Chapter 15

This chapter covers the last 20 or so years of the 1700s when most of Stephen the Younger’s children make their appearance, but before introducing them we must complete the story of the ‘older generation’ of Stephen’s brothers and sisters, the children of Stephen the elder, Stephen of Gallow (Chapter 4), the grand-children of Colonel Laurence. The last family summary was at 11.4.

15.1 The Older Generation 1780

Stephen the Younger		and his wife Elizabeth (Sibthorpe) (8.2) are both alive and living at Rahinstown. He is aged about 58, is head of the family, and has an estate of just over 9,500 acres so can be considered to be comfortably off. Their children as at 1800 are summarised at 16.9.
Rev John		died in 1776 (16.1) and he left his property to his twin brothers, David and Isaac. His wife Ann (Forster) may be alive but little is known about her and it is unlikely that they had any children.
David		See the next chapter; however these two, aged about 50 in 1780, were both married and working in Dublin; David as a merchant and Isaac as an attorney. David's children as at 1800 are summaried at 16.9.
Isaac
Ann		is alive but her husband Samuel L’Estrange has died. She must be in her 60s and probably is living with her unmarried eldest son, Edward L’Estrange who farms the family place of Clowestown (or Clounstown) in Co Westmeath (15.1.1).
Dorcas		was last heard of in 1766 and her husband, Edward Williams of Trim, in 1775. Since then they have dropped out of the picture. Their eldest son, Thomas Williams, is now in his 20s but nothing is known about him either. There might have been another son named Stephen Williams (8.4).
Mary		and her husband William Coates are both alive at this date, living at Abbeyshrule. William will die in March 1789 (8.6), and Mary later that year or in 1790 when she would be aged about 60 (8.6.4). The Coates family home at Abbeyshrule passed to their only child Anne Jane Coates who by 1780 must have married her cousin, Matthew Coates, since he also died sometime before 1789. Anne Jane and Matthew had a daughter named Ruth who became a ward of George Bomford the Elder.
Esther		was last heard of in 1761 (9.7.2) and her husband John Kelly was alive in 1768. He was of ‘Galway’ but became a merchant in Dublin (or vice-versa). Little is known about them.

15.1.1 Death of Ann L’Estrange (Bomford) 1784

Ann died during 1784 when she was in her 80s. According to Burke (in 1857 and still in 1976), she had four sons and apparently no daughters. A fifth son, Francis, has subsequently (Daphne & Don Gregg email 22 Nov 2008) come to light.

1. Edward L’Estrange born c1751 took over Clowestown from his father who died in 1757. One thinks of his mother Ann living there with him. Edward never married and died in 1792.

2. John L’Estrange born c1752 was an officer in the army and was killed in action in Bombay, India. This was most likely during the time when Warren Hastings was Governor (1774 - 1785). John never married.

3. Samuel L’Estrange was born in 1753 and died in 1807 aged 54. He became a clergyman and married Louisa, the daughter of Walter Birmingham. A Walter Birmingham of Mylerstown, Co Kildare, made his will in 1772 according to Vicars, and he may be Louisa’s father. Mylerstown was at this date a Bomford property belonging to Ann L’Estrange's brother, Stephen Bomford of Rahinstown. Rev Samuel and Louisa had no children so it was left to the youngest son to carry on the line.

4. Thomas St Quintin L’Estrange was born in 1755. He was commissioned into the army in 1774 and served in the War of American Independence (1774-83); became a Lieut-Colonel in 1802 and a Lieut-General in 1830. During his travels he married on 3rd May 1793 Elizabeth, a daughter of John Campbell of Edinburgh. They had five sons and two unrecorded daughters before he died about 1845.

a. Alfred Henry L’Estrange, grandson of Anne Bomford (daughter of Stephen Bomford) became a Lieutenant in the 7th Royal Fusiliers and saw service throughout the Peninsular War. In 1818 he married Anne Homan Molloy (8.9.1), the eldest grand-daughter of John Molloy and Anne Bomford (8.9) (daughter of Edward Bomford of Hightown). She died, just over a year after the wedding in December 1819 and he died the next year in Paris on 3rd September 1820. They had no children.

b. Toriano Francis L’Estrange joined the 71st Regiment (Highland Light Infantry) and the Coldstream Guards. He married twice; firstly to Jane Martha, third daughter of Thomas Mulock of Kilnagarna, Athlone, in December 1820. Jane Martha died on 30th January 1822 just 13 months after her marriage and it has been suggested that she died giving birth to their only child:

i. Thomas L’Estrange was born in January 1822 in King’s County and educated at Trinity, BA 1844. He married Sarah, daughter of Thomas Garrett of Belfast. He became a solicitor in Belfast. They had no children.

Toriano, married secondly Alexandra Darby about whom nothing has been found, except that they had children whose names are not known. Daphne & Don Gregg (email 22 Nov 2008) have information from writing by E W L'Estrange (5 c ii below) that Toriano married secondly Aliereda Darby, only child and heiress of Colonel Darby. In her right on the death of her father he succeeded to considerable property – real and personal – and by Aliereda he had further issue:

i. William L'Estrange

ii. Augustus L'Estrange

iii. Constantia L'Estrange

iv. Julia L'Estrange

v. Maria L'Estrange.

c. George Bomford L’Estrange died unmarried.

d. Lionel L’Estrange was born in 1800 in Westmeath and educated at Trinity College, Dublin, (BA 1822). He died unmarried.

e. Hilary Frederick L’Estrange, born 1803 in Westmeath, educated at Trinity, BA 1823, MA 1832, and became a barrister. He lived at Conna near Fermoy, Co Cork, where in 1878 he owned 936 acres valued at £778, however at this date he was living at Clifton, near Bristol. In 1831 he married Mary, daughter of William Mulock of Ballinagore, Co Westmeath. Mary was a cousin of Jane Martha who married the older brother Toriano. They had one child, a son, before Hilary died in 1881 and Mary in 1905.

i. Alfred Guy Kingham L’Estrange was born in 1832 and became a clergyman and an author. He was left Conna when his father died and lived there unmarried until his death in 1915.

