I hope I am posting this in the right place. Also I have to acknowledge that the text is a cousin's. We share the same gt grandmother, and we have only just got to know each other on the net. Clearly we share the same interest in an ancestress, Harriet Stack. My cousin's text explains the rest:
"I’m currently doing some research on my family history. The records in Ireland aren’t readily available online before 1850. We have no definitive proof at this stage, but believe there is a strong possibility that there is a relationship to General Edward Stack b 1750, d 1833. My father recalls older generations speaking of a French connection in the Family. This was possibly General Stack’s wife who we think was called Amelia or some possible variation of this name. [Amélie? - Xotan]
Amelia is a name that has featured in the Simpson family through several generations. I have an aunt (my father’s sister) named Amelia. My Great Grandmother and Great Great Grandmother were also Amelia. Amelia first appeared in the family tree with my Great Great Grandmother - Amelia Simpson (née Roche or Roache – the exact spelling is unclear, but we think it’s Roche). She married my Great Grandfather, Alfred Simpson, in January 1880. She was born in 1863 and died on February 2, 1933. I can see from the details on the marriage certificate that her father’s name was Stephen Roche. There is no reference to her mother’s name. We’re guessing that her mother could have been a daughter of General Stack.
There is a story in the family that General Stack’s wife came from a French Protestant family and converted to Catholicism in order to marry him. Following this, her family disowned her, but didn’t give her some property in Dublin which we believe was in the Golden Bridge area where my father’s side of the family originates from.
Do you have any information regarding General Stack’s wife and children? This may help me tie Amelia Roche to General Stack. There is some information online about General Stack and his career, but I've been unable to find anything regarding his wife and children.
Thanks,"
The same story has come down on my side of the family. IN fact, I recall my grandmother Amelia (obit 1962) refer to the General's wife as Lady Amelia, who presumably was thought to be Harriet's mother. None of us, however, have been able to go back beyond Stephen Roche (1818 - 1893) and his wife Harriet Stack.
At this point, having hit the brickwall, is there any chance that some kind soul out there could have some information which would advance our search, please?
Xotan/David
