Temporary suspension of new website

Dear All
Due to a hitch in the system, I've taken the database off air temporarily until it's fixed.
Thanks to all those who applied for an account and are already sending in their corrections!

Jo

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.

New look website!

After several weeks of playing about with some new software, the new look FitzhenryDNA website is now up and running.

What's new?
The home page is still the same at present, but just below the page heading is a link to the new Fitz(-)henry database.

The database is the new bit.

Do tell us, why is this a good thing Jo?

• With over 4200 people on it (ok... there's bound to be a few duplicates), this was too big a number to write individual pages for, and I was painfully aware that there was information that people were sending me that just wasn't being shared...
  
  
• Using the The Next Generation software, everytime I update someone (or a family) in my master Family Historian database, I can do the same on the website.
  
  
• And you can suggest updates, corrections, stories, photos - in fact anything to be added to a family or individual person. Each person's page on the database has a "Suggest" tab above that person's details. You type in your suggestions, and it automatically comes to my inbox!
  
  
• There's a way of searching all the variants of a surname at one go, but I haven't get this bit running yet, so Fitz(-)henry is there in all its glorious variations...

What are the limitations?

• There's no details for anyone born after 1910 - not even an acknowledgement that they exist! I may review this cut off date if it looks like it's too prohibitive, but I thought it better to have too much privacy rather than Google finding and making personal information available.
  
  
• The casual browser (username: user, password: password) can only see the birth, marriage and death information. If you want some more flesh on the bones, you have to sign up for a user account - click here to apply for one (in the left hand column).

• It's going to need all the photos transferring and linking separately, and a fair bit of tweaking with the layout to make it look lovely.
  
  
• At present if I haven't entered a definite death date for someone in the database, the website still thinks the person is alive - I'm going to have to go through and sort that out too...
  

I'm going to leave all of the existing pages on the website for the time being, until I know that all of the information is transferred.
The DNA study part of the website will be updated in due course.

Hope you like it - let me know what you think.

And lastly, a big plug for Darrin and his "The Next Generation" software - the amount of personal support I've had from this man over the past few weeks has been amazing. Unreservedly recommended for anyone who wants to put their genealogy database on the web.

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.

Fitzhenry...Fitzharris?

Ann Furtado has sent me oodles of stuff which she has gleaned over the decades in her search for her Wexford Fitzhenry ancestors and for which I am very grateful.

She has also reminded me that I should really be looking into some of the Fitzharris lines as the surnames Fitzhenry and Fitzharris were often used interchangeably. Some previous correspondents have also raised this issue.

So if any Fitzharrises out there have an inkling that they might once have been a Fitzhenry... then drop us a line. This means that the Fitz(-)henry one name study eventually may have to be enlarged to include the Fitzharris surname but for now I would rather keep them separate, as just doing Fitzhenry is enough to fill all my time at present!

If there is a Fitzharris family history society or one-name study that I haven't found, please get in touch and hopefully we can collaborate.

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.

The Chelsea Pensioner records - Daniel Fitzhenry

The third of this series is about Daniel Fitzhenry, a lad from Liverpool, Lancashire. Daniel enlisted in the Kings Royal Rifles in 1894 aged 19, having already served in the local militia.
His next of kin were his father Edward Fitzhenry and brothers Edward and James, all of No. 3 court 5 House, Bolton Street Liverpool.

Daniel seems to have had a more chequered military career than our other two Fitzhenrys. He was docked one to two weeks pay for various misdemeanors on an intermittent basis, and then in 1898 was convicted at a Court Martial of desertion, fined 84 days pay and had all his previous service discounted.
This Court Martial appears to have taken place when he was stationed in South Africa.

More about Daniel:
Daniel was the son of Edward Fitzhenry, a coppersmith and Eleanor Behan.
Edward was born in Liverpool of Irish parentage and Eleanor were from Ireland.
Daniel was born in 1874 in Liverpool and his siblings were John Richard (1868), James (1872) and Matthew (1876).
Eleanor died in 1881 and in 1884 Edward married again to Delia O'Keeffe.
Daniel was a carter before he joined the army and when he left it, he went north to Scotland. The 1901 census finds him in Glasgow, married to Mary, a native of that city.

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.

Random other stuff - the Battle for Quebec

If you have access to the fantastic BBC iPlayer, you may want to spend a pleasant hour watching a new documentary about the Seven Years War, and in particular the British - French conflict in "Nouvelle France" which led to the British capture of Quebec in 1759.

It's not a conflict that I had any real knowledge of, but the British victory and subsequent takeover of that part of Canada meant that British people were needed to populate it - hence the Irish resettlement programme which led to some of our Fitzhenry families finding their way there.

Here's the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00rl8xq/Battle_for_North_America/

It should work until next Monday.

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.

The Chelsea Pensioner records - Charles Fitzhenry

Document two of this three part series relates to Charles Fitz-Henry.

Charles was born in St Pancras Middlesex (the north London part of Middlesex). He enlisted for the Royal Inniskilling Fusilliers in Armagh (Northern Ireland) in February 1883 aged 19.
He was a gasfitter when he enlisted for a period of "seven years before the colours".
Charles was 5 foot 5 and a half inches tall and auburn haired. He was Church of England.