5. Francis L'Estrange, the youngest, was born in Auburn, Co Westmeath, in about 1756, became a surgeon and physician, and died on 13 August 1836. He married Sarah Shiels, known as Sally, daughter of John Shiels JP of Westmeath, and by her he had a numerous family of children, all of whom except one he survived. He resided in No 49 William St., Dublin, at that time a fashionable street. There were only 2 houses of business in it: Ferrier and Pollocks, wholesale soft goods warehouse; and Green, a Fishmonger. Both of those houses of business were at the St. Andrew St end of William St. Number 49 is at the King St end, within reasonable distance of Mercer’s Hospital, of which he was Senior Surgeon. He was also surgeon to the Marine School, and other institutions, and between these appointments, and his private practice, he was in receipt of rather a large income; and being a prudent man he had realized a fair independence before he retired from practice; which he did when he was about 73 years of age; He was in his 81st year when he died. He was one of the oldest members of the ‘Friendly Brothers’ Club, and, for some years before his death, he was the oldest ‘Perfect’ living. He was President of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1796. In a history of the College (Cameron, 1916, p 384) there is the following note on Francis: 'F L’Estrange was born about the year 1756 at Adburn [Auburn] (Boarstown), in the County of Westmeath. He was the youngest of the four [sic] sons of a country gentleman [Samuel L’Estrange]. The elder two died without issue; the third, a lieutenant-colonel, succeeded to the property, and Francis was educated as a surgeon. He began to practise in Chatham Street about 1778, and was in 1779 appointed Assistant Surgeon to Mercer’s Hospital, of which institution he subsequently became surgeon. On the 12th June, 1786, he was appointed Assistant Surgeon to the House of Industry Hospitals, and was for many years Surgeon to the Marine School. L’Estrange engaged in surgical and obstetrical practice. He acted as accoucheur at the birth of the poet, Thomas Moore, which event took place in Aungier Street on the 28th May, 1779. He married a Miss Spiels [Shiels]; . . . He was made a Justice of the Peace (for Westmeath) at a time when surgeons rarely held such a position. L’Estrange died at the age of 80, on the 13th of August, 1836, in William Street, where he had resided for many years, and was interred in St. Ann’s church yard'. Francis’ will was dated 24 June 1833, with three codicils dated 18 April 1835, 14 May 1835 and 23 May 1836. His 1833 will provided for the payment of £500 each to his granddaughters Sarah Hughes (née L’Estrange) and Elizabeth Ledwich (née L’Estrange), but this was revoked by the codicils as he had already given them £400 each. His estate, including his lease of ‘Lands of Glascorn’, Co Westmeath, was left to his youngest son Robert Augustus L’Estrange, solicitor of Dublin (Glascorn House is 6 miles west of Mullingar on the Mullingar to Ballymahon Road, R392). An annuity of £100 a year was left to his daughter-in-law Ann, the widow of his eldest son Samuel, with the proviso that she pay for the education, clothing and maintenance of his four grandchildren (children of Samuel and Anne). A further annuity of £50 a year was left to Anne, wife of his son Francis, and one of £47.4.3 to his granddaughter Maria McDonnell, daughter of Francis and Anne.

a. Samuel L'Estrange, his eldest son, was born about 1784 in Dublin and became a member of the Irish Bar. He married Ann Smith, one of the family of Smiths of Violetstown, and had issue

i. Francis L'Estrange, who married Frances Louth, the daughter of a County Cork gentleman.

ii. Sarah L'Estrange, married her cousin German Charles Quinlan.

iii Emily L'Estrange, died unmarried

iv Eliza L'Estrange, married the Rev Charles Macdonnell DD, Professor of Biblical Greek in the University of Dublin. He was brother of the Rev Richard Macdonell DD, a provost of that university. By him she had four children, three sons and one daughter.

b. Francis L'Estrange was born about 1786 in Dublin and became a major in the army (3rd Buffs). He married Ann Mathews, the eldest daughter of John Matthews, one of the Vicars Choral of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, and had issue, with descendents still living (Daphne & Don Gregg email 22 Nov 2008). He entered Trinity College on 1 November 1802, aged 16, and Mr Sheils (probably his grandfather) is listed as his teacher (Alumni Dublinenses, 1593-1860, on internet, 24 November 2000). He served in the Peninsular war. He was wounded in one of the engagements.

i. Maria L'Estrange, the eldest daughter married the Rev Luke Gardiner Macdonnell, (cousin of the aforementioned Rev Charles and Richard Maconnell) one of the curates of St Michan Parish, Dublin. (He was afterwards rector of the parish of Glankeen County, Tipperary). By him she had 3 sons and 3 daughters.

ii. Sarah L'Estrange, the second daughter married Henry George Hughes QC an eminent county lawyer (he was raised to the bench as a baron of the court of Exchequer) and by him she had two daughters, Anna and Margaret. Anna Hughes, the elder daughter, married Michael Morris QC, who was afterwards created Lord Morris of Spiddal, County Galway. E W L’Estrange in his Pedigree and Historical Records... (1901, p31) describes Morris as ‘an insufferably vulgar Papist, of low birth; who owned a small property at Spiddal, Co. Galway. He had an exaggerated Galway accent, which he cultivated to such an extent, that he appeared ridiculous. He indulged in low meaningless witticisms...'. Margaret Hughes, the second daughter, married Edward FitzGerald a nephew of the right honourable John Fitzgerald, one of the Lords Justice of the Court of Appeal in England.

iii. Bessie L'Estrange, the youngest daughter married William Lidwick [William Ledwich], who on the death, unmarried, of his eldest brother Edward Ledwich, succeeded to the small estate, of about £300 a year, in the county Kildare. By him she had 2 sons, William and George, and 2 daughters, … and Lydia.

c. Robert Augustus L'Estrange was born about 1799 and became an attorney. He married Elizabeth Matthews (Bess), the second daughter of John Matthews of St Patrick’s Cathedral. They had seven children, of whom five died in childhood. Robert Augustus died in 1838. See also 23.2.1 #1.

i. Robert Augustus L'Estrange, the elder surviving son, became a surgeon and physician at the Wicklow Infirmary. He married Isabella, daughter of Isaac Todhunter, and by her he had three sons, Robert, Edgar and William, and three daughters, Gertrude, Augusta and Fanny.

ii. Edgar William L'Estrange, the younger surviving son, was born at 49 William Street, Dublin, on 5 November 1826. He became a solicitor of the High Court of Justice in Ireland. In 1855 he married Frances Mary Henderson (Fanny) (1833-1907), the eldest of the five daughters of John Henderson, a Captain in the 10th Veteran Battalion, who when he retired on half pay, joined the Royal Irish Constabulary and rose to the rank of County Inspector. They had seven children, two of whom died in infancy, the surviving five were Robert Augustus Henry L'Estrange (1859-1941), John Henderson L'Estrange (Jack) (born 1864; may have died in New Zealand: Daphne & Don Gregg email 28 Nov 2008), William Mandeville Ellis L'Estrange (1868-1951), Emily Francis Evangeline L'Estrange (1871-1959) and Edgar Francis Quinlan L'Estrange (1872-1958). Edgar William L'Estrange emigrated to Brisbane, Queensland, in about 1900, to join his three sons, Robert, John and William. He died in Brisbane on 17 April 1913 and was the source of most of this history of this branch of the L'Estrange family. In his Chronicles of the L’Estrange Family, compiled and handwritten for his daughter Emily he wrote:

