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The Irish Bomfords 1617 to the Present
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Chapter XXVII
The North-Bomfords of Ferrans 1836 - 1899
27.1.1 Dublin Houses 1836 - 1863 27.2 Death of Belinda Emily North-Bomford 1852 27.3 Griffith’s Valuation of Rateable Properties 20th October 1854 27.3.1 The North-Bomford Country Houses 27.3.2 Census Extracts Concerning Ferrans and Gallow 1871 27.4.1 Marriage Settlement – Mary Jane and John Emerson 6th March 1850 27.4.2 Part of Settlement Payment to Mary Jane 3rd May 1871 27.4.3 Death of John and Mary Jane Emerson 27.4.4 Children of John and Mary Jane Emerson 27.5 Isaac North-Bomford - The Eldest Son 1834 - 1862 27.5.1 Captaincy and Annuity 26th March 1862 27.5.2 Death of Isaac North-Bomford - The Father 10th October 1866 27.6 Annabella North-Bomford c1836 - 1899 27.6.1 Marriage Settlement Annabella North-Bomford and Benjamin Whitney 11th April 1860 27.7 John North-Bomford 1838 - 1905 27.8 David George North-Bomford 1840 - 1869 27.8.1 Marriage Settlement between David George North-Bomford and Mary Gubbins 10th May 1867 27.8.2 Memorial to Marriage Settlement 7th June 1867 27.8.4 Settlement on David George North-Bomford 3rd November 1868 27.8.5 Death of David George North-Bomford 13th October 1869 27.8.6 Mary North-Bomford Marries Again 14th November 1871 27.8.8 Annabella North-Bomford (Only daughter of David) 1868 - ? 27.8.9 Marriage Settlement Annabella North-Bomford and Thomas Griffin 11th April 1899 27.9 Horatio North-Bomford 1847 – (?) 1935 27.9.1 Lease - Brayfield 7th December 1865 27.9.2 Mortgages Granted by Horatio 1868 - 1877 27.9.3 Marriage of Horatio North Bomford and Alice Louisa Emily Somers c1875 27.9.4 Death of Horatio and Alice North-Bomford 27.9.5 Isaac John North-Bomford (Son of Horatio) 1882 - 1968 27.10 Belinda Emily North-Bomford c1849 – ? 27.10.2 Edward Bomford L’Estrange – (only son of Belinda) 1883 - 1951 27.11 Summary of Isaac North-Bomford and his Children
Isaac North c1791 - 1866 (23.7), and Belinda Emily (Pilkington), c1804 - 1852, had been living at Ferrans since their marriage on 8th October 1830 (23.2), but Issac had been there longer, since perhaps 1820. During these early days Ferrans belonged to Isaac’s uncle, Isaac Bomford (23.1), and although he rented and farmed the place, he did not come into it until his uncle died in 1837 (24.9.4). Part of the terms of the inheritance (23.4.1) was that he took the name of Bomford, which he did in 1837 and so became Isaac North-Bomford and assumed the title to Gallow (596 acres) and Ferrans (412 acres). North family tree.
About 1837, certainly before 1842, he was commissioned a Justice of the Peace for County Meath, remaining a JP until his death. He was later made an ex-officio Guardian of the Trim Union (Workhouse) covering the period around the 1860s.
27.1.1 Dublin Houses 1836 - 1863
The Dublin Almanacks and Street Directories indicate that the North-Bomfords had a town house, but there is no record that Isaac owned the houses.
1. No 17 Lower Dominick Street.
The Street Directories in the Almanacks only started about 1836 in which year the following is recorded: ‘1836, Mr Isaac Bomford, 17 Lower Dominick Street.’
This Isaac is Isaac North-Bomford’s uncle who died in 1837 (23.4) and the house must originally have belonged to him although he lived in Blessington Street. It is not known when he first bought the house but he must have left it to his nephew together with Ferrans and his land.
Various deeds record Isaac North-Bomford ‘of Lower Dominick Street’ so it is likely that the family lived there for at least part of each year. For the years between 1838 and 1860 the Directories list the house as occupied by Isaac North-Bomford except for one year which reads ‘1850, J. B. Bomford Esq. This house belongs to Mrs Bomford.’
There is no J. B. Bomford or North-Bomford so the name must be an error: it would not be Isaac’s second son John who was only 12 at this date. However the entry is important since it shows that the house was in the name of Isaac’s wife, Belinda Emily.