By 1885 he had been promoted to the rank of drummer, in June 1896 to Lt Corporal and finally in February 1898 to Corporal. In January 1890, having served exactly seven years in the regular army he was discharged into the Army reserve, where he served from another five years. During the time in the regular army he had two periods of Home Service, and served in the Strait Settlement 1884-85 (what is now Singapore, Malaysia and Borneo) and in South Africa from 1885-1889.
His habits were temperate and his conduct was good, according to his commanding officers.
His next of kin was his father John Thomas Fitz-Henry of 2 Wilson Street Grays Inn Road

More about about Charles:
Charles was the son of John Thomas Fitz-Henry and Sarah Fenner. He and his two older siblings were all baptised on 17 January 1864 at St Bartholomew's church, Grays Inn Road. In what appears to be a mild rebuke by the curate, the dates of birth for each of the children were given in the margin on the register (November 1853 for Emily Fitz-Henry, March 1856 for John William Fitz-Henry and January 1862 for Charles Fitz-Henry.)

Charles married Harriett Rebecca Streete in 1891 (after his discharge from the regular army) and they had daughters Annie in 1892 and Emily in 1896 and sons Charles John in 1903 and Dennis in 1913. In the 1891 census, his occupation was "Government viewer of small arms" so even after he left the army, he continued to have an interest in military matters.

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.

The Chelsea Pensioner records - Caleb Robert Fitzhenry

The documents from the War Office series 97 have just been digitised on Findmypast. They relate to men pensioned out of the British Army. They did not have to be resident at the Chelsea Hospital to qualify for a pension - most were "out-pensioners".

There are three Fitzhenrys in this series (so far - not all the series is digitised yet). Here's the first one from a family that I don't think we have featured so far.

Caleb Robert Fitzhenry was a native of Killyward, County Donegal. He signed up for the Royal Irish Rifles on the 23rd May 1894 in Dublin at the age of 19 and 11 months. At the time he was a grocer's assistant.

However he only spent 260 days in the Queen's service, buying himself out in February 1895. All the time was spent on "home service", first in Newry and then in England in Chichester and Brighton.. A note underneath the discharge date "Certified that the sum of £12 has been refunded to Mr J L Fitzhenry on account of purchase money of discharge of Pvt C R Fitzhenry" Belfast 12.11.1900

His next of kin was named as his father Robert Fitzhenry of 34 Denny Street, Tralee, County Kerry and it listed his brothers as William, Samuel, John and Walter.

His medical record was unremarkable - he had one hospitalisation for blisters on his foot caused by his boots. At the time of discharge, his officers noted that his "Habits were regular, and his conduct was good"

So why did Caleb qualify for a pension (short service, no active duty, no chronic illness or disability), and why did his family get his discharge purchase money refunded 5 years after he left the army? More importantly, what had happened to Caleb that he couldn't receive it himself?

Other information that may relate to Caleb.
In the 1880 Donegal Town Street directory, a Robert Fitzhenry is listed under the merchants and traders section as variously a hide and leather merchant, a boot and shoe merchant, a woollen draper and a haberdasher. Perhaps this is Caleb's father before the family moved to Tralee.

In the International Genealogical Index (IGI) there is the birth of
Foster Caleb Fitzhenry
born 24 May 1874 in Donegal, Ireland
to Robert Fitzhenry and Catherine Laird
Batch number C701559, Year 1874, Source call number 0255901)
If this is our man (an it seems highly likely despite the extra name Foster), then he enlisted the day before his twentieth birthday.

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.

The Fitzhenrys of St Paul's parish, Ontario.

From the book
The story of St. Paul's Parish, Toronto. Commemorating the centenary of the first parish church in the Archdiocese of Toronto (1922)
By the Reverend Edward Kelly (1875-1937)

This is a photo of Father Thomas W. Fitzhenry who was priest to the parish of St Pauls from 1852-58. At this time he would have been 33-39 years old - this photo looks like it was taken much later in in this man's life.

In 1851 Father Fitzhenry was responsible for founding a school in St Pauls which was actually held in the church building itself. In 1853, he had a three roomed school built in the parish.


This rather beautiful young woman is "Miss J M Fitzhenry" of the League of the Sacred Heart" (page 263). Julia Mary Fitzhenry was born in 1869, and by the time the book was published in 1922 had already "gone to her reward".

At the end of the book is a subscription list for the erection of the new church building in 1887. Miss Fitzhenry and Miss Gorman were collecting in Mill Street. This may be a coincidence, but a Mrs Gorman (widow) and her two teenage daughters were part of Father Thomas' and William Fitzhenry's household in the 1861 census.
Mrs Fitzhenry (the widowed Mary Fitzhenry nee Riordan) lived on Front Street and had contributed $18.



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.

More about the Toronto Fitzhenry family

After I posted about the family of William Thomas Fitzhenry the distiller and Mary Riodan of Toronto, Bill Fitzhenry got in touch.

He is a direct descendant of Thomas and Mary (their great-grandson). We have found the following additional information.
In the 1861 census, in River Street (west side) in the district of St David, Toronto.
Thomas Fitzhenry, aged 40, single, a clergyman.
He was a Catholic, born in Ireland, as were all the rest of the household.
William Fitzhenry aged 21, single, a distiller.
It doesn't give the relationship between Thomas and William.

The other members of the household were a male servant, a widowed female housekeeper and two teenage girls who were at school (presumably daughters of the housekeeper).
They all lived in a two story frame house and had 1 horse, 9 cows and 34 pigs.
The nature of business was described as distilling, and $1200 was invested in the York Street distillery in St Edmunds ward at a return of $400 per annum.
(I wish all censuses had such an interesting array of household information!)