'... I devoted much time in endeavouring to make the narration pleasurable, and now that it is completed I believe I have laboured to little or no purpose. As for my children, three of them at all events (I allude to the 3 oldest) have been for so many years associated with and acquired the habits and ideas of descendants of criminals of the worst type: criminals who for the betterment of their native land, were forcibly escorted from it, and transplanted into the colony of Australia, a country fitting only to its barbarian Aboriginals, but also well suited as a place of punishment for the atrocious persons such as were transplanted into it. Of all the Australian states, Queensland is the vilest, but notwithstanding that three of my sons selected it as the place in which to pitch their tents: they will probably not appreciate my trouble...'

Edgar William L'Estrange also compiled in 1901a Pedigree and historical records of the Le Strange family extracted from Genealogical works by Sir Bernard Burke (Ulster King at Arms); Lodge; Nicholas; and other genealogists, —also from the following—Record of great events by Sir William Dugdale; Men of Wit and Enterprize by Lord Carlisle; Comments on Works of Literature, by Great Authors; by Winstanley: Stows Survey; Ancients Family Residences in England, by Camden; D’Alton History of Ireland and other works.

d. Susan L'Estrange, known as Ellen, was the only daughter and married Matthew Quinlan, MD, of Ballyrafter House, Lismore, Co Waterford, and had issue.

i. Francis Quinlan graduated from the University of Dublin and became a surgeon.

ii. Charles Quinlan, the younger son, also graduated from the University of Dublin and was a member of the Irish Bar and later became a clergyman. He married his cousin, Sarah L’Estrange, the eldest daughter of Samuel L’Estrange (a. i. above).

iii. Ellen Quinlan, the eldest daughter, married a Quinlan from Co Limerick.

iv. Caroline Quinlan died unmarried.

v. Susan Quinlan died unmarried.

Clowestown, Clounstown or even Clownstown, is 2½ miles southeast Mullingar and just north of Violetstown. In 1836 it consisted of 340 acres all under cultivation except for about 10 acres of bog; “there is a good dwelling house with planting about it near the south end. The soil is good for tillage and the fences in general are covered with trees”.

The L’Estrange family still owned the place in 1854 but the property had been split; Toriano had 200 acres and might have been living in the house with his second wife, and his youngest brother Hilary had been left 30 acres.

15.1.2 The Mulock Family

The Mulocks have appeared a number of times and are Bomford connections.

Thomas Mulock (originally Mullock) of Moate, Co Westmeath had three sons by his second wife, Margaret Conran.

1. John Mulock of Kilnagarna, southeast of Athlone, married Ann Drought in 1720 and died in 1757. He had no children and his brother inherited.

2. Thomas Mulock of Kilnagarna was born in 1700, married in 1744 and died in 1777. He was involved with Thomas Bomford’s £2,000 mortgage when he was a public notary in Dublin in May 1750 and October 1761. He had 3 sons:

a. Thomas Mulock of Kilnagarna, born 1746, married 1790 and died 1827. He became a barrister. There were a number of children and it was his third daughter who married Toriano L’Estrange (see above) the great-grandson of Stephen Bomford of Gallow.

b. Robert Mulock married and had four children, and died in 1831. He and his family initially lived in Dublin but moved to Bath in England.

c. William Mulock of Ballinagore married Alicia Holmes in 1806 and had issue, and died in 1827. Ballinagore lies 2½ miles northeast of Kilbeggan on the road to Mullingar; in 1838 it was the property of W.H. Mulock together with an extensive bleach-green with a fulling mill on the River Brosna. He had several children, including

i. Mary Mulock, who married Hilary Frederick L’Estrange (above) in 1831.

3. Robert Mulock, married Katherine and had issue, a son and three daughters, and died in 1791.

a. Rev John Mulock, of Bellair, near Moate and Kilnagarna, King’s Co, was born in Westmeath about 1729. He entered Trinity aged 15 in November 1744, became a scolar in 1747 and gained a BA in 1749. He married twice; his first wife was Emily Frances Wetherall and with her he had two sons and two daughters. His second wife was Anne Homan, daughter and heir of Richard Homan of Moate and Surrock, Co Westmeath, with whom he had a further son and two daughters. The Rev John was Rector of Portnashangan 1785 - 1803 (north of Mullingar) and he died in 1803. Emily Frances Wetherall had a sister Margaret Johnston, otherwise Wetherall, great aunt of Frances Margaret Pilkington who married John Swift Emerson (deed 506-455-333013 of 8 & 9 Dec 1797: 23.2.1)

i. Hurd Augustus Mulock, d 1806.

ii. John Mulock, married Elizabeth Vance and had issue, five sons and one daughter. The daughter,

a. Emily Mulock or Emily Wetherall Mulock (see North family tree) married Horatio Emerson in 1825 (23.2.1). In 1850 their only son John Emerson married Mary Jane North-Bomford, a daughter of Isaac North-Bomford (23.2.1). An Emily Emerson was buried on 24 November 1853 at St Peter's, Dublin

iii. Sarah Mulock, died unmarried in 1806.

iv. Frances Emilia Mulock married 19th May 1778 Henry Pilkington, 1756 - 1810, of Tore, Co Westmeath, son of Abraham Pilkington (23.2.1). Their daughter Frances Margaret Pilkington married John Swift Emerson in 1797 (23.2.1), their grand-daughter Belinda Pilkington married Isaac North-Bomford (23.2) and their great granddaughter Mary Jane North-Bomford married John Emerson (27.4.1).

v. Thomas Homan Mulock who inherited Bellair and, one assumes, his mother’s estates. When he died in 1843 he passed his property to his nephew Thomas Edward Molloy (see 8.9), great grandson of Edward Bomford of Hightown.

vi. Mary Mulock, died unmarried in 1828.

vii.Elizabeth Mulock, youngest daughter, married 22nd February 1788 Laurence Bomford Molloy (1760 - 1805) (8.9.1) son of John Molloy and Anne Bomford, the daughter of Edward Bomford of Hightown (8.9). She died in 1804.

A full Mulock Family Tree.

