Tuesday 17 August 2010

Cantwell memorials: Rossdroit, County Wexford


We are slowly moving eastwards. Rossdroit is closer to Enniscorthy than New Ross, about 4 miles west-south-west on what is now the N30 (here's the map again).
Here's what they had to say about it in 1837 (From "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland" (1837) by Samuel Lewis).
Here's a picture of St Peter's church at Rossdroit.

This gravestone is a bit of an oddity. The first line claims that the stone was erected by a "Mrs Oconnor" but there are no other O'Connors named on it. Dranagh is close to Courtnacuddy.

We have another two emigrants to the US although the details are sketchy.

As usual, the text is per the Cantwell
transcription, and America is noted to be spelt with a lower case a.

Headstone flat on the ground

Erected by Mrs Oconnor of Dranagh
This monument was erectd by James Fitzhenery of Courtnacuddy in mmry
of his wife Elizabeth Fitzhenery
alias Cloney who depd July the 18
1814 aged 53 yrs
Bridget Fitzhenry died June the
21st 1868 aged 38 yrs also Margret Fitzhenry died in america aged
48 yrs also Michael Fitzhenry
died in america aged 50 yrs

If we presume that this is a family group, then there must have been a mistake with the date transcription for either Elizabeth's death or Bridget's birth, as Bridget is born in 1830, 16 years after Elizabeth died.

Elizabeth's death date may have been 1844 (we've seen problems with the slanted line of the 4 being obliterated before), giving Elizabeth a birth date 1791, and making her aged 38 when she gave birth to Bridget.

I haven't found definite matches for Margret and Michael in the US yet

There are two Fitzhenrys mentioned living in Courtnacuddy in Griffiths' Valuations:

John G. Fitzhenry who rented 31 acres of land from Lord Carew.
William Fitzhenry who rented 42 acres of land (including house, offices and a corn mill) from Lawrence W. Corcoran.

William Fitzhenry is named as the father of another Bridget Fitzhenry who married a Patrick Condon (son of Dennis Condon) at Cortnacuddy on 21 January 1864.

It is probable that James, John G. and William were all of the same generation.


Why not subscribe to this blog and get the updates sent to your inbox? Or send us an email about your Fitz(-)henry family links.

No comments:

Post a Comment