We found mention of both the Reverend Thomas Fitzhenry, and the family of William and Mary in the book
The Story of St. Paul's parish, Toronto : commemorating the centenary of the first parish church in the archdiocese of Toronto (1922)
Rev. Edward Kelly

In the spring of 1852 the Reverend Thomas Fitzhenry came
to St. Paul s, and was in charge for over six years. During his
term of office much was done for the betterment of the parish.
This priest was an ardent apostle of temperance and was
known as the Father Mathew of Canada. In December, 1854
a new organ was installed, and about the same time the first
parish school was built on the corner of Power and Queen
streets.

A charge of a serious nature having been made against a
brother priest, and the Bishop being absent in Europe at that
time, Father Fitzhenry wrote to an older priest in another
diocese for counsel. The charge having been laid before the
Bishop of Hamilton and the Administrator of Toronto diocese,
the Very Reverend J. M. Soulerin, it was found, after a minute
examination of all the evidence, to be a most cruel and ground
less libel. Bishop de Charbonnel on his return wished Father
Fitzhenry to take all the responsibility for the unfortunate
affair, which he strenuously refused to do. He acted in good
faith, he said, and no one was more pleased than he that there
were no grounds for the charges. The outcome was that he
was deprived of his parish.

From Kingston, to which place he went on leaving St. Paul s,
Father Fitzhenry wrote to Bishop de Charbonnel that his de
parture from Toronto might cause temporary opposition to the
Bishop on the part of the congregation of St. Paul s, but he
hoped that they will have that spirit of obedience which they
are bound to render to their First Pastor, and nothing would
give him more pleasure than to hear that they would yield to
his successor the same submission that they had given to him
during his incumbency. Father Fitzhenry considered that
he had been unjustly treated, and in a short time returned
to Toronto, where for some years he dwelt, leading a most
exemplary life. He afterwards went to the diocese of Milwaukee,
where he took up the work of the ministry again.

The Reverend Thomas Fitzhenry was formerly a member of the
Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and was ordained August 29, 1847, and
was for a time assistant at St. Hyacinthe. He came to St. Paul s in
the spring of 1852, remaining in charge until June, 1858.

On the departure of Father Fitzhenry, the people of St.
Paul's received as their pastor the Reverend John Walsh, who
remained but a few months. There was much disorder on the
part of some who resented the dismissal of Father Fitzhenry.

This would explain why, even though he was not actively in charge of a parish, the Rev Fitzhenry was living in Toronto during the 1861 census. Although what this temperate man thought of his relative's distilling business is not recorded!

And there we lost him until I was trawling the excellent Findagrave website last night. I'm sure that I've found the same man buried in the Calvary Cemetery Milwaukee. Here's a picture of his rather splendid monument, and the inscription reads:

Rev Thomas W Fitzhenry
Born County Wexford
Jan 28 1819
Ordained at St Hyacinth Can
Aug 28 1845
Died at Oak Creek
Dec 29 1890

Which neatly gives County Wexford as the origin for this family group.

Link to the full text of The Story of St. Paul's parish, Toronto on the Canadian Libraries section of the Internet Archive.

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.

George Ormond Fitzhenry (1879-1970) - artist

This landscape done in pastels recently came up on eBay. It is the work of George Ormond Fitzhenry who although born in Wisconsin, migrated to California and majored in still life and paintings of the region.

George was born to Robert and Catherine ("Katie") Fitzhenry in Wisconsin, the oldest of three children. The 1880 US census shows Robert and Katie running a fruit and confectionery shop in Fond Du Lac along with Robert's brother Thomas. Robert and Thomas gave their birthplace as New York, the sons of Irish immigrants. Katie was born in Wisconsin.
George's brothers were Winfred (born 1883) and Leo (born 1885).
Robert died sometime between the 1880 US census and the 1895 Wisconsin state census.

George was married to Mary, a German woman who immigrated with her parents in early childhood. They moved to Los Angeles in 1921 and lived in this region for the rest of their lives.

As yet I haven't found any record for Robert and Thomas before the 1880 US census, but logic says that they should be there with their Irish parents in the 1870 US census - if anyone has found them please let me know.

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.

Marriage Announcement Melbourne Sept 1865

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.


An entry of interest to Fitzhenry researchers was located in the Australian paper the Melbourne 'Argus' dated 7th September 1865.

MARRIAGES
On the 6th instance, at St John's Melbourne, by the Reverend John Barlow, William Fitzhenry, son of John Fitzhenry Esq., Oulartwick, County Wexford, Ireland, to Louisa daughter of J.Coward Esq., Moro, Wiltshire England. No cards. Home papers please copy.

An Australian Literary Legacy - William E Fitzhenry

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.


As some of you may know, my Fitzhenry line had strong conections to both the printing-and in later years-journalism industries. Consequently, when I come across any Fitzhenry with similar links, I am immediately curious (well, if I'm truely honest, hopeful!). Thus it was with great interest that I came across a passing reference to W.E.Fitzhenry a writer who had been printed in the iconic Australian journal 'The Bulletin'. Unable to locate much online, I decided to take advantage of my recent short trip to the nation'a capitol, Canberra, to see what was available at the National Library. Despite being buoyed with the promise of a book of biographical information, the thin 'volume' I actually received was made up of just two small newspaper cuttings - so admit to some disappointment. However, I did have enough to discover where he fits into the "World of Fitzhenry".

