Ireland_files/James genealogy finalPart4new

Part Four: Tidying The Loose Ends (or Not)
We are fortunate to have copies of the original BMD records for Aghold St.
Michael’s from as far back as the year 1700. Many parishes don’t. All Saints
at Carnew, for example, lost all files prior to 1808.We’ll have to rely on
added-in family information to fill the gaps. This is why publishing a
correctable/ expandable history (without attachment to its rightness) will pay
off in the long run. Feel free to chime in. I have also been fortunate to have
Carol Bennett McQuaig’s Leinster to Lanark (to which I contributed) which
delineates the settlers, family by family who came to Lanark County in the
early to mid 1800’s. The book contains a section, Pages 108 to 111 on the
JAMES families who settled there, all but a few of which belong closely or
distantly to the branch of the family which were descendants of the three
brothers who came to Ireland with Cromwell in the late 1600’s (the majority
of which we have now covered).
The James Settlers of Beckwith Township
If one came to Canada in 1819, particularly if one came on the brig Maria, it was likely you were from the
Coolcullen area of Kilkenny or from bordering Carlow. Furthermore, while some land remained (and was
allotted) at Dalhousie Township, new lots had been surveyed at Beckwith, and it seemed to be the will of
the military settlement managers to intersperse the Irish who landed with the Scots who were already
there. Four James families were among the settlers located at Beckwith in the 1820’s, John James
(brother of William James, but from Kilkenny, not Carlow or Wicklow), Luke James, William James
(both of whom do not appear to be from the sane root family) and Samuel James (who may have come
from Kiltennel Parish in Carlow.) I will now turn to an entry in Leinster to Lanark I found interesting
about a JAMES family from Rosdellig, quite possibly that of William James who was seeking to
emigrate in 1822. Quoting from Leinster to Lanark “While it seems that all of these people came from the
province of Leinster (including Carlow, Wicklow and Kilknenny) there is a wide range of opinion among
researchers as to their exact origin. Some settlers definitely came from County Carlow, while Kilkenny
and Wexford have been suggested for others. When people live near the border between counties it was
possible to find kinfolk in church registers on both sides the boundary line when one William James
applied in 1822 to bring his wife and 4 children to join his parents and brother who had arrived in
Beckwith at an earlier date, he gave an address which underlines this point.”
My Lord, Having been told your Lordship
is empowered to grant passage to Upper
Canada to persons whose Friends and
Relations are living there at present. My
Father, Mother, and Brother are at present
living in the Township of Beckwith, and
have written for myself and family area
consisting of myself, my wife, and 4 children,
I most humbly crave your Lordship’s
pardon, for taking this liberty with your
Lordship. I have the honor to be, my Lord,
your Lordship’s most obedient, most humble,
most devoted servant,
William James Rossdilig 3/ 4 1822
28
The area in Carlow just south of Fennagh (7-8 miles south), where one finds Rosdillig
(spelling has changed) does not have a BMD registry for before 1835
but we can tell from other records that the JAMES family was ensconced here. The
facimile of a tombstone on the right establishes the presence of John JAMES
(1767-1823) at Knocksquire and that of his father Mathew JAMES (1727-1796) at
Tomduff. The later BMDs show JAMES families at Dunroe and Raheenkyle (see map
above) in the mid-nineteenth century.
JAMES
Erected by Catherine
James in memory of her
belovd hufband John
James late of
Knocksquire who depd
this life the 12th of
Auguft 1823 aged 56
years. Alfo his father
Matthew Janes of
Tomduff who depd this
life the 1st of March
1796 age 69 yrs. R.I.P.
unknown
mother
William
James
b.c. 1795
Mathew
James
Susanna
James
m.c. 1796
unknown
mother
_______
James
Ann
Earl
Henry
James
Anthony
James
Thomas
James
(1754-1838)
Anthony
James
(1779-1849)
George
James
(1798-1880)
William
Janes
(1803-1881)
John
Jammes
(1801-1847)
Thomas
(1799-1850
Carole Bennett McQuaig leaves us a limited
number of settler candidates from which to choose
William’s parents, so we might engage in a process of
elimination. I have copied a segment of the original
settlers’ plan Concessions 1, 2 and 3 and Lots 25, 26, and
27. On Con. 3 Lot 25 we see William James and Luke
James. In my travels I found the picture on the right of
the William James home on this lot on a James family
website which also stated this William James was not of
their “clan” - that he came from County Limerick.
Clearly William and Luke were from a more distant
branch of the family. Luke later “disappeared” while
William (and his wife Ann) raised a family of 12-13
children at Beckwith. By 1842, only he, Catherine
(arrived 1819) at Con. 9 Lot 11, and Samuel (b. 1814) at
Con. 11, Lot 5 remained.