The present Bellair was built in the early 1800s probably by Thomas Mulock. It is a two storey ‘villa’ dominated by a remarkable deep arched recess in which the front door is set.

15.2 The Younger Generation 1780

Stephen's children were introduced at 11.10.1. We do not know the birth dates of all Stephen’s children but the age of some of them is given in the land deeds and we can estimate the dates of the others. The more doubtful ones are the daughters who are not included in Burke but three appear in the documents; there may have been others. Margaret has been placed as the second child in view of the probable date of her marriage (15.6). In 1780 the youngest child, Mariana, would be about 13 so some of the older ones would be away from home earning their living.

15.3 Lease - Ross 3rd June 1772

The Right Honourable Peter, Earl Ludlow, leases the land of Rassnon (Ross) containing 283 plantation acres (458 statute) in the Barony of Skreene to Robert Sibthorpe of the City of Dublin for the yearly rent of £155.15.9 during the natural lives of:

George Bomford, 5th son of Stephen Bomford of Rahinstown, now aged l3

Trevor Bomford, 6th son of Stephen Bomford, now aged 12 and,

Ephraim Bomford, 7th son of Stephen Bomford, now aged 11,

or, if they all die early, for 17 years.

Robert Sibthorpe is to build a farmhouse within seven years (i.e. by 1779) of brick or stone, 40 feet long, 20 feet wide and 20 feet high, roofed with foreign timber and slated or tiled; and will enclose one acre for an orchard with one tree for every square perch.

Signed: Ludlow; Robert Sibthorpe

(Book 291 Page 589 No 193031)

On the back of this deed is an endorsement dated 1781.

15.3 1 Lease - Ross 10th August 1781

Robert Sibthorpe leases the house and lands of Ross (as above) to George Bomford, son of Stephen Bomford, at a rent of £165.16.3, in trust for the sole use of Elizabeth Bomford, wife of Stephen Bomford of Rahinstown. If George should die then the trustee will be his brother Trevor, or, if he dies, his brother Ephraim.

Signed: Robert Sibthorpe; Geo Bomford

Witnessed: Henry Moore; Wm Bayly

(There is no record of this endorsement being registered).

This is the deed which gives the birth dates of three of Stephen’s sons. It is interesting that George Bomford, the 5th son, was selected as the trustee of his mother’s house. The eldest son Thomas probably died in the 1770s (see also 16.9); the second son, Robert, was in India; both Stephen and Antony, the 3rd and 4th sons, were at home but for some reason were not selected.

It is thought that Robert and his father did not agree with each other and this might be the cause for Robert going off to India (16.9), but it is apparent that it was George who was being trained to take over his father’s estates and indeed his father did actually leave them to him in spite of them being entailed. So it was George who was to take care of his mother’s new house and, by implication, his mother herself should his father Stephen die.

Robert Sibthorpe was Elizabeth’s brother [father], of Dunany Co Louth, and was one of the executors of her marriage settlement. Her [grand]father, Stephen Sibthorpe [at 8.2.1 Robert is Elizabeth's father, the only son of Stephen who is her grandfather and did die c 1776], had died in 1776 (probate) and Robert no doubt felt that he should make a further settlement on his sister [daughter]; he probably leased Ross with this in mind, and the house he had to build was perhaps to be her dower house when her husband died. This indicates that Stephen Bomford’s health was not good, but actually he did not die until May 1806 (18.1.1) and Elizabeth the next year (18.1.3), so it is unlikely that she ever occupied the house.

The Ordnance Survey Field Notebook of 1836 lists no occupiers for Ross in the Parish of Skreen, but it does state “In the east end is a gentleman’s seat called Maryville, a neat cottage; it is surrounded by a small piece of pleasure ground.”

At first it was thought that Maryville was the house that Robert Sibthorpe built, but Maryville was in the townland of Thorntown which became part of Ross townland prior to 1836, and was then owned by William Bomford of Cushenstown. Sibthorpe’s house may have been Ross House which lies to the north of the Tara to Skreen road in the middle of Mr John Lynch’s farm. The 1836 Survey shows the present Navan – Dublin and Dunsany – Drogheda roads crossing at ‘Ross Crossreads’ situated on the borders of Ross and Thorntown. Neither of these roads had been built in 1774. Moving ahead to the 1854 Valuation, no Bomfords or Sibthorpes are listed in Ross so this lease must have terminated by then. Actually the three lives have expired: Trevor in 1797, George in 1814 and Ephraim was last mentioned in the Dublin Almanack of 1815 but the date of his death is not known. For want of a better date I have placed the termination of the lease of Ross as c18l5.

Peter Ludlow, elder son of Stephen Ludlow, Clerk in Chancery, MP, 1710 married Mary Preston (18.7.4) who from her brother Phineas inherited Ardsallagh, near Navan. He died 1750. Their eldest son Peter, MP for Co Meath, in 1755 created Baron Ludlow of Ardsallagh, in 1760 created Viscount Preston and 1st Earl of Ludlow.

His eldest son Peter, 2nd Earl of Ludlow, born 1730, MP for County Huntingdon. Leased Ross in 1772 (above). The title is now extinct.

In 1774 Robert Sibthorpe had the land of Ross surveyed which showed an increase of 3 acres on the lease of 1772 (i.e. 286 Irish acres or 463 statute). The three maps of the survey are amongst the documents, one map for each tenant, but no houses are shown. The three tenants were:

a. The widow Correen, 134 acres

b. James and Phil Gargan, 83 acres, and

c. Mr John Lynch, 69 acres

These three neighbouring farms making up Ross are bounded to the West by Belper, Northwest by Castleboy. North by Brabazon Lodge, East by Baronstown and South-east by Thorntown and Clounstown.

At this date Thorntown (7.6) was owned by William Bomford of Cushenstown, and Clounstown by William’s brother Thomas Bomford who was living in Clounstown House with his wife Alice (Jessop), but they had to sell it in 1784. The Wilkinson family occupied Baronstown and their descendants, Jock and Mary, are still there.

Maps of Ross and Thorntown.

“In the Barony of Skreen surved in 1774 by Jno Magennis. Leased to Robert Sibthorpe of Dunkany, Co Louth, 1772 – 1781, by Peter 2nd Earl of Ludlow, then to George Bomford of Rahinstown 1781 – 1815.”

The map of Thorntown June 1749 by Thomas Reading Surveyor Leased by Thomas Bomford of Clounstown 1752 – 1757, then by William Bomford of Cushenstown 1757 – 1783.

