Chapter 8

This chapter concerns the marriages of two Bomford families, those of Edward of Hightown and those of Stephen of Gallow. These marriages are summarized below. For the birth dates of these children see 5.8.

Edward and Margaret his wife of Hightown had four children:
1.	John who died c1739 and probably did not marry	(5.7 Note 4)
2.	Catherine who married Antony Hamilton in 1742	(8.1)
3.	Lucy who married Thomas Birmingham in c1760	(8.12)
4.	Ann who firstly married Owen Daly in c1745	(8.3)
	and secondly married John Molloy in 1755	(8.9)
Stephen and Anne his wife of Gallow had nine children:
1.	Thomas who married Mary Foster in 1740 and died the next year	(6.3)
2.	Stephen who married Elizabeth Sibthorpe in 1745	(8.2)
3.	John who married Ann Forster in 1753	(8.7)
4.	David who married Sarah Burtchaell in 1756	(8.11)
5.	Isaac who married Sarah Matthews in 1756	(8.10)
6.	Ann who married Samuel L’Estrange in 1750	(8.5)
7.	Dorcas who married Edward Williams in c1745	(8.4)
8.	Mary who married William Coates in 1750	(8.6)
9.	Esther who married John Kelly in 1756	(8.8)
10.	Elizabeth who married Christopher Standring in 1741	(8.3.2)

8.1 Catherine Bomford Marries Antony Hamilton

According to Burke, Catherine was Colonel Laurence’s second daughter, and as such her birth date and age at this time was a problem, but the following deeds clearly make her the eldest daughter of Edward of Hightown.

Burke simply states that “Catherine married. --- Hamilton”. This can now be correct to read “Catherine married February 1742, Antony of Kilnacarra, Co Longford, son of Charles Hamilton. He died June 1755; she died after 1759 having had issue.

1. James Edward Hamilton of Kilnacarra, b 1743

2. Antony Hamilton, b c1748

3. John Hamilton, b 1751

1. Sidney (a girl), b c1745

2. Margaret Hamilton, b c1753”

8.1.1 Marriage Settlement of Antony Hamilton and Catherine Bomford 15th February 1742

(Extracted from the Four Courts, Marriage Articles 4255 1742 / 1743)

Between	1.	Anthony Hamilton of Kilnecarrow, Co Longford
	2.	Edward Bomford of Hightown, Co Westmeath, and Catherine Bomford his eldest daughter.
	3.	Launcelot Lauder of Kiltobrid (Kiltubrid), Co Leitrim, and James Tyrrell of Cloonard, Co Kildare. (The two trustees)

Whereas a marriage is shortly intended between Antony Hamilton and Catherine Bomford.

Now a jointure is made and Edward Bomford agrees to pay £300 to the trustees Launcelot Lauder and James Tyrrell and a further £300 to Antony Hamilton making £600. This money may be laid out in land and the interest will go to Antony Hamilton during his life and to Catherine Bomford after his death, and then shared between their children.

Also Antony Hamilton agrees to convey in trust to the trustees the lands of:

Killnecarrow containing 124 plantation acres (201 statute) and

Aghaga containing 141 plantation acres (248 statute) both in the Barony of Longford and the lands of

Smear containing 295 plantation acres (418 statute) and

Crott alias Crutt containing 262 plantation acres (324 statute) both in the Barony of Granard.

Which were leased on 11th May 1738 by the Rev James Achmuty, Dean of Armagh, to Charles Hamilton, deceased, father of Antony Hamilton for the lives of:

Charles Hamilton (the father)

Antony Hamilton his son and

William Hamilton his second son

at a rent of £66.

Signed: Ant Hamilton; Edwd Bomford; Catherine Bomford; James Tyrrell.

The Four Courts envelope also contains two other deeds. The first one is dated November 1721 and has no interest to us except that it is between Charles Hamilton and ‘Frances Hamilton, widow, mother of Charles Hamilton’. So Frances Hamilton must be a grandmother of Antony, and his father Charles must have died between 1738 and 1742.

The second deed is dated 1770 and is included in 8.1.5.

8.1.2 Marriage Settlement 3rd March 1750

Edward Bomford of Hightown, Co Westmeath, Gentleman, in trust to James Tyrrell of Cloonard, Co Kildare, gentleman, with the consent of Antony Hamilton of Kilnecarraid, Co Longford.

Reciting	1.	(The money part of the deed of 1742)
	2.	Lancelot Lawden has died leaving James Tyrrell the only trustee.
	3.	Mark Whyte of the City of Dublin leased on 7th February 1750 to Edward Bomford for £150.3.0 per annum the lands of Balloughter, otherwise Hightown, and Quinera containing 429 plantation acres (695 statute) of good land, plus 125 plantation acres (203 statute) of bog for three lives (see 10.2.1).