29
John James
(1767- 1823)
Catherine
________
Moving ahead about ten years and beyond, we see
at Raheenkyle:
Anthony (1779-1849) John (1781-1872) Thomas
(1754-1838) George (1798-1880) and William
(1803-1881) and at Dunroe : John (1801-1847)
Jane (1777-1849) Thomas 1799-1850) and a
contemporary mid-nineteenth century Irish couple,
Thomas and Mary having Thomas Henry 1839,
Dorah 1842, Samuel 1844, Elizabeth 1847 and
Sarah 1850. The William who made the 1822
application is seen on the right. He does not, at first
blush, seem to fit in the family on the left, for a
number of obvious reasons, but then again the other
families don’t seem to either.
Mathew
James
(1727-96)
We also have the will of said John James of Kiledmond which leaves his daughter
“profit rent of 3 pounds 1 1/2 shilling to daughter Susanna James in
Cloughgrennen in Clody Parish, she paying 1 pound yearly to daughter Mary
James and to grandson, John James, 1 shilling. “ We also have the 1817 Will of
Anthony James of Graigne-spitogue, John’s brother, granting “leases in partnership
with brother John James in Knockscuir (Knocksquire) and Tomduff, Mortgage on Ballinagrene to nephews and
nieces, the children of brother Henry James, deceased. (Executors, Ann James alias Earl, widow of said Henry and
Mathew James eldest son of said brother.” (we also have a marriage certificate which shows marriage of Henry and
Ann in 1796.) probably at about 25 years of age William James, ask about sponsorship to Canada occurs in this
very period, the implication being that his parents probably married about 1795, and were contemporaries of John,
Henry and Anthony James.
Having thus “eliminated” William and Luke
James (of con. 3 Lot 25) and John James* (Con
9 Lot 6 on the shore of Mississippi Lake) whose
family of Samuel (b. 1814 in Ireland) Julia
(1819) Thomas (1820) Mary (1826) William
(1828), John (1830) and Ann (1834) was cut
short by John’s death in a farming accident in
livepage.apple.com1848, we are left with
Samuel James to trace. He was assigned Con. 3
Lot 2 (or by other reports Con. 6 Lot 2), which
appears on the map as a CLERGY RESERVE
(without his name on it.) coming on the Mary
and Bell; with his wife, son and two daughters.
It seems to me that this must have been the family that William James of Rosdellig, Carlow (see above)
was hoping to follow to Canada in 1822, but the family disappears from the Beckwith records rather
quickly. Did they return to Ireland?
__________________________________________________________________________
* John James, wife Martha Rathwell and son Samuel James were on the brig Maria:
* Samuel Rathwell, emigrant, 1 adult male, country Ireland, ship Maria, June 29, 1819,
located Feb. 12, 1821, Drummond, C12 NE23.
William Rathwell, Jr., emigrant, 1 adult male, country Ireland, ship Maria, June 29,
1819, located Oct. 2, 1819 Drummond, C8 SW11.
John James, emigrant, 1 adult male, 1 adult female, 1 male under 7, country Ireland,
ship Maria, June 29, 1819, located Aug. 12, 1819 Drummond C5 lot 27.
Researcher Patricia Green reports that Samuel and William Thomas Rathwell were offspring of
William Rathwell and Susan Morris, and that they lived in the Innisville area, consistent with the
lot locations above. It makes sense then that Martha Rathwell, wife of John James was their sister.
In the Beckwith Census
of 1842 we see a
Catherine James
(widow arrived 1819)
living alone at Con. 9.
Lot 11 which is the
middle frame of the
excerpt on the right.
was she living with
someone else?And who
was her James husband?
30
In the 1851 Census we see
Samuel and Jane (Burgess)
James (son of John abd Martha)
full family, and that he has located
at Con. 12 Lot 5, much closer to
his Uncle and aunt, quite near the
Edward Chamney farm at Scotch
Corners.
We also see in the 1851 Census
the extensive family of William
James at Con. 3 Lot 25, but again, he does not appear to be part of “our”family.
The William and George James Families of Cumberland
This then accounts for all of the James families we know moved from Leinster to Lanark. Having found
another such family, William and Catherine (Buchanan) James which looks to be similar in many
respects (connected with the surname Thorpe), who moved to the Cumberland area, near Bytown, I will
include them, in case someone finds a connection at a later date.
The second oldest person
buried in the Trinity
Anglican Church Cemetery,
Bear Brook, was William
JAMES, who passed in 1883 at
the age of 89 years. William
was a devout Anglican and a
skilled mason and used his
masonry skills to help build
the original Anglican Church
in Bear Brook, about 1845,
which was the Mother Church
of the Township of Cumberland
before the present stone
church built about 1900.
