The Tuite Family 
19th Century
Hugh Morgan Tuite was born in 1795 and died in
1868.
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TUITE, Hugh Morgan
(1795-1868), of Sonna, co. Westmeath. Published in The History of
Parliament: the House of Commons 1820-1832, ed. D.R. Fisher, 2009 http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/tuite-hugh-1795-1868 |
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Constituency Dates 1826 - 1830 1841 - 1847 Family and Education b. 1795, 2nd but 1st surv. s. of Capt. Hugh Tuite of Sonna
and Sarah Elizabeth, da. of
Lt.-Col. Daniel Chenevix of Ballycommon,
King’s Co. educ. Christ Church, Oxf. 1814. m. (1) 6 Feb. 1826, Mary (d. 14
Mar. 1863), da. of Maurice
O’Connor of Mount Pleasant, King’s Co., 1s. 1da.;
(2) 8 Oct. 1863, Hester Maria, da. of John Hogan of Auburn, co. Westmeath, s.p. suc. fa. 1843. d. 15
Aug. 1868. Offices Held Sheriff, co. Westmeath
1822-3, co. Longford 1837-8. Biography Tuite,
‘the son of a gentleman of about £5,000 per annum’, was a permanent resident
of Westmeath, where the local press commended his family for giving ‘perpetual
employment to a number of our poor’ and spending ‘a splendid fortune’.1Following the death of one of the county’s sitting Members
in 1824 he made a ‘limited canvass’ as a supporter of Catholic claims, but on
finding ‘the strong interests combined’ against him quit the field, hinting
that he intended to stand at the next general election.2 In
1826 he duly offered as a pro-Catholic in opposition to the dominant
Protestant interests, stressing his independence from ‘any particular line of
politics’, his belief that emancipation would restore ‘peace and good order’
and his wish to deliver the county ‘from the degradation of being considered
a sort of family property, or hereditary borough’. He was actively assisted
by the Catholic Association and after a ‘severe struggle’ returned in second
place, amidst accusations of widespread electoral misconduct by his
supporters.3 He
informed the Commons, 14 Feb., that he would not defend his return against
his beaten rival’s petition, but his associates successfully petitioned to be
admitted as parties for his defence, 8 Mar. 1827.
He was absent from the division on Catholic claims, 6 Mar., as he ‘could not
vote, not having defended his election’.4 A
commission of inquiry into his return was established, 3 May 1827, but it
disintegrated the following year, whereupon a committee was appointed, 18
Apr., and decided in his favour, 28 Apr. 1828.5 In his first reported action in the House Tuite, who is
not known to have spoken in debate in this period, voted for Catholic relief,
12 May 1828. He divided against restricting the circulation of Irish and
Scottish small notes, 5 June 1828. He was a convenor
for the meeting of the ‘friends of civil and religious liberty’ at the
Rotunda, Dublin, 20 Jan., and of course voted for the Wellington ministry’s
concession of emancipation, 6 Mar. 1829.6 He
was granted three weeks’ leave on account of ill health, 12 Mar. 1830. He was
in the minorities for O’Connell’s Irish vestries
bill, 27 Apr., and repeal of the Irish coal duties, 13 May. He paired for the
second reading of the Jewish emancipation bill, 17 May. He voted to reduce
the grants for consular services, 11 June, and Nova Scotia, 14 June, and was
in the minority of 30 against the administration of justice bill, 18 June
1830. At
the 1830 general election Tuite offered again, citing his avoidance of ‘all
coalitions’ and opposition to ‘every measure tending to increased taxation’.
Faced with alliance between his former opponents, and abused for not pledging
his unqualified support to Daniel O’Connell*, he ‘apologized for voting for
the emancipation bill, clogged as it was with the disfranchisement of the 40s. freeholders’, and explained that he had withdrawn his support
from the vestries bill in order to please both Catholics and Protestants.
After a warm contest, in which he was ‘rather remiss’ in his canvassing, he
was defeated; the Westmeath
Journal observed that he had ‘sailed into the
emancipation bog [and] run on vestry sands’.7 At the 1831 general election he started as a supporter
of the Grey ministry’s reform bill but withdrew after a brief canvass.8 It
was erroneously reported in The
Times, 4 July 1838, that
he had been created a baronet. He sat for Westmeath as a Liberal, 1841-7.9 He
died at Sonna in August 1868 and was succeeded by
his only son Joseph (1828-1910).10 Ref Volumes: 1820-1832 Author: Philip Salmon Notes ·
1.Brougham mss, Abercromby
to Brougham, 12 July; Westmeath
Jnl. 8
June 1826. ·
2.Westmeath
Jnl. 26
Feb. 1824. ·
3.Dublin
Evening Post, 8, 15, 20, 24, 29 June, 1 July 1826; Westmeath Jnl. 15 June; Add. 40334, f. 171. ·
4.The
Times, 10 Mar. 1827. ·
5.CJ, lxxxii. 16, 168, 293, 429; lxxxiii. 244, 277. ·
6.Dublin
Evening Post, 8 Jan. 1829. ·
7.Westmeath
Jnl. 8,
15 July, 5, 12, 19, 26 Aug.; Dublin
Evening Post, 29 July, 1 Aug. 1830. ·
8.Dublin
Evening Post, 3 May 1831. ·
9.Dod’s
Parl. Companion (1846), 241. ·
10.The Times, 19
Aug. 1868. Related
Resources |
“About 1802 the Sonna
Harriers were started by Mr. Hugh Tuite (third son of Sir Henry), on leaving
the army, shortly after the siege of Gibraltar, at which he served as a captain
in the 39th regiment. He had originally joined the 14th
Light Dragoons. The pack was made up of picked drafts from the best English
kennels, including Mr. Coke’s*, the celebrated owner of Holkham,
one of the finest seats in Norfork. Mr. Tuite was a
sportsman of the true old type. Pea-green coat, with black collar, buff facings
and vest, was presented only to a select band of followers, about twenty-five
in all.
