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Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Topic started by: Barbara Eyre on Saturday 27 March 10 02:06 GMT (UK)
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I have been earnestly trying to find a source that lists those that came over with Oliver Cromwell during the invasion of Ireland in the 1640s. While many counties were affected by the land proclamation as a result of this invasion, I am particularly interested in County Wexford overall.
A distant cousin, in Ireland, firmly believes that our Eyre ancestors acquired lands in County Wexford, via Philip Boyne, as a 'thank you' for supporting Cromwell .. meaning that they came over with Cromwell and were one of thousands that acquired lands in payment for their service and settled in Ireland.
Now, Giles Eyre, of the famous Galway Eyres, did acquire lands in this manner in Wexford. However, we have yet to establish any connection between our Eyre branch and any in the Galway region. If we could, that would make things so much easier thanks to the Eyre Dedication by Allen Stewart Hartigan which goes way back to the Eyre "seat" of Derbyshire, England.
Anyways. So far, we can only get back to:
Henry Eyre. I guesstimate his birth to be approximately 1760-1770. We are going to assume he was born in Co. Wexford.
As far as we know, his only child is:
John Eyre. I guesstimate his birth to be approximately 1790-1800. He was married to a Sarah Edwards. Again, assume he was born in Co. Wexford. We have no further information on these two people.
Now, John and Sarah had several children (in order of birth): Phoebe (b. 1823), George (b. 1826), Alice (b. 1832), John (b. 1835, d. 1912), Thomas (b. 1836), and William (b. 1845, d. 1908) ... William being my great-great-grandfather.
Now - Henry, John, Thomas, and William are all mentioned in the record of claims for the Rebellion of 1798 in Co. Wexford.
I also have all those kids mentioned in the Kilnamanagh Baptismal Register 1818-1836 (Co. Wexford).
So, I'm needing more information on John and Sarah ... John's father, Henry ... and all the way back to the Cromwell invasion.
Since obtaining any records (birth, marriage, death) going backward from the very early 1800s seems to be getting harder exponentially, I figure I could work forwards from when our first Eyre came to Ireland during the Cromwell invasion and got the lands in Co. Wexford. Hence, my search for a list of those that came with Cromwell and receive lands as payment for service. My distant cousin is quickly running out of resources to search on the above mentioned people. I have a feeling the records (mainly church birth, marriage, death) we need just never existed or were destroyed at one point or another.
I have Google'd and Bing'd for months now for websites and publications. I can only find the history of the invasion and the fact that there were lands given out .... but thus far, none that list people in particular. I can't even find reference that lists do not exist - which I can only conclude that they DO exist ... but who has published them ??
Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
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not certain if this fits the exact timeframe or plantation event you are thinking of - but a web-article on Library Ireland describes land being given to Cromwell's army and adventurers in several counties, but not Wexford .. see extract :
'The debt claimed by the Adventurers amounted to £336,000, to be paid in lands the position of which was to be determined by lot. Ten counties of the richest part of Ireland—Limerick, Tipperary, King's and Queen's Counties, Meath and Westmeath, Down, Antrim, Armagh, and Waterford - some of them planted with English and Scottish during the last century, were now to be handed over to the newcomers, halved between the army and the Adventurers.'
see : http://www.libraryireland.com/HullHistory/Cromwell3.php
The Eyre entry in MacLysaght's 'Surnames of Ireland' describes Eyre as 'an influential Cromwellian family in Co. Galway, where the placenames Eyrecourt and Eyreville perpetuate it.....Apart from this [Galway] family... there were English officials named Eyre in Ireland in the 16thC..the name is of great antiquity in England..'
Shane
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It was in 1649 that Cromwell landed in Ireland and not 1860
See some information about him and ireland here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromwellian_conquest_of_Ireland
This piece you should find more helpful to your research
Note: image removed due to copyright restrictions
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'Inquisitionum in Officio Rotulorum Cancellariae Hiberniae asservatarum Repertorium', is a repertory of Inquisitions preserved in the Rolls Office of the Court of Chancery of Ireland. There are several volumes apparently! Not sure if they cover Cromwell's time but they do precede him. Might be worth investigating.