William James was born in Tully Augnish Parish, Rathmelton Townland, County Donegal,
Ulster, Ireland, in 1794. He removed to County Carlow and married Catherine Margaret
BUCHANAN (b.1804-d.1889) about 1822 and they had seven issue, all born County Carlow,
Ireland. (iIt is interesting that a marriage between a Thomas Buchanan and an Elizabeth Wills is recorded
November 24th 1792 at Carlow town, and that the couple’s firstborn was named Thomas and that a later child was
named Elizabeth)
The James family was Protestant Irish, but originally of English origin. According to
oral history, one of their ancestors was said to have served in Cromwell's army in
Northern Ireland and then settled in County Donegal. William immigrated to Upper
Canada, sometime during the 1840s, and settled on the boundary between Cumberland and
Russell Townships with his younger brother George JAMES.
William was one of the early Irish pioneer’s to settle in Cumberland Township when it
was almost wilderness. William purchased the east 100 acres, Lot 28, Concession 7,
Cumberland Township about 1856 when the area was still “wild land” with no roads and
travel was by walking or horseback along rough tracks through the forest linking
neighboring farms and villages of Cumberland and Bear Brook. William’s brother,
31
George, settled the west 150 acres, Lot 28, Concession 7, Cumberland. William, like
his younger brother, George, was a staunch Conservative and very loyal to his country.
William James was first enumerated in the 1861 Agricultural Census, Cumberland
Township, Russell, Ontario (page 17, line 46) as the 1851 census for Russell has been
lost. Both William and his wife Catherine could neither read nor write.
They had the seven following children:
Thomas JAMES was born 1822 in County Carlow, Ireland and died, 27 March 1882 and
buried Trinty Anglican Church Cemetery, Bearbrook. Thomas married Anna Maria Byron
(1863-1876) Bear Brook and they had children Jane Elizabeth (b.1864), William John
(b.1866), Sophia (b.1869), Annie Maria (b.1871-d.1874) and Thomas George (b.1878).
Susanna JAMES was born 1825, County Carlow, Ireland and buried 5 Jun 1893, age 67
Trinty Anglican Church Cemetery, Bearbrook. Susanna married George Marshall (b.1850-d.
1902) of County Carlow, Ireland and they had the following children, born
Osgoode Township, Ontario, Samuel William (b.1857), Mary Ann (b.1859), Amelia (b.1861d.1950), Thomas Henry (b.1862-d.1910) who married Janet McDougall (b.1873-d.1955),
Georgina (b.1866-d.1884) and George Albert (b.1868-d.1943) who married
Louise Campbell (b.1867-d.1953).
Samuel JAMES was born 1826, County Carlow, Ireland married Elizabeth born 1828,
Ireland.James JAMES was born 1826, County Carlow, Ireland and married Alice (b.1831),
Ireland and had children Hanna, George, Ester, William, Ann and John.
Marie JAMES was born 1834, County Carlow, Ireland and married Gregory McGannon, born
Ireland. She passed, 12 Jul 1874, Cumberland and buried Trinty Anglican Church
Cemetery, Bearbrook. Antony JAMES was born Dec 1838, County Carlow, Ireland. “Ontario
Archives, Prescott & Russell Co., 1873” records Antony James,
24, farmer, Ireland, Cumberland, s/o not given, married Sarah Ann James, 28, Canada,
Cumberland, d/o George James & Elizabeth Ann Gainsford, witn: Thomas Thorpe &
Elizabeth James, both of Cumberland, 6 Aug 1873, Cumberland.
Antony married his first cousin Sarah, his Uncle George’s daughter. She died 7 Sept
1875 and Antony died 10 May 1870 buried Trinty Anglican Church Cemetery.
Jane JAMES was born 1939, County Carlow, Ireland and immigrated to Upper Canada with
her parents in the early 1840s. Jane married James SULLIVAN, 1857, Cumberland
Township, Russell, Ontario.
I have no facility for finding BMD’s in northern Ireland, so I have not been able to forge any links
between William James of Cumberland and his brother George with parents in Tully Augnish Parish,
Rathmelton Townland, County Donegal, but the possible links with our James family are very enticing.