Now Edward Bomford makes over these lands in trust to James Tyrrell to manage for the payment of the £300 marriage portion of Catherine. (Book 146 Page 383 No 98040)

8.1.3 Death of Anthony Hamilton June 1755

This branch of the Hamilton family has not been traced, neither has his house in Co Longford, which has a variety of spellings in the documents. Luckily Betham records the will of Anthony Hamilton. No other relevant wills were found.

“Anthony Hamilton of Kilnacarra, Co Longford, Esq., will dated 26th May 1755 and proved 7th July 1755.” (So he must have died in June 1755).

Father Charles Hamilton

Wife Katherine Hamilton, eldest daughter of Edward Bomford of Hightown, Co Westmeath

Brother William Hamilton

Cousin Launcelot Lawder, eldest son of Uncle John Lawder who married Anthony’s aunt

Daughter Sidney Hamilton

2nd son Anthony Hamilton

3rd son John Hamilton

Eldest son James Edward Hamilton

Daughter Margaret Hamilton

Wife’s uncle Thomas Bomford” (Thomas of Rahinstown who died in 1740).

The will mentions “Cousin Launcelot Lawder, eldest son of uncle John Lawder”.

The Lawder Family (sometimes-spelt Lauder or Lawden in deeds):

The Lawder’s of Kiltubrid, south of Lough Allen in Co Leitrim, are an offshoot of the Lawder’s of Lawderdale at Ballinamore, Co Leitrim.

John Lawder of Kiltubrid must have died about 1700; his eldest son was Launcelot, (8.1.1), one of the trustees of the marriage settlement of Antony Hamilton and Catherine Bomford and who had died before 1750 (8.1.2); John had two nephews:

1. William Lawder who married Catherine daughter of Arthur Achmuty of Brianstown, Co Longford and who died in 1715; and

2. James Lawder who married secondly Dorcas, daughter of Samuel Townley, and widow of Thomas Achmuty, Catherine Achmuty’s brother

8.1.4 The Hamilton Family

All Catherine and Antony’s children would be minors until at least 1763 and no doubt Catherine and the children stayed on at Kilnacarra after Anthony died in June 1755.

Catherine wrote a letter in 1759 concerning the Oldtown and Enniscoffey court case. It is not known when she died but it must have been after 1759.

8.1.5 Hamilton Land Purchase 5th May 1770

Between	1.	Rev John Auchmuty of Fosterstown, Co Meath and Isabella Auchmuty of Belmount, Co Westmeath, spinster, both executors of the Rev James Auchmuty, deceased (Dean of Armagh)
	2.	James Edward Hamilton of Kilnecarrow, Co Longford.

James Edward Hamilton buys the land (mentioned in 8.1.1) of the deed of 1742 from the Auchmuty family for cash.

With this purchase of land James Edward Hamilton, the eldest son of Catherine (Bomford) and Anthony Hamilton, not only had the Hamilton home of Kilnacarra consisting of 201 acres but now owned the land previously leased consisting of 990 acres. No other details of the Hamilton children have been found. In 1766 John Bomford married Dorcas Achmuty (14.10). See 14.10.4 for a summary of the Achmuty family.

8.2 Stephen Bomford Marries Elizabeth Sibthorpe 18th April 1745

Marriage Settlement

Between:

1. Stephen Bomford the younger of Rahinstown

2. Roger Jones of Dollinstown (see 2.5.1) and Benjamin Pratt of Agher (The trustees for Elizabeth)

3. (Trustees for the children)

William Foster of Dublin (Elizabeth’s uncle) and

Robert Sibthorpe, only son of Stephen Sibthorpe of Dunany, Co Louth (and brother of Elizabeth)

4. Stephen Sibthorpe of Dunany and Elizabeth Sibthorpe (the bride), eldest daughter of Stephen Sibthorpe.

Reciting:

1. 15th December 1726. Stephen Bomford of Gallow was granted by William Conolly, then one of the Lord Justices and General Governors of Ireland, the Lands of Dirpatrick containing 475 plantation acres (770 statute) in the Barony of Deece, at the yearly rent of £500.

2. 7th February 1714. William Palmer granted 77 plantation acres (125 statute) in the lands of Arratstown, or Arrodstown, in the Barony of Deece, by Garrett Wesley of Dangan, for three lives at a rent of £27.4.3

3. 11th December 1691. Thomas Bomford, deceased of Oldtown, rented Baconstown 507 plantation acres (821 statute) and part of Rahinstown containing 396 plantation acres (642 statute) both in the Barony of Moyfenragh, from Sir Arthur Langford

The settlement on the marriage between Stephen Bomford and Elizabeth Sibthorpe “shortly to be had” was:

1. Stephen Bomford to get £1,200 from Stephen Sibthorpe (the bride’s father).

2. Stephen is confirmed in the use of Dirpatrick during his life, but leases it on trust to Roger Jones and Benjamin Pratt so that his wife Elizabeth will receive an annuity of £150 from this estate upon his death.

