The Silver Bowl

Dorothy JACKSON- Part I – her early life

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 00:47:03 +0000

There were several unmarried women living in Co. Cork in the mid-1900s, who had all been born into privilege and had all grown up with one foot in Ireland, and one foot in many other countries. Several of them had either a proven or a likely connection to Dorothy St. Felix JACKSON (1887-1964) who had always lived her life openly as a lesbian in Glengarriff but who had no children who could act as the custodians of her life story. Since Dorothy’s father Sir Thomas JACKSON (1841-1915) – aka TJ - was one of my great-grandmother’s brothers, many of my cousins’ archives were able to help me to tell her story. We are her custodians.

The parents of Dorothy's father, Sir Thomas JACKSON (1841-1915), were tenant farmers in Co. Armagh, and they worked their farm at Urker, in the Parish of Creggan with some hired help. In 1864, after learning the trade of banking, TJ left at age twenty-three to press his fortune in Hong Kong and Japan. By the late 1800s, he had risen to become head of what we now know as HSBC and was famous as one of the most influential international bankers of his era. At one point, there were so many Irish working at HSBC – or the old cow as the JACKSONs referred to it - that an HSBC archivist and I once joked that the bank initials could just as easily have stood for the Hibernian Shanghai Banking Corporation.

His childhood home at Urker in Creggan Parish had no indoor plumbing or electricity until the 1950s, long after his death, but it had remained the home of Sir Thomas’ heart.

Urker Lodge. A 1970 photograph, taken when the building was very dilapidated.

A decade before his youngest daughter Dorothy was born, the seventh of nine children, Thomas built a home for his family in Hong Kong and named it Creggan. One of his nieces, Kathleen Major, recalled a conversation with him, a few years before he died, on a weekend when she had visited him at his family home at Stansted in Essex:

[TJ] Ireland is a land of small houses and big hearts.
[KM] …. What a lovely place this is! [Stansted]
[TJ] I’d rather have Urker.
[KM] Really, Uncle, how could you compare the two? Urker is a small house with many inconveniences.
[TJ] It’s not the size that matters, it’s where one’s roots are.

Had TJ lived to see his youngest daughter settle in Glengarriff, his first question might have been: when can I visit? While the impact of colonization needs to stay front and centre on its impact on the natives of the colonized countries, there also continues to be the impact of rootlessness on the lives of the colonizers and their children. Perhaps this was part of what drove Dorothy to choose Glengarriff, and then to stay. She could finally be rooted in Irish soil. She chose to live in the Republic, not in the north, at a time when most mobile Protestants were moving in the opposite direction. Was this a statement of loyalties to the Republic, or did politics have nothing to do with her choice?

A window into the frequency and extent of the family’s relocations as a result of TJ’s career can be seen by tracking the birthplaces of the children of Sir Thomas and his wife Amelia Lydia DARE (1851-1944). NOTE: Amelia was born in Singapore to English merchant parents based in Singapore and Cape of Good Hope. Her brother, John JULIUS DARE (1841-1879) was captured by Singapore pirates in 1841 when he was a baby. SEE: Amelia and the Pirates:

1. 1872: Kathleen McCullagh JACKSON born in Yokohama

2. 1874: Amy Oliver JACKSON (twin) born at 119 Adelaide Road, London

3. 1874 Edith Bradford JACKSON (twin) born at 119 Adelaide Road, London

4. 1876 Thomas Dare JACKSON born in Yokohama

5. 1879 Beatrice Minnie JACKSON born in Hong Kong

6. 1883 George Julius JACKSON born in Hong Kong

7. 1887 Dorothy St. Felix JACKSON born at Chiselhurst, Bromley, Co. Kent

8. 1890 Walter David Russell JACKSON born at Chiselhurst, Bromley, Co. Kent

9. 1892 Claude Stuart JACKSON born at Chiselhurst, Bromley, Co. Kent.

DOROTHY’S IRISH FAMILY CONNECTIONS AS A CHILD

Even though the JACKSONs mostly lived in Japan and Hong Kong and England when the children were young, their Irish family connections were strengthened by weekly letters. When Dorothy was born on July 26^th, 1887, her grandmother, Eliza JACKSON née OLIVER (1815-1903), wrote – probably by return post after having received a birth announcement in the mail.

Urker August 10^th 1887. My dear Tom – In the first place I must congratulate you on the birth of your daughter. May God bless her, and all your children and make them as great comforts to you, as you have been to your Parents. By the last account, Mother and child were doing well. I never feared for your family; you went to the East on a purely unselfish errand; and I knew that God would watch over the dear ones that you left behind. … [Thomas had returned to work in Hong Kong, while his wife and children stayed primarily at Chislehurst.]

In the mid 1900s, sixty-four of Eliza’s letters were found (unbelievable, but true) in a tin box in a bog at Urker. When Sir Michael Rowland JACKSON (1919-2016), one of Dorothy’s nephews, and his wife Hazel Mary EDWARDS invited me for an overnight at their home at Jolliffe in 2006, Michael shared them with me. That evening, Hazel prepared fish for our supper, fish that she herself had caught earlier in the day. Several of these letters mention Dorothy:

· Urker May 2^nd 1888. … Ere you receive this, you will have heard from Minnie of her visit here. She was with us a fortnight save one day. I was astonished at the growth of the children. … I would have liked to have seen little Dorothy; [she would have been 10 months old] but I did not ask Minnie to bring her, as she is too young for comfortable travelling; but when you and Minnie come together, I hope to see her.

· Urker June 4^th 1888 I would have greatly liked to have seen the little one [Dorothy] that I never yet saw; but both Minnie and I thought she was too young to be brought; and it was so best; for the others had a stormy and troublesome passage in returning; but there were no permanent ill effects. Please God, you and I will have met before your next birthday; and never more to part in this life; for it is only the name of a parting, when we will be within a few hours each of each other. We will not feel the time passing till that day comes; and even if I was dying the hope of that meeting w^d keep me alive.

· 1888 Oct 10. Minnie sent a likeness of dear little Dorothy; and said they were all well. As far as I can judge, Dorothy resembles Julius more than the others. What a meeting you will have with them all please God. Oh if you were only safe home I would have little in this world to wish and I daily entreat God to bring you safe. Your Father and I both entreat that you will not come by America, if you can avoid it. We both dread that route.

· Urker Oct 17 1894. I am thankful to hear that dear little Dorothy has recovered and that the rest are well.

· Urker Oct 23^rd 1895. My dear Tom, For a wonder I have not got a letter from you this week; and I was particularly anxious to hear from you as your last (Sept 18^th) brought an account of dear little Dorothy’s illness. I must only comfort myself with hope, till I hear from you again; and then I trust it will be rejoicing instead of hopes. God has been very good to you in hitherto sparing all your children; and I have firm belief that he will bless them; and what you say is true, that you seldom have had bad news to give me.

· Urker March 11, 1896. … Your children in England are well; I am looking forward with great delight to seeing them and Minnie and Dorothy, and the two youngest that I never yet saw. I wish they were safe off the sea. NOTE: This implies that Eliza must have seen Dorothy some time before March 1896. Not all of her letters that were found in the tin box have survived – ther were likely hundreds of them. In the mid-1900s, a couple of her daughters did a culling of them and decided what to save and what to bin

· Urker August 18^th 1896. Dorothy is all alive; I believe she does no know what fear is.

On at least one of these trips, the children’s Amah accompanied the family to Urker:

The Jacksons that time was big people out there an' there was this oul woman was nursin' Jackson - it was him was the one was very charitable. He went out to China.

It was in he's house I seen the first Chinese woman ever I seen. She was in Cross' with him an' she'd be only that height (maybe four feet) an' the lovliest wee feet on her an' two pigtails down her back - an' very sallow. SOURCE: Mary Daly’s recollections. SEE: Two 19th Century Catholic Chapels in Creggan

DOROTHY’S CHILDHOOD HOMES SEE ALSO: Photos of Hong Kong Houses.

Our childhood homes shape us. Inevitably. The effects might not be visible on the surfaces of our lives, but they are akin to the first layer of paint on a canvas before the subsequent layers begin to take form and create the visual image of a life. Sometime between 1877 and 1880, hence a decade before Dorothy’s birth on July 26^th, 1887, their Hong Kong home - Creggan - was built. TJ's initial intention had been primarily for their summer use since it was a good 14 degrees cooler and much less humid on The Peak than it was downtown at the HSBC manager’s residence at St. John’s near the bank. In one letter, Eliza commented on retaining Creggan:

Now I will not advise you not to part with Creggan till the last day you are in Hong Kong. I think Creggan is to be thanked under God for the good health you have all enjoyed in a trying climate nor do not finally give up your situation till after you are at home. You might possibly regret the loss of it. It will be easy to write your signature at any time. Urker Jan 7^th 1885.

Thanks to cousin Pat ROBERTS (1928-2018), a grandson of Amy Oliver LLOYD née JACKSON (1874-1962) for the two photos beneath of the exterior and interior of Creggan in Hong Kong, and also for the third photo of St. John’s.

Creggan exterior

Creggan interior

St. John’s Place

In England, the first home to house them on their frequent breaks from Hong Kong, was at Oakbank, Chislehurst, Bromley, Co. Kent. Dorothy was the first of their children to be born there, and two more followed.

The JACKSON home at Oakbank, on Lubbock Road, Chislehurst, Bromley, Co. Kent.

In the early years of going back and forth to Hong Kong, the family continued to keep Chislehurst and were still living there when Dorothy’s older sister Amy Oliver JACKSON (1874-1962) was married on August 4^th, 1900 at St. Nicholas Church. A news clipping from Annabel MEADOWS’ archives shows that young Dorothy was Amy’s only bridesmaid:

The youngest sister, Miss Dorothy Jackson, officiated as the only bridesmaid, and wore an empire costume of white muslin and lace with hat to match.
NOTE: empire-style day dress made of white cotton muslin and lace features a high-waisted silhouette, square neckline, short puff sleeves, and delicate lace trim along the bodice and hem

Diary entries from Dorothy’s older sister Amy also mention the family at Chislehurst:

· 1900: We left Chislehurst at 4 for Sonning on Thames which we reached in time for dinner. We stayed at the French Horn Inn. We stayed a week, very wet weather. Tom and Willie came down one day. On the 11th [August 11, 1900] we left and picking Dot up in town, went straight to the new vicarage. Bulford. The vicarage was left to us by the Vicar Arnold, a mile from camp. Nearest town Amsbury, 10 miles from Salisbury. I came back to Chislehurst on 20 August to say goodbye to Father and Kathleen who were leaving for Hong Kong the next day. I left Dot at Barbank and returned to Bulford on the 22nd.

· 1900-1901: Dot returned [from Oakbank, Chislehurst] with us & stayed until January 3^rd 1901 when mother came for a night to fetch her away.

· 1901 Visit & came back to Chislehurst Nov 7^th. J. Went up to Aldershot next day & took up Adjutants work again. I followed Nov. 17^th Sat when we had got this house – [Drincong] Alexandra Road Farnbow [Farnborough, Hampshire, England]. Bee came for a fortnight in December & hunted Tommy’s ponies – Tommy being away on leave – We, Tommy & [Morral] went to Oakbank for Christmas, stayed two nights. I got fish carvers, breakfast dishes, crumb scoop, 2 table centre [d’oyleys] & from the little boys hat pins & a dog letter weight. Dot returned with us & stayed until January 3^rd 1901 when mother came for a night to fetch her away. [Dermot] came for one Sat to Monday

· 1901 Baby [John Godfrey LLOYD] was born on Sunday June 30^th at 8:45 PM [?] big boy weighs 9 lbs. Mother was staying & John was turned out to Barracks. Mother left & Bee came. Carried downstairs July 17. Went out for a drive 22 & Sonnie & I went to Chislehurst Sat 27^th-28^th. Baby weighed 11.3.

· 1901 Nellie came to stay September 25^th we moved to St. Elmo Cross Street – much nicer house looking over Cove Common – got orders for Malta [Amy’s husband John Henry LLOYD served in 1st Batt. King's Own Regt]. Sonnie & I are to stay behind. Dot & Billy staying here while the move is being made from Oatbank to Stansted, then Mother came for 10 days.

The 1891 Census records Dorothy, age 4, at Chislehurst, and also later in the 1901 Census. Her older sister Kathleen JACKSON (1872-1959) was not mentioned in the 1901 census, but she was likely in Hong Kong SEE: 1902 May 19. The Hong Kong Weekly Press. Later in the year, the family moved to Stansted. SEE: 1901 November 28 The China Mail :

A Home paper says: -- Sir Thomas Jackson of Hong Kong, is taken Stansted Hill, the charming seat in Essex which belonged to the late Mr. H.A. Blyth. Lady Jackson has already taken up her residence at the hall, and will be joined shortly by Sir Thomas. We understand that Sir Thomas Jackson leaves for England in March or April next.

Dorothy was 14 years old when the 1911 Census recorded her at Stansted with her parents and several others including 13 servants –two chauffeurs, a cook and a scullery maid, a butler, two footmen, a ladies maid, three housemaids and one houseboy. Given the size of the house, and the expected level of hosting, this level of household help would have been essential. They were also recorded living at Stansted in various news announcements of the 1910 marriage of Dorothy’s older sister Kathleen McCullagh JACKSON (1872-1959).

Thanks to my cousin Venetia Bowman-Vaughan for this postcard of Stansted.

Dorothy’s brother Claude's marriage at Brompton Church on May 5, 1916 suggests at least some ongoing family connection to Chislehurst. Even so, they were still living at Stansted when Sir Thomas Dare JACKSON (1876-1954), Dorothy's eldest brother, married in 1919 (four years after TJ’s death in 1915).

… son of the late Sir Thomas and of Lady Jackson, Stansted House, Essex.

One of the last family addresses in England with connections to Dorothy was at 8 Sussex Square. In 1917, this address was recorded as the residence of Claude Stewart JACKSON’s mother Lady Jackson, of 8 Sussex Square; London, W.2. in Claude’s obit. [SOURCE: Commonwealth War Graves Commission]. Claude had been serving as a Captain in the 3rd. Bn. Coldstream Guards when he was fatally wounded in a battle at Ypres on October 9, 1917, a year after his marriage. Claude was the youngest of the nine JACKSON children, and his brother-in-law Lt. Col. Raymond John MARKER (1867-1914) D.S.O., Coldstream Guards, of Combe,Honiton, Devon, had died three years earlier on November 13, 1914, from wounds received in action. This was not a family that flinched from putting their lives on the line. In 1914, Amy’s diary had recorded:

Beatrice heard news of the leg being amputated on 7th. She and Kathleen went over to Boulogne where he was in hospital. He died Nov 13th & was brought back to Combe Honiton to be buried.

The bravery of both Beatrice and Kathleen to get to Boulogne, and the strings that they must have pulled to make this possible, speak volumes:

FROM AI (verbatim): At this exact time, the brutal First Battle of Ypres was raging nearby on the Western Front, directly impacting the entire region. The primary risks of making this cross-Channel journey included. Germany had begun indiscriminately sowing thousands of naval mines across shipping lanes. Any vessel crossing the English Channel risked striking a drifting or hidden mine. German submarines were actively patrolling the Channel. While unrestricted submarine warfare had not yet reached its absolute peak, German U-boats were already actively torpedoing and sinking Allied military and merchant ships. Because Boulogne served as the main base port and a massive hospital hub for the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), it was a primary target for German intelligence and aerial bombing raids. The port was under constant logistical strain. By mid-November 1914, Boulogne was inundated with thousands of wounded soldiers arriving directly from the Ypres front lines to the newly opened 13th Stationary Hospital. The port was under constant logistical strain. By mid-November 1914, Boulogne was inundated with thousands of wounded soldiers arriving directly from the Ypres front lines to the newly opened 13th Stationary Hospital. Under Britain's newly implemented Defence of the Realm Act (DORA), all recreational or unapproved travel was strictly banned. Trying to board a vessel without specific, high-level military clearance or permits would result in immediate arrest.

On September 3^rd, 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany, and on September 29^th, a “census” was taken, not a formal census, but a wartime population survey used to issue identity cards, organize rationing, and manage conscription. In it, Dorothy and her mother were both recorded at 8 Sussex Drive. Under occupation both were recorded as private means. It seems that that while the family retained their home at Stansted, that Sussex Drive had also been an ongoing family residence, likely dating back to when TJ started working in the London offices of HSBC on a regular basis. Sometime between Oct. 7, 1940 and June 6, 1941, 8 Sussex Square was bombed.

Interestingly, this 1939 census also records Honor Beryl HAMILTON (1893-1961) resident with Dorothy at 8 Sussex although as early as the late 1920s, the two of them had been living at Barony House in Glengarriff. Shortly after the 1939 census, Honor had parted from Dorothy and was recorded elsewhere in London. Also, sometime after that census, Dorothy had returned to Glengarriff, likely with her new partner Dorothy Mary FITCH. [NOTE: The relationship of the Dorothy JACKSON & Dorothy FITCH will be covered in a future post]. After the census but not long before the bombing. Dorothy’s mother moved in with Dorothy’s eldest brother Sir Thomas Dare JACKSON (1876-1954) at Herringfleet Hall, Blocka Road, Herringfleet, Suffolk.

AI SOURCE: The original houses along Sussex Square—including Number 8—were heavily compromised by bomb damage or completely destroyed. Rather than being restored to their 19th-century appearance, the properties in the square and its surrounding mews were entirely redeveloped, primarily during the 1960s.

The post-bombing reconstruction of 8 Sussex Place

A current satellite view of the location.
Images at London Pictures Archive indicate a more modest building.
There are conflicting versions of whether it was totally or only partly destroyed
& then rebuilt with the facade retained.
The latter looks likely to me – note the likely access for horses.

In some earlier posts, I described some of the places mentioned above:

· Urker Lodge. Archival photos compared with contemporary photos and maps.

· Creggan on the Peak. Sir Thomas JACKSON of Creggan parish in south Armagh built a home in Hong Kong that he named Creggan.

· Location of Creggan in Hong Kong. This is the house built by Sir Thomas JACKSON (1841-1915) in the late 1870. I have created several maps with descriptions. Photo of fellow researchers, Annelise Connell, and David Bellis

· First Houses on the Peak in Hong Kong. Some history and photographs to give context.

LIFE IN HONG KONG

In between the 1891 and 1901 census, the family enjoyed long bouts of living in Hong Kong. It is hard to track all their comings and goings, but thanks to various family archives held by Pat ROBERTS, and his son Jack STOOKS, as well as by Christine WRIGHT of Gilford Castle Co. Down, we can fill in some of the blanks. For example, a photograph from 1894, shows Dorothy at age seven dressed as a pawn in a human-sized chess game.

Mr. LANDALE, unnamed child, Dorothy JACKSON [age 12], Mr. PLATT (seated), Capt. STEWART R.E., Miss MURRAY, Miss BOYES, Mr. BERGER H.K.R.

The next two photos are from the collection of Christine WRIGHT (1941-2022), my mentor and host for my many annual stays at her home at Gilford Castle in Co. Down. They fit with Dorothy’s grandmother’s assessment of her: Dorothy is all alive; I believe she does not know what fear is.

The irrepressible Dorothy Jackson, age about 12, hence late 1890s. I do not know who the men are. They may have been on the Wayfoong, the HSBC boat. Like her father, Dorothy was totally comfortable in the company of all kinds of people.
NOTE: For more examples see: Outings.

Another snap from about the same time shows some of their staged childhood play. It makes me think of staged plays that the ARBUTHNOT put on in the 1890s [SEE: Queens University Archives and The Childhood Homes of Joan Arbuthnot]:

Dorothy JACKSON (1887-1964) and brothers - probably Walter David Russell JACKSON (1890-1956) & Claude Stewart JACKSON (1892-1917) - a mode of transport they were well aware of. Beneath is a photo of their father on his way to work.
Picture from the collection of Pat Roberts, England.

This next photo, including Prince Henry of Prussia, was taken March 30, 1998 - the year of Germany's annexation of Tsingtao. Although intended to last 99 years, German rule ended abruptly in 1914 in the early years of World War I, when Japanese and British forces laid siege to the city and forced a German surrender.

Dorothy age twelve is with Prince Henry of Prussia & (on the extreme right) her older sister Kathleen. Prince Henry was a German naval officer who fought against Russian naval forces on the Baltic sea, not against British forces. His primary operational mission was defensive - protecting the German Baltic coast and keeping the Russian Navy on the defensive

Note Dorothy’s bare feet – part of her unbounded and fearless nature.

Prince Henry (1862-1929), was not only the brother of the Kaiser of Germany but was also -through marriage - a grandson of Queen Victoria. As a frequent visitor at the JACKSON's in Hong Kong in the late 1800s, he shared their love of sport and appreciated their unpretentious style of entertaining. Once TJ even ran down to the dock - still dressed in his pyjamas - to welcome early morning guests.

With the start of WW I, the ease of such relationships came to an end. The JACKSONs grieved the death of son-in-law Raymond John MARKER (1867-1914) from wounds sustained near Ypres, and then the death of Dorothy’s youngest brother Claude Stewart JACKSON (1892-1917), also from Ypres. Thomas Dare JACKSON, her older brother, suffered life-long lung issues after being gassed. Another brother, Major Sir George Julius JACKSON (1883–1956) had sustained significant combat wounds while serving on the Western Front, and family letters had mentioned his lengthy convalescence. News coverage of his father’s funeral mentions: Captain Julius Jackson King’s Royal Rifles, who was severely wounded in September 1914, and is only now convalescent.

Although I have not nailed this all down, Amelia and the children probably left Hong Kong shortly after this previous photo but then returned on June 23, 1899.

In 1899, a Passenger list records that on June 23, Amelia and her younger children, including Dorothy departing from New York to Queenstown on the SS Campania (Cunard Line) travelling first class. Presumably they were on their way to Hong Kong..

Twenty days earlier, on June 3, 1899, Thomas had been knighted for his distinguished services as the chief manager of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), and included in Queen Victoria's 1899 Birthday Honours. Dorothy was twelve years old. He received the actual letters patent for his knighthood later that year during a ceremony in Hong Kong on October 31, 1899, and then in 1903 was made a Baronet.

END OF PART ONE – PART TWO (LATER LIFE) TO FOLLOW

Although Dorothy’s early life was privileged, and her family gave her the freedom to be true to herself, her life was not all smooth sailing. She experienced major losses in her late twenties, including the death of her father and a younger brother. A letter from Alfred Markham TOWNSEND (1847-1939) to Ethel M. TOWNSEND describes the family at TJ’s funeral:

I went with Aunt Josie & Kitsy to Stansted. … it was about a miserable a funeral as could be; cold and pouring with rain – there were a good number of people there – … Lady Jackson was not there – the family came strolling in – Tommy & Pat were expected from the front, but did not arrive in time – poor Julie came in on his crutches. He lately had another operation – so he was looking very delicate & then – but they are hopeful that he will now get on, better.

Dot Jackson marched up the church alone with a good swinging gait – poor Bee looked very ill – Russell, & Kathleen’s husband were there looking very well in uniform.

When we went outside to the grave. It was pouring cats & dogs & I was sorry for the poor clergyman and choir boys – it did not much matter to us, with umbrellas – & so home.

It will, I fear be a sad breakup for the family – though I expect Tommy will be generous to them all – until a lady Tom takes charge.

For close to two decades, I couldn’t find the images I had of several photos from my cousin Julian CURRIE’s collection. He had shared them with me when we lunched together in Kensington with his son Silas and his sister Caroline in 2006. At that lunch, Julian had also told me that Dorothy was the first lady to have a driver’s licence in UK and that Phyllis Keyes, a well known potter was also one of her girl friends. KEYES was part of the Bloomsbury group. More on that later.

Although I have yet to verify the date of Dorothy’s first driver’s licence and her connection to Phyllis Keyes, I did find the missing images of Julian’s photos, and here she is holding what I suspect was a rook rifle used for hunting grouse. Clearly, her childhood was not limited to girlish pursuits such as dressing up like a pawn in a chess game, or serving as a bridesmaid in muslin and lace. This would have been a blessing - in her opinion - I suspect.

Joan Arbuthnot - her fame and her later life

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 08:20:51 +0000

Recently, while visiting Glengarriff, I learned a great deal more about the life of my cousin Dorothy St. Felix JACKSON (1887-1964). Some of the stories that I was told by local people who had known her rekindled my curiosity about her social circle. This led me to take a closer look at the life of Joan ARBUTHNOT, and she turned out to be a close friend of one of Dorothy’s close friends. I have already covered some of Joan’s backstory in my post on The Childhood homes of Joan Arbuthnot, and in a later post, I will explore what can be gleaned from looking at their shared three degrees of separation.

Joan Arbuthnot aka Irene Joan Grace ARBUTHNOT (1904-1997) was famous – in her time – for her memoir/travelogue More Profit Than Gold. It told the story of the year and a half spent seeking gold and diamonds with her uncle Major Maurice Bernal BLAKE (1878-1934), his wife Gwendolyn White BLAKE née RICHARDSON (1894-1944) and her close friend Rachel Veronica Rose LEIGH-WHITE (1906-1985) - of Bantry House, Co. Cork - in the jungles of British Guiana (as it was called then). Before they had even set out, newspaper coverage about all this went viral. In the opening chapter, Joan mentions the impact of these early articles:

At last, shortly before Christmas, an appalling headline appeared in the evening paper. ‘Society gold rush! Mayfair girl tired of parties!’

Aware that some announcement impended but never suspecting anything so silly and inaccurate I had gone out, leaving instructions with my sister to remove the offending page before anyone else saw it. This she had done, and nobody noticed its absence until one of my brothers walked in and picked up the paper.

‘What has become of the middle page he asked. There is a long account on it of Joan’s expedition.’

So another copy was sent for and then the talk began.

‘The idea is insane they told me.’

‘The British Ghana has the worst climate in the world and everyone knows the forest is the white man's grave.’

‘If you go up there you will certainly never come down.’

‘… Or if you do,’ someone else amended, ‘you will be riddled with fever and look forty.’

It did not sound a cheerful prospect.

SOURCE: More Profit Than Gold. p19. NOTE: She was 26 years old at the time.

Many such articles are online thanks to: British Newspaper Archive.

February 2, 1930. Sunday Sun, Newcastle.

February 13, 1930 Irish Times. – two days before they left on their trip

Two days after this piece was published, Joan and Rachel, sailed from Dover to Trinidad. Her uncle and aunt had headed out earlier.

Joan and Rachel, both residing at 42 Grosvenor Place, London, left from Dover on February 15, 1930 sailing for Trinidad on the S.S. Van Rensselaer

After their year and a half away, and when Joan had only just arrived back in England, the viral news coverage picked up where it had left off, all agog that one so beautiful, wealthy and wearing an oyster-satin dress at her sister’s coming out party, had just spent a year and a half in the jungle.

July 8, 1931. Evening News London.

July 9, 1931. Dundee Courier

July 10, 1931. Dundee Courier

July 17, 1931 Wilmslow Advertiser

July 18, 1931 Sport Dublin.

October 9, 1931 Otawago Daily Times

The publication of her memoir received rave reviews in England, Australia and even in the New York Times, but not long after its reissue in 1937 coverage quickly petered out. She had returned on a subsequent trip, but the news of not finding gold wouldn’t have had the same sizzle power. Peaking at such a young age can be challenging, so, how did the rest of her life play out? In some ways, she would have had the support of a family which included many powerful and accomplished women, several of whom were also writers. At the same time, her lifetime of restlessness and travel had a shadow side. It was also a bid for independence from the clutches of her redoubtable mother. In his memoir The Broken Boy, a memoir about his family as well as his experiences with childhood polio in the mid-1950s, her nephew Patrick COCKBURN framed it:

Aunt Joan had also written a book. It was about an expedition she had made-up the rivers of British Guyana into the Amazonian forest looking for gold in 1930. It's title More Profit Than Gold, was a clear indication that she did not find any. I later saw photographs of her in pith helmet and semi military brown uniform at her jungle camp with long canoes drawn up at the riverbank. My mother [Patricia Evangeline Anne COCKBURN née ARBUTHOT (1914-1989)], who had once made a language map in the forests of the Congo, spoke of Aunt Joan’s expedition as a tragic comedy because it was the demise of her sister's most rigorous attempt to escape the predominant influence of a redoubtable mother.

Aunt Joan had pitched her camp on the edge of the forest canopy and was busily digging for gold, believing her mother to be safely distant in the Bahamas or Jamaica. Olive's father Sir Henry Blake had been governor of both islands and the family still kept up a connection. Then one day a canoe appeared around a bend in the river. It moved fast through the water and in the back, beating time for the oarsman with her parasol, was my grandmother [Olive BLAKE (1875-1953)], dressed like a Victorian lady in full regalia. She did not stay long. She said: “Joan dear, I was getting a bit worried about you so I just thought I'd come to see how you were getting along. But I can see that everything is going splendidly.” She gave a few brisk instructions about re-pitching the tents to avoid drips from trees and, after a few hours, climbed back into her canoe to return to the mouth of the river. “She never realized,” my mother would say sadly, “that she had ruined poor Joan's bid for independence.” p80.

Joan does not mention this episode in her memoir, but later when she returned to New Guinea several ships’ manifests recorded her and her mother’s travel – always separate – on dates which align with Joan’s and her uncle’s later trips to the region to again seek gold. After that, Joan frequently visited Youghal and other family homes, visits which were fondly recalled by her nephew, Patrick Oliver COCKBURN where he also mentions Monica BALDWIN (1893-1975), one of Joan’s significant close friends:

Extremely good looking and with a strong mellow voice Joan never married. She lived for many years in a cottage in Oban in Scotland with Monica Baldwin, a nun who had fled her convent after 28 years and was a niece of Stanley Baldwin, the British Prime Minister before the war, with whom she exchanged frequent letters. Monica wrote a memoir, which did well, called I Leap Over the Wall, and was known in our family as ‘The Show Jumper’. p 79.

MONICA BALDWIN & Joan ARBUTHNOT – the impact of their friendship.


The 1967 Edition in Nun on the Run.	Monica BALDWIN National Portrait Gallery London

Although I found no record that Monica and Joan had stayed at Oban, it is quite likely that they did. According to Pauline Annis, Monica did go to Scotland for three months [in 1942] to stay with her friend “Nikki” in Cueil Bay. Nikki’s husband was Laird of Duror of Appin. [SOURCE: Searching for Monica Baldwin Part III. Pauline Annis, Stourports Civic Society Newsletter Newsletters #46-20, 2009-2010: (later published as a chapbook). NOTE: Nikki might have been a nickname for Marjorie Descarrieres STEWART (1890-1980), the widow of Allan Winslow STEWART (1865-1953), 11th Laird of Ardshiel 14th Chief of Ardshiel, Appin & Lorn. The distance between Cuild Bay and Oban is about 41 km.

In 1946, four years after her stay in Scotland, Monica relocated to a cottage in Lamorna Cove, on the Penwith peninsula in west Cornwall, England, about 4 miles (6 km) south of Penzance. This stay was followed by four months in Ireland, and later by five months in a flat in London with her sister Frieda who was working at the BBC. It is at this point in my research that I began to feel as befuddled as the researchers portrayed by Ian McEwan in What We Can Know.

· Who did Monica visit with in Ireland in 1946, and did she stay at Myrtle Cove or elsewhere while there? Was this visit to Ireland before or after Joan had stayed with Monica in Oban? Unfortunately, Monica burned all her personal papers before her death, so there is much that we are unlikely to ever know.

In spite of the Arbuthnot’s joke about the title of Monica’s book, it is a good fit. The family trees of the BALDWINs, like the ARBUTHNOTs, included several knights and such, including many who were active in politics, and as a result had earned (or paid for) family crests and mottos which had been passed down for generations. For example, one of the ARBUTHNOT family mottos was I move as a wave, but I flow on, while Monica’s family motto was Per deum Meum Transilio Murum - By the help of God I Leap over the Wall. The BALDWIN motto came about because of a key event in England and Scotland’s history. SOURCE: Pauline Annis:

The origins of the Baldwin family motto are interesting. Thomas Baldwin leaped to freedom from the Tower of London having been imprisoned for a plot to free Mary Queen of Scots c 1585 and his escape gave the family their motto.

In spite of their itinerant habits, connections to family homes mattered to both Joan and Monica. In Joan’s case, she often stayed with family in both Ireland and England, while Monica did likewise. While Monica was writing her first book, she stayed with a distant relative, Angela Thirkell in Pembroke Gardens, London. Thirkell’s first published book, Three Houses, was a memoir of houses she knew when young, starting with her Kensington childhood, and including portraits of some of her famous relatives. [SOURCE: Angela Thirkell’s A Writer’s Life].

In 1950 she [Monica] received an invitation to share a house with “a lady in Devon who apparently knew, slightly, somebody that I knew. Monica tells us nothing of her time in Devon but, one suspects as so often in her life, she did not stay very long. SOURCE: Pauline Annis Part Three.

If Monica had already met up with Joan in 1946 when she was in Ireland, and if they had begun a close friendship at that time, then it is no surprise that we find them together on December 29^th, 1951, on a ship’s manifest, sailing from England to Jamaica - each recorded as authoress – and each sharing the same departure address: Byre House, Northium, Sussex. [SEE: The Byre House. It was where many illustrious creative people either lived or visited.]. They stayed together for less than half a year. A later manifest records Joan sailing to Bristol from Jamaica via Dominica, on June 13, 1952, this time sans Monica. Her declared destination was Myrtle Grove. What came next? As they say, Mind the Gap.

Between 1963 and 1964 Monica embarked on a world tour. Edward Baldwin, the current Earl Baldwin, remembers Monica inviting him when a young man to join her in order to get the views of both the old and the young. He declined, probably wisely, as Monica soon fell out with the woman who accompanied her on her tour. The end-product of Monica’s world tour was, Goose in the Jungle: A Flight Round the World with Digressions, published in 1965.

There may have been a disruption in Monica and Joan’s relationship, but their shared bond outlasted most of Monica’s other friendships:

The day before her death, 16th November [1975], Monica drew up a new will, witnessed by the local vicar and his wife (Rev and Mrs Herbert). The whole of her estate, which amounted to just over £20,000 was left to Irene Arbuthnot, a friend. Monica was last seen alive on 17th November. She was found dead in bed on the morning of 18th November, “slumped on the bed, a bottle in her right hand and tablets in her left”. The coroner’s verdict was that death was due to: “poisoning by a combination of alcohol and barbiturates.” He further recorded that Monica Baldwin took her own life while the balance of her mind was disturbed. [SOURCE: Pauline Annis]

Monica’s life ended sadly, according to Sunday Express, November 23^rd 1975: Turbulent life of ex-nun Monica Baldwin:

At 82, a cantankerous old woman, she committed suicide in an old people’s home by drinking half a bottle of whiskey with a handful of barbiturate tablets. She had systematically destroyed her collection of letters and diaries which chronicled many years of a strange, troubled existence.

What had brought Monica and Joan together? One thing is that they shared a passion for experiences of spiritual transcendence. Joan recorded some of hers in More Profit than Gold:

Once again I felt, as I had felt when I was in the Sahara, an overwhelming sense of rightness - a rapturous consummation. Where the landscape is broken by trees, rock, hills, the attention is distracted. You admire or you do not. In either case - unless the admiration is so great as to obscure everything else, you are conscious of an irritation with these details that get between you and the something you must reach. They are small agitating objects, you feel, powerless and unimportant, that you could easily demolish if you were to take the trouble. Only when you are alone on a desert with nothing about you but the flat earth on the sky, do you feel this rightness, and with it a rising exhilaration, a sense of abiding peace, for here at last is the ultimate reality. You have done with refuge and protection, with a fearful hugging of illusion; You are face to face with that which you dreaded as emptiness, and the strange thing is that you are not appalled at its immensity.; You are not even afraid, for rising strong over everything else is a knowledge of its essential rightness, and of the rightness of the revelation between you and it. p. 61

The water was still as glass, and the sunset threw long shadows upon it. On either side the forest spread like an impenetrable wall - over everything a feeling of unbrokenness. It is hard to describe, or even to explain exactly what I mean, but I have felt it ever since we left Morocco. It is not silence, but rather sounds within silence, intensely real, yet like a dream. As we passed the bank as we passed along close to the bank, from among the mangrove trees with their curious twisted roots growing through the water, there came a strange music, like the notes of an organ. Startled by our approach a Kingfisher rose from its perch and skimmed rapidly along the surface of the water, occasionally touching it with a wingtip. Screaming harshly, parrots winged their agitated flight two by two overhead. But no words, no mere recital of the sights and sounds can give any notion of the loveliness and wonder of the river, and of gliding up it in that strange evening light. It is all so still, and remote, and untroubled. p. 103

Surely an age of trouble would be more than requited by an instant's vision of such exceeding beauty. At first the wonder of it is almost unbearable, and sends stabs of pain through you, and then, as though a veil were suddenly lifted, the gulf, the feeling of discrepancy is gone and you know beyond any need of telling that you are utterly at one with the trees and the sky and all the wonder. There is no break, no pause between you and it; You are no emanation of life, you are life itself. Here, at last, is utter peace, utter comprehension. p. 105

I sat down on a tacuba and gazed about me. Just now the silence was unbroken - profound. I felt that I was in an immense cathedral, so strong was the impression of spaciousness, and this in spite of the fact that actually I could not see more than ten or fifteen yards in any direction. But the feeling of space and distant persisted, and I cannot account for it unless it is that the intertwining branches high above me gave the illusion of arches, and the shafts of sunlight that occasionally pierced their way through the dense mass of foliage were like the beams that strike through a stained glass window, illuminating the inner darkness. One such beam, penetrating the deep green gloom, lit upon a large brown leaf which was hanging from one of the lower branches. This leaf was behaving in the most extraordinary manner, twisting and waving violently to and fro, as though blown by an imperceptible wind. I examined it carefully but could not discover any cause. Maurice tells me that he's frequently seen the same thing but has never heard an explanation. p. 112

FINAL DAYS

I have not been able to find the address for the Sacred Heart Nursing Home in Youghal where Joan died, but am hoping that others can nail this part down. At least - unlike Monica, whose final resting place is unknown - Joan was buried close to her much-cherished family, family that she had never broken with, at the Collegiate Church of Saint Mary, beside Myrtle Grove.

In grateful and loving memory of
Major John Bernard Arbuthnot M.V.O. Scots Guards 1875 – 1950
and of his wife Olive Arbuthnot 1875 – 1953 of Myrtle Grove Youghal
also of their youngest son
Major Myles Henry Arbuthnot M.B.E. Royal Signals
died on active service in Italy 1943
and elder daughter
Irene Joan Grace Arbuthnot 1904 – 1997.

SOURCE: Historic Graves.

What we do know, when all is said and done, is that Joan was cherished.

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others," This quote is widely attributed to Pericles (c. 495–429 BCE)

CONNECTIONS: There will be more to come in future posts.

Honor Beryl HAMILTON, whose life I explored in an earlier post, was one of Dorothy JACKSON’s earlier long-term partners. They had started living together in Glengarriff at least as early as 1929, but by the early 1940s, they had ceased to be a couple and Dorothy Mary FITCH had begin living with Dorothy at Barony House, Glengarriff. In the same way that Monica’s probate to Joan speaks volumes, so too does Honor’s probate to Rachel. The theory of three degrees of separation begs to be applied here.

Rachel Veronica Rose Leigh-White of Ahakista Durrus Co. Cork. The townland of Reenacappul, Parish Kilcrohane, Barony West Carbery (West Division) [SEE: Map]

The Childhood Homes of Joan Arbuthnot

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Sun, 11 Oct 2026 18:25:50 +0000

This is no more than a backgrounder piece for a future post on Irene Joan Grace ARBUTHNOT (1904-1997), aka Joan. In the early 1930s, she was headlined in dozens of newspaper articles after the publication of her book, More Profit Than Gold, about her time in the jungles of Papua New Guinea aka British New Guinea (in her time). Then, there was silence, and little was publicly available about what she did next. Since childless “bachelors and spinsters” don’t get much airtime in family histories, I decided to look at her story. More to come. NOTE: I welcome additions and corrections.

Childhood homes can inhabit and shape us long after we have left the family nest. Like some kind of external DNA, they remain part of our inner architecture. The unsettled life of Joan's family was not so uncommon for many of the Anglo-Irish upper class. One foot in Ireland. One in England. Although her childhood homes had nothing in common with mine, we did both share a rootless childhood, so unsurprisingly, I look at her life through that lens, and feel a connection.

To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul.
Simone Weil in The Need for Roots.

For me, a few weeks after I was born at VGH in Vancouver Canada, I came home to Commercial Drive. Part of our house still had a dirt floor. A few years later, we lived in a rented house on Mathers Street in West Van on part of what had once been a farm. I remember the jars of pink applesauce made from the old apple trees. Then we spent a year in Winnipeg in an upstairs suite in an old house broken into rental flats. The next half dozen or so homes that we lived in were on Canadian Air Force bases. One day, when I was about age six, we were living in a side-by-side duplex in North Bay Ontario and I ran away from home but only lasted six hours. After that, we lived in an apartment in Longueuil, a duplex in St. Bruno, Quebec, followed by a stop-over at Grannie Oddie’s home in Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire, followed by apartments in two Canadian military bases in France. In one of them, my four brothers shared twin bunk beds in a 12’ X 12' bedroom, while my similarly sized bedroom included multiple laundry lines, often laden with drying sheets hanging above me, and with boxes and suitcases stacked beside my bed. Always on the move.

Joan’s first family home was at 3 Motcomb Street, Belgrave Square, London. On April 25^th, 1904, she had been born to Sir John Bernard ARBUTHNOT (1875-1950) and Olive ARBUTHNOT née BLAKE (1875-1953) . Her parents had married at St. John's Cathedral, Hong Kong on June 8, 1903, ten months before her birth. [SOURCE: Visitation of England and Wales.]

3 Motcomb Street, Belgrave Square, London. A drycleaners is now on the main floor.

Even after the family had decamped to Ireland, they still stayed and often owned properties in that part of London. In May 17,1933, when her brother David George ARBUTHNOT (1905-1985) was married at St George’s Church, Hanover Place, his wedding reception was held at the family home at 42 Grosvenor Place, where they often stayed while also maintaining a family home in Co. Cork. This was also the address used by Joan and her travel partner Rachel Veronica Rose LEIGH-WHITE (1906-1985) - of Bantry House, Co. Cork - when the two of them left on their trip to British Guiana in 1931. Their home at Grosvenor Place was a mere 13 minute walk away from her birthplace at 3 Motcomb Square.