With kennels at Coolnahay,
where a stream ran through the yard, everything, including the horses and
general turn out, was consistent with a smart establishment. The country hunted
was all the best going in the country, stretching from Skeagh.
*Mr. William Coke instituted at his shooting
parties the hats now called “billycock”, from his name Billy Coke.”
Records of Hunting in Westmeath
“Hill and Churchtown
to Ledeston and from Mullingar to Bunbrusna;
in fact, the circuit of Lough Owel and to Ballynacargy and south to Sonna. There were no hounds belonging to the
northern part of Westmeath, but Mr. Clibbon kept a
trencher-fed pack at Moate. There was racing as well
as hunting in the year 1809: a four days’ meeting from 4th to 7th
of April at Finea. This out-of-the-way little town
lies partly in Cavan and partly in Westmeath, the river Inny
being the boundary, spanned by the bridge famous in Irish history, when “Miles
the Slasher” held it at the time of the battle of Granard.
The “Ballymacue
Yeomen Stakes” was run at the above meeting, and Mr. Laghey
was the fortunate yeoman who won it.
Then there was Hunters’ Plate of 30 sovs.,
run in three mile heats, and ridden by gentlemen. The horses were to have been
hunted in Westmeath, Cavan, or Longford.
Mr. Shore’s mare “Plough-Boy” won, and was
hard pressed by Mr. O’Farrell’s grey horse by “Kildare.”
Mr. Hugh Morgan Tuite, whose elder brother had
died, was M.P. for the county from 1826 to 1830, and again 1842 to 1847,
succeeded his father, and took great pains in keeping up the efficiency of the Sonnna hounds. He gave them up at the time of the Irish
famine, and then it was that Mr. Henry Murray started his pack with five couple
of the smallest of the Sonna hounds as a foundation.
(Mr. Tuite had taken the pick of Sir R. Nagle’s harriers that were kept at
Jamestown; Sir J. Strong, of Tynon, got the remainder
of the pack.) Sir Richard Nagle had succeeded to Jamestown by marriage with the
Geoghegan family; he was created a baronet in 1813;
and only lived fourteen years to enjoy the honours of his title.”
Sir Hugh Morgan Tuite was considered a good
land lord and was well respected in the area, a
favourite saying in the locality was “always at home like Tuite of Sonna”.
Thomas Patrick Tuite born in the
United States in 1849 and died on 1/21/1933. Thomas Tuite was a fenian who was one of the leaders of the fenian rebellion in Ireland in 1867. He had a grandson,
Charles Tuite, who had two daughters, Margaret and Dodi.
See “Tuites Romance”.
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HUGH
GEORGE SPENCER TUITE |
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BORN 17th
April, 1863, second son of the late Major-General Hugh Manley Tuite, R.A.,
and heir presumptive to his brother, Sir Morgan Harry Paulet
Tuite, 11th Baronet, of Sonnagh, County Westmeath, Mr.
Tuite is descended from a Norman family settled in Ireland as early as the
twelfth century, the time of Strongbow, whose crest
tells a tale of crusading ancestors. From 1882 to 1890 he held a commission
in the Northumberland Fusiliers, seeing active service in the Hazara campaign in 1888, and receiving the Indian
frontier medal, with clasp. While serving in India he began to write, his
work was accepted by Mr. Rudyard Kipling, then editor of the Civil and
Military Gazette, and he contributed a large number of stories, articles,
and "turnovers" to the columns of that journal. In 1892 he saw an
advertisement in Answers for an assistant editor on Messrs.