3. Stephen is confirmed in the use of Arraattstown or Arradstown, Baconstown and Rahinstown during his life but they are placed in trust in the hands of William Foster and Robert Sibthorpe for the male children of Elizabeth and Stephen. For the next 500 years these land are to pass to the oldest male heir (in other words the land is entailed).

4. The eldest son of this marriage is to receive £1,500 at the age of 21, and the other children are to share £3,000 at the age of 21 or on their marriage whichever comes first. [See 18.1.2 for how this was distributed in Stephen's will, and 18.8.3, 19.2 and 19.2.1 for how it was paid. The amounts don't seem to correspond exactly.]

5. The executors for the children of the marriage and for the entail are William Foster and Robert Sibthorpe.

Signed: Stepn Bomford Junr; Ste Sibthorpe; and Elizth Sibthorpe

Witnessed: Ant Foster, City of Dublin (Elizabeth’s uncle); and Ephm Stannus, Carlingford, Co Louth (Elizabeth’s brother-in-law).

1. The Registry of Deeds also records this in Book 117, Page 375, No 81163 and the settlement is repeated in 1808 (18.8.3), particularly concerning the entail of Rahinstown, Baconstown and Arrodstown.

2. It is interesting that Stephen had to be confirmed in the lands. His father, Stephen the elder of Gallow, does not die for another 14 years, but he has given up farming and has handed over to his son. According to my estimate Stephen is now about 82 and is also blind, but he is by no means an invalid as below we have a record of him attending a party at Agher in 1746.

3. Many of those taking part were also mentioned in the marriage settlement (6.3) of Mary Foster and Thomas Bomford the younger, Stephen’s older brother. From these deeds and other documents a rough tree can be drawn showing the Foster - Sibthorpe - Bomford connections; much of the Foster information comes from an old Burke but it does not seem to be complete.

Stephen's family is the subject of Chapter 18.

8.2.1 The Foster and Sibthorpe Families

There is one major problem in this tree (below) concerning Mary Foster who married Thomas Bomford the younger (6.3) and Elizabeth Sibthorpe who married Thomas’ brother Stephen (8.2). These two girls are of different generations; Mary Foster was the aunt of Elizabeth Sibthorpe and yet they married brothers. This is quite possible but it does lead to a doubt, which is compounded by the omission of Mary Foster in Burke. Undoubtedly Elizabeth Sibthorpe is placed correctly so the doubt concerns the position of Mary Foster who is termed “daughter of John Foster of Dunleer”. John Foster of Dunleer could be either the father who died in 1747 or his son John William Foster; however this deed names William Foster who can only be John William Foster and who was apparently called William. For this reason Mary Foster has been placed as a daughter of John Foster and a sister of John William Foster. The matter could be cleared up if I could find a pedigree of the ‘Fosters of Ballymascanlon’. See also A P W Malcomson, John Foster: The Politics of the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy, Oxford University Press, 1978, ISBN 0-19-920087-4. That work reportedly contains a genealogy of the Foster family which is essentially the same as the one here, but there are minor differences.

The executor Benjamin Pratt of Agher lived half way between Gallow and Rahinstown. He was a close friend of these Bomfords and died in 1771 after all his children had died except for Margaret (see 20.2.1). Margaret married Francis Winter who had just died in 1743 and, being the only child alive, inherited her father’s estates including Agher. The Pratt estates then passed to her son Samuel Winter who was just four at this time. However it is also possible that the executor, Benjamin Pratt, was the son of Benjamin and sister of Margaret. This younger Benjamin was born at Agher on 14th October 1712 and so quite likely to be a trustee, however he and his two brothers died before 1761. His youngest brother John, 1721 - 1761, was the last of the brothers to die and of him his father wrote that he was “a young gentleman of the strictest honour and integrity”. John Pratt kept a diary, the 1745 - 1747 portion being in the National Library (Positive 4160). The diary has two contemporary items concerning the Bomfords:

“19th November 1745 Jack Bomford dined and suped, 3 bottles of claret”; and

“19th July 1746 Old Stephen Bumford dined here” (at Agher).

‘Jack’ must be John Bomford, Stephen’s younger brother, who was then 18 and at Trinity. He was six years younger than John Pratt.

‘Old Stephen’ was Stephen the elder of Gallow who was then aged 83 and obviously going strong though his eyesight had gone.