The grounds of Buckingham Palace are upper right

Joan’s father had been born at 26 Lower Belgrave Street, just around the corner from Motcomb Street. The building where the ARBTHNOTs lived, may or may not have been demolished. It is possibly included in one of the photos beneath. There is more to be learned.

David ARBUTHNOT (1905-1985), Joan’s Irish twin brother, was born at Myln-croft, Frimley Green, Frimley, Surrey. [SOURCE: Visitation of England]. If the family had actually moved there (and were not just visiting) then its proximity to their London home could not have been the reason. Frimley is about 56 km SE of Belgrave square. One possibility is that it might have been because of a friendship between Joan’s mother, Olive ARBUTNOT née BLAKE (1875-1953) and Dame Ethel Mary Smyth (1858-1944). As early as 1867, Dame Edith’s family had lived at Frimhurst, near Frimley Green, and then after 1894 she lived at One Oak, also in Frimley. Lady Olive and Dame Ethel were both of a similar social class and were also members of the women's suffrage movement. In 1908, Mrs. Arbuthnot donated a modest amount (it was only five shillings but may not have been her only donation) to Votes for Women, a newspaper for the Women’s Social and Political Union started by Mrs.Emmeline PANKHURST (1858-1928).

Joan’s next brother, Bernard Kieran Charles ARBUTHNOT (1909-1975), was the first to be born at the ARBUTHNOT’s new home at Baltimore [Parish Tullagh, Barony West Carbery (East Division)]. Although the Visitation of England claims he was born at St. Patrick’s Cork, his birth certificate documents his birth as being at Baltimore. Her third brother, Richard Myles Henry ARBUTHNOT (1911-1943), who died in Italy in WWII, was also born at Baltimore where he was officially recorded as: Richard Henry. Since their family home was sometimes referred to as Baltimore House, this map may be helpful to any curious readers who happen to live nearby:

I am unsure if this is the right house.

Baltimore House on the 1st and 25-inch edition Ordnance Survey maps is still extant. SOURCE: Landed Estates.

Baltimore House is in the lower left hand corner, near the Corn Store, and the property then included a Gate Lodge. In the 1953 printing of Griffiths Valuation, Lady Carbery was the landlord for lot #19, with the house valued at £10.5.0 but was unoccupied. Lady Carbery aka Harriet Maria Catherine SHULDHAM married George Patrick Percy EVANS-FREKE, 7th Baron Carbery on August 5, 1852. [SOURCE: thepeerage]. Since he was deaf and unable to speak, communicating entirely by writing on a personal handheld slate, she often managed their leases and other legal matters.

The year that Joan's brother Richard was born, Joan was seven years old when she was mentioned in the news coverage of Baltimore’s celebration of the coronation of King George V and his wife, Mary. The celebrations had begun with a church service, then a procession through the village, and then a concert at the local school. Some of the stage decorations had come from the world-wide collections of both her father, Sir John Bernard ARBUTHNOT (1875-1950) as well as from her grandfather Sir Arthur Henry BLAKE (1840-1918). Both had lived and worked in Hong Kong – Sir Arthur as Governor, and John as his aide-de-camp. Clearly, her mother Olive ARBUTHNOT née BLAKE (1875-1953) had also been involved in the set-up, although she was not mentioned.

[For the stage decorations] Many of the hangings had been lent by J.B. Arbuthnot [Joan’s father], Castle House, including the magnificent Chinese and other foreign coverings for the thrones of the represented colonies. The very fine crown of the king and the court dress and jewels of the queen were also kindly lent by her. … Ireland, Scotland and Wales appeared – all three in costume – Scotland being represented by Master David Arbuthnot in kilt and fully correct details; he saluted manfully though only six years of age. … Miss Joan Arbuthnot gave a tiny recitation to replace Miss Kathleen Whitla, who was prevented from filling her own place on the program, and this item was one of the best in a good performance. … Pages and Train Bearers: Miss J. Arbuthnot SOURCE: Skibbereen & West Carbery Eagle. July 8, 1911.

Within three years, the family had moved from Baltimore to Derry House Rosscarbery [Derry, Parish Ross, Barony of East Carbery (West Division)], where Joan’s sister, Patricia Evangeline Anne ARBUTHNOT (1914-1989), was then born. The family rented Derry House - didn't own it - a not uncommon practice for footloose families such as theirs.

NLI: The Lawrence Photograph Collection

They must have left Derry House sometime between 1914 and 1921 since they were not there on April 1921 when Alexander Sullivan, a well-known barrister, was living there and the house was significantly burnt and partly destroyed during the War of Independence.

Family records indicate the original house at Derry was bought by Bryan Townsend, son of Richard, the Cromwellian officer, in the 1680s. This house was a short distance from the current house which was built by Reverend Horatio Townsend in the early years of the nineteenth century and was held in fee by Reverend Chambre Townsend in 1851 when it was valued at £44. Earlier, in 1786, Wilson referred to Derry as a Townsend seat. SOURCE: Landed Estates.

By 1926, the family was living at Glenbarrhan in the townland of Castletownsend , ED Castlehaven North, Townland Castletownsend, Parish Castlehaven, Barony West Carbery (East Division)). The 1926 census records 8 family members and 9 servants occupying 17 rooms. NOTE: Castletownsend is about 8 km south of Skibbereen and a half hour drive from Bantry.

SOURCE: find-a-grave.

Sometimes grand settings are not what they might seem. In her novel, Great Granny Webster (1977), Lady Caroline Maureen Hamilton Temple BLACKWOOD (1931-1996), an heiress to the Guinness fortune, satirized her family’s leaking rotting and falling apart Clandeboye House in County Down:

Visitors from England were totally scandalized by the sight of these men [butlers] in the formal dining room clumping round the table as they handed out the dishes of food with an unsteady gait that was made more noticeable by the fact that the black trousers of their liveries were tucked inside their mud-splashed wellingtons. NOTE: Shortlisted for the Booker, her novel was recently revisited by John Banville - September 2026.

Patricia Evangeline Anne COCKBURN née ARBUTHNOT (1914-1989), Joan’s younger sister, recalls somewhat similar memories of decay at their rat-infested home at Castletownsend in her 1885 autobiography Figure of Eight. SOURCE: Random Notes CXXX,

Of the houses we used to take in Ireland before my Grandmother’s death, one was called Glenbarrahane in Castletownshend. The Anglo-Irish in Castletownshend, of which there were many, were composed entirely of three families, all related – the Somervilles, the Coghills and the Townsends. The most distinguished inhabitant of Castletownshend was Miss Edith Oenone Somerville, the authoress, half of that “Somerville and Ross” team who wrote the “Memoirs of an Irish RM” and many other books. She wasn’t really a half, as there was no Ross. Violet Martin, the original Ross, had died prematurely after the first book they wrote together, but Miss Somerville – or Dr Somerville, as she preferred to be called after Trinity College, Dublin had made her an honorary Doctor of Literature – was a keen spiritualist and believed that the ghost of Violet Martin was directing her pen.

My chief memories of Castletownshend are of Dr Somerville herself, and of rats. Like almost every other Irish mansion that I have known, Glenbarrahane was infested with rats.

Rats and spiritualism are two subjects that have generally been neglected in the many books that have been written about our class and nation. Horses have been exhaustively dealt with but rats, no. Practically everybody had rats. Some householders fought back and spent endless hours discussing different methods of exterminating them, but most simply regarded them as an Act of God and gave up the struggle.

I had, and have, a particular horror of the creatures and all my youth would never go to bed without my enormous black cat, Nemo, the terror of the local dogs.”

Earlier in the 19th century, Glenbarrahan had been the home of Sir John Joscelyn COGHILL (1826-1905). He had moved there in 1860, and was later recorded in the 1901 Census: John Jocelyn COGHILL, age 75, son Egerton COGHILL age 48, daughter Violet COGHILL age 33 (unmarried Dr. of Medicine) and grandson Marmaduke COGHILL age 5 and Neville COGHILL age 1 and Aymer SOMMERVILLE, a nephew, age 35, Justice of the Peace, as well as a Land Agent and a widower.

In one glimpse of the flavour of life there Violet COGHILL and others can be seen performing a play enacted for the family:

Family Play circa 1890: L-R Willy Plunket – aka William Lee PLUNKET (1864-1920); Violet Coghill aka Dr. Violet COGHILL (1868-1951); Hebe Coghill aka Dr. Elfrieda Hester Brooke “Hebe” COGHILL (1886-1981). “Hebe” was the daughter of Violet’s brother Claude Plunket COGHILL (1859-1922) and it is possible that he was the unnamed 4^th person in the photo. NOTE: Violet COGHILL and William PLUNKET were cousins, grandchildren of John Spann PLUNKET (aka PLUNKETT) and Charlotte BUSHE. Hebe, like her aunt, Dr. Violet COGHILL and many other women in this family, never married. SOURCE: Queens University Archives.

By the time that Joan’s family lived at Glenbarrahan House, it was already famous as the birthplace and childhood home of Violet Florence MARTIN (1862-1915), a novelist who wrote under the pen name of Martin Ross, She is still well known to many because of the television series, The Irish R.M. based on books that she had co-authored with her cousin, Edith SOMERVILLE (1858-1949) - who lived a fifteen minute walk away in Somerville House aka Drishane House. Violet was not only a 1^st cousin once removed of Sir John Joscelyn Coghill (albeit sometimes referred to as his grand daughter) but she also shared a great-grandmother with the writer Maria Edgeworth, whose use of Irish vernacular speech she followed in her work. It is not far fetched to conjecture that both MARTIN and SOMERVILLE had influenced and inspired both Joan and Patricia in both their writing and their outlook on life.

After Glenbarraghan, the ARBUTHNOTs moved, most likely shortly after the death of Lady Edith BLAKE on April 18, 1926, to Myrtle Grove in the townland Youghal-lands, Parish Youghal, Barony Imokilly. Since Lady Edith had died on the same day that the 1926 census was taken, the family may have been in transit, this may explain their absence from that census.

Myrtle Grove. SOURCE: NLI. Collection: Poole Photographic Studio, Waterford.

The date of this photograph is uncertain, but I suspect that it was taken sometime after a 1913 photo by W. Lawrence. There was no evidence of the patched roof in the 1913 photo, and the climbing plants had been cut back from what was previously visible. I do wonder: who was the woman in the right-hand window?

Joan’s nephew, Patrick Oliver COCKBURN (1950-) described living as a child at Myrtle Grove in his book The Broken Boy, a page-turning memoir of his time recovering from polio but also something of a family memoir. It was described by Maeve Binchy as written with affection and insight. On the initial purchase of Myrtle Grove by his grandfather, Sir Arthur Henry BLAKE (1840-1918), Patrick recalls:

The Blakes had expectations but not much money when they bought Myrtle Grove from Sir John Pope Hennessy, another colonial governor, for 1,500 pounds in 1894. Their plans to live there were in any case delayed because it came with two ladies in their 80s, the aunts of the previous owner, in residence. It had been agreed that they should continue to occupy the house until they died something, it was tactfully suggested, that could not be long delayed. For several frustrating years the aged relations did not take the hint, but when they finally did so the Blake's fortunes had much improved. The house was soon filled with Chinese tables inlaid with mother of Pearl, chairs with delicate scenes from the imperial court in Peking and vases with Chinese ladies standing gossiping by their tea houses. For a child it was like living inside an exotic doll’s house which had come to life. P.91.

Patrick’s memories of the early days of the ARBUTHNOT’s life while living there:

When my mother was growing up in the 1920s thirteen servants had looked after the house and gardens, but 30 years later the number was down to two or three my father caustically remarked that my mother's family had made a slight financial miscalculation sometime after the First World War in imagining the income tax was just a passing phase. P. 89

Patrick’s description of the house:

The house’s unique personality - part Tudor, part Chinese - was the creation of Sir Henry Blake and his wife Edith Osborne. Sir Henry's handsome, somewhat arrogant face, with piercing blue eyes and very dark hair looked out from a portrait in the dining room drawing room, almost a caricature of the successful colonial administrator. He had eloped with Edith, a great heiress, whose wealthy but ill-matched parents, having quarrelled bitterly for thirty years, came together briefly to disinherit their daughter. Lady Blake's portrait also hung in the drawing room, showing her dark, tough, Spanish looking face. She was a keen and able artist, a botanist, a lepidopterist and a linguist, and bored by the tedious social round of a colonial governor's wife, she claimed to suffer from an incapacitating illness and painted hundreds of pictures of plants, animals and butterflies. I was delighted as a child by their exotic colours but they also had the cool precision of scientific studies made before botanists could rely on colour photography. These wonderful paintings covered the walls of the main staircase at Myrtle Grove as it rose two stories and created the illusion that one was walking upstairs through a Caribbean paradise alive with blue seas exuberant green vegetation leaping fish dancing butterflies. p. 90

In the walled garden of Myrtle Grove are a pair of large cast iron gates with two Chinese characters each a foot high, attached to the thick bars. Round and black, the bars look like muscular snakes swallowing each other's tails. The gates appear wholly exotic amid the dahlias, roses and valerian, and they hang in a gateway cut in Youghal’s ancient town wall. But they are not the only such gates in the world. An identical pair hang on the other side of the globe in a high brick wall, built to protect people from bandits and pirates, surrounding the village of Kat Shing Wai on the Chinese mainland opposite the island of Hong Kong. p. 83

The reason for the duplicate set of gates is complicated. They had initially been part of the protection of the village of Kat Hing Wai (吉慶圍) but had been blasted open during the 1899 Six Day War when the British were attempting to take over the New Territories after having previously leased the land from the Qing Dynasty. The Tang clan of Kat Hing Wai had offered up serious resistance to the British forces which were under BLAKE’s command and at the conclusion of the battle, he had seized these gates as war booty, and then brought them home with him in 1903. In 1825, after the elders of Kat Hing Wai had made repeated requests over two decades to have them returned to the village, BLAKE’s widow Olive had returned the gates. What followed:

A year later, shortly before she [Olive BLAKE] died, she received a testy phone call from Cork Customs saying they had received a crate, so heavy that it had broken their crane, addressed to a ‘Miss Blake, Ireland’. They asked her to collect it. When opened it was found to contain a perfect full-size copy of the Kat Shing Wai gates dispatched by the grateful elders of the Tan clan. p. 85

It is ironic that Myrtle Grove, like Kat Shing Wai, had also been built initially as part of a walled village. Patrick describes the neighbourhood of Myrtle Grove as he knew it as a step back in time.

Just off the Main Street was my mother's family home Myrtle Grove, the oldest unfortified large house in Ireland, protected by massive town walls. Horse drawn traps, gigs and carts were still common in our part of Ireland in the mid 1950s and there were two blacksmiths conveniently placed on the road to Brook Lodge. p14

The history of Myrtle Grove can be traced back for close to five centuries:

On one side of the room was an oriole window where Raleigh's friend the poet Edmund Spencer, burned out of his own Castle at Kilcommon, is supposed to have composed stanzas of the Fairy Queen. p. 90

Raleigh, drawn back to England by court politics culminating in his long imprisonment and eventual execution, had not, in fact, spent a long time at Myrtle Grove.

One of the 1930s newspaper accounts relating to Joan’s book noted this connection of the Arbuthnot family home to Sir Walter RALEIGH.

February 13, 1931 Irish Times.

Although this tidbit was intended as a 1930s newspaper equivalent of click bait, it also happened to be true. RALEIGH, in 1585, had been granted 40,000 acres of land in County Cork, Ireland, and that had included Myrtle Grove which was where he had briefly lived while in Youghal.

[RALEIGH] was mayor of Youghal for one year (1588/1589) although his duties were fulfilled by a deputy suggesting absenteeism and it would appear Raleigh ran his various estates from London. SOURCE: Walter RALEIGH

The Buildings of Ireland describe Myrtle Grove as:

Traditionally the home of Sir Walter Raleigh, a former Mayor of Youghal, this house is a rare example of an unfortified sixteenth century Irish house to have survived with much of its original form intact. The house was renovated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries yet it retains its original character and some interior features, which may date back to the 1580s. The building’s Tudor features are characterized by the steep gables and tall chimneys. There are many legends associated with the house, it is purported that the first potatoes in Ireland were planted in the gardens of Myrtle Grove, and it is possible that the house witnessed the beginning of tobacco smoking in Ireland. The poet Edmund Spenser, a contemporary of Raleigh's, is said to have been inspired to write the "Faerie Queen" while looking out the window of Myrtle Grove.

A blog post by Patrick Comerford adds some specific dates that clarify when the family lived there:

In 1940, after a divorce, Patricia married the journalist Claud Cockburn (1904-1981), and they returned to Youghal to live at Myrtle Grove in 1947.

For many years, Claud Cockburn was a columnist with The Irish Times while I worked there, and some of his sons, including Patrick Cockburn, also contributed to The Irish Times. Patrick’s godmother was Lady Clodagh Anson, who once lived at the Towers in Ballysaggartmore, in Lismore, Co Waterford.

Patricia and Claud Cockburn moved to Ardmore, Co Waterford, in 1980. Claud died on 15 December 1980, Patricia died on 6 October 1989; they are both buried in the churchyard of Saint Mary’s Collegiate Church, Youghal, under a tree planted by her mother in memory of her brother and close to the gates of Myrtle Grove.

It is clear that while retaining a residence at Myrtle Grove, the family also continued to stay at their home at 42 Grosvenor Place:

1927 May 18. Irish Independent.

Like her parents, Joan never touched down anywhere for any length of time. In December 29^th, 1951, she was recorded in a ship manifest while traveling to Kingstown, Jamaica with Monica BALDWIN (author). Both gave their address as Byre House., a place which was a meeting place for many creative souls.

SOURCE: The Byre House.

For a time, the farm was occupied by the painter, biographer and collector Sir Roland Penrose (1900-1984) and his wife the famous model and war photographer Lee Miller. Picasso visited the house in the 1960s. SOURCE: British Listed Buildings.

Six months later, in June 13, 1952, Joan had left Jamaica via Dominica and sailed to Avonmouth (near Bristol), this time sans Monica. On this trip, her given address was Myrtle Grove, probably one of her many extended visits there with her sister Patricia, visits that her nephew Patrick recalled with delight:

Her coming was heralded by the arrival, weeks in advance, of parcels containing great quantities of clothes. Often she would change her plans and the parcels would have to be sent on. She had traveled in the South Seas and would give me bright yellow cowry shells from the lagoons, gaudy Hawaiian shirts on which were printed palm trees and lagoons, and records with Hawaiian guitar music. She was teaching me, without much success, to swim, saying that the first essential was for me to learn to float on my back. This was something I was reluctant to do because I had learned early on that, however picturesque the Irish coast, the water was bitterly cold. Extremely good looking and with a strong mellow voice Joan, never married. She lived for many years in a cottage in Oban in Scotland with Monica Baldwin, a nun who had fled her convent after 28 years and was a niece of Stanley Baldwin, the British Prime Minister before the war, with whom she exchanged frequent letters. Monica wrote a memoir, which did well, called I Leap Over the Wall, and was known in our family as ‘The Show Jumper’. p. 79

When Joan died at age 92 in 1997, in a care facility in Youghal, she had long outlived all her siblings and she was buried, near many family members, at the cemetery at the Collegiate Church of Saint Mary, a short walk from Myrtle Grove. This was a church she knew well from her early life. Despite her foot looseness, she had returned to Youghal, a place where she had some roots, a place that felt like home.

The oak roof of Saint Mary’s, seen above, has been carbon dated to about 1170, long before Sir Walter RALEIGH - let alone the ARBUTHNOTs - set foot in Youghal.

As I was feeling my way into writing this piece, I was also reading Raising Hare, a memoir by Chloe Dalton about her rescue and care of a leveret – a baby hare. As I did, I found out that Chloe also had a rootless childhood, with known ancestors reaching back three hundred years or more, also with land they had owned that she had finally chosen to call home. Both Joan and Chloe had parents who had been born into wealth and prestige, and who had jobs which took them all over the world. It seems that a life like this often bestows the power of an inner privilege, a privilege of the soul, a kind of freedom which supports stepping out into the unknown and the freedom to follow one’s own desires – for good or for ill.

This is helping me to understand more - a little bit more - about why so many of the leaders of the United Irishmen from the late 1700s had come from families like Joan’s and Chloe’s. Many of them would have felt perfectly at home in many of the places where Joan's and Chloe's families had lived, not as staff, nor as a cleaning lady as I once (briefly) was, but as people who belonged. This close up and visceral kind of understanding, has begun to shape my own understanding of at least what supported some of their choices and also how these choices came to impact the arc of history. Privilege matters. Place matters.

That’s what the job of a writer is. Noticing small things. Noticing big things is for Descartes. I can’t do that. Noticing small things makes a difference. Mostly what we do, especially in relation to other people, and other people in our family, is to assume that we know them and smear across them in daily life. Mother is always in the other room complaining about something—and I’ve learned, and it’s only taken 74 years—I’ve learned to pay attention to the things people do outside of the stereotype I have of them. It’s always surprising.—Anne Carson (winner of the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature)\

Honor Beryl HAMILTON

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:26:56 +0000

Honor Beryl HAMILTON (1893-1961) first appeared on my radar as I was writing a piece about Dorothy St. Felix JACKSON (1887-1964). She had lived - for a time - with Dorothy in Glengarriff. This got me wondering. Why had these two single women both settled in Glengarriff? Had they been a romantic couple? Dorothy had always been public about being a lesbian, but what about Honor?

Thanks to my cousin, Venetia Bowman-Vaughan.

Also, had Dorothy moved there first because of Honor or was it the other way around? Later, I wondered whether Honor’s initial move to Glengarriff had been triggered by an IRA raid at Castle Luttrellstown in Co. Meath in 1924 and the resultant theft of a necklace? Her necklace?

Painting of Honor HAMILTON by her aunt Letitia Marion HAMILTON (Irish artist) 1878 – 1964. Honor at the Piano, NOTE: Thanks to novelist Laura McKENNA for this.

Dorothy – one of my 1^st cousins - had always lived openly as a lesbian, and her successive partners had always been fully welcomed by her parents, her siblings, and her nieces and nephews. She had bankrolled trusts for some of them. Living as a couple in the coastal village of Glengarriff in the early to mid-1900s – a time when “gay rights” was a barely uttered phrase in rural Irish communities - might have been made easier for Dorothy & Honor because they were wealthy. Also, did it help that they had previously lived in places where sexual diversity was accepted?

In her diary, Dorothy’s older sister Amy Oliver JACKSON (1874-1962) recorded visiting them at Glengarriff in 1929. I saw Amy’s diary in 2010 while visiting her great-grandson in Tetbury - where he was living and working as a gardener for Prince Charles. In subsequent emails, his father Pat ROBERTS encouraged me to use what I had copied of her papers for future research. Amy had compiled a document that her family referred to as The Bible – excerpts of her diaries in an abbreviated timeline. The two entries beneath are from the 1929 entry in The Bible:

We went to Ireland for a fortnight at Easter [March 31]to Glengarriff Co. Cork. We went via Cunarden from Liverpool to Cork S.S. Samaria back by S S Scythea. Enjoyed the journey very much. Dot – Honor Hamilton there. We did a lot of boating and in the summer [went to Combe Honitan]

We went to stay with Dorothy at Dernasliggaun [&] Leenane Co. Galway right in the wild – on the sea – fishing & boating – Honor Hamilton’ cousin Jack Elliot[?] died in India which was when there.
NOTE: This cousin may have been Eliza Jane HAMILTON (1866-1929) who died in Bombay March 24^th, widow of J. HAMILTON. Thanks to novelist Laura McKENNA, I learned that Dernasliggaun [&] Leenane are both on the Fjord of Killary in Galway.

I have a foggy memory of having seen Dorothy’s name beside Barony House, Glengarriff in the Valuation Office Revision Books in Dublin, but I can neither find my note of that, nor of any images I might have had, and the records for the Republic of Ireland are not available online.

Nov 23, 2010. Chariot of Life sculpture by Oisín Kelly outside the old Valuation Office site.
With no notes about Glengarriff, the reins holding on to my memory are non-existent.

The Bantry Estate Collection, 1671-1980s at UCC has records that Rachel LEIGH-WHITE’s family had owned Barony House – referred to as Glengarriff Lodge in their collection - for generations. Rachel may be key to why Honor and Dorothy may have ended up living there. Honor Beryl HAMILTON’s probate indicates a close relationship with Rachel LEIGH-WHITE.

Rachel Veronica Rose Leigh-White of Ahakista Durrus Co. Cork. The townland of Reenacappul, Parish Kilcrohane, Barony West Carbery (West Division) [SEE: Map]

In much family research it helps to follow the money. In Ireland it is even wiser to follow the land. Soon, I hope to be in Cork and see the land records in the Bantry Estate Collection, 1671-1980s. In the meantime, there are other documents, timelines and land holdings of Honor worth exploring. For example, a March 18, 1939 newspaper clipping: Miss H. HAMILTON Barony, Glengarriff shows that Honor is still at Glengarriff a decade after Amy had visited.

Six years after this, Honor and Dorothy were both now at 8 Sussex Square, Paddington along with Dorothy’s widowed mother - Amelia JACKSON (1851-1944) - and their staff.

8 SUSSEX SQUARE, Paddington, London in 1939 “census” – done to issue identity cards.

List of Household members (12 people) NOTE: Amelia’s birthdate was actually 1851.

First name(s)	Last name(s)	Birth date	Occupation	Marital status
Amelia	Jackson	23 Feb 1881	Private Means	Single
Dorothy F	Jackson	26 Jul 1889	Private Means	Single
Emily	Grover	29 Mar 1874	Housekeeper	Married
Colleen (Joan)	Chachly	05 Oct 1923	Domestic Servant	Single
Callis Lionel R	Briggs	23 Jul 1907	Butcher	Single
Annie (Sarah)	Sessions	14 Sep 1882	Domestic Servant	Single
Eileen (Eurlen)	Humphries (Humphreys)	02 Dec 1912	Domestic Servant	Single
Raddie	Jones	02 Mar 1923	Domestic Servant	Single
Edith B	Hollick	12 Jun 1877	Ladies' Maid	Single
Honor B	Hamilton	03 Jan 1893	? Income	Single
Joan (H C)	Murray (Chalkley-Collins)	05 Oct 1923	Domestic Service	Single

Bear in mind that Honor might only have been visiting 8 Sussex Street - not living there – after all, I was recorded as residing in Dublin in the 2016 Irish census while merely visiting:

Census results reveal that both Dorothy and Honor were members of a similar well-monied class. The household help recorded at Dorothy JACKSON mother’s home in 8 Sussex Sq. was similar to Honor’s family’s staff in Wiltshire as recorded in both the 1901 census and the 1911 Census. Both women grew up with the services of butlers, footmen, valets, cooks, maids, etc … (bearing in mind that this list only includes the live-in staff).

1911 Census Great Somerford, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England

First name(s)	Last name	Relationship to head	Marital status	Sex	Age	Birth year	Occupation	Birth place
Edmund C	Hamilton	Head	Married	Male	43	1868	Private means	Canada Quebec
Adelaide	Hamilton	Wife	Married	Female	36	1875	Private means	Canada Quebec
Honor	Hamilton	Daughter	Single	Female	18	1893	Private means	Co Meath Dunboyne
Blyth	Ritchie	Visitor	Single	Male	34	1877	Captain 15th builders	Glos Clapton
Amy	Luce	Visitor	Single	Female	30	1881	Private means	Wilts Malmesbury
George	Phillips	Servant	Widower	Male	52	1859	Butler domestic	Glos Falfield
Ernest	Hillier	Servant	Single	Male	23	1888	Footman domestic	Wilts Chiltoe
Arthur	Clark	Servant	Single	Male	29	1882	Footman domestic	Wilts Malmesbury
Thomas	Pope	Servant	Married	Male	31	1880	Valet domestic	London Hackney
Julia	Kelly	Servant	Single	Female	42	1869	Cook domestic	Kildare Kildham
Harriet	Usher	Servant	Single	Female	34	1877	Maid domestic	Essex Desham
Gertrude	Bates	Servant	Single	Female	39	1872	Housemaid domestic	Stafford
Mariel	Miles	Servant	Single	Female	19	1892	Housemaid domestic	Wilts Malmesbury
Elsie	Salter	Servant	Single	Female	21	1890	Housemaid domestic	Wilts Malmesbury
Lilian	Burden	Servant	Single	Female	19	1892	Housemaid domestic	Wilts Malmesbury

The JACKSON’s Sussex Square family home was bombed sometime between Oct. 7, 1940 and June 6, 1941. Just prior to this, Amelia had moved in with her eldest son Sir Thomas Dare JACKSON (1876-1954) at Herringfleet, Suffolk. The house may have been empty. Where Dorothy or Honor might have been when the bombs fell on Sussex Street, we don’t yet know.

L-R Sir Thomas Dare JACKSON, Nancy Amelia JACKSON (1924-2000), Julius Lloyd JACKSON (1922-1943), Thomas Rickard Eyre JACKSON (1921-1944) and Mary Vivian Vera Massey JACKSON née LLOYD (1891-1975). NOTE: Both sons died before the end of WWII.

Honor’s Irish upper-class roots begin in the early 1600s when the Scottish Hugh HAMILTON (1590-1671) settled at Bangor, Co. Down. Three generations later, his great grandson, Alexander HAMILTON (1690 to 1768), served as an MP for Killyleagh, Co. Down. He was in the Irish House of Commons at the same time as several of the JACKSON M.P.s that Dorothy’s father - in a 1912 speech in Forkhill, Co. Armagh - claimed to have shared kinship with (but his claim has yet to be proven). SEE: JACKSONs of Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry. The HAMILTON family story is an ongoing tale of successful mill owners, merchants and politicians whose success played out on several continents, not only in Ireland.

A description of the wedding of Honor’s parents at St. Mary Abbots Church, Kensington, which was typical for their class, was published in the Lady's Pictorial Feb 27, 1892. Two of their bridesmaids were “cousins” Miss Eva HAMILTON and Miss Maud [?] HAMILTON – attired in Gainsborough gowns of ivory-white corduroy with long trains, over ivory satin petticoats and bodices swathed with turquoise-blue velvet…. with reception held at De Vere-gardens, Kensington Palace, after which the newly weds then departed for Paris and the Riviera. Like her sister Letitia, the painter of Honor, Eva was also an acclaimed painter: SEE: Ceilidh at Dunboyne, 1919–1919

Eleven months later, Honor Beryl HAMILTON was born on Jan 3, 1893, at the HAMILTON’s ancestral family home at Hamwood, Dunboyne. Co. Meath. Although there is no record of her birth certificate on GRONI or elsewhere, there was a birth Announcement which at least included both where and when she was born:

HAMILTON, January 3, at Hamwood, Dunboyne, County Meath, the wife of E.C. Hamilton, 3^rd King’s own Hussars, of a daughter. The Belfast Weekly News. January 14, 1893.

Hamwood had long been home for many of Honor’s ancestors. The Dunboyne Church of Ireland Church and Graveyard – Monumental Inscriptions include the names of dozens of them, starting in the late 1700s and continuing until the 1970s (the inscriptions were recorded in 1977).

Charles HAMILTON (1738-1818) had built the original Hamwood in Dunboyne, Co. Meath and two generations later, his grandson, Robert HAMILTON (1822-1898), who had prospered in a timber business in Canada, built a second home called Hamwood in Quebec (630 Chemin Sainte-Foy). Three generations of Honor’s ancestors were born there, including Honor’s father Edmund Charles HAMILTON (1868-1922). When Honor was born at the Co. Meath Hamwood, it was owned by Charles Robert HAMILTON (1846-1913), a 2^nd cousin of Honor’s father.

The Hamiltons and Hamwood House, Dunboyne, Co. Meath.

Hamwood House: Hamwood is a smaller Palladian house of the 1770s, near the town of Dunboyne on the borders of Meath and Kildare, with a central block joined to little octagonal ‘pepper-pot’ wings by elegantly curved sweeps. Unusually, the left hand wing contains the main entrance, since it is said that the house was so cold when built that the family decided to move the hall door as far from the main rooms as possible. The resulting effect is interesting, since the principal facade lacks a central feature and looks more like a garden front. Internally this has allowed the creation of a double drawing room that runs along the entire length of the facade, an unusual feature in a house of this size.

Hamwood’s builder, Charles Hamilton, acted as land agent for the Dukes of Leinster whose principal seat, Carton, is nearby, and the duke made him a present of the impressive flights of granite steps leading to the doors in the end pavilions. Successive generations of the family acted as the Leinsters' agents until the present owner's father, Charles Hamilton, retired in the 1970s. There is good late 18th century decoration and an interesting family collection.

Hamwood House in Quebec: an architectural echo of the original Hamwood House

Following the land leads us to a second property connected to Honor, Luttrellstown just outside Dublin. Honor was mentioned in connection with this property in the November 25^th 1931 edition of The Tatler, No 1587, in The Letters of Eve - a popular society column begun in May 1914 in The Tatler. The column was written as if it were the correspondence of the fictional Hon. Evelyn Fitzhenry to her friend, Lady Betty Berkshire:

Honor’s father bought the property from Luke Henry WHITE, 3^rd Lord Annaly, and in a memorial in 1919 finalized this purchase. Long before this purchase, HAMILTONs had been recorded as parties in several other Luttrellstown transactions. It is significant that this property had been bought and sold more than once along with several clusters of other holdings also held by HAMILTONs in other counties. NOTE: The 560 acre Luttrellstown Castle estate occupied the entire townland, of Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock], Co. Meath.

Pertinent Memorials of Deeds (Feel free to skip over all these details)

· 19 Oct 1768. ROD: 267- 425-172640. Image 236 Lands of Clony otherwise Clonee [Clonee, Parish Trim, Barony Lower Moyfenrath, Co. Meath] called or known by the name of the WOOD’s … for lives of William ESSINGTON late of Clonee aforesd Gent Richard WARD Eldest Son of John WARD of Gilltown Co. Kildare Gent & James Archibald HAMILTON Son of Gustavus HAMILTON late of the City of Dublin Esqr & who was formerly Major in the Lord Tyrawly's Regiment of Dragoons.

· 18 Nov 1768 ROD: 271-35-173311. Image 24. BTW John Stewart HAMILTON of Donemanaghin [Dunnamanagh, Parish Donaghedy, Barony Strabane Lower] Co. Tyrone Esqr of the one part and Catherine JOHNSTON [née GILL (1709-1794)] of Henry Street in the City of Dublin Widow and Administratrix of Richard JOHNSTON [1710-1758] late of Gilford Included being lease for lives renewable forever from Henry LUTTEREL of Luttrelstown [in Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] in the Co. of Dublin Esq . deed : and also all that and those the Towns and Lands of Lowe Bennally [Binnelly, Parish Donaghedy, Barony Strabane Lower] otherwise Bennalty and Stoney folds otherwise Stoney falls [Stonyfalls, Parish Donaghedy, Barony Strabane Lower] situate lying and being in the Manor of Elliston and Parish of Danahey Barony of Strabane and Co. of Tyrone afores . also all that share and proportion of the Lands of Mellytore otherwise Morefield [?] otherwise Merryval [NOTE: Moorefield House is in Ballybrack, Parish Killiney, Barony Rathdown] situate in the Barony of Coolock and Co Dublin … and also that part of the Lands of Taggard [possibly Saggart, Parish Saggart, Barony Newcastle] Commonly Called DINNEYs farm situate in the Barony of Newcastle Co of Dublin

· 31 August 1819 ROD: 744-234-506570 Image 128 [NOTE: The preceding deed ROD: 744-233-506568 involved Gawin William Rowan ROWAN-HAMILTON (1783-1834) and was probably connected.] BTW Luke WHITE of Woodlands [Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] in the Coy of Dublin Esqr of the first part Thomas WHITE Esqr Colonel of his Majestys County of Dublin Regiment of Militia Eldest Son and Heir apparent of the said Luke WHITE of the 2nd part … the Towns and lands of Luttrelstown Diswellstown [Diswellstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] Esker [Esker North and/or Esker South, Parish Esker, Barony Newcastle] Huntstown [Huntstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] Hartstown [Hartstown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Bally Owen [Ballyowen, Parish Esker, Barony Newcastle] Devilsmills [NOTE: The Devil's Mill (also known as the Anna Liffey mill) is a historic mill site located in the Strawberry Beds area of the St. Catherine's Park/Lucan region in County Dublin. It sits at the bottom of Tinkers Hill alongside the River Liffey, directly opposite the Luttrellstown Estate - Astagob (Clonsilla), Parish of Clonsilla, Barony Newcastle] Great Kellystown [Kellystown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Little Kellystown Barberstown [Barberstown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Cappa [probably Cappoge, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] Barnhill [Barnhill, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] , Astagob [Astagob (Clonsilla) and/or Astogob (Castleknock) ] Slaps owise Slips Carpenter 's town Saltwood acuse Saltwood [?] and Febblestown wise Fiblestown Owise Pheblestown [Hansfield aka Phibblestown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Clonsillagh [Clonsilla, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Ballydand [Ballydowd, Parish Esker, Barony Newcastle] Costaheny [?]Rishanstown ourse Kiskinstown [?] Barnaceit ourse Barnaquetch [?] Porterstown [Porterstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] & West fallstown [possibly Westpalstown] with their & every of their Rights members & appurtences.. NOTE Sheephill is also in Parish Castleknock.

· 27 Sept 1861 ROD: 1861-30-28 Link 387 BTW Luke WHITE of the Grange in the County of Dublin M.P. and Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Longford Regiment of Militia [Luke WHITE (1829-1888) 2^nd Baron Annaly] of the one part and William SMYTHE Esqr Methven Castle Perthshire and Ralph Erskine SCOTT accountant Edinburgh Alexander HAMILTON W.S. Edinburgh [probably Alexander HAMILTON L.L.B. W.S. (Writer to the Signet – ie a solicitor) born 1797 died 1 Jan1884, late of Edinburgh. Obit Dundee Evening Chronicle] John Beatson BELL Glenfarg W.S. Edinburgh and James ADAMS Sol Supreme Court of Scotland Edinburgh Trustees for and on behalf of the English & Scottish Law life assurance association of the other part Whereby after reciting that by Indenture 17 Aug 1857 BTW Henry WHITE [Henry WHITE 1791-18731^st Baron Annaly] of Woodlands in the County of Dublin Esquire Colonel of the Longford Regiment of Militia and father of the said Luke WHITE of the first part the said Luke WHITE of the second part and Thomas Orde LEES and Henry COSGRAVE of the third part the Manor and estate of Luttrelstown ors Woodland [Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] and the several other Lands and heredits Luke WHITE did thereby grant convey and assign unto the said William Smythe Ralph Erskine SCOTT Alex HAMILTON John Beatson BELL and James ADAM their heirs and assigns Firstly all that annuity or yearly sum or rent charge of £1,000 by the said Indenture of 17 Aug 1857 charged upon and payable out of all that and those the Manor of Luttrelstown orse Woodlands [Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] and the rights and appurts thereunto belonging and the Towns and Lands of Luttrelstown orse Woodlands Diswells town [Diswellstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] Huntstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] Hartstown [Hartstown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Devilsmills [NOTE: The Devil's Mill (also known as the Anna Liffey mill) is a historic mill site located in the Strawberry Beds area of the St. Catherine's Park/Lucan region in County Dublin. It sits at the bottom of Tinkers Hill alongside the River Liffey, directly opposite the Luttrellstown Estate - Astagob (Clonsilla), Parish of Clonsilla, Barony Newcastle] Great Kellystown Little Kellystown [Kellystown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock]- Barberstown [Barberstown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Cappa [probably Cappoge, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] Barnhill [Barnhill, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Astagob [Astagob (Clonsilla) and/or Astogob (Castleknock)] Slaps orse Slips Carpenterstown Scaldwood use Salwood Febbletown otherwise Tebblestown otherwise Phebblestown orse Hansfield [Hansfield aka Phibblestown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Clonsellagh orse Clonsilla [Clonsilla, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Cashahery [?] Kishamstown otherwise Kishinstown [?] Barnageethouse [?] Barnaquetch [?] and Porterstown [Porterstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] situate in the of Castleknock and County of Dublin and also upon and out of the Town and Lands of Esker [Esker North and/or Esker South, Parish Esker, Barony Newcastle] Ballowen [Ballyowen, Parish Esker, Barony Newcastle] Ballydowed [Ballydowd Parish Esker, Barony Newcastle] Westmanstown [Westmanstown, Parish Rathcoole, Barony Newcastle], & Clonburras [?] otherwise Clonburrows [?] situate in the Barony of Newcastle and County of Dublin and all other if any Lands and heredits comprised in the said Indenture of 17 Aug 1857

· 1915 Oct 14 ROD: 1915-45-224 Image 98 BTW The Right Honourable Luke Baron Annaly . ( thereinafter referred to as Lord Annaly ) of the one part and The Honourable Luke Henry WHITE ( then Known Luke WHITE) … all those 169 equal undivided 400th parts or shares of or to which he Lord Annaly was seized or entitled of and in all that and those mansion House Known as Luthellstown Castle being part of the Townland of Woodlands , together with the pleasure grounds Garden American garden and premises containing together 16a or thereabouts statute measure and also all that and those the Towns and Lands of Luttrellstown otherwise Woodlands [Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] and Devils Mills [NOTE: The Devil's Mill (also known as the Anna Liffey mill) is a historic mill site located in the Strawberry Beds area of the St. Catherine's Park/Lucan region in County Dublin. It sits at the bottom of Tinkers Hill alongside the River Liffey, directly opposite the Luttrellstown Estate – Astagob (Clonsilla), Parish of Clonsilla, Barony Newcastle] Kellystown ( part of ) [Kellystown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Barberstown ( part of ) [Barberstown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] including its sub denomination of Kishington [?] Astagob 1 part of ) Hansfield otherwise Phibblestown [Hansfield aka Phibblestown, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Consilla ( part of ) [Clonsilla, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Castaheany (part of ) [Castaheany, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Barnhill ( part of ) [Barnhill, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] and Porterstown (part of) [Porterstown, Parish Castleknock, Barony Castleknock] situate in the Barony of Castle Knock and also all that and those the Town and Lands of Ballygower ( part of) Westmanstown (part of) [Westmanstown, Parish (possibly) Clonsilla, ,Barony Castleknock] and St Edmonsbury (part of) situate in the Barony of Newcastle all in the County of Dublin

· 14 Sept 1915 Image 99 ROD: 1915-45-225 BTW The Right Honourable Luke Baron Annally thereinafter referred to as Lord Annaly of the one part and The Honourable Luke Henry WHITE 1 now known as and thereinafter called Luke WHITE of Holdenby House Northampton of the other part whereby by Recitals it appeared that by the joint effect of an Indenture of settlement thereinafter referred to as Lady Annaly settlement 23 Jul 1884 and the other Indenture specified in the First Schedule thereunder written and in the events which have happened divers Townlands and other lands in the Baronies of Goman [Gowran ] Callan [Callan] or Kells [Kells] Ida [probably Iverk] Fassideneen [Fassadinin] Grark or Knocktopher [Knocktopher] in the County of Kilkenny in Ireland and in the Barony of East affaley [East Offaly] in the County of Kildare and in the Barony of Moyfurath [Lower Moyfenrath] in the County of Meath and in the Barony of Coolock [Coolock] in the County of Dublin and in the Barony of Idrone East [Idrone East] in the County of Carlow and in the Counties of Tipperary and Waterford and certain Estates in England

· 1919 Dec 4. ROD: 1919-70-13 Image 10 1919 Nov 19 (registered 1919 Nov 4) BTW the Right Honourable the third Baron Annaly and hereinafter called Lord Annaly of the first part The Honourable Luke Henry WHITE of Holdenby House in the County of Northampton ( the eldest son of Lord Annaly and thereinafter and hereinafter called Mr WHITE) of the second part and Edmund Charles HAMILTON of Luttrellstown Clonsella [Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] Co. Dublin late a Major in his Majestys Army … therein mentioned Indenture mortgage of the 15 Sept 1915 and from all monies thereby secured Schedull First all and Singular the Mansion House known as Luttrellston Castle [in Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock] and the messuages cottages lands covered with water tenements and hereditament specified in the plan thereto annexed and thereon closed and surrounded by a red verge line such red Verge line running down the road marked on the said plan as on all sides bounding on and enclosing the said premises except only that for a small portion of the Eastern side of the parcel marked on the plan Rabbit Warren at the South Eastern corner of the premises thereby conveyed the said Verge line doth not run down a road nor for that portion are the premises thereby conveyed bounded by a road.