In particular the family story of a 17th century land grant in Northern Ireland following the Williamite
wars is identical. Nor can I now eliminate William James at Beckwith Con. 3 Lot 25 as a relative, as next
to him at Con. 2 Lot 26 we see a George Buchanan. Further to this (perhaps) there is a poorly legible
deed memorial registered 18 November 1762 by one Thomas James Esq. of Londonderry regarding a”
Ballnagowan” witnessed by his wife Anne James. I must admit not knowing how to take this aspect of
things any further. One source I gave found useful in the past is the Flaxgrower’s List of 1796 which
shows the following James farmers at the time and Conwal of the map:
James
James
James
James
James
James
James
James
James
James
James
32
Anthony Conwal Donegal
Charles Conwal Donegal
George Conwal Donegal
George Taughboyne Donegal
Henry Conwal Donegal
Hugh Conwal Donegal
John Conwal Donegal
Robert Conwal Donegal
Robert Kilmacrenan Donegal
Thomas Donaghmore Donegal
Wm. Conwal Donegal
James Family Members Who Didn’t Come To Canada
While it was satisfying to identify and link in seven of the eight settler JAMES families who came to
Lanark (eight if nine if one counts William James from Donegal/Carlow to Cumberland) the only
exception being Samuel James who was assigned Con. 3 Lot 6 in Beckwith some time prior to 1822 and
who “disappeared” from the records, this leaves both some areas where James families lived which either
didn’t send members across the Atlantic, or sent them, and they ended up some other place than Lanark.
We know, for instance that a second wave of settlers came out from Wicklow, Carlow and Wexford in the
1850’s, and that by this time members of the James family had migrated to places like East Wawanosh
Township in Huron County. If for no other reason, surveying these locations may give us a closer look at
the seeming migration of this family from Northern Ireland to Dublin and the south about 1700.
James families of Carnew, Coolross, Urelands and Shillelagh
Coolross
Urelands
Newry
Carnew town is some 5 miles from Coolross and Urelands where Ralph James J.P. (1727-1807) lived.
This branch of the early JAMES family existed at Shillelagh since about 1700. In addition to the family
of Thomas (1690-1790) and Ann Lawrenson James another branch seemed to be congregated around
one William James, who passed his estate on to a Richard James between 1750 and 1758, when
(presumably but not certainly) he died. Or did he just retire? No record of his death survives.
Memorial :Book197 p.47 No 129589 Memorial registered 14 Sept.
1758 of deed dated 17 November 1750 between William James of
Carnew and his son Richard James of same, by which William
transfers all his holdings in Carnew, and Tomacork, County
Wicklow and all his goods, Richard paying the rents. Witnesses:
Mary James, wife of said Richard (+ others) Proved 16 Feb. 1758.
33
John
James
(< 1730-1803)
Anne
Lawrenson
James
William
James
(1730-1807)
Richard
James
(1730-94)
Ralph
Janes
(1727-1807)
But evidently, according to the Memorial above there was
an earlier or even contemporary Richard James at
Carnew, son of William. This does not exclude other
offspring, but nowhere are other family members
mentioned. Thanks Michael Hanley for correcting me. He
is g g grandson of Col Ralph James, through the
marriage of his daughter Anne to Moses Byrne of
Coolruss
Thomas
James
(1690-1790)
The Ricard James named here was NOT the brother of
Ralph James Esq., John James Esq. (of Ballycrystal)
and Alderman William James (of Dublin), as already
established above. Richard died in 1794, leaving his
estate to his sons, Richard and Ralph, with his brother
Ralph as executor.
Alderman William James wrote a will leaving everything to his nephew Ralph (son of Richard) and
John had Thomas and Joanna (alais Howlin) as issue. Ralph, who married Lettice Astle in
1753, and who was Justice of the Peace for the County for many years had no (direct) male issue
after his son Astle was killed in military service, though he did have an illegitimate son who he
mentioned in his will (see below.) He registered the following Memorial below in 1783:
Memorial Registered 6 May 1783 predated 12 February 1782 between
Abraham Hope of Gorey and Ralph James of Urelands re Anne
Larenson James, spinster, his eledest daughter, marriage
settlement of Abraham Hope and A.L.James
Briade’s fortune 350 pounds
Witnesses Richard James Jr. Carnew, Gent.
Beaumont Astle, Ardriston, co. Carlow, Gent.
and in his will of 6 April 1802 Proved 15 Feb. 1808
to son, Astle James the interest of 1000 pounds
to wife Lettice Astle James house of Urelands except the part in
occupation of son-in-law Wm. Dowse
rest of rented lands in trust to Abraham Hope and William Dowse
for grandsons William and Ralph Hope 200 pounds each.
200 pounds each to daughters Anne Hope, Catherine Cardiffe and Letitia
Hope.
mention of their children
200 pounds to natural son Ralph James alias Hickey son of Elizabeth
Hickey alias Hughes
Codicil cancels legacy to granddaughter Letitia Cardiffe alias
Shepheard, having paid it to her on her marriage.
Witnesses John Brownrigg Thomas Plummer John Hickey.
34
Child?
Child 2
Child 1
Ruth
_____
Benjamin
James
Richard
James
( -1730)
Anthony
Janes
Ferns Will signed 25 April 1730
Proved May 1730 Richard James of
Carnew,
to wife Ruth James and 2 sons, Anthony
and Benjamin James equally to be
legatees.