William Ernest Fitzhenry was born in 1902 in Waterloo, a suburb of Sydney to Alfred Ernest Fitzhenry and Florence Marion Graham. He was the second of four boys the others being Edward, Walter, and Francis all four born between 1901 and 1904.
Although I can find many references to letters both to and from William to various authors and members of the literary and public spheres, I was unable to locate anything more illuminating than the obituary written by his friend and collegue J.E. Webb, published some 7 days after the sudden passing of William or Bill as he was known.


Source: The Bulletin 13 February 1957

W.E.Fitzhenry

"Bill Fitz Henry is dead!" Towards the end of last week this thought was in the minds of hundreds, thousands of writers and artists: and to one and all, from Dame Mary Gilmore in years his oldest friend, to the latest recruit to the black-and white brotherhood, it brought grateful memories of good companionship, steady encouragement and help where help was needed, and a sense of personal loss.
No Australian has ever had a larger body of literary acquaintances, and when success came the way of novelist or poet Fitz Henry rejoiced in his quiet fashion. But to those who were struggling he was always the guide, philosopher and friend.
"Bill" to publishers, librarians and the like, as well as to the host of Bulletin contributors, Fitz Henry was always "Willie" to old-stagers on the staff. They saw in him a certain boyishness which he retained to the end, though it was never of the boisterous kind.
My own acquaintance with him began in 1920, when Willie, already three years on the paper, was approaching manhood. Short of stature and sparing of words, he gazed critically at the newcomer, who had unwisely been introduced as the Wild man from the West, obviously telling himself that if the mild-looking specimen facing him was the best the West could do in the way of wild men it must be over-rated. But once he was convinced that the stranger wouldn't let the Bulletin down, Willie thawed, and we became the best of friends.
In the line of office duty, Fitz Henry was the secretary to three Bulletin editors, and no editor ever had a better one. He could be trusted to do anything that came within the compass of his job, from conciliating a caller who had to be turned away, perhaps because the paper was going to press, to looking up a needed reference, however difficult the task - a knack placed at the service not only of the chief and his associates, but of countless contributors, no matter how remote or obscure. And he had an astonishing memory, particularly for racy events in the lives of those who have figured in the Australian literature of his time. Recognition of this fact led to his being granted a Commonwealth fellowship so that the unequalled lore he had accumulated might be preserved in a book. He was not destined to see it published.
Like all healthy-minded men who have led full lives, Fitz Henry was not given to harbouring vain regrets or musing on the manner of his passing. He died at his desk, in the office which, from boy to man, he had served for forty years; and that is how he would have wished to die."


Bill Fitz Henry had married in 1924, Sylvia May Goodwin. He was the father to three children Shirley, Mark and Owen, though sadly Mark predeceased his father in 1945. Bill's death notice whilst mentioning his children, did not refer to Sylvia. He was buried at the Church of England Cemetery French's Forest, and so appears to have been Protestant.
In an article in The Canberra Times dated 7 April 1983 The National Library of Australia announced the acquisition of "a number of papers by a former Bulletin writer and author, the late W.E.(Bill) Fitz Henry. The papers include an uncompleted history of the Bulletin 1800-1900, and the four volumes of "The Gentle Bohemian" and other essays." Although the library had attempted to acquire these papers in 1957 they were unavailable until 1983.

But for the historically minded (and isn't that all of us??) just where does Bill fit into the FitzHenry world-wide jigsaw?? Well once again the trail runs directly back to our London based couple, Michael and Anastasia Fitzhenry. As we know from previous posts their son Patrick migrated to NSW, where he married Sarah Phillips. This couple had a large family, and it was their youngest son, Alfred Ernest, who was Bill's father.

So once again, a Fitz Henry descendant has achieved a level of success and influence that his antecedents would no doubt be proud of.

The death register of St John The Evangelist Westminster

Lesley had noted a cluster of Fitzhenry deaths in the register of the church of St John the Evangelist, Westminster in the 1820s and 1830s. This is one of the London parishes that has now been digitised by Ancestry from the collections held by the London Metropolitan Archives.

Here are the deaths - all children:
20th April 1825 - An infant of Annastatia Fitzhenry - abode Pye Street. No ceremony performed.

25th March 1833 - William Fitzhenry N. aged 11 months - abode 15 Chapter Street., ceremony performed by J Hughes, curate.

3rd July 1834 - James Fitzhenry H.D. aged 4 months - abode 15 Chapter Street - ceremony performed by J Hughes, curate.

17th November 1834 - Michael Fitzhenry H.D. aged 7 years - abode 15 Chapter Street, ceremony by John Jennings, Rector.

27th June 1836 - Mary Fitzhenry H.D. aged 8 months - abode 15 Chapter Street, ceremony performed by J Hughes, curate.

We think these are all children of Michael Fitzhenry and Anastasia Welch.
Here's our working (as they say on the exam papers...)

We have baptism records for Michael Fitzhenry (born 17 Feb 1828) and James Fitzhenry (born 2 March 1834) which match the age at death for these two children.

Mary would have been born in November 1835 - we have a Margaret Fitzhenry born 29 October 1835. Perhaps a clerical error, especially as Michael and Anastasia had a daughter Mary Ann born 1830 who was still very much alive at the 1841 census.

We haven't got a birth/baptism recorded for William, but his birth would have been around April 1832. This fits nicely between Mary Ann born 3 October 1830 and James born in March 1834.

So that accounts for all the children who lived at 15 Chapter Street and who were not mentioned in the 1841 census when the family were living at Silver Street in the parish of St George Bloomsbury.

