Early Family History
The
Potato Famine devastated Ireland between 1845 and 1849. It is estimated
that during those difficult times more than one million Irish died of
starvation, disease and malnourishment. Another million are estimated to
have left Irish shores to seek an improved life in America, Canada and
Australia. The famine was particularly severe in County Longford. On
September 5, 1849, The Times reported “people hunting up and
down Longford with money in their pockets looking for food.” It was
reported that on August 20, 1849, not a loaf of bread nor a
hundredweight of meal could be bought on the streets of Longford, even
from a meal merchant. Among those who died during this period was
Bridget Kennedy, wife of James Eustace.
Generation
1
James
Eustace
was born about 1797, probably in County Longford or Westmeath in the
Irish midlands. We can only speculate that he spent his childhood in the
Irish countryside someplace in County Longford and eventually went with
his family to farm land near the town of Ballymahon, Shrule Parish,
County Longford. Sometime before 1830, he married Bridget Kennedy.
Records have not been found that can positively identify the parents of
James Eustace or of Bridget Kennedy. James Eustace likely was a
descendant of a branch of the Kildare Eustace family that in the distant
past was prominent in early Irish history. During the Reformation, the
Eustace family more often than not, chose the Catholic side in bitter
and violent disputes. They were willing to forfeit land, possessions and
often life itself, for a cause they fervently believed in. Extensive
research has been completed by the author in Ireland and in the United
States, to identify family members and determine possible relationships.
The
following Irish resources and records have been particularly useful
during our search:
1.
Ballymacormick Cemetery Inscriptions; Exploring
Family Origins and Old Longford Town; by Harry Farrell:
Back
of old church ruin (from left to right)
- USTICE
- Bridig, died January 27, 1767
- USTICE
- Mary, died September 29, 1764
2.
Templemichael (Longford) Church of Ireland Parish Records - Burials
- April
24, 1797-Grace Newcomen-7 years old, youngest daughter of William
Newcomen & Grace Coffy?, wife alias Eustace
- November
1, 1797-Juliet Newcomen, aged
18, daughter of William Newcomon & Grace his wife alias Eustace
- October
12, 1811-Grace Newcomen alias Eustace, aged 63, died October 9, 1811
of Clonahard
3.
Longford ( Ardagh and Clonmacnois Diocese, Parishes of Templemichael and
Ballymacormack) County Longford Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms
(1802 – 1811):
- Bridget
Eustace,
sponsor for Patt McGuire, son of James and Jane McGuire baptised
February 20, 1802.
- Catherine
Eustace, wife
of Denis Harrington, whose son Maurice was baptised on November 28,
1802;
- Mary
Eustace, wife
of Thomas McCawley, whose daughter Rose was baptised on May 27,
1803;
- Bridget
Eustace, wife
of Edmund/Edward McDaniel; who were the parents of the following
children; James, baptised on February 6, 1809;
Mary , baptised on Feb. 26, 1810; and Elenor,
baptised July 15, 1811;
- Edward
Eustace,
sponsor for Daniel (Drievan ?) son of Owen and Anne Kennedy.,
baptised Nov. 3, 1805;
- Mary
Eustace, wife
of Cornelius/Conrad/Condy Rogers who were the parents of Mary,
baptised March 13, 1802;
- Edward,
baptised Aug. 8, 1804; Elizabeth, baptised Dec. 23, 1806; and
William , baptised Aug. 13, 1809;
- Bridget
Eustace,
sponsor for James Corigan, son of Thomas Corigan and Ellen Sharwan.
Templemichael
(Longford) Church of Ireland Parish Records – (Baptisms):
- Jane
Eustace, wife
of James Murphy whose daughter Jane was baptised December 20,
1807;
- William
Eustace, son
of Thomas Eustace and Rose Clendinnen, born December 18, 1812 and
baptised December 20, 1812.1812.
Tithe
Composition Applotment Books,
which were formerly located at the Public Records Office in Dublin’s
Four Courts Building, are now located at the National Archives, Bishop
Street, Dublin 8. These records contain the particulars of
holdings subject to a tithe tax, giving occupiers’ names, compiled to
provide a basis for tax computation, under the Tithe Composition Acts of
1823. Subsequently these tithes were collected from Catholics and
Protestants alike and then distributed to the rectors of the Established
(Anglican) Church.
Collum
Townland, Cashel Civil Parish, Newtowncashel Roman Catholic Parish -
1827
- James
Eustace, 1
Acres – 0 Roods –0 Perches
Gorteenclareen
(Gurtheen) Townland, Shrule Civil Parish, Ballymahon RC Parish - 1827
- Luke
Ustry/Eustace?