Original scale: 40 perches to an inch

15.3.2 Mortgage Re-payment 20th December 1787

This deed concerns the re-payment of a mortgage by Susanna Ledwich widow of the Rev Edward Ledwich, the Dean of Kildare, to Stephen Bomford of Rahinstown. The two sums involved were £l,000 and £2,000.

Witnessed Trevor Bomford (Book 394 Page 482 No 260980)

Edward Ledwich (1701-1782) was Dean of Kildare from 1772 until his death in 1782. He married Susanna (Bernard) in 1746 and she died in 1797. They had six children.

This mortgage would probably have been granted to the Dean by Stephen during the 1750s or 1760s, and now that the Dean has died his widow pays back the £3,000.

15.3.3 Rahinstown House

£3,000 was a very considerable sum for those days and this mortgage confirms that Stephen was pretty well off. One cannot help wondering whether Stephen made any long-term use of this money, and one immediately thinks of Rahinstown House.

The Survey of 1654 shows no house on the townland of Rahinstown, and at this date the ‘proprietor’ Francis Macwey (or Macawey, or even Mackewye) lived at Ballynaskea, the townland to the west of Rahinstown where there was ‘a castle’. It is safe to assume that there was no house on Rahinstown when it became a Bomford property in 1691, and that Thomas the elder (1.6) built one there before 1702 when he is recorded as being of ‘Rainestowne’. My guess is that Thomas built the house just prior to his marriage in 1691 to Elizabeth Tew.

A drawing of Rahinstown House of about 1830 shows a six bay house of three storeys above a basement. The top floor has steeply pointed windows in gables along the roofline and the whole effect is handsome and very pleasing to the eye, particularly the mullioned windows. However it appears to be lop-sided since the entrance is to the left; indeed it seems to have been built in two halves, an original three bay front with a central entrance up steps over the area and an additional three bays to the right. From this it is suggested that the Rahinstown of Thomas the elder was of three bays only and that Stephen the younger with his large family, available money and a wife from a well-established family, added on the extra three bays to the right, perhaps around this date.

By 1808 Rahinstown had replaced Gallow, as the ‘senior’ Bomford house and so presumably was the better of the two, indeed the 1836 survey remarks that it ‘is a very good one’. None of this would apply to a house built about 1700 or before. The present Rahinstown House was built about 1875, some time after the place was sold by the Bomfords, and after the Bomford house had been damaged by fire. The new house was built on the foundations of the previous house; one enters a hall and from there one moves from room to room around the house through the six large rooms of the ground floor, there is no passage. Perhaps the Bomford house had the same arrangement; however the attractive and unusual gabled windows of the top floor have disappeared.

15.4 Robert Bomford – Army Career 1771 - 1793

“Officers of the Bengal Army 1758 – 1834” by Major V.C.P. Hodson records “Bomford, Robert, Captain, Infantry, Cadet 1771, Ensign 1772, Lieutenant 16th March 1777, Captain 16th March 1781, Struck off 1793.”

In 1771 when Robert joined the East India Company he was 20 and his elder brother Thomas was still alive; these were the days when the eldest son inherited the estates and the other sons went into the army, the Church or into law. Thomas did not die until sometime after 1774 and probably whilst Robert was in India, he had certainly died before his father did (see 16.9). Robert was married in 1792 so it is thought that he had a long leave from India that year, did not return to the Bengal Army and resigned at the end of his leave in 1793. On his return he was aged 41, probably the eldest son after the death of Thomas, and so heir to the entailed estates.

15.5 Marriage - Robert Bomford & Maria Massy-Dawson 1792

The only record of this marriage comes from Burke, which states:

“Robert, of Rahinstown, married 1792, Maria (died 10th July 1848) younger daughter of the Honourable James Massy-Dawson.”

No other information about the marriage has been found but one assumes that it took place from Ballynacourty, the house of Maria’s parents; an alternative might be Dublin but this has been discounted as the records of marriage licences in Dublin are well documented. Ballynacourty is in the Glen of Aherlow in Co Tipperary, a lovely site with a fine view of Galtimore. The house was still in the hands of the Massy-Dawsons in the early 1900s but in the early 1920s it was taken over as a Civil War headquarters by Eamon de Valera. As such it naturally became the target for attack. The house was destroyed in fighting and later the ruins were demolished. However the stone stables surrounding a cobbled courtyard have been converted recently into a picturesque luxury home, restaurant and holiday centre.

No marriage settlement has been discovered. For some time there had been friction between Robert and his father, indeed some members of the family are of the opinion that he was disinherited, so it is likely that he received virtually nothing from that source (see 19.1). To anticipate, Robert was left 5/- in his father’s will of 1800 (18.1.2) and brother George (18.8) was left the land. Because the land was entailed George had to hand it over to Robert after their father had died in 1806 (18.8.3). In 1811 Robert himself made a settlement for his wife and children (19.2.2) so it does therefore look as though there was no marriage settlement in 1792.

The Massy-Dawson and Poore Pedigrees have an alternative date for the marriage: 19 July 1794.

15.5.1 The Massy Family

The Massy family claim descent from Hamon, one of the Companions in Arms of William the Conqueror. General Hugh Massy had a military command to repress the rebellion of 1641 in Ireland. His only son Hugh settled at Duntrileague in Co Limerick and his son, Colonel Hugh of Duntrileague, was born in 1635 and died in 1701. The Colonel had a number of children and his eldest son was the grandfather of Maria.

Hugh, Maria’s grandfather, was MP for Co Limerick in several parliaments and was made a peer on 4th August 1776, the first Baron Massy. He was born in 1700 and died on 30th January 1788 having been twice married firstly to Mary Davison in 1733 and secondly to Rebecca Delap in April 1754. One of his brothers was Field Marshall Eyre Massy who fought at Culloden in 1746 and was made Baron Clarina

Hugh’s first wife Mary, Maria’s grandmother, inherited Ballynacourty when her father Colonel Dawson died in 1737, and it became the home of her second son James, Maria’s father. Mary must have died about 1750.

Notes

1. Hugh the second Lord Massy, Maria’s uncle, was born 14th April 1733, married September 1760 and died 10th May 1790. His line continues. Maria’s first cousin was therefore the third Lord Massy (1761 - 1812). It was the second son of the 3rd Lord who married Mary Jane Crosbie, the daughter of Jane Maria Bateman, Trevor Bomford’s stepdaughter. (See also 19.2.2)

2. James Massy, born 10th October 1736, inherited his mother’s estate of Ballynacourty where he lived and so took the name Dawson becoming the Honourable James Massy-Dawson. He died in December 1790 so did not live to see Maria and Robert Bomford marry.