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Thank you all for helping out.
genealogymaster - I think you misread my entire post. I said I was trying to work my way forward from the Cromwell invasion to the earliest known members of my Eyre branch, that being Henry Eyre (b. abt 1760-1770).
shane - It's odd that the piece you referenced doesn't mention County Wexford, when that was one of the major counties attacked by Cromwell's men. Now, I'm not referring to the Plantation (transplanting of Irish families to west Ireland, as that did not apply to my Eyre branch as they stayed in Wexford and later in Co. Kilkenny).
Your last paragraph - Again, that reference really only to the Galway Eyres. And yet we can not find that connection (if there is one) between my Eyre branch and Galway. So, that sentence: Apart from this [Galway] family... there were English officials named Eyre in Ireland in the 16thC.' I'm wondering if my branch came from one of those officials! Hmmmm.
hallmark - wow, that was a mouthful of a title! LOL If I am in the US, I wonder if I would access to these rolls in any way? I think I'll pass this tidbit along and see if my distant cousin in Ireland can access them.
Again, thank you all for taking the time to help out. We've been researching this for quite a few years with no progress ... am beginning to think Henry is as far back as we'll ever get. Pity!
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I had a look on this url to see if I could find anything
http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=Cromwell%20AND%20Ireland%20AND%20mediatype%3Atexts
I entered this search "Text": Cromwell AND Ireland = 26 results
and had a quick look at this (below) book which contains a list of Cromwell's favourites. On Page 223 there were two EYRE's mentioned - neither were from Derbyshire.
http://www.archive.org/details/prestwichsrespub00pres
P223 Henry Eyre, Esquire, Recorder.
William Eyre of Nestone, Esquire
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shane - It's odd that the piece you referenced doesn't mention County Wexford, when that was one of the major counties attacked by Cromwell's men. .....
the article is not referring to the counties attacked - just the fact the the land awarded to the Cromwellian soldiers and adventurers was from the 'Ten richest counties of Ireland..', therefore doesn't sound like Wexford was one of these at the time..
Shane
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the article is not referring to the counties attacked - just the fact the the land awarded to the Cromwellian soldiers and adventurers was from the 'Ten richest counties of Ireland..', therefore doesn't sound like Wexford was one of these at the time..
Shane
Ahhh, you're right! I mis-read that initially. Yes, Co. Wexford wasn't one of the richest counties in that aspect. But lands were given to supporters/adventurers in Wexford as noted with Giles Eyre of Galway. Lands in Wexford were probably given out at a later date than when the majority of Irish lands were given out.
So very interesting! Thank you again! =)
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Rena,
I keep forgetting about that archive site!
How I wish that was my Henry Eyre, but it's just about 130-150 years too soon LOL.
I've often wonder if my Henry Eyre was born in Ireland or England. So far, we can not find any birth, marriage, or death record of him. He's only mentioned as a father - that is how we know of him.
This entry you found is definitely something to keep just in case. Thank you!
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Cromwell in Ireland is now online!
www.tcd.ie/history/1641
All the documentation has been scanned...
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hallmark - what an excellent find! However, Co. Wexford is not included in the 10 counties listed. I did try to find Eyre (and variations) but it returned no results. Phooey! However, I am keeping this link just in case!
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I was looking for a particular name and it wasn't there BUT another name caught my eye and when I read this deposition I saw mention of the name I was looking for. I tried the name as a keyword with no result yet there he was!
Wexford would have been later and I think these are going to be put online but not sure when..
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Thank you for the update on Wexford, hallmark!
