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Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Westmeath => Topic started by: Alison55 on Friday 01 June 12 22:35 BST (UK)
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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
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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.
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Thank you. I'll give it a go and report any interesting findings. Thanks much.
J
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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.
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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.
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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?
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Thanks for the reply. I don't know what the local council is. The nearest large town is Mullingar.
Who would I contact at the NLI for such a question? I was not aware they answered questions like this.
The Brutons were all Catholic so I doubt they were part of the plantation. I believe the townland of Brutonstown is part of the estate, Hyde Park, which once belonged to the D'Arcy family.
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Hi. Jeff Bruton here, San Francisco CA. I too have been trying to understand ‘where the Bruton’s came from given 1. In 1860 the family (my clan) emigrated from Ireland to America, 2. The family was catholic 3. The town of Bruton in Somerset appears to be the ‘place name’ origin.
I never really considered that in the 1600’s in say, Summerset, there would have been a practicing yet ‘persecuted’ catholic minority who, moved to Ireland at the same time as the plantations but, did so seeking religious freedom rather than to displace the protestant majority.
“Not all of the early 17th Century English Planters were Protestants. A considerable number of English Catholics settled in Ireland between 1603–1641 in part for economic reasons but also to escape persecution. This may seem paradoxical at first. However in the time of Elizabeth and James I the Catholics of England suffered a greater degree of persecution than English Catholics in Ireland. In England, Catholics were greatly outnumbered by Protestants and lived under constant fear of betrayal by their fellows. In Ireland however they could blend in with the local majority Catholic population in a way that was not possible in England. English Catholic planters were most common in County Kilkenny, where they may have made up half of all the English and Scottish planters to arrive in this region.[29] Given this it is no surprise that the sons and grandsons of English planters played a major part in the politics of the Confederation of Kilkenny in the 1640s, most notably James Tuchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantations_of_Ireland
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The National Library of Ireland answer all sort of questions, I live in Lancashire but born in County donegal, My local library and a section for ancestry and they will help you. So I guess Ireland will do the same.
http://www.nli.ie
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I don't know what the local council would be. I wrote several years ago to a woman in Mullingar who is said to be the expert on local history but did not receive a reply.
I have found that Brutonstown townland in Westmeath is part of what was the d'Arcy estate but can't find anything more than that.
I have also found that the largest number of Brutons in the late 1800s in England were in Gloucestershire but I'd like to work my way back step by step.
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Have you tried The Down Survey http://downsurvey.tcd.ie/historical-gis.html
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Yes, I did mention the Down survey in an earlier post. Brutonstown is mentioned there.
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Yes, I did mention the Down survey in an earlier post. Brutonstown is mentioned there.
Sorry, must read more carefully.
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Hi,
please let me know if the following information on the Brutons helps you out............
On pages 94 and 191 of the following publication,
A List of the Claims as they are entered with the Trustees at Chichester-House on College Green, Dublin on or before the 10th August.
1700,
you will find the Bruton name listed on these pages in relation to counties Meath and Carlow. This publication lists those who were claimants of land under Williamite Confiscations. I am not a genealogist or historian and you will need to ask a person who is what this book is about. There are names of Claimants, names of people listed as former proprietors and peoples names listed as witnesses on deeds, wills, mortgages etc. The townlands that all of the above people are involved in are also listed i.e. Baltrafney and Arrodstown are the townlands in Meath named with the Bruton name of Mariion Bruton ny Hussey attached to it and the name Piers Bruton Carriggbegg Townland in Carlow..............please let me know what this information tells us about these particular Brutons and if it helps you in any way.
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Hi
I also found a Robert Bruton in the following book page 155
Britain and Ireland, 900–1300: Insular Responses to Medieval European Change
You really should contact the Brutons of the political family in Meath. They will know their origin.
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More Bruton Information for you in this book pages 149 and 294,
ACCOUNTS, PRESENTED TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, FROM The Eaft India Company
info above relates to a John Bruton and wages paid, a sub-constible of the Barony of Clonsilla circa 1802
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also this book........