Dominick Street lies on rising ground in the then fashionable North Dublin between the Rotunda and King’s Inn. The street was built in two phases, Lower Dominick Street in 1775 and Upper Dominick Street in the 1850s, so Isaac’s house was on the very edge of town. In 1785 it was the most aristocratic of the North Dublin Streets and contained the residences of two peers, six members of the Irish Commons, a judge of the King’s Bench and half-a-dozen other barristers, three sheriff peers, the Seneschal of the King’s Manors, the City Chaplin with the other houses occupied by professional men, lawyers, doctors, etc. By 1800 the legal element was increasing: lawyers occupied 26 houses in 1834, and 31 in 1850: but by 1875 the legal elements had sunk to 17 and ‘trade’ had lowered the tone, there were even two lodging houses. This reflected in the rateable value of Isaac’s house: £80 in 1850, £52 in 1852 and £48 in 1860.
2. ‘1861 - 1863 Isaac Bomford Esq., 8 Upper Temple Street. Rateable value £46’.
47 years previously, in 1814, Arbella Bomford bought No 21 Temple Street (18.9.2) for £900 and rent of £100 a year. This used to be another fashionable street but one can see how it deteriorated in those 47 years by the value, from £100 to £46. This was typical of the age when prosperous people were moving to the suburbs.
Isaac North-Bomford had this house for three years after Dominick Street, and on its sale the family ceased to have a town house; although their children lived in Dublin they did not have a house for any length of time.
3. ‘1847, Isaac Bomford Esq., 6 Sidney Terrace, Sandy Mount Strand. Rateable value £20.’
Sandymount was developed in the mid 1800s to accommodate the general exodus from city to the suburbs. No 6 Sidney Terrace would have been a small house, newly built in 1847, a sort of holiday home beside the sea.
Isaac had the house for just the one year 1847 - 1848 and this move was probably due to the pestilence of the famine which was at its worst that year; the thought no doubt being that the sea air would keep disease away from Isaac’s young family of nine children, the eldest being about 15.
27.2 Death of Belinda Emily North-Bomford 1852
In 1852 Belinda Emily died, the exact date is not known. Her parents Abraham John Pilkington and Maria (McHugo) of Kilbride Castle in Westmeath were married in 1803 and had two children, Belinda and Homan, so the earliest that Belinda could have been born was 1804. When she died she could not have been older than 48 but possibly younger. Isaac North-Bomford, himself then aged about 54, was left with a young family of seven ranging in age from 18 down to about 3, with one daughter married and another probably dead.
Isaac and Belinda had nine children, five sons, and four daughters, but a boy and a girl ‘died young’. The sequence of their births can not be given with accuracy as the boys are listed first in order followed by the girls, and the girls birth dates have not been found. However, bearing in mind marriage dates, the age of Belinda Emily and extended gaps in known birthdays, three of the girls have been placed amongst the boys, the eldest child being a girl.
1. Mary Jane, born c1830 (27.4.1) 2. Isaac, born 6th June 1834 (27.5) 3. Annabella, born c1836 (27.6) 4. John, born 17th July 1838 (27.7; Chapter 28) 5. David George, born 5th February 1840 (27.8) 6. Stephen Robert, ‘died young’ in 1856. He is placed in Burke between David and Horatio so would have been born during the years 1841 to 1846, though most likely c1843. Therefore he died aged about 13. 7. Louisa Emily, also ‘died young’. She could have been born c1845. 8. Horatio, born 16th February 1847 (27.9) 9. Belinda Emily was probably the youngest and would have been born c1849 when her mother was about 45. (27.10)
It is a pity that there is such a scarcity of information about these children. If we knew where they were born or were baptised then we would be able to make a better guess as to whether Isaac and Belinda lived more permanently at Ferrans or in Dublin.
27.3 Griffith’s Valuation of Rateable Properties 20th October 1854
This valuation was carried out throughout Ireland to ensure that, after the famine, the Poor Law system could be properly financed. It was found to be of prime importance, as was the 1836 valuation, in tracing Bomford property. Each townland is listed and split into six columns: 1. ‘Occupier’, -the name of the person who occupied and worked the land. This includes the working men who perhaps only had a quarter of an acre; 2. ‘Immediate Leaser’, -the name of the person who received the rent from the occupier. When these names are the same then that person farmed the land himself. The ‘Head Landlord’ is not recorded; 3. ‘Description’, - of the land; as House, Offices (farm buildings), Land, bog, garden, plantation, etc, are specified separately often in abbreviated form; 4. ‘Area’, -recorded in statute acres, roods and perches. In many cases I have altered these to the nearest acre; and 5 & 6. ‘Rateable Annual valuation’ of the ‘Land’ (5) and ‘Buildings’ (6).