5 shillings to each of his other
children,not named, who he has already
provided for.
Executor his brother Anthony James.
Anthony
James
Anne and Abraham Hope had four sons, one named Ralph James Hope who is listed as the
lessee of Urelands in 1824. But we also see the following Will at Carnew....
Since there was a complete destruction of Carnew’s BMD records during the Rebellion of 1798, and no
new records kept until 1808, it has been almost impossible to fill in the family tree gaps at Carnew. But
let’s try! We will extrapolate from records at Carnew and in neigboring parishes which do exist which
mention persons born in the pre-records era. When a name fit into a known family I will turn them RED.
Elizabeth James 1747-1844
John James 1783-1851
John James 1787-1861
Thomas James (Shillelagh) 1777-1863
Ann James 1782-1863
Hannah James1753-1828
Thomas baptized by Joseph Edward and Mary James 1808 Hannah bapt. by John and Anne James 1824
Feb. 1714 Anthony and Elizabeth bapt. William James
Coollattin rentals 1746 to Thomas James and William James
1732 Benjamin and Anthony James took tenancy of 60 acres
1830 letter re tenants at Coolruss, Ralph James, Mathew James, John (middle initial) James
1782-3 disbursements Fitzwilliam: Elizabeth James widow of Ralph James
At Clonegal Elizabeth b. to Matthew and Letitia James 1812
At Aghold Anthony and Elizabeth James 1707 Baptized Hester, 1711 baptized Joseph, 1712 baptized Mathew,
1714 baptized Sarah, 1715 baptized William, 1722 baptized Anthony
At Aghold John and Elizabeth James 1714 baptized Jean, 1715 baptized Mary, 1723 baptized Elizabeth, 1724
baptized Charity, 1731 baptized Joseph
At Aghold John and Jane James 1715, baptized Sarah, 1721 baptized Mehetobel, 1723 baptized William
At Aghold Thomas and Elizabeth James 1742 buried a child of Thomas, 1744 baptized Margaret
At Aghold Mathew James m. Elizabeth McGuire Sept. 1766
At Tullowphelim Mathew James bapt. John James 1716
At Tullowphelim Anthony and Mary James baptize Rose 1740
At Tullowphellim John James marries Elizabeth Haslam Jan. 19 1717
23.8 km. or 15 miles
35
Before writing these records down, I thought perhaps there would be a
sufficient pattern to them to create a tentative family tree. While I feel
fairly confident they fit together into a single family structure, we will
need to add much more information and/or specific expertise about this
region to reach any conclusions. Below we see how Matthew James,
seen above, fits into the picture. Along the way I caught the drift that
James family members from the Coolruss area surrounding Carnew
and Clonegal moved to the Myshall/Fennagh region of Carlow, some
15 miles away. This turned out (see below) to be the family of Thomas
James, c. 1790. I have one further piece of corroborating evidence Marriage Licence: George James of Clonee, Carlow married Ester
Hope of Carnew 23 January 1803
George B.R. James Esq. & the James Family of East and West Clonee Townlands, Carlow
Half way between the villages of
Myshall and Fennagh,
Home of George James Esq.
Clonee East & Clonee
West Townlands
2 miles
Clonee
2 miles
Hollybrook House built by
Cuthbert Feltus c. 1765 at
Bealalaw Townland
Myshall with his neighbor, Adam Feltus
Esq. son of Cuthbert Feltus, whose house,
Hollybrook House (see above) may be typical
a Gentleman’s home in Carlow (like the
James) in this period - remains in use today.
The seldom-seen forename Cuthbert Feltus
is interesting, as there is a tombstone at
Fennagh which refers to a Cuthbert James
as one of three brothers:
John James 1764-1788
Cuthbert James 1771-1841
Ralph James 1757-1839 (hard to read)
Usually, the appearance of a first name for
the first time is a honorific reference to a
family into which the present family married
in the previous generation, but as we will see
from the Will which follows which mentions
all remaining members of this branch of the
family, the youngest member of this James
family, George Bridges Rodney James Esq.
- was named after a famed British Admiral George Bridges Rodney. So the name
Cuthbert remains an unexplained oddity.
36
less than 2 miles from either was
the seat of another James
gentleman, George Bridges
Rodney James Esq. the same
George James, it would seem,
who married Hester Hope, granddaughter of Richard James of
Carnew. Mr. James served in 1827
as a Commissioner for the Parish of
The name Cuthbert did not die out with Cuthbert James 1771-1841. A Thomas Cuthbert James
presumably his son was born in 1808 in Carlow emigrated to Nova Scotia and had the following family:
Father: Cuthbert JAMES. Cuthbert married UNKNOWN. Children from this marriage were:
+ 2 M i. Thomas Cuthbert JAMES Sr. was born in 1808 in County Carlow, Ireland, UK, died on 18 Mar 1855 in Pictou,
NS, CAN and was buried in Lot 73, Section E, Div 5, Camp Hill Cemetery, Halifax, NS, CAN.