Harmsworth's staff. In reply to that advertisement there were a thousand
applications, but instead of writing, Mr. Tuite went over from Ireland and
saw Mr. Harmsworth, now Lord Northcliffe. The
latter he found no grave and reverend signior as he
expected, but a young man, who looked about twenty years of age, though
really some six years more. As a result of the personal application he was
engaged upon Messrs. Harmsworth's literary staff, and he has been editor of
the Scottish Weekly Record since its foundation. He is a contributor
to numerous periodicals, including the London Daily Mail, Cassells' Magazine, and the London
Magazine. In 1904 he published a novel, "The Heart of the
Vicar," which, though woven round the problem as to whether a divorced
person can conscientiously marry again, is a delightful story, of entirely
healthy and engrossing interest; and in 1906, "Bob and the Dream
Birds," a story for children. He has also written several plays. He is a
Member of the Institute of Journalists and of the Incorporated Society of
Authors, and is a Freemason. Mr. Tuite found time, while in Glasgow, to play
the clarionet in the Cecilian
Orchestral Society and the Players' Orchestra; but since the autumn of 1908
has resided chiefly in London. Mr. Tuite
married, in 1893, Eva Geraldine, daughter of the late Mr. Peter Valentine
Hatton, |
The vast majority of freeholds had a value of 40 shillings. As a rule of thumb, this value can be assumed in the following list, except where no landlord is specified, in which case a value of 10 pounds and upwards applies. Please note that this is a very general rule of thumb only.
Freeholders were
allowed to vote in local elections. The Relief Act enabling Roman Catholics to
enter Parliament and hold higher offices of state (better known as Catholic
Emancipation) was passed on
Name of Life or Lives, or other Tenure: The condition under which the freehold is granted (the duration of the freehold), normally the life of the freeholder, or a relative, or the landlord, or a combination of all or any of those. Sometimes a member of the British royalty is mentioned, or a foreign king or prince is specified, or a member of the clergy.
Landowners in Co. Westmeath, circa 1870’s
(Contributed by Jean Rice jeanrice@cet.com)
1.
Henry
Tuite, (a minor), address Sonna, Mullingar, owned
1,490 acres.
2.
John
Tuite, address Springfield, Mullingar, owned 178 acres (married Lucy Ann Salmon
who gave birth to Mary Margaret Tuite in Springfield on July 18th
1872).
3.
Joseph
Tuite, address Sonna, Mullingar, owned 7,391 acres.
4.
Thomas
Tuite, address Toor, Ballynacargy,
owned 1 acre.
Freeman's
Journal —
Guide to the Irish Commoners
(Written expressly for the
Freeman)
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TUITE Hugh Morgan |
Westmeath co. — a Reformer; first elected in 1826. |
Printed and Published in Lower Cross-street by Barthw.
O'FLAHERTY
Thursday,
Volume 89 Price 5D
Addresses to the Queen.-The County Meath, assembled on last Saturday, for the purpose of
addressing the Queen and Prince Albert on the happy event of
their marriage. The county of Westmeath met on Tuesday. The requisition to the
High Sheriff was signed by the nobility and gentry without any party
distinction. The Earl of Longford and Sir Montague
CHAPMAN, Lord Kilmaine and Mr. TUITE, Sir R. LEVINGE
and Mr. Gerald DEASE, cordially united in this well-timed expression of
loyalty.
Property owners County Tipperary 1870
Sir Mark Tuite Ballymacur, Nenagh 89 acres.
County Carlow Landowners circa 1870’s
Per genealogy library reference book, the following individuals owned one acre or more of land in Co. Carlow, Ireland, in the latter part of the 1870s:
Patrick Tuite, address Kilcloney, owned 49 acres.
Nicholas Tuite MacCarthy
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Called
the Abbé de Lévignac,
born in Dublin on 19 May, 1769; died at Annécy,
Savoy, 3 May, 1833. He was the second son of Count Justin MacCarthy,
by Mary Winefrid Tuite, daughter of Nicholas Tuite,
Chamberlain to the King of Denmark. At the age of four he was taken by his
parents to Toulouse, where, disgusted with English law as administered in
Ireland, they took up their permanent abode. Later he was sent to the Collége du Plessis in Paris. At
the age of fourteen he received tonsure at the seminary of St-Magloire. He had nearly completed his course of
theological studies at the Sorbonne when the Revolution forced him to leave.
He retired to Toulouse. His ordination to priesthood was postponed until his
forty-fifth year (1814), partly owing to the Revolution, and partly to a
weakness of the loins which rendered it impossible for him to stand for any
considerable time. Having sufficiently recovered from this infirmity, he
entered the seminary of Chambéry, in Savoy, in
1813, and was ordained to priesthood in June, 1814. Toulouse was the scene of
his first missionary labours. In a short time he became a famous preacher. In
1817 he was offered the Bishopric of Montauban, which
he refused. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1818, and made his simple vows
two years later. He was reserved exclusively for preaching. So noted was his
talent in this respect that he was appointed during his novitiate to preach
the Advent Station before the Court of France. The fame of his preaching
spread throughout the kingdom, and accordingly he was invited to preach in
all the principal cities of the country, as well as in Switzerland. He was
admitted to the solemn profession of the order in 1828. The Revolution of
1830 led him to retire to Savoy, whence he was summoned to Rome, arriving in
October of the same year. While in Rome he preached every Sunday before the
most distinguished personages there. After a short time, however, his health,
never robust, became greatly impaired; but not even this lessened his
spiritual zeal. On leaving Rome he settled in Turin, at a college of his
order. At the request of the King of Sardinia-whose brother Charles Emmanuel
was a novice in the Society of Jesus-the Abbé MacCarthy conducted a retreat for the Brigade of Savoy,
and did much good amongst the military, his time being completely devoted to
the pulpit and confessional. He preached the Lenten course of sermons at Annécy,
but being soon afterwards taken ill, expired there, in the bishop's palace,
and was buried in the cathedral. As a preacher, he was in eloquence inferior
only to such men as Bossuet and Massillon; but whilst they spoke principally
for a special class of hearers, the Abbé MacCarthy's sermons are for all countries and for all
time, and are to be regarded even at the present day, for depth of thought,
for piety, and for practical application, as among the best contributions to
homiletic literature. Deplace, Biographical Sketch prefixed to Sermons
(Lyons, 1834); MAHONEY, Biographical Notice to tr. of Sermons (Dublin, 1848);
Dictionary of National Biography (London, 1893). P.A. Beecher Transcribed by Dennis McCarthy |
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The Landed Gentry, Page 705, TUITE OF KILLEEN AND CLOONE
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ROBERT STRATFORD TUITE, of Killeen, co. Longford, and Cloone, co. Cavan. J.P. for co. Longford, late Major 4th Batt. Royal Irish Fusiliers, b. 27 July, 1852; m. 15 May 1888, Georgina Phelps, eldest surviving dau. of the late Major George Roche Smith, 2nd Queen’s Royals, and 99th Regt.., by Grace Elizabeth his wife, eld. dau. of Major Robert Hedges Eyre Maunsell, 39th Regt., of Plassey, co. Limerick, and Beakstown, co. Tipperary, and has issue, 1.