Best of luck in YOUR search :D
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Can't help with a Cromwellian soldiers list Barbara, but the invasion of Ireland was over 200 years earlier than the 1860s date in your message (which might have been a typo of course). Oliver Cromwell was born in 1599, died 1658. The siege and destruction of Wexford was in October 1649 although some towns (like Enniscorthy and Arklow) had surrendered before that date. There's loads online where you might find officers' names who were mentioned in reports just by googling.
Good luck, Mary
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Mary,
Yes, that was a typo (which I just fixed) but I knew the invasion was in the 1640s.
I have yet, despite of using all kinds of search string tricks, to find a list of officers like you mention ... so if anyone can provide links, I would be grateful.
I have even resorted to contacting various history professors across the US at universities and colleges, but none have contacted me back yet.
If I can't work from 1640's forward to Henry Eyre, nor work from Henry Eyre backwards ... I'm at a complete standstill. We need the smiley that is banging his head on the brick wall - very apropos LOL.
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Hi Barbara,
I am doing the same as yourself. Have found an ancestor in Wexford and working towards the information that I do have. I have just had a look in a couple of lists and books that I have been using of late and cannot see your Henry Eyre, but will give you them for reference, and maybe you will see something helpful that I have not.
Ulster ancestry- freepages - has a list of Cromwellian soldiers/adventurers connected with land grants. Only names and does list Eyre.
GOOGLE BOOKS: The Irish and Anglo Irish landed gentry: when cromwell came to ireland or a supplement to Irish pedigrees by John O'Hart. Searchable and readable online.
Have you looked at Pender's Census and found your man on that? And what Barony are you looking at Barbara?
Katharine.
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Katharine,
Wow! Thanks for your reply.
I know I've looked in several places (public online records/books), but at this time I can not tell you what they were. I've recently moved my office into the living room and things are still in upheaval to where some of my genealogy stuff has been stuffed somewhere I can't easily find it ... small house, shouldn't be too hard to find it LOL.
I know Henry Eyre wouldn't be listed since he was born roughly 1780-ish ... but I was trying to find if any Eyres where given lands in Wexford as a "thank you". So far, Giles Eyre of Galway is the only one and I have yet to find any connection to the Galway Eyres with my family.
I am trying to fill in the gap between the Cromwell Invasion and Henry Eyre ... roughly 150 years. Since I haven't been able to find any info on Henry and work backwards, I was hoping to find that one Eyre who got lands in Wexford and work forwards. There is a lot of documentation of Eyre (ie, the Eyre Dedication, et al), but I just can't seem to connect my family to any of them ... hence the search.
But I'll keep looking!
Best of luck in your search! =)
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Mmmm. Worrying strategy. Basic rule. Never work downwards, always upwards from yourself.
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Mmmm. Worrying strategy. Basic rule. Never work downwards, always upwards from yourself.
Generally speaking, I'd agree with you.
However, when you reach a brick wall you have to think outside the box.
Dara.
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Like you, I just come across my names but nothing about them, who they were etc.... Just a list of names!
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Presume you've looked here but just in case, here's some Eyres http://www.rootschat.com/links/092b/
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Thanks for everyone advice thus far.
hallmark - thanks for that link. I'll bookmark it for further investigation.
The thing is, I don't know who my England Eyre connection is ... hence why I was hoping to get a list of English Eyres who served in Ireland under Cromwell and got lands in Co. Wexford as compensation, as many soldiers/officers did. Then there is a slight chance I can work forward until I reach Henry Eyre (b abt 1780 or so).
*shrugs* It's a long shot, I know, but I just have no further clues at this point.
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Have you checked via Land Registry? I'm just rounding up the various locations of where mine were so I can do a search for them in one go.
Your Henry might have inherited land from parents etc so there should be transfer details...
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Forgot to say; I was looking through a site one day and came across a reference to something in 1591, I emailed them and got this;
"The reference dated 1591 is taken from a survey of Co. Monaghan which was undertaken in that year.