Note: the last four in the diagram above (ie Robert, Elizabeth, Margaret and Frances Sibthorpe) are brother and sisters, not father and daughters. Robert also had children, including another Margaret Sibthorpe who married Thomas O'Reilly of Baltrasna [email from Kevin Penders to Richard Bomford, 16 June 2007].

Links to 6.3 11.3 16.7.2

8.3 Anne Bomford Marries Owen Daly c1745

An article in the ‘Grand Juries of Westmeath’ records the marriage of a daughter of Edward Bomford of Hightown. This was the first hint of a daughter and triggered a hunt, which named the daughter Anne, and her three sons from two marriages. However it also leaves us with a number of anomalies over dates. The following Daly tree is principally based or the ‘Grand Juries’ but deviates with clues from Betham’s will extracts and other family extracts.

Link to 8.9

In 1758 “Ann Daly, also Bomford, widow,” wrote a letter, which is recorded in the 1762 document concerning the court case over Oldtown and Enniscoffey. From this we know that Anne Bomford had been married and that her husband had died, and both had occurred before the letter was written in 1758. The ‘Grand Juries of Westmeath’ gives the date of marriage as 1775 but this is far too late and must wrong, not only because Anne was a widow in 1758 but because her son would have to have married when he was aged four. We must assume that 1775 is a misprint, and I am further assuming that only one figure is wrong. The choice seems to be 1755, 1745, 1735 etc. I have selected 1745 as the most likely date for the marriage because her older sister married in 1742 (8.1), her second marriage takes place in 1755 and her father would be that much younger; however the marriage could have been c1735, but there is more discussion concerning these dates at the time of her second marriage (see 8.9). The marriage took place at Killucan.

The Daly tree ends about 1850, but both Edward and Owen are known to have children who would be the great great grandchildren of Anne Bomford, and there is no reason why the Daly family might not be still in existence to this day. Con Maxwell (email 1 Oct 2006) says, "I remember the last of them. There was an old man and his sister who died about 25 years ago, I think. For the last century they were Catholic but they may have been Protestant earlier."

In 1784 ‘Owen Daly of Dublin Gent,’ bought Clounstown in trust for Augustine Pentheney (14.5.l/2). With such a name he is likely to be a relative but he cannot, at this stage, be fitted into the tree; perhaps he is a son of Owen Daly’s brother Matthew.

Multyfarnham Parish History by Peter Wallace (1987) indicates (page 217) that there were Protestant churches and cemetries in the Multyfarnham area at Leny and at Stonehall, which is about a mile and a half east of the village. The Stonehall church is in ruins and has not been used since around 1920. The cemetry is rarely used now. Wallace reports (page 202) a Daly tombstone in the Stonehall cemetery which reads as follows: "Tho Daly (gt gt gf) Tho (gt gf) Owen (gf) Jn (father) and Matt uncle of Ed Daly. Mary Daly 1804 aged 42, Anne 1810 aged 8 months, and Anne wife of Owen Daly, Mornington, 1810 aged 19". Con Maxwell (email 18 Oct 2006) says this last Anne was a Bomford but Wallace does not mention that. In addition, Wallace reports (page 201) an Anne Bumford buried in Leny cemetery. Her epitaph, dated 1787, reads:

Here rests the body of Miss Anne Bumford,

She lived in innocence and at the age of sixteen
after a few hours of illness was taken away
by the kindness of Providence
from the cares and contaminations of the World.

The same day that saw the bloom
of perfect health and beauty on her cheek
saw it faded by the withering hand of death
a sad but to the vain a salutary lesson.

Wallace reports (page 235) there were between 5 and 9 Bomford baptisms among the almost 2700 recorded in the Multyfarnham Parish Register between 1824 and 1849 inclusive. These records have not been checked. There was a Mary Bomford living in Multyfarnham recorded in Griffiths 1854 valuation.

8.3.1 The Cooke Family

The Cooke family appears above and will appear again. There are two branches mentioned: those of Cookestown or Cookesborough who tie the families of Reynell, Pratt and Purdon together but have no direct ties with the Bomfords; and those of Retreat who are closely involved with the Bomfords. The following illustrates that involvement.

Note 1. Thomas Cooke was the only son of Thomas Cooke who in 1742 leased Retreat near Athlone, which he later purchased. Thomas Cooke the younger married Elizabeth Dawson in 1790, the daughter of William Dawson of Nohaville, Co Westmeath; he inherited Retreat when his father died in 1798 and lived there until he died. Thomas and Elizabeth had three children.