Thomas Mark Hardress
Stratford, b. 17 April, 1891. 2.
Norman Eric Maunsell
Stratford, b. 25 April 1892. 3.
Evelyn Morgan Aubrey Stratford, b. 1 Aug.
1894. 4.
Maurice John Southwell
Law, b. 15 Jan 1902. 1.
Gladys Grace Dawson-Damer Stratford. Lineage.
–Sir Richard De Tuite accompanied the Earl of Pembroke into Ireland 1172, and
was killed in Athlone 1211, while holding a Court. He erected the famous
abbey of Lara, near Granard, co. Longford, in 1205,
long the burial place of the Princes of Annally,
and where he himself was buried. Sir Richard left two sons, 1.
Sir Richard de Tuite,
surnamed The Black, Baron of Moycashell. 2.
Maurice Tuite, ancestor of Tuite of Sonnagh
(see Burke’s Peerage and Barondage). A branch of the family of Tuite of Sonnagh, possessing lands in the
cos. of Longford, Cavan
and Meath, descends from Sir Edmund Tuite. Knt., m.
Alice, dau. of James
Fitzgerald, of Laceagh, co. Westmeath , and had a
son, Edward Tuite, of Tuitestown, co.Westmeath, b. 1612. High Sheriff 1642, who, while
sheriff, raised the county against His Magisty’s
Army, and was killed in a battle near Ticroghan; in
consequence of which, his estates of Tuitestown, Ledwithstown, Carolstown, Coblestown, and others, became forfeited, and were
granted to Philip, Lord Wharton, and were claimed by Thomas Tuite, son of
Edward Tuite, in 1664, but the “Act of Explanation” of 1666 excluded the
claims of Innocents (see Report of
Carte Papers, 1869, at the Bodleian Lib. Oxford). Thomas
Tuite, grandson of Edward Tuite, settled at Carragh,
Granard, co. Longford, in 1700, and m. 1720, Kathleen,
dau. of James Major, of Higginstown, in that co., and d. 1772, aged 92, leaving
two sons, Francis; James, b. 1732; and one dau. surviving. The
elder son, Francis
Tuite, b. 1730; m. 1752, Rachel, dau. of Rev. Edward Groome, M.A., of
Eyre Court, co. Galway, and d. 3 May. 1813, having by her (who d. July, 1799)
had issue, 1.
Thomas, his heir. 2.
Edward, d. April, 1792. The elder son, Thomas Tuite, of Rockfield,
Grandard, b. 10 April, 1756, was a very extensive
land agent, and held, with other agencies, that of his kinsman, Sir Henry
Tuite, 8th bart., of Sonagh.
He m. 23 June, 1790, Mary, dau.
of Edward Reid, J.P., of Galmoylestown, co. Meath, and by her (who d. 23 Aug. 1827) had issue, 1.
Thomas, his heir. 2.
Edward, d. 15 May, 1876. 1. Alice Pailes,
d. 11 Aug. 1830. 2. Jane, d. June, 1831. 3. Matilda Maconchy,
d. 1870. 4. Maria, d. 1868. 5. Rachel Groom, d. 4 July, 1822. Mr. Tuite d. 26 June 1827, and was
s. by his eldest son, Thomas Tuite, of Granard, co.
Longford, b. 11 March, 1806; m. 10 Nov. 1842,
Eleanor, dau. of Capt. Robert Stratford, of Annsgrove, co. Westmeath, and by her (who d. 25 Feb.
1901) had issue, 1.
Thomas Groonie, b.
21 April, 1845; d. 11 July, 1858. 2.
Robert Strattford,
of Killeen and Cloone. 1. Mary, d. 29 Sept. 1843. 2. Annie Jane, d. urm.
31 March, 1888. Mr. Thomas Tuite d. 29 Sept. 1893. Seats – Killeen, Granard,
co. Longford; and Cloone Gowna co. Cavan. Residence –
27, Herbert Place Dublin. |
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The Landed Gentry, Page 706, TUITE OF SONNA |
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Henry Maurice Tuite, of Sonna, co. Westmeath J.P., b. 15th Oct. 1856;
s. his father 1910; m. 8 March 1886, Constance Edith, dau.
of Henry Murry Campbell,
of Halston, Westmeath. Lineage – See Burke’s Peerage, Tuite, Bart. Hugh
Morgan Tuite, M.P., D.L., of Sonna (who d. 16 Aug.
1868), by Mary his 1st wife (who d. 14 March, 1863), dau. of Maurice O’Connor, of
Mount Pleasant, and grandson of Capt. Hugh Tuite, of Sonna.
4th son of Sir Henry Tuite; 6th bart.,
had issue, an only son. Joseph Tuite, of Sonna,
co. Westmeath, J.P. for that co., High Sheriff 1868, D.L. co. Longford, late Lieut. 15th Regt., b. 15 Oct
1828; m. 1st, 8 Jan. 1852, Ellen Mary, dau.
of Rev. Charles Fox Chawner,
Rector of Bletchingley. She d. 2 Dec. 1863, leaving
issue, 1.
Henry Maurice, now of Sonna. 2.
Mariaa
Charlotte Mary, m. 1879, Brook Pakenham Bridges
Taylor, a Gentleman Usher to H.M. the King. He m. 2ndly, 4 June, 1868, Ellen,
youngest dau. of James B.
Boothby, of Twyford Abbey, and d. 21 Feb. 1910. She
d.s.p. 26 April, 1898. Arms – Quarterly arg. and gu. Crest – An angel vested arg., holding in her dexter hand a flaming sword ppr., the sinister resting
on a shield of the arms. Motto – Alleluiah. Seat
– Sonna, Westmeath. |
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Sir Henry 8th bart was a patron of the artist Francis Nicholson OWS
(1753-1844) an English landscape painter who is thought to have visited
Ireland in the early 1800s at the behest of his Irish patrons. |
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Boothby, Robert Tuite, Sir Child 1: Boothby, Robert John Graham, MP, Lord |
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Kilrush Union Minute Books 1849 Meeting held on Saturday,
15th day of December, 1849 |
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The following Report was read from the medical officer for Moyarta and Kilballyowen
District Viz, I merely gave a sketch of four
families who have laboured under severe Illness
such as fever & diarhia omitting a greater
number of cases labouring under debility produced
by extreme privations for the last forthnight. I
fear that any succour now produced will not prevent
disastrous consequences. The very hearts and nerve of even the able-bodied
paupers is nearly paralysed, through actual dread
of being exposed to the heart rending sights they are now accustomed to, what
can public officers do, who are connected with the paupers on Out Door
Relief, truly they cannot be responsible for the lives of so many unfortunate
human beings placed under their charge when the common scanty supply of meal
hitherto afforded is now withheld for the last forthnight,
and that draw back of food will tell frightfully in
a short time even on the stalwart Labourer,
not to mention, the delicate male and female children, under their charge.
Turnip tops and the scavenging of the fields, for small turnips are now
exhausted and winter cold will finish the fare for the Poor, having described
to you the state of sick poor, & the poor in general, things would have
been worse were it not for a few bags of meal obtained on the credit of the
Relieving officer & distributed. Those few bags of meal were distributed
to the worse cases, I could find, having travelled in company with Mr McInerney Relief Officer
through the Parish, anything I could add to this would be only making bad
worse, the same state of things are to be expected and are realized in Moyarta District
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Father Hore's Emigrants |
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In 1850, and ageing priest called Father Hore led a group of over 1000 people from their homes in County Wicklow and Wexford, to begin new lives in the American mid-west. This was no flight from famine
but an attempt to organize and establish an Irish Catholic Colony in Members of the group were
responsible for making their own way from their homes in The List The following is a list of passengers
on board the TICONDERONGA the LOODIANAH and the CHASCA. Unlike the
Fitzwilliam Tenants list which was compiled on the estate, the Hore list was compiled only from these passenger lists. While all of the group were accommodated on one or another of these vessels, there were also passengers on them that were not part of Father Hore's group. A lot Germans and Dutch went to the US through Liverpool, having sailed from the Hook of Holland to the east coast of England and then crossing to Liverpool. Many of the passengers on the The location, where shown, indicates
the final destination of that passenger in the SURNAME, FIRST NAME, AGE, SHIP, LOCATION
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Warrant Officer Michael
Tuite
Regimental Sergeant-Major
of the NSW infantry contingent to the Sudan, 1885. Prior to his service in
the Sudan, Tuite had served in the New Zealand wars and Afghanistan. On the
contingent's return to Sydney, Tuite was presented with a silver tea and coffee
service by the mayor of Sydney because he "had
been the most efficient man in the service." part of this silver set is
displayed in the Australian War Memorial.
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts-periods/other/sudan.htm
Colonel Edward Tuite Dalton
Soldier - Anthropologist
1815 - 1880
http://www.swan.ac.uk/visualanthropology/projects/003_Dalton/
Mother: Frances Tuite of Newcastle House Oldcastle, Co
Meath. Newcastle House in Oldcastle Co Meath is close to the Fennor estate and Baltrasna House
and Loughcrew churchyard.
Father: Sir John A Stevenson: 1760-1833 Director of Music Trinity
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Obituary:
General E.T. Dalton, C.S.I. Proceedings
of the Royal geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography, Volume
3, Issue 2 (Feb., 1881), 109. General
E.T. Dalton, C.S.I. – The death is announced of Major-General Edward Tuite
Dalton, C.S.I., who entered the army in 1835, and took part in expeditions
against the frontier tribes of Assam in 1839-40 and in 1842. When two French
missionaries, M.M. Kirk and Bourry, had been
murdered on the Tibetan frontier by a Mishmi chief,
General Dalton received much praise for his skill in organising
the expedition which captured the murderer. Our associate died at Major-General
Edward Tuite Royal
Asiatic Society: Proceedings of the fifty-seventh anniversary meeting of the
Society, |
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Westmeath |
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WESTMEATH (County of),
an inland county of the province of LEINSTER, bounded on the east by the
county of Meath; on the north, by those of Meath, Cavan, and Longford; on the west, by those of Longford
and Roscommon ; and on the south, by the King’s county. It extends from 53º
18’ to 53º 47’ (N. Lat.), and from 6º 55’ to 7º 55’ (W. Lon.); comprising an
area, according to the Ordnance survey, of 386,251 statute acres, of which
313,935 are cultivated land, 55,982 are unimproved mountain and bog, and
16,334 are under water. The population, in 1821, amounted to 128,819; and in
1831, to 136,872. This county formed part
of the The principal families
who obtained grants of confiscated lands were those of Packenham,
Wood, Cooke, Stoyte, Reynell,
Winter, Levinge, This county is partly in
the diocese of Ardagh, but chiefly in that of Meath, and in the The surface of the
county, though nowhere rising into tracts of considerable elevation, is much
diversified by hill and dale, highly picturesque in many parts, and deficient
in none of the essentials of rural beauty, but timber. In its scenery it
ranks next after Kerry, Wicklow, Fermanagh and Throughout the eastern
part of the county the soil is a heavy loam from seven to twelve inches deep,
resting on a yellow till : the land here is chiefly
under pasture and feeds the fattest bullocks ; from its great fertility it
has been called the “garden of Ireland;” the northern part is hilly and very
fertile, extremely well adapted for sheepwalks, but
chiefly applied to the grazing of black cattle. The barony of Moygoish is fertile, except towards the north, where
there is much bog and marshy land. The central barony of Moyashel
and Magheradernan is mostly composed of escars, ‘chiefly formed of calcareous sand and gravel. In
the western baronies the country is generalhy flat
and the soil light: the bog of Allen spreads over a large portion of the
baronies of Brawney and Clonlonan.
The farms are generalhy large; the chief crops,
oats and potatoes, with some wheat, barley, flax, rape and clover. The
resident gentry and large farmers have adopted the system of green crops; the
most improved implements are in general use. Oxen, yoked in teams of two
pairs, are frequently used in ploughing ; limestone gravel is preferred to any other substance as
manure ; lime, either separatehy or in a compost
with turf mould and the refuse of the farm-yard, is also used. The fences are
bad and much neglected, except in the neighbourhood
of demesnes and towinlands. The valleys throw up an
abundance of rich grass, the hay of which, however, is much injured in
consequence of not being cut till a late period, sometimes in September, and
being suffered when made up to stand in the fields until the autumnal rains,
by which the surface is injured, the lower part of the cocks spoiled, and in
low situations the whole is liable to be carried away by the floods. Though
dairy husbandry is not practised as extensively as
the fertility of the soil would warrant, great quantities of butter are made
of very superior quality, and always command a high price; it is chiefly sent
to The county is wholly
included within the great limestone plain of Ireland, of which it forms the
most elevated portion. The uniformity of its geological structure is broken
only at Moate and Ballymahon,
in each of which places an isolated protuberant mass of sandstone rises from
beneath the general substratum. The predominating colour
of the limestone is a blueish grey of various
degrees of intensity; it is often tinged with black and sometimes passes into
deep black, particularly in those parts in which it is interstratifed
with beds of clay-slate, calp or swinestone, or where it abounds with lydian
stone. The black limestone in the latter case is a hard compact rock,
requiring much fuel for burning it, and is by no means serviceable for
agricultural purposes. The structure of the limestone varies from the
perfectly compact to the conjointly compact and foliated, and even to the
granularly foliated: beds of the last kind are quarried and wrought for
various purposes in the northern baronies. Copper, lead, coal, and yellow and
dove-coloured marble have been found in small
quantities, but not so as to induce searches for the parent bed. A pair of
elk’s horns, found in a bog, were presented to Charles I. shortly before the
commencement of the civil war ; stags’ horns in a
state of great decomposition have been found near the shores of Lough Iron. The manufactures are
merely such as supply the demands of the inhabitants, being confined almost
wholly to friezes, flannels, and coarse linens. There are no fisheries of any
consequence, although all the lakes are stored with fish of various kinds and
excellent quality. The Inny is well stocked with
bream, trout, pike, eel, and roach ; salmon is found
only in the luny and Brosna, coming out of the
Shannon ; Lough Dereveragh
is celebrated for its white and red trout ; and about the month of May a
small fish of a very pleasant flavour, called the Goaske, of the size of a herring, is taken in this and
the neighbouring lake. In the ditches near the
borders of Lough Hoyle an incredible quantity of
the fry of fish is caught from September to March. In the bogs, and
especially in slimy pits covered with water, is found a muscle, flatter and
broader than the common sea muscle, the shell brighter in colour,
much thinner, and very brittle. They are not numerous, nor are they much used
as food. The Brosna and the Inny are the only rivers of any importance in the county : the former rises near Lough
Hoyle ; the latter at Loughcrew, in the Many vestiges of very
remote antiquity may be traced in the neighbourhood
of Ballintubber, and others of a similar
description are observable in Moycashel. Of the
numerous monastic institutions scattered through the county, those of Clonfad, Kilconiry, Drumcree, Forgney, Killuken, Leckin, Lynn, and Rathugh still remain, either wholly or in part, as places
of worship either of Protestants or Roman Catholics. The ruins of those of Farranemanagh, Fore, Kilbeggan,
Kilmocahill, and Multifarnham
are still in existence: those of Tristernagh and of
the houses of the Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians of Mullingar are
utterly destroyed ; Athlone
had a house of Conventual Franciscans : the
existence of several others is now ascertained only by the names of the
places in which they flourished. The ruins of ancient
castles, several of which were erected by Hugh de Lacy, are numerous : the remains of Kilbixy
castle, his chief residence, though now obliterated, were extensive in the
year 1680. Those of Ardnorcher, or Horseleap, another of de Lacy’s
castles, and the place where he met with a violent death from the hands of
one of his own dependents, are still visible. Rathwire,
Sonnagh, and Killare were also built by de Lacy : the second of these stands on the verge of a small
but beautiful lake ; the third afterwards fell into the hands of the Mac Geoghegans, the mansion of which family was at Castle Geoghegan, and some remains of it are still visible.
Other remarkable castles were Delvin, the seat of
the Nugents ; Leney,
belonging to the Gaynors ; Empor,
to the Daltons ; Killaniny and Ardnagrath,
to the Dillons ; Bracca,
near Ardnorcher, to the Handys,
who have a modern mansion in its neighbourhood ;
and Clare Castle, or Mullaghcloe, the headquarters
of Generals de Ginkell and Douglas when preparing
for the siege of Ballymore. Several castles of the Mac Geoghegans
were in the neighbourhood of Kilbeggan.
The modern mansions of the nobility and gentry are noticed under the heads of
their respective parishes. The peasants are a
healthy robust race. The women retain their maiden name after marriage; they
perform the outdoor work, bring the turf home in carts, and share in the labours of the field. The English language is everywhere
spoken, except by some of the old people, and that only in ordinary conversa-tion among themselves. The habitations are poor;
the roofs without ceilings, formed of a few couples, and supported by two or
three props, over which the boughs of trees not stripped of their leaves are
laid crossways, and these are covered with turf and thatched with straw. A
hole in the roof gives vent to the smoke; and the bare ground constitutes the
floor and hearth. The house-leek is encouraged to grow on the thatch, from a
notion that it is a preservative against fire : the
peasants make their horses swim in some of the lakes on Garlick
Sunday, the second Sunday in August, to preserve them in health during the
remainder of the year. There is a chalybeate spa at Grangemore,
near Killucan ; but the water is little used, in consequence of the
difficulty of access to the place. Westmeath gives the title of Marquess to the family of Nugent. |
Un-Researched
Information:
James and Bridget Tuite,
married May 3rd 1819 (from a family bible which was printed in NYC)
Their 10 children were:
William (b. June 17, 1820)
Thomas (b. May 17, 1822)
Margaret (b. June 24,
1824; died Sept 23, 1827)
James (b. Nov 25, 1828)
2nd Margaret
"Peggy" (b. March 6, 1829)
Mary (b. Oct 26, 1831;
died 1832)
Francis (b. July 28, 1833)
John (b. July 28, 1836)
2nd Mary (b. Feb 17, 1840)
Andrew Jackson (b. May 18,
a)
There were two large Tuite families in the NY
and NJ area in the late 1860s:
NY 1850/60/70 Census names were: Francis,
Thomas, John, Michael, Walter, Ann, Catharine/Catherine, Elizabeth, Eliza,
James, Margaret, Philip, Robert, Rose, William, Nicholas and Richard NJ
1860.70/90 Census names were: John, James, Margaret, Mary J., Patrick,
Caroline, Frank, Mary, "P", Thomas and Walter.