The survey was published as a separate section in the following book which is a calendar of 17th century Ulster Inquisitions, 'Inquisitionum in Officio Rotulorum Cancellariae Hiberniae asservatarum Repertorium', vol. II (1829) [= a repertory of Inquisitions preserved in the Rolls Office of the Court of Chancery of Ireland]."
So quite possibly there are other volumes related to other inquisitions....
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hallmark -
I did a google search for Ireland Land Registry, but none of the results I got seemed to be related to the time period we're looking at. Do you have a link to a database - if one exists ... or whatever other means does one look at the registry?
Oddly enough, it seems so few of us are looking at this whole Cromwell situation (battle, land grants, etc) as part of our genealogy research ... which only makes things harder!
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Land Reg won't get the Acquisitions as such but will get any Eyres who registered their property in early 1700's, if any. They are not on line. If for example, you know where one of them had property at any time you can check to see if he inherited it from his father, who his father was, plus the record of changes to the property up to present times. You have to go in person, you need Surname/Townland. It's basically a history of a property
http://www.tcd.ie/history/1641 has been released by not all that informative. They also have a lot more stuff on Cromwell that will be reseased eventually. I had a look for certain people but nothing for them using search keywords, nothing! Yet when I just browsed through it there they were! Some stuff/records relevant to mine being given land in this period are in Essex!
Haven't looked in the Rolls Office of the Court of Chancery of Ireland yet so don't know what else they might have. 1591 survey of Co. Monaghan etc...
As a matter of interest, do you have a particular townland in mind for yours?
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hallmark,
So sorry for the delay in responding ... life .. ::)
Let's see ...
For the 1798 Claimants and Surrenders listing, I have:
- Henry Eyre, Farmer, Kilpatrick, Co. Wexford
- John Eyre, Farmer, Ballinvally, Kilnamanagh, Co. Wexford [son of Henry]
- William Eyre, Ballinvally, Kilnamanagh, Co. Wexford [last son of John, my gg-grandfather]
I have a compilation of Kilnamanagh Baptismal Register 1818-36, which lists the children of John and Sarah [Edwards] Eyre ... John being the aforementioned son of Henry Eyre. Ballinvally was listed for all listed children.
Since the first child of John and Sarah was born 1823, I guestimated John's birth year as around 1790-1800. In turn, I guestimated Henry's birth year as 1760-1770 ... for each, figuring they had their first child sometime between the age of 20-30.
Now, a small interesting note ... one of John and Sarah's children was John Pentire Eyre (b. 1835, d. 1912). He married Elizabeth Earle and their family continued on the land until 1966, when Mary Elizabeth died at age 87 (unmarried). According to my distant cousin in Ireland, whom has been able to obtain a good bulk of this information, said the following:
The land that the Eyres lived on in Ballinvally, Co. Wexford (60 acres) and in Kilpatrick, Co. Wexford (20 acres) were given to a Philip Doyne, who was a courtier of King Billy (of the Battle of the Boyne fame in 1693). This land (10,7000 acres) was in counties Wexford and Carlow. The gentleman died and his widow, Anne, married Giles Eyre of Eyrecourt.
The Eyres in Ballinvally and Kilpatrick may have come over from England to Wexford at the invitation of Philip Doyne, but this has to be verified.
It's kind of contradictory in how the lands came to be in Eyre hands: via a 2nd marriage or directly from the "original" owner (Doyne). But I have seen Giles name mentioned somewhere (A Google books entry I believe) in relation to having lands in Wexford. I just don't know if the Galway Eyres are connected to us since I have NO genealogy to bridge the two families. [See the Dedication: http://www.meddows-taylor.com/Eyre.htm and http://www.butson.net/who_are_these_eyres.htm]
So, that puts us, at the earliest known time (early 1800s) in Ballinvally, Kilnamanagh, Co. Wexford.
Since I have no birth information for John, nor his father Henry, I can only assume for now that they were both from the same area during their time of birth and growing up.