Note 1a. Thomas Cooke joined the army and was a lieutenant in the 9th Regiment. He served on the staff of the Duke of Wellington in Spain, and with his regiment on the Walcheren Expedition of 1809. This was to be a raid to destroy the ships and dockyards at Antwerp, but the commanders of the fleet and army refused to work together, and the whole affair was a failure. During this fiasco Thomas’ health became so impaired that he died in 1811.

Note 1b. William Cooke succeeded to Retreat in 1811. He married twice: Firstly to Catherine the only child of Falkiner Chute, Captain 6th Dragoons and their daughter Catherine Cooke married Edward Daly of Mornington in 1850, the great-grandson of Anne (Bomford) and Owen Daly. He married secondly Ruth Chute, a cousin of Catherine his first wife, and the daughter of Richard Chute of Chute Hall, Co Kerry. Her brother Francis Chute of Chute Hall married Mary Anne Bomford, the great-grand-daughter of Stephen Bomford of Gallow (18.5.3). Ruth had a number of children whose children lived at Retreat until fairly recently.

Note 1c. Catherine Cooke married in 1816 Owen Daly of Mornington, 1780 - 1847. Their son Edward Daly, born 1817, married in 1850 his cousin Catherine Cooke, see (1b) above.

Note 2. Thomas Cooke the elder who died in 1798 was descended from the Cappoquin branch of Co Waterford. He was one of several brothers and it would appear, though it is not definite, that one of these brothers was Rev Richard Cooke, Vicar of St Peter-the-Poor in London, and he had three sons, the eldest being William Cooke, 1737-1789, who at the early age of 27 was made a Director of the Bank of England, was a merchant in Turkey and the Levant. Around 1780 he married and had three sons and two daughters. His eldest son was also named William Cooke, born in London in 1782, was sent to India at the age of 17 as Under-Secretary in the Military and Political Department in Madras. In 1812 in Madras he married Martha, the only daughter of John Pybus, the Consul to Ceylon. In 1825 he became the Principal Collector and Magistrate at Chittoor near Madras and the next year he retired to Cheltenham in England where he died in 1863. He and Martha had four boys and three girls, the eldest being Cecil Pybus Cooke (1813 - 1895) who married Arbella Winter (1821 - 1892) (See 18.7.6). Arbella’s older sister, Frances Jane, married Samuel Bomford the brother of George Bomford of Oakley Park and her mother was Frances Rose Bomford the younger daughter of Trevor and Mary Bomford.

Note 3. William Dawson has been included in the tree since his grandson, another William Dawson of Nohaville, Co Westmeath, married Catherine the eldest daughter of Robert Bomford-Jessop (14.8.2). Robert Bomford-Jessop was the great-grandson of Oliver Bomford of Cushenstown.

Note 4. Thus, rather tenuously in some cases, the Cooke family ties together the descendants of three of Colonel Laurence Bomford’s sons, Oliver of Cushenstown, Edward of Hightown, and Stephen of Gallow.

8.3.2 Elizabeth Bomford marries Christopher Standring 1 June 1741

It is most likely that Elizabeth was the eldest, but unrecorded, daughter of Stephen of Gallow. She was born about 1720 in the Parish of Rodanstown. On 1 June 1741, also at Rodanstown, she married Christopher Standring. He was born about 1715 in the Parish of St Andrews in Dublin and grew up to be a tallow chandler in Dublin.

In June 1762 they were both mentioned in the Brief to the Lord Chancellor, Christopher as the administrator of his wife Elizabeth. So Elizabeth must have died before 1762. There were no known children.

8.4 Dorcas Bomford Marries Edward Williams c1745

Dorcas was the second daughter of Stephen Bomford and Anne (Smith) of Gallow who was born about 1722. All we know about her is the bald statement in Burke, which reads “Dorcas married E. Williams”. All the rest is conjecture. No marriage licence has been found nor has any reference to the Williams family, but the documents have four references to the couple.

30th March 1753	(8.7.1)	“Edward Williams of Trim, Gentleman” was party to Rev John Bomford’s marriage settlement.
1st October 1759	(9.6.1)	“Thomas Williams, son of Edward Williams of Trim” was one of the lives of the Gallow lease.
12th June 1761	(9.7.2)	“Dorcas, the wife of Edward Williams, his (Stephen’s) second daughter.”
23rd June 1762	(10.6)	“Edward Williams and Dorcas his wife” wrote a letter dated 1766

In addition the Meath Freeholders List dated sometime between 1775 and 1780 records “Williams, Edward, Trim” and “Williams, Stephen, Trim”.

From these there is confirmation that Dorcas married Edward Williams of Trim, Co Meath, and that in 1759 they had a son named Thomas Williams. Most of the Bomford leases had children aged between 12 and 15 as lives although one or two lives were as young as aged 4. If we selected aged 14 for the life of the Gallow lease then Thomas would be born in 1745 and this date has been selected, for want of a better, as the marriage date of Dorcas and Edward; this date would make Dorcas around 23 at the time of her marriage.