But what of the "infant of Annastatia Fitzhenry" of Pye Street buried April 1825?
This is a tricky one as Michael and Anastasia weren't married until November 1825 and the first child that we had a baptism record for was Patrick born April 1826. This implies that Anastasia was already 3 months pregnant with Patrick when she and Michael were married at St Mary's Lambeth, the parish in which her sister Ann Sullivan (nee Welch) lived.

Me and Lesley have batted this one about and come up with a couple of theories.
1. Michael and Anastasia were married in Ireland in a Roman Catholic ceremony. When they came to England, they may have found that their Catholic marriage was not considered legal. Anastasia had a stillborn child and gave the Church of England priest of St John the Evangelist her "married" name for the child's burial. As they had already said to this parish that they were married, they had to chose another parish for banns and marriage, so chose her sister's parish to have the Church of England ceremony to make their marriage legal in English law.

2. Michael and Anastasia were betrothed, Anastasia fell pregnant and they planned to get married to make everything legitimate. Apparently getting pregnant out of wedlock was no great shame as long as you were married before the baby arrived. Perhaps something prevented them getting married when they planned, perhaps the baby was premature. But anyway, Anastasia had to bury her stillborn child and as they were living in the parish of St John the Evangelist, she gave a "married" name to ensure that her baby would not be entered as "baseborn" in the burial register. A few months later she found herself pregnant again, but could not risk having the marriage ceremony in the parish of St John as the parish priest had been told that she was already married. Hence they married at St Mary's Lambeth.

The addresses - Pye Street and Chapter Street - still exist in Westminster today. With the family living there, this would explain why subsequent baptisms of the Fitzhenry children were held at the Catholic chapel of St Mary's Westminster.

As for the notations "N" and "H.D." after the children's names in the register, I have no idea what they mean. They do not seem to follow a set pattern with other entries in the register. A third notation was "D". Very few had no notation at all. If anyone know what these abbreviations signified, I'd be very grateful to know.

Source Citation: London Metropolitan Archives, Saint John The Evangelist: Smith Square, Westminster, Transcript of Burials, 1825 Jan-1825 Dec, DL/t Item, 091/039

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.

A trip to Brynmawr

This weekend I paid a return visit to Brynmawr in Blaenau Gwent, Wales to again try to find the last resting place of Dr George Fitzhenry, the suspected bigamist.
Here's what I've previously written about him and here's the previous trip to Brynmawr.

The local council were able to confirm that he was buried in the Brynmawr municipal cemetery (opened 1853) and that he shared his resting place with three women:
Jane Thomas
Elizabeth Barnes
Hannah Besant

Janes was his widow. Thomas was both her maiden name, and a suspected second married name (there are a lot of Thomases in this part of Wales). So no surprise to see her in there.
But the two other women were completely new to me.

Saturday was cold and sleety. I've put some pictures of the cemetery and the last of the recent snow still on the hilltops in my Picassa webalbum. The cemetery doesn't have any section markers, but with the sterling help of Ann and Margaret at the Brynmawr Local History Museum (where I took refuge when it became too cold and wet to stay out in the open any longer) and their friend John who came back to the cemetery to help in the quest, we found the grave.

Jane had obviously decided that her husband should have something good but not too showy. It's more of a monument than a gravestone made of grey/black marble and with an iron railing around it. It was a bit overgrown as the railing prevented the lawnmower from getting to close. Here's where we finally found it on Google maps

The inscription on one side read:

In loving memory of
GEORGE FITZHENRY
physician and surgeon
of Brynmawr
who died October 23 1893
aged 72 years

... and on the other

Also of
JANE wife of the aforesaid
GEORGE FITZHENRY
Died Nov 29th 1901
She feared God and kept his commandments

and this was on the top of the stone at one end:

Also of
HANNAH BESANT
Died March 10th 1956
aged 80 years

So still no clue to who Hannah Besant was, and no inscription for Elizabeth Barnes. I've asked the council if they have any more information about these women.

So it hasn't really enlightened me any further about George and Jane. George's age was given as 72 on the grave, whereas it was more like 80 years. Jane would have been about 71 years old.

I've found the entry for Hannah Besant's death in the GRO indexes. This was registered in the first quarter of 1956 in the district of Bedwellty and the given age was 80. (Bedwellty, vol 8c, page 82).
There are numerous Elizabeth Barnes who died in Wales, but there is one who died in Bedwellty in 1954 aged 83 (Bedwellty 3rd quarter vol 8c, page 52).



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.

Damien Fitzhenry retires!

Damien Fitzhenry was one of the leading lights of the Irish hurling scene. He retired from the sport last week at the ripe old age of 35. Here's our tribute to another great Fitzhenry.... shamelessly gleaned from all the other tribute articles in the Irish press.

Damien Fitzhenry was born in Enniscorthy, County Wexford in 1974, the youngest of 15 children.
Back in 1991, this article showed the multi-talented sporting Fitzhenrys making up half the Duffry Rovers gaelic football team, with three of Damien's sisters featuring in the Duffry camogie team.
Here is his entry on Wikipedia detailing his hurling exploits for Wexford.
And here's a You-tube clip with an interview with our man and there are many more clips on You-tube showing just how fast and furious hurling can be!


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.

Benjamin Fitzhenry 1848 -1925 A Life Of Loss Remembered -

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.