On a side note, I don't remember where I recently read about this (probably here on Rootschat! LOL), but there is a book you can get at amazon.com called "Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland" by John P Prendergast, 2nd ed, pub. Dublin 1922. The name and address of each Adventurer is listed. The website below lists all listed surnames, which for me includes: Eyres and Ayres. I'm hoping to obtain a copy in the coming months. http://home.alphalink.com/au/~datatree/wolf 38.html
I honestly have no clue if my cousin and I are chasing a lame duck when it comes to finding out if our Eyre branch started out as some Eyre soldier/officer, who came over with Cromwell in the 1640s, is the one who started our branch in Wexford or not. Since there doesn't seem to be any direct connection to Giles and the Galway Eyres ... this is our only other assumption we can make.
If anyone thinks we are on the wrong track (we're missing the obvious or something), please let me know! We're open to suggestions!
Also, are there any surviving census or other documents from mid to late 1700s Ireland (hopefully Co. Wexford), so that we could find information on Henry???
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Well I checked my sources for your townland but didn't get anything. Maybe the Rolls Office of the Court of Chancery of Ireland might have data.
Like I said I got "The reference dated 1591 is taken from a survey of Co. Monaghan which was undertaken in that year...." I didn't know that survey took place until I looked up my townlands!
Land Registry will have records of how the land changed hands, purchased, willed etc..and from whom. Peter Doyne probably registered his lands so you can find out what he did with it, if he sold portions of it and to whom, when...
When Mary Elizabeth died, who got the property? If any paperwork exists from 1966 then all you need is the Folio number! You then have all the previous owners back to when the property first existed on register, if it was previously part of another property you can see which property.
Church records, census records don't exist but property ones do.
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hallmark -
You have provided some really valuable information! :-*
I'll pass this along to my Irish cousin since he would have more ready access to what you have mentioned than I would here in North Carolina.
Thank you SO very much and best of luck in your search! :D
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The Landed Estates Court Rentals are one of the lesser known, and consequently under-used sources for anyone engaged in Irish research.
Background
By the time of the Famine, as prices for sale or rental of land plummeted, the monies that had to be paid out from the individual estates remained the same, and many Irish estates became insolvent as debts exceeded earnings. However, the landowners could not sell their estates to discharge their debts, because the land was entailed.
Establishment of the Land Courts
The Encumbered Estates Court was established in 1849. In 1852, it was replaced by the Landed Estates Courts, which was itself superseded in 1877 by the Land Judges Court, part of the Chancery Division of the High Court. Although there were some differences in the powers of these courts, their principal function remained the same, to sell off insolvent estates.
The Land Courts system was the first significant step towards the break-up of the old estates in Ireland. From the genealogist’s perspective, the Rentals have an added value, because the estate records (rentals, maps, leases) that would have existed prior to these sales, no longer survive. This is because once the parliamentary grant to title was secured by purchase from the Land Courts, there was no need to retain any of the documentation regarding previous land title.
What are the Rentals and where can they be found
The Rentals are effectively printed sale-catalogues, which were circulated to prospective purchasers in advance of the sale. They were compiled with the intention of attracting purchasers and of providing information on the estate in a clear and uniform manner. The Land Courts sold estates in every county in Ireland, and the Rentals as a whole cover large parts of the country. The estates now sold included urban as well as rural property, and many of the Rentals relate to houses and other buildings in villages, towns and cities. The information is printed and presented in a standard manner.
The title page in a Rental identifies the estate and gives the date and place of the sale. So for example, In the Court of the Commissioners for Sale of Incumbered Estates in Ireland, No. 14 Henrietta Street Dublin…In the matter of the estate of the Rev. William Minchin of Green Hills in the County of Tipperary, Owner… Sale on Thursday the 27th Day of November 1851…
This is usually followed by brief descriptive particulars of the estate and its situation, intended to bring in prospective buyers. Anyone who has read the property section of a newspaper, will know what to expect in this section.