3. Maria, officially Mary but known as Maria, was the daughter of John Leonard who died in 1777 of Carha in Co Galway and of Brownstown in Co Kildare. He got Brownstown between 1757 and 1759 from David Burtchaell, the father of Sarah who married David Bomford. The date of Maria’s marriage is not known but it must have been about 1760. Maria was probably a domineering woman who was ‘the cause of most of the damage as Brig-Gen Poore said’ (see 19.1) between Robert and his father. She died on 26th May 1805.

4. John married Elizabeth Baker in May 1759. They had no children. The Baker family intermarried five times with the Massy family around this period, and one of these was Elizabeth’s brother, Colonel William Baker of Lismacue, Co Tipperary, who married Elizabeth Massy the sister of Sir Hugh Dillon Massy, the first Baronet of Doonass.

5. Elizabeth Rose married firstly John Arthure of Seafield, Co Dublin, who died in 1757. Their two sons, John and Benedict, became involved with the settlements and deeds of Robert Bomford and Maria, and of their son Robert George Bomford (22.5.1). Elizabeth’s second marriage was to Rev Sir Michael Cox of Dunmanway Co Cork and later Castletown Cox in Kilkenny, which he built in 1767. This was one of the most beautiful Palladian houses in Ireland, built when he was Archbishop of Cashel. He was the son of Sir Richard Cox, Commissioner of H.M. Customs in Ireland. Elizabeth had another son, Sir Richard Eyre Cox.

6. Rebecca, 1st Lord Massy’s second wife, was the daughter of Francis Delap (or Dunlop) of Antigua, West Indies. She had three sons and five daughters. Her eldest son, Lord Massy’s fourth son, was Francis Hugh Massy, born on 13th January 1755, of Suir Castle on the opposite bank of the Suir to Athassel Abbey, south of Cashel. He married in 1777 and his only son was another Francis Hugh Massy, born 179-, Captain 19th Foot, who inherited Suir Castle. About 1820 he married Anne Bomford Molloy, grand-daughter of Anne Bomford the daughter of Edward Bomford of Hightown 8.9). Their children were: -

a. Francis Hugh Massy, born 1824, BA TCD 1846, married 14th February 1889 Gertrude Masterson Walter, and died 3rd March 1901. They had children.

b. Daniel Molloy Massy, born 1850 (? error), Colonel Tipperary Artillery Militia, and married 21st October 1876 Sophia, widow of William Massy of Ballyglasheen, Co Tipperary, and daughter of Alexander Grant of New Brunswick. He died 13th October 1908 without children but Sophia had children from her previous marriage.

c. Anne Bomford Massy married 21st September 1871 John Henry Whitty of Ballintobber, Queen’s Co.

d. Jane Adelaide Massy married 29th April 1886 Austen Damer Cooper of Drumnigh House, Co Dublin, (1831-1900). She died his widow on 3rd April 1906. They had no children but Austen had children by his previous marriage.

7. Elizabeth Massy-Dawson, Maria’s sister, married Robert Compton Bolton of Brazeel, Co Dublin, and must have died in the late 1770s. Robert Bolton then married again, his second wife being Charlotte daughter of Joseph Neynoe. There were children but it is difficult to decide which child belonged to which mother; one source states that Elizabeth had no children, but see 21.6.3. However one child was Richard Bolton of Bective Abbey who married his cousin, the 5th daughter of Robert and Maria Bomford (21.6.2), and another was John Massy Bolton who changed his name to John Bolton Massy and figures largely in later deeds.

8. James Hewitt Massy-Dawson, MP, Maria’s only brother, was born on 13th September 1779, married 11th March 1800 and died on 2nd October 1834. He inherited Ballynacourty and obtained nearby New Forest. His wife was Eliza Jane Dennis, a daughter of Francis Dennis of Jamaica; she died on 14th March 1834. They had five sons and seven daughters. With these numbers of children it is not surprising that Maria and Robert had around two dozen nephews and nieces including the Bomford ones, furthermore the previous generation of Bomfords also had about the same number; it is not surprising that a family tree becomes very involved.

9. Children of Robert Bomford and Maria (Massy) (see also 19.1, and Chapter 21, and the Massy-Dawson and Poore Pedigrees).

a. Robert George Bomford, the only son, was born in 1801 in Co Meath probably at Rahinstown.

b. Annette Maria, the eldest daughter, was probably born before Robert George but her birth date is not known, perhaps in 1799.

c. Jane Rosetta was born 13th March 1802.

d. Frances Georgina, no information about her birth but c1803.

e. Jemima Letitia was born about 1805.

f. Susan Margaret was born in 1806 and probably on 29th January.

g. Sarah Maria was baptised at Rathcore Church on 5th November 1810.

From all this, Burke can be updated to read

Robert Bomford, of Rahinstown, born 1751, Captain E.I.C.S. Bengal Army 1771 - 1793, married 1792, Maria (born 1769, died 10th July 1848) younger daughter of the Honourable James Massy-Dawson and Mary his wife of Ballynacourty, Co Tipperary. He died 18th April 1817 (19.2.3) and was buried at Rathcore having had issue….”.

15.5.2 Massy v Headfort - A Case of Seduction

A snippet of scandal occurred in 1804 when Maria’s second cousin, the Rev Charles Massy, brought Thomas, the 1st Marquess of Headfort, to court for the seduction of his wife.

Charles Massy was a well-to-do clergyman who in 1796 married a pretty young lady named Miss Rosslewin. The marriage was against his father’s wishes probably because she had no money of her own. They had one child, a son. The Marquess of Headfort of Kells, Co Meath, was married and with an estimated income, enormous for those days, of at least £30,000 a year. In 1803 he was in the Army with his Meath Militia and stationed at Limerick near where the Massys lived. He was over 50 and much older than the Massys. She went off with him on a Sunday shortly after Christmas 1803 and they went to England.

Charles Massy claimed £40,000 damages, and the trial at Ennis Assizes occupied just one day, a twelve-hour sitting. The trial excited great interest, a lot of publicity, and consisted of many splendid and even scurrilous speeches by learned council on both sides. The jury brought in a verdict for £10,000 damages in favour of Charles Massy. I could not discover whether Charles took back his errant wife after the affair, but probably not as he ended up with another three wives before he died in 1822.

15.6 Marriage - Margaret Bomford & John Mockler of Trim c1778

For some reason none of the daughters of Stephen the younger have been included in Burke. The Bomford documents have recorded three and the oldest of them is probably Margaret. Margaret and her husband, “John Mockler of Trim”, are mentioned a few times, for instance in her father’s will, but no dates are given. However the Trim Parish Records and the Militia Records show a number of Mocklers of whom three or four are named John. All these Mocklers are listed below since there is nothing definite to tie them together, although they are probably from the same family and it is a pity to lose my research notes.