When first embarking on the investigation of one's family history, there is usually one, maybe two, family stories that engage one's curiosity. For me, my grandmother's history always intrigued me. To begin with, she was English, and as such, was the only immigrant family member I knew. Secondly, she had a fascinating name - Fitzhenry. I had never heard anyone else with this name and it had - and still does - have an intimation of solidity and the slightly exotic. This image was further ensconced in my little 10 year old brain when the details of her families move to Australia were hinted at. Lilian and her two older brothers Charles and Herbert Fitzhenry travelled to Australia in 1897 with their mother Isabella Matilda Fitzhenry (nee Worms) on board the ship Orient. As a child this story was accepted without comment. However, as I grew older I wondered about my grandmother's father - what was his name, what did he do, why didn't he come to Australia with his family? It transpired that Grandma's father was indeed alive at the time the family emigrated, and yet no-one spoke of him. Why? and what happened to him? A mystery. Thus started my search for my great grandfather, Benjamin Fitzhenry. What I have discovered is a story of love lost, hardship and tragedy.

Benjamin Fitzhenry was born the third son of Michael Fitzhenry, a compositor / printer, and his wife Elizabeth nee Kemp. It was a large family, though not unusually so, made up of 4 daughters and 4 sons, initially living in the area around St George Hanover Square in Westminster, but later moving to Holborn.
All the children were quite literate, due no doubt to both parents being able to pass this on.
Whilst Benjamin and his older brother George both entered their father's occupation as printers, George soon opted for a career in the Army and spent much of his subsequent life travelling throughout England and Ireland. His other brothers William and Harry became a librarian and a commercial traveller respectively. Benjamin though, stuck with printing his entire life.
In nineteenth cenury London, child and even adult mortality rates were high, and it was common for early death to be experienced within most families and the Fitzhenry family was not immune to this. Thus in 1852 when he was only 5 and a half Benjamin's oldest sister Elizabeth, aged 20 died, then when he was 13 his sister Sarah died in childbirth having her first baby. Yet not everything was doom and gloom!
In 1875 at the age of 26 Benjamin married the daughter of a skin dresser from Saffron Hill, Mary Ann Lines. The marriage was apparently happy, and two years later their first child, Helen, was born. This was followed two years later by another daughter - Jane Elizabeth - and another two years later by their first son Ernest Harold.

However Benjamin was soon to experience a double edged tragedy.

Whilst heavily pregnant with her fourth child Mary Ann became ill. Three days after giving birth to her second son, Frederick, Mary Ann died of pleuro pneumonia. Benjamin was faced with the tragedy of losing his wife, in addition to the practical loss of his son Frederick, since he was unable to look after the newborn. His grief along with the practical realities of looking after 3 other children under 5 resulted in the decision to give up the care of his days old son, at least temporarily, to his wife's family, the Lines. The fact that his beloved sister Jane Fitzhenry had cemented the Lines/Fitzhenry connection by marrying Mary Ann's brother Joseph Lines might well have made the decision easier, but was still a terrible choice to have to make for a man who loved his children.
Thus, with the help of his sister Jane and his in laws the Lines, Benjamin struggled on.

At this point, family lore 'kicks in'.

Mary Ann was said to have worked at Novello's the famous nineteenth century music publishing company, along with her friend Isabella Worms. Whilst it is certainly true that Isabella worked (along with several of her sisters) at Novello's, and it is possible that Mary Ann had as well, it is more probable that Mary Ann and Isabel's connection was initiated through their residence as children in the notorious Saffron Hill in the 1850s. Saffron Hill at this time was described as a squalid neighbourhood, the home of paupers and thieves. To give an indication at just how awful the place was, Charles Dickens in his book Oliver Twist described Fagan's den as being on Saffron Hill. Oliver's first impressions was that 'a dirty and more wretched place he had never seen. The street was very muddy and the air was impregnated with filthy odours'.(Charles Dickens Oliver Twist Chapter 8 pg 43).

Anyway, it must have been clear to Mary Ann at some point in late February or early March 1882 that she was dying, and she entreated her friend the slightly built but none-the-less daunting Isabella Worms to 'look after Ben and the children'.

Isabella was the daughter of a Scottish Presbyterian mother, an immigrant to London, and had inherited a no nonsense and rigid outlook on life. At nearly 36 she was older than Benjamin, but this was a woman who liked her spinsterhood, and had no interest in marriage. She apparently spent the next 18 months helping out with Benjamin's young family, but within the 'limits of propriety'. This was Victorian England and for Isabella particularly, propriety meant that she could not - or would not- be left in a house alone with an unmarried man. As the young children grew older, the practicalities of such an arrangement became ... well... challenging. It may well be that Benjamin seeing his youngest child Frederick nearing 2 years of age, felt that marriage would enable him to regain full custody of his youngest from the Lines family. Whatever the reasons, in 1884 Benjamin married Isabella Worms. In the terminology of romance novels, it was not a love match.

After the marriage the family moved to Norwood in Croydon, where despite the inauspicious beginnings three more children were born to Benjamin - two sons, Charles William born early in 1886 and Herbert Arthur born in 1887. After a long break (and at the age of nearly 49 !!) Isabella had her first daughter, my grandmother, Lilian Julia Isabel Fitzhenry, born in May 1895.