Three years after Honor’s father bought the Luttrellstown property, he died unexpectedly. Various sources, including Find-a-Grave, recorded varying death dates of his demise, but the 1922 May 26 Wiltshire News of March 7, 1922 seems to have the most reliable death date.

An inquest, held three days later, was reported in the Evening Standard 1922 March 10.

Three years after her father’s death, Honor Beryl HAMILTON had been staying at Luttresall Castle when a necklace was reported stolen in an IRA raid [1925 Dec 2 Irish Times]. At the time, she was thirty-three years old, and single. Nothing more is known.

Months after this raid, a Mrs HAMILTON – presumably Honor’s mother - was recorded in the 1926 Irish Census as the employer of a farm labourer, John REID, at Woodlands, Parish Clonsilla, Barony Castleknock aka Luttrellstown. She herself was probably living in England. Honor is not recorded being anywhere in Ireland in this census.

In 1927, soon after Hon Ernest GUINESS (1876-1949) had purchased Luttrellstown he gifted it to his daughter Aileen PLUNKETT (1904-1999) - one of the "Golden Guinness Girls". For decades, she hosted her lavish hunt balls, and house parties there until she sold it in 1983

In 1916, the Hon. Ernest Guinness, a member of one of Ireland’s most illustrious families, visited Luttrellstown Castle with his daughter Aileen and her friend. It was there, while seated in the enchanted ‘wishing chair’, that Aileen declared her dream of one day living in the grand castle. A decade later [1926], in a gesture of profound love and secrecy, Guinness purchased Luttrellstown from Major E.C. Hamilton’s widow and, upon his daughter's return from her honeymoon, handed her the key to her new home with the words, “You are going to need it, you keep it, this is your home now.” SOURCE: Facebook post on Luttrellstown

For more background, see: The Sale of the Century and The Fascinating History of Luttrellstown as well as a Map of Luttrelstown which gives a sense of the grounds surrounding the Castle.

So many questions remain. Why had Honor’s father bought it the Luttrellstown property in the first place? Was it a bargain because of the political unrest? Had the WHITEs already decamped because of the risks? Presumably Honor and/or her mother sold it because they could no longer envision living there.

About a decade after the sale and a few years after the bombing of 8 Sussex Square, Honor was reported in the Westminster and Pimlico News, June 25, 1943 at Elizabeth Street, Pimlico:

These two sightings of Honor - in the 1939 census and then in the 1943 news item - bracket the date when Barony House was sold. Honor HAMILTON, Dorothy JACKSON and Rachel LEIGH-WHITE had the means to purchase it, Dorothy had continued to live there but by then she was with her new partner Dorothy Mary FITCH (1907-1981) née WETHERED. She may have been there either as an owner or a renter. Once I can source the property transfer records I will update this section.

Later news items, such as the one in The Times Pictorial from May 1955, now describe Honor living and giving garden tours at her home at Ahakista, Duras, a 37 minute drive away from Glengarriff. This is where she was living when she died. She was one of those women of her social class who had opened their gardens to the public to raise funds for the Jubilee Nurses Pension Fund, a charity also supported by Rachel LEIGH-WHITE and the GUINESS family.

Other mentions in 1956, 1957 and 1959, a year later, continue to show that fund raisers were not a one-off for her. The Mrs. Owen GUINESS – née SMITH-RYLAND, mentioned in several such articles, often did these fund-raising teas with her. She was the wife of Owen Charles GUINESS (1894-1970), the 2^nd cousin of Ernest GUINESS (1876-1949), the one who had purchased Luttresallstown Castle. The following mention in the Irish Times May 7 1956 also includes mention of a showing of paintings by Honor’s aunt Lettia HAMILTON, the painter of Honor at the piano.

News articles, census reports and land transactions can only help us to nail down some of the outlines of the Who, What, Where and Whens of Honor’s life. They don’t help us with the Whys of her life, but at least they can be a start to understanding some aspects of her life and the lives of other “spinsters” of her class, those who like her also tended to move in clusters of connection, much like their family’s overlapping land transactions.

CONCLUSIONS & MEANDERINGS:

CLASS: For years now, I have been hosted in Ireland by people from every possible class. Some were from old money. Some from new. Some lived in castles. Some on vast estates. Some lived in small houses or apartments, and more than one of them gave up their own bed and slept on the couch while I overnighted. What they had in common was a generous spirit, the same spirit that I know informed the life of Dorothy St. Felix Jackson – and probably that of most of her friends.

As for my own understanding the lives of the upper class, I come to it as an outsider. My parents never owned a house or a TV and only occasionally owned a car. When my father died, he bequeathed his total estate for me to handle as executor – without instruction – so I split the entire $10,000 bequest evenly between myself and my four brothers. $2,000 each. Three of us used it to travel to Ireland in the following month, and one of my brothers took some of our father’s ashes in a wee baggie to leave there.

As an outsider exploring the life of Honor, I can’t help but notice how the inter-tidal zone of her ancestor’s land transactions was part of the key to their success as members of the ascendent merchant class. Back and forth, the members of the HAMILTON, JACKSON, ROWAN, HILL, BERESFORD, GUINESS continuously borrowed, and sold, and shared properties with each other. They also retained wealth because they sustained a social life which laid the ground for economically beneficial marriages. They enjoyed hunt parties, grouse shooting parties, and tea parties, and such events often led to lengthy stays in each other’s homes which in turn led to sustained friendships.

It was this mix of social wealth and land-based wealth which then opened the doors for them to gain high offices – being M.P.s and the like - not only in Ireland but also in Canada, America, Hong Kong, England. In such offices, the men held the title, but the women supplied the glue, the behind-the-scenes-power. While the men went to prestigious colleges, members of Honor’s female ancestors had been schooled by governesses who were acclaimed in their own right – governesses such as Sydney Owenson, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Maria Edgeworth. When they grew up, they had learned not only how to handle the inevitable household staff, but also had the advantage of seeing the modelling of female independent minds. Not to be sniffed at.

The social connections of Honor HAMILTON included “cousins” of the BLACKWOOD, and GUINESS families, both of whom were distant relatives of the United Irishman Archibald ROWAN-HAMILTON (1751–1834). For a while, I had wondered if he and Honor were related, but seemingly not by blood. Only by class. Still I do wonder if the combination of both her name and her social class had afforded her some level of protection when living in Luttrellstown at a time when wealthy Protestants such as herself had felt the need to flee.

IDENTITY: While in the mulling stages of writing this post, I read Francis Fukuyama’s Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, a book that I had found in the book bin at our recycling depot. As Faulkner said: The past is never dead. It's not even past. Even so, some things do move on. In the time of Aristotle, dignity and identity were only for the upper crust but now it has morphed into becoming a commonly accepted human need and has in my lifetime been written into more legislated respect for race, sexual orientation, gender, language, religion and more. It was a mix of the French Revolution, Rousseau and even Marx that opened the door to the expectation of respect for all kinds of personal identities." People don't have ideas. Ideas have people." Carl Jung once said or to put it another way: “Ideas we don't know we have, have us.” James Hill.

Already by the mid-1900s, Irish identity had become an object of pride, to be celebrated. In the recent past, this had not been so universally felt. Also, the religious identities of being Protestant, Catholic or none of the above had become much more accepted in Ireland. Even so, it took longer for the identity of being gay or lesbian to become similarly acceptable. The demands for dignity and acceptance are continuing to be a work in progress. Protests against immigrants and intolerance against certain kinds of minorities have metastasized across the political landscape of many nations with sometimes terrifying ferocity. When women like Dorothy, Honor and Rachel were living as spinsters - in the grey zone of maybe lesbian or maybe not – they were still regarded as less-than. To what extent did the benefit of their class and wealth over-ride this?

MIGRATION and ROOTS. The impacts of migration on individuals can be complex, and as Simone Weil laid out in The Need for Roots, roots do matter, and how we are free to express them also matters. It is often the small details which can be the most telling. For example, one of my brothers named his business Armagh Forest Products Inc., despite that he had only ever visited Armagh, the home of our ancestors. The name spoke to him. Similarly, Charles HAMILTON named Hamwood House in Quebec and Sir Thomas JACKSON named Creggan in Hong Kong. One foot in the present; one foot in the past

Although the previous generations of Honor’s family had settled in places such as Canada, America and England, it is intriguing that her parents chose to have her born in Ireland. In a house belonging not to them, but to a cousin. Also curious that a few decades later, after years of living in England, her father bought his own heap (as my Gilford Castle relations call such buildings) at Luttrellstown.

As for the rootlessness of Dorothy’s family, half of her eight siblings had been born in either Yokohama or Hong Kong, while half were born - as she had been - at their home in Oakbank, Chislehurst, a suburban district in south-east London. Her own mother had been born to an English merchant family in Singapore, while her father had been born in Co. Leitrim (albeit raised in Co. Armagh). Despite an early footloose life, Dorothy chose to live most of her later life in Glengarriff. Did she know something about the ancestral presence of her family that I have yet to discover or did she move there simply for love? This continues to fascinate me.

RELATED RESEARCH ON MY WEBSITE.

· Sir James HAMILTON of Fynnart, Scotland. His descendants include Honor Beryl HAMILTON. It also shows that some of her friends such as some of the members of the BLACKWOOD family were also “cousins’. Her aunt Letitia Marion HAMILTON (Irish artist) 1878 – 1964 included in this tree, was also a key person in her life.

· Rev Hans HAMILTON (1536-1608). His descendants include Archibald ROWAN-HAMILTON, the famed United Irishman. His line does not include Honor Beryl HAMILTON, but there are other overlaps.

· Links to tables of Deeds Research. The list to the right of the map indicates how recently these images were updated. HAMILTONs can be located by doing a page search with the key word: ‘HAMILTON’ in the time frame of interest. For example, Later Deeds-1851-1920.

POSTSCRIPT:

Hon John HAMILTON (1827-1888) and Ellen Marion WOOD (1837-1872), both died in Quebec. They were the grandparents of Honor Beryl HAMILTON

HAMILTON v. DUNNE. BETWEEN: ANNE HAMILTON Plaintiff and CHARLES ROBERT FRANCIS HAMILTON AND FRANK DUNNE Defendants. 1982 WJSC-HC 818A. No. 4687P/1979. THE HIGH COURT

Major Hamilton, the first defendant, and his wife Anne Hamilton, the plaintiff, and their two children live at Hamwood House, near Dunboyne, County Meath, a property comprising 215 acres with a residence, a gatelodge, a steward's house, a garden cottage and out-offices. There are roughly 180 acres of good arable land well sheltered by woodlands and with gardens and lawns. Major Hamilton has a valuable herd of Charollais cattle which he has himself bred and Mrs. Hamilton has thoroughbred horses and mares from which she breeds foals for annual sale. They engage in market gardening. Their daughter and son are now both over 21 years. The property has been in the Hamilton family since 1760 and Major Hamilton's forebears were land agents of the Dukes of Leinster. When he and Mrs. Hamilton came to live there in 1961 the house and farm were not in very good condition as his father, who was an old man, had not kept them up. Each of them devoted a lot of time and personal work and attention to the property then and since, and both have become very attached to it as a home. The thought of leaving it is disturbing and distressful to each of them, but particularly to Mrs. Hamilton.

Three mysterious Francis JACKSONs.

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Sun, 31 May 2026 18:26:34 +0000

Starting in the Elizabethan era, dozens of JACKSON families from England and Scotland started settling in Ireland and putting down lasting roots with more frequency than they had done previously. By the mid-1600s, members of their families had settled in nearly every county in Ireland. Many of these far flung families may have been related, but the early paper trails were not unlike the breadcrumbs in Hansel and Gretel. As the saying goes: There they were, gone.

To make up for all these lost breadcrumbs, we need to get inventive. Sometimes, tracking the images of signatures and family seals can help. SEE: JACKSON Crests.

The crests used by JACKSONs included many variations: three mullets (stars), suns, pheons (a conventional heraldic representation of the head of a javelin, dart, or arrow pointed downward with two long barbs engrailed on the inner edge), an arm holding a battle axe, greyhounds, goats, bucks, horses, bears, lions, jackdaws, magpies, eagles, cocks (the bird version), falcons, Cornish choughs, and cormorants. The ones that are of most interest to me recently have been the ones which had included birds, specifically variations on ducks, and more specifically sheldrakes.

The above seals on a 1685 lease – which included the image of a duck - involved three Francis JACKSONs (one deceased). Its purpose was to transfer the rights to Moghan, Parish Donaghmore, Barony Dungannon Middle, Co. Tyrone from one Francis to another:

1. Francis JACKSON, deceased before 1685, father of the Francis JACKSON, the elder.

2. Francis JACKSON, the elder. His signature is quite shaky, so I suspect that he was infirm, possibly quite elderly in 1685. He was not described as a father of Francis JACKSON the younger.

3. Francis JACKSON, the younger. He was likely related to Francis JACKSON the elder – but not a son of his (or else he would have been described as such). He was most likely a cousin or a nephew.

It may be a clue that Francis JACKSON the elder used double “ff” at the start of Ffrancis and an “f” in lieu of an “s” in his version of Jackfon while Francis JACKSON the younger did not.

Since this lease concerned lands of Barony Dungannon Middle, Co. Tyrone, it also makes sense to track the Yorkshire JACKSONs who had family/business connections to CHICHESTERs. Sir Arthur Chichester had close connections to some of the JACKSONs of Edderthorpe and had been one of the adventurers who had been awarded in Tyrone – including Dungannon Middle - and to act as undertakers, on the understanding that they would undertake the risk of developing the land, by planting English-friendly settlements. Their tactics included dislodging the previous Irish landlords, in this case the Gaelic O’NEILs, by burning crops on the lands which they had long leased to locals, and killing the eldest sons of their tenant farmers, tactics intended to break down family and community cohesion.

In spite of these brutal tactics, some of the local Irish remained, and later even intermarried with the newcomers. A century later, one of the descendants of the Gaelic O’NEILs, Anne O’NEIL (1737-1781) of Shane’s Castle, married Richard JACKSON (abt 1730-1739), one of the Coleraine JACKSONs. Some of the descendants of the earliest CHICHESTERs also married into these early O’NEILs. By the mid-1800s there was even a William CHICHESTER who changed his name to O’NEIL in order to succeed to the estates of his cousin John Bruce Richard O'Neill, 3rd Viscount O'Neill,. SEE: WIKI: Baron William O’NEIL.

Irish history is nothing if not complicated.

The JACKSONs of Edderthorpe were likely related (somehow) to the JACKSONs of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry. Both have ducks in their seals and both had used similar naming patterns for their children’s forenames. I have yet to conclude which of the Francis JACKSONs mentioned in the 1685 lease belonged to which family tree, but the following resources have shed at least some light NOTE: Seals that were used by another dominant Ulster JACKSON family - the Jacksons of Co. Down - included three mullets (ie. stars), not ducks.:

· Family Trees

· Irish Court Records

· London Guilds

· Probates

· Early maps – including the Down Survey

· Hearth Money Rolls

CONCLUSION. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. [Leonard Cohen]. While exploring all sorts of cracks and crannies, I sometimes felt a bit like “doubting Thomas”, the believer who needed to poke his finger in - deeply -before he could totally cast out doubt. The consequences of my own finger-poking is - of course - much less important than his, but it has helped me to get to the limits of what I can believe, which is that I strongly suspect that the three Francis JACKSONs in this lease were related – somehow - to one or both of the JACKSONs of Edderthorpe and the JACKSONs of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry. Although I am leaning towards both, I must leave it to my readers to judge.

FAMILY TREES: Since I have 47 Francis JACKSONs connected to Ireland in the early days of English/Sottish settlements, starting with families with crests or seals that included ducks seemed to be a good way to winnow down the options.

JACKSONs of Edderthorpe. This family tree includes JACKSONs with familial ties to Sir Arthur Chichester (1563-1625). Since he had no surviving male issue, his lands and titles were passed to a nephew and eventually inherited by Arthur Chichester, 2nd Earl of Donegall (?-1678) the eldest son of Lady Mary JONES and Lieutenant Colonel John CHICHESTER (1609–1647), of Dungannon, County Tyrone.
Their family crest includes three sheldrakes, the same kind of bird that appears in the crests of Francis JACKSON the elder and Francis JACKSON the younger. There is a Francis JACKSON (1610-1668), of Hooton-Paynell, Co. York, England, included in this tree, and he could be a fit with the Francis JACKSON deceased in the lease. He seems to have had no surviving male children, and if this is so, then his assets would likely have passed to a near relation, likely another Francis JACKSON. The pertinent details of the various JACKSON-CHICHESTER connections include:

· Lady Lucy TINDALL (1609-) née JACKSON, daughter of Sir John JACKSON (1570-1623) and Elizabeth SAVILLE (1576-1610) was a sister of the Francis JACKSON (1610-1668) of Co. York. She had two children: Lady Lucy TINDALL (?-bef 1693) and Bradwardine TINDALL.

· Her daughter Lady Lucy TINDALL (?-bef 1693) married 1stly Sir John JACKSON (abt 1631- aft 1673) of Hickleton (grandson of JACKSON-SAVILLE), and their only son was Sir Bradwardine JACKSON (abt 1670-btw 1727-1739) [although this Sir John also had several children (at least two of them died young) with his 1^st wife Katherine BOOTHE].

· Lady Lucy TINDALL (?-bef 1693) married 2ndly Sir William JOPSON and their daughter Countess of Londonderry Lucy JOPSON (1665-1724) was therefore a half sister of Sir Bradwardine JACKSON.

· In 1686 Countess of Londonderry Lucy JOPSON (1665-1724) married Sir Robert RIDGEWAY,(1656-1713) Earl of Londonderry, and they had a daughter Lucy RIDGEWAY (aft 1686-1736) who married Arthur CHICHESTER (1695-1757) in 1686. NOTE: These relationships – distant as they appear - were close enough that Bradwardine JACKSON became party to several CHICHESTER leases in Ulster. It is also worth noting that Bradwardine JACKSON also held lands in Co. Donegal in the same Barony as Beresford JACKSON (one of the Coleraine JACKSONs). SEE: Jackson holdings in Co. Donegal. There is a reference to Sir John JACKSON of Edderthorpe in: Students Admitted to the Upper Chamber 1571-1625.

Sticking with families whose crests include three sheldrakes, the JACKSONs of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry - who also used three sheldrakes - had settled in Coleraine in the mid-1600s. Given this geographic proximity of Ulster land grants to JACKSONs, here are two possibilities for the Francis JACKSONs who may have signed and sealed this lease:

· Francis JACKSON (abt 1607-aft 1634), son of William JACKSON (1575-1626) of Kirkby Lonsdale and Mary SLATER. NOTE: He was born close to the same time as Francis JACKSON (1610-1668), of Hooton-Paynell, Co. York, England, so if it is one of them, it cannot be the other.

· Rev Francis JACKSON (1632-1670), son of Richard JACKSON (1602-1688). He died before this lease was signed and since he had only just married in 1665, any children that he had would have been too young to be the Francis JACKSON the elder, although he might have been Francis JACKSON deceased. Seemingly, he had no children.

IRISH COURT RECORDS: Mentions of Francis JACKSON in Indexes to Irish Court Records. The following records are the most pertinent. NOTE: Just as in the 1685 lease, two of them refer to Francis JACKSON the elder (or the senior) & Francis JACKSON the younger. The Francis JACKSON who married Dorcas GREEN is a possibility for the Francis JACKSON the younger, and the social class seems similar.

· Index to Chancery Pleadings 1665-1659

o p130a ffrancis JACKSON Gent v Sir Arthur CHICHESTER and James DOWDALL. Bill 13 Nov 1663 both on 26 Mar 1664 [?] 12 May 1664.

· Index to Chancery Pleadings 1677-1682.

o 206a Sarah SHORTE v Francis JACKSON & Dorcas his wife Bill 23 Dec 1680 no ans. NOTE: Francis JACKSON & Dorcas GREEN married 12 February 1676. Betham Abstracts: Francis JACKSON of City of Dublin Gent & Dora [Dorcas] GREENE of the same widow dated 12 February 1676. He died abt 1680. Betham Abstracts:. Francis JACKSON of St. Patricks Close Gent 10 Dec 1680 18 June 1686 Wife Dorcas [GREENE] Daughter Jeane Son Nicholas. SEE: ROD: 2-44-250 Jan 11, 1708 are somehow connected to this family. Dorcas GREEN married Francis JACKSON in 1676, and the will of Francis JACKSON, a clothier, was probated in 1696. SOURCE: NA Ireland. Green Mss/III/I/p43. Doc # 27960. I suspect that Francis JACKSON (?-abt 1696) was related to Michael JACKSON the clothier of nearby Pimlico. The land was described as: all those houses tanyards, backside gardens, backhouses, stables & Appurtenances held by George BLACKHALL on the south side of the Upper Comb in the Liberties of Thomas Court & Donore, Dublin, containing breadth in the front 93 ft or thereabouts, in the rere.. and in depth to Mutton Lane of 312 ft… during natural lives of Dorcus JACKSON, wife of the late Francis JACKSON & Jane her daughter, wife of the said George [BLACKHALL] & Mary JACKSON grand daughter to the said Francis JACKSON. A map drawn in 1749 shows a portion of that parcel owned by a person named Vicars, possibly a son (William VICARS) of the Joyce JACKSON, daughter of Robert & Joyce, who married Jeremiah VICARS. None of the land is still held by JACKSONs. SEE: JACKSONs of Crooked Staff.

· Index Exchequer Bills 1634-76

o 200b Francis JACKSON v Robert HAMILTON & John HAMILTON Bill 6 Dec 1675 ans 7 Feb 1675

o 233a James RICHARDSON v Francis JACKSON, Robert HAMILTON John HAMILTON & Robert Mother Bill 15 Feb 1675 sevl ans etc.

· Index Exchequer Bills 1676-80

o 115a John HAMILTON v Francis JACKSON senior & Francis JACKSON junior Bill May 1678 Rep 20 Nov 1678

o Index Exchequer Bills 1684-85

o 186b Francis JACKSON the elder & Francis JACKSON the younger v Edward JONES Thomas PARLER & James MOORE Bill 17 Aug 1685 No Ans

· Index Exchequer Bills 1684-85.

o 61b Robert HAMILTON & John HAMILTON gents v Francis JACKSON, James RICHARDSON, John READ & Robert MADDER. Bill 3 Nov 1684 No Ans.

LONDON GUILDS: London Rolls. These are the most pertinent ones from the London Guilds.

· 1627 -Jackson, Francis. Event Details-Master: William GORE. Bond Value: Mary Jackson and Richard Jackson of same £300. Father: William JACKSON, deceased, mercer - Kirby Lonsdale, Westm, Westmorland. Apprentice: Francis JACKSON.

o NOTE: William JACKSON (1575-1626) was the father of both Rev. Richard JACKSON (1602-1681) and Francis JACKSON. (1607-aft 1634) SEE: JACKSONs of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry-Drapers' -Apprenticeship -New apprentice. This Francis JACKSON is a possibility for the Francis JACKSON deceased in the 1685 lease.

· 1634 -Jackson, Francis (Male). Occupation not stated, Location unknown. Event Details-Master: William GEERE, silkman - Cheapside; Westmorland, Notes: unclear if same as person ID 580 NOTE: likely GORE? New Freeman: Francis JACKSON. Father: William JACKSON, deceased, mercer - Kirby Lonsdale, Westm, Westmorland-Drapers' -Freedom -New freeman -Co Draper.

o NOTE: He is a possibility for Francis JACKSON deceased in the lease.

· 1655 -Jackson, Francis. Event Details-Master: Richard FALLOWFIELD. Father: Francis JACKSON, deceased, Leeds, Yorks, Yorkshire. Notes: Alderman. Apprentice: Francis JACKSON. Drapers apprentice.

o NOTE: Francis sr.’s daughter Elizabeth married Dr. George NEALE. George, the father, was M.D. of Leeds, and married Eliz., daughter of Francis Jackson, alderman of Leeds. The son seems to have followed his father's steps and practised medicine at Doncaster for 50 years. SOURCE: Biographical Register of Christ’s College. It is possible that Francis sr. was a brother of Rev. Richard JACKSON of Kirkby Lonsdale. It is also possible that he was one of the Edderthorpe family.

· 1656 -Jackson, Francis Event Details-Master: Francis JACKSON. Father: Francis JACKSON, Citizen and Co Goldsmith, London. Apprentice: Robert JACKSON-Goldsmiths' -Apprenticeship -Father of apprentice -Citizen and Co Goldsmith

In a 2015 blog post - The Twenty Children of Rev Richard JACKSON, I commented on their Guild associations:

There is one more intriguing aspect to their success which I still have to nail down. This is their connection to John Jackson, a goldsmith who was Oliver Cromwell’s Treasurer (goldsmiths were the precursors to banks, and wars could not be fought without their support). We do know that at least one of Rev Richard’s sons, also a John Jackson, was apprenticed as a goldsmith, but he was too young to be that goldsmith. Also, the father of that John Jackson was – you guessed it – another John Jackson. … I can’t help but note that when you consider all the toweling, sheeting, canvas, and straw mattresses that Cromwell was requisitioning for hospitals in Ireland, let alone all the cloth needed to kit out the men in his Model Army, it is no wonder that the Jacksons of the Clothworkers Guild would have benefitted from their association with the Jacksons in the Goldsmiths Guild.

One aspect of the London Guilds worth bearing in mind is that it wasn’t just anyone who could earn the right to sign up for an apprenticeship. Most of the time, the backing of a father, brother, or uncle was needed. This increases the likelihood that the success of the Jackson sons and daughters who settled in Ireland rested, at least in part, on a close family connection to Oliver Cromwell’s Treasurer.

So far, I have been unable to find documents proving that John JACKSON was treasurer other than some intriguing references in : The Politics of the Army: 1647-1660 by Derek B. Massarella,1977. The chosen excerpt is lengthy because I have a hunch that the inclusion of the names of several men -known in Ireland in this era - might be useful to others.

The field officers around Saffron Walden had been instructed to attend the meeting, and on 21 and 22 March they met with the commissioners. The convention was well attended with forty- five officers, including Fairfax present on the first day and fifty- two on the second. The officers decided not to commit themselves one way or the other to the commissioners about the Irish service but said that, whether they engaged or not personally:

“they shall in their severall places be ready
to further and advance it amongst those under
their respective commands."

There were four questions about which they were uneasy and which they wanted to have resolved : who was to command the Irish expedition, details of the forces that were to remain in England, so that those not staying in England would not be withheld from engaging for Ireland by expect- ing to stay in England, what arrangements had been made for pay and maintenance for those going to Ireland, and what was to be done about pay arrears and about indemnity for actions committed during the war. A group of officers dissented from these votes. Colonel Harley# Colonel Fortescue, Colonel Butler, Lt. Col. Jackson, Major Fincher, Captain Farre and Captain Nevill from the first and the same group together with Colonel Rich, Major Duckett, Captain O'Hara, Captain Audley and Captain Young from the second. With the exception of Colonel Rich, a future adherent of the Fifth Monarchists and opponent of the Protectorate, and Captain Lewis Audley, the future elected officer of Fairfax’s foot regiment, these officers adhered to the group willing to serve in Ireland on parliament's terms. Thus the first split in the officer corps in 1647 was between those willing to serve on parliament's terms, "undertakers” and those with varying degrees of reservations. … Captain Levis Audley continued to favour the Irish service until at least April 1647 when it is alleged that Audley had said "such and such ingaged for Ireland's affairs were not worthy to wipe his horse's tayle". p13-14

o NOTE: This Lt. Col. Jackson was Thomas JACKSON. SOURCE; Fairfax’s army. SEE: 1680 Thomas JACKSON’s will (on my website – mentions his brother John JACKSON) ) and Thomas and Samuel JACKSON-pewterers (one of my blog-posts). For more background see my JACKSONs of Derbyshire family tree – a tree which includes a Francis JACKSON b: 21 Nov 1609. This family tree also includes the JACKSONs of Santry, Co. Dublin.

Indeed, during the whole period of the interim Council army officers were very active in government administration, much more than they had ever been before. For example, on 30 April Colonels Thomlinson and Grosvenor, Lt. Colonels Francis White and Salmon together with Maximillian Beard, Sir John Wollaston and John Greensmith were instructed by the Council of State to consider a committee to examine the whole question of public accountability for the nation's finances, a long-standing grievance of both army and Levellers. On 11 May Colonel Goffe and Lt. Colonel Kelsey, Major Haynes, Captains Blackwell and Deane, Richard Hutchinson and John Jackson were appointed to report on public finance. Colonel John Reynolds, (a politically active figure in 1647-1648) and Colonel John Clarke were requested to advise Lambert and other Council members about Ireland. Other officers had already been appointed to the committee for Irish and Scottish affairs. The administrative activity of the officers during these months covered a wide spectrum of government business, ranging from such important matters as public finance and questions of law and order to such relatively minor matters as the transporting of Deane's body to London, a task entrusted to the hands of Richt Salmon and Kelsey. Deane was killed on 2 June in a sea battle against the Dutch. However the key step, of securing the financial future of the army, was not left to the Council of State but was made by an order in the name of the Captain General and his Council of Officers for the continuance of the monthly assessment, a case of the piper calling the tune. The army may have found itself landed with a hot potato on 20 April, one which it was anxious to pass on to some other authority as quickly as possible, but the officers showed no reluctance to play a full and diligent part in government between May and July. Such administrative activity besides helping to give an appearance that the army was actually doing something about reforms, in contrast with the Rump could prove a chastening experience. It could illustrate to the officers the practical difficulties in the way of introducing reform, as opposed to the luxury of just sitting back and demanding them. It could also keep them busy with less time to think only about politics. p 321

Obviously, there were John JACKSONs serving on both sides of the political divide of the day. SEE: Queens College Cambridge records: John Jackson, M.A. Ejected in 1650.

· NOTE: During the 1640s and 1650s, Parliament purged universities that supported King Charles I. Fellows and Presidents at both Queens' (Cambridge) and Queen's (Oxford) were jailed or ejected from their posts for refusing to swear allegiance to Parliament or backing the Royalist cause (e.g., funding the King's war chest by melting down college silver).]

With the push and pull of JACKSONs in opposing directions, it is hard to say how much the outcomes of the mid-1600s political turmoil were shaped by JACKSONs, and also what the impact of all this disruption might have had on their families. While systems tend to shape the individual, individuals also shape institutions. The latter kinds of impacts can be more subtle to track, while the impacts on families can be even harder to track.

PROBATES: JACKSON Probates held at the UK National Archives.

· See also my Blog Post: Goldsmiths, Jacksons, London, Ireland & some ongoing mysteries for how some of the London Guild members may connect.

· #10 & #12 are of special interest with respect to the 1685 lease:

· Clothworkers of St. Swithins and also surnames – POINTZ, PHIPPS, CROFTON, RICHARD - names found in Ireland in the 1600s - are worth sticking a pin in.

1. 1574 October 31 The will of Francis JACKSON, a goldsmith in London. NAMES: Francis JACKSON & wife Anne; Richard JACKSON; John JACKSON; John WILIS[?]; Robert JACKSON; Barthomew ?; Mr. BURTON; Nicholas LAYFIELD. Robert COOP. PLACES: St. Foster's parish; Burton in Kendal; NOTE: Burton-in-Kendal is a village and civil parish on the extreme southern edge of Cumbria, England. Historically within the county of Westmorland,

2. 1601 Will of Richard Jackson, Merchant Tailor of Saint Thomas the Apostle, City of London. Prerogative Court of Canterbury and related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers. Name of Register: Woodhall Quire Numbers: 39 - 89. Will of Richard Jackson, Merchant Tailor of Saint Thomas the Apostle, City of London. NOTE: Includes mention of brother Francis JACKSON.

3. 1626 Apr 20 Will of William JACKSON of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland. This William JACKSON was the father of Rev. Richard JACKSON (1602-1681) of Kirkby Lonsdale. This son gave this William at least 20 grandchildren, many of whom settled in Ireland. NAMES: William JACKSON; Frances or Francis JACKSON (?); Nicholas BORRETT; Jane BORRETT née WILSON; Mary JACKSON née SLATER; Francis JACKSON; Christopher GRIDDARD (or GILDARD); John JACKSON; Henry RICCI[?]GY; Wilson?; Agnes JACKSON; Thomazen TINDALL (?); Christopher GOUGH; Edward WILSON; William [BERKERS? HERBERT?]; John SPENCER; John [JAXON?]; James SMYTH; Anne TRAYNER(?); PLACES: Kirkby Lonsdale; Underly Hall; Nether Levens Hall; SEE: JACKSONs of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry.

4. 1655 Will of William Jackson, Woollen Draper of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire . Prerogative Court of Canterbury and related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers. Name of Register: Aylett Quire Numbers: 426 - 475. Will of William Jackson, Woollen Draper of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Has a son Francis JACKSON.

5. 1658 Will of Francis Jackson of Warley in Holderness, Yorkshire Prerogative Court of Canterbury and related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers. Name of Register: Wootton Quire Numbers: 524 - 574. Will of Francis Jackson of Warley in Holderness, Yorkshire.

6. 1663 Will of Nicholas Jackson. Prerogative Court of Canterbury and related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers. Name of Register: Juxon Quire Numbers: 1 - 51. Will of Nicholas Jackson. Mother: Anne JACKSON. After her decease to Francis JACKSON

7. 1665 Will of Andrew Jackson, Merchant of London. Prerogative Court of Canterbury and related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers. Name of Register: Hyde Quire Numbers: 108 - 162. Will of Andrew Jackson, Merchant of London. Merchant of London but also from Collingway, Branton, Co. Northamptonshire. Francis JACKSON her children

8. 1672 January 17 Will of Agnes JACKSON widow of Rev. Francis JACKSON NAMES: Agnes JACKSON née WHITTRIGGE; Rev. Francis JACKSON (deceased); Alan PRICKITT aka Alan PRICKETT; John HADWEN; Stephen WHITTRIGGE; Henry WASHINGTON; Elizabeth PRICKETT née WHITTRIGGE; Christopher BATEMAN; Mrs. DUCKETT; Richard DUCKETT; George (?)AFE; Robert BANNISTER.. PLACES: Kirkby Kendal; Warton; Watland; Hutton; Kirkby Lonsdale. SEE: JACKSONs of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry.

9. 1675 Will of Bartholomew Jackson, Yeoman of Tatsfield, Surrey. Prerogative Court of Canterbury and related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers. Name of Register: Dycer Quire Numbers: 52 - 105. Will of Bartholomew Jackson, Yeoman of Tatsfield, Surrey. Youngest son Richard JACKSON. Daughter Anne JACKSON. Daughter Sarah JACKSON. Sons John & Bartholomew JACKSON joint executors. NOTE: In 1616 a Bartholomew JACKSON held a lease in Co. Cavan See: JACKSONs of Co. Cavan and Version 2. The name Bartholomew JACKSON is infrequent, so it may be of interest that a Bartholomew JACKSON was baptised at St. John’s Dublin in August 24, 1648, a son of Francis JACKSON and Elizabeth HARRISON.

10. Will of Christian Jackson, Widow of London. Prerogative Court of Canterbury and related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers. Name of Register: Box Quire Numbers: 225 - 265. Will of Christian Jackson, Widow of London. Cousin Mary LAND daughter of Walter LAND. Her brother John LAND. Cousin Sarah POINTZ widow. Mary ELY wife of Richard ELY. Luke WHITE who was formerly an apprentice to my late husband. Cousin Katherine, wife of Francis JACKSON the younger Citizen and Clothworker of London NOTE: His father was likely Francis JACKSON of Sweethins Lane, London, Citizen & Clothworker. SOURCE: London Rolls.

11. Will of Thomas Jackson of Duddington, Northamptonshire Prerogative Court of Canterbury and related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers. Name of Register: Irby Quire Numbers: 85 - 124. Will of Thomas Jackson of Duddington, Northamptonshire. Son Christopher JACKSON. Son Jeremiah JACKSON (under age); Son John JACKSON (under age 16); Daughter Mary JACKSON; Son Francis JACKSON; Land in Duddington, Northampton; Son Francis JACKSON executor. Will dated 3 Feb 1692. SEE: JACKSONs of Duddington and and Fanningstown, Co. Limerick

12. 1697 Will of Francis Jackson, Clothworker of Saint Swithin, City of London. Prerogative Court of Canterbury and related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers. Name of Register: Pyne Quire Numbers: 45 - 88. Will of Francis Jackson, Clothworker of Saint Swithin, City of London. 1693 Feb 20 Francis JACKSON the elder, brother George JACKSON of Co. York. Son Francis JACKSON was willed the St. Swithin’s house. Daughters Mary DUGDALE, Martha PHIPPS (may be a grand-daughter), Sarah VIRGIN & Elizabeth CROFTON. Daughter-in-law Rebecca JACKSON widow of his late son David JACKSON. Grandchildren: Joshua JACKSON, Martha PHIPPS, Elizabeth RICHARD, Mary CROFTON (Highlighted names of interest with respect to connections to Ireland.)

MAPS: JACKSONs in the Down Survey. SEE: Trinity site. NOTE: In a screenshot of an image that I could no longer find on the site, but which I had uploaded in 2023 to Updates to my Memorials of Deeds Pages:

… two William PUREFOYs – cousins of each other – had held leases bracketing land in Clonad in Kings Co. (aka Offaly), land which had been granted to a Francis JACKSON in 1667. Decades later, other JACKSONs lived nearby. … Why did Francis JACKSON stop leasing that land?

· Co. Mayo Francis JACKSON. This is the Francis JACKSON who died in 1678 at Enniscoe, Co. Mayo. His family tree is on my site at JACKSONs of Enniscoe & Mayo. Ironically, some of the lands that were forfeited came from the BROWNE side of my family. Francis JACKSON came into his lands in Ireland as a result of serving as a Captain of Dragoons in Cromwell's army, and purchasing extensive landed property in the Barony of Tyrrawley and county of Mayo. He still had it shortly after the Restoration, confirmed to him and his heirs by patent of Charles II. He built a large fortified house at Enniscoe, on the banks of Lough Conn. He d. in 1678, leaving by Elizabeth his wife, a son. SOURCE: Genealogical and Heraldic History of Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland.

· NOTE: In 1667 a Francis JACKSON was granted the townland of Clonad in Kings Co. This townland was bordered by holdings of two William PUREFOYs. The two William PUREFOYs were cousins. This grant was unusual for a few reasons. Francis JACKSON’s grant was smack in the middle of a cluster of townlands awarded to Col William PUREFOY (1584-1659), and there was no future mention of Francis JACKSON connected to this area. Was there a connection between the two men or their families? MORE work needed.

MISCELLANEOUS BITS:

· Addenda to Dublin Grant Index. Marriage Licence: 1674: Francis JACKSON to Anne ARUNDELL

· 1669 Hearth Money Rolls for Antrim Ffranc aka Francis JACKSON Ballymoney Town

· 1622 Commission Certificates (Tyrone) [Plantation Survey]

o ‘Dungannon borough: The names of the English, Scottish and Welsh inhabitants of the said borough’, certified and signed by Provost Francis Caporne, John Meeke and John Perkins, n.d. [12 Aug. 1622],
And first of the provost and brethren, vizt:
Provost: Mr Francis Caporne; 12 burgesses: Captain John Perkins, esq.; John Meek, esq.; John Cornwall, gent.; Joseph Rogers, gent.; Jenkin Griffin, gent.; Edward Barnett, gent.; John Walker, gent.; Thomas Taylor, gent.; Francis Jackson, gent.; George Smith, gent.; Henry Torie, gent.; Patrick Kergan, gent.

· 1670 Hearth Money Roll, Donaghmore Parish

o 396.Edward FOSTER, Patrick HAMILTON, William JACKSON-lisnamonaghan -Iisnamonaghan [Lisnamonaghan, Parish Donaghmore, Barony Dungannon Middle, Co. Tyrone – on the outskirts of Castle Caulfield.

· Townlands in Tyrone list of lands held in lease by Thomas JACKSON 1743 July 25 Thomas JACKSON Esq., of City of Dublin. Based on the inclusion of Richard GORGES (1708-1778) Esq. of Kilbrew, Co. Meath in this lease, this is probably Thomas JACKSON (1680-1750), son of William JACKSON and Susan BERESFORD. In 1715, he married Margaret BERESFORD, and they had three children. In 1727, he held a seat in the Irish House of Commons for Coleraine. His sister-in-law, Elizabeth GORGES (d.1747), who married his older brother, William JACKSON, was of Kilbrew, Co. Meath. NOTE: There are three holdings in Dungannon Middle in this lease, including one at Aghnagar [Aghnagar, Parish Donaghmore, Barony Dungannon Middle, Co. Tyrone] Later in Griffiths, since continuity may shed light, there is mention of a James JACKSON at Agharan, Parish Donaghmore, Barony Dungannon Middle which suggests some continuity of the family holdings.