15.6.1 Trim Parish Records

There are two John Mocklers. The Briddock Charity refers to them as ‘the elder’ and ‘the younger’, whilst the Parish Records show them as ‘Senior’ and ‘Junior’. These imply father and son.

John Mockler the Elder was Guardian of the Briddock Charity from 1767 to 1795 during which time he was Portrieve (Treasurer) in 1767, 1782, 1790 and in 1795. He was a Churchwarden of Trim in 1793. (The Briddock Charity was founded in 1703 to help the poor of Trim from a legacy of Robert Briddock of Rorystown near Trim who died in 1703).

John Mockler Junior was a Churchwarden of Trim in 1801. In 1812 the Portrieve of the Briddock Charity was plain ‘John Mockler’. It is safe to assume that, since the suffix has been dropped, the older John died between 1801 and 1812.

Other entries from the Trim Parish include two other John Mocklers, these are: -

John Alexander Mockler of Ginnetts, buried at Trim on 25th July 1828 (or it might read 1829); of him the Registry of Deeds records 6th September 1816, Marriage Settlement of John Mockler of Gennets and Eliza, 2nd daughter of Reverend William Elliott of Trim. The settlement mentions that John Mockler’s father was also named John Mockler (Book 706 Page 335 No 483870).

John Mockler of Phillistown, a mile north of Trim, was buried at Trim on 23rd March 1845. There are no Mockler births recorded in any of the early Trim records up to 1876, but Henrietta and Eliza Mockler were confirmed there in 1841.

Other Parish Records

A table tombstone now broken into four pieces in Balsoon Graveyard, near Kilmessan, is inscribed, “To the memory of Captain Robert Mockler late of the 56th Reg Foot who on the 16th day of July 1817 and the 36th year of his age closed an Honourable life the last twenty years of which had been devoted to the services of his King and Country. He passed through life unblemished and death set a seal upon his character.”

Finally the Laracor Parish records show that from 1829 to 1832 John Mockler owned 159 acres in the Parish and his Church Tithe was £1.6.6. He was also a member of the Laracor Select Vestry in 1828 and 1829.

To summarize these Parish records:

1. John Mockler the elder died between 1801 and 1812.

2. His son was concerned with Trim Church between 1801 and 1812 and could have been either John Alexander Mockler of Ginnetts married 6th September 1816 Eliza (Elliott) died July 1828 (buried at Trim 25th July); or John Mockler of Phillistown died March 1845 (buried at Trim 23rd March).

3. A possible brother might be Captain Robert Mockler, born 1781 died July 1817 (buried at Balsoon 16th July).

4. The John Mockler, Laracor vestry-man of 1828 and 1829 who owned land in the Parish until 1832, may also be of Ginnetts as Laracor would have been his Church. But he could not have been a son of John Alexander Mockler who only married in 1816, unless that was his second marriage.

15.6.2 Military Records

About the time of the American War of Independence (1775 - 1783) John Mockler was Treasurer to the Trim and Ratoath Volunteers. This must be John Mockler the elder.

In 1796 a John Mockler was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the Trim Infantry.

In 1799 another John Mockler was an Ensign in the Meath Militia, and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1800, to Captain on 28th May 1805. In 1811 he was still a Captain and serving in the Royal Meath or 17th Regiment (Source 1811 edition of The Gentleman’s and Citizens Almanack).

It is not possible to say which John is which, but they would have been not less than say 20 when commissioned and so would have been born about 1776 and 1779 respectively or earlier.

Yet another Mockler, Edward James, was commissioned an ensign in the Militia on 17th May 1806; he would have been born about 1786 and so could be a brother to John and maybe another son of Margaret Mockler (Bomford).

15.6.3 Bomford Documents

1. Both Margaret and John Mockler were alive and married in the two Bomford wills of Stephen, 1804 (18.1), and Antony, 1805 (18.2). From the marriage settlement of February 1812 it is apparent that Margaret was a widow in 1812. Therefore she must have been married to John Mockler the elder and John Mockler the younger was her son. Margaret was alive in 1814, as George Bomford owed her money when he died.

2. Recited in the Oakley Park deed of 8th November 1837 is the will of William Graham, Colonel of the Meath Militia. In this will dated 3rd July 1808 (probate 1808) John Mockler was made a trustee of the Colonel’s son also named William Graham who was then a minor. This must have been John Mockler of the Meath Militia and also the younger John. In 1831, when William Graham came of age, the only trustee still alive was John Mockler. Therefore John Mockler the younger cannot be of Ginnetts, he must be of Phillistown, or perhaps the Laracor vestry-man.

3. In the 1834 Commission of George Bomford as a Justice of the Peace, another JP mentioned was John Mockler and he was a JP until at least 1842. He must be of Phillistown.

15.6.4 Probable Mockler Family Tree

If we put these records together it is apparent that the elder Mockler was Margaret Bomford’s husband, and that they had at least one son also named John Mockler, and because he was born c1779 Margaret’s marriage must be c1778 or before. Another son might be Captain Robert Mockler of the 56th Regiment of Foot who was born in 1781 and died in July 1817.

The family tree might look like this: -

According to Henderson’s Post Office Directory for Meath of 1861, there were no Mocklers in Trim at that date so the family had either moved away or become extinct.

There is an entry in the Trinity College records, which might be the father, or grandfather, of John Mockler the elder: “William Mockler, Siz. (Sisar means that he received a grant from the College), attended Dr Parker’s school at Trim, entered 27th May 1730 aged 18 (born 1712), son of Edward (Mockler), caupo (Innkeeper), born Co Meath, scholar 1732, BA 1734, MA 1738.”

It is doubtful if any of these Mocklers, who were Protestant, were directly descended from the Catholic Mocklers of Co Tipperary, but the name is not common and there must be a connection.

Deed 290 362 192544 of 13 Aug 1772 concerns an Edward Mockler of Dublin, jeweller.

‘The Great Mockler’, Mocklorough More, built a sturdy castle at Ballyclerahan, four miles southwest of Fethard, Co Tipperary. It was besieged by Cromwell who at first failed to take it, but did so finally after an obstinate resistance. Mockler and his second son were killed in the fighting but the eldest son was captured and hanged at the gate; another son with a few of the family escaped to France but the rest of the garrison was put to the sword.

15.7 Locally Raised Forces in Meath

Much of the information on the Mocklers came from the records of these locally raised forces, and the records include a number of Bomfords and, indeed, a large number of the landed families.

15.7.1 Meath Militia

The County Meath Militia was a totally Protestant force (until after the Act of the Union) which was raised whenever the government of the day felt itself under threat; once the threat diminished it was disbanded. It was raised in 1708, 1715, and 1745 but no lists of officers were found for those years. It was again raised in 1756 because of the Seven Years War and remained in operation for a number of years. In 1756 it consisted of 12 Independent Troops of Dragoons and 6 Independent Company of Infantry. Two Bomfords were found in those lists.

William Bomford, a cornet in the 12th Troop of Dragoons. This must have been William Bomford of Cushenstown (c1730 - l803) (Chapter 13), son of Thomas of Clounstown. His captain was Richard Gorges, senior, of Kilbrew who died in 1778.

Stephen Bomford, an ensign in the 3rd Infantry Company. This was Stephen the younger of Rahinstown, c1722 - l806 (8.2). Sir Hercules Langford Rowley of Summerhill captained his company and the first lieutenant was John Pratt of Agher.

In 1793 the Militia was raised again, this time to oppose the French threat. One of the terms of this raising was that the militia would never serve in the county of origin; the Meath Militia were quartered in Cashel in late 1796 when the French arrived in Bantry Bay and were force-marched to West Cork to meet the threat of invasion; in 1798 they saw active service in Wexford and it was the Carlow Militia which saw active service in Meath that year. No Bomford appeared in these lists, but Mockler did (see above).

15.7.2 Meath Volunteers

Whereas the Militia was a government raised, paid and equipped force, the Volunteers were a locally raised and equipped force, which came into being at a time of panic. The war with the American Colonies was such an occasion of panic when all the regular troops were removed from the country. The landed gentry raised the Volunteers throughout Ireland because they knew that no invasion could be stopped by the militia alone. No Bomford was noted amongst the Volunteers possibly because no Volunteer unit was raised in their area. Two Mocklers appear in the ‘Trim and Ratoath Volunteers’.

15.7.3 Meath Yeomanry

The Yeomanry Corps was locally raised by the Government in 1796 to deal with the increased threat of French invasion and United Irish republicanism. Some units like the ‘Lower Slane Cavalry’ were disbanded after a few years but others seem to have continued long after the French threat and so were presumably to quell the United Irish republicanism, like the ‘Kells Infantry’ which was still going strong in 1833. Among the Yeomanry were:

George Bomford (1759-1814) of Drumlargan, commissioned Lieutenant on 27th August 1803 into the Rathmolion Cavalry which was raised that year by his brother-in-law John Pratt Winter of Agher who was commissioned Captain on 20th July 1803; and

Isaac Bomford (1766-1837) of Gallow and Ferrans, commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Trim Cavalry when it was raised on 31st October 1796. His commission issued by the Lord Lieutenant stated “Izac Bomford to be 1st Lieutenant”.

15.8 Trevor Bomford 1760-1797

Originally there was not much information about Trevor, 6th son of Stephen the younger. Burke simply recorded

“Trevor, married Mrs Bateson (nee Donel), and had issue ….”.

These next few items will correct and enlarge this record, and further information concerning the family will be found in Chapter 18. The lease of Ross (15.3) made Trevor one of the lives and at this date he was aged 12, so he was born in 1760.

15.8.1 Trevor - An Attorney 12th June 1787

Trevor Bomford of Dublin, Attorney to Benjamin Smith of Violetstown Co Westmeath agrees to lease at any time to Patrick and Martin Gorman, farmers of Castletown, on behalf of Benjamin Smith, the land of that part of Castletown, which they now rent at £88.1.3. (Book 388 Page 263 No 258080)

The text of this deed is not important, but it does introduce Trevor as an attorney. Benjamin Smith was the nephew of Anne Bomford (Smith), Trevor’s grandmother, and he had previously had dealings with Isaac Bomford (c1730 - 1793; 5.8, 10.6.1), Trevor’s uncle. At this time the attorney Isaac was 57 and it is thought that he took young Trevor into his office and trained him. This deed indicates that Isaac is now in the process of handing over some of his business to Trevor. Isaac may well have also trained his other nephew Isaac, the son of David, who was six years younger than Trevor. Almanack entries concerning Isaac the elder as an attorney cease in 1790; he died in 1793.

Trevor is first listed in Watson’s Almanack in 1788 as an attorney of the Court of the Exchequer, and living at 19 Drogheda Street, Dublin, for the three years 1788 - 1790. In 1790 he is listed as one of the “Six Clerks” of the Court of the Exchequer. In fact the ‘Patentee Officers in Ireland’ records, “Bomford Trevor, Six Clerk in Court of Chancery, 12th June 1789.”

The ‘Establishments of Ireland,’ Part III, records “1789, Trevor Bomford, Denis Kelly resigned, Patent 12th June 1789, Leinster, 16th June 1797, Matthew Franks, Trevor Bomford deceased.”

So the Almanack got it slightly wrong. Trevor was a Six Clerk in the Court of Chancery from 12th June 1789 and he died in office in 1797, before 16th June, aged 37 (18.5.1).

15.8.2 Marriage- Trevor Bomford & Mary Bateman September 1789

Marriage licence issued by the Diocese of Dublin: “1789 Trevor Bomford and Mary Bateman otherwise McDonnell, Page 30.”

A fuller version is in Betham’s Dublin marriage licences and reads, “Bomford, Trevor, of the City of Dublin, Esq, and Mary Bateman of the Parish of St Mary, Dublin, Widow. Directed to the said Parish 21st September 1789.”

So they were married in September 1789. It might be that they went to live at No 19 Drogheda Street but it is thought that they took a better house after the marriage although none such was found in the Almanack. No 19, as Trevor’s house, only lasted in the Almanack until 1790 and the following indicates that it was then leased to Richard Wood, and in l795 to John Halpin.

15.8.3 Dublin House lease by Trevor Bomford 3rd August 1795

Trevor Bomford leases to John Halpin a house on the east side of Drogheda Street, Dublin, formerly in the possession of Richard Wood for £500 for 43 years from 1762 (i.e. until 1805, a 10 year lease) (Book 498 Page 84 No 315981).

Of course there is no certainty that this house was No 19. Drogheda Street no longer exists and was not listed in the 1835 Almanack, so its name must have been changed sometime before 1835. It is interesting that the house lease started in 1762 at which date Trevor was a baby; it could be that it was originally his father’s town house.

15.8.4 Trevor’s wife - Mary Bateman

Clue by clue a his