Dorcas was alive in 1766 but she was only in her mid-40s then so probably lived on for another twenty years. Edward was alive in the late 1770s and was living in or near Trim then. It is not clear who is the Stephen Williams of the Freeholders List; perhaps he was Edward’s brother or even another son, my guess would be a son named after his grandfather, Stephen Bomford, but of course he may not be any relation at all.

8.5 Ann Bomford marries Samuel L’Estrange 1750

Ann is the eldest daughter of Stephen Bomford of Gallow and was born around 1720.

There are no Bomford documents concerning this marriage, nor has a marriage licence been seen, but the L’Estrange family is well documented in Burke. However there are conflicting dates for the marriage in Burke; under Bomford the date is 1740, and under L’Estrange it is 1750. 1750 is the more likely date.

Samuel L’Estrange died in 1757 leaving Ann to bring up their four sons at Clowestown which is beside Violetstown, her mother’s family home in Westmeath. Ann died in 1784 and her death and children are recorded under 15.1.1

The L’Estrange family and the Smith family are inter-connected and both are heavily involved with the Bomfords, so both families are introduced below. The Smith family is in more detail because it is not in Burke and relies on these documents plus four wills from Betham’s notebooks, those of John of 1733, Dorcas of 1746, Isaac of 1763 and John of 1772.

8.5.1 The Smith Family

There are many Smith or Smythe families around Westmeath and they all probably stem from the same source.

Our particular branch starts with Abraham Smith who was alive in 1666, of Kiltoon and Rathduff, Co Westmeath; Rathduff which was later renamed Anneville is situated three miles south of Mullingar on the road to Tyrrellspass, and is sandwiched between Gurteen and Gainstown on the north and Tyrellstown on the south, all Bomford properties. Kiltoon has not been traced but it may be in Co Roscommon.

John Smith of Vilanstown, later renamed Violetstown lies east of Anneville and north of Gaybrook where another branch of the Smiths lived. John died in 1733 (will August 1732, proved March 1733). His wife was Dorcas Wheatley of Co Tipperary. Her will of November 1742 (proved April 1746) names a brother Benjamin Wheatley, a sister Esther Christian, and two nieces Mary Madden and Jane Wheatley. Benjamin Wheatley might have married Mary Tarleton (12.1.2). John and Dorcas had 8 children.

1.	Joshua Smith was named in his father’s will but not in his mother’s, so he probably died between 1732 and 1742.
2.	John Smith of Violetstown was an executor of the will of Stephen Bomford of Gallow, his brother-in-law, and wrote letters concerning the court case of Oldtown and Enniscoffey. According to the January 1768 deed (11.7) he bequeathed £1,000 to David Bomford in his will of 15th February 1763 and he appointed his wife Anne and Charles Lyons executors. His wife was Anne, daughter of Benjamin Pratt of Agher (20.2.1) and her niece was Margaret Pratt who married Francis Winter and who inherited Agher. The deed of January 1768 also records that Anne Smith is ‘now’ the wife of Thomas Walpole. She may have married him in 1767 which means that her first husband, John Smith, must have died between February 1763 (the will) and say 1766. John and Anne had three sons
	a.	John of Anneville, which he inherited from his uncle Isaac, married Louisa Bermingham (8.5.3) and died in 1794. Anneville was sold sometime before 1838 when William Robinson owned it. John and Louisa had four boys
		i	John Smith, born 1776, educated at Trinity and died unmarried.
		ii	Richard Smith of the 42nd Regiment died unmarried in 1805.
		iii	Benjamin Smith married Catherine Adams and died in 1808. They had a son and a grandson both named John Smith.
		iv	Francis Pratt Smith married Louisa McNamara in 1806.
	b.	Richard of Violetstown is mentioned in David Bomford’s will of 1807 as being ‘late of Violetstown’. He left Violetstown to his younger brother. He must have died without children before 1807.
	c.	Benjamin Smith of Violetstown never married. His attorney was his cousin Isaac Bomford and later, when Isaac was old, Trevor Bomford. He died in 1809 (probate). Violetstown was sold some time before 1838 when E. Lewis owned it.
3.	Isaac Smith of Anneville changed the name of Rathduff to Anneville after his wife Anne, daughter of Major John Lyons of Ledestown. They were married probably about 1700 but certainly before 1720 (see 9.3.5). He was a trustee of the marriage settlement of 1753 between John Bomford and Ann Forster, and about the same time he leased Gainstown and Tyrrellstown from John Bomford. He died in 1763 (will 15th February and proved 28th March 1763) leaving Anne a widow. They had two daughters and Anneville was passed to his nephew John Smith (above).
4.	Anne Smith, the eldest daughter, born 1696 (9.7.3) married Stephen Bomford of Gallow in 1713, (2.13). He died in 1759 and she died sometime between 1761 and 1774. They had nine children. Two of their sons, David and Isaac Bomford who may have been twins, were mentioned in their uncle Isaac Smith’s will.
5.	Elizabeth Smith married David Tew, brother-in-law of Thomas Bomford the elder of Rahinstown, some time before 1732. They had five children (see the Tew family in 9.3.7.).
6.	Esther Smith married John L’Estrange of Boardstown, Co Westmeath, also some time before 1732. John’s will was dated 26th June 1736, but see the L’Estrange tree which follows. Incidentally Esther was named Ellen in her mother’s will but this must have been wrongly copied by Betham.
7.	Mary Smith married Mr Smith between 1732 and 1742. They had a daughter, Dorcas.
8.	Dorcas Smith married Thomas Smith between 1732 and 1742. Thomas Smith of Lismacrony, Co Tipperary, died on 10th May 1774. His family name seems to have gradually changed from Smith through Smyth to the present day name of Smythe. He was related to the Smiths of Fieldstown, Gaybrook, Barbaville, Drumcree, Glananea and Ballynagall, all estates in Westmeath. They had three sons
	a.	Ralph Smith of Milford House, Co Tipperary, who in 1772 married Elizabeth, 3rd daughter of George Stoney of Greyfort. He died in 1813 and his offspring live to this day.
	b.	Rev John Smith died in 1813. He married but had no children
	c.	William Smith of Gurteen, Co Tipperary, married but also had no children.