Cows to Crypto - a Parish and a Church

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Tue, 19 May 2026 21:56:46 +0000

I could just as easily have titled this piece Soup To Nuts but Cows To Crypto came to mind as I reflected on the shifts in what owning land meant in early 1600s Ireland compared to now, especially when it came to the use of land as capital. Long before banks handled mortgages and lines of credit, relatives and close friends were usually the ones who bankrolled short term cash needs by using leases as collateral. These close relationships made it totally unlike today’s version of capitalism.

But first, I want to start with Margaret. Without her, this piece could not have been written.

Margaret CONNOR: Page 158 in Coleraine in Georgian Times

(by Rev. T.H. Mullin, published in 1977) – now available online.

Monday February 19^th, 2024. I was outside Killowen’s St. John’s Church photographing graves, hoping for connections to JACKSONs and fully expecting that church to be locked, but Margaret Connor and a fellow parishioner – who were subbing in for the regular cleaners - had left a side door slightly ajar. Of course, I peeked in. A year later, I uploaded a post - JACKSONs and St. John Killowen – which included what I had learned from the fluke of that open door.

While I was inside Killowen church, taking pictures, I mentioned to Margaret that I planned to visit St. Paul’s Church at Articlave the next day and had found how to get a bus to get there. Immediately, Margaret volunteered as my driver. No ifs ands or buts. Two years and change have passed since then, but it has taken me that long to absorb and internalize what I needed to learn.

Like many of my blog pieces, this piece is neither logical nor linear. Consider its form to be more like that of a ghazal, a form of poetry where sentences are linked by intuition and mood. It is also an exploration of what I am in the process of learning, which means that parts of the story may shift, sometimes in small ways. Sometimes in ways of more consequence. Doing it this way it allows me to put a pin in facts that I want to be able to recall (aging brain!) as well as to be able to readily reference.

ARTICLAVE CHURCH AND LAND & JACKSONs.

With Andrew Kane’s Townland Atlas of Ulster one can visualize the context of neighbouring and/or nearby townlands. I have circled townlands that were always grouped together when they were leased by JACKSONs. Articlave, the townland in the middle, was where JACKSONs donated an acre of land in 1670 for what became St. Paul’s Church. The entire area in the Barony of Coleraine west of Killowen was part of the Clothworkers grants in the early 1600s, and those leases likely involved earlier JACKSONs in the initial leases.

These townlands were often leased as a group by generations of JACKSONs:

· Ballymadigan [aka Ballymadigan, Parish Dunboe, Barony Coleraine] is the uppermost of the circled townlands. On its northern border is the townland of Downhill - home of HERVYs of Downhill Estate. On its eastern border is Liffolk, home of the HAZLETTs. Both the HERVYs & HAZLETTS were connected to JACKSONs.

· Drumnequill [aka Drumaquill, Parish Killowen, Barony Coleraine,], This circled townland is north-east of Ringrash More.

· Donballycarn [it may be Drumballyhagan Clark. Parish Kilcronaghan, Barony of Loughinsholin – NOTE: this is not near Articlave, but is where the JACKSONs of Tobermore – who are likely related - settled],

· Ringrashbeg [aka Ringrash Beg, Parish Macosquin, Barony Coleraine] This circled townland is southeast of Articlave.

· Ringrashmore [aka Ringrash More, Parish Macosquin, Barony Coleraine,] This circled townland is southeast of Articlave.

· Ardaclave [Articlave Lower (most likely) and Articlave Upper, Parish Dunboe, Barony Coleraine] These two townlands are slightly south-east of Ballymadigan. These two circled townlands are in the upper middle of the map.

· Upper and Lower Altibrian [Altibrian, Parish Formoyle, Barony Coleraine], Co. Londonderry. This circled townland is southwest of Articlave.

In 1611, the Clothworkers began the construction of a new settlement in the village of Articlave, likely because of the proximity of the river which led to the mill which would be built there. In the Griffith Map of 1859 - Note the Corn Mill slightly south-east of the Church.

THE BACKSTORY of JACKSONs and DUNBOE PARISH

In the early 1600s, the Guilds of London had carved up Londonderry into parcels of land - referred to as Plantations - land which had previously been owned by Gaelic Irish chieftains and/or Churches and farmed for generations by Irish families. New maps were made, and these newly formed lots were then leased to merchants belonging to the London Guilds (see JACKSONs in the London Rolls). Mercantile-based capital had begun to supplant the power of the historic land-based capital and power had begun to be wielded within the structures of pseudo-governmental bodies such as the London Guilds, the East India Corporation, and the Hudson’s Bay Corporation. It was this new phenomenon of the power of mercantile capital, backed by the military might of British armies and navies, which laid the ground for the evolution into our current version of capitalism. In Ireland, for various reasons, land continued to be the main way to access ready capital much longer than it did in England.

Can we imagine what it might have been like to live in the pre-modern-capitalism days of the Parish of Dunboe? To gain a feel for how the land was valued one needs to begin with understanding of the significance of cows, both culturally and economically. The etymology of the word for the Parish Dunboe takes us back to the Irish words Dún: meaning "fort," "fortress," or "stronghold", and Bó: meaning cow. Hence: fort of the cow. Such names, and those of other townlands such as Downhill, were linked to an understanding of land-ownership which put the protection of cows, and hence the value(s) of the land, first and foremost.

The story goes that in the reign of King Art, when there was a great famine in the district, a cow named Glasgalvin, which was famed for the amount of milk she produced, was stolen from Ballynascreen and tethered to a rock at Downhill. The cow is said to have saved the lives of everyone in the area by the inexhaustible supply of milk she produced. SOURCE: Harry Caskey. Castlerock and its Anglican Church.

The ghost of the cow-economy has lived on in legends such as The Tain, aka The Cattle Raid of Cooley and survives to this day in the word Ballyboe, the smallest unit of land. Balliboes aka townlands are the smallest legal units within parishes. Parishes are grouped within Baronies, Baronies within Counties, Counties within Provinces, and finally Provinces within Country:

The borders of Ballyboes [from the Irish Gaelic baile bó, meaning "cow-land], the unit of land which morphed into the currently known townland boundaries, were based on rent valuations equal to the cost of a cow. [SOURCE: Townland Atlas of Ulster]. p5.

Even as late as 1836, in a lease held by the last of the Coleraine JACKSONs who had owned lands in Articlave, there is mention of grazing for two Cows:

ROD: 1836-11-235 February 13, 1834 BTW James KANE of Cortgaven [Gortycavan, Parish Dunboe, Barony Coleraine] in the County of Londonderry farmer of the one part and Elizabeth MAIRS Sister of the said James KANE of GortyCavin aforesaid Widow of the other part whereby the said after renting as therein is rented to the said James KANE did Sell to said Elizabeth MAIRS in her actual possession then being by virtue of a lease for year therein rented and to her heirs and Assigns all that and those that farm in Gortycavin cout 42 1/2a as formerly in the possession of Edward KANE deed with grazing for two Cows on the [Islea?] Hill also all that farm in Fermoyle Contd 166a 1r 19p all that grazing farm in Bratwell [NOTE: Changed Parish Boundaries: Bratwell, Parish Formoyle, Barony Coleraine] 30a situate in the parish of Dunboe Half Barony of Colerain and County of Londonderry To Hold the said lands Tenements Hereditaments and premises with their appurts unto the said Elizabeth MAIRS her heirs and assigns for and during the rest residue and remainder of the term of lives yet to come and unexpired in the original Lease of said premises from Colonel George JACKSON to Francis KANE 22 Apr 1800 WITNESS: James MAIRS of Gorlycavin and Andrew McAFFEE of English Town [Englishtown, Parish Macosquin, Barony Coleraine] in the County of Londonderry farmers Elizabeth MAIRS [SEAL] NOTE: George JACKSON (1766-1840), a 2^nd great-grandson of the first JACKSON

The capitalism that followed in the late 1800s featured rapid industrialization, the rise of large-scale monopolies (backstopped by naval power), and a largely unregulated market (with laws that favoured merchants). This became known as industrial capitalism, monopoly capitalism, or Gilded Age capitalism. It was in this era that the head of HSBC for both Hong Kong and London was Thomas JACKSON (1839-1915), an Irishman who had been raised on a farm in Armagh, a son of tenant farmers, and he was also likely related to the Articlave–Coleraine JACKSONs. He and his family usually referred to the HSBC as The old cow. The ghost lived on.

With one foot in the landlord-based agrarian society and one foot in the world of exports enabled by the power of Guilds and Britain’s gunboat capitalism, the early Londonderry JACKSONS of the 1600s would have felt at home connecting cows with economic wealth. What might have surprised them though, would have been the introduction of the separation of Church and State. For them, there was no question that landowners were to support the construction of churches. In turn, the Established churches collected tithes for road construction and such. They did not perceive any conflict of interest here. Even Bishops of the Established Church were landlords.

By the 1770s, change was in the wind, and many of the local landlords faced the reality that their rental income did not cover their operating costs as well as their personal needs for income for them and their relations (doweries for daughters often factored large in this burden which rested on eldest sons). The economic decline of the JACKSONs, and their loss of lands, came about partly because of factors like this, but it was also sped up in the end thanks to the improvident nature of George JACKSON (1766-1840), the last JACKSON to own Articlave. Although his diligent agent Rev. Robert HAZLETT (more on him later) did his best, he could not outpace the downward trajectory of the old land-based economy and young George’s lack of thrift.

ST. PAUL’s – ARTICLAVE, CO. LONDONDERRY
Begun as a bequest of the JACKSONs SEE: JACKSONs of Coleraine

St. Paul’s church is about five miles east of Coleraine.
The boundaries of the original lease likely followed the main surrounding roads.

The initial church was only one half to two thirds of its current height, and ended midway between the last of the two right-hand windows. It also had a thatched roof.

The earliest record connecting the Coleraine JACKSON to St. Paul’s Church is a transcription of the original November 27^th, 1670 lease to build a new church at the Parish of Dunboe. William JACKSON had granted an acre of land in Ardecleve [aka Articlave Lower (Ard an Chléibh) Parish Dunboe, Barony Coleraine], enough to include both a church and a rectory. This agreement was witnessed by William’s younger brother Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706), a merchant and land developer based in Dublin. Copies of this transcription can be seen at the RCB Library in Dublin or at PRONI in Belfast [D683/188].

NOTE: bounded on the west with the street or highway in sd village of Articlave.

PRONI D668/3 and T1075/8 Page 43. Nov. 27. 1670. Wm. Jackson, Coleraine,
Co. L'Derry. to Bishop of Derry. 1 acre of Ardacleve Dunboe Par. Co. L'Derry.

William JACKSON (1628-1688) of Coleraine, as one of the twenty-three children of Rev. Richard JACKSON (1602-1681) of Westmorland, England, was well positioned to snag such a lease. After all, he and his siblings had belonged to several of the Guilds of London including the Clothworker’s Guild, the Guild whose land grants included land in both Killowen across the Bann river from Coleraine, as well as in Articlave in Dunboe. As early as June 1618, when Articlave became formed as a new village, it is quite possible that an earlier generation of this family already had a foothold there. A Francis JACKSON (one of William JACKSON’s uncles) is top of my short list of suspects, while a Joseph, a John and a Thomas JACKSON are other likely possibilities of relations who had already settled here earlier. More work needed.

MIND THE GAP – AND THANKS TO BRIAN SIMPSON

As we toured the church, Brian Simpson, the church organist at St. Paul’s Parish of Dunboe, was quick to answer one of my first questions. Why was there a two-decade gap between the granting of the land – 1670 - and the building of the church - 1691? He had brought with him his copy of Alison A. McCoughan’s: Heath Hearth and Heart: The Story of Dunboe, and had already bookmarked the parts of the story which covered the impact of the grants by the Clothworkers Guild (the guild that William JACKSON had been a member of).

[The Clothworkers were] reluctant to embrace the scheme of colonization, but there was no turning back, and after their names had been drawn from a hat, they found that part of their allotted portion included land in the Parish of Dunboe. Not surprisingly the cloth workers were completely ignorant of the newly acquired territory and asked Thomas Raven, the City of London surveyor, to prepare a report.

This early report described the leased site as:

the two Ardacleanes (Articlaves) [as] small towns but are especiall good ground both for Arrable Meadows and pasture … it is a place very fit for building being seated upon a pretty river, where a Mill may be built and in the midst of a good soyle of land and a dry. …

Subsequently, the Clothworkers built their village there and by 1622:

it consisted of a water mill, 21 thatched houses and cabins, 2 houses with walls of clay and stone, 2 thatched houses with walls of clay and stone, 1 thatched cage-work house, and different scattered cabins.

All in all, it was a modest start for a settlement. Harry Caskey, in his book: Castlerock and its Anglican Church, adds more detail:

When the Clothworkers company built their plantation village at Articlave in 1618-21 the old church became more isolated and was no longer attended by the native Irish Catholics who gathered for the Latin mass wherever else they could. The majority of the earlier settlers were from Galloway and disapproved of the Episcopal system. When the Archdeacon died from wounds received during the 1641 Rising he was not replaced until 1661 and meantime the Presbyterians held the living there from at least 1656.

It is worth taking a moment to reflect on the fluidity of faith during these tempestuous decades when the polarization of both faith and government had morphed into bitter conflicts. Some members of Churches of Ireland temporarily aligned as Presbyterian but then switched back to Church of Ireland after the political winds had once again shifted. For example, William JACKSONs father, Rev Richard JACKSON (1602-1681), the Anglican minister of Whittington, Westmorland preached first as an Anglican, then as a Presbyterian, and then went back to preaching and serving as a Church of England minister.

The gap between the 1670 bequest of land and the 1691 church was partly as a consequence of the swings in people’s loyalties, and the impact of such shifts when it came to both faith and governance:

An Act of 1661 allowed all churches to be relocated and a site of 1 Irish acre was granted in Articlave by the Company's agent, Captain Jackson, in 1663, but the poverty of the people and the suppression of Protestant worship under James II in 1685-88 prevented anything being done. On their retreat from Derry after the siege in 1689, part of James’ army, under the Earl of Antrim, set fire to and destroyed St. Adanmnan’s church at Downhill. The new Bishop, William King, then pressed ahead with the building of the new church, the present St. Paul’s at Articlave, and it was consecrated on the 2nd June 1691. Two years later a new archdeaconry was built at Liffock (Hazlett House) now owned by the National Trust. Bishop king of Derry was providing houses to encourage the clergy to reside in their parishes and the house was probably built for this purpose. Carbon dating tests on the roof Timbers have shown that the wood was cut in 1691. SOURCE A Seventeenth Century Farmhouse at Liffock, County Londonderry. Desmond McCourt, David Evans and Michael Baillie. Ulster Journal of Archaeology. Third Series, Vol. 35 (1972), pp. 48-56 (11 pages). Published By: Ulster Archaeological Society.

St. Paul’s was finally completed in 1691, three years after the death of William JACKSON (1628-1688), the original donor of the land. The presence of the church has outlasted the presence of the JACKSONs. It seems that their holdings in Articlave were valued more for the revenue stream they produced – a cash cow - not for any real attachment to land and community. They had done their expected duty, until their financial needs had shifted, and then they had decamped.

THE JACKSON-DUNBOE LEASES

As part of my research for this piece, I needed to assemble some lists of deeds to help me to better see both the forest and the trees. Without this, the deluge of detail had obscured too much.

· A Compilation of notes on Londonderry Co Deeds. This list includes Books 1-899, and includes more than 350 pages of my notes as well as hyperlinks to most townlands. My main focus was on the agreements involving JACKSONs of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry as well as some of their extended family and business partners, and it reveals the scope and the context of the JACKSON intergeneration holdings in Dunboe. NOTE: In a word-search, the word Dunboe cropped up 113 times while the word Articlave was repeated 30 times.

· Articlave & the JACKSON leases, I have merged deeds research with several PRONI documents including 1780-1802 Correspondence between George JACKSON and Rev Robert HEZLETT. George JACKSON (1766-1840). MP & Businessman was the last of the Coleraine JACKSONs to hold leases to Articlave, Parish Dunboe Reading his correspondence in the context of the family lease reveals the extent of the JACKSON’s practice of leasing and releasing several of their holdings – in effect using the land as their cash cow. In the centuries before banks were like the banks of our times, this was how landowners and tenants often raised capital to meet their short and medium cash flow needs. Financial trust was both local and familial, and the leases were often between members of extended families.

Even with lists like this, it isn’t easy to tease out the multiple names of fathers, sons and cousins who shared the same forenames - William and Richard being the most epidemic of the forenames used in this family. Because of this, I have kept on repeating their birth and death dates throughout, even though this does become quite cumbersome and repetitive.

The first lease that caught my attention was entered into in 1682 – a decade after the church grant, but a decade before St. Paul’s Church was built. William JACKSON (1628-1688) of Coleraine granted (for 21 years), to Abraham ROWAN of Articlave, yeoman, a lease to lands which included: mills in manor of Clothworkers, Co. Londonderry but significantly the same list of townlands in Dunboe Parish which show up repeatedly. SOURCE: PRONI D1550/147. The ROWAN and JACKSON families had other dealings, so more is to be learned here.

NOTE: Abraham ROWAN b. 1655 in Ballykelly, Londonderry, Ireland is included in a WIKI tree. He married a Margaret COCHRANE (1658-) b. Londonderry, and she died in New Hampshire America in 1679. SEE also History of Octorara Church 1720-1870. p45. NOTE: The COCHRAN-JACKSON connection is echoed in future JACKSON leases:

· ROD: 734-156-500491 Image 357 April 22, 1800. George JACKSON to William COCHRAN … for lives of Anne ALEXANDER sister of George JACKSON & George Jackson COCHRAN [??] son to William COCHRAN aged 2 years

· ROD: 1834-2-92; Image 179 1834 mentions a George COCHRAN, farmer, and lease for life of Anne ALEXANDER for the townland of Artikeeragh

It is likely that the George COCKRAN in the 1834 lease was the 2 year old George Jackson COCHRAN mentioned as a life in the 1800s lease. I have more to learn about both the ROWAN and the COCKRAN family.

It is likely that the shortened lifespan of many JACKSON males sped up the JACKSONs’ loss of these lands. More than once, fathers died before their sons reached maturity.

· When the 1^st William JACKSON (1628-1688) died at age 60, his eldest son, William JACKSON (1669-1712) was 19 years old. A younger brother, Richard JACKSON (1673-1730) was only 15 years old. NOTE: This brother Richard is also included in leases with another Richard JACKSON which makes discerning one from another even more complicated. I am now reduced to tracking signatures, wherever they exist. The clues in penmanship.

· When the 2^nd William JACKSON (1669-1712) died at age 43, his son, William JACKSON (1695-1744) was 17 years old.

· When the 3^rd William JACKSON (1695-1744) died at age 49, his son, Richard JACKSON (btw 1729/31-1789) was only about 14 years old.

· When this Richard JACKSON (btw 1729/31-1789) died, at about age 60, his last surviving son, George JACKSON (1766-1844), was about 23 years old and could have benefitted from more guidance than he was prepared to accept.

DNA: It may be more than coincidence that there are other branches of JACKSON families which share this reality of male premature death.. For example, many of my Urker JACKSON ancestors died either in their mid-50s or younger. Several years ago, when one of my brothers ended up in intensive care in his early 50s because of a very serious cardiac event, I told him about our genetic history. His surgeon then suggested that DNA was likely a contributing factor. This connection to heart vulnerabilities and DNA may provide another clue to connect the Coleraine JACKSONs to other family lines where a reliable paper trail does not exist.

JACKSONs as Non-resident Landlords: Most of the JACKSONs leasing townlands in Dunboe Parish did not reside in the parish, except possibly temporarily – and even then only in the very early years. Instead, they resided either in Coleraine and/or Dublin. Many of them served multiple terms as MPs to the Irish Parliament. Edith Mary Johnston-Liik’s History of the Irish Parliament, 1692-1800. Commons, Constituencies and Statutes mentions some of the systemic causes of their financial challenges. The first JACKSON MP was Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706), the witness to the lease for the Articlave church lands.

· 1077 JACKSON, Samuel (1641-1706) NOTE: My birth date info.
FAMILY/BACKGROUND: Son of Rev Richard Jackson of Westmorland, England.
ESTATES/RESIDENCE: Jackson Hall, Colerain, Co. Londonderry. Purchased 180 acres in Co. Dublin from the Commissioners of Forfeited Estates in 1702-3.“This morning Sam. Jackson Esq. died, ‘tis said he was worth £30,000 which he left to his two nephews. About half an hour after, Madam Mitchelburn, sister to the said Jackson, died in the same house. Richard Mitchelburn was married to Mary Jackson, but she was alive in 1725!” NOTE: This report was misleading. Susan BERESFORD (abt 1645-1706) was his sister-in-law, wife of William JACKSON (1628-1688) and she married 2ndly John MITCHELBURN. NOTE: The two nephews were seemingly both based in England; Richard JACKSON (1671-1726), son of Nathaniel JACKSON (1640-1698) and Richard JACKSON (?-bef 1726), son of Rev. Leonard JACKSON. SEE: 1705 December 4 - Will of Samuel JACKSON

· 1078 JACKSON, Thomas (1680-1751) Son of William JACKSON NOTE: and Susan BERESFORD
ESTATE/RESIDENCE: Creeghstown, Co. Meath.

· 1079 William JACKSON, (1669-1712).
ESTATES/RESIDENCES: Coleraine, Co. Londonderry. In 1663 Captain William Jackson obtained a lease of the Cloth Workers lands on condition that he paid £100 per annum for the first six years, be at the expense of recovering possession and pay a fine of £1,000 and £100 rent per annum after six years. In 1669 the cloth workers granted a lease for 51 years. This fell in 1720, when a heavy fine for renewal was imposed. The first installment of £750 was paid in 1719. This in turn flowed through to farms left by the Jacksons, and probably aided the heavy immigration to America from this region in the 1720s. Leases were made for long - often very long - periods eg. 3 lives and 31 years, but on their renewal there was usually a substantial increase, which often created hardship for those involved.

· 1076. Rt Hon Richard JACKSON, MP (c.1729-1789) for Coleraine
ESTATES/RESIDENCES: Jackson hall, Colerain, Co. Londonderry. The Jackson family obtained the cloth makers lease post 1662 and built cloth makers Hall in 1668. In 1714-16 the rental was £528, increased to £563 in 1717 in addition there were 8 freeholds at a combined rental of £134 the rental was £1,003 in 1736, excluding the desmesne, and £1,143 in 1746 including it. In 1756 the rental payable to Richard Jackson was £1,212. In 1770 the rental was £2,689 by 1774 Richard Jackson claimed that there was an arrear of £4,792 lbs of which £1,679 lbs was a write-off. In 1769 the cloth workers advertised their manner on a 61 year and three life lease from 1771. Jackson bid $20,000 fine, but was bid up to £28,000. Jackson paid over £10,000 of this as a down payment but as permission for £17,340 to be secured on mortgage at the estate to be behaved off by him over 20 years. By 1772 Jackson was in arrears with rent and interest the rent was £600. In 1775 he asked for £7,764 to be deducted from the agreed fine of £31,308 Jackson's valuation of the street and 1774 was 6085 acres at £2,067 and £1,908 lbs per annum. The clothworkers proportion was in the most northerly part of the barony of Coleraine mainly in and around Coleraine itself extending from the Atlantic southwest to Killowen and in the West as far South as Formoyle.

· 1074 JACKSON, Sir George (1766-1840): MP for Coleraine (more detail beneath)
ESTATES/RESIDENCES. Jackson Hall, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry. In 1801, George Jackson calculated his rental at £4,200 from which a chief rent of £600 had to be subtracted. George Jackson was paying £1,800 per annum in interest, so his net income was only £1,803. In 1805 he proposed to raise £15,250 by selling freehold such as Articlave. Eventually he sold his lease to TK Hanington and went to live in the South of England

A source which fleshes out the personal aspects of the increasing financial vulnerability of George JACKSON (1766-1840) is revealed in letters held at PRONI D668/R/32 1790-1821. Estate papers - Hezlett and Jackson families Co. Derry NOTE: I have included more transcriptions in Articlave JACKSON deeds merged with Rev Robert HAZLETT letters):

· Feb 9, 1785 D668/H/2/5. George JACKSON, Carrickmacross to Rev. Robert HEZLETT, Coleraine. NOTE: In 1785, George’s father, Richard JACKSON (d. 1789) was still alive, as was George’s younger brother Richard JACKSON (1768-1797). At the time, he was staying in Carrickmacross – with whom, I do not know. “… I am necessitated to write to you on a disagreeable subject. I have got myself into a little scrape here by getting some time ago in debt. A person or two to whom I am indebted threaten to tell Carpendale of it. You sir, are the only friend I have to apply to and if you don't relieve me, am undone. 'I want a guinea. No less will do and hardly that. You may get a card and split it and slip the guinea and seal it up and it will come safe.'.'I never can enough thank you by letter but will thank you by word of mouth ...'. PS. 'For God's sake send it or I shall be ruined. Answer this by post and say nothing.

· April 19, 1785 D668/H/2/7. George JACKSON, Carrickmacross to Rev. Robert HEZLETT, Coleraine. 'I direct this with a feigned hand lest it should be known. Do not, my dear sir, say anything about it. I hoped it was not talked of at Jackson Hall. If it was you are my friend I know ...'

· July 3, 1799 D668/H/2/41 George is now based in Bristol and writes to the Rev. Robert HEZLETT, Coleraine proposing a way out of his financial mess: the establishment of a private tontine whereby participants contribute to a common fund and receive dividends. As members die, their shares are redistributed among the survivors, increasing the income for remaining participants until the last survivor takes the entire remaining pool.He was hoping to raise £5,000 approx. 'Each subscriber to receive 6% in the first instance with benefit of survivorship so that the last liver would have all the interest though only perhaps a subscriber of £100. No lower sum than £50 to be taken. Thus should I realise a sum to pay off pressing demands, and only pay the same interest. To secure the payment of the annual interest I would lay off so much land, and the subscribers shall have their own receiver appointed, I giving up the lands, by deed. Pray consider this plan for me and you may consult with Mr Knox the attorney about it. In addition to this I think I would sell a townland or two at the extremity of the estate by which means a sum would be procured that would pay off all very urgent creditors

· November 23, 1801 D668/H/2/163 George is writing from Hamilton Palace Scotland: the last year (which has been a year of continual vexation to me in money matters). NOTE: Hamilton Palace was [possibly] the residence of Mary Jane JACKSON ((abt 1773-1802) a sister of George JACKSON (1766-1840). In 1791 she had married John HAMILTON (O’HARA), son of Charles HAMILTON. SOURCE: Irish Pedigrees or The Origin and Stem of The Irish Nation Vol 1 1915 p.126.

A 1798 document in this PRONI: D668/H/2 collection (photographed on May 4,2018), includes a seal that George used on one of these letters and the motto is psychologically revealing.
:

Innocentiae secures: Safe from innocence

SOURCE: This version is the June 2026 edited and improved version thanks to the skills of Venetia Bowman-Vaughan. My original - saved in my 2018 May 4^th files - was from PRONI D668/H/2 .
Also SEE: JACKSON Baronial Arms.

The more usual family motto, for example the one used by his cousins the Forkhill JACKSONs was Malo mori quam feodori or "I would rather die than be dishonored", a motto which clearly expresses a preference for death over disgrace or compromise. Instead, George chose Innocentiae. About a century later, when Sir Thomas JACKSON (1837-1915) – who was likely a relation of George’s - was made a baronet, he chose a variant of the Forkhill motto: Aut mors aut Victoria - which translates as: Death or victory.

It was thanks to an email query from a young girl living in Belgium which led me to unearthing – literally - more about George JACKSON’s later life than would otherwise have been possible. He had died at home at Ezelstraat, Brugge, Belgium, where he lived with his wife Anne Day WOODVILLE (he married into money), but he had also lived in Paris some years earlier and had applied to set up a factory in Antwerp to manufacture glazed pottery. SEE: Email Serendipity.

Going by the records in History of the Irish Parliament 1692–1800: Commons, Constituencies and Statutes it seems that George’s politics were somewhat middle of the road – at least for his times and class. In 1791, he voted with Grattan to reduce the influence of the Crown, then in 1793 he voted in favour of the Roman Catholic Relief Act, (that Act only went part of the way towards granting Roman Catholics more rights. It abolished many of the restrictions of the Popery Act 1704 (2 Anne c. 6 (I)) and replaced other restrictions with less onerous ones.) In 1800, in one of his last votes, he voted for Union in the United Kingdom. This vote allowed for free trade and set out financial and judicial structures which favoured the landowner and mercantile class. The importance of cows was probably not even in his rear-view mirror.

1074 JACKSON, Sir George: MP for Coleraine
Dec 1789 - April 1790. 1790-6 [Escheater of Ulster 5 Febr1796]; Randallstown 1797 - 1800
b. 1770; Died 1846 (NOTE: the birth and death date recorded here is inaccurate.).
HONOURS: Cr Bt UK 21 Apr 1813.
FAMILY BACKGROUND; Son of Rt. Hon Richard Jackson (1076) and Anne daughter of Charles O'Neill (1588)
MARRIED 10 Sept.1814 Anne, dau of William Woodville of Lancaster.
CHILDREN d.s.p.
EDUCATION; Oxford (Christ Church).
CAREER/OCCUPATION; Military; Major General
ESTATES/RESIDENCE. Jackson Hall, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry. In 1801, George Jackson calculated his rental at £4,200 from which a chief rent of £600 had to be subtracted. George Jackson was paying £1,800 per annum in interest, so his net income was only £1,803. In 1805 he proposed to raise £15,250 by selling freehold such as Articlave. Eventually he sold his lease to TK Hanington and went to live in the South of England.
POLITICAL ACTIVITY; a professional soldier, he was returned by his own interest for Coleraine. He did not attend the 1790-91 session of parliament and had opposed in the 1789-90 one. However he voted for Foster (0805). In 1793 he voted for Knox’s (1180) motion for Catholic emancipation. About 1793 he sold his seat to Lord Waterford (0113); In 1794 Jackson was supporting government. He resigned his seat in 1796 but was brought in for Randallstown at the 1797 election by his uncle, Lord O'Neill (1592). In 1798 he voted against Sir Lawrence Parsons (1636) holding motion for an investigation into the present discontents. He voted for the Union in both 1799 and 1800 and was promoted to a regiment shortly after.
DIVISION LISTS:
1791 voted for Grattan’s (0895) motion for reducing the influence of the crown.
1792 voted for Foster (0805) on the election of a speaker.
17931 quoted for Knox’s (1180) motion for Catholic emancipation.
1798 (1) voted against Sir Lawrence Parsons (1636) motion for an investigation into the president discontents.
1800 (1) voted for the union.

OTHER FAMILY CONNECTIONS TO ARTICLAVE

1) Rev. William ALEXANDER (1824-1911) was a son of the Venerable Robert ALEXANDER (1788-1840), and a grandson of Anne JACKSON (1766-1837) the wife of Rev Nathaniel ALEXANDER (1760-1840), Bishop of Clontfort. Anne JACKSON, a sister of Sir George JACKSON (1766-1840), was born a mere nine months after George (which adds the impact of birth order as a possible trigger of his insecurities), was – like George - a great-great grand-daughter of William JACKSON (1628-1688), the original donor of the church. As a result, she was mentioned as a life in a number of JACKSON deeds relating to Articlave.

Another notable day in the history of St. Paul’s is June 24th, 1848. On that day within these walls five young men stood before the Bishop to be admitted to the Order of the Priesthood. One of the five was destined to occupy in later years, the highest position in the Church of Ireland. Here William Alexander received his sacred commission as Priest. William Alexander was then a curate attached to Derry Cathedral. In 1867 he was consecrated Bishop of Derry and Raphoe and in 1896 became Primate of all Ireland. In 1850 he married the talented Miss Cecil Frances Humphreys in the old Parish Church of Strabane. Mrs Alexander was a hymn writer of world wide reputation and her hymn (one of many) “There is a green hill far away” is amongst the best known hymns in the Christian world today.
SOURCE: St. Paul’s Website.

For more on Rev. William ALEXANDER see the well-written DIB bio of Rev. William ALEXANDER by Linde Lunney (my friend and mentor for more than two decades).

The bust of Rev. William ALEXANDER (1824-1911) in the Armagh Library.
Photographed 2016.

2) HERVEYs of the nearby Downhill Estate. My interest in the HERVEYs connects to some of my long-held interests in the JACKSONs - specifically Rev William JACKSON (1737-1795). I mentioned him for the first time in my blog near the end of a quite unrelated post: Crash Test Dummy.

Reverend William JACKSON (1737-1795), the United Irishman who took poison in the dock after he was convicted of treason but before he was sentenced. Was he related in any way to the Henry JACKSON of Ballybay, Co. Monaghan who had fled for his life to America after he was also convicted of his involvement with the United Irishmen? Or was he related to the JACKSONs of Coleraine? Or Antrim? Or Down? Or ….? Would he have met Barbara DONALDSON (1783-1865), the widow of William DONALDSON (1768-1815), a leader of the United Irishman in South Armagh? She was both an aunt and a significant mentor of the young Thomas JACKSON, right up till her death at the age of 82. We have some of their letters.

Rev. William JACKSON - United Irishman. NOTE: I need to find my misplaced source.

Since proximity matters, and since the estate of Bishop HERVEY was close to lands leased by the JACKSONs of Coleraine, it seems very likely that the HERVEYs of the nearby Downhill Estate may very well have had connections – business and/or family and/or church - to the JACKSON who was the father of the United Irishman Rev. William JACKSON (1737-1795). This father was probably one of the many Richard JACKSONs born in the right time frame, and his professional life as a proctor (an agent, valuator, and debt collector for the Established Church of Ireland) would have been a close fit with the JACKSONs of Coleraine.
It was thanks to the patronage of George HERVEY, 2^nd Earl of Bristol (1721-1755), that the future Irishman Rev. William JACKSON (1737-1795) went to Ireland to serve as HERVEY’s chaplain and private secretary at the time when the earl held the office of Lord Lieutenant (October 1766 to August 1767). I plan to include more detail in a future post, but for now, it helps to know about a variant spelling: HERVEY aka HERVY aka HARVEY:

SOURCE: The lives and trials of Archibald Hamilton Rowan, the Rev. William Jackson, the Defenders, William Orr, Peter Finnerty, and other eminent Irishmen. Thomas MacNevin,: p.177-8. NOTE: Harvey family aka HERVY.

MacNevin’s source was Walker’s Hiberian Magazine, May, 1795. NLI has a copy.

As a start, a family tree for the HERVEY family tree is included in Downhill: A scrapbook of people and place (a copy is in the Coleraine library in the reference section):

When Margaret drove us up to the Downhill HERVEY Estate, I got out and did a quick power walk around the part open to the public. The ruins of their original demesne can be seen in the distance.

3) HAZLETT. Margaret Connor insisted that we also make a stop at Hazlett House aka Hezlett House, but it wasn’t until long after that I recognized the importance of knowing about them and the ties that connected HAZLETTs, JACKSONs and Alticlave.

Hezlett House – dating back to about 1690.

Earlier in this post, I included above some of the correspondence between Rev. Robert HEZLETT (1740-1821) and George JACKSON (1766-1840) from The Hezlett Papers [PRONI D668]. I have also posted more of the letters on my website: 1780-1802 Correspondence between George JACKSON and Rev Robert HEZLETT. George’s wheeling and dealing with his agent Rev Robert HEZLETT can be even better understood when seen in the context of his many leases. SEE: Articlave JACKSON deeds merged with Rev Robert HAZLETT letters.

Rev. Robert HEZLETT (1740-1821) was a son of Samuel HEZLETT (d before 1747 – of Dunboe) and brother of Isaac HEZLETT (d. Liffock House aka Hazlett House) and George JACKSON (1766-1840). I have also uploaded a draft family tree of the HAZLETTs of Articlave, and have included bits from documents such as those written by Maxwell GIVEN. SEE: PRONI D2096. c.600 documents. These consist mainly of notes and articles prepared by Maxwell Given, the Coleraine antiquarian and genealogist, between c.1900-1914, which relate to his work on the history of the Town and Liberties of Coleraine. NOTE: I also benefitted from several email suggestions from Linde Lunney when assembling this draft tree.

The early HEZLETT family can be placed in Dunboe parish at the same time as the earliest of the JACKSONs, thanks to information about dates which were included in A Seventeenth Century Farmhouse at Liffock, Co. Londonderry by Desmond McCourt, David Evans and Michael Baillie. Ulster Journal of Archaeology vol 35, 1972:

FINALLY - GRATITUDE

Thanks to Margaret, by whom so many doors were opened – not only that first door which was left ajar at Killowen. The generosity of her time and attention is what has made this blog post even possible. I recommend visiting St. Paul’s Church. ‘Tis a lovely church.

St. Paul’s Church, Articlave, Co. Londonderry

Although this story began with me visiting a church because it was connected to some JACKSONs, it grew to encompass how the prospects, and the opportunities afforded to their ancestors, had been shaped (and are still being shaped) by a mix of culture, politics, religion and economics. They had transitioned from surviving by leveraging capital based on cows and land to needing the kinds of capital that became available after international trade reshaped local economies. By following just this one family, we can track how over the span of several centuries, how we got to where capital now rests on markets shaped by the impacts of crypto, AI, and such - forces beyond the ken of most of us (at least me). To me, this means that we could be seen more like our ancestors, powerless and just along for the ride.

Next on my Research Bucket List is to learn about two more Bishops connected to St. Paul’s:

· Bishop William KING (1650–1729), son of Presbyterian parents in Co. Antrim – appointed to the see of Derry in 1691, and he was the one to consecrate St. Paul’s Church in 1691. It also intrigues me that Bishop KING As Bishop of Derry, Hervey quickly developed a reputation for being "the most worldly, most eccentric, most talked-about priest in the Church of Ireland. SOURCE: Akenson, Donald Harman (2005). An Irish History of Civilization: Volume I. Granta Book.

· Bishop Frederick Augustus Hervey (1730-1803), 4th Earl of Bristol and who was appointed Bishop of Londonderry in 1768 (see HERVEY above). What kinds of interactions might these two Bishops have had with JACKSONs in the 1700s? Is it possibly relevant that Jane KING, a daughter of Rev William KING, married Oliver JACKSON (d. 1691), one of the JACKSONs of Sneyd Park, Bristol and then of Enniscoe, Co. Mayo.

Clearly, there is still more to learn.

When Margaret dropped me off after our long day – our very long day - of exploring, she refused to receive any money for gas, nor would she accept being taken out for a meal. I told her that she had been my angel that day - totally. No, she said, not an angel, but then she said that she did have faith that she would be in the company of angels once she departed this life. Fair play to that, I say. I hope to get back to Ireland, and to be able to thank her in person.

Margaret Connor at Downhill Rock

Downhill Rock – is this where the mythical cow was supposedly tethered?
I can’t help but note the milk-like colour of the waves.

There's No Life Like It

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 22:08:00 +0000

Recently I rediscovered several articles that I had once written in the 1990s (and then plum forgotten about). Thanks to Genni Gunn and AI, the photo beneath got converted into digital text. Free of the word-count limitations required when writing for the Vancouver Sun, I recently did a bit of a rewrite. Then, Andreas did a bit of a copy edit. It takes a village.
Sharon Oddie Brown. April 18, 2026

1994 December 10, The Weekend Sun. Vancouver Sun.

France. Early December 1958.

On this day, my mother, my four brothers and I traveled by train from Calais. Our father, an RCAF navigator, now stationed at Grostenquin (2 Wing) in Alsace-Lorraine, France, had gone on ahead of us three months earlier. We had stayed back at our Grannie Oddie’s in Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire because we had to wait for our name to rise to the top of the list for an available PMQ (Permanent Married Quarters). Finally, we were on our way to our new home. At 10 o'clock that night, we pulled into the St. Avold Station. My father charged into our cubicle, not stopping for hugs. "The trains don't stop long, Betty. You grab the little ones. I’ll hand the luggage out to Brian and Sharon"

At less than a year old, my brother Martin was the youngest, a babe in arms. The next eldest, Bruce, was a high-spirited two year old kept safe on a leash. Struan was four, Brian was ten and at age twelve, I considered myself to be on the brink of adulthood. After Brian and I had offloaded and stacked a few of the lighter bags off to the side at the station, Dad started to lower Mum's cream-colored portable sewing machine down through the open window of the train. Brian and I reached as high as possible above our heads and supported its base as we slid it slowly down the steel wall of the train. We had it halfway down when the train shuddered once, lurched forward, shuddered again, and then picked up steam. Brian and I galloped alongside for a few yards, got the machine down to chest height, hauled it away from the train, and stepped back. We then caught sight of our receding father, hanging out of the train window as he disappeared into the night, while yelling obscenities at the station master, whose reply was summed up by the justly infamous Gallic shrug.

My mother didn't speak a lick of French. "Sharon," she said, "First things first. You ask the station master where the next stop is.” Since our previous military posting had been in Quebec, I was now the family translator, and hence led off with my very best Quebecois.

“Pardon?” The station master pushed one hairy ear closer to my mouth. I repeated. He squinted harder. I rephrased, and spoke even louder. Finally, he grinned at me with his abundance of tobacco-stained teeth and said (probably) "Behning!" I proudly announced to my mother that Berlin would be the next station.

“Not Berlin," she gasped. Brian stood guard farther on down the platform, holding tight to his adult-sized bow and arrow. Sensibly, he had built a corral out of our offloaded luggage to contain Struan and Bruce. "Not Berlin," our mother repeated with Martin still in her arms.

Fifteen minutes later, at Behning — not Berlin, Dad threw the remaining luggage out the window and phoned for a cab. Meanwhile, my mother called the base officials for help. Fifteen minutes later, two military police leapt out of a van and planted themselves in front of her. "Does your husband have the keys to your apartment, ma'am?"

"Yes.” Mum replied.

“Maybe the super will let you in,” said one of the military police, “Do you have the address of your apartment?"

"No."

Brian’s bow was still at the ready. We grinned uneasily at one another.

…

It wasn't until I read No Life Like It: Military Wives in Canada, by Deborah Harrison and Lucie Laliberté (James Lorimer, $19.95) that I appreciated the full underbelly of this tale. The way that military wives got treated – back then and still today - is outrageous. When marriages unraveled while the family was stationed overseas, the wives and children got shipped back to Trenton or Ottawa and were then left to fend for themselves. If they were lucky, they might catch a “flip” flight closer to where they intended to settle. These wives had no access to the family goods (pots, pans, sheets and the like) left behind in Europe, nor to the more substantial belongings (sofas, beds, freezers) locked up in storage in Canada – unless their estranged husbands agreed.

