Hollyville, Wexford.

[Maiden Stone]

Re other parts of the country, have you seen this?
I haven’t a clue what it means but it came up when searching.
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01ojq/   No 220

Would it have been for the purpose of circumventing an entail if the estate was entailed to male heirs and there were no surviving males in the family? There are similar entries on the same page. 

[Maiden Stone]

Again many thanks. Nicholas had a short career in the army and then left due to ill health in 1803, and from before that he seems to have been fairly permanently short of money. The first I know of him is that he was at a place called Rathlee in Co. Sligo in 1787 but he was probably aged about 26 or older by that time and there seems to be no trace of him before that date. I don't rule out that he might have been born outside Ireland, sometimes I wonder if he might have begun his life in America and perhaps had some military experience there before coming to Ireland.

Is that Rathlee in Easkey civil parish in Tireragh barony?
Was he Church of Ireland? No surviving CoI parish records for Easkey parish before 1822.
Survival of Church of Ireland records for many parishes is patchy. It's possible that wherever in Ireland he was born, the register containing his baptism no longer exists.

[Tomhutton]

Yes, I think they were avoiding an entail as there were only two daughters. Rathlee is the one in Easkey. I think he must have been Church of Ireland as he was an Ensign in the army and Catholics were excluded at that time, although I do wonder if he might have been born a Catholic.

[Maiden Stone]

[quote author=Tomhutton link=topic=820699.msg6831940#msg6831940 date=1572272884
 I think he must have been Church of Ireland as he was an Ensign in the army and Catholics were excluded at that time, although I do wonder if he might have been born a Catholic.
[/quote]

1793 Catholic Relief Act allowed them to join army. (They weren't eligible for ranks above colonel until later.)
Restrictions in connection with land were relaxed by 1778 Act (allowed to bequeath land to a single heir) and 1782 Act (permitted to buy land).
Brief history + links to relevant Acts:
Catholic Relief Acts 1771-1793   https:// members.pcug.org.au/-ppmay/acts/relief_acts.htm

[Sinann]

Number 131
Nicholas Fitzgerald of Hollyville in the County of Wexford etc.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJW-ZTY?i=494&cat=185720

[Tomhutton]

Thank you both. I now know a little more about Catholic relief acts.

I hadn't seen that deed. I note it doesn't say that Hollyville is in the town of Wexford, so I still am not sure where it is or was. I have a lot of work to do to read all the deeds created as a result of Nicholas's unfortunate dealings. I have seen another today dating from 1819 when he was involved in somewhere called Still House Lane in Wexford, but I think that has ceased to exist.

[Wexflyer]

Thank you both. I now know a little more about Catholic relief acts.

I hadn't seen that deed. I note it doesn't say that Hollyville is in the town of Wexford, so I still am not sure where it is or was. I have a lot of work to do to read all the deeds created as a result of Nicholas's unfortunate dealings. I have seen another today dating from 1819 when he was involved in somewhere called Still House Lane in Wexford, but I think that has ceased to exist.

I think your Still House Lane is the Still Lane mentioned in this thread.
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=242313.msg1319455#msg1319455
Note the reference to Hollyville!

[Wexflyer]

[quote author=Tomhutton link=topic=820699.msg6831940#msg6831940 date=1572272884
 I think he must have been Church of Ireland as he was an Ensign in the army and Catholics were excluded at that time, although I do wonder if he might have been born a Catholic.

1793 Catholic Relief Act allowed them to join army. (They weren't eligible for ranks above colonel until later.)
[/quote]

That Act applied only to Ireland. That lead to difficulties and confusion in Britain and elsewhere, as a Catholic was still prohibited from possessing/carrying arms in those locations. In other words, a Catholic could join the army in Ireland (legal), and then be posted to Britain or a colony (illegal). The "relief" provided in Ireland in 1793 was not extended to Britain and colonies until 20 years later, in 1813.

[Tomhutton]

Thank you, Wexflyer. I think you are quite correct. I have looked at a map of Wexford and it seems to be in the right area for the Stillhouse Lane mentioned in Deeds. With the connection to Hollyville it convinces me that it is the right location.

To add to other helpful hints in this thread. I pursued the suggestion that Nicholas Fitzgerald could have been Catholic and have found this to be correct - his name appears in the rolls. This widens the search a little though so far hasn't produced any answers. I still need to do more research in the military records.