To the genealogist the critical information contained in these Rentals, are the Lot descriptions. These outline the ownership history of the lot, the quantity of land and the yearly rent that can be charged. Most significantly, they also include the list of tenants, the size of the holding and the terms of tenure.
Where a tenant held by lease, rather than on a yearly tenancy, the particulars will also name all lives contracted for (usually three), and any of those named still alive at the time of the sale. So the information contained in the Rentals can allow the genealogist to document connections between close family members going back one or more generations.
To give you an example, in the Rental for sale of the estate of the Rev. William Minchin, we are told that Lot 5 comprises “The Town and Lands of Moneygall, Kilkekearan … and Gurrane.” If we turn to Lot 5, we get a full description of all tenants, including, (p. 19, no. 43), “the representatives of William & Joseph Kearney… who hold two houses and gardens in [the town of Moneygall] for which they pay an annual rent of £6 10s.”
The Rental further tells us that this land was held by lease dated 1st May 1800… between William Minchin, and “William Kearney and Joseph Kearney (brother to the said William Kearney), and Joseph Kearney son to the said William Kearney, of whom the said Joseph Kearney, the son of the said lessee William Kearney is now [November 1851] the only surviving life.”
In the instance cited above, a gap in the parish records meant that the evidence in the Landed Estate Court Rentals, was the only documented proof of this family connection.
The Rentals also usually include a map to situate the estate or lot in relation to the surrounding countryside, and often also a detailed map of the lot itself. In the case of urban property, a village or town-plan.
In the Republic of Ireland, the National Archives holds most of the Landed Estates Court Rentals, of which the ones most relevant to genealogical research are two sets of published Rentals. The O’Brien Rentals include almost all Rentals published between 1849 and 1885. The Quit Rent Office set of Rentals is less complete, but includes rentals for the period after 1885. A third set of Rentals is held in the National Library of Ireland. In Northern Ireland another large set of the Rentals is held in the Public Records Office.
The complete set of Landed Estates Court Rentals are currently being digitised and indexed by Eneclann, and will be published online later this year.
CREDIT TO ENECLANN NEWSLETTER + Fermanagh FHS
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WOW! Wonderful information!! Thank you so very very much. :-*
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The Irish landed gentry when Cromwell came to Ireland by O'Hart, John
The above is the book that you want. It's available online:
https://archive.org/details/irishlandedgentr00ohar/page/702
Eyres were in Cromwell's army. They did get land grants.
Not only that, but a crewman on Christopher Columbus' ship, Pinta was William Eyre, a native of Galway.
Enjoy,
Tim Chambers
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The Irish landed gentry when Cromwell came to Ireland by O'Hart, John
The above is the book that you want. It's available online:
https://archive.org/details/irishlandedgentr00ohar/page/702
Eyres were in Cromwell's army. They did get land grants.
Not only that, but a crewman on Christopher Columbus' ship, Pinta was William Eyre, a native of Galway.
Enjoy,
Tim Chambers
Nice one, thanks.
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Not only that, but a crewman on Christopher Columbus' ship, Pinta was William Eyre, a native of Galway.
Tim Chambers
So it was an Irishman who "found" America! I knew it!
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When Columbus "discovered" America using maps from St Brendan's voyage to America it was a Maguire that set foot on land first!
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I note that OP has not been online since 2012, so perhaps this is irrelevant.
However, my tuppence worth is that the two leading sources for the Cromwellian settlement of Ireland don't seem to have been mentioned at all! Astonishing!
- The Civil Survey records those dispossessed of land, and all those granted land as a reward for supporting the Parliamentary side in the English Civil war. There is an entire volume devoted to Co. Wexford. One would have thought this the very first place to look!
- The "Census of Ireland", 1659. Published and republished. Probably available online.
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There are lists of Cromwell,s soldiers in Ireland: "Landed gentry when Cromwell came to Ireland."