In terms of financial buffers, there was unlikely to be any equity in a family home. Postings every one to four years made home-owning impossible for most. The frequent moves also made it impossible for most wives to have a work history that was anything but spotty. They had no pensions, no UIC, nothing. Even the riches of life-long friendships were hard to maintain when one was forced to move every few years. As children, because this was all we knew, we had accepted that our lives would be lived on roller skates. Fortunately, I survived attending twelve different schools during my educational career. Children born with learning disabilities or emotional challenges were often not so lucky. On this day in December, my mother had had to make her own way - without her husband - with five children under the age of 12 and all their luggage - first on a train in England, then onto a ferry and lastly on to a train into France. Such challenges were accepted as part of the military life.

Our new home in St. Avold PMQs – top floor on left.

Is it any better now? Authors Harrison and Laliberté mention that the 1993 report of the Canadian Panel of Violence Against Women singled out the military as a special problem when it came to the lived experiences of women. Alcoholism still plays a significant role in their abuse. The military rates of alcoholism are 50 per cent higher than they are for the rest of Canada. At a gut level, all the former "brats" who I met at a recent B.C. reunion in Vancouver for children of Air Force families had experienced this reality and had continued to know it in their bones. We nodded as one "brat" recalled that we all stayed off the streets on Friday nights. We knew what condition our fathers would be in as they drove home half-cut from their regular TGIF mess binge. Together, we recognized that part of our self-defense had always been to repackage these kinds of experiences into stories, the funnier the better.

I recalled the night a young fighter pilot used a turkey baster to suck up a paddle of sloe gin after a bottle had broken on the kitchen floor. And the night a junior officer started to throw up from too much drink. Not wanting to make a mess he had pulled out the bottom part of his sweater to catch the vomit. The only problem was, he was too drunk to figure out how to take his sweater off. "Betty!" he bawled from the bathroom. My mother had mimicked his dilemma for years after, and her repeat performance was always good for a laugh. Even the hapless junior officer always laughed along with us at the memory.

On party nights at our place, my father was adamant that no one could drive home under the influence. Sensible. Often, he would lock the apartment door so that no one could even be able to try to drive back to base. Then he would hide the key. Mum would roll out air mattresses and sleeping bags, and the next morning my brothers and I would tiptoe by as we inspected the fallen troops. One such morning, when we were ready for school and the men were still sleeping it off, Mum shook her husband’s shoulder. "David! Where's the key?" He woke up briefly, smiled at her sweetly, and still under the influence, slurred: "Don't worry. I hid it." We had to call out the window to a neighbour, to get the super to bring a key for us.

Regrettably, for us and many of our friends, alcohol was the accelerant for rage and that rage sometimes led to violence. There are no reliable Canadian statistics yet, but U.S. figures indicate that the rate of child abuse in the American military is five times the national average. “In the United States one spouse or child is reputed to die each week at the hands of a military member relative,” say the authors of No Life Like It.

In the conversations at our “brats” reunion, we all tiptoed around the implications of such issues. Not only was camaraderie our focus that day, but we had absorbed enough of the military upbringing to count on the likelihood that we could probably survive anything that hit us. After all, we had been raised in a cultural ghetto, one that was reinforced by our frequent transfers, one where our own status in the playground and at school was based on our father’s rank. The implications of rank-ordered obedience, coupled with the need to present a seamless front – all spit and polish, not only to the community at large but also to our friends and neighbours - shaped our silence.

At the “brats” reunion, four siblings had traveled in from Kitimat and Nanaimo just to be together, and I totally understood why. Like them, every time we moved, our families had stuck together ever more tightly - like the popular slogan for Lepage’s glue: “Together we stick, divided we’re stuck”. Like us, they had joined their siblings during their entire childhood in endless card games and puzzles, and had earnestly poured over their organized collections of stamps, coins, baseball cards – anything portable.

“It’s funny though,” one of the younger brats mused, “After our Dad left the service, it was kind of like he imploded. He didn’t know what to do next. We didn’t either. We moved from the Maritimes to B.C. and Jesus! We felt like a full load of hicks.” I knew precisely what he meant. For us, like them, the military life had been everything; our friendships had made us part of a larger family. Whenever a new family moved into the PMQs, a hot dinner and help packing up boxes was always offered by several of our new neighbours. We made friends instantly, and at the same time we also left these new friends just as suddenly.

Just like the military brass, none of us had ever looked too closely at the drinking, the violence, and the exploitation of women. Nor to the costs to the children. We needed to not know. Like our parents, we needed to keep on believing in the slogans as trumpeted on the recruiting posters: There’s No life Like It.

1957 Photo: Brian, Struan, Sharon, Bruce – Martin born one year later.
Our trip to France was one year later.

Flight of Fear

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 17:45:00 +0000

On December 21^st, 1962, as our family was returning to Canada from my father’s RCAF posting in Metz France, the cabin of our plane suddenly lost pressure over the Atlantic. When I recently spoke of this with my brother Brian, he added that we had been in a four engine turbo prop Yukon – guys tend to recall that kind of detail - and that we had immediately dropped from 20,000 feet to 10,000, supposedly because of a shattered windscreen. At the time, I had recorded that we had lowered to 1,000 feet, but it turns out that Brian was most likely to be right.

In the event of a cabin depressurization, pilots will initiate an emergency descent to an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) or lower. This altitude is considered safe for passengers and crew to breathe without needing supplemental oxygen, as it provides sufficient oxygen levels for normal, unpressurized breathing. SOURCE: AI.

NOTE: After I uploaded my post, my brother Brian emailed me some key bits that add to the story:

Couple of things from your high school story which are different from my recollection. The windshield was cracked, nor shattered and we dropped from a cruising altitude of about 30,000-33,000’ to around 10,000’ - as you mentioned in your blog. There was no announcement about the landing gear but what tipped the passengers off as to a problem was the flight sergeant came down the aisle to a point behind the wing and used a flashlight to see what was going on with the landing gear. Being experienced flyers, when the plane was circling for an extended period of time we could hear rumblings from those in the know, likely including Dad, that we were dumping fuel. It’s possible that the lack of any announcement was to keep the passengers calm though many were undoubtably anxious. It is a lovely story.

After our emergency landing, the pilot parked our plane well away from the hanger. Obvious reasons. We hurried across the tarmac as best we could in the bitter mid-night cold, me holding the hand of my youngest brother. I remember being thankful for my sealskin topped winter boots, the ones that I had worn a couple of months earlier in this class photo beneath. The plane was more than a city block distant from the waiting room. I wished that we had gloves.

Our school was on the base in a one-storey H-hut.
(SOURCE: War Museum - Oral History Program. Interview with Tony Humphreys ).

Weeks later, after starting in Grade 10 at my new school Lemoyne D’Iberville High School in Longueuil Quebec I wrote my account of our Gander emergency landing for a class assignment; What did you do in the holidays. The version published that spring in our yearbook included fourteen exclamation marks. I had yet to learn that when it comes to punctuation, less is more. (NOTE: I was in Grace 11 in France and subsequently Grade 10 in Quebec. Quebec’s version of Grade 10 was equivalent to Ontario’s Grade 11, the system used at Canadian military bases.).

Flight of Fear

The engines of the Yukon droned on monotonously. I rub my eyes drowsily; my mind was still fogged with sleep. Gradually I became aware of the insistent tapping on my stiff shoulder. What was the matter now? I had been sleeping on the floor under my chair. As I settled into my chair I noticed my younger brother anxiously pointing at me as he whispered “Seatbelts, Sharon. The sign says do ‘em up. Will you do mine up, please?”

Simultaneously the intercom squawked, “Attention all personnel! You will have noticed it's getting cold here. That is because the windshield has shattered and we are losing pressure. We must lower to one thousand [sic] feet. We must fly slowly since a minor flaw in our landing gear makes it necessary to fly with it down to avoid major difficulties. We must reroute to Goose Bay and will arrive there in 15 minutes. Please keep your belts fastened. Thank you!”

Twenty minutes later over the announcement system the voice droned expressionlessly, “We are now circling over Goose Bay to burn off excess fuel. We should land in twenty minutes. Do not worry. Everything is under control.”

Now I was not too dense to realize our situation! I knew that we were burning fuel so that we wouldn’t explode when we crashed! I took out a little white book that tells you what to do in case of an emergency. I put the book back. I had read it before not realizing the time that I would have to use its advice!

I looked at my four younger brothers who were happily playing the game, “I spy with my little eye.” Telling myself that I was worked up over nothing I suppressed a shiver and glanced out of the window.

Nearly screaming I gazed petrified at the scene below! We were very near the ground now, and I could make out the shapes below. I could count the number of clearly-defined vehicles. There were seventeen fire engines and ambulances! Did the stewardesses really say not to worry? I recounted the shapes on the ground. The ominous total of seventeen echoed hollowly in my mind. Seventeen was my unlucky number!

The plane started to land. I shut my eyes and felt myself stiffen. That was the wrong thing to do. The white book is said to relax. Impossible! I took a deep breath and relaxed slightly. I remembered Browning’s poem about hating that Death bandaged his eyes, and I resolved to see my death scene.

I looked out of the window. We had stopped! We hadn't crashed! I was alive! Seventeen wasn't an unlucky number after all! Or was it still? The plane made the number eighteen on the ground!

Once we had landed in the dark, albeit without incident, we waited in a cavernous waiting room with something like 120 men, women, and children. There were only two toilets, and the lineups were long. It would take time for the the arrival of the crew which had been called in to weld the undercarriage in place, a not-unusual MacGyver kind of move, and probably not the last or first time it had been used on such planes. As we waited, my brother Brian watched a toddler carefully stepping from arm rest to arm rest overtop the seated passengers. Then he misjudged, stumbled, and landed with one foot planted firmly in the crouch of an unprepared officer. Oops.

Brian also added other details to the bits that I had recalled: The plane didn’t leave from Metz, as Metz was the RCAF Command Centre and had no airfield. We actually left from Marville (#1 Fighter Base)*. We left late (3-4 hours) as the plane was delayed for unknown reasons. (Hmmm …) I remember flying over London and seeing all the lights so it would have been dark. We arrived at Gander at around 3 AM. I too recall the lights over London. As it was our first time to take such a flight, the sight of the lights snaking outwards from the heart of London was particularly striking.

It was daylight in Gander when the undercarriage of our plane was finally secured, we were refueled, and our plane was finally deemed good-to go. Because of the cracked windscreen, there was still no way to pressurize the cabin, so we flew much lower than normal. Beneath us, outlined by the winter snow, we could see granular details of people’s backyards and of cars driving on roads.

Late last year, I did a digital search to check out how accurate my memories of the incident had been, and perhaps to learn more. Surely, I thought, there must be a record online by now. There were lots of details when I searched “Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Canadair CC-106 Yukon crashes”, but nothing was a perfect fit with our event. There was no AI summary at the start of this initial query. Fair enough. Perhaps there was nothing on line. So, I tried a couple of Facebook queries. My first was to the “Ottawa’s Aviation History Since 1858” group:

“On Dec 21, 1962, our family flew from Metz France and were headed for Trenton when the cabin on our Yukon lost pressure (cracked windscreen?), and we had to detour to Gander. We arrived in the middle of the night, after circling to burn off fuel. Later, we flew to Trenton from Gander on the same plane, but with the undercarriage welded down. Any record of that? There were about 120 people on board - mostly families.”

My second Facebook query was to the Aviation History Gander Airport group. A posted photo of an emergency evacuation fit some of our known facts, but it was in daytime, and in warmer weather. Still, I asked: “What date was this?”, and also added: “I was on a plane that landed in Gander on Dec 21, 1962. We had been told that there had been a windshield problem. We then flew from Gander to Trenton with the landing gear welded on. I was 16 years old, and traveling with my family. We were returning from Metz, France.” Kent Peyton, admin of this site, replied to the query about this photo: “Nose wheel did not extend”.

Kent Peyton. Nose wheel did not extend.

That nose-wheel detail was a definite fit with our experience. The fact that this was clearly not a one-off made me even more curious. Had all of us - 120 men women and children – had an closer meeting with a possible death than we had been led to believe?

Two weeks later, in a follow-up search, an AI summary topped the response. Interestingly, this search response included all of my details – ones that I had only recently uploaded to the two Facebook pages. This was info which was mostly not to be found anywhere else online:

AI Overview

A specific Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Canadair Yukon aircraft made an emergency landing at Gander International Airport on December 21, 1962, after experiencing a pressurization failure due to a cracked windscreen.

Details of the Incident

Aircraft: An RCAF Canadair CL-44 "Yukon", a turboprop transport aircraft.
Date: December 21, 1962.
Route: The flight was en route from RCAF Station Metz, France, to RCAF Station Trenton, Ontario, carrying approximately 120 people, mostly military families returning home for Christmas.
Emergency: The aircraft experienced a rapid decompression (cabin pressure loss), reportedly caused by a cracked windscreen.
Action Taken: The crew initiated a rapid descent to a lower altitude where the air was breathable and diverted to Gander, Newfoundland, as an emergency landing site. The plane circled Gander to burn off excess fuel before landing in the middle of the night.
Outcome: The landing was successful, with no injuries reported.
Subsequent Travel: Following temporary repairs, the aircraft continued its journey to Trenton, but as a precaution, its landing gear was "welded down" to prevent a potential hydraulic failure from affecting the landing, meaning it flew at a reduced speed and altitude for the remainder of the trip

The fact of this confirmed what I had already been suspecting about AI. The way that it scrapes and uploads data with no indication of source or of accuracy. Perhaps I should have added something outrageous to my queries, such as ‘The interior of the plane was pink”. Would that “fact” then get included in an updated AI summary?

In one of the links in this subsequent search, the Canadian Warplane Museum linked me to more details about the Yukon planes.

CASPIR Warplane Serial # Search

· Yukon serial 15501 Crashed and destroyed at Alto de Toledo, 24 km west of Medellin, Colombia, on 22 February 1975.

· Yukon serial 15927 Disappeared on flight from Montevideo to Santiago de Chile, over Andes Mountains, on 20 June 1972. Wreckage has never been found.

· Yukon serial 15928 Scrapped after leaving runway on landing with gear partially extended on 10 October 1979. Hulk burned, apparently before any official investigation of the accident.

· Yukon serial 15931 Disappeared on flight from Lima, Peru to Maiquetia, (near Caracas) Venezuela on 27/28 August 1976, never found. Presumed crashed, written off.

· Yukon (Serial No. 15501, renumbered to 15921, later renumbered to 106921). Harold A. Skaarup Photo Military History). No. 437 (T) Squadron, RCAF Station Trenton, Ontario, shown beneath on the tarmac at 1 (F) Wing, RCAF Station Marville, France, 20 June 1963. This Yukon was later renumbered (Serial No. 106922). Sold 18 November 1971 to aircraft broker Beaver Enterprises. No Canadian civil registration known. Sold to Societe Generale d'Alimentation (SGA), registered as 9Q-CWN. First flight with these markings, in Canada, on 12 November 1973. Named "Hoto Mbio". Delivered, Montreal to Toulouse, on 18 November 1973. First commercial flight, Toulouse to Kinshasa, Zaire on 23 November 1973. Later stored in Luxembourg. Operator name changed to TRAMACO, Transports et Manutentions Commerciaux, by 1 February 1977, when commercial flights resumed. Stored at Kinshara from 1978. Scrapped there, 1 April 1983. (RWR Walker)

The fact that so many Yukon planes crashed, also made me reconsider my adolescent use of exclamation marks. Were they warranted? Perhaps? Unfortunately, I do not know the serial number of our plane, so I don’t know whether it met its end in a blaze of unglory. Perhaps some plane aficionado who stumbles across this post could winkle this fact out for me.

MISC: Some history of the 106 Yukon.

Firstly, the RCAF required a replacement for its C-54GM North Star. In 1954, a licence was issued to Canadair to build a derivative of the Britannia, which became the Canadair CC-106 Yukon/CL44. Canadair built 39 of these Yukon turboprop Rolls-Royce Tyne-powered aircraft, comprising 12 CC-106 Yukon for the RCAF and 27 CL-44D4 passenger/cargo variants for the civil market. SOURCE: Bob’s Gander History

POSTSCRIPT: I embarked on writing this post mostly for my family, my brothers, and their children, but also in case there might be any others from that flight, who might stumble across this post. Perhaps they will be able to add more. If I have misremembered or misrepresented any details, please let me know. Corrections will follow ASAP.

Grandma’s Brain

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Sun, 30 Nov 2025 18:47:00 +0000

Yes, I know my mind is a fickle little bee
doting on a thousand thoughts, but I’m getting
better at chasing my mind back to the moment.
Traci Brimhall. This Beautiful Confusion.

For most of my life, I had assumed that I was pretty much neurotypical, but a young friend recently questioned me on this assumption, and I had to agree that he had a point. Now, at the start of my 8^th decade, I have also become more curious about whether uncommon brains might age differently than neurotypical brains? How are our strengths and weaknesses revealed in age-related cognitive tests? Is there anything that I should consider changing in either my expectations of life going forward or in how I live in the moment?

For several months last year, my husband and I kept losing the word for nectarine. Why was that word so elusive? Or was it not the word itself, but that once a word is lost, then it becomes harder to re-find? This elderly kind of forgetting - creeping aphasia - sounds like a weed. So how does this slowly invasive weed impact on my usual non-neurotypical approach to research and writing? How does it impact on what I am still good for?

About a decade ago, I passed out while driving (thank you vasovagal syncope) and later uploaded a piece about the experience (Crash test Dummy). There were two upsides to the aftermath of this event. One was that the only lasting damage was to the car (and a few bushes). The second was that a scan of my brain revealed that I had an age-appropriate brain. I loved that label. The image of my brain revealed the presence of dozens of small white specks. They looked like snowflakes – as if they had landed at the start of a light flurry.

No doubt, there have been more flurries since then, but in spite of this there is some research which hints that there may be some upsides to living with an aging brain.

As your brain matures, it actually gets better at many important things. One of the biggest strengths that comes with age is the ability to recognize patterns. With years of experience to draw from, decision-making often improves, especially in real-life situations that require careful thought. You also tend to get better at managing your emotions, and problem-solving becomes more effective because you’ve faced and learned from a wide range of challenges.

Your knowledge and use of language also continue to grow. Even if you occasionally struggle to find the right word, your overall language skills stay strong. In fact, your vocabulary usually keeps expanding well into your 70s, and your general knowledge increases over time. Many people also find that their storytelling skills improve—they become better at sharing ideas and experiences in ways that are thoughtful, clear, and meaningful. These strengths are a natural part of the brain’s evolution and a reminder that aging brings valuable mental abilities. Your Amazing Aging Brain: How It Changes and Thrives Over Time. Dr. Susan Borgaro, Clinical Neuropsychologist

My lifetime of being not too shabby at pattern recognition - and also of thinking outside the box - were both key to my being able to cobble together some bits of Irish history in my post: Seeking Ensign Jackson, although it wasn’t easy for me to find the flow. My creeping aphasia meant that I had to keep looking things up – not once, not twice, but again and again. Certain names kept slipping away with the same regularity as nectarine. It took me forever, and made me ask myself: why do I keep doing this? Then, I came across a quote which I had written at the opening page of my 2021 diary:

I wonder what writing is or can be. There is a prophetic or mysterious quality to it sometimes – when you are on the brink of something, and even before that, when you are attracted to a subject. It is a kind of magic …. It is an odd sensation, when on the trail of research, to also feel that the research has, in a feeling that cannot be fully articulated, been on the trail of you." The Ghost Orchard. Helen Humphreys.

Am I tracking a thought, or is a thought tracking me? Or do both happen simultaneously? It has always been true that when I am in the early stages of having a thought that it begins in a totally wordless form. Do such pre-thoughts begin in the so-called lizard brain? Or in the pre-frontal cortex? Elsewhere? Everywhere?

In Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst, the neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky opens with a chapter called The Behaviour, followed by the 2^nd chapter One second before, and then in subsequent chapters he tracks the hours before, then the days before, and then Back to the Crib, Back to the Womb and so on. He also explores how little control we have over where our thoughts take us.

Essay on Adam Robert Bringhurst

There are five possibilities. One: Adam fell.
Two: he was pushed. Three: he jumped. Four:
he only looked over the edge, and one look silenced him.
Five: nothing worth mentioning happened to Adam.

The first, that he fell, is too simple. The fourth,
fear, we have tried and found useless. The fifth,
nothing happened, is dull. The choice is between:
he jumped or was pushed. And the difference between these

is only an issue of whether the demons
work from the inside out or from the outside
in: the one
theological question.

Thinking is akin to an autonomic function. Like breathing, it keeps chugging along, with or without words, whether we are paying attention or not and whether we act or not. My own pre-thought moments - when I am conscious of them - feel as if they originate in that spot just behind my forehead. Perhaps this is a common experience. Perhaps this gave rise to the myth of how Zeus gave birth to Athena.

The "forehead of Zeus" is famously associated with the birth of the goddess Athena, who sprang from it fully grown and in full armor. After Zeus swallowed his first wife, Metis (the goddess of wisdom), he suffered a terrible headache. Hephaestus split Zeus's head with an axe, and Athena emerged, representing wisdom, strategy, and defensive warfare. AI Overview.

In order to take the next step - towards wording a thought - I am often drawn to locate a particular text. It is always my body, not my mind, which will know which shelf of books will hold the key to my thought, which book it will be in, and it is my fingers – again not my mind - that know how far to flip in from the last page. I always start at the back of a book, never the front – why? – I don’t know, but once I get to the right page, I always know exactly where the needed words will be. It is then that my non-verbal thought can begin to take shape. In words.

A couple of years ago, when Robert Bringhurst and his partner Jan Zwicky were visiting, I told them both about this, and Jan laughed out loud. Apparently, her brain also worked like that. More recently, after hearing Dennis Lee speaking in Vancouver, and then after rereading his latest book, Wrestling With Cadence: essays on writing and intuition, I came to suspect that so-called non-neurotypical thinking is perhaps not so uncommon. Lee’s own version of his pre-thinking experiences connect him to jazz, so it makes sense that he named them cadence.

We don’t have a word in English for “an array of blurts & squirts of non-verbal energy that take you over but they can’t be seen or heard by anyone else.” But I had to call the fool thing something. So I hijacked the closest term I could think of – “cadence.” There was nothing sacrosanct about the word, though; I could have called it Fred. p 18

Fred? That made me laugh. A few years ago, when my husband was dealing with recurrences of a tumour in his head (thankfully now long gone), we always referred to it as Fred in the Head. There is something about being able to name things that crystallizes thought. So, cadence it is.

Lee also described how the great Russian poet Osip Mandelstam experienced the first stirring of his poems as a hum. His widow, Nadezhda Mandelstam, described this and she believed that this was a not uncommon approach for poets:

As many poets have said – Akhmatova (in “Poem Without a Hero”) and M, among them – a poem begins with a musical phrase ringing incessantly in the ears; at first inchoate, it later takes on a poetic form, though still without words. I sometimes saw M. trying to get rid of this kind of “hum”, to brush it off and escape from it. He would toss his head as though it could be shaken out like a drop of water that gets into your ear while bathing.

But it is not only poets who begin their thoughts like this. The famous physicist Richard Feynman, would writhe on the floor on the floor and emit loud howls and whoops when he was in his pre-verbal thinking. For him, there was a visual element to this:

What I am really trying to do is bring birth to clarity, which is really a half-assedly thought-out pictorial semi-vision thing. … its all visual. It’s hard to explain.

As Lee points out, it is not insignificant that: Some of the seminal advances of modern physics were made during these painstaking joyrides in the intuitive field (p. 21).

As I follow my own joyrides in the intuitive field, the digital age has introduced two new conundrums. What is the starting point for a preverbal digital search? Also, what about community? Thoughts can only progress so far when we think in isolation. We all benefit when we have to work together with those who hold tenaciously opposing views - what is called adversarial collaboration. Engaging with those who would advocate competing hypotheses increases our capacity for self-correction, whereas on-line disagreements often end up in an entrenched stand-off.

Physical presence also matters, and I know that I definitely benefit from boots on the ground, hence my frequent trips to Ireland. Like words in books, it is being in the presence of people and places which both shape and enrich the start of my Irish research thoughts. As I write down the start of what I know – first for myself, followed by a more refined version as I think of sharing these thoughts with others - each thought becomes more complete. Slowly.

A couple of recent dreams revealed to me the probable reason why I chose to even write this post. In the first dream, I had entirely lost the capacity for verbal thought. Worse, it hadn’t felt as if I were dreaming. I felt awake, frozen in terror as my husband slept on beside me, blissfully unaware. The second dream was less terrifying because it clearly was a dream. In that one, I had lost my sight while driving a car. Such dreams tend to give voice to our subconscious fears. For me, they are probably: How long will I be able to think, to learn, and then to write and share and to continue to be of service? If not, when will this stop, and what next?

These days, it already takes me a lot longer to get to the nub of whatever it might be that I am thinking, but this is not unlike my capacity for walking. I can still do the recommended 10,000 steps per day, but I do them more slowly. As for my idiosyncratic approach to research? Well, that’s just me.

Three years ago, my granddaughter (now six years old) drew two circles for heads with eyes and mouths included, and with stringy lines hanging down for legs. The big circle was her father’s head, she said, and the little circle was hers. Together, they took up half the page. There was also an energetic scribble, a very energetic scribble, that took up the upper part of the other half of the page. It felt that it must have been important to her. What is this? I asked. Grandma’s brain, she said.

Intro for Michael Crummey and his novel The Adversary.

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Thu, 20 Nov 2025 23:51:00 +0000

Annual Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts | Sechelt, BC. 2025 August

My disheveled hair - oh well- but Michael looks great.

On my hind legs, blathering on.

NOTE: I saved this as a blog post as a simple way to not lose it. By necessity, it was brief. The audience mostly wants to hear lots from the author - and way, way less from the presenter. Done.

After my first read of The Adversary, it was the cadences of Crummey’s sentences that stayed with me – that and his great strings of curses, often invented by transforming nouns into verbs. The way that he accomplished this put me in mind of Dennis Lee, James Joyce and Shakespeare, all masters of cadence.

Then, in my 2^nd read - after reading Guy Vanderhaeghe's essays, Because Somebody Asked me to: Observations on History, Literature and the Passing Scene - I experienced how The Adversary can help us to arrive at a more deeply felt sense of our own times.

The characters of Widow Cain and her brother Abe are textbook examples of what we now call The Dark Triad: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy. Metastatic evil, such as that which afflicted the fictional community of Mockbeggar, takes root and flourishes when there is a combination of three things: deep inequality; a validating religious and cultural landscape; and no effective feedback loop to rein it all in, to constrain it.

In The Adversary, Abe Strapp’s ruthlessness combines with his feral unpredictability and his insatiable desire for retribution. Serving as Justice of the Peace gives him the legal cover and clout as he arrests his competitors without legal cause. Because of his government post, he faces no effective social censure in spite of his Strip-Me-Naked booze sales, his gambling, and his prostitution ventures. The Beadle - and this character is key – is his Enabler.

What if we substituted the fishocracy of Newfoundland’s early 1800s for our current experiences of the techno-digital-otocracy? Or what if we compared the impacts of the early 18^th century merchants to those of our current oligarchs? The quality of the light and chill suffered by the defenseless who are doomed to live in the underbellies of such times is equivalent.

Thankfully, the extremities of such realities as experienced in the fictional town of Mockbeggar need not continue to be like that forever and forever. In The Adversary, Crummey has also created the characters of three children, all raised by Quakers, whose lives embody love, loyalty to service, and a sense of shared purpose. A more holy triad. One of them even gets the last line in the novel. I plan to hold on to that.

For more links and reviews see: The Adversary

ADDED: Here are bits from Vanderhaeghe's book which influenced my second reading of The Adversary

Because Somebody Asked me to: Observations on History, Literature and the Passing Scene. Guy Vannderhseghe. 2024 Thistledown Press.

Pg	Notes
145	How often do we turn on our television and hear someone say about some grisly event, “You could never have made me believe that this could happen here.” But the novel also explored the phenomenon of evil on the largest stages, evil on a national or international scale, those arena where territorial ambitions run amok, where wars are purposely fomented, where people’s rights are ruthlessly trampled. I waned to show that the perpetrators of evil in the small stage often share the psychology and character of evil that has the greatest scope and consequence. [referring to his novel August in Winter.]
146	History is the record of an encounter between character and circumstance … The encounter between character and circumstance is essentiall a story.” [Quoting the Canadian historian Donald Creighton.]
268	“Many historians continue to treat their ‘facts’ as though they were ‘given’ and refuse to recognize, unlike most scientists, that they are not so much found as constructed by the kinds of questions which the investigator asks of the phenomena before him” [Quote from Hayden White The Burden of History.]
270	Stories are not lived; there is no such thing as a real story. Stories are told or written, not found. And as for the notion of a true story, this is virtually a contradiction in terms. All stories are fictions. Which mean, of course, that they can be true only in a metaphorical sense and in the sense in which a figure of speech can be true. Is this true enough? [From Hayden White The Content of the Form.]
317	[Hilary] Mantel knows that historians and historical novelists edit our pasts, but she also knows that every human being indulges in that editing. Mantel writes, “It is the living that turn and chase the dead. The long bones and skulls are tumbled from their shrouds, and words like stones thrust into their rattling mouths: we edit their writinigs, we rewrite their lives.”

Seeking Ensign JACKSON

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 17:08:00 +0000

Seeking Ensign JACKSON - and the Siege of Derry

2003 was a momentous year when it came to me learning more – way more - about my Irish ancestors. Christine WRIGHT (1941-2022) had given me carte blanche to copy and use all the family history tucked away in dozens of rooms at Gilford Castle by “Aunt Mollie” née Mary MENARY (1872-1946). One of my first discoveries had been a letter from my grandmother about her visit -in the 1920s – to Gilford Castle. With photos of her and my father. It took me the next two decades to record and organize the thousands of family photographs and documents stored at the Castle. When Christine sold the property in 2022, I was a witness on the deed of sale. It felt fitting.

Thanks to each of our families having inherited duplicate silver bowls [Blog posts: The Quest for the Silver Bowl.and Gilford Castle & the Gift of Christine], Christine and I soon discovered that we were both distantly related through “Aunt Mollie”, one of the granddaughters of David JACKSON (1814-1889), and therefore one of my many JACKSON cousins. Mollie was also the grandmother of Michael WRIGHT (1928-1995), my 3^rd cousin, and Christine’s late husband. I later learned, much to my chagrin, that Michael and my father had once duked it out over a shared – albeit small - family inheritance from one of their cousins, a bachelor farmer who had died in Australia [George Austin Thompson BROWN (1902-1963)].

Although there are no more unseen Gilford archives for me to record, I continue to make new discoveries. A letter - 1960 November 1 -from Aiken McClelland to James Francis Wright – included a sentence which recently hooked my curiousity:

Through the Jackson and White family you could also claim relationship with the Chichester-Clark and Clark of Upperlands families.

Two decades later, I had learned enough to suspect that the Jacksons of Tobermore would be the most likely JACKSONs to be closely related to the CLARKE aka CLARK family of Maghera, although nothing had connected them – yet - to my JACKSONs of Liscalgat & Urker, Co. Armagh. who in turn were probably descendants of the JACKSONs of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry.

In what follows, I have highlighted words such as possibly, probably, allegedly, likely, and supposedly so that certain “facts” don’t get taken as certainties. With that in mind, here goes.

Tobermore and Maghera are only three miles apart.

In his 1823 publication, Rev. John GRAHAM (1744-1844) alleged a connection between CLARKs and JACKSONs by quoting the following line:

From Tubbermore we Ensign Jackson saw. [Stanza XXVII]. From Londerias (1699).

and following it with:

Messrs. Alexander and William Clark, of Maghera, and Alexander Clark, of Upperland, Esq., are descended] from this Ensign Jackson.” SEE: 1823 Derriana, Consisting Of A History Of The Siege Of Londonderry And Defence Of Enniskillen, In 1688 And 1689, With Historical Poetry And Biographical Note. .

MY NOTE: An Ensign was the lowest-ranking commissioned officer, an entry level position for young men. They carried the regiment's colors, a task which was not without risk.

CONTEXT: The Pamphlet Wars began in the mid 1600s in Ireland, and continued with the contemporaneous and earliest histories of The Siege. The effects of them were not unlike the effects of today’s social media. Known facts, and gossip were frequently mashed together and then published in versions which could best be described as truthiness, with Presbyterian authors duking it out with Establishment Church authors and vice-versa. Karen A. Holland in Disputed Heroes: Early Accounts of the Siege of Londonderry tracks the impact of these publications on our understanding of The Siege.

· 1689. George Walker, A Vindication of the True Account of the Siege of Derry in Ireland (London: Printed for Rob. Clavel at the Peacock, at the West-End of St. Paul's, 1689), p. 25

· 1690. Mackenzie, John (1690). A Narrative of the Siege of Londonderry. London: Richard Baldwin. OCLC 220182259. Mackenzie's history A Narrative of the Siege of Londonderry or, The Late Memorable Transactions of that City Faithfully Represented, To Rectify the Mistakes, and Supply the Omissions of Mr. Walker's Account each accusation against Walker is paralleled by a reply from an anonymous friend as recorded in "Mr. John Mackenzie's Narrative of the Siege of Londonderry, A False Libel: In Defence of Dr. George Walker, written by his friend in his Absence

· 1699. Joseph Aickin Londerias or a Narrative of the Siege of Londonderry (1699),

· 1705. John Mitchelburne in his five-act tragicomedy Ireland Preserv'd or The Siege of Londonderry (1705).

Based on earlier publications, later versions added to the stories– sometimes factually, sometimes not.

· 1794 Derriana: A Collection of Papers relative to the Siege of Derry , and Illustrative to the Revolution of M.DC.LXXXVIII Printed and published by G. Douglas, 1794. NOTE: George DOUGLAS. SOURCE: The Dublin Book Trade 1550-1800.

· !823 Derriana, Consisting Of A History Of The Siege Of Londonderry And Defence Of Enniskillen, In 1688 And 1689, With Historical Poetry And Biographical Notes

· 1861 The Siege and history of Londonderry. (J. Hempton, Diamond;, 1861), by John Hempton, Thomas Ash, John Mackenzie, and George Walker (page images at HathiTrust). NOTE: Just to add another layer of confusion, when Hempton reprinted AICKIN’s Londerias from DOUGLAS’s Derrianna he renamed it: Londeriados.

· 1873 A History of the Siege of Londonderry and Defence of Enniskillen, in 1688 and 1689 by Rev. John Graham. Maclear & Co. Publishers, Toronto. Published 1873, page 338 [on p 216 – or 249 in various pdf versions]

So, was there an Ensign JACKSON and did he come from Tobermore? Maybe yes. Maybe no. It helps to track the sausage-making aspect of how historical truth gets created. It often begins with first creating a case (the gut-casing of sausages is a nice metaphor) and then filling it with scraps of this and that.

THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY OF ENSIGN JACKSON

1699 LONDERIAS

(Thanks to Sean Bardon, Armagh Museum for finding the hyperlink to the original publication)

Londerias
OR, A
NARRATIVE
Of the SIEGE OF
London-Derry
Which was formed by the Late King
James the 18^th of April and Raised
The 1^st of Augst, Anno Dom. 1689
Written in Verse by Joseph AICKEN
DUBLIN
Printed by J.D. and S.P. at the back of Dick’s
Coffee-House in Skinner Row for the Author
and Sold by him at his school near Essex Bridge
and by the Booksellers of Dublin 1699

MY NOTES: Probable connections between people and places

· J. D. - John DUNTON (1659-1733) was a bookseller/publisher who held regular auctions at Pue’s Coffee shop. He founded the Athenian Society to publish The Athenian Mercury, and when he visited Ireland from London for eight months in 1698, he also wrote The Dublin Skuffle. In it, he recounted a meeting with Mr. James JACKSON of Drogheda, son of the Drogheda Alderman Richard JACKSON. I am including this passage because the Drogheda JACKSONs possibly connect to both the Coleraine and Armagh JACKSONs. [For more, see:Jacksons of Drogheda - Detective work and Drogheda and a Perfect Day]:

this gentleman [James JACKSON] resolves to live a bachelor, which I could not but wonder at; for doubtless Nature meant him a conqueror over all hearts, when she gave him such sense, and such beauty (for he's a very handsome man). His wit sparkles as well as eyes; and his discourse charms as well as his beauty; and I found by a little talking with him, that his mind is none of those narrow ones, who know one thing, and are ignorant of a thousand; but on the contrary, it is so very large, that although it cannot be said Jackson knew everything equally well, it is most certain, he can give an excellent account of all things; but though his soul is enriched with every virtue, yet I thought the most remarkable thing in him was his great humility and readiness to serve a stranger (for I might pass as such, never having seen him, but a minute or two in London).

JACKSON introduced DUNTON to Ellis WALKER the ingenious translator of Epictetus, who was a schoolmaster of Drogheda, and who was also a fellow schoolmaster who AICKEN would likely have met..

· S.P. was Stephen POWELL, a bookseller at Fishamble at the back of Dick’s Coffee Shop and partnered with many known printers/publishers and booksellers over the years, including Francis DICKSON. DUNTON described him as a wit whose repartees were ‘quaint, apposite and genteel’, neither scurrilous nor profane, ‘tis impossible to be sad if he sets upon it’. He and his wife Deborah had children baptized at various churches: St. Michan’s, St. Nicholas Within, and St John’s. In the early 1700s, his business was in a building beside the Crown Tavern, on Fishamble Street, a property which was possibly owned by Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706), or at least bordered on some of Samuel's leases at this time. SOURCES: Samuel Jackson - Gleanings of a Life; and Dictionary of the Members of the Dublin Book Trade 1550-1800. M. Pollard [aka Mary POLLARD], 2000. London Biographical Society. p 469; and A Dictionary of the Printers and Booksellers who were at Work in England, Scotland and Ireland From 1668 To 1725.

· Dick’s Coffee-House in Skinner Row. Dick’s Coffee Shop was established by Richard PUE of Pue’s Occurrences fame, a newspaper proprietor, book seller and coffee-house-keeper, described as a Witty and Ingenious Man, makes the best Coffee in Dublin … has a particular knack at Bantering, and will make rhymes to any Thing. [SOURCE: Dictionary of the Members of the Dublin Book Trade 1550-1800 (p. 473)]. The coffee shops were where many of the merchant class, the legal and political class and also printers and booksellers – many with connections to Maghera and Tobermore - gathered to gossip and talk politics.

· school near Essex Bridge Essex Bridge [aka Grattan Bridge] was built in 1676. Many residents in the vicinity had family ties and business interests with families from Derry and Coleraine.

PAGE 32 OF LONDERIAS

From Tubbermore we Ensign Jackson saw.

[Stanza XXVII]. Page 32 in Londerias.

1794 George DOUGLAS’s PRINTING of DERRIANA
Derriana: A Collection of Papers relative to the Siege of Derry , and Illustrative to the Revolution of M.DC.LXXXVIII

MY NOTES:

· Printed by G. Douglas. The Dublin printer George DOUGLAS was based in College Green 1770-1771 when he partnered with William SPOTSWOOD (1753-1805); then he was based in Derry 1772-1796 after which he emigrated to Philadelphia in 1797 probably after printing several issues of the Londonderry Journal. Before emigrating, he married the widow of James STEVENSON (d. 1789), a rival bookseller in Derry. Although the printing and bookselling businesses of DOUGLAS, SPOTSWOOD and STEVENSON were based in Dublin, they all had connections to Co. Londonderry. SOURCE: The Dublin Book Trade 1550-1800. DOUGLAS and SPOTSWOOD were often mentioned in Derry leases in both Maghera and Tobermore. Another connection of them to Derry is that the vicinity of Essex Bridge [aka Grattan Bridge] was also where George DOUGLAS later sold his books, and was close to where AICKEN’s school had been.

MY NOTES:

· The fragment - supposedly with eight pages of the original Londerias missing - was described as An Historical poem, a Fragment. When comparing the text of the 1699 publication of Londerias, I count 5 pages and a blank page to be missing - not 8. This 1794 Derriana version of Londerias was the first to be based on the fragment of the text found in Armagh.

The following "POEM" was lately found in
the Library of a Gentleman at Armagh;, but in fo
mutilated a state, as to want the Title, and the whole
of the two first Sections; it is even to be regretted,
that some parts of the Dedication, with the name of
the "Orator," are also loft. – It evidently was writ-
ten shortly after the Siege; and as it relates circum-
stances not mentioned in any of the “Narratives,”
and contains the names of the principal perfons who
took an active part in thofe perilous times, the Editor
has thought it not unworthy of publication.
L.DERRY 1790

1823: The 1799 DERRIANA was republished in a new edition.
Derriana, Consisting Of A History Of The Siege Of Londonderry And Defence Of Enniskillen, In 1688 And 1689, With Historical Poetry And Biographical Notes, &c. By The Rev. John GRAHAM, M. A., Curate of Lifford, in the Diocese of Derry, 1823,

Just as the 1794 version of Derriana had done, Rev. John Graham, a Church of Ireland clergyman, and a senior officer of the Orange Order, also attributed the origin of the fragment of Londerias to Armagh. He also added his personal opinion of the author of Londerias (my highlights):

1. The homely verse of a manuscript, said to be found in a gentleman’s library about thirty years ago [NOTE: This would have been the fragment included in DOUGLAS’s 1794 printing], and which, mutilated as it has been, by a loss of eight pages in the most interesting part of it], records more of the names and circumstances of the defenders of Londonderry, than any of the other accounts which we have had of the transcartions of that eventful time. The illiterate, but amusing poet, thus describes …–a “rustic poet” [p68; p 66 & p99 in pdf]

2. The poem found at Armagh records so many names and probable circumstances not mentioned by any of the journalists of this siege, that a transcript of the most curious parts of it, with a few verbal amendments, and some attempts to polish its rustic versification, cannot but be acceptable to all who deem the preservation of the history of our country to be an object of importance to posterity. P77

3. This city [Londonderry] is thus ingeniously described in the homely verse of a mutilated manuscript, said to be found in the library of a gentleman at Armagh, about 30 years ago, and published by Mr DOUGLASS, with WALKER’S and M’KENZIE’s Diaries etc in 1794. p239

Was GRAHAM’s repeated use of the word: said done to distance the writer from some inconvenient fact? Who was this gentleman who had a library in Armagh? Some possibilities to consider:

· Since Rev John GRAHAM served as Rector of Maghera in 1809, he would likely have heard several local accounts of the siege. Is it credible that this fragment - found in Armagh - was the only copy of Londerias that GRAHAM would have seen?

