Dubliners in particular were known to be heavy topers throughout the 1700s and early 1800s.

According to Whitelaw’s estimate of 1798, around 1780 - 1800 the population of Dublin was about 182,000, and to cater for them there were fifty-five breweries and twenty-five distilleries. Another estimate of the 1780s gives 2,000 ale-houses, 300 taverns and 1,200 brandy shops in the town which works out at one for every 52 people or about one pub for less than ten families. There was nothing new about these figures as they were similar to those of the late 1600s, at which time there were 91 breweries in Dublin serving 1,180 pubs and, as the population was then reckoned to be 4,000 families, the proportion was one pub to every three families.

Contemporary accounts all indicate that drunkenness was the norm for all classes. Walshe wrote about the 1790s that “the great end and aim of life in the upper classes seemed to be convivial indulgence to excess” and Lord Charlemont wrote that “after dinner the doors shall be locked, the keys laid upon the table, and the guests drenched with wine until they can hold no more; which out of pure hospitality and friendship is poured down their throats and they are left to wallow in filth and beastliness”. If this was the case of the upper classes one can imagine the extraordinary drunken and debauched scenes of the poorer classes. Writers of the period cover the ‘nurseries of drunkenness’ where ‘every filthy ale-house is thronged full of company’.

12.2.9  Thomas Shinton Bomford, 2nd Son

Thomas went to Trinity and his father’s name is given in the College Register; this gives clear evidence that the brothers were the sons of Wilson. The Trinity extract reads “Bomford, Thomas: Pensioner, (educated by) Dr Buck, (entered) October 21st 1783, aged 17, son of Wilson, Mercator (merchant), born Dublin, BA Spring 1789, MA November 1792.”

So Thomas was born in 1766 (but see below) and got his MA in 1792. He became a clergyman and the Succession Lists of Canon Leslie records “Thomas Bomford Curate Killucan 1794 -1826, a native of the Parish known as ‘the Galla Minister’.”

Also the ‘Establishment of Ireland’ Part V under ‘The Unbeneficed Clergy in the Diocese of Meath’ records, “Thomas Bomford: Curate, (admission) 11th June 1794, £75 per annum plus House and Offices.”

Thomas is listed amongst the Westmeath Voters of 1832. The following entries are consecutive -

Thomas S. Bomford was curate of Killucan from 1794 to 1826, and he was there when the present Church was built in 1814. It is hard to place him as ‘a native of the Parish’ unless that refers to the land he leased from George the younger about which there is no other record; nor is the meaning of  ‘the Galla Minister’ known. He lived at Riverstown when his landlord was Lord Longford. Riverstown Lodge is just north of the Royal Canal beside Killucan railway station. He may have lived there: the site matches the facts. At some date after 1826 he moved to England.

There are two records of his death

and the Woodbridge Parish Register of St Mary’s records -

The local Almanack of 1844 records the incumbent of St Mary’s Church as Rev T. S. Bomford, and that the benefice in 1835 was valued at £439 a year. This move to England would account for his absence from Leslie’s Succession Lists from 1826 and he may have moved that year or any time from that year. The fact that he was a Westmeath voter in 1832 would not mean that he had to be a resident.

In the Church of Ireland Library in Dublin there are records for Killucan Castlelost Parish, Rochfortbridge.  The records record that a Rev Thomas S Bomford was appointed curate of Killucan Church, 1 June 1794.  His signature etc continues up to October 1836 (Eva North email 1 Apr 2009), so he probably moved to England about then.

The Woodbridge entry gives his full name, the ‘S’ stands for Shinton the maiden name of his maternal grandmother, but it does show a slight anomaly; he died in 1844 aged 81 so his birth date was 1762, whereas the Trinity Register makes it 1766.

12.2.10  Wilson Bomford. 3rd Son

Although Wilson has been named many times, there are no entries after 1790 except for the two leases. Wilson, son of Wilson, would have been in his early 20s when his father died in 1790, so it is likely that all previous entries applied to the father. All that can be said of Wilson the younger is that he was born around 1765 and that he was alive in 1803.  An R Wilson Bomford is recorded in Henderson's New Belfast Street Directory of 1843 as a Junior Clerk in the Office of the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.  Possibly he was Wilson's son.

12.3  Summary - Offspring of Laurence of Killeglan, 3rd Son of Colonel Laurence

Laurence of Killeglan, Co Meath, born c1657 (1.6), married c1705 Susanna (7.3), niece of Andrew Wilson of Piercefield, Co Westmeath, died 1721 (will 10th June 1721, probate 6th March 1722) (2.21). Susanna died between 1745 and 1754 (12.2.3) having had issue.

1. Laurence of Killeglan, born c1710, married (ML 10th May 1744, 7.3) Jane Smith of St Andrew’s Parish, Dublin, died August 1761 (will 9th August, probate 29th August 1761 12.2.2). Jane died 1769 (12.2.3) having had issue (12.2.4):

a. Laurence, born c1746, died between 1769 and 1772 (12.2.4).

b. William of Dublin, born c1748, alive in 1799 (12.2.4).

c. Susanna, born c1750 (12.2.4).

2. Isabella, born c1712 (7.1.2).

3. Ellinor, born c1714 (7.1.2).

4. Mary, born c1716 (7.1.2).

5. Wilson, brewer and distiller of Phrapper Lane, Dublin, born c1718, married January 1759 his cousin Anne (12.2.5), eldest daughter of Thomas Bomford of Clounstown, died intestate 1790 (12.2.5). Anne was born after 1732 and died between 1764 and 1784 (12.2.5) having had issue (12.2.6):

a. Laurence, table-beer brewer of Beresford Street, Dublin, later of Castleknock, Co Dublin, born c1760, alive in 1803, possibly buried 1827 (12.2.8).

b. Thomas Shinton, Reverend, born 1762, MA (TCD) 1792, Curate Killucan, Co Westmeath, 1794-1826, Rector St Mary’s Woodbridge, Suffolk, died 8th January 1844 aged 81 was buried at St Mary’s, January 13th 1844 (12.2.9).

c. Wilson, born c1765, alive in 1803 (12.2.10).

Next Chapter: Chapter 13

Back to Table of Contents