3 M ii. George JAMES .
4 M iii. Robert C. JAMES was born about 1813 and died on 22 May 1830 in Halifax, NS, CAN.
http://www.islandregister.com/james1.html
Elizabeth
________
( >1798)
Thomas
James
( - 1798)
The Carlow, Wicklow
James Connection
Coolruss
Clonee
37
George Bridges
Rodney James
Ralph
James
Ann James
Cuthbert
James
(1771-1841)
Philip James
Elizabeth
Plummer
Benjamin
James
John
James
(1764-1788)
Thomas
JAMES
William
James
Thanks to Neil James, a Will
has shown up (excerpted
below) which definitively
m. 1760
connects “thought to be
connected” family members at
Clonee and Coolruss,
revealing yet another
connection between the two
family branches, and strongly
suggesting the movement of
Thomas James (? 1740-1798)
from Coolruss to Clonee. One
and perhaps two mysteries remains, however. The Ralph James in this tree - identified as a brother in
this family in the Fennagh tombstone on the last page, and who apparently died July 6th 1859) may have
been named after an uncle, Ralph James who is
named in the will as a witness. The second potential
mystery is even more interesting, and potentially
quite gruesome. On the tombstone on the last page we
see a John James who dies in June 1788 at age 24.
He is quite clearly a brother. While his death in 1788
does not tee up with a 1778 newspaper article (on the
right) which alludes to the death during a family feud
of two unnamed male members of the James family
at Carnew, we are left to guess whether another
member of this family might. And could it have any
connection to movement of Thomas James family
12-14 miles from Coolruss to Clonee about 1790?
Neil
James writes:
I have a copy of a will dated 01st June 1798, for Thomas
James of Clonee, Co Carlow. At the time of writing his will,
he held land at both Clonee and Straduff, Co Carlow, and at Coolruss (Coolross), Co Wicklow.
I understand that there is an Indenture document that records that Thomas James came to farm at Clonee in 1790,
but have not seen a copy of that document to date.
In his will of 1798 (not verbatim), Thomas James left part of his lands at
Clonee to his wife Elizabeth James. He bequeathed money and/or land to his
children, listed from eldest to youngest;
William James, Thomas James, Henry James (60 acres of the lands at Coolruss,
and part of the lands at Straduff (which is a Townland of about 200 acres),
Benjamin James (remaining lands at Straduff), Elizabeth Plummer (nee James),
Philip James, Cuthbert James, Anne James (“the sum of five Shillings Sterling
which on Account of her very imprudent Conduct is to be considered as the
whole of her Legacy or share”), Ralph James (101 acres of the remaining lands
at Coolruss), George
Bridges Rodney James (the
remaining lands at Clonee).
Thomas James also
bequeathed money to his
granddaughter Elizabeth
James, daughter of his
second son, Thomas James.
Thomas James nominated
Ralph James of Newry, Co
Wicklow, and John Butler of
Sherwood, Co Carlow, as
guardians and trustees of
his will.
Thomas James appointed
William James of
Killotoran, Co Waterford,
and his second son Thomas
James of Carrigmore, Co
Carlow, as executors of his
will.
Neil: I believe that the reference to nominating Ralph James of Newry, Co Wicklow, as a guardian and
trustee of his will, is significant for two particular reasons: Newry (or Urelands as it has been referred to)
is a townland to the immediate west of Coolross, and I suspect that Ralph James is the same Ralph James
J.P. (1725-1807) of Urelands
Henry James, mentioned above in the Will of Thomas, entered Trinity College in 1791 at Age 23. As he
was the third son, born 1768, his parents probably married about 1760 and were probably born 1740 or
before. Thomas, the second oldest, clearly is the Thomas who married Frances Wellwood abd who was
having children baptized at Dunleckney Parish in the 1790’s. Since we don’t see the others named in the
Will having children at Dunleckney, perhaps most of them returned to Coolruss after 1798 when their
father died, leaving his property there to them. Time will likely fill in the gaps in what we know.
38
How about this for an interesting (untraced) James story?
Another tombstone
found at Fennagh
mentions still another
James family grouping
which has, as yet, not
been fitted into a family
tree:
It reads:
Erected by John James
late of Ballyknocken.
Here lieth the body of
Lanslet James who
departed this life the
4th of August 1793
aged 11 years, also his
brother Thom. James
who departed this life
the 3rd of January
1794 aged 12 years.