Inquisitionum in Officio Rotulorum Cancellariae Hiberniae Asservatarum
pages 57 and 171 a Thomas Bruton
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also........
Benefices, Ireland ; Ecclesiastical Revenue Inquiry, England; Ecclesiastical Revenue Inquiry, Ireland. 1834.
Page 137 Revenues for Canonries and Vicar Choralships of James Bruton, Portrane
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Thanks for your replies. I was away and could not reply sooner as I did not have my password.
I am very interested in the book you mention titled "A List of Claims Entered..." but I cannot find it online. I see references to it and excerpts for various counties but not for Westmeath or Meath. Can you give a link or source so I can look up Brutonstown in this book? Or the Bruton family?
Thanks again.
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if you look it up on Google Books you should find access to it on line free
https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=pWJZAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PP13
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Hello my name is Jaime Lynn Bruton and I am from North Carolina in the US....I am trying to find information on my family name and the family crest as well...if anyone can help please
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Hello Jaime Lynn :)
Welcome to Rootschat.
Some info on following links about your surname
https://www.houseofnames.com/bruton-family-crest
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/
Conahy
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Thank you very much for the information!!! ;D
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The Irish Times sources are great but beware of commercial sources such as 'House of Names'. Almost totally unreliable. And I would not assume there is a family crest--not impossible but unlikely.
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Hi
I am a Bruton living in Ireland of Dublin ancestors as far back as we can trace by church records to the mid 1800's living in the old market area of Dublin called Smithfield.Most Brutons in Dublin seemed to reside in this part of Dublin. (the parish of St Pauls Arran Quay and St Michans for anyone doing Church Record research) Some of them were cattle drivers and maybe came originally from County Meath or County Kildare taking cattle into market in Dublin. Coincidently the former Prime Minister of Ireland ,John Brutons father, Joe(Matthew Joesph) was born in this area before moving back to Dunboyne ,County Meath where they originated from.
We never had any anecdotal info on where the Brutons originally came from though it might not all be from the one family as there are many variations of the name in Irish records(Brutton, Brereton,Brewton etc,). It has often been termed as a Norman name which came to Ireland either with the Norman invasion of 1170( a version of the name in France "Breton" where the Normans came from?.) or latterally in the plantation or Catholics seeking refuge in Ireland ,maybe it came from the Bruton town in Sommerset in England which might also have similar Norman origins as the Doomsday book(1086) suggests.
This loosely ties in with the D'Arcy lord on whose estate the Brutonstown sub-estate is mentioned in your research as his is a Norman name. D'Arcy if he was a leading lord in the 1170 invasion might have granted land to a Bruton(Breton) who came over from Normandy/Brittany with him to fight. Might be impossible to find any old papers to verify any of this, even if some rolled up parchment actually exists anywhere!!
We'll keep searching.
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Thanks for your thorough reply. It does seem as if the answer has been lost to history, at least so far. My Bruton ancestors were from the Coralstown area of Westmeath at least as far back as the 1820s. There were a number of Bruton families along the Meath-Westmeath border at the time of Griffith's Valuation. It is not a common name and they seem to cluster there tho there were others in those two counties and in Dublin, as you say.
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Statement of a case on behalf of Mrs Eliza Bruton and others, containing abstracts of Bruton wills, 19th c.
Dublin: Public Record Office, M. 5426
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Thanks for that. I'm on the other side of the pond but hope some Bruton nearer Dublin will check that out.
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We are researching our Brutons who were from Dunshaughlin ,but who emigrated to New York in 1849. Our family lore says they were Huguenots before they went to Ireland, and then they came to America. Eventually we are hoping to find Brutons in Meath to whom we are related, so that's why I'm joining this thread. My great-great-great grandfather was John Bruton, born 1791, in Meath. He married a Margaret McCabe. Supposedly he had a daughter named either Judith or Julie who married a James Sherlock. We have not been able to find this marriage in Catholic church records. John and several of his sons moved to America in 1849,settling in Rochester. His son Robert,my great great grandfather, died in the Civil War.