· When it comes to DOUGLAS-STEVENSON links to Armagh, a James STEPHENSON of Killyfaddy, Co. Armagh had married into the CLARKE aka CLARK family of Maghera, Co. Londonderry. In a subsequent generation, a member of a Derry-based DOUGLAS family had also married into the CLARKEs. Could either of these STEPHENSONs or DOUGLASs have been GRAHAM’s source for: Messrs. Alexander and William Clark, of Maghera, and Alexander Clark, of Upperland, Esq., were they descended from this Ensign Jackson.”?

Sean BARDEN, curator of the Armagh Museum and author of several books on local history, and one of those helpful mentors to folk like me, recently suggested a few other sources:

In Graham’s Derriana online, p32, GRAHAM mentions the Armagh men who were there and refers to James Stuart’s Historical Memoirs of Armagh (whom he calls Stewart). Stuart mentions the Armagh men who took part in the siege (see p417) with interesting footnotes. He mentions Aiken’s book (not by name) but in one of his footnotes concerning Cochrane he also (rather enigmatically) writes, “Manuscript account of John Cochrane, which belonged to his grandson, the late R. Cochrane”.

Sean asks: Could this be the elusive Armagh manuscript? It seems that the Armagh fragment may have been archived in the British Museum. If so, with perhaps an ex libris bookplate?:

… in a remarkable document known as the Armagh poem, written at the time of the siege, or immediately after, by Joseph Aicken, entitled "Londerias." This fragment, discovered at Armagh, was published in Dublin in 1699, and a copy, of this date, is preserved in the British Museum. Foulis Castle: and the Monroes of Lower Iveagh,1929. Horace Granville Monroe.

MORE ON AICKEN

Contrary to Rev. GRAHAM’s description of Joseph AICKEN as an illiterate, but amusing poet, he was instead a distinguished schoolmaster. He had already published The English grammar of 1693 – intended for schools to be able to teach English: without the Assistance of Latin. SEE: A Cultural History of the English Language. It may be that he chose to write in doggerel because that approach would take root in the semi-literate oral culture. It was also not an unknown form to be used by the educated class. For more on AICKEN, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography adds:

… he flourished between 1693 and 1705 as a schoolmaster in Londonderry at the time of the Siege, and later, in Dublin, and that he wrote works on English grammar.

Given this, perhaps AICKEN taught in both Dublin and Derry. In Disputed Heroes: Early Accounts of the Siege of Londonderry Karen A. Holland in New Hibernia Review / Iris Éireannach Nua, Vol. 18, No. 2 adds to what we know of AICKEN:

· Although he [AICKIN] never specifically refers to his own firsthand knowledge, Aickin "boldly avers" that in Londeriados he has accomplished the only full account of the events of the Siege of Londonderry as he relied upon a variety of sources "having had my informations from good hands, besides the advantage of the printed Narratives "[NOTE: The Londerias got changed to Londeriados by Hempton in his The Siege and history of Londonderry. (J. Hempton, Diamond;, 1861]

· Aicken chose to record the events of 1689 in epic poetry, reflecting his study of English, Latin, and Greek, which he hoped to impart to his students through "a rational and expeditious method" of teaching.

· The choice to record the events as an epic poem is significant: Aickin consciously selected a genre that traditionally recounts the story of great actions and events that create a nation or a culture, as Virgil had recounted the history of Rome and the foundation of its empire in the Aeneid. Aickin intended to do the same for Protestant Londonderry.

Later accounts of AICKEN allege that he was not a schoolteacher but rather a medical doctor and/or soldier (but without documentation to back up these claims). NOTE: Near the close of the Londeriados version there is at least a reference to a Dr. Aickin’s skill in healing, but there was no reference to his military participation in the Siege. As Holland points out:

· … in 1999, Patrick Macrory and T. G. Fraser provide a very different description of the author of Londeriados, asserting the epic was composed by a doctor called Aickin, who fought valiantly for the garrison of Londonderry throughout the siege. SEE also: Patrick Macrory, The Siege of Derry (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980.

· McBride also refers to Aickin as a Derry soldier. SEE: Ian McBride, The Siege of Deny in Ulster Protestant Mythology (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1997)]

It is likely that two similarly named AIKENs were conflated and the newer version dominated in later versions of the history of the Siege. In 20th October 1960, in his opening address to the Ulster Medical Society, Joseph Alexander Love JOHNSTON, the President of the Ulster Medical Society mentioned three doctors being present during the Siege of Londonderry: viz., Dr. Joseph Aicken, Dr. Herman and a Mr. Alexander Lindsay, and the latter was killed by a bomb. Again, no sources. As it is often said: History repeats itself; Historians repeat one another. The same is true for amateur family historians.

It was in the 1932 annotations of Derriana that I first encountered the forename Thomas attributed to Ensign JACKSON. [If what follows is too brain numbing, please skip to IN CONCLUSION.]

1932 FIGHTERS OF DERRY – SKETCHES of PEOPLE in LONDARIAS
Fighters of Derry: Their Deeds and Descendants Being a Chronicle of Events in Ireland During The Revolutionary Period 1688-1699. (published 1932). William R. Young

140 ENSIGN THOMAS JACKSON of Derry.

“Londeriados” in his muster of the forces for defence of Derry, has the following line
"From Tubbermore we Ensign Jackson saw”
This is Tobermore near Castle Dawson. From other sources we know that Ensign Thomas Jackson resided at Drumbally-Hagan Clark; Tobermore in the vicinity of the Jackson Clark’s estate of Largantogher. The Jacksons, like the Dawsons of Castle Dawson, came from Westmoreland, and were connected by association, if not by blood.

MY NOTES – verifying where possible.

· Drumballyhagan Clark, Parish Kilcronaghan, Barony Loughinsholin was where Clark JACKSON, son of William JACKSON of Jacksons of Tobermore held leases, as did Clark’s father William JACKSON sr.

· Jackson CLARK’s estate was at Largantogher, Parish Maghera, Barony Loughinsholin.

· Tobermore, Parish Kilcronaghan, Barony Loughinsholin where Jacksons of Tobermore also held leases.

· I do not know how the William JACKSON sr of Tobermore is connected to other JACKSON lines, including any proven connection to the JACKSONs of Westmorland and Coleraine..

· Thomas: I have found no leases or other sources connecting a Thomas JACKSON to Tobermore or to Drumballyhagan Clark. If there any, documents have yet to be found.

· Dawsons of Castle Dawson, Col Adam DOWNING (1666-1719) married Anne JACKSON (1693-aft 1718), daughter of John JACKSON (1630- btw 1688-1693) of Bellaghy.

The original settlers of the Jackson name came to Ulster in Charles I’s reign. There were two brothers, viz. Lancelot at Ballymacarret, in 1639, and Thomas who obtained about the same time a lien on lands in the vicinity of Coleraine from the Irish Society. Prospering in his undertakings he acquired considerable estate. He built Jackson Hall overlooking the River Bann, and married Susannah, daughter of Sir Tristram Beresford, Bart in 1650 (see No. 45 Beresford) There were three sons of this match: (1) Thomas the Ensign Thomas of this sketch. He was J.P. for Co. Derry in 1677. He served all through the siege, and lost his life at the Battle of the Boyne. (2) Samuel, M.P. For Coleraine, 1695-1703. (3) William, M.P. for Co. Derry in 1697.

MY NOTES – Verifying facts - plus a few corrections

· Ballymacarret [Ballymacaret, Parish Knockbreda (Castlereagh Upper portion), Barony Castlereagh Upper, Co. Down. Residence in Ballmacarrett called “Jackson Hall”: with lawn and garden, all in the very best order, at present in the occupation of William HALL Esq. as tenant from year to year. BNL Apr 9 1864 A year earlier, an article in the Belfast Morning News on Destitution in Ballymacarrett listed ratepayers including William HALL, Jackson Hall; John CLARKE, Ballymacarrett and Hugh DOUGLASS, Ballymacarrett amongst a few dozen other names of interest. Also: April 19, at Jackson Hall, Ballymacarrett, the wife of R.B. Hall, solicitor, of a daughter. BNL Apr 15 1857. NOTE: This Jackson Hall is not the one near Coleraine owned by JACKSONs of Coleraine, although if we could get further back, all bets are off when it comes to family connections.

· Thomas –Given that this Thomas JACKSON signed a lease in 1639, presumably he was of age when he signed it. If so, he would have been born before 1618. Possibly he was a yet-to-be-discovered son of William JACKSON (1575-1626) and Mary SLATER (1575-aft 1626) of Kirkby Lonsdale, hence a brother of the Rev. Richard JACKSON (1602-1681) who was the progenitor of the dozens of JACKSONs of Coleraine. It is also possible that he wasn’t related to any of the JACKSONs who have been proven to be of Coleraine.

o 1622 The Muster Rolls record a Thomas JACKSON residing at Salterstown: The Salters lands were on the eastern border of the Drapers lands. SEE Maps at: Bill Macafee. There is a Salterstown Castle near the western shore of Lough Neagh, south of the village of Ballyronan, in Londonderry. It was built in 1613 by the "The Worshipful Company of Salters". It was a 2-storey house with a bawn with 2 circular flankers, on land granted to them during the Plantation - probably in the townland of Ballyronan Beg, Parish Ballinderry, Barony Loughinsholin,. There may be no connection to the Salterstown Thomas JACKSON, but Pynnar records that a Thomas JACKSON held a lease [sublet by Sir George Mainwaring] on 20 August, 1616, of the poll of Agharaugh [Agharah,?], and two acres of Gortnecoshe [Gartnasillagh?] in Co. Cavan. These places and the timeline are a fit with what Sir Thomas JACKSON (1841-1915) had told his daughter Amy Oliver LLOYD: My Father came of an English family, one of whom went to Ireland as an officer in the Army in Queen Elizabeth's reign- was given a grant of land in County Cavan. There is significant evidence that Sir Thomas JACKSON (1841-1915) was likely related to the JACKSONs of Coleraine. More dots still need to be verified and connected.

· Jackson Hall overlooking the River Bann, 1609. The Clothworkers Company Timeline. The Clothworkers were granted the land on the west of the Bann where they were responsible for building the Clothworker’s building at the end of the Bann Bridge and developing the Killowen area. When King James I granted a lease for the property to the Clothworker’s Company in 1609 there was a cottage located on the castle foundations. William JACKSON (1628-1688) demolished the cottage and built Jackson Hall. Later, it became known as the Manor House and more recently was demolished to form part of the car park at the rear of the County Hall. SOURCE: The Last Coleraine Militia.. THE MANOR HOUSE, Coleraine, County Londonderry, was a building of two storeys over a basement with a dormered attic, and six bays. It was originally built in 1680. It was enlarged and remodelled about 1770 by Sir Richard JACKSON (abt 1730-1789). He included a roof parapet of curving open-work, Chinese-style; and open porches surmounted by ball finials in front of the dormers. SOURCE: Lord Belmount Blogspot.

· Susannah, daughter of Sir Tristram Beresford, NOTE: These notes by Rev. Graham are inaccurate. Susan BERESFORD (abt 1645-1706) did not marry the Thomas JACKSON who obtained about the same time [1639] a lien on lands in the vicinity of Coleraine from the Irish Society. Instead, Susan BERESFORD married William JACKSON (1628-1688) on Jan 11,1665 and they had 15 children, including another Thomas JACKSON (1680-1751).

· Thomas the Ensign Thomas of this sketch. He was J.P. for Co. Derry in 1677. He served all through the siege, and lost his life at the Battle of the Boyne. NOTE: These notes by Rev. Graham are inaccurate. If a Thomas - J.P. for Co. Derry in 1677. - was the Ensign JACKSON - he could not be the son of Susan BERESFORD. He could be either the Thomas JACKSON who signed a lease in 1639, or else the Thomas JACKSON (1629-bef 1688) the brother-in-law of Susan BERESFORD and a brother of William JACKSON (1628-1688). His pre-1688 death date is a conjecture, based only on the fact that he was not mentioned in the list of living brothers mentioned in his brother William JACKSON’s 1688 will. Also, the Thomas JACKSON (1680-1751), son of Susan BERESFORD, did not die at the Boyne but his younger brother John JACKSON (b. aft 1668-1690) likely did. He was buried at Kirkby Lonsdale, possibly after he had been wounded in battle, and had been returned (dead or alive) to his ancestral home where other members of the family were staying at the time: SOURCE: The Kirkby Lonsdale Parish Registers. "Sepult - John Jackson fil M Susanna Jackson de Ireland."

· Samuel, M.P. For Coleraine, 1695-1703 NOTE: These notes by Rev. Graham are inaccurate. The Samuel JACKSON who was an MP was the Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706), son of Rev. Richard JACKSON (1602-1681), a brother of William JACKSON and brother-in-law of Susan BERESFORD.

· William, M.P. for Co. Derry in 1697 This was William JACKSON (1669-1712), son of Susan BERESFORD (abt 1645-1706) and William JACKSON (1628-1688)

The last of the three brothers left among other issue, William his successor at Jackson Hall, who left a son Richard, also of Jackson Hall. This Richard sat for thirty-nine years as M.P. for the borough of Coleraine, being Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1777 and a member of the Privy Council. He was married three times, and died in 1790. By his first marriage he had male issue (1) George, his successor in the estates, M.P. for Coleraine 1791-1796, losing his seat with the Union. He was created a Baronet in 1813 and died at Bruges in 1840. (2) Richard, who died in 1797. By his third wife, Anne, daughter of Charles O’Neill of Shanes Castle, there was issue an only daughter, Anne, who by her marriage in 1802 with the Rev Nathaniel Alexander afterwards (afterwards bishop of Down, and later of Meath), brought, in the failure of male issue, the representation of the Jackson family into the Alexander of Portgelenone line (see No 176 Alexander).

The old house of Jackson Hall, now termed “the Manor House”, still stands overlooking the Bann at Coleraine to attest the former importance of the Jackson owners.

MY NOTES – clarifying forenames (so many repetitions – they are hard to follow).

· William: William JACKSON (1695-1744) MP of Derry, son of Capt. William JACKSON (1669-1712) son of Susan BERESFORD.

· Richard: Sir Richard JACKSON (abt 1730-1789), son of William JACKSON (1695-1744) & Frances EYRE (1711-after 1730)

· George: Sir George JACKSON (1766-1840), son of Sir Richard JACKSON (abt 1730-1789) & Anne O’NEILL (1737-1781)

· Richard Richard JACKSON (1768-1797), son of Sir Richard JACKSON (abt 1730-1789) & Anne O’NEILL (1737-1781)

· Anne: Anne JACKSON (1766-1837) wife of Rev Nathaniel Alexander (1760-1840)

· The old house of Jackson Hall Now demolished and replaced by a parking lot.

Drapers Guild connections. Another bit hinting at where to look for links between the JACKSONs of Tobermore and the JACKSONSs of Coleraine would be the early deeds made to the various London Guild members when compared to the records of JACKSONs in the London Rolls . The townland of Tobermore, [Parish Kilcronaghan, Barony Loughinsholin] was one of the properties deeded to merchants in the Drapers Guild. Several of the JACKSONs of Westmorland belonged to the Draper’s Guild, as did Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706) - mentioned in Jacksons in London Rolls. He was one of several JACKSON and BERESFORD Irish MP and was also an uncle of William JACKSON (1695-1744) MP of Coleraine. Both Samuel JACKSON and Susan BERESFORD, mother of the probable Ensign Richard, died at Mary Street in Dublin on the same day: January 19 1706. Cause unknown.

Tobermore is halfway between Draperstown & Maghera.

NOTE: Ensign Richard JACKSON may have been of Draperstown, as some sources allege, but I have yet to run that to ground.

Another circumstantial link which increases the likelihood that Ensign JACKSON was in fact Richard JACKSON (1673-1730) are several family ties which surface in the regimental lists. After the siege was lifted in August 1689, the remnants of (1) Skeffington's Regiment were amalgamated with (2) Crofton's Regiment to form a new unit which was officially absorbed into William III's Irish Army as (3) Colonel Mitchelburne's Londonderry Regiment. NOTE: Col John MITCHELBURNE (1648-1721) married Susan BERESFORD (abt 1645-1706), widow of William JACKSON (1628-1688), mother of Richard JACKSON (1673-1730).

1698 JUNE 8. JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS VOLUME 12.
SEE ALSO: Siege and History of Londonderry ed Jon Hempton. John Hempton. 1861 p.468

IN CONCLUSION

Although both Rev. GRAHAM and Aiken McCLELLAND alleged that there was a family link between the JACKSONs and CLARKs - without documentation - I still cannot prove how the CLARKE aka CLARK family of Maghera are related to the Jacksons of Tobermore, let alone to the JACKSONs of Liscalgat & Urker, Co. Armagh nor to the JACKSONs of Coleraine.

What I have come to understand is more about how this sausage-making of history happened with respect to the initial Ensign JACKSON morphing into Thomas JACKSON of Coleraine. Even though I disagree with many of the assumptions included in Thomas Young’s 1932 Fighters of Derry: Their Deeds and Descendants Being a Chronicle of Events in Ireland During The Revolutionary Period 1688-1699, it deserves to be more widely read because of it’s extensive notes – largely accurate, I suspect, in spite of the factual disagreements that I have raised - about many of those who served on both sides of the Siege of Derry, not only about those who had served on the winning side.

It always bears remembering that all of us understand historical events from the perspective of our own particular culture and our own time and place. For me, writing and reflecting as a 21^st Century woman (a very old one), I find that homing in on what little we know of Susan BERESFORD and her children helps me to better understand Ensign JACKSON as well as the the impacts of his family on future generations.

Birth order shapes us to some degree, so it is likely worth noting that Ensign Richard was the 6^th child of fifteen live births. Most were still minors when their father William JACKSON died a year before the Siege of Derry. Here are their ages during the Siege (although some of them may have died before then):

· Age 19: Sarah JACKSON (1670-?),

· Age 18: Dorothy JACKSON (1671-?),

· Age 16: Richard JACKSON (1673-1730), married Anne BATES, then Elizabeth BOYD

· Age 15: Beresford JACKSON (1674-bef 1730) ,

· Age 14: Unnamed JACKSON (abt 1675-?),

· Age 12: John JACKSON (1677-1690), died age 13

· Age 12: Susannah JACKSON (1677-?)

· Age 9: Thomas JACKSON (1680-1751),

· Age 8: Rose JACKSON (1681-1738), Married Thomas BUNBURY of Cranavonane, Parish Tullow, Co. Carlow

· Age 7: Samuel JACKSON (1682-?)

· Age 6: Otway JACKSON (1683-?).

· Age 4: Jane JACKSON (1685-1744) married Henry WRAY of Castlewray, Co. Donegal.

Their mother, Susan BERESFORD, had been 44 years old at the time of the Siege and would live for another 17 years. The events of the Siege would have been seared into the emotional landscape of both her and her children, and then into their children as well. It is possible that the story suggesting that Thomas was the Ensign took root, because perhaps he himself had a memory of marching - unofficially or not - alongside his brother Ensign Richard. It is also possible that either Thomas and/or Richard had been staying with one of the JACKSON or CLARK families of Tobermore during the Siege, and that those families had passed on their version of events to be included in Derriana.

POSTSCRIPT: The Siege of Derry and the Battle of the Boyne were not the only traumas that these children experienced in their early years. The death of their father, wich had been not long before the Siege, was followed by the marriage of their mother a mere seven months after the end of the Siege to Col. John MITCHELBURN. That marriage was short-lived and their mother moved to Dublin to live the last years of her life with her bachelor brother-in-law Samuel JACKSON, on Mary Street. Several of the children likely joined her there.

After Susan BERESFORD’s death, her son Ensign Richard commenced court proceedings against Col John MITCHELBURNE, the hero in many of the histories of the Siege of Derry (some of which he himself had written), but was no hero within the family. The Court ruled against him and ruled that the inheritance which Susan BERESFORD had received from her first husband, William JACKSON, belonged to Richard and his siblings. It is one of the flukes of history that the benefits of this judgement against MITCHELBURNE continue to flow to the current residents of Armagh. This is because the Richard JACKSON (1722-1787), who was the son of Richard JACKSON (1673-1730), became the resident landlord at Forkhill, Co. Armagh, and served as one of the more generous landlords of his time and place. As a result of having no surviving male issue, he left a considerable financial legacy, the remains of which continue to fund a charity which continues to dispense bequests to worthy local causes.

One last tidbit. Given when and where he lived, the Richard JACKSON (1722-1787) of Forkhill would probably have known the owner of the library in Armagh who had owned the fragmentary copy of Londerias that Rev. John GRAHAM had used. If we could nail down who this person was, it might add to how the story of Ensign JACKSON began, took root, and got passed on.

Regrettably, although some of the side bits of tracking this story have been great fun, I have failed to solve the mystery which triggered the start of it all. As Samuel BECKETT said in Worstward Ho: Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. And I plan to.

ADDENDUM:

Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- History -- Siege, 1688-1689 -- Poetry

Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- History -- Siege, 1688-1689 -- Sources

A Particular relation of the great victory obtained by the Protestants in London-Derry, and the taking of the Duke of Berwick prisoner to which is added, an account of the English courage of Robert Caston, master of a small vessel, that engaged two French privateers, with the particular of that action. (London : Printed for Robert Baldwin ..., 1689)

Items below (if any) are from related and broader terms.

Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- History

Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- History -- 17th century -- Early works to 1800

Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- History -- Early works to 1800

Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- History -- Siege, 1689

Filed under: Londonderry (Northern Ireland) -- Siege, 1688-1689

Derry and Enniskillen in the year 1689 : the story of some famous battlefields in Ulster (W. Mullan, 1873), by Thomas Witherow (page images at HathiTrust)
The Siege and history of Londonderry. (J. Hempton, Diamond;, 1861), by John Hempton, Thomas Ash, John Mackenzie, and George Walker (page images at HathiTrust)

History by the Ounce

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 22:04:00 +0000

Thought experiment. I am standing beside a tall man who is much older than me. He has reddish auburn hair, whiskey on his breath and an air of certainty about him. He is dressed in a jacket, vest, shirt, breeks, stockings and boots. He is holding onto the reins of his horse, which stands quietly beside him.

This man is George JACKSON (abt 1718-1782), my 5^th great-grandfather. In my thought experiment, an inner voice tells me that I am limited to three questions. I could get it all wrong, spook him, and learn nothing. I fret that our memories, both his and mine, will have been shaped and reshaped by our culture, friends, family and more. My recent reading of a book of essays - Orwell’s Roses by Rebecca Solnit - is tangential, but it has been reshaping my approach to family stories. Solnit reflects on the need of truth seekers such as Orwell's character Winston, and at the same time the value of taking a meandering path to the truth.

… Winston's attempt to hold on to the truth of truisms – ‘Stones are hard, water is wet, objects unsupported fall towards the earth centre’ - is itself a desperate gesture of political resistance.” Elsewhere in the book, Orwell declares, “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears,” which makes direct observations and firsthand encounters in the material and sensory world likewise acts of resistance or at least reinforcements of the self who can resist. P44
Thinking about Orwell’s roses and where they lead was a meandering process and perhaps a rhizomatic one, to deploy a word that describes plants such as strawberries that send out roots or runners to spread in many directions. The word was adopted by the philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari to describe a decentralized or non hierarchical model of knowledge. “Any point of a rhizome can be connected to anything other, and must be,” they declared. “This is very different from the tree or root which plots a point, fixes an order”. The branching of trees and roots is often used as a model of lineage of the evolution of species or languages, as a family tree, as any chronological, branching transmission, which is why they say later, “The rhizome is anti genealogy.” p.125

I don't believe in ancestral guilt, but I do believe in inheritance, and Orwell came from people who benefited from the imperial enterprise and the domestic hierarchies and who sometimes held real power. Perhaps the most telling thing for me is how easy it was to trace his ancestry back for generation after generation. The very traceability is about people who were entered into the record, who were recognized, official. They were in the picture. p 168.

Michael Crummey, the 2025 winner of The Dublin Literary Award has also been shaping my approach:

“The only way to write a story that will have any kind of universal appeal – your only hope for it – is to be as specific and as local as you possibly can, so that the world you’re creating feels authentic even to people who don’t know the details,” he says. “If you’re able to do that, then your story has a chance of travelling.” Interview with Michael Crummey.

The man in my thought experiment, not unlike the father in the following Crummey poem, would have an unreliable memory and yet at the same time would not recall forgetting:

My father nods toward the coastline,
to the bald stone shoals almost as old as light.
That was 50 years ago, he says,
as a warning, wanting me to understand
that what's forgotten is lost
and most of this he cannot even recall
forgetting.
From What's Lost. Michael Crummey, in Hard Light. London, Ont.: Brick Books, 1998.

There is an approach to history called: history by the ounce which means starting by assembling all the small bits, and then niggling away at those things that do not fit. It has helped me to learn (as many others had learned long before me) that the Catholic King James and the Protestant William of Orange, who were warring against each other in the late 1600s in Ireland and elsewhere, were not only combatants but also father-in-law and son-law. Not only that, but the funding for their armies came from two competing Popes. One Pope backed the Catholic King James while the other Pope backed the Protestant Prince William. You can’t make this stuff up. It is this kind of forgetting – the kind that we cannot even recall forgetting – which deepens divisions when it is coupled with rock-hard certainty.

… it should also be noted that the seventeenth century bloodbaths became enshrined in Irish historical memory to an extent which finds no parallel elsewhere, not even in Germany, despite the devastation which that country suffered during the Thirty Years War. Thus, Ireland was atypical not because of the experience of religious conflict or its severity, but because of the way its memory and commemoration divided the country for the next few centuries. SOURCE: The Protestant Minority in Southern Ireland. Eugenio F. Biagini in: The Historical Journal. Vol 55. Issue 04. December 2012 p 1165

In 2019, as I was packing up after giving a talk to the Creggan Historical Society, a woman approached me – with some urgency in her voice – to tell me about a disturbing dream that she had kept on having. She had first had it in 1986, when she would have been a child, but it kept on being repeated and had haunted her ever since. In a follow-up email, she added more detail:

[I was] ... a very young child 7 or 8 years of age … on the left hand side of the river travelling in the direction of the church. There was a school house on my left hand side, long and narrow, with the gable facing towards the river. I was aware of the depth of the door in the palm of my hand as I opened it and could even feel the grain down the side of the door. The feeling inside the building was not good so I ran out quickly. I was aware of the sound of children in the background (like the noise you would hear in a playground).

In her dream, she was running as fast as she could along the river towards the church.

the river was flowing towards me and I could hear it roaring in my ears. Interestingly, there was a black and white collie/sheepdog running with me.

A friend who works with dreams and who stresses that a single dream can benefit from many interpretations, told me that the sheep dog, running along-side the dreamer (not chasing her), would generally be considered as both a powerful, and a positive symbol - an ally (sheep-dogging memory?). The message of any nightmare is: Wake up. Pay attention. The trigger for it could be personal, or it could be part of an archetypal journey representing the quest for identity. The depth of the door could come from the experience of the depth of the religious traditions entrenched within the schoolhouse or it could reflect the depth of the dreamer’s desire to explore, to understand. The feel of the grain down the side of the door is one of those particulars which adds a deeply visceral sense of texture to the meaning. Finally, rivers are historically seen as a source of spiritual strength, even when they are roaring and somewhat scary.

This child, this innocent, was travelling alone. Where was her family support? Her cultural support? Her spiritual/emotional support? What can this dream teach us about what to look for?

Martin Luther King’s most famous quote I have a dream is an example of how one person can transform memory into a shared dream and from there into a collective force for change. The private dreams that we all have, the ones that play out as we sleep, can also be a force for change. They can free us from the cultural forgetting which constrains us both as humans and as citizens.

Virginia Satir: SOURCE: Wiki.
Problems are not the problem; coping is the problem

In group therapy sessions which the psychiatrist Virginia Satir held in the 1980s, Satir would ask participants to describe an incident in their life which felt significant. Their fellow participants were then asked to act out the incident. The person who shared the story would then direct their fellow participants about where to place themselves on the stage, what tone of voice to use, and how, when and where to move. As in the novels of Michael Crummey, it was the particulars which mattered to Satir. The tilt of the head. The direction of the gaze. The position of the shoulders.

Sometimes a participant could not recall a family scene and so Satir would encourage them to simply invent one. This is where an intriguing kicker comes in. Afterwards, when these participants went home and told others about their experience, the invented details were often corroborated. The memory - supposedly invented - had turned out to be true.

Unfortunately, truth is not always remembered let alone honoured. Think of Cassandra - cursed by Apollo to see the future but to end up with no one believing in her predictions. The truths of the past can be dismissed as readily as the prophecies of a Cassandra. When the Creggan Parish dreamer made numerous enquiries at that stage as to the possibility of a school along that stretch of land she was assured there was nothing of the sort. But there had been such a school, probably right where her dream had found it. Probably with a gable facing towards the river.

Using old maps and memorials of deeds, and starting with the local particulars, there are two likely spots for this schoolhouse, both within the twenty-nine acres which had been deeded for the use of the school. An archaeological dig might supply the evidence needed to prove this.

· 1738 Jul 5 ROD: 97-166-677727 Image 383 Btw Thomas BALL of Urker [Urcher, Parish Creggan, Barony Fews Upper], Co. Armagh Esq. of the 1 pt & John HANSARD Esq. Secretary to Incorporated Society for Promoting English the Protestant Schools in Ireland of other pt. demised to John HANSARD Lands of Urker then in possession of Incorporated Society containing 29 acres or thereabouts as the same has been enclosed by said Incorporated Society – map annexed - Parish of Creggan Barony of the Fews for use of the Incorporated Society from 1^st May 1736 for lives [of royalty]for yearly rent of £3 12s 6p. WITNESS: Laurence PAIN of City of Dublin, Gent & Benjamin JOHNSTON Public Notary City of Dublin.

· 1740 Feb 13 ROD: 102-303-70250 Image 179 Frances HALL of Strangford Co Down Esq. Demised to John HANSARD Secretary to the Incorporated Society in Dublin for Promoting English Protestant Schools in Ireland all that part of the lands of Urcher [Urcher, Parish Creggan, Barony Fews Upper] then in possession of the said Incorporated Society ...29 acres.. to hold for the use of the Society from the 1^st day of May 1736... for lives of [royal princesses] John HANSARD [SEAL]

John Donaldson, in his Account of the Barony of Upper Fews, mentions that Protestant families connected to the linen industry had settled along the Creggan River prior to the opening of the school. Since a school would need road access, there are two roads leading to the river that are worth focusing on. The road at the Milltown bridge is down river from another road up-river at Liscalgat, the townland where JACKSONs had lived before they moved to Urker Lodge.

Even though the odds are that the school would have been sited on the river, there is a third possibility of a site for the school: Ball’s one acre [#28 – circled in red in the map beneath] was also deeded for the use of the school:

· 1737 Aug 24 ROD: 98-67-67647 Image 57 Thomas BALL of Urcher [Urcher, Parish Creggan, Barony Fews Upper] did make over to Hugh HILL. Minister of the Parish of Creggan. Trevor WILLIAMS Alexander McELROY, church wardens of said parish, one plot of land est. one plantation acre. being part of the Demesne lands usually occupied with or reputed as a Demesne of his Mansion or chief Dwelling House bounded to the east by the lands of Liscalgot [Liscalgat, Parish Creggan, Barony Fews Upper]to the north to the Glebe [Creggan Bane Glebe, Creggan, Barony Fews Upper]] on the west by the lands of Urcher on the south by the said lands of Urcher. To hold to the said Church Wardens and their successors forever in Trust for the sole use of the resident Protestant Schoolmaster to teach the English tongue in the said Parish forever. said conveyance witnessed by John JOHNSTON & Hugh McMASTER both of the Fews of Co. Armagh, Gent.. Also witnessed by George MIDDLETON of Dublin. Signed Thomas BALL.

We still may not have an exact location for the school, but at least there is a short list of likelihoods. We might need shovels and trowels and the expertise of archaeologists to become certain. Until then, this dream has made the feel of this location visceral in a way that a map cannot. Dreams and maps offer us two ways of looking, and there is a third. Genealogy.

My ancestral connection to Creggan Parish Charter School in Co. Armagh, probably the school described in the dream, begins with my earliest proven JACKSON ancestor, my 5^th-great-grand-father, George JACKSON (est. 1718-1782), a man who we refer to as Old George. In 1735, he was hired as the first schoolmaster and lived on site.

Master George JACKSON received his 1^st quarterly salary of £2.10.0 Dec 3 1735.

SOURCE: TCD 5419. NOTE: If this date is correct, and it likely is, George would have been receiving payments for two years before the school opened. If his estimated birth date is correct, he would only have been seventeen years old, and unmarried when he was first hired. Since both are unlikely, his alleged birth date needs more verification.

In spite of his mismanagement of the school, mismanagement which was documented while he was still in the job of schoolmaster, he remained in that role for a full forty-seven years. After his death, his wife, Margaret McLAUGHLIN (1722-1797) - aka O’LAUGHLIN, served as mistress for another eighteen years while two of their sons, George & David, were the next two schoolmasters. For decade after decade, the benefits of child-labour flowed to my family, as it did to other owners of nearby farms and local linen-related enterprises. The beneficiaries of the labour of children were predominately, but not exclusively, Protestant. The students were predominately, but not exclusively, Catholic.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, several members of my family recorded the bones of our family history, and their version was that the school-mistress Margaret was supposedly a descendent of the Royal House of Tara. This is not impossible, perhaps through the Uí Néill dynasty, but there is no proof of this. It may be that this family account arose out of an attempt at some whitewashing of their family’s history while living in a predominantly Catholic parish.

Other than her death date, what little we have about Margaret comes from the Creggan Church parish records: 1744 "Mrs JACKSON to be payed for working ye surpus & the linen for the communion table and keeping ye vessels clean. As for Old George, our family stories describe him with some frequency as a gambler, and not a very good one, having lost significant family assets in a game of Ducks and Drakes. As a result of this, becoming a schoolteacher may have been his best (and perhaps only) option.

Mary Cumiskey’s Creggan Charter School 1737-1811 describes some of the JACKSON family’s decades-long time with the school, and their impact on hundreds of children – many of them named - during the decades of the JACKSON’s (mis)management:

· 1737 School opened. New Master, George Jackson and his wife Margaret ...knowledge of the linen trade was essential.... the position of Masters and Mistresses was filled by patronage. p28.

· 1781 Sept 28: An unscheduled inspection of Creggan revealed children in rags, many of them barefooted, the beds extremely dirty and the house in general, dirty and in great disorder p. 32

· 1799: Creggan Charter School was in deep crisis. The epidemic of scurvy was still raging, the Master’s reports were very incomplete, the children’s writing was bad and no inventory of furniture was sent, nor a catalogue of school books. The Society continued to send reprimands but with little response. p. 40

· 1808 – all the students sick with distemper. p23.

· 1809 December: In the opinions of this Committee, Creggane ought to be suppressed, the house being so old and originally ill-contrived and deficient of the necessary offices not adapted for 40 children and requiring a considerable sum of money to repair, or rather rebuild it, before it could be rendered commodious or creditable to the Institution.

· 1810 March: That the Master be informed, in answer to his application on the subject that the land must be delivered up to the original owner upon suppression of the school. He may go on in the cultivation of it in the usual manner for this season. p.45.

· 1811 School closed

SOURCE: Creggan Charter School 1737-1811. Mary Cumisky. See also my 2011 blog post: The Voice of Patrick Flynn.

In her History of the Jackson Family, Amy Oliver LLOYD (1874-1962), one of my 1^st cousins twice removed, recorded that Old George was not only a gambler, but was also locally (in)famous for his philandering. The ever-increasing accuracy and effectiveness of DNA tools could be useful in further pursuing this. As Amy recorded: He was noted for a wonderful skin, also his fondness for women! So much so, that even his great-great grandson, [Sir Thomas JACKSON (1839-1915)] said, whenever any girl for miles round had a particularly good complexion, the local people would say "Ah: She must be one of George Jackson's."

Records show that Old George’s son, George JACKSON (aft 1743-aft 1820) was a chip off the old block when it came to non-marital liaisons. After being found guilty of immoral interactions with Rose JOHNSTON, a daughter of a member of the Charter School board, he was fired and had to leave Creggan Parish. Based on parish records, he probably wasn’t even buried there. Had he been it might have been tricky. The twin walled enclosures of JOHNSTON and JACKSON graves are adjacent to each other and even their dedicated pews in the church were side-by-each.

Trinity College records: TCD 5240: Committee reports 7 October 1789

The Local Committees Report of the 29^th Septr the Revd Doctor Hamilton’s Letter of the 3^rd instant, the Petition of James Johnston and Rose Jackson otherwise Johnston his Daughter George Jackson the Masters Memorial and the Local Committees Certificate with respect to the said George Jacksons faithful discharge of the duty of office read: Resolved that it is the opinion of this Committee that the said George Jackson has by no means exculpated himself from the very immoral Charge alleged against him as stated in the said Petition and therefore that he is a very improper person to have the Care and Management of a Charter School and that it be recommended to the General Board to direct his removal from the office of Master of the said School and from the further service of the Society.

Family letters from the late 1700s, as well as a handful of legal documents, record that George jr. was living and practicing as a lawyer in Dublin, at least until the early 1820s. I have no idea what happened to young Rose. Did they marry? Perhaps. They were both of a similar social class.

These days, in Canada, Ireland, and in many other countries, we are at long last wrestling with the inter-generational legacies of residential and church schools. Thanks to the inspiration of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, our collective culture is taking a new approach towards addressing the truths of our pasts. Those of us who are descendants of the dominant culture are encouraged to atone. With my Old George being one of the skeletons in my closet, I find myself challenged to consider what actions I should take and what that word atone might mean.

In some versions of Christian theology, it is said that to atone means to seek to be at one with God. Our current secular version of morality seeks to be at one with Truth and Justice, but even this is not straightforward. What if we are guilty of confirmation bias, or what-aboutism, or of cherry-picking that particular set of facts that works best to put our own community of friends, relations and ancestors in a better light? What about the impact of power imbalances? What about availability bias – the impact of values on the algorithms used in digital searches?

The path to becoming at one with Truth can benefit from a whole range of approaches: songs, poems, dreams, stories – both oral and written – archives, archaeology and DNA. A deeper understanding of epigenetics may also come to add more to our understanding of inter-generational memory. At present it is indicating - in some studies - that at least some of our emotional wiring comes from the effects of juice around our genes (it is more complicated than this, but for now lets just call it juice), juice which is changed by experiences such as stress and can function like an echo from the past as it messages which parts of our inherited DNA to turn on or off (but not by changing our inherited DNA).

In 1983, my husband was in the midst of writing a fictional story about a woman who was a compulsive hoarder, but he was baffled about why she did what she did. So, he made an appointment with a therapist to have his character analysed. With a Carl Jungian level of synchronicity, the therapist’s next patient, who was waiting in a separate room, also happened to be a hoarder. Long story short, the therapist, believing that this could help her patient (and it did), gave my husband’s phone number to her patient. After this patient invited him to her split-level home, she toured him through all the rooms and hallways that were so full that entrance to many rooms was almost impossible. Then, she took him down to the basement. Down there, were dozens of boxes, filled with dismembered dolls. Heads in one set of boxes, limbs in other, torsos in another. Eventually, the therapist’s patient came to understand that her hoarding was an unconscious attempt to bury her memories of sexual abuse.

Since this therapist had never visited the home of her patient (understandable), it was a fiction writer with an eye to the real-world specifics that her patient needed to hear from in order to begin to heal. This approach has much in common with the history by the ounce kind of truth but is also an instance of the importance of imagination and intuition.

When Eudora Welty wrote Where Is the Voice Coming From?, a short story which had been triggered by the murder of the civil-rights activist Medgar Evers, there was no way that she could have known the particulars of his murder. The murderer had not yet been found. Even so, the particulars in her story accurately described the kind of man this murderer was, as well as many specific aspects of the time and place. Years later, Welty was interviewed about this:

“What I was writing about really was that world of hate I felt I had grown up with and I felt I could speak as someone who knew it.” Welty’s story was so accurate, her characterization of the murderer so precise, that The New Yorker changed several important details: Medgar Evers became Roland Summers, the time of the shooting shifted to a few hours after midnight, and Jackson became the nonexistent Thermopylae.

“The novelist works neither to correct nor to condone, not at all to comfort, but to make what’s told alive.” Yet, for Welty, the novel is not an apolitical or morally neutral genre: “Indeed, we are more aware of [the novelist’s] moral convictions through a novel than any flat statement of belief from him could make us.” The novelist contributes to social change in ways that the journalist cannot.

“Great fiction,” Welty wrote, “shows us not how to conduct our behavior but how to feel. Eventually, it may show us how to face our feelings and face our actions and to have new inklings about what they mean.”

New Yorker: Murder in deep summer.

Where Is the Voice Coming From? is included in The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty, and its powerful five pages are as visceral as the dream about Creggan School. This is how individuals and communities can come to internalize the why of the doll parts in our collective unconscious. Such stories take us more deeply into an emotional understanding of that 1970s slogan: the personal is political. The truths in fiction are best taken seriously. Informed intuition can take us further than how far we can go just with the tools of science (which also matter).

Two good examples – both are worth reading.

In Words to Shape My Name, McKenna’s novel follows several of the lesser known people connected to the United Irishman Edward Fitzgerald [see: Citizen Lord: The Life of Edward Fitzgerald]. Much of the detail, like Welty’s, is invented (by necessity), and like Welty’s is probably true. While reading it, I recognized that my own feet had - in the 21st century - walked the same streets as Fitzgerald's. When one of the characters sang a verse of Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire or the Lament for Arthur O' Leary by Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill, an 18^th Century lament by a wife for a murdered husband [p237], this triggered another recognition for me. It is the poem which had inspired Doireann Ní Ghríofa to write her memoir A Ghost in the Throat. In it, she finds her own voice. Both books use the power of the particulars in ways that enable our feelings to not only anchor us more deeply in history but also to take us deeper into a revitalized understanding of the present.

Given that the personal is political it can also be true that both the personal and the political can be – and often are – intergenerational. As Colin Woodward points out in his many books and articles there is tantalizing evidence which suggests that our actions and values are like some unseen baton which keeps on being passed from generation to generation. Centuries-long immigration patterns have shaped the current day perspectives and values of America, and can help us to understand why their politics has become so divisive. By studying settlement at the level of electoral districts, which is more precise than going county by county, he has linked inter-generational cultural impacts to today’s voting patterns with startling conclusions (at least startling to me).