Other Smiths of this period mentioned in the documents but not apparently connected are:

1711 Thomas Smith of Gurteen and Gainstown, Co Westmeath.

1715 James Smith, vintner of Dublin

1744 Jane Smith of Dublin who married Laurence Bomford of Killeglan

1751 John Smith of Kilbrew

Some Smith (Smyth or Smythe) families of Westmeath mentioned by Lewis in 1838 are:

Gaybrook	Mrs A Smith, in the Parish of Enniscoffey, “a hansome mansion in a fine demesne richly planted and diversified with artificial lakes”.
Archerstown	R. Smyth, in the Parish of Castletown-Delvin
Barbaville	W. B. Smyth, in the Parish of Feighan of Fore (built 1730)
Benison Lodge	Rev T. Smythe	both near Castlepollard
Lake View	W. Smyth
Ralphsdale	Ralph Smyth, “the demesne of which is entered by a beautiful gate”.
Drumcree	Robert Smyth “in whose demesne is a fine lake”.

These last two are in the Parish of Kilcumney.

It could be said that ‘our’ Smiths of Violetstown and Anneville had died out or moved away by 1838.

8.5.2 The L’Estrange Family

The family name until the mid 1600s was Le Strange.

Richard Le Strange second son of Sir Thomas Le Strange of Hunstanton, Norfolk, married and had three sons. Sir Thomas was a soldier who went to Ireland; he was made Governor of Roscommon in 1566 with a garrison of infantry and 20 horsemen after it had been recaptured for Queen Elizabeth from the ‘Old English’ aided by Spain. This must have been the reason for Richard’s eldest son settling in that part of Ireland. He was:

Thomas of Castle Strange, Co Roscommon, south of Fuerty on the River Suck. Thomas was living in 1616 and had one son:

Hamon of Castle Strange who died in 1639 leaving a son and a daughter, Elizabeth. The son was:

Thomas of Castle Strange died in 1655. He had two sons and three daughters. The family left Castle Strange and the eldest son Henry went to Moystown in King’s County on the River Brosna between Shannonbridge and Cloghan. Henry died in 1666 and we have little interest in his branch except that in 1824 a descendant, Mary L’Estrange, married Marcus Beresford, Archbishop of Armagh, as his first wife. Mary died in 1845 and the Archbishop married secondly Elizabeth, the widow of Robert George Bomford of Rahinstown, in 1850 (22.10). The second son was:

William who went to Castle Cuffe in Queen’s Co to the west of Clonaslee. He died in 1676 having had four sons and a daughter. Only the third son’s descendants continued the line and some of them are still living. The third son was:

Robert of Keoltown, Co Westmeath. He changed the family name to L’Estrange and had one son:

John of Keoltown was named in August 1682 in an address from County Westmeath to King Charles II concerning the plight of the Roman Catholic community in the county. He married Susanna Harrison, daughter of Rev John Harrison and his wife Sarah who was a daughter of Bishop Lewis Jones (see this family, 2.5.1). The family then moved to Boardstown for a couple of generations, and then to Clowestown and Clonsheevor, all in Co Westmeath. Clowestown is just north of Violetstown, the Smith family place, but neither Boardstown nor Clonsheevor have been located although Clonsheevor is the name of a lake north of Mullingar.

John of Keoltown had issue:

Link to 15.1.1

The cousins who married, Anne and Edward L’Estrange of Clonsheevor, had four sons. The youngest was Antony, 1768 - 1848, of Dublin, who had three sons:

Major-General Edward L’Estrange who served in the Peninsular War and in India, died unmarried

Lieutenant Frederick L’Estrange, 1798 - 1871, of the Royal Navy married and his line continues. His wife was Frances Amelia Matthews, died 1877, daughter of Rev John Matthews, Vicar Choral of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.

Francis L’Estrange, 1803 - 1875, F.R.C.S.I., Surgeon of the Antrim Artillery; and perhaps also an eminent dentist (Daphne & Don Gregg emails 22 & 27 Nov 2008: though the record of the eminent dentist is also attributed to Francis L'Estrange, born about 1786 in Dublin who became a major in the 3rd Buffs (15.1.1 5 b). In 1830 he married Catherine Eliza Matthews, another daughter of Rev John Matthews. She died in 1865 leaving two sons and two daughters.

Their eldest son, Colonel Edward Napoleon L’Estrange, married as his second wife Belinda Emily North-Bomford (see 27.10.). Thus Belinda’s great-great-aunt was Anne L’Estrange (Bomford) of Gallow.

Note 1. John Cooke of Cookesborough (later Cookestown), Co Westmeath, died in 1733 (probate) leaving as his heirs two daughters; Mary who married Edward L’Estrange above; and Jane who married James Nugent of Clonlost, Co Westmeath. Jane and James Nugent had a daughter, also named Jane, who married Benjamin Pratt of Agher, (see 20.2.1).

Note 2. According to Burke, Edward L’Estrange of Boardstown was an only son, but according to the ‘Grand Juries of Westmeath’ there was a brother and three sisters. These would become Anne Bomford’s uncle and aunts and were:

2. John

3. Margaret who married Thomas Naghten

4. Anne; and

5. Sarah.

8.5.3 The Bermingham Family

There are too many Bermingham connections for them not to be related. There are:

1.	Louisa Bermingham who married John Smith of Anneville, a cousin of Anne (Bomford) and Samuel L’Estrange.
2.	Thomas Birmingham who married Lucy, one of the daughters of Edward Bomford of Hightown (8.12). Lucy was another cousin of Anne (Bomford) and Samuel L’Estrange.
3.	Anne (Bomford) and Samuel L’Estrange had a son, Rev Samuel L’Estrange who married Louisa Birmingham, the daughter of Walter Birmingham.

Louisa, Thomas and Walter Bermingham are all of the same generation, and may even be brothers and sister with a niece Louisa. Unfortunately no suitable Bermingham pedigree has been found. The question of the spelling of the name, Bermingham or Birmingham, has been found in my research not to be of great importance during the 1700s. See also 11.2.4.

8.6 Mary Bomford marries William Coates 22nd June 1750

Mary is the third daughter of Stephen Bomford the elder of Gallow and his wife Anne (Smith). She was probably born between 1725 and 1730 so would be in her early 20s at this date.

Marriage Licence extracted from the Prerogative Grant Book of 1748 - 1751 (4/238/39 f. 144) in the Public Record Office (National Archive) in the Four Courts, Dublin: “A Licence was Granted by the Most Reverend Father George and so forth [King George II] also Judge and so forth to Solomize Matrimony between William Coates of the Citty of Dublin, Gontt, and Mary Bomford of Gallow in the Parish of Radenstown and County of Meath, spinster, directed to the Rector, Vicar and Curate of Said Parish. Dated the nineteenth day of June in the year of Our Lord 1750.”

Gallow was at this time in the Parish of Raddenstown and the marriage would have taken place from the Church there. The immediate family who may have attended the wedding were -

Parents

Both alive but elderly, Stephen nearly 90 [b 1663 (1.6)] and Anne must be in her 80s [b 1696 (9.7.3), so in her 50s].

Brothers

Stephen of Rahinstown and Elizabeth (Sibthorpe) are the only ones married; their eldest child would be about two.

John aged 23, probably at Trinity working for his MA, he got his BA in 1748.

David and Isaac, both about 20, were probably working in Dublin.

Sisters

Ann marries Samuel L’Estrange during this same year.

Dorcas is married to Edward Williams and is living in Trim with her little son Thomas Williams.

Esther, the youngest sister, is in her teens.