BRUTON--where did they come from?

[Alison55]

Does anyone know how the Bruton family came to Ireland?  There are a lot of Brutons in Westmeath and Meath.  There is even a townland called Brutonstown in Westmeath.

It seems to be an English name from Somerset. 

Hugh Bruton was my gg grandfather and came, as did many other Brutons, to NYC in the 1840s and 50s and beyond.  I'm trying to find the origin of the family.  All the Brutons I have found--and they are many--have been Catholic. Thanks.

[meathmitchell]

anglo norman names such as Bruton and my own name (mitchell) are very common in meath and west meath.   The fact they are catholic indicates these families came over with the norman invasion and not the subsequent protestant plantations.  People didn't tend to move around much in ireland till the modern age so unless you have evidence of this you can be fairly certain your gg grandparents place of birth is the homeland of their ancestors.  I'd check griffiths valuation of 1855 and see who the name of their landlord was. (i'm assuming they were farmers renting off the big farmer - this is the usual). You might be able to source the landlords records if he was important enough ( like a  Lord somebody). You might also like to do a geographical analysis of the name using the 1901 census. Get a map of meath/ westmeath and pin where each bruton family lives. Its not a perfect system but it'll show you clusters of bruton families - this will indicate the origin place. I did this for my name using the 1901 census, repeated it with griffiths valuation and parish records. I did this with my name and it looks like the mitchells landed near oldcastle.  Your family were probably like mine in that they were retainers fro a norman lord given lands to settle (this is my thesis anyway). When you narrow it down to an area, I'd check the names of the local lords (Hugh de Lacy for example) and see if any came from Somerset.  A lot of the early norman lords came from Wales and Somerset is reasonably close to wales.

[Alison55]

A very belated thanks for this.  There were Brutons scattered around Westmeath and Meath in Griffith's, including James Bruton of Hightown, Westmeath, who I believe was my ggg grandfather. 

I have traced a lot of family members--all Catholic--in the area but I still can't answer the question of when and where the Bruton name arrived in the area.  There is a townland called Brutonstown in Westmeath and I suspect it is named after some significant Bruton--maybe the first to arrive.

Considering there are two major politicians in Ireland right now named Bruton (from Meath), you'd think this info would be on the internet but I have searched hard for defininte information to no avail.  Frustrating!

[jeffbruton]

Hi. I’m a San Francisco cousin.

Four generations born in San Francisco, the 5th emigrated from Ireland. From the 1880/1900 U.S. Census I find my GG Grandfather:

Timothy Bruton (May 1848 – 1901) married Elizabeth Ryan or Klemly or Kemly (May 1848 – June 1930)
Timothy Arrived in U.S. 1860 (not sure where) Elizabeth arrived in U.S. 1867 (not sure where)
Married 1876 (not sure where)
I can find him living in San Francisco in 1877 until his death.
Roman Catholic
He and his family buried @ Holy Cross Cemetery, San Francisco.

I’m trying to find my roots – any help or discussion greatly appreciated.

Jeff
 

[conahy calling]

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor

This link may be of interest    It is a pay site but plenty of free info incl distribution of surnames.

[jeffbruton]

Thank you. I'll give it a go and report any interesting findings. Thanks much. 

J

[rathmore]

http://www.brutontown.com

https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/bruton

you could write to the local newspaper in Bruton asking for information on your family.

[Alison55]

Just to clarify my initial question. I have been trying for years to find out how and when the Bruton name/family first came to Meath/Westmeath.  I know it is an English name and I know the Brutons were in Ireland by the 1600s as the name is in the Down Survey. They may of course have come much earlier.  But I have been unable to find historical evidence for anything beyond that.

There is a townland in Westmeath called Brutonstown and I suspect it was named for a prominent Bruton as that's how it usually went--but no proof.  Hoping someone has some knowledge of this.

My Bruton ancestors were from the civil parish of Killucan and what is now the RC parish of Kinnegad. Thanks.

[rathmore]

Have you been in touch with the local council.

or
The National Library of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin

were they part of the plantation of Ireland?