Where these James
boys fit into the picture
remains a mystery.
Anyone out there want
to take this one on?
Matthew or Mathew James (1726-?) of Coolruss and his Descendants
I have from Michael Hanley :
Taken from the Aghowle C of I records Matthew James married Elizabeth McGuire (B? d1747)in September of
1766. From information I have collected from Sean O' Neill a researcher in Dublin Ireland Matthew and Elizabeth
had 3 sons and 1 daughter:
Ann (b1771 d1840)
Matthew (b1777 d1840) Matthew married ( at Clonegal St. Fiaac’s) Letitia (surname unknown) b1787 d?
Benjamin (? d?)
John (b1787 d1847)
No further records of Ann or Benjamin
39
Matthew and Letitia James of Coolruss had a son William James b1792 and a daughter Elizabeth b1812
Another son John was (b1800 d1882)
William married Elizabeth b1802 (surname unknown) and they had 3 children Thomas b1831, Annie (b1834
d1889)and Ellen b1841.
John married Mary Hopkins (b1809 d1889) in 1836 and they had
5 sons.
Matthew Hopkins-James b1838 Dean of St Thomas C of E Hull
Yorkshire.
Richard Hopkins-James (b1839 d1921)
Benjamin Hopkins-James (b1843)
Joseph Hopkins-James (1845 d1850)
Nicholas Hopkins-James (b1849 d1924) Nicholas was Cannon of
Armagh C of I
Both Nicholas and Matthew were educated at Trinity College
Dublin and Reading College England and both of them appear in
Burke's Peerage.
John (b1787 d1847 married Catherine (b1792 d1837) (surname unknown) They had a daughter Catherine b1831
and a son Matthew b1834.
The above James family members are I believe the nucleus of the Coolruss James's. Its possible that Matthew the
original of this family was related to Thomas James of Carnew and Ralph James JP of Urelands (Newry)
I have recorded a Matthew James at Tomduff, Carlow 1727-1796, with a memorial at Kiltennel
C of I. placed by his daughter-in-law Catherine. Matthew at Coolruss is quite contemporary to
the one recorded here, but I cannot see a connection between them.
40
Carnew Population over the Years in the 1700’s
1730 Census
Map of Carnew 1728
Thomas
James
Richard
James
Lawrence
Hope
Elizabeth
________
Anthony
James
HesterJames
1707
Joseph
James
1711
Mathew
1712
Sarah
1714
William
1715
Anthony
1722
______
James
_______
James
Benjamin
James
Richard
James
( - 1730)
Ruth
_________
________
_______
Richard
JAMES ( -1779)
Mary
Leslie (1703-61)
Phillip
James
Anthony
Janes
John James
(1730-1803)
Richard James
(1730-1794
John JAMES
b. 1689
Trinity 1707
Thomas
James (1690 -1790 )
John
James
William
James
( - 1758)
1746 Wm. James 2 houses rent 0 pounds 19
Thomas James with an Inn Rent 15 pounds +
William JAMES
(1730- 1807)
Widow Cooke
Anthony Fossio
Wm. Armstrong
Thomas Masterson
Phillip James (5)
John Stuoes
Ralph James
1725-1807
John Bradwell
Ralph Lawrence wife 3
sons 4 daughters
Daniel Bourk
Richard Free
Matthew Sheradon
William Wheatly
Heyden Robinson
John James wife
2 sons
John Walker
Walter Doyle
Henry Porter
William Watts
Darby Murphy
Charles Towser
Michael Towser
Widow Byrde
Robert Bennet
Widow Inglis
Widow Blany
John Hopkins
Thomas James 1 son I
daughter
Thomas McCormack
Thomas Kirvan
William Bryan
Peter Nowlan
Richard Bell
John Kinderkon
Owen & James Conner
John Loughlin
Dan Byrne
Mark Smith
Daniel Lee
John Doyle
John & Wm. Byrne
Timothy Darcy
John Hops
Thos. Goff
Richard James (4)
Wm. Howell
Robt. Rickaby
CONJECTURE: The 1728 map shows the roughly equivalent holdings of Thomas and Richard James. By 1730
we see Richard with 2 children, Thomas with 2 children, Phillip with 3 children, John with 2 children. The BLUE
lines above are conjectured. John and Phillip could be brothers of Richard & Thomas (more likely) - or their sons
(less likely). Richard has inheritted from William in 1730 (will known.) Thomas/Richard likely sons of William.
41
Carnew, Wicklow in the 18th Century with some of the James Family holdings
Carnew made its first appearance in historical records in 1247 as the Norman borough of
“Carnebothe” with its own Royal Charter granted by King Henry III of England.