& Ryan, 5 Acres –1 Roods – 18 Perches
Farnagh
Townland, Ballymacormick Civil Parish, Longford RC Parish - 1833;
- William
& Patrick Eustace, 5
Acres –2 Roods –3 Perches
- Edward
Eustace, 8
Acres – 0 Roods – 26 Perches
- James
Eustace, 1
Acres –0 Roods –5 Perches
Old
Bog Divisions, Longford Townland, Templemichael Civil Parish, Longford
R. Catholic Parish - 1826;
- Edward
Eustace, 1
Acres – 2 Roods – 24 Perches
- James
Eustace,
Labourer, possibly a son of Edward Eustace, is recorded as
the occupier of 0 Acres – 1 Roods – 10 Perches at Bog Lots,
Longford Town in 1831 – 1833. (Areas in Irish Measure
(1 Irish Acre = 1.625
Statute Acres).
Rathburnet
Townland, Barony Corkaree, Parish Leany, County Westmeath- 1824
- James
Eustace, 9
acres 3 roods 35 3/4 perches
Note:
It is unclear whether these entries are of the same person or of two or
even three persons with the name James Eustace.
Burial
Records:
- Bridgit
Eustace, of
Laragh Townland buried at Ballymahon on September 23, 1848; ‘Ballymahon
and its People – By Paddy Whelan (2001) and St. Matthews
Catholic Church records. The burial record lists Lara as her place
of residence at the time of death. (Lara is a townland located about
1/2 mile southwest of where the road between Longford and Ballymahon
branches off toward Lanesborough.)
2.
Parish records, St. Matthew’s Catholic Church Ballymahon, Co. Longford.
Records
of baptisms, marriages and burials were searched from 1820 until 1840
revealing the record of several Eustace families in the parish:
- Catherine
Ustace, no
age given, who was buried at Ballymahon on July 31, 1823.
- Laurence
or Luke Eustace,
and his wife Bridget Gibbons, the parents of seven children baptised
at St. Matthews Church, Ballymahon between October 3, 1826 and
September 26, 1840. This appears to be the same Luke Eustace who is
in the 1854 Primary Valuation taken under the direction of
Sir Richard Griffith.
Children of Luke Eustace and Bridget Gibbon:
·
James
Eustace, baptised
on August 7, 1822. Sponsors were Daniel Malone and his wife.
·
John
Eustace,
baptised March 15, 1826. Sponsors were John Eustace and Bridget
Geraghty.
·
Michael
Eustace, baptised
at Shrule on September 27, 1831. Sponsors were Mathew Regan and Anne
Geraghty.
·
Anne
Eustace, baptised
May 8, 1833. Sponsors were
Patrick Eustace and Margaret
Ryan, b
·
Margaret
Eustace, baptised
December 11, 1835. Sponsors were Matthew Ryan and Mathe Cunningham.
·
Philip
Eustace, (son of
Philip (Luke?) Eustace and Bridget Gibbon) baptised October 13, 1838.
Sponsors were Michael Malone and Margaret Casey.
·
Elenor
Eustace, baptised
September 26, 1840. Sponsors are listed as Patrick Gerraghty and
Margaret Havican.
Children
of James Eustace and his wife Bridget Kennedy:
(All baptised at St. Matthews Catholic church in Ballymahon.)
- Bridget
Eustace, daughter
of James Eustace and Bridget Kennedy, baptised June 11, 1830 at
Ballymahon. Sponsors John Eustace and Anne Kennedy.
- James
Eustace, son
of James Eustace and Bridget Kennedy, baptised at Ballymahon on July
26, 1835. Sponsors Thomas Eustace and Elenor Costello.
- John
Eustace,
baptised January 4, 1833. Sponsors
were Patrick Kelly and Catherine Kennedy.
John
Eustace, and his
wife Rose Daly were the parents of at least three children born
at Ballymahon, Co. Longford during the 1860’s. The International
Genealogical Index shows the birth of Bridget Eustace, born December 12,
1864; Luke Eustace, born August 25, 1866; and Patrick Eustace, born July
2, 1868.
Other
Eustaces that appear in Ballymahon church records:
- Patrick
Eustace, who
with Margaret Ryan was baptismal sponsor for Anne Eustace, daughter
of Luke and Bridget Gibbon.
- John
Eustace, baptismal
sponsor for Bridget, daughter of James Eustace and Bridget Kennedy,
June 1, 1830, at Ballymahon.
- Thomas
Eustace,
baptismal sponsor for James, son of James Eustace and Bridget
Kennedy, July 26, 1835 at Shrule.
4.
Griffith’s Primary Valuation of County Longford (1854)
In
these records we find several Eustace families in the County Longford
and neighboring West Meath in the early 1800’s.
Ballyrevagh
Townland, Cashel Civil Parish (Newtowncashel Catholic Parish),
Ballymahon Union;
- Catherine
Eustace; Reference
to map-3N; immediate lessor,
John Butler; house, no acreage.
Gorteenclareen
Townland, Shrule Civil Parish (Ballymahon Catholic Parish),
Ballymahon Union;
- Luke
Eustace; Reference to map-11; immediate
lessor John Bond, house, office & land 9 acres 3 roods 1
perch.
4.
Griffith’s Primary Valuation of County West Meath (1854)
- Patrick
Eustace, the
lessee of a house, yard and small garden on Dirty Lane at Mullingar,
West Meath.
- Patrick
Eustace;
Parish of Leny, Rathburnet Townland, Co. West Meath.
Bishop
Loughlin’s Dispensations – Diocese of Brooklyn, NY -
Marriages 1859 – 1866; By Joseph M. Sillinonte
- Anne
Eustace, born
Co. Longford, Resident at Flatbush, Daughter of Luke Eustace &
Bridget Gibbons (Baptised May 8, 1833, Ballymahon Parish) Married
May 23, 1860 at Holy Cross, 2530
Church Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11226, to John Lyons, born Co. Longford,
Resident at Flatbush, Son of Peter Lyons & Bridget Skelly.
Los
Irlandeses en la Argentina (The
Irish in Argentina) – by Eduardo A. Coghlan (1987)
- Margaret
Eustace, of
Gurteen (Gorteenclareen), Ballymahon, Co. Longford (Probably the
daughter of Luke Eustace and Bridget Gibbon, baptised 11th December 1835,
Ballymahon Parish) who married John Moughty, Willowfield,
Ballinacarrigy, Co. Westmeath.
Parents of Anne Moughty y Eustace, born Gurteen, 1862,
emigrated to Buenos Ayres, Argentine c1880 who married in Buenos
Ayres, 25th
June 1881, Claudio Baltasar Carle (born 1852, England) and died 17th
August 1940.In turn, Parents of Margarita Carle y Moughty, born 22nd
March 1886 who married N. Mores
·
Patrick Eustace,
born May 29, 1866 at Multyfarnham, Co. Westmeath to Michael Eustace and
Catherine Parker.
Parishes
of Templemichael and Ballymacormack
(Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnois) County Longford church records shows
the following entries:
·
Mary
Eustace, wife of Cornelius Rogers, parents of Mary Rogers, baptised
March 13, 1802 and Edward Rogers baptised August 13, 1804.
· Catherine
Eustace, wife of Dennis Harrington, parents of Maurice Harrington
baptised Nov. 28, 1802.
The
Family of James Eustice & Bridget Kennedy:
Generation
II
There
are records of three children born to James Eustace and Bridget
Kennedy:
·
Bridget Eustace2 baptised at Ballymahon, June
1, 1830.
·
John Eustace2, baptised at Ballymahon,
January 4,1833.
· James Eustace2,
baptised at Ballymahon, July 26, 1835.
Visit County Longford:
There is much to see and do in County Longford for example there are
two National Tidy Towns winners, visit Ardagh
and Newtowncashel
to see why.
Other interesting towns and villages include the town of Ballymahon and
its surrounding area with its literary heritage in Oliver Goldsmith and
John Keegan Casey. The village of Ballinamuck in North Longford marks
the site of General Humberts retreat at the battle of Ballinamuck.
Edgeworthstown is the home of the Edgeworth family most notably Maria
Edgeworth and her literary achievements. Steeped in archaeological
heritage is the town of Granard and its surrounding villages such as
Aughnacliffe.
Lanesboro on the river Shannon is an area of distinctive ecological
heritage and beauty. Other interesting villages include those along the
Royal Canal; Abbeyshrule, Kenagh and Clondra. rnrnThroughout the county
there is a wealth of folklore and heritage, open friendly people who
indulge in the finest of food and drink and plenty of activities to
entertain all needs from fishing to archery. More information: Longford
Getting Here:
Longford
is located on the N4 National Primary Route, the main artery between
Dublin and Sligo. It is also the point where the National routes the N4
and the N5 converge making it an important axis for traffic traveling
from East to West. Dublin port and Rosslare port can be reached by the
national road network.
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