The valuation was calculated at 25% below the letting value of the land, and the letting value was 1/3rd above the government valuation.
Although the land increased in value there was little change in the letting value until about 1890 because the tenants' rent was not frequently altered, a 30-year lease being the norm at the time. However when it was altered it generally rose to about 1½ times the amount of the government valuation.
The valuations of the buildings give an indication of the lessor's wealth or poverty. The best houses were valued at £10 or more; those around £5 probably had slate roofs, a few rooms and were built of stone; those at £1 were cabins with a thatched roof, and perhaps two rooms with walls of mud; those at 5/- would be one room, probably without windows and quite likely without a chimney, the smoke going out through the door or out of holes through the thatch at either end of the roof ridge.
Ferrans Valuation
Immediate Leasor - Isaac North-Bomford
This total of 401 acres is 11 acres short of the 1836 total, which is probably because the south boundary of Ferrans is the River Ryewater, a stream that rises in a spring in Bacontown. In 1797 Ferrans Lock and the bridge over Royal Canal were built, and the Ryewater was given a new course north of the canal. In 1836 the survey map shows two small plots of Ferrans south of the canal which do not seem to be so in the 1883 map; it would be sensible if these two plots were sold and, if so, would just about account for the 11 acres difference.
Gallow Valuation
In 1836 Mr T. Potterton had about 250 acres, now the Rev. John Potterton (his son?) has 377 acres; whereas in 1836 Isaac Bomford had 596 acres, now his nephew only has 467. The total Gallow acreage is much the same but now Potterton has increased his holding by 127 acres and Isaac has deceased his by a similar amount.
Isaac himself farms 407 acres (Ferrans 393 and Gallow 14), probably assisted by the four men living on Ferrans. In addition he leases 453 acres to Patrick Maher which would bring in a gross income of around £625 (£500 plus 25%); this income is less that that of pre-famine 1836 when the land was leased at £2.10.0 an acre, now it is only about £1.5.0 an acre. Patrick Maher was a big farmer for he not only leased these 828 acres but also 491 acres of Drumlargan from George Bomford.
27.3.1 The North-Bomford Country Houses
An earlier description of Gallow and Ferrans, then belonging to Isaac Bomford, is at 23.3.2.
The rateable value of the three houses on the two townlands of Ferrans and Gallow was: Gallow £15 Ferrans £14 and Clarkestown £10.
Gallow House: has not been occupied by a Bomford since about 1809, and, although it remains a Bomford house, a Bomford does not again occupy it. It looks as though at this date Patrick Maher is living there.
Clarkestown House: It is doubtful if it was ever actually owned by a Bomford even though some Bomfords had lived there on occasions. It was previously suggested that it was on part of Gallow townland originally owned by the Winters and that it was their property: nothing has come to light to support ownership by either the Winters or the Bomfords, but Forth in his investigation suggests that it was a Winter property. It was burnt down accidentally in the early 1830s and rebuilt; now it appears that the Rev. John Potterton is living there.
Ferrans House: was the North-Bomford residence and remained so until the family sold the place in 1967. However the house must have been enlarged at some date, sine the 1854 rateable value of £14 is far too small for the house, which was there in the early 1900s. An extension to the house may have taken place prior to 1867, because in that year a lodge was built (see below), and a lodge would hardly have been built for an unimpressive house valued at only £14; indeed the whole house may have been rebuilt. In this respect it is noteworthy that the Dublin house was given up in 1863 and, perhaps, a new house was built just prior to that date so that the family could occupy it permanently from 1863. The argument against a completely new house being built is the statement in Burke’s Guide to Country Houses, which states that Ferrans is ‘a 2 storey 5 bay late-Georgian house’, so probably the original house was just enlarged and done-up.