The Perplexing Geography of Abortion Opinion,

… there has never been one America but rather several Americas, most of them developing from one or another of the rival colonial projects that formed on the eastern and southwestern rims of what is now the United States. These regional cultures — “nations,” if you will — had their own ethnographic, religious and political characteristics, distinct ideas about the balance between individual liberty and the common good and what the United States should become.

… Absent a national abortion ban, the states in which women can terminate an unwanted pregnancy will largely be determined by the legacy of events, migrations, and conquests in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries and the political science incentives they created in some places and not in others.

America’s Surprising Partisan Divide on Life Expectancy and in The surprising Geography of Gun Violence
The geography of U.S. life expectancy — and the policy environments that determine it — is the result of differences that are regional, cultural and political, with roots going back centuries to the people who arrived on the continent with totally different ideas about equality, the proper role of government, and the correct balance point between individual liberty and the common good. Once you understand how the country was colonized — and by whom — a number of insights into Americans’ overall health and longevity are revealed, along with some paths to improve the situation.
… The reason the U.S. has strong regional differences is precisely because our swath of the North American continent was settled in the 17th and 18th centuries by rival colonial projects that had very little in common, often despised one another and spread without regard for today’s state (or even international) boundaries.
At Nationhood Lab, a project I founded at Salve Regina University’s Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, we use this regional framework to analyze all manner of phenomena in American society and how one might go about responding to them. We’ve looked at everything from gun violence and attitudes toward threats to democracy to Covid-19 vaccination rates, rural vs. urban political behavior and the geography of the 2022 midterm elections. This summer we’ve been drilling down on health, including a detailed examination of the geography of life expectancy published earlier this week. Working with our data partners Motivf, we parsed the rich trove of county-level life expectancy estimates calculated from the Centers for Disease Control data for the years 2017-2020 by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute’s County Health Ranking and Roadmaps project. We wanted to answer the bottom-line question: Is your region helping extend your life or shorten it?
“We don’t have these differences in health outcomes because of individual behaviors, it’s related to the policy environments people are living in,” says Jeanne Ayers, who was Wisconsin’s top public health official during the Covid pandemic and is now executive director of Healthy Democracy Healthy People, a collaboration of 11 national public health agencies probing the links between political participation and health. “Your health is only 10 percent influenced by the medical environment and maybe 20 or 30 percent in behavioral choices. The social and political determinants of health are overwhelmingly what you’re seeing in these maps.”

As I was writing this piece, the French historian Peter Nora had just died - days earlier - at age 95 [NYT, June 3, 2025]. Although much of his work had long fallen out of fashion, it had illuminated the role that chosen memories and identities play in the writing of history. We are all shaped by which events, people or actions our community has chosen to remember. He called them our lieux de mémoire. Sites of memory. Symbols of our shared identity. Recently, historians have become more focussed on what we are choosing to forget. When the bodies of neglected and forgotten babies are unearthed at Tuum in Ireland or when multiple children’s graves are discerned on the grounds of residential schools in Canada and the USA, we are unearthing more than long-dead children. We are unearthing our own ghosts in the throat. Our lieux de oubli.

Alex Haley in his books and TV series Roots: The Saga of an American family, and Queen: The story of an American Family used the story of his own family history to reveal much of what had been forgotten – and repressed - about the complexities of the lives of slaves. His version of the experiences of his great grandparents - somewhat fictionalized, but not necessarily untrue - became something of a lieux de mémoire for an entire nation. Written as popular history, it resonated with a vast audience.

In a startlingly romantic presentation of a relationship between a slave and her master, the slaveholder, Col. James Jackson Jr., professes undying love to Easter even as he prepares to leave the plantation to join the Confederate Army. Their affair is no secret to Colonel Jackson's wife, Lizzie. Both villains and victims come in all colors in this production: Queen, who calls herself Little Miss In-Between, is abused by blacks as well as whites, and a white character mouths anti-Semitism. NYT The tangled roots of Alex Haley.

This James JACKSON (1822-1899), was the son of James JACKSON (1782-1840) of Ballybay, Co. Monaghan, and was also a grand nephew of Henry JACKSON (1750-1817), the United Irishman who had fled Ireland after being charged with making cannonballs and pikes in his Dublin factory to be used in the fight to overthrow British rule.

Genealogical research, including the work done by writers such as Alex Haley, continues to add to history by the ounce. It is a sad irony that the United Irishmen motto: Equality: it is new strung and shall be heard did not reliably include the idea of slaves being valued as equals and free.

Since reading Haley’s books, I have became even more curious how much the behaviour of the slave-owner James JACKSON closely mirrors aspects of Old George's behaviour. Patterns of inherited tendencies of behaviour are not as predictable as eye colour and such, but it seems that there are discernible echoes. and it may be that future DNA studies will find links between these two JACKSON families. After all, the distance between the Ballybay JACKSONs and the Urker JACKSONs was close to a half day's horse ride from one home to another and they often visited each other for lengthy stays.

When it comes to financial inheritances, there are a number of reasons why none of the benefits that Old George might have gained from his exploitation of children didn’t get passed down to future generations. Old George’s 3^rd great-granddaughter, Amy Oliver JACKSON, recorded that some years before the school closed in 1811: [Old George’s] eldest son David, married Margaret Bradford, a violent-tempered red-haired woman, who, disgusted at the money being spent to get back the Mt. Leinster property, burnt all the Title Deeds. Her description of Margaret BRADFORD (1739-1820) may have been influenced by hearing the story as told by her grandmother, Elizabeth OLIVER (1814-1903) who would have been understandably peeved over the impact of this on her family, but the lost JACKSON lands were never recovered. The truth was that red-haired Margaret would have brought COULTER and BRADFORD money into the marriage while her husband David does not seem to have added to the family coffers. Perhaps because his focus was elsewhere. On gambling to gain back past losses.

A second disruption to the family's financial resources was that David and Margaret's only son John JACKSON (1780-1817) died young, leaving his wife Elizabeth McCULLAGH (1788-1880) with four children under the age of six to care for. Sadly, their youngest child was born on the day that John died. For decades after his death, his widow Elizabeth struggled financially, until in 1846 (early on in the Great Famine) the bailiff seized all her cows at Urker Lodge for failure to pay rent. It wasn’t until the late 1800s, when Old George’s’ 2^nd great-grandson, Sir Thomas JACKSON (1841-1915) made his fortune in Hong Kong as CEO of HSBC, that the JACKSONs of Urker were finally able to pay off their loans.

I have come to accept that memory is like ketchup, a thixotropic liquid. It remains solid until you shake it up a bit. Shaking things up can open up doors to becoming at one with our ancestral origins. Another is to incorporate stories (both oral and written), dreams, as well as local and family archives, legal documents and archaeological finds. The history by the ounce approach. We also learn more when a wider community walks the path by the river with us, and follows the rhizome-like paths of family, friends, politics, money and memory. It is the many friends who I have made while on this journey who have helped me to drill down into the niggly parts that didn’t quite fit. Some still don't fit.

People say that if you go back in time and step on a butterfly, it could change the whole future. Which is terrifying because I’ve stepped on loads of things, and now I’m wondering if I caused Brexit. Diane Morgan aka Philomena Cunk in her role as a comic commentator on history, culture and current affairs.

In spite of the satirical insight of Philomena Cunk, there continues to be more to learn. Stay tuned.

PS My three questions for Old George (my limit is three, and these three are what first came to mind):

What do you think that I am most likely to misunderstand about you and your times?
What has brought you the most joy or the most sorrow?
If you could relive your life what if anything would you change?

JACKSONs and St. Johns Killowen

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Fri, 23 May 2025 18:21:00 +0000

St. Johns - on the western shore of the River Bann.

Because most churches tend to be locked mid-week, I had not expected to gain access to St. John’s Killowen in Coleraine on a Monday in February, but even so I tested the door and my Irish luck prevailed. Since the cleaning staff had the week off, a handful of parishioners had subbed in for them. They let me in and could not have been more welcoming. In the following quote, I have highlighted the date of the construction of this version of St. John’s. In the paragraph which follows, you will see why this matters.

The original parish church, which was part of a priory founded in 1080, was, in 1830, converted into a school-house; and a small neat church, without either tower or spire, was built at an expense of £1000, towards which £300 was given by the Clothworkers' Company, £100 by Bishop Knox, £50 by the Irish Society, and £170 as a gift and £380 as a loan by the late Board of First Fruits. SOURCE: Genuki.

Inside the church is a memorial which had been erected by Richard JACKSON (abt 1730-1789) in memory of his 2^nd wife Anne O’NEILL (1737-1781). Obviously, he had died decades before the current St. John’s was completed, so it is likely that this plaque had first been installed in the earlier church and then reinstalled in the new one after the original church was converted into a school. Lesson to self: keep an open mind about where one might find things. UPDATE: April 27, 2025: A plaque in praise of William KINKEAD was installed by Richard JACKSON at St. Patrick's, Coleraine and was similarly effusive.

SACRED
to the memory of ANNE,
the Wife of the
Right Honourable RICHARD JACKSON
of Jackson Hall in this Parish.
She was the only Daughter of CHARLES O'NEILL Esq.
of Shane's Castle in the County of Antrim.
Her Virtues cannot worthily be celebrated
by the most exalted monumental Panegyric
Or by the Strongest Testimony of Approbation
Which a frail Mortal can bestow.
Yet justice to her Memory demands
That her Name be transmitted to Posterity
As an illustrious Example
of eminent natured Endowments improved
by a Variety of most valuable Accomplishments.
In her Acts of Piety whether public or private
She was uniform, constant, unwearied.
In her observance of the Sabbath scrupulously exact.
Steering equally between Luke warmness and Enthusiasm
In her relative duties. Domestic, Conjugal, Parental.
She was tender, steady, condescending, faithful.
She was with MARTHA studious of Oeconomy.
(Frugal without Parsimony and liberal without Profusion.)
But with MARY, She chose that one good Part
Which she considered as the ONE THING NEEDFUL.
In her Charity to the Poor. She was judiciously diffusive.
In her Conversation, affable, obliging, & instructive.
In her whole Deportment, humble, upright, conscientious.
Her example shewed Truth embodied.
And, while it displayed the Excellency of Virtue,
demonstrated its Practicability.
She exchanged the Frailties of this mortal State
for the Blessings of a glorious Immortality
And her hopes of glory were perfected in Fruition.
Through the old sufficient Merits of that SAVIOR
In whom she trusted
On the anniversary of her Father's Death,
August the 6th 1781
In the 44th year of her Age,
Blessed Saint for thee
to die is gain.

Anne O’NEILL’s obit can be seen in the mid-August edition of the Belfast Newsletter:

Early on Monday morning, the 6th inst, died, at Coleraine, Mrs. Ann Jackson, lady to the Right Hon. Richard Jackson; and most deservedly and deeply lamented by rich and poor; but chiefly by a fond and affectionate husband, whose grief and affliction is beyond description, further than by saying that it is in a measure proportioned to his loss, which is immense and irreparable. 14-17 Aug 1781. Belfast Newsletter

Although Richard’s tribute to Anne aligned with the usual list of virtues commonly attributed to women of her class in that era, several aspects of it puzzled me. For example, what did he mean by: judiciously diffusive? Did it mean that she was possessed of diverse and wide ranging (i.e. diffusive) thoughts, but then restrained herself when (judiciously)? expressing her opinions? Also, itseems a bit odd to have a wife praised as both Mary and Martha. Finally, why was ONE THING NEEDFUL capitalized (because it was a biblical reference?)?

King James Version: Gospel of Luke 10:42

³⁸Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
⁹And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
⁴⁰But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
⁴¹And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
⁴²But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Right after the phrase, ONE THING NEEDFUL, Richard follows up with a mention of Anne’s commitment to Charity. This would imply that she led a life of action not a passive life of adoration. Of course, the meanings of words are shaped by the way that they are used, and the contextual shadings of meanings shape-shift over time. Three hundred years ago diffusive was a common word to use in conjunction with morality and virtue. Initially, I had felt that Richard’s use of diffusive, was weird and possibly pretentious. That probably wasn’t fair. SEE: OED:

So how might Anne have felt about her husband’s effusive panegyric? We don’t know, nor do we know much else about her. An engraving of Shane’s Castle, her parental home, was done about 1780 and it gives us some understanding of the level of financial privilege which would have shaped her view of the world. After her marriage, she probably lived at Jackson Hall in Coleraine for the most part. Richard had taken on the rebuilding of the older Hall, and it was now a significant heap (as my Irish friends often refer to such buildings). They also would have spent considerable time in Dublin. Their youngest son was born there when Richard was serving as M.P. for Coleraine.

NOTE: The ruins of Shane’s Castle were used as the setting in the TV series “Game of Thrones”. Much of its narrative describes wars for succession among noble families. This seems appropriate.

As the mother of three sons and three daughters, Anne was described by Richard as: Steering equally between Luke warmness [Luke warmness: a puzzling word choice] and Enthusiasm In her relative duties. Domestic, Conjugal, Parental. She was tender, steady, condescending [condescending: another puzzling – to me - word choice], faithful.

We know little about most of her children, but a catalogue from Adams features a painting of daughter Mary Jane (1773-1802), wife of John Hamilton O’HARA (abt 1756-1822). She has the longish face and a cleft chin commonly seen in many JACKSONs of Coleraine descent:

IRISH SCHOOL (18TH CENTURY)
Portrait of Mary Jane O’Hara
Oil on canvas, 67cm x 55cm
Indistinctly signed and dated 1792

Mary Jane O’Hara was the second daughter of the
Right Hon. Richard Jackson of Jackson Hall, Coleraine
and his wife, the Hon. Anne O'Neill,
only daughter of Charles and Catherine O’Neill
of Shane's Castle and
sister of John O’Neill, 1st Viscount O’Neill.

As Richard’s wife, did Anne tend to agree with what we know of his political and business decisions? He was known to have managed his land-based wealth such that the value of it all grew during his lifetime, and so it is not surprising when he praises Anne for being studious of Oeconomy (Frugal without Parsimony and liberal without Profusion.). Unfortunately, these virtues were clearly not passed on to all of their children. George, their last surviving son and the final inheritor of the family baronetcy, was twenty-three years old when his father died. PRONI has dozens of letters in their collection revealing how often young George keeps on trying to weasel more money to fund his lifestyle from the agent managing the estate. It was thanks to his improvident actions that Jackson Hall had to be sold.

Unfortunately, Sir George was not a financially prudent man. Before he married Anne Woodville, he was spending money faster than he was earning it. This may be why in their married life they kept separate accounts. It wasn’t that Sir George was poor. There were significant incomes from the various family properties that he had inherited, but by 1801 when he was a bachelor living in Beach Hill, Surrey, England, he was short £30,000, and had to borrow from friends in order to pay the interest on his debts.

In 1838, the original Coleraine lease was still connected to him by a slender thread. Leases in Ireland were often given for the term of three lives, which meant that they could be renewed until the last of three named lives died. In the instance of Jackson Hall, which was the main Jackson family residence in Coleraine, George’s was the last life on the lease, the final legal toehold. When he died, all connection of the Jacksons to this land was broken. SOURCE: George JACKSON and email Serendipity.

A couple of weeks after I had stumbled across Richard's panegyric to Anne, I had an appointment booked at the National Library of Ireland in Dublin so I could access Edith Johnson-Lijk’s six-volume masterpiece, History of the Irish Parliament. This book includes the political record of Richard and many of his kinsmen. When I'd booked my time in Dublin, I hadn’t known that these books were (supposedly) stored off site and I was told it would take another week for them to arrive. By then, I would have left Dublin so I wandered aimlessly and somewhat dazedly in the Reading Room, glancing at the bookshelves while wondering how best to use my time, when I spotted them on an uppermost shelf. Although the set I had requested was definitely off-site, this set was obviously not.

In the middle of the top shelf – 6 vols.

Richard JACKSON’s entry is three pages long and he was only one of many JACKSONs who had served as MPs. His tenure had been preceded by his great-grand-uncle Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706) who had settled in Coleraine in the mid-1600s, then his grandfather William JACKSON (1669-1712), and then by his grand-uncle, Thomas JACKSON. Even his wife’s father, Charles O’NEILL (1702-1769) of Shane’s Castle Randalstown had also served as an MP.

Johnson-Lijk researches more diffusively than many historians. In her History of the Irish Parliament, she often includes telling details of squabbles between members, and tracks how agreements and disagreements played out inter-generationally amongst the various political families. They were not all cut from the same ideological cloth, nor were they all alike when it came to character.

Richard’s father-in-law, Charles O’NEILL, was described as violent by nature and by disposition an enemy of Government, while Richard was described as the opposite: a most worthy and religious man and very timorous in his disposition. He was described as wanting the courage that is necessary for a minister and that he could benefit from support from Chief Secretary Sir George Macartney - to help him bottle up his terrors. He was respected as a quiet decent man and a sensible man of very strict integrity. He never speaks in the House, and (unlike his father-in-law) was reliably supportive of the government.(Lord Harcourt has given his recommendation.) He was known to be detail oriented: Jackson’s most important duty was probably the calculation of the interests and inclinations of MPs and the preparation of the Parliamentary Lists and numbers which the government used to calculate its own strength and that of the opposition.

Although Anne was praised for her Charity to the Poor, Richard’s sense of charity seemed to have been constrained by the biases of his class. He voted against Catholic relief in 1774 and then in 1780 voted against Grattan’s declaration of the rights of Ireland. In this, he was typical of many of the Protestant landowners of his time. Since his kind of Christian charity had its faith-based and class-based limits, it is not surprising that it did include donations to Coleraine’s St. Patrick’s Church:

in 1771 the rector of St. Patrick’s Church, Coleraine, wrote to him about the state of the church building and that the parishioners – many of whom were probably Presbyterian – could not, or would not, raise sufficient sums for its restoration. Jackson expressed a willingness to subscribe £200 personally and persuaded the Irish Society to subscribe a further £200.

This is the same church where I got locked
into the graveyard (while photographing graves)
and had to climb over this fence to get out.

A devoted family man, Richard spent the last years of his life at Holywell, Oxford, to be near his youngest son Richard JACKSON (1768-1797), who like all of his sons (and unlike his daughters), died without issue. His son George JACKSON (1766-1840) would be the final one to inherit the family baronetcy, but the political influence of this branch of the family had already diminished when Richard came to the end of his last elected term in 1783 after serving for decades as the Rt. Hon Richard JACKSON MP firstly for Coleraine, and later for Lisburn and Randlestown.

POSTSCRIPT: Another JACKSON

A final surprise find at St. John’s was the grave marker of Mary GIVEEN née JACKSON. Mary's parents were John JACKSON (1744-1824) & Sarah BRUNKER (1751-1820). Her uncle, Henry JACKSON, (1750-1817) was a United Irishman - one of those in his family who had to flee Ireland for America because of their politics. SEE: JACKSONs of Lisnaboe, Co. Meath.

Here lieth the body of Mary third Daughter of John Jackson of Crieve County of Monaghan Esq. And wife to J. Stephenson Giveen of Cabin Hill. She departed this life on the 10^th of June 1813 in the 28^th year of her Age. As a Child she was Dutiful. As a Wife and Mother Affectionate and tender. And as a Christian Obedient and Resigned. This stone was placed here by her husband as a token of his attachment and esteem.

OTHER SOURCES:

Dictionary of Irish Biography. as well as
An historical account of the Diocese of Down and Connor, ancient and modern NOTE: Some of the JACKSON history here, particularly attributing the marriage of Samuel JACKSON to Susannah BERESFORD, is inaccurate.
Mentions of JACKSONs in rootsweb.

My Conversation With Mark Carney.

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 00:10:00 +0000

"Value(s): Building a Better World for All" by Mark Carney

NOTE: I borrowed this book from the library, returned it months ago, and have no way to double check the accuracy of my transcription of the quotes I used. I had recorded them using word recognition in a WORD document. There will be glitches. The bolding is all mine, done for emphasis (so readers can skim if they wish and hopefully reduce the risk of glazing over!)

Whenever I read a book, fiction or non-fiction, I experience myself having a conversation with the author - if only in my head. With respect to Carney’s book Value(s), my personal bias and starting point is such that although I will be voting Liberal in this election, I tend to lean towards the Greens and the NDP. Here is how my recent response to a survey based on party positions was graphed:

I was no more than two pages in before I could see how it could be possible that Carney’s values aligned with mine:

For over 12 years, I had the privilege and challenge of being a G7 governor, first in Canada and laterally in the UK. During this time I saw kingdoms of gold rise and fall. I led global reforms to fix the fault lines that caused the financial crisis, worked to heal the malignant culture at the heart of financial capitalism and began to address both the fundamental challenges of the fourth industrial revolution and the existential risks from climate change. I felt that collapse in public trust in elites, globalization and technology. and I became convinced that these challenges reflect a common crisis in values and that radical changes are required to build an economy that works for all. p2

Although Carney identifies as a globalist, his concerns over globalization resonate with me notheless:

… the big drivers of technology and globalization are magnifying market distortions. Technology’s impact on inequality is felt across all economies, while globalization's contribution is principally felt in advanced economies. Moreover returns in a globalized world are amplifying the rewards of the superstar and, though few of them would be inclined to admit it, the lucky, Milanovic argues that these forces are being reinforced by the structure of modern capitalism in which the wealthy have both labour and capital income, earn higher returns on their capital, have better access to top schools (social mobility) and can influence the political class. p137

There is also disturbing evidence that equality of opportunity has fallen, with the potential to reinforce cultural and economic divides. For example, social mobility has declined in the US, undercutting the sense of fairness at the heart of American Society. p 138

He does not advocate abandoning globalization (as if one even could), but rather he wants to steer us towards a values-based globalization:

Globalization has simultaneously brought great prosperity and caused tremendous misery. As a consequence, the principles of international integration are being challenged, and the institutions that underpin it are losing their relevance. This is happening while the forces of integration through technological change continue unabated. We run the risk of haphazard and uncontrolled integration that compromises our values. Therefore the defining challenge of this generation is to build a more inclusive resilient and sustainable globalization as it enters its fourth phase. p 509

One of the weaknesses of Carney’s book is his use [over-use?] of acronyms. Often, I had to stop reading to look up what they stood for. For example: ESG. ESG funds are investments that are graded using ESG (environmental, social and governance) principles. This is no woo-woo headset:

Consistent with their better ability to manage such episodic downside risks, ESG funds are more likely to survive. Morningstar found that on average over 3/4 of sustainable funds available to investors 10 years ago have survived, compared with less than half -46% - of traditional funds. Examining large global and US funds they find consistently higher average returns of around 1PP per annum across various time horizons over the past five to 10 years. p 424

Carney sees the ESG approach as a guide not only for investments, but also for government, and he includes the following list as a guide for both business and government.

· Environmental impacts: climate change and GHG emissions; Air and water pollution; Biodiversity; Deforestation; Energy efficiency; Waste management; Water scarcity.

· Social contributions: customer satisfaction; Data protection and privacy; Gender and diversity; Employee engagement; Community relations; Human rights; Labour standards.

· Governance and management: board composition; Audit committee structure; Bribery and corruption; Executive compensation; Lobbying; political contributions; Whistleblower schemes. p419

Carney points out that the dangers of conflating the interests of markets with the interests of businesses had already been recognized hundreds of years ago (Trump is just the latest example):

[Adam] Smith was wary of the dangers of capture of government by business. He consistently warned of the collusive nature of business interests, including fixing the highest price “which can be squeezed out of the buyers”. He cautioned that a business-dominated political system would allow a conspiracy of industry against consumers, with the former scheming to influence politics and legislation. Consistent with this view, he promoted free trade to break the power of the mercantilists and increase the share of manufacturers in a competitive market [not a monopoly, for example]. p30

Carney drills down on the financial costs of inequality, again not a woo-woo approach:

The symbiosis between just and economic outcomes is increasingly backed by hard evidence. For example, a comprehensive OECD study using data from the period 1970 - 2010 covering 31 OECD countries measured at five year intervals finds that inequality has a statistically significant negative impact on economic growth. In particular it estimates that for a number of countries including the US and UK, cumulative growth between 1990 and 2010 would be more than 1/5 higher had income disparities not widened. In contrast, the data suggests that decreases in inequality in Spain, France and Ireland over the time period helped increase the GDP per capita in all three countries. On the other hand, greater equality helped increase GDP per capita in Spain, France and Ireland prior to the crisis. p. 125

…unchecked market fundamentalism devours social capital essential for the long term dynamism of capitalism itself. All ideologies are prone to extremes, and capitalism loses its sense of moderation when the belief [ie belief and faith instead of analysis and fact] in the power of the market enters the realm of the faithful. In the decades prior to the crisis, such radicalism came to dominate economic ideas and became a pattern of social behavior.

In the financial system, market fundamentalism - in the form of light touch regulation, the belief that bubbles cannot be identified and that the market is always right - contributed directly to the financial crisis and the associated erosion of social capital. p139

When it comes to the impact of climate change, I was born in 1946 and came of age when the concept of the tragedy of the commons was much talked about. Carney reaffirms the importance of this, but he adds another layer: the tragedy of the timeline. Governments – if they are going to get re-elected – have to be focused on election cycles (4-5 years), while businesses – especially big businesses – are governed by the even shorter timeline of shareholders returns and the short leash of owners’ expectations of future returns.

There is another reason why the tragedy of the horizon is hugely, practically important. Historically, technology adoption follows a relatively predictable life circle, also known as the technology as curve. There are three distinct phases: research and development, mass adaptation and maturity. The first phase tends to be slow, gradual and expensive, until the new technology reaches an inflection point and becomes more cost effective and adoption increases rapidly.

Typically, reaching the second phase of mass adaption takes 45 years, which for climate change, would be too slow to remain within carbon budgets. Moreover, it should be remembered that energy transition takes time …. p286

… public policy provides the foundation for the transition to net zero. The tragedies of the Commons and the horizon mean that private companies and financial institutions will not fully take into account the impact of their actions on the climate. Although leading businesses will anticipate future climate policies and adapt today, ultimately catalyzing a critical mass of private sector actions requires effective, predictable and credible public policies. p332

The policies for achieving our climate goals should be designed to encourage the economic adjustments and technological innovations at the least possible cost, while sharing the burden of adjustment as fairly as possible within countries and across nations. The critical success factors are the establishment of a broad social consensus, the use of clear, consistent communications and the building of credible and predictable track records for government and regulatory policies. The more that these conditions are fulfilled, the more likely that markets will pull forward towards adjustment and smooth the transition to a net zero carbon economy. p339

Carney points out that even though durable consensus leading to effective moral action is essential, it can be damnably hard to achieve:

… trust grows at the rate of the coconut tree and falls with the speed of the coconut. The lesson [for governments] is the same: trust can take ages to build and moments to destroy. p354

Finally, and most fundamentally, experts need to listen to all sides. … reaching out to all stakeholders is essential to maintain social license and to improve performance. When you engage widely, you will find some sharp, firmly held, but often lightly researched differences of opinion about fundamental issues.

Professor Jonathan Haidt argues that this is in part because humans are prone to “groupish righteousness” when it comes to how people reach moral judgments about important issues. This tendency is exacerbated by social media, which provides the ability to communicate exclusively among the like-minded. p360

Finally, in my “conversation” with Carney, I was surprised to read about his personal practice: If I'm particularly busy, I meditate (trust me, it creates time) and then go to work. Nor had I expected to find his emphasis on the need for humility.

Humility … is an attitude to leading and governing. Not an impediment to acting. Humility is recognizing there will be surprises. I have learned that it's worth asking what could happen if things go wrong, even when you think it unlikely. What if subprime isn't contained? What if a cyber attack is successful? What if there is no deal? Humility admits the limits of our knowledge, that there are unknown unknowns which make resilience and adaptability imperative. The humble can plan for failure, even if they don't know how or when it will happen.

Humility allows us to set goals before we know all the answers. If we are humble, we don't think we can make a map of the whole world to chart our course or try to put a price on every value so we can optimize. If we are humble, we can recognize that answers can be found through processes that will bring them out through debate, considering different perspectives and forging consensus.

The humble recognize the limits of meritocracy. Humility admits the role of good fortune and the responsibilities success brings - the duties that should be put into the service of purpose. Being humble is recognizing that we are custodians of our companies, communities and countries. And that all are equal within. That the common good trumps utilitarianism.

Given that Pope Francis died today, his final word seems appropriate to the challenges we all face. I suspect that Carney would agree:

Abigail JACKSON (1683-1763): Part One

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 22:20:00 +0000

Years ago, while in Dublin, I came across an image of Abigail CROFTON and immediately wondered if she might have been the Abigail born as Abigail JACKSON (1683-1763), the grand daughter of Rev. Richard JACKSON (1602-1681). In her midlife, as a widow, this Abigail had married Oliver CROFTON, a family of Castle Moate. I later saw the same image mentioned in Crofton Memoirs and am still undecided. So, here goes. What can we learn?

This miniature was done by Gustavus Hamilton (c.1739–1775), a Dublin miniaturist, and signed "G. Hamn," and "1763.". Pasted on the back had been an old visiting card, with the name of "Lady Crofton" engraved on it. SOURCE: Crofton Memoirs: Unfortunately this card was destroyed by the frame-maker, to whom the repairing of the frame had been entrusted, and ·who had to remove the portrait from its frame. NOTE: HAMILTON lived in Dublin at various addresses: Parliament St.; 1 Dame St., College Green; and (shortly before his death) at Cork Hill. It is in the archives held at The National Gallery of Ireland. Unfortunately, on the day that I had hoped to view the miniature, the archivist was sick that day, so I was out of luck.
UPDATE: April 12, 2025: In 2018, a helpful staff member at the National Gallery of Ireland showed Daphne McCANN a copy of: Treasures to Hold: Irish and English Miniatures 1650-1850 by Paul Caffrey. A photo of this image was on the first page which Daphne had then emailed to me. Unfortunately, I had misplaced the image attached to her 2018 email,but fortunately after reading this post, she emailed it to me again. Brilliant! From the text: [3.4 X 2.8, watercolour with gouache on ivory. Set in an oval metal pendant frame.] It was fashionable in the eighteenth century to wear, and be painted in, what was considered to be Elizabethan or old English dress, confused in the popular imagination with Shakespearian costume, and, in fact an amalgam of earlier periods with Van Dyke of the 1630s …

The assumption made by Henry Thomas CROFTON, author of Crofton Memoirs (p.67), was that this miniature could not have been made of Abigail CROFTON because at age 80 in 1763, she was much older than the woman in the image. Even so, it is possible that the miniature could have been commissioned after her death and was based on an earlier image of her. I can find no other Lady Crofton who fits neatly into this time frame.

More recently, as part of trying to learn more about the back story of Abigail CROFTON née JACKSON, I uploaded a post on my website of Townland Clusters – a tool for unearthing women’s history. It followed clusters of townlands which included ones that Abigail had held title to in the counties of Dublin, Cavan, Meath and Monaghan. All these properties were mentioned in her January 5, 1737 marriage settlement (concerning her marriage to CROFTON), and had included the same names of townlands which had been listed in the 1705 will of her uncle Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706). These properties had landed in her hands as a result of all of her brothers predeceasing her. She also held title to some English properties, but their origin is less clear to me. Were they handed down to her from her parents, her Uncle Samuel, or had they become hers because of her earlier marriage to William BUCKLEY?

Curiously, the researcher and likely co-author of Crofton Memoirs, Rev. William Ball WRIGHT, had also been hired in the early 1900s by Amelia Oliver JACKSON when she was researching the family history of her father Sir Thomas JACKSON (1841-1915). Even though Abigail may (or may not) be related to Sir Thomas, it is worthwhile to focus first on Abigail.

[Abigail] was possessed of much property in Ireland, and also in the Counties of Lancaster, York, and Westmorland, in England. SOURCE: Crofton Memoirs, An account of JOHN CROFTON, Of Ballymurry, Co. Roscommon Queen Elizabeth's Escheator-General of Ireland and of His Ancestors and Descendants, and others Bearing the Name. Compiled by Henry Thomas Crofton, Ex-president Lancashire and Cheshire Antiqn. Society, Assisted by The Rev. William Ball Wright, M.A. Author of " The Usher Memoirs," " Ball Family Records", etc., and Helen Augusta Crofton, Author of "The Slacke Family in Ireland." Published: 1911.

Clearly, Abigail was a woman with significant inherited wealth so she would have enjoyed as much independence as any woman of her era. She is however also worthy of our attention for other reasons. At the time of her marriage to Oliver CROFTON (1710-1780), she was 54 years old and he was 27. What is the story here? Was there a quid pro quo, either in money or social benefit to either one of them? Or was this a marriage based on passion? Does this shed light on the experiences of other privileged women or was it a one-off?

I will explore her CROFTON marriage in a later post. For now, the purpose of this post is to lay out some of the context for it, the prequel as it were.

What the data in Townland Clusters reveals, when seen in aggregate, is that her death at age 80 was a pivot year for the history of her holdings. Lands which historically had been owned for several generations by members of the JACKSONs of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry, were thereafter inherited and passed onto several future generations of the NORTH family of Kirkby Lonsdale. What was most unusual in this pivot was that the rights to these lands had not gone to her husband.

As with most women of her time, place and class, the breadcrumbs of clues are few and far between. She was born in 1683, probably at Burley, near Leeds, Co. Lancashire. When she was growing up, Burley had been where her parents Nathaniel JACKSON (1640-1698) and Elizabeth WOODS lived. Although many members of her extended family had already put down roots in Ireland in the mid-1600s, her childhood would have been protected from much of the upheaval of the Irish economic and political turmoil of the time. Even so, she was probably not oblivious to its impact. Her uncles were well-heeled merchants in England and Ireland, and/or minsters in the Established Church and the instability would have profoundly shaped their lives. While she likely visited her Irish relations, it seems that she did not settle permanently in Ireland until after 1733. She was the executor of her brother Rev. Robert JACKSON’s (1690-1733) will, a task which granted her some power. That seemed to be the last year that she lived in Tatham Parish.

Viewing Abigail’s life through the context of her times, it is worth noting that she was born in 1683, the same year as the future King George II of England. 1763, the year that she died, was the year that the Seven Years’ War ended. Because she was literate and belonged to a family known for the extent of their libraries and their free-thinking, she likely would have been aware of Rousseau, whose ideas were all the rage as were Voltaire’s. Voltaire had just published his Treatise on Tolerance. With respect to women’s rights, although it may have been the dawning of a totally new era, it would still take another three decades for Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman to be published. Given all this, how would Abigail have seen herself in the context of her rights? Would her concept of rights have had anything to do with the reason why Oliver CROFTON did not end up with her family’s properties after she pre-deceased him (he would have been the expected beneficiary)? Or, in spite of the records of subsequent land transfers, had he at least temporarily inherited some lands from her?

The following info in Cumbrian Lives was unsourced and needs to be verified.

Crofton, Sir Oliver, 5^th Bt of the Mote (17xx-1780), only son of Oliver Crofton (d.1709), of Lissanarre, co Limerick (yr son of Sir Edward Crofton, 2^nd Bt) and Katherine Armstrong (d.1750), residing at Galbally and Lissanarre in co Limerick, marr (6 December 1737) Abigail Jackson Buckley (died in December 1763), heiress of estates in Cumberland, Yorks, Lancs, and Dublin, and owner of the Bull, Market Square, Kirkby Lonsdale, which he rebuilt as a private house, known as Jackson Hall (which then descended after her death to Richard North, of Newton, to his son Myles North, and to his son Richard Toulmin North, of Thurland Castle), died s.p.leg. 9 November 1780

To understand her 2^nd marriage, it helps to start with her 1^st marriage in Jan 20, 1718 to the wealthy widower, William BUCKLEY Esq.. In his position as the Tatham Parish landlord, he was also the advowsen (aka landlord with power to appoint clergy) of the Parish where they were married. At the time of their marriage, we do not know how old he was, but she was thirty-five years old, which was pretty old given the marriage practices of the day. NOTE: Her uncle Rev. Leonard JACKSON’s (1650-1726), the rector who performed the service, had earlier been appointed to the post of rector by BUCKLEY.

William Buckley, Esq., widower of Wennington Hall and Mrs. Abigail Jackson mar by bans 20 Jan 1718/19 Tatham, Lancashire; by Mr. Leonard Jackson, Rector, by Mr. Andrew Phorbas, vicar of Melling and Mr. Sharp, curate of Tatham SOURCE: Marriages at St. James the Less, Tatum.

There is one word that mystifies me in this marriage cert.: Why was Abigail referred to as Mrs. Abigail Jackson? Back then, women had the option of two prefixes: Miss or Mrs.. Was the recording of Mrs. a clerical error or had she been already widowed? If so, then a previous husband would have been a JACKSON, likely a cousin-level relation. But if so, then who?

The Wennington Hall connection to William BUCKLEY probably came about as the part of the marriage agreement made prior to his previous marriage to Mary BUTLER, the widow of Charles MARSDEN of Wennington Hall.

SOURCE: The History of the Parish of St. Michael’s-on-Wyre. SEE also WIKI: Buckley – Greater Manchester

A mid-1800s etching, and a description prior to the Victorian rebuilding:

24th October 1840 - WENNINGTON HALL ESTATES - TO BE SOLD BY AUCTION
At the house of Mr Pritt, the King's Arms Hotel, in Lancaster, on Thursday, 29th October 1840.
THE WENNINGTON HALL ESTATES, situate about 12 miles north east of Lancaster, in the Vale of Wenning, which communicates with the celebrated Vale of Lune, in the parish of Melling, in the Northern Division of the County of Lancaster, comprising
THE MANOR OF WENNINGTON,
With its MANORIAL Rights and Privilages, and also the
MANSION OF WENNINGTON HALL
With the extensive Out-offices and Buildings, Gardens, DEER PARK, Woods and Plantations, and the several FARMS attached thereto, which contain in the whole upwards of 330 acres, statute measure, of very choice and fertile Arable, Meadow, and Pasture Land, which is divided into several Holdings, and is Let to highly respectable and responsible Tenants, at very moderate Rents, the whole forming a very compact, well wooded, picturesque, and desirable Estate, included in a Ring Fence.
N.B. A considerable Portion of the Purchase Money may, if required, remain secure upon the Estate, at a moderate Rate of Interest.
Printed Particulars, with a Plan of the Property, may be had at the King's Arms Hotel, in Lancaster, and at the principal Hotels in the County of Lancaster; of Mr William Sharp, solicitor, 11 Staple Inn, London; and of Sharpe and Son, solicitors, in Lancaster, who will direct a person to shew the Estates, and from whom further Particulars may be known. October 1st, 1840.
Lancashire City Council Red Rose Collection. SEE: MARIO Map

https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol8/pp207-209

Although we know something of the who and the where of William BUCKLEY, it is hard to say what kind of man he was, although perhaps something of his temperament can be inferred from a news account four years after he and Abigail had married:

[1722] Captain BUCKLEY had a lethal dispute with Major Samuel COOKE, the High Sheriff of Lancashire, regarding a right of way in Higher Walton, Lancashire. Buckley and Cooke entered a duel at Rochdale in which Cooke was killed. Buckley was tried at the assizes in Lancaster and found guilty of manslaughter, but received "only a light sentence.” SEE: WIKI: Buckley – Greater Manchester

NOTE: Abigail’s second husband also engaged in a duel which was triggered by a similar provocation. Duels were one of the dubious privileges of men of their time and class. It meant that such quick-tempered men, unlike quick-tempered men of lesser classes, could kill or inflict grave injuries on an opponent and not suffer from any legal sanction. It was part of the historic tradition that was pretty much outdated but was a leftover from a society based on honour-codes. In much the same way, there are still societies practicing such inherited codes even today.

Eight years after this duel, BUCKLEY died in 1730 of unrecorded causes at an unknown age. He and Abigail had no known children. Part of the dearth of information is because at his death, he was the last member of the main branch of the Buckleys of Buckley. SOURCE: Buckley Hall Orphanage Rochdale 1888 — 1947, Pat Gallacher (2003), Preston: Lisieux Hall. NOTE: This meant that he had no descendants to retain memory of him, a frequent contributor to lost history.

It is of consequence that in his will the only mention of his wife Abigail was in a codicil:

CODICIL: Whereas I have made my last will and Testament bearing date nineth day of May last Now I do by this my codicil give and devise unto Abagill my wife all my Tea potts cups and china and China Ware and Six Silver Tea Spoons and my Gold Watch & Chain and the sum of fifteen pounds to be paid to her by my Executors out of my personal Estate and in all other respects hereby ratify and confirm said will In Witness whereof I have sworn to put my hand and seal this fourth day of June one thousand seven hundred and thirty. Wm. Buckley

This small payment of £15, plus a smattering of crockery and such makes me think of William Shakespeare’s will, one which generations of scholars have wrestled with: “Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed with the furniture”. In both wills, there was no mention of my dear wife, or other such expressions which were commonly included – but not always – in such documents. It is worth asking: Had there been a breakdown in the marriage? As it is with Shakespeare’s wife, perhaps there will be no clear cut provable answers.

Interestingly, there were a few properties which were specifically mentioned in William BUCKLEY’s will, but along with the rest of the chattels, these were put into a trust overseen by James HOLAND and James BUCKLEY sr to be managed on behalf of BUCKLEY’s infant cousin Thomas FFOSTER and Abigail got no benefit from them. NOTE: Buckley Hall passed from Captain William BUCKLEY to his nephew Thomas FOSTER (who assumed the surname of BUCKLEY), and then on to his son, Edward BUCKLEY, who in 1786 sold the hall and estate to Robert ENTWISTLE … The original building was demolished in the early-1990s and HM Prison Buckley Hall was opened in its place. [SOURCE: Buckley, Greater Manchester.]

Brief Excerpts from the will: I give and decise all my Messuages Lands Tenements [?] and Hereditaments situate lying or being within Spunderfield Butterworth and Castleton and elsewhere in the said County of Lancaster and all other my real estate whatsoever in the said County with my Cousin Thomas Ffoster an infant (son of Thomas Ffoster of Preston in the said County Esquire by my aunt Ann his wife) for and during the life of the said Thomas Ffoster … Thomas Ffoster Thomas Holland William Holland … whereas the advowson of the Rectory of Windermere in the County of Westmorland was devised to me and my heirs in trust for Girlington Butler & Barton Clarke now rector hereof … William Holland Thomas Holland and to their sister Ffrance Holland and my said godson John Buckley the sum of five pounds sterling .. AND I give and devise all my household goods silver plate and other goods chattles credits and other Rents issues and profits of my said Messuages Lands Tenements Rent Hereditments and real estate whatsoever to … James Holland and John Buckley the elder till the said Thomas Ffoster the son shall attain his age of twenty one years. … 1 Oct 1730

There is a reason that Why is usually placed last in the chain of the usual questions: Who. What. Where. When. Why. In seeking the Why, focusing on the Where is a useful starting point. Out of the three townlands of Spunderfield Butterworth and Castleton I have only located Castleton.