Having married into the Worms family, Benjamin would have been keenly aware of the extremely close bond between his wife and her five sisters. They visited each other regularly (some might even say excessively) and when first Elizabeth, and then Julia moved to Australia their close relationship was maintained through regular letters and visits. Isabella and her sister Julia were particularly close. For Benjamin this closeness was to prove life changing. Julia had married a wealthy Australian however, she never had children. With wealth and no family encumbrances she would regularly visit England and her sisters. Isabella, who had made no secret of her distaste for marriage prior to marrying Benjamin apparently was confirmed in this belief after the marriage. She regularly voiced her dissatisfaction to her sisters, and as a consequence Julia and Isabella secretly devised a plan to extricate herself from a marriage she was not happy in. After some months (possibly years) of planning in 1897 Julia paid the passage for Isabella and her 3 children to Melbourne, Australia, leaving Mary Ann's children with Benjamin. At this time Helen, the eldest, would have been 20 and she was working as a bookfolder (no doubt helped by Isabella who had worked in this field herself until her marriage). Initially I had located an entry for a marriage of a Helen Fitzhenry in 1897, and thought this must have been the catalyst for Isabella to leave, however, further investigations indicated that this was a mis-indexing of Ellen Fitzhenry (Jo's ancestor). As at the time of writing, I do not have a definitive answer as to why Isabella chose that time to go. However, the most revealing aspect of her departure relates to Isabella's secrecy regarding her plans. Despite her almost claustrophobic relationship with her sisters, Isabella did not inform them of her decision to leave Benjamin, nor the plan to emigrate to Australia despite the fact that this would mean she would not see them ever again. Informing this decision was the fact that they may well have disapproved and attempted to dissuade her from taking the planned action and secondly, her knowledge that Benjamin would attempt to locate and reclaim her and the children. No doubt his first 'port of call' in the process would be to contact the sisters. With total secrecy she could be assured that Benjamin would not be alerted to the fact of her flight or destination until well after she had left English shores.
I can but wonder at Benjamin's reaction to the realisation that his wife had taken his young children and that he was unlikely to ever see them again. Not a wealthy man, his financial ability to pursue them was non existent, and even if he could muster the means to to follow them he would have known that Julia's means could ensure his family was kept hidden from him indefinitely. Legal options whilst open to him were both expensive and unlikely to result in the children being returned. Having lost the love of his life Mary Ann, and his son Frederick, who at 15 was still living with his former sister in law, Martha Lines, he was now confronted with the loss of his three youngest children.

Yet Benjamin continued on.

By 1901 the family was still living in Camberwell but had moved from Sunnybank to Millais St. In April 1904 his daughter Jane married John Henry Horobin, and Benjamin was there to give his daughter away, along with his brother in law (and his sister Jane's husband) Joseph Lines as witness. The connections to Mary Ann's family clearly remained strong. Yet, Benjamin's trials were not at an end. Less than 4 years later, tragedy struck Benjamin again. His son Ernest had been diagnosed with a brain tumour, and after being admitted to London Hospital, he lapsed into a coma, and died in January 1908. Ernest was only 27, and the informant was his father, the ever stalwart Benjamin. In 1911 his eldest daughter Helen became a mother, and Benjamin, Helen and her baby daughter, also named Helen, all lived together in Kingsdowne Rd. It must have been reassuring for Benjamin to be able to be an active part of his granddaughter's early life, particularly given the many losses he had already experienced.

Benjamin Fitzhenry died in December 1925, unknown to his Australian children. Although they knew his name and various details about him, out of respect for their mother his name was rarely if ever mentioned. Indeed, his name was left off her 1932 Australian death certificate.

Yet despite Isabella's claims that she left Benjamin because of his drinking habits, her sons Charles and Herbert took quiet issue with this. Whilst their mother was generally known as a woman with strong opinions and intolerant of attitudes and behaviours that did not meet her exacting and inflexible standards, the boys remembered their father as a happy and sociable man, who would invite friends to the house and who would have a social drink, but never to excess. The fact that he retained his employment, and - according to one source - received promotions to positions of responsibility, whilst remaining close to his English children and his Lines in laws is quiet testimony to the fact that Benjamin Fitzhenry was a man who despite many trials in life, was able to persevere where others might well have faltered.

Whilst I cannot claim to have an intimate knowledge of this forebear who had died long before I was even born, I would like to think I have uncovered some truths that give an appreciation of his life - a life of loss and tragedy that would test the resilience of even the most optimistic of characters.

Marriage of James Fitz Henry and Mary Morisy in Ballykelly Wexford 1866

Another great marriage certificate find from Bev Kronk as she systematically works her way through the parish registers of Ireland!

1866 – Marriage solemnized at the Roman Catholic Chapel of Ballykelly in the Registrar’s District of Old Ross in the Union of New Ross in the County of Wexford

10th September 1866
James Fitz Henry, 24 years, Bachelor, Labourer, Bally---t (looks like Ballyagot)
Father – Martin Fitz Henry, Labourer
Mary Morrisy, 26 years, Spinster, Labourer, Fisherstown
Father – Miles Morrisy, Farmer
Both placed their mark
Witness [both placed their mark] – Martin Sutton and Bridget Farrell

Marriage performed by Thomas Staples C.C.

Ballykelly is about 8km south of New Ross, and Fishertown is another 5 km south-south-east of Ballykelly. Both places may be found on Google maps. I can't find any place that approximates to the spelling of Ballyagot.

Marriage certificate Ref. 1866 Volume 19 Page 467 New Ross. Film No. 101502.


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.

Peter Fitzhenry of the Royal Army Medical Corps

I've come into possession of a 1914-1918 British War Medal for a Private Peter Fitzhenry 73815, who served in the Royal Army Medical Corps.