If we accept the fact that Ferrans house was at least improved about this date, it makes sense that a gate lodge be built; this happened in 1867:
11th July 1867 Reciting the lease of Brayfield, part of Ferrans, by John North-Bomford of Ferrans House, late Captain of Her Majesty’s 29th Regiment of Infantry, to Horatio Bomford (his brother) of Landsdowne Road, Dublin. Now a lodge or gate-house is to built on part of this land and John North-Bomford gives permission to Horatio Bomford to build it.’ (1867 Book 22 No 228)
This deed reads as though it was Horatio (27.9) who built the house and he may have done, but he was only 20 at the time and a younger son so it is unlikely that he paid for it. It is more likely that John paid for it; he was then the head of the family since his elder brother Isaac had died in 1862 and his father in 1866.
27.3.2 Census Extracts Concerning Ferrans and Gallow 1871
An interesting census was carried out in 1871, townland by townland throughout Ireland. The number of houses and the population are here compared to previous 10-year numbers.
1841 is pre-famine, and the steady exodus of Irish to America and elsewhere is reflected in the later figures; over the 30 years the total drop was from 116 people to only 27; a decrease of three-quarters of the population which was not considered to be unusual. If each house held one family then we may assume that 11 families left the two townlands because of the famine, but, in addition, the numbers in each family also dropped so many of the older children of those families which remained must have also left; this movement away from the land to the towns was to become the trend in Meath where the farmer concentrated on raising cattle rather than the more labour intensive tillage.
27.3.2 Census Extracts Concerning Ferrans and Gallow 1871
Very little is known about Mary Jane but there are two deeds concerning her marriage to John Emerson. It is largely because of the date of her marriage settlement that Mary Jane has been placed as the eldest child, and even so she would only be about 18 in 1850 at the time of her wedding.
27.4.1 Marriage Settlement – Mary Jane and John Emerson 6th March 1850
Between 1. John Emerson of Glasthule, Co Dublin 2. Isaac North-Bomford of Ferrans, and Mary Jane North-Bomford, eldest daughter of Isaac 3. John Roger North of Glasthule, Co Dublin (a trustee) 4. Isaac North-Bomford of Ferrans, and Henry Mulock Pilkington of Dublin (probably John Emerson’s and also Mary Jane’s great uncle of Tore, 1780 - 1865 (23.2.1)) On the marriage intended between John Emerson and Mary Jane North-Bomford, John Emerson hands over on his death in trust to John Roger North the lands of Castletown in the Barony of Ballygowan (in King’s County) so that Mary Jane North-Bomford will have an annuity of £150 after his death. (1850 Book 4 No 196).
27.4.2 Part of Settlement Payment to Mary Jane 3rd May 1871
Between 1. Mary Jane Emerson of Banagher, King’s County, Widow 2. Benjamin Whitney of Upper Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin, Solicitor (Mary Jane’s brother-in-law); James Joseph Scallon of Harcourt Street, Dublin, Doctor of Medicine; and Rev. Joseph Samuel Bell of Banagher, King’s County Reciting the marriage settlement (27.4.1) between Mary Jane Emerson, then Mary Jane North-Bomford, and John Emerson in which she was entitled to a jointure of £150 per annum on land therein mentioned. Some of these lands were purchased for Railway purposes and the money invested in £302.17.1 Government 3% stock in the hands of the trustees (party 2). Now Mary Jane Emerson has borrowed £277 from the above and the balance is charged upon the lands of Castletown in King’s County. (1871 Vol 14 No 254).
The marriage licence was issued by the Diocese of Dublin and dated May 1850 (page 488), so the marriage probably took place that month in Dublin from Isaac’s house in Dominick Street.
The groom, John Emerson, must have been a guest of John Roger North who was married to John Emerson’s only living sister, Elizabeth. The father of John Roger North was David North, brother of Isaac North-Bomford; so the Emersons, Norths and North-Bomfords were closely connected; but there is a further connection on the bride’s side of the family. Mary Jane’s mother was Belinda Pilkington and she was a first cousin to John Emerson’s father, Horatio Emerson. Paragraph 23.2.1 includes a family tree showing these ramifications.
Glasthule, where John Emerson was living at the time of the marriage, belonged to the North family and, according to the Dublin Directory was more probably named ‘Fortwilliam, Glasthule, Kingstown’. It was last occupied by Lady North in the mid 1880s; it is not clear who ‘Lady North’ was, but it does indicate a relationship between our North family and that of Lord North and the Earl of Guildford.