SOURCE: Rochdale, Lancashire ROCHDALE, a town and a district in Lancashire, and a parish partly also in W. R. Yorkshire - 10½ miles N N E of Manchester.

Since the named townlands of Butterworth and Castletown are in the Parish of Rochdale, it is possible that Spunderfield might have been as well. Perhaps it was known as Spotland.

ROCHDALE, a parish, market town, and parliamentary borough in the honor of Clitheroe , in the Middleton division of the hundred of Salford , and the polling district of Rochdale . The parish is divided into seven townships : Castleton , Butterworth [Butterworth, Greater Manchester], Spotland, [District of Rochville, Greater Manchester] , Wardleworth, Weurdle with Wardle , and Blatchinworth with Calderbrook, in the poor law union of Rochdale ; and Todmorden with Walsden , in the poor law union of Todmorden ; the four latter are in what is called Hundersfield . — Spotland is divided into Spotland Nearer Side , Spotland Further Side, and Whitworth with Brandwood, which are sometimes stated to be townships . The parochial chapelry of Saddleworth, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, is in this parish . Number of acres in the parish, exclusive of Saddleworth, about 40,300 , inclusive of Saddleworth 58,500.

The Lancashire library : a bibliographical account of books on topography, biography, history, science, and miscellaneous literature relating to the county palatine, including an account of Lancashire tracts, pamphlets, and sermons printed before the year 1720. With collations, & bibliographical, critical, & biographical notes on the books and authors

Although the geographic proximity of relations can lead to clues, in this instance they actually raise more questions. For example, in the two maps beneath, although Wennington Hall is the expected distance - walking distance - from Tatham, Rochdale is 54 miles south of there:

The supply chain requirement of the clothing industries coupled with the family connections to the clothing trades – linen and wool – are the most likely reasons behind these locations being key for both the JACKSONs and the BUCKLEYs. More research may reveal more.

One last bit. Although there is no mention of Abigail inheriting more than teacups and such from William BUCKLEY, she at least had some kind of marriage jointure. This jointure was mentioned in 1737, in the marriage agreement formalizing the financial aspects of her 2^nd marriage, the one with Oliver CROFTON. Curiously, there had been no mention of such a jointure in BUCKLEY’s will – unless it was related (unlikely) to the single-time payment of £15.

[ROD: 91-158-63780: a sexpartite deed bearing date and perfected the 5^th and 6^th day of January 1737 between Oliver CROFTON of Lissanarrow [possibly Lissanarhoor, Parish Galbally, Barony Coshlea – he also lived at Galbally, Parish Galbally, Barony Coshlea] Co. Limerick Esq. of the 1^st pt; Abigail BUCKLEY als JACKSON of the City of Dublin and relict of William BUCKLEY late of Buckley in Co Lancaster England Esq deceased of the 2^nd pt; ]

… whereas the said Abigail BUCKLEY was seized in fee of and in certain Lands Tenements and Hereditaments in said indenture mentioned situate in the Kingdom of England and that the said Abigail was also seized and Intitled to a Jointure for her life out of the estate of William BUCKLEY.

Family connections are likely the reason that Abigail moved to Dublin after the death of her brother Rev. Robert JACKSON. With her sister Jane JACKSON, she co-owned the Irish townlands that had once been the property of their uncle Samuel JACKSON. The lands that she held in England at the time of her second marriage may have originated in bequests from her parents, from her uncles or else may have been connected to her first husband. Nailing all this down can help us to better understand the reasons why clusters of her lands ended up belonging to several generations of her “cousins” after her death.

In my next post, I will track what can be learned about Oliver CROFTON and Abigail’s life during their marriage. At least there will more available facts during this stage of her life.

POSTSCRIPT:

The last record I have that would indicate that William BUCKLEY was still alive is the mention of him in the 1726 will of Rev. Leonard JACKSON. So far, I do not have a verifiable birth or death date for him.

1726 Nov 5th Will of Leonard JACKSON NAMES: Rev. Leonard JACKSON of Tatham, Lancashire; Richard JACKSON, son; BRIGGS – likely Rev. John BRIGGS & Mary BRIGGS née JACKSON; Vigessima BOUCH[E] née JACKSON; Elizabeth DAWSON née BOUCHE; Josias DAWSON; HUTTON; William HUTTON; Jane wife of Roland WALLIS; Widow SLATER of Whittington; Widow LAURENCE; Bryan DOWNIE aka DOWNEY; Elizabeth JACKSON née WOODS; [cousin WADE, wife & daughter & son Benjamin WADE; nephew FOXCROFT; Richard JACKSON, Dublin & daughter (Susannah JACKSON?); cousin [Bolder?] JONES of Westhouse; James JACKSON; William BUCKLEY; Cousin ASH and her daughter BRIGGS; wife of cousin [WITHER?] of Evertown; Mr. SHARP (probably a minister); godson Leonard JACKSON; Robert MAYER Schoolmaster of Wray; Robert JACKSON nephew of Rev. Laurence JACKSON; Thomas CHARNLEY; Isaac ATKINSON.

Abigail’s younger brother Rev. Robert JACKSON (1690-1733) succeeded their uncle Rev. Leonard JACKSON as rector of Tatum in 1726. Since Robert GIBSON was now the patron of Tatham Parish, it seems likely that this was the year that William BULKLEY had died (which would have been shortly after Leonard JACKSON’s death).

1726 – Robert JACKSON, presented in succession by Robert Gibson, the patron for that turn, was instituted December 7, 1726, and held the living until his death, which occurred in 1733, in which year an administration bond was filed at Richmond, from which it may be inferred he died intestate. SOURCE: The History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster, Volume 5. Edward Baines p.555. NOTE: Abigail was the executor of Robert’s will.

REV. RICHARD JACKSON (1602-1681)

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Sat, 29 Mar 2025 22:49:00 +0000

Born Kirkby-Lonsdale, Westmorland; vicar of Hatton and Whittington, Lancashire.

Kirkby Lonsdale 1865 Ordnance Survey.

It took a lot of deft maneuvering for Rev. Richard JACKSON (1602-1681) to hold on to his financial assets, many of which had become seriously diminished by the mid-1600s. It was one hot mess of a time to be living in - with the collision of cultural-financial-religious power struggles reaching their peak in both England and Ireland. Even so, at the end of his life, he was able to pass on significant wealth to many of his 23 children, most of whom had lived to adulthood and many of whom had settled in Ireland (his 1^st wife Dorothy OTWAY was mother of the first 15 children and died abt 1645; his 2^nd wife Jane CARTER gave birth to the remaining 8 children). In the lives of his surviving children, the uplift from his financial legacy, as well as the contribution of his mercantile, church and government connections are clear. Many of his descendants went on to exercise considerable political and economic power in Ireland for at least the next couple of hundred years.

We catch an early glimpse of Rev. Richard in 1645 (age 43) when the likely final outcome of the conflict between the Royalists (Established Church) and the Parliamentarians (Puritans etc) was still unpredictable. It is clear that his faith loyalties kept shifting according to his short-term needs. To use a hockey metaphor, he often knew how to skate to where the puck was going to be, not where it had been. Following the hockey metaphor, imagine him digging in with the inside edges of his theological skates, leaning into each turn and using the friction to pivot – sometimes towards loyalty to the Puritans, sometimes to the Royalists, and then precipitously pivoting again and again as needed. Avoiding a painful fall in this kind of game was a mix of luck, timing, and connections.

Jackson Hall, the birthplace of Rev. Richard, now operating as the Royal Hotel. It remained owned by members of the extended family well into the mid-1800s.I stayed there in 2015.

Rev. Richard was a son of William JACKSON, a well-heeled mercer and merchant of Kirkby Lonsdale, and Mary SLATER of Keighley near Bradford, Yorkshire. Based on the assets mentioned in his father’s 1626 April 20 will, one would assume that he was financially secure, but two decades later, in the mid-1640s, he faced financial ruin after lending a significant sum of money to a recusant. Because the anti-Catholic laws had both been enacted and (more pertinently) had finally been effectively enforced, this debtor had no way of repaying him. In 1645, Rev. Richard appealed to Col. Gervaise BENSON (abt 1610-1679), [a Parliamentarian who later became a Quaker], who had close connections to Oliver CROMWELL. As BENSON put it in a letter sent to Whitehall, to the Right Honourable Lord WARTON aka Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton (1613–1696):

Philip WHARTON: Portrait 1632 by Anthony van Dyke

…. I am intreated by two speaciall friends to the cause to write to yor Lorp in ther behalfe. I make bold to do it knoweing yor Lorps readynes & noble disposition to here & help honest men, in any lawfull & faiseable mattr. First one Mr. Jackson ministr of Whittingham neare Kyrby Lonsdall, a vry pious & honest able man haveing heretofore entred bond as surety wth a popish recusant (I psume it was wth hopes to gayne him to or Church) principall for the sume of 100£, this was donne before these troubles, & the popish gentleman proveing a Delinquent all his lands & meanes beinge sequestred, is utterly disabled to satisfy that debt, whereuppon honest Mr. Jackson is like to beare the burden, but I feare it will breake his backe & the creditours (now tyme begineing to be open (?) in Lancashire where Mr. Jackson lives that suites may be tryed) doth labour to pursue Mr. Jackson & recovr his 100£ of him wch indeed is easyly done for the bond is cleere. Yet if lawe pceede agaynst Mr. Jackson & compell him to pay it as it will do, he will "be undone, and not able to subsist haveing wife & many children, 14 children he hath & the 15th (is by this tyme borne for every houre his wife lookes for it) this is this honest ministrs desire & I earnestly desire the same, that yor Lorp be pleased to advise his friend (that will repaire to yor Lorp) what course may be taken that Mr. Jackson may have satisfaction, if any be to be had out of the delinquents estate of lands or woods, or any way whereby himselfe & the publike be not priudiced, we leave it to yor Lorps wisdome, & information of any that shall be imployed to come to yor Lorp. I am sure if yor Lorp can help him you shall not neede repent of it he is so honest a ministr. SOURCE: The Ejected of 1662 in Cumberland and Westmorland. p. 890: 1645 Feb 28: Letter from Right Honrable Col. Benson NOTE: Given the uptick in the state of Rev. Richard’s financial health, BENSON’s intervention seems to have been effective.

It is most likely that the popish recusant, the man who had incurred the debt wth hopes to gayne him to or Church principall, was the Catholic landlord and advowson of the Whittington Parish. Was this loan a dodgy part of Rev. Richard attempting to buy the seat? Possibly. Also, given the timing, it is likely that his first wife, Dorothy OTWAY, died in childbirth shortly after giving birth to Roger JACKSON (1645-1682). He was baptized March 15, 1645.

The conflation of the roles of advowsons (the power to appoint priests) with that of landlords was long standing and had originated from the practice of landlords donating lands for parish churches, and then being granted certain powers as recompence. Of course, this custom became decidedly wobbly when the advowson held to a faith that diverged from the politically permitted faith of the time. In 1635, Thomas CARUS, the patron of Whittington, was one of those who had been convicted of recusancy; in this case he had refused to attend Established Church services.

As a consequence, all his lands & meanes [were] sequestered during the First English Civil War. A few decades later, his patronage of Whittington Parish was transferred to Edward MIDDLETON. This transfer seems to have been a work-around in the legal grey area and was later judged to have been collusive. [SEE: British History: Whittington].

Although the ownership of Established Church parishes by Catholic landlords was not common, neither was it unheard of. Power shapeshifts, as always, according to need. Under-the-table deals for privileges were not unheard of. When Edward MIDDLETON in his role as advowson on Oct. 6, 1640 had appointed Rev. Richard as cleric of Whittington, it seems likely that there had been some quid pro quo involved. As a consequence, eight months later, on June 12, 1641 Rev Richard had to be reappointed, this time by King Charles (1600-1649), by lapse, as a result of the earlier buying or selling (aka simony) of an ecclesiastical privilege, in this case a permanent Church appointment. NOTE: The 2^nd instance of simony mentioned in the table beneath was to Rev. Thomas BOUCHE (1654-1716) aka BOWTH, the husband of Vigesima JACKSON, Rev. Richard’s 20^th living child. Her name was the Latin word for 20^th.

SOURCE: The History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster, Volume 2. edited by William Robert Whatton, John Harland, Brooke Herford

A sundial at the Parish bearing the inscription Ex dn. Ric. Jackson Rector de Whittington An. Dn. 1641 recorded the date of Rev. Richard’s 2^nd appointment to the Parish – the one by King Charles I, not his initial appointment by MIDDLETON. SOURCE: 'The parish of Whittington', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 8 (1914), pp. 241-252. I do not know if it still exists.

ADDED April 1, 2025: The History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster, Volume 5. Edward Baines

Five years later, on Oct 2, 1646, Rev. Richard was still the rector of Whittington when he subscribed and signed onto the protest of Lancashire ministers against toleration of strange doctrines. By now, he had skated deep into the Presbyterian camp, which may have reflected his personal leanings and/or the leanings of his congregation. Tellingly, he continued as rector.

The non-conformist's plea for uniformity : being the judgement of fourscore and four ministers of the county palatine of Lancaster, of a whole provincial assembly of ministers and elders in and about London, and of several other eminent preachers, English, Scottish and New-English, concerning toleration and uniformity in matters of religion : together with a resolution of this difficult question, whether the penalty of the law ought to be inflicted on those who pretend and plead conscience in opposition to what the law commands?

Two years later, in 1648, he was included as “Richard Jackson, pastor at Whittington” in the list of those who signed: The harmonious consent of the ministers of the province within the county palatine of Lancaster: with their reverend brethren the ministers of the province of London, in their late testimonie to the trueth of Jesus Christ, and to our Solemn League and Covenant : as also against the errours, heresies, and blasphemies of these times, and the toleration of them.

That this extraordinary document was subscribed by nearly all the presbyterian ministers of Lancashire can be explained only by supposing that they were frightened out of calm thought and wise consideration by the monstrous apparitions, which were rising on all sides and threatening their newly-established Church. The signs of the times were disastrous; the portents were such as neither they nor their fathers had ever seen before. [SOURCE: Lancashire: Its Puritanism and Nonconformity. Robert Halley]. p 263]

ADDED April 1, 2025: Lancashire Church Surveys 1650.

A lot of what was happening can not be reduced to any sharply defined polarities of white and black. The term Puritan often included Presbyterians and other dissenters (such as Quakers) and could apply to any denomination which committed to purify the Church of England of Papist practices. Presbyterians and other dissenters might in good conscience then choose to side with the Puritans but at the same time to maintain some of their Establishment Church alliances. One example of this would be John JACKSON b 1570 of Melsonby Yorkshire who was described as a Puritan but was also a known Royalist. [SOURCE: Alumni Cantabrigienses]. As was Rev. Richard:

JACKSON, RICHARD. Matric. pens, from CHRIST'S, July, 1619; B.A. 1622; M.A. 1626. R. of Halton, Lanes., 1630-41. R. of Whittington, 1641-80. A member of the Presbyterian Classis, but conformed at the Restoration. Will (Archd. Richmond) 1680. Father of Francis (1649), Leonard (1668) and William (1644-5). (yte. Hist, of Lancs., vm. 251; E. Axon.). SOURCE: Alumni Cantabrigienses: A Biographical List of All Known Students, Graduates Cambridge Students list.

After the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, Rev. Richard continued on as the Parish minister at Whittington for two more decades. The bequests itemized in his 1679 January 15 will reveal the extent to which his theological skating skills had paid off financially. At the time of his death in 1681 at age 79, he not only owned leases to several parcels of land but also had a library valued at £40, debts owing to him worth £60, plus all kinds of livestock, hay, corn, flax, meal, malt, hemp and yarn, for a total valuation (seemingly not including land) of £326.6.0 (or about £40,000 in todays currency). Not surprisingly, given the future fortunes of his sons, he had profited from a range of enterprises. Specific gold coins were also described and bequeathed, and he may have been a collector. One was engraved: In Hoc Signe Vinces: In this sign you will conquer.

Source of Image: CoinQuest.

Another coin that likely held personal and religious meaning for him was a coin minted in the 1640s which was described in his will as: Angell of gold of King Charles the first this Coyne bearing his Standard on the one side of it with this inscription for the Protestant Religion of privilege of Parliament, and the liberty of the Subject with this model in ring or edges of it Vizt. Exurgat Deus et Dissipentur Inimici . King Charles was the king to whom he had owed his reappointment in 1641, the time frame in which this coin was minted.

These coins were named after the Archangel St Michael who is depicted on the reverse slaying a dragon. They were legal tender but also used as healing amulets. It was believed that kings could cure people suffering from the ‘King’s Evil’ (scrofula), and Charles I performed healing ceremonies in which these coins were given to sufferers to wear around their necks. This coin is pierced so that when looking down the wearer would be able to see St Michael.
SOURCE: Leeds Special Collections.

Although Rev Richard’s twenty-three children as well as dozens of their Irish descendants were generally regarded as Church of Ireland, many of them went on to align as Presbyterian (or both/and) when it suited and Church of Ireland when it didn’t - for example, one had to be Church of Ireland to be able to assume political office. Later, in the 1766 Religious census, a couple of JACKSONs in Co. Armagh – James & Owen - likely descendants of Rev. Richard - were even recorded as Catholic (perhaps as a result of marriage). In later years, the forenames of Catholic JACKSONs shapeshifted and names such as John became Sean and so on.

These shifting allegiances of faith and politics continued over the course of several generations in Ireland, not only amongst the mercantile-class families such as the JACKSONs, but also amongst the organizations to which they belonged, such as the Clothworkers Guild of Derry.

The Livery Companies were often viewed as a source of ready cash by the monarchy and during the political troubles of the seventeenth century they received many demands for money; in 1640 and 1641 alone these requests exceeded £10,000. Unable to meet the King’s precepts, the Company was forced to borrow from individual members. When Civil War erupted in 1642, further demands arrived, now from Parliament and the City.
…
During the Civil War, the Clothworkers sided with Parliament, as did the City – indeed, the Master of the Company in 1652-1653 was Alderman Sir John Ireton whose brother, Henry Ireton, had signed King Charles’ death warrant – however, the Company was quick to shift allegiances when required. At the restoration of Charles II in 1660, they went to great effort to welcome the King into the City with suitable splendour. The Company’s trumpeter was lent to the Guildhall; six handsome, tall and able men were lent to serve the meat; £165 was given towards the cost of the banquet and members lined the streets in their finest attire with cloths, banners, streamers and ornaments resplendent around them.
SOURCE: The Clothworkers Company Timeline.

Following on the heels of Rev. Richard, two of his sons became Church of England ministers: Francis JACKSON (1632-1670) & Leonard JACKSON (1650-1726), as did some of his grandsons and the husbands of two of his daughters (Rev. Thomas BOUCHE husband of Vigesima and Rev. John BRIGGS husband of Mary).

Later, in 1691, in keeping with the family tradition of staying connected to the church, Rev. Richard’s eldest son William JACKSON (1628-1688) – a merchant of Coleraine and MP for Londonderry in the Irish Parliament - contributed land for the church at Ardacleve (aka Articlave Lower Parish Dunboe, Barony Coleraine, Co. Londonderry) This transfer was witnessed by his younger brother Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706) who was mostly based in Dublin.

St Paul’s Church was built to replace the ruin at Downhill. It is generally believed that Articlave village was the first settlement on the Clothworker Company Estate in 1611 and that the site was in all probability selected on account of the nearby river. When the ecclesiastical authorities had to consider the necessity of providing a new church for the parish it was natural that they should select the most advantageous position. A certain Captain Jackson gave a grant of one acre of land, and on this land the church was built. Bishop Hopkins gave the consent for the building of this church and Bishop King consecrated it on June 2nd, 1691. SOURCE: John Campbell on Flickr.

This inclination to be open to bridging the faith divide was also evidenced in the life of this Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706) of Dublin. After he had purchased several townlands in Co. Meath (lands forfeited in 1641 by the Catholic Royalist DRAKE family), he then leased the DRAKE lands back to the family on favourable terms. Not only was he welcome to visit the DRAKEs in their Co. Meath home, Drakerath, and stay for a few days with them, but he was also remembered for offering a 29 year old Peter DRAKE a connection to an East India merchant for a potential job opportunity, and just as importantly a green Purse with twenty Guineas in it. [SEE: Samuel Jackson - Gleanings of a Life.]

The Ireland-based children of Rev. Richard had benefitted from growing up in this Whittington Parish where their father as rector had Presbyterian leanings, the Parish itself was owned by a Catholic advowson and at the same time the church was theoretically branded Church of England. This kind of diversity in business and politics has long been recognized as one of the drivers of success. For Rev. Richard, it was part of what returned him to financial health after the worst of his 1645 crisis. Even though much of his shape-shifting may have been tainted by transactional motives and been bare-nakedly opportunistic, it did mean that he and his descendants had the head-set that enabled them to flourish for many more generations.

OTHER LINKS:
Earlier posts on my blog site explore other aspects of Rev. Richard JACKSON.

For his family tree see on my website:

JACKSONs of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry This branch of JACKSONs starts in Kirkby Lonsdale with William JACKSON (?-1626) and includes the JACKSONs who became successful merchants initially based in Coleraine, who participanted in the Siege of Derry, as who became representatives in the Irish House of Commons. Their behaviour was not always defensible by today's standards, or even by the standards of their own time. Theirs is also the family tree that leads to Richard JACKSON of Forkhill.
Daughters of Rev. Richard JACKSON.

Mrs. Elizabeth JACKSON née BUNTING

noreply@blogger.com (SharonOddieBrown) — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 20:37:00 +0000

The devil is in the details. True, but many details can be devilishly hard to nail down when key people, actions and perspectives have not been talked about for hundreds of years. For me, this is why the opening sentence in an article in the May 22, 1795 edition of The Times (London, Greater London, England) is significant: The late Parson Jackson, was twice married, and has left a wife to lament his unhappy end.

The mention of women in a lead sentence in an article in that kind of newspaper? Rare. Typically, both wives are not named.

On April 30th, 1795, four days after the Court had found Parson Jackson aka Rev. William JACKSON (1737-1795) guilty of treason and collusion with the French (part of a United Irishmen plot to free Ireland from being under the yoke of English rule), Rev. William died of arsenic poisoning. At the moment when he collapsed and died, he was actually in Court and his lawyer was giving his summation. This was three weeks before this article was published, although none of this was mentioned, the writer, seemingly, had other, earlier, London-based grievances in mind.

It is likely that Rev. William's 2nd wife secured the arsenic, likely at his request. It was reasonable for them to fear that the State would seize their shared assets once he was sentenced. Their only out, had he been sentenced to execution for treason, would have been if he was no longer alive when his sentence was finally pronounced. A nice legal wrinkle. An opportunity which was taken.

This much was known, that Jackson took poison with the idea that the little means he possessed would be preserved to his wife and children, if the sentence of the law was not pronounced on him, and that the party who was privy to this act must have well known the nature of the poison, for the time of its operation was evidently calculated on correctly.

The United Irishmen: Their Lives and Times. Richard Robert Madden, The Shamrock edition, Newly Edited With Notes, Bibliography And Index By Vincent Fleming O’Reilly, The Catholic Publication Society 1916. p 186

The marriage documents for either of the two wives had long eluded researchers, but a few days ago, Laura McKenna, an author from Co. Cork (Words to Shape My Name), contacted me. It is thanks to her eagle eyes, that we finally have – indisputably – a record of the 2^nd marriage of Rev. William Francis JACKSON to Elizabeth BUNTING. This removes one layer of her invisibility.

Marriage at Saint George The Martyr: Borough High Street, Southwark, England

Rev. William Jackson, Parish Fulham, Co. Middlesex, Widower and Elizabeth Bunting of this Parish spinster. married in this church by licence this Fifth Day of August in the year One Thousand seven Hundred and Ninety Two by me Thomas Wigrell Curate. This marriage was solemnized between Us: Wm. Francis Jackson; Elizabeth Bunting.

The signature in the marriage cert is a dead ringer for the signature on another document, signed in 1792, at the White Hotel in Paris. There can be no doubt that this is “our” Rev. William.

First page of the ‘Adresse des Anglais, des Ecossais et des Irlandais résidans et domiciliés à Paris’ to the Convention, presented on 25 November 1792. The address was part of a dialogue between the Société des Amis des Droits de l’Homme (SADH) and the French government about the possibility of an insurrection in Britain and/or Ireland in late 1792. Though the early Irish republicans did not get their wish, notably because of the astute policy of Pitt’s cabinet, their political activism between Dublin, Belfast, London and Paris shows that Irish republicanism grew alongside its French counterpart. (Archives Nationales, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine).

NOTE: Sylvie Kleinman, a Dublin historian and author, was the first to alert me to this signature in this Paris document. More recently, Ruari Nolan included it in one of his substack pieces: Address of the English, Scotch, and Irish resident and domiciled in Paris (1792). His piece included a link to the source document by Mathieu Ferradou: ‘Un festin patriotique’ at White’s Hotel, 18 November 1792: the ‘secret’ origins of Irish revolutionary republicanism. Published in 18th–19th - Century History, Features, Issue 3 (May/June 2016), Volume 24.

UPDATE March 30, 2025- I have used strike-through to identify my earlier errors. The birth date that I initially had of 1782 for Rev. William's son was the result of a typo. I have recently found compelling evidence that was born in 1792-1793. The implications of this will find its way into a later post.

It had long been assumed that Elizabeth was the mother of both of Rev. William’s children. This had led me (and others) to be looking in the wrong decade for a record of her marriage. This was because when Elizabeth had written to the French Government in 1802, as part of her repeated pleas for assistance, she had included the ages of her children. ~~Given that, her son William would have been born about 1782, a decade before her 1792 marriage, a marriage in 1792 would not have made sense. Until it did.~~

As a result of this marriage cert, I now see her in a new light, starting on day one of her marriage as a stepmother. The content of these two letters reveal that she approached the care and protection of her stepson with as much tenacity and heart as any biological mother might have done.

Another aspect of Elizabeth’s life that this marriage cert reveals is that she and Rev. William Francis JACKSON had only been married for a couple of years when he was arrested. Added to this, there is another seemingly out-of-place wrinkle: a record from a mere three months after his death, that Elizabeth had given birth to a daughter: Louisa Mary, dau of Reverend William & Eliza Jackson of Dublin chr 27 Jul 1795 St Nicholas, Fyfield, Essex. But was she Rev. William’s daughter? After all, he was in jail during the likely time-frame of pregnancy, assuming a nine month gestation and a christening happening (as was the custom) not long after a birth.

There was probably the opportunity for conjugal visits at the Kilmainham jail. After all, security for people like Rev. William – political prisoners of his social standing - was often quite relaxed. William Drennan, in a letter to his sister Martha McTier, described Kilmainham jail as a much more roomy place [than Newgate jail] and where he [Archibald Hamiton Rowan] might in some time come to such good understanding with the goaler as to ride out as Reynolds [Dr. James Reynolds] did when he chose. At one time, although Rev. William ended up with accidental access to the keys to his cell, he chose not to escape. It troubled him that his jailer would have worn the blame, and hence the subsequent consequences.

NOTE:Between 1776 and 1819, William Drennan, a doctor in Newry and Dublin, and his sister Martha McTier in Belfast, exchanged over 1,400 letters, discussing every aspect of their lives. William campaigned for political reform and Roman Catholic emancipation. He was a founder of the United Irishmen, and was tried for sedition in 1794. Martha shared his political convictions and their letters provide a first-hand account of the events which led up to the 1798 Rebellion, and its aftermath. Their letters are an amazing source of information about a number of key players.

It seems that for the first six months of his incarceration, Rev. William had limited freedoms while in jail, but perhaps these restrictions were eased.

Friday, 7th November. 1794.

Mr. Jackson.—My Lords, I have been six months confined in a single room. If I might be permitted occasionally, and that very seldom indeed, with the keeper of the prison, to walk in the yard early in the morning, I would be glad of it.

Lord Clonmel, Chief-Justice.—The court cannot meddle with that. If you complain of oppression, we will interfere.

The Lives and Trials of Archibald Hamilton Rowan, the Rev. William Jackson, the Defenders William Orr, Peter Finnerty.. Thomas MacNevin Esq. Dublin. 1846 p.199.

Drennan hints at a second angle to the question of the paternity of William jr: Mr. Tighe:

Oct 14, 1794. William Drennan [Dublin] to Martha McTier (Belfast]

Curran went over to Holyhead, not to hire out a service, but merely for his health, and I have not seen him since his return. I dined a second time with him in his library, with a party as curious as the first. Dr. Burke, himself, myself, and Miss Jackson, wife to the Reverend. Jackson now guarded night and day by two sentinels in the very center of Newgate. She is a very comely, clever, tonish woman, said to be kept by Mr. Tigue, but Curran took up almost the whole conversation, with wit, like his meat, not rare but rather overdone. Never did this Marmozet of Genius show so many antic tricks, or so much bad mimicry, while the fair dame, who I believe had studied human nature as much as her entertainer, was forced to cry it out at intervals – Well - Mr. Curran, you are so vastly entertaining, though by the bye, I'm sure she did like him as little as it turned out, after she had gone away, that he liked her. Indeed, I do not think ever two figures of the same kind of beings were ever so astonishingly contrasted in form, face, and manners. If you ever saw this beautiful print of the Nightmare, you might see something like the contrast. The Drennan McTier Letters. Vol 2 1794-1801. ed Jean Agnew, 1999. Irish Manuscripts Commission, p 102

Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare, 1790-91 (Since a picture is worth 1,000 words)

It was John Philpott Curran, the lawyer representing Rev. William in his trial for treason who was skewered in William Drennan’s description. No wonder Elizabeth may have felt the need to pander to him, but it seems that she did so with an artful touch: the fair dame, who I believe had studied human nature as much as her entertainer. This letter also offers the only description I have found of how Elizabeth presented in social circles. As: a very comely, clever, tonish woman.

Given that Elizabeth was still fertile in 1795, she would likely have been at least a decade younger than Rev. William. We have no window into the state of their marriage, let alone whether they had any understandings concerning fidelity. All we know is that they got married during the time when he was on a clandestine trip from Paris to London in 1792.

Even though there are other references to Elizabeth having an affair, she continued to remain a key player in Rev. William’s trial and was financially supportive of him. While he passed his days in his jail cell, enjoying his bottles of claret and reflecting on his likely impending death, she was constantly out and about seeking testimony from witnesses and money to fund his trial.

Jackson’s trial comes on sennight, And one who might be supposed to know says he will be found guilty. This is McNally, who tells everything. He says that the poor man is in tolerable spirits after his bottle. In the evening, talks enthusiastically, tells stories of the equanimity with which they meet death. In France - of Charlotte Corday, coming on the scaffold as if she was going to begin an opera dance - of a mother and two daughters from La Vandée being guillotined, when the youngest daughter stepped forward and said that she was first to be introduced (I forget the French term), and of Hébert lifting up his head to tell one of the guards, your turn is coming, and if female and male aristocrats die so, should not I show myself a true man? Jackson. has at least a true woman in one sense, if she be not a faithful wife, for Mac says she has sold the near reversion of £1200 for £300 to fee lawyers and for other expenses

The Drennan McTier Letters. Vol 2 1794-1801. ed Jean Agnew, 1999. Irish Manuscripts Commission, p. 107

Elizabeth’s loss of £900 in the value of what she had to sell amounts to the equivalent loss of about £173,409.19 today. Not an amount to be sniffed at. A second reference to her financial sacrifices may refer to the same loss, or it may be to another property (the described one-tenth of its value would add up to more than a loss of £900):

FRIDAY, 7th November. 1794.

The Court having sat, Mr. JACKSON was put to the bar, and the Sheriff of the city of Dublin was ordered to return his venire, which he did, and the Clerk of the Crown called it over.

Mr. CURRAN.—This trial was appointed for this day. It is more becoming, not to wait to see whether the counsel for the crown will say anything as to putting off the trial, but to state how my client is circumstanced. He has been in goal for many months. He was arraigned last term, when he pleaded, and the court were pleased to appoint this day for his trial. All the interval he has employed in the most deliberate preparations for his defence. Though a native of this country, his life has been spent out of it. He sent his wife to England to attend upon such witnesses as he thought necessary for the trial. She spent part of the summer in England where an agent was employed, and Mr. Jackson himself sent another upon the same business. These circumstances are ready to be proved by affidavit. Mrs. Jackson remained in England some time, and came back to prepare for the necessary attendance. Some property, which was the joint property of both, has been sold for about one-tenth of its value, to defray the expense of bringing over witnesses, who cannot be compelled to attend by any process of this court, and therefore then demands must be complied with

The Lives and Trials of Archibald Hamilton Rowan, the Rev. William Jackson, the Defenders William Orr, Peter Finnerty.. Thomas MacNevin Esq. Dublin. 1846 p.196.

Three affidavits were then sworn ; one by the prisoner, a second by his wife, a third by his agent, setting forth the endeavours which had been used to procure the attendance of witnesses, as stated by Mr. Curran.

The Lives and Trials of Archibald Hamilton Rowan, the Rev. William Jackson, the Defenders William Orr, Peter Finnerty.. Thomas MacNevin Esq. Dublin. 1846 p.199.

The record for this joint property, if found, could lead to another major breakthrough in fleshing out this story, especially if it was part of a marriage jointure, or else if other family members were mentioned.

The longer lasting impact of Rev. William’s trial and death on Elizabeth becomes clear in 1802. This is when she is living in Paris, flat broke. She is feeling abandoned and is pleading with the French government for assistance. Her two letters, written in French, but roughly translated by myself, are both on my website. Unsurprisingly, the paternity of both children is attributed to Rev. William.

(Apologies for the rogue double spacing beneath)

Doctor Jackson, my husband is condemned to death for having served the
French Government very well I pray [saisin = input?] and two
young children are the sole heritage that I have been permitted
to receive from him. Alarmed for their existence – I came
to France, to reclaim the benefits that were given to me
by the French Government, and it is to your Citizen Consul who
I address my humble claims. I continue to hope that
the one who dried up so many of my tears and stopped the
heart of the other of misfortune take pity on the deplorable
fate of a woman once so wealthy and now delivered to all
the bitterness of such a terrible situation. I would have suffered
in silence if I had only my misfortune to bear
but seeing my two children without help and support
is a torment that my heart cannot endure.
I implore your justice and I am solicitating a
place for my son, William Jackson age 13 years
in the Prytanée de Paris where he can learn to cherish
his Benefactor and a pension for sustaining my existence
and for my daughter [age 7 years] The reply which was made in your
name addressed to the Minister of Marine and that Minister
referred me to that of External Affairs but my steps
have all been unsuccessful and I have no more
than a single hope. Allow me Citizen Consul to expose
to your eyes a picture of my situation.
Having consumed my [financial?] means after a stay
of six months in Paris, I have come to a moment when it will be
impossible to exist, and to be able to have my children exist.
I have taught them the names of the heroes of France
and my heart tells me that he will come to the rescue of their unhappy mother
and cast a benevolent eye over her and them.

Hotel of Paris
Rue d la Roi
15 Sept 1802

I am Citizen Consul
With the most profound respect your
very humble and obedient servant,

Eliza Jackson

We must end – for now – with the few crumbs of clues that we have have about Elizabeth JACKSON née BUNTING, but a few stray crumbs might yet lead to finding out more about Rev. William’s first wife, the likely mother of William jr. Such crumbs do not amount to the equivalent of a loaf of bread, but still …

In a 1766, JACKSON’s newspaper The Public Ledger, mentions a Luke NAYLOR as the brother-in-law of Rev William. This Luke NAYLOR was likely the solicitor, born in 1750, who lived at Halfmoon Street Piccadilly in London and who died in 1814. His wife was Anne FARRELL. In 1809, he wrote a will, leaving all to wife Anne, his executor. In his will, he mentions shares of a property in Ongar, in Co. Essex, as well as properties in Jamaica, the East Indies and Ireland. They are in his name and also in the names of William Burham, [one illegible person], William Ffarrell, Mary Ffarrall, Mary Shapcott, and Thomas Whitton. Several other friends are also mentioned, but the only mention of family is that of his wife.

The connection of Elizabeth JACKSON to this Luke NAYLOR becomes even stronger when we look at a map. Laura McKenna notes: It seems that Fyfield, where the Jackson's daughter was baptised in 1795, is only a few miles from both High Ongar and Chipping Ongar. So I think you are right about the Nailor/Naylor connection and that Eliza probably had the child baptised there on that account.

There is one more fact to add to the hunch of this connection. Some of the money spent on Rev. William’s defence, intended to cover witness costs, went to a Mr NAILOR, an English agent. It is likely that he was Luke NAYLOR, the brother-in-law.

Mr. Curran.—A considerable sum of money was paid to defray their expenses, and certain matters of record are to be brought upon a security of £500 for their being returned. Mr. Nailor, an English agent, has them in his possession, and he was expected here by this time. He is a material witness, and his arrival with the others was expected:—they are not yet arrived. There appeared a paragraph in the English newspapers, that this trial was put off to the 21st instant. Mr. Jackson states that his witnesses might be led into error by this publication, which was made without any connivance, or privity of his. The Lives and Trials of Archibald Hamilton Rowan, the Rev. William Jackson, the Defenders William Orr, Peter Finnerty.. Thomas MacNevin Esq. Dublin. 1846 p 197.

Mr. Jackson.—My Lords, the impression I would wish to leave on this court is, that notwithstanding four months might appear sufficient for preparation, yet with the utmost exertion, I have not been prepared. Ten days after my trial was postponed, I put matters in arrangement; every exertion was used to bring over the witnesses and documents ; notices were served upon certain persons in England to produce certain documents, or correspondences relative to my conduct :—These have not been brought over, and the agent in England has been so grossly imposed upon, from the idea that the trial was put off, that he wrote to my wife that he would not come over, until he heard from me. Why this paragraph was put into the papers in England, and copied into the papers in this town, I cannot say. I never felt a greater disappointment in my life than in not being tried this day. The Lives and Trials of Archibald Hamilton Rowan, the Rev. William Jackson, the Defenders William Orr, Peter Finnerty.. Thomas MacNevin Esq. Dublin. 1846 p 198

The phrase the devil is in the details (attributed to Nietzsche) probably originates from the earlier phrase God is in the details, meaning that whatever one does, do it thoroughly. So, stay tuned. Perhaps this post will spark further discussion and insight. Perhaps the story might even get turned into a novel - another and sometimes higher kind of truth. For now, I am keeping my sights on Mr. Tighe. He and Elizabeth may have been living at Stephens Green. He also appears in one last bit of nearly contemporary history, but once again his forename was not included.

Jackson's funeral was well attended by numbers of the United Irishmen. Barrington says, " he had a splendid funeral, and, to the astonishment of Dublin, it was attended by several members of parliament, and barristers ! A Mr. Tighe, Counsellor Richard Guiness, (Sir Jonah might have added the two Sheareses, also members of the profession), were amongst them." It is unnecessary to remark, that Barrington was too consistent a patriot to be of the number of those who, as was said in the House of Commons,[ Debates of the Irish House of Commons, June, 1795] " paid the honours of treason" to the unfortunate Jackson.

He is buried in the churchyard of St. Michan's, where also are interred the remains of Oliver Bond, and of Henry and John Sheares.

The Lives and Trials of Archibald Hamilton Rowan, the Rev. William Jackson, the Defenders William Orr, Peter Finnerty.. Thomas MacNevin Esq. Dublin. 1846 p 185

NOTE: MacNevin's source for this was Personal sketches of his own time. Joseph Barrington 1827

LATE BREAKING NEWS.

Thanks to a recent email from Laura McKenna, we now know that in 1827 Elizabeth Jackson and her son were both living in Livorno, a port on the western shores of Italy. This reference (Laura thanks the work of Dr. Jennifer Orr for this source) was contained in a letter from Amelia Curran to David Baillie Warden (ex-United Irishman, American consul in Paris and a man with an incredible political and cultural correspondence):. I suppose you hear from the Jacksons sometimes. I went to Livorno to pay a visit two years since to Mrs Jackson. She seemed ill and was afterwards I understand much worse, her son was here but I did not meet him as he was married or almost as bad – alas. Where was her daughter? Was she still living? Living elsewhere? Married? More to learn.

UPDATE from Jan Waugh: March 29, 2025: This is from an earlier generation, but is worth putting a pin in: George Jackson (b 1692) from the London branch of Bristol Jackson's was living at Livorno (called Leghorn by the English). He married an Italian (Mary Giovanna Riminaldi) and was King's consul at Genoa. He is buried, with the Eagle/Hawk arms carved into the stone at the English cemetery.

UPDATE SEE ALSO:

George JACKSON (1692-1763) of Livorno.
Also photos on Flickr from the "Old Protestant" Livorno cemetery.
Autograph letter signed : Livorno, Italy, to E. Jackson, [no year] July 26
Earliest view of the (newly walled) Old English Cemetery of Livorno

In a subsequent email, Laura added a bit more information: Amelia Curran was an artist who painted Percy and Mary Shelley, and [she was] the daughter of John Philpot Curran, one of Jackson's defence lawyers in 1795. This strengthens the likelihood of their connection, but also reveals Elizabeth's continued connection with the diaspora of those connected decades earlier to The United Irishmen.

The fact that Elizabeth and her son were in Italy was referred to in my 2019 blog post, Rev. William Jackson & his Gore ancestry: Rev. William Jackson’s only son. also named William (last sighted in Rome in 1739, age 49).

That reference (which I hadn’t cited) came from The United Irishmen: Their Lives and Times. Richard Robert Madden, The Shamrock edition, Newly Edited With Notes, Bibliography And Index By Vincent Fleming O’Reilly, The Catholic Publication Society 1916. p 188. What became of the widow of Jackson I have never been able to learn, but in 1839 Dr. M’Neven informed me that there was a son of his then residing in Rome, NOTE: Richard Robert Madden was born in 1798, and his book was originally published in 1857, so he was not a contemporary witness. It is likely that Elizabeth was no longer alive when he was doing his research. Also, since he was known for a certain laxity in citing sources, and destroyed some of his research documents, it is always reassuring to find additional confirmation of his claims.

As always, with research like this, it takes a village. In this case, it is mostly a village of women.

For my earlier related posts, see: