The Irish Bomfords
Achmuty family
(102) Maria Auchmuty, second daughter of Arthur Auchmuty
Notes from Clare Eagle (emails Apr 2009)
Maria Auchmuty, second daughter of Arthur Auchmuty of the HEIC and Ursula da Cruz his wife
m Robert Gregory
Arthur Ahmuty m Ursula de Cruz was b 1729, so he is not the father of Maria Auchmuty b 1734. Seems likely 1734 is at least approximately correct, as Maria's children date from 1754, when she would have been 20, and she d 1764 when she would have been about 30. Maria's b and d dates come from Gregory Papers (notes, p. 3)
Will of Robert Gregory. Robert Gregory of Coole Co Galway, b 1727, d 1 Sep 1810, m Maria Auchmuty dau of Arthur Auchmuty of Briansford Co Longford, his will dated 28 Aug 1810 pr 24 Sep 1810. Source of that seems to be Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, p 511, bottom of left column, says Robert Gregory 'm Maria, dau of Arthur Auchmuty of Briansford, Co Longford' (and had issue). No further details re the 'Arthur'.
https://vrti-graph.adaptcentre.ie/entity-card/person/Gregory_Robert_c19/v1bs79p says '[. . . Robert Gregory] his wife, Maria (daughter of an East India merchant, Arthur Auchmuty of Briansford, Co. Longford), his three sons, and a retinue of Indian servants. He [Robert Gregory] set up in great magnificence in Berners St., off Oxford St., London'.
Arthur Auchmutys in the early part of the tree are:
1a Arthur Auchmuty (1) of Ballymacbrian (later Brianstown), Co Longford, Ireland, b 1599, d 25 Aug 1698, moved from Scotland to Ireland c 1620, assisted in defense of Castle Forbes against lrish Rebels in 1641, m Martha (notes)
2a Captain Arthur Auchmuty (2) of Brianstown, Co Longford, Ireland, d 1692, m Elizabeth Rynd, dau of David Rynd of Enniskillen, merchant. She m(2) John Stewart (notes) (notes) (admin of his will granted 10 Oct 1693 to his widow Elizabeth Auchmuty)
5e Brig Gen Arthur Ahmuty (56), b 1729, d 6 Dec 1793 aged 63 at Dinapore, of Harley St (his will), sailed for India 1759, Governor of Dynapore, m at Calcutta 25 Jul 1767 Ursula De Cruz, b c1744, d 25 Jan 1818 aged 74 in Dublin (notes)
6g Thomas Arthur Staples Ahmuty (86), b 31 Dec 1776, bap 7 Mar 1777 [that record says bap in India, but clearly wrong: actually bap London], d 4 Jul 1833 in Ireland (probate) (his will), lieutenant colonel in the retired list of the Hon East India Company Service, m 20 Dec 1803 in Dublin his cousin Frances Staples, b 1778, d 1836, of Portstewart, Londonderry (her will) (notes); 1838 dispute re his and her wills, rights of the grandchildren
6r Arthur Ahmuty (1034), d 1791, bur or d 1 Feb 1791, Bath Abbey
5c Arthur Auchmuty (42), b 1750, d 1797, wine merchant of Madeira, m (lic 15 Feb 1781) Margaret Sophia Shaw (details)
4e Dr Arthur Auchmuty (23), m Mary Lawder, daughter of Dorcas Townley (notes). The initials M D in Karen Mooty's tree may well be his doctor qualification, not initials of his name
2c Captain John Auchmuty (4)
3a Arthur Auchmuty (15), b 1694 in Castle Forbes, Longfordshire, Ireland, d 16 Nov 1722, of Whithill, parish of Ardagh, bur 16 Nov 1722 in old Church of Lisbrack, said to have been disinherited re disapproval of his first marriage, m(1) 'at 17 a cousin' [i.e. in c1711 if Arthur was b 1694, which would be after she died] Jane Bladwell, d 29 Jan 1710 [Arthur would have been 16 when Jane died, and 28 when he died, if these dates are correct; notes say he was b 1690], had issue (notes)
5a Lt Col Arthur Forbes Auchmuty (79), b 1742, d Nov 1781 whilst on active service (first son: notes), a nice gentlemanly man, went to the East Indies and died there rather poor having lived to the extent of his income, leaving two sons, 'natural children' (named in his will)
3a Arthur Auchmuty (15), b 1694 m(2) Ann Gates, b c 1694 in Co Longford, Ireland
4b Arthur Gates Auchmuty (36), b c 1710 in Co Longford, Ireland, d before 1797 in Fisher's Ferry, Northumberland Co, PA, m in Saint Pauls Church, Narragansett, Washington Township, RI, 8 Sep 1734 Ann Dickinson b c 1714 in Newport, Rhode Island, d 1796 (notes)
5c Arthur Gates Auchmuty (82), b c 1740 in Rhode Island, d 1797 in Northumberland Co, PA
None of these is a good candidate for Maria's father. As she was married in India, the description 'dau of an East India merchant' seems likely to be correct. If she was merely a visitor to India, with parents in Ireland, it would be likely she would marry in Ireland. So likely that her parents, and Robert Gregory, were established in India at the time of her marriage (1752).
Which leaves 'dau of Arthur Auchmuty of Briansford, Co Longford' as open to doubt. If Briansford is not Brianstown, it is not too far away - in the same county and sharing the root Brian and with an Auchmuty connection. There is no suitable Arthur in the Karen Mooty tree.
One option is that her father was not an Arthur of Briansford, but Samuel of Brianstown (25), b 1700. But he was 'a patient country gentleman', and in 1731 was building Brianstown House, not merchanting in India.
Alternatively we may be looking at a branch of the Auchmuty family that was in Longford, but not in Karen Mooty's tree, and went to India. Where in India? Where did the marriage take place? Where was Maria's family.
Robert was Mayor of Calcutta in 1763 (notes p. 3), so probably fair to assume he had good connections in Calcutta dating back a few years, so not improbable that he m Maria in Calcutta in 1752. Ahmuty and Co of Calcutta was not founded until 1815 (Box 2 packet 2).
Not clear whether the term 'merchant' would include officers of the HEIC, or is restricted to 'free merchants', such as Robert Gregory.