Francis Rennick, circa 1789 or 1798

[HughC]

In my tree I have Francis Rennick who died at 14 Norfolk Terrace, Bayswater, on 24 Feb. 1879 aged 89 (will proved in London on 11 Mar.), having married Martha Catharine (or Catherine) Windsor at St Luke, Finsbury, on 27 Oct. 1828.

I reckon he was a son of Francis Rennick of Farranaconaghy, Aghalurcher parish, Co. Fermanagh, and his wife Susanna née Leonard.  But at least one source says that Francis junior was born about 1798 and died about 1850 at Rock Island, Illinois, USA, having married Margaret Neil.

Can anyone help me find any firm evidence for or against either of them being the son of Francis & Susanna?

[QueenoftheWest]

There is this newspaper snippet from the Enniskillen Chronicle and Erne Packet, dated 16 February 1880 (see attachment 1).

The article confirms that Francis was originally from Fernaconachy [sic] in Fermanagh, but also that an individual by the name of Beatty claimed to be his heir.

In 1828, the same newspaper reports that the widow of the late Francis Rennick's Sr.'s had passed away. More importantly, it states that she died at the "house of her son-in-law James Beatty, Esq, M.D" (see attachment 2).

Probability would suggest that the person who claimed to be Francis' heir is one of his nephews from his sister's marriage to James Beatty. This and the fact that Francis' origins are explicitly stated leads me to conclude that your belief is correct.

I haven't really looked into this other American fellow, as I can see nothing to support this and none of these online trees have any sources.

Queenie 

[HughC]

Many thanks, Queenie.

It does indeed seem that I was right.

After a false start I managed to order the will (why didn't I think of that earlier?),
but the Probate Search web site just keeps saying "documents pending"
and won't let me view or download it.