Unfortunately, he is one of the many soldiers whose records were burned during the bombing of London during World War 2, so there is no service record to link him to. The Royal Army Medical Corps enlisted men from all through Great Britain and Ireland, so there is no local regimental link suggesting where he lived.

The good thing is that he seems to have made it through the War alive, as he doesn't appear on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.

All I know about this man so far is that he was born before 1901 (in order to be over 18 years of age at the end of the war), and he enlisted somewhere in Great Britain and Ireland.

His medal card shows that he wasn't promoted above the rank of private, that he wasn't mentioned in dispatches, and came out of the War with the "standard" two medals - the Victory Medal and the British War Medal (and not the 1914-14 star, so he enlisted in or after 1916). All in all, you would think, a pretty quiet war.

However, the inscription at the bottom of the medal list "SWB list RAMC/1875" shows that Peter's war was anything but quiet.
SWB stands for Silver War Badge, and was often known as the Silver Wounds Badge. There is a very comprehensive description of the history of the badge here at the excellent "The Long, Long Trail" WW1 family history research site.
In brief, the badge was mainly awarded to soldiers who had been invalided out of the forces after having seen service abroad (there's a list of the other less common reasons). Each badge was numbered to the soldier it was issued to. It was designed to be worn on civilian clothes to indicate to the public that the person had been discharged from the Army, rather than he was someone who was avoiding enlisting.

The SWB lists are held at the National Archives and contain some service details of each soldier who was issued with the badge including the reason for discharge. So the next time I'm there, hopefully I can find out more about Peter.
If anyone is at the archives and fancies doing a look-up for me, the document number is WO329/3237, looking for Peter Fitzhenry SWB RAMC/1875.
And if Peter was your forebear please write to us at the Blog and tell us more about this war hero.

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.

1864 - marriage of Susan Fitzhenry and George Wilson in Arklow, County Wicklow.

Bev Kronk has sent me a scan from a marriage register from Ireland (thanks Bev!).

Registrar's District of Rathdrum
Marriage solomnised at Arklow, in the parish of Arklow, in the County of Wicklow

19th September 1864
George Wilson of full age bachelor
Resident of Ballynok, Donaghmore (not too sure about the placename Ballynok)
Profession: gentleman
Father: Nicholas Wilson, farmer

Susan Fitzhenry of full age spinster
Resident of Arklow
Father: Robert. Ed. Fitzhenry, shopkeeper.

Married by license by Rev Richard Ed. Eaton
Witnesses: Wm. Heath and Wm. Fitzhenry

Looking at the Griffiths' Valuations for Wicklow, there seemed to be an extended family of Wilsons around the Donaghmore area. There are several entries for Nicholas Wilson - they may all be the same man farming several pieces of land.
There is no Robert Fitzhenry as a tenant in County Wicklow for 1850-54 (range of the Wicklow valuations), but the Reverend Richard Eaton Appears as a tenant of William Fitzhenry on Main Street, Arklow in 1854.

There is a William Fitzhenry of Main Street who appears in the Arklow Business Directory of 1840 under several business headings as a draper, an earthenware dealer and as a coal and timber merchant.

William Fitzhenry, a widower and shopkeeper of Arklow, married Mary Jenkinson spinster on 15 May 1845 were married in Rathdrum. In the Pigot's directory of 1824, both William Fitzhenry and Robert Jenkinson (perhaps Mary's father) were ironmongers in Arklow.

Robert Edward Fitzhenry appeared as a seedsman and gunpowder dealer (also on Main Street) in the Arklow Business Directory of 1840.

This is where I've got up to so far with this family.

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.

Mrs Rebecca Lena Graham (later Fitzhenry) - pioneer of Native American property rights

I came across an article detailing the life of Rebecca Lena Graham (1861-1946) during one of my periodic trawls around the internet.
Written by the historian and genealogist Patricia Hackett Nicola, it is the story of a woman who was born to a male white settler and a Native American woman from a local tribe near what is now Seattle, and how she had to fight for her right to be recognised as his heir and to inherit his property.
Click here to read the story. It really is a cracking read.

Although Rebecca finally won her court case, she was not so fortunate in family matters.
Her first husband John C. Holmes by whom she had four children, became violently psychotic after the death of one of them. He died after being committed to a hospital for the insane in 1889.

She married Victor E. Graham in 1890. Two more of her children died shortly afterwards.
It was under the name Rebecca Lena Graham that she started her successful court action in 1893 to secure the property of her natural father Franklin Matthias.
Sometime after 1900, Victor Graham left the family to prospect for gold in Alaska and did not return.

Rebecca married George W. Fitzhenry, a native of Maine in 1911. She was then 50 years old and there were no children from this marriage. She signed an affidavit that she was a member of the Duwamish Tribe under the name Rebecca L. Fitzhenry in 1916 (image of this affidavit in the article). But by 1920 George had moved away to Aberdeen, WA and had remarried.
My own research about George shows he was born about 1875, to Robert H Fitzhenry (Maine) and Bridget McElroy (Ireland). The Fitzhenry family moved from Maine to King County, Washington Territory (before it was a state) sometime in the 1870s. Rebecca seems to have been his first wife, and he then married Allie Craig. He died in 1935.

Rebecca died in 1946, a wealthy and respected pillar of the community in Seattle. Her obituary describes her as "one of the first white settlers to be born here", her Native American ancestry conveniently forgotten.

Rebecca Lena Graham's Fight for her inheritance
Patricia Hackett Nicola
Pacific Northwest Quarterly, summer 2006

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.