A Welshman, Calcott Chambre, leased
Carnew Castle in 1619, and over the
following two decades established a large
iron smelting industry just outside the
town. He encouraged Welsh families to
settle in the area, and created one of the
country’s largest deer parks, with a radius
of about seven Irish miles.
During the Rebellion of 1641 Chambre
and about 160 settlers were besieged in
the castle for 22 weeks, compelled to feed
on carcasses that ‘had long lain in lime
pits’, by a force of around 1,000
insurgents led by the Mastersons,
Byrnes and Donal Kavanagh of
Ballingate, who also ‘pulled down ye
pulpits, burned ye seats and defaced and
demolished the church of Carnowe’.
When the besieged finally surrendered
some of them were hanged, some were
detained for service while the largest
number, including Chambre, were
accompanied by a convoy to Dublin. The
castle was held by the Knockloe
O’Byrnes until 1649, when it was taken
by Sir Richard Talbot. Two years later
the castle took a pounding from
Cromwell’s Roundheads under the
Corner of Mill and Main St.
once held by Thomas James
42
Carnew - the Castle
from All Saints
churchyard
command of Colonel Hewson during the course of
which the roof was destroyed. In 1655 an edict was
issued ordering all “inhabitants of Carne, Coolattin
and Clohamon who had not shown good affection” to
be banished, and their property shared amongst the
Adventurers.Protestant colonisers arrived during the
second half of the 17th century when the exploitation
of the great oak forest of Shillelagh was at its peak;
many were skilled specialists such as bellows makers,
founders, finers and hammer men, who worked in the
local ironworks, which used vast quantities
of oak for the manufacture of charcoal to
smelt iron ore shipped from Bristol.
On The right we see the land distribution in
central Carnew as it was in 1730. Carnew
Castle, then in ruins, was on the land
marked Bookey, next to Thomas James
holdings.
Wheatley
Lawrence
Stone
Bradwell
Stone
Williams
Beard
Lawrence
Widow
Blaney
Thos.
James
All Saints
Church
Bradwell
Bookey
The 1798 Rebellion
Wheatley
On the morning of 25 May the garrison in Carnew
Wheatley
heard of the long feared outbreak of the insurgency in
neighbouring Co. Kildare and of military losses in
Ballymore-Eustace, Naas, and Prosperous. They
immediately rounded up peasants suspected of rebel
sympathies and incarcerated them in the castle
dungeon. 38 prisoners, including 18 married men, were marched to
the local handball alley and shot by firing squad as a warning to the
local populace, an event remembered as the Carnew massacre.
News of these summary executions, and of a similar slaughter at
Dunlavin, spread throughout County Wicklow and across the
border in Wexford, seeming to give substance to the rumours of
extermination already prevalent.
Thomas
James
property
Blayney's
Malthouse
Lawrence
property
On 4 June the government evacuated the town and four
days later it was attacked and burned in a revenge raid by
Wexford rebels, led by “the screeching general” Anthony
Perry.
On 30 June rebel forces inflicted a heavy defeat on
government cavalry at the Ballyellis ambush. Crown losses numbered
49 but many more died as a result of injuries sustained in the battle. Casualties
included 25 of the infamous Regiment of Ancient Britons.
Following the battle Carnew was once again attacked. The loyalists under the command of Captain Thomas Swan
of Tombreane barricaded themselves in Blayney’s Malthouse (now David Quinn’s see in the satellite picture on
the right, above). The rebels failed in their efforts to either dislodge them or to set the building on fire, and incurred
19 casualties in their efforts to do so.
Two sons of Thomas James’s son Richard James, Captain Ralph James and Lt. Richard James were
involved in the defense as officers of the Shillelagh Yeomanry. Lt. Richard James died of a fever
contracted during the hostilities. Captain Ralph James went on to claim Gen. Bagenal Harvey’s sword
when he was captured/executed at Wexford. Harvey was his brother-in-law.
43
More Carlow James Families
Jacob James was the lock-keeper at Rathvindon (a
lock on the Barrow River just north of
Leighlinbridge, here seen in ruins before it was
retored in 2008 ) in 1850 when he married Ellen
Giltrap of Garryhundon, which could either have
been a part of Carlow town or (more likely)
Garryhundon House, about 4 miles from the lock. It
seems likely (but not certain) Jacob was the son of
Edward and Rachel James, baptized at Dunleckney
in 1818. It is interesting but probably not
coincidental that a Susan James was baptized by
Benjamin and Catherine James of the Lock House
at Bagenalstown in 1860, pictured in the photo
below/right. Below/left is the derelict lock
house at Fenniscourt, south of Bagenalstown
Edward James (b.c. 1770) married Rachel Condle (Cundle. Cundel) on the 24th of July 1796 at
Dunleckney. Was there a James family branch involved with the Barrow River canal?
44