John Emerson
John Emerson was born on 8th March 1826 and was educated at Trinity, gaining a BA in 1846. He was the only son and eldest child of Horatio Emerson and Emily Mulock (died 1854, Clarina Avenue, Kingstown); his two sisters were Fanny who ‘died young’ and Elizabeth who married John Roger North of Far View, Co Westmeath (23.7.3). John Roger North, the trustee of the marriage settlement, inherited Far View (Fairview) in 1863 when his father David North died; he died in December 1871, and the trusteeship was changed earlier that year. That later deed also records Mary Jane as a widow, so John Emerson must have died before 1871.
The English Emersons (27.4.4) gives John's name as John Joseph Emerson.
Burke places John Emerson of Clonshanny and Deer Park, both in King’s County; neither of these places have been located. The marriage settlement concerns Castletown that is close to Kilnagarna and Bellair, both Mulock properties in King’s County. Deeds of 1862 and 1863 record John Emerson ‘of Gallow’ so at some stage the Emersons must have leased and perhaps have lived there; prior to this, in 1857, another deed gives his address as No 8 Bachelor’s Walk, Dublin. Yet another deed of 1867 places him at Banagher, King’s County, where he probably died.
His daughter, Frances Wetherall Emerson, described her parents: "Music - from the Bomfords - my mother was called the 2nd Alboni in her young days - my father had a tenor voice and sang I've been told beautifully - all the North-Bomfords were very musical. My mother had very dark hair with a creamy skin & my father was a golden man - hence our red hair. The North-Bomfords were famous for the beauty of their hands and arms and feet. I don't remember my father, I was a baby in arms when he died - all the girls take after the Emersons, the boys, my brothers, resemble more the Bomfords. Dear David was like poor mother but Isaac was like my father in face" (Letter from Frances Emerson , 37 St Mary's Terrace, W2 , to Mary Nellie [Molly] Emerson, 18 Jan 1936: Richard Emerson email 3 Jun 2008).
27.4.3 Death of John and Mary Jane Emerson
The years in which these two died are not known, but we can speculate.
John Emerson must have died between 1867 and 1871 according to the deeds, but in view of the context of the 1871 deed, probably in 1870 at Banagher.
His wife Mary Jane seems to have remained for a while at Banagher on the Shannon where the Reverend Bell, one of the later trustees, was the rector. (In 1872 he became Rector of Kells where he remained until 1887.) In 1878 Mary Jane appears as ‘Mrs Emerson’ in The Dublin Directory and was living at Greenfield, Sutton near Howth, where she stayed until 1882. This had been an Emerson house for some years and Mary Jane’s two sons, Horatio and Henry Robert, had been living there from 1873. In 1883 the Directory stopped recording ‘Mrs Emerson’ as the occupant of Greenfield and substitutes her son Henry Robert; one obvious conclusion might be that she died in 1882. We could therefore hazard a guess that
John Emerson died c1870 at Banagher and his wife Mary Jane died c1882 in Dublin.
If this is so, both died rather young, John aged 44 and Mary Jane about 50.
"John 1810 [sic] m Mary Jane Ann Bomford (in 1850) of Fearns Co Meath; lived for a time at Gallow, Co Meath (another place of the Bomfords), moved to Banagher in 1865. Wanted to build a house at Ballycumber but was killed by an explosion while blasting stone in a quarry, 1868, for the house he was building" (letter from Horace Emerson, undated but after 1949, from Clonshaney, Sway, Hampshire: Richard Emerson email 3 Jun 2008).
The Index to Prerogative grants in the Public Records Office records 1868 John Emerson, Letters of Administration of personal estate of John Emerson, late of Banagher, died 1 July 1868 granted to Mary Jane, widow (Richard Emerson email 4 Jun 2008).
27.4.4 Children of John and Mary Jane Emerson
It was thought there were eight children but only three had been definitely located, with two probables. Further information came to light in 2007 in the form of an extract from pages 151 and 152 of The English Emersons: A genealogical historical sketch of the family from earliest times to the end of the seventeenth century, including various modern pedigrees, with an appendix of authorities, by Peter Henry Emerson, published in London by D Nutt, 1898, deluxe edition, limited to 50 copies ('the book') (email 24 Apr 2007). It gives a list of 10 children, and appears to have been contributed by Frances Wetheral Mulock or Frances Anne Emerson (the first is referred to as 'myself', the second is the name of the person who signed the contribution, which is dated Clarina, July 17, 1896). The order of the children below is the order in the book.
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