Patrick Tuite,
married to Mary Costello, Co. Westmeath, had at least one daughter, Mary Ann
born 1860 (was baptized at the Parish of Dysort in
the Diocese of Meath according to the rite of the
Catholic Church on the 9th of Feb, 1861) and at least one son Peter. Mary
married a Talbot (John ?) and immigrated to America
via New York when 16 or in 1882. Family settled in the New Jersey area,
Somerset County.
Ellie McDonough (nee Tuite) (Dysart,
Mullingar) – July 3rd, 1968 at St. Loman's Hospital Mullingar.Ellen: deeply regretted by her nephews, relatives
and friends, R.I.P. Funeral from St. Patrick's Church, Dysart, to Castletown geoghegan Cemetary.
William Tuite, born about 1813 in Dundalk, County Louth, who married Bridget Herreran (c. 1816?-1889) (also know by the surnames of McKettrick and Cunningham) of Dundalk
in the 1830’s. William and Bridget moved to Australia in about 1839 and soon
settled in Merriwa, NSW, where they raised a family of eleven children,
including Mary TUITE (1846-1904), who married Daniel GALLAGHER in Singleton,
NSW in 1869. William Tuite’s father was noted as
being Patrick(?) Tuite of Dundalk Plains, Dundalk, Louth.
John Joseph Tuite born in Mullingar,
Co. Westmeath in April of 1834. Son of Robert Tuite and Christa Broody/Brodie
(probably married around the late 1820’s). John emigrated
to Canada in the late 1840’s early 1850’s with his cousins Michael E. Tuite and
Rosanna. Michael’s parents were Christopher Tuite and Rosanna Broody, probably
Christa’s sister and Robert and Christopher were probably brothers.
Eliza Tuite born 1832 Meath Ireland emigrated to Australia around 1851. Her father was Michael,
a farmer, and mother was Anne Leeany
John Tuite, a farmer from Springfield married Lucy Ann Salmon. She gave
birth to Mary Margaret Tuite in Springfield on July 18, 1872 which was
registered in Mullingar on August 6, 1872.
Donegal:
Mary Tuite, a protestant, married a catholic Dolan and was banished to Leitrim by her employer Mr Trednick (around 1866?).
Margaret Tuite (died 8/10/1922 Boris, County
Carlow Ireland) married Thomas Bolger (born 1820).
Peter Tuite (1880/82-1964). His parents were
Patrick Tuite and Ann Reilly of Ireland. His siblings were Mary(m.
keyes), Susan(m. lynch), John, Bernard, Bridget, Ann,
Eleanor(m. Andrew) and Kathleen(m. Patrick O'Reilly). Peter Tuite died in
Stamford, Connecticut USA.
Timothy and Johanna Tuite (nee Ryan)..parents of Mary Tuite b.1838-1837 Nenagh
or Clonoulty Tipperary. One only record of a Timothy
Tuite is in Griffith's Valuation Index: Timothy Tuite of Ballinahinch-Kiloscully
(lived in townland of Curraghduff).
Patrick Tuite born 1886 to Edward Tuite and
Bridget Brady, Patrick had brothers Philip and John, Also sisters Alice, Mary
Kate, and Anne. Patrick Tuite came to NYC in 1912 and married Fannie (Frances
Donohue) of Galway around 1920's. They lived in Manhattan and Queens. Both are
buried in St. John's Cemetary along with Fannie's
sister or sister-in-law Theresa Donohue. Patrick's father EdwardTuite
died in 1920 and Edward had a brother James and a sister Margaret Tuite. There
is a Philip Tuite Born 1749 and died 1822 in family plot.
Tuite,
James 28 Arklow Harbor #13 Census Date: 1901
Geraldine - Fishingboat. Fisherman/single
Dublin.
Tuite Family of Kilsaran
(near Castlebellingham), Co. Louth, Ireland.
John (Peck) Tuite 1905/1989. Emigrated to
the USA, when quite young. Lived in the Bronx (and possibly Staten Island), New
York City. Married and had two sons - Albert (deceased) and Thomas. Kathleen
Tuite 1900 - 1992? Emigrated to the US with John. Married to John Hollidge (or Holage).
Mary Anne (or Marie Anne) Tuite. Born in 1851,
married to Francois Labbe in 1868 and died in 1931.
Possibly orphaned at a young age, and also possibly of Irish decent.
|
Database: Irish Records Index, 1500-1920 |
||||||
|
Last Name |
Given Name and Status |
Date |
Film # |
Location |
T, Box & Order # |
Item Order |
|
TUITE |
Elizabeth Dorothea (als Cobbe) |
1808 |
496381 |
Westmeath/Weybridge |
T16720, pg 5 |
18 of 91 |
|
TUITE |
Henry Maurice |
1903 |
592932 |
Rathconrath, Westmth |
M3822(27) |
28 of 100 |
|
TUITE |
Henry Maurice (Esq) |
1892 |
592940 |
Mullingar, Westmeath |
M3863 (14) |
13 of 15 |
|
TUITE |
Henry (Bart - Deceased) |
1808 |
496381 |
|
T16720, pg 5 |
18 of 91 |
|
TUITE |
Hugh Morgan, Esq |
1847 |
101011 |
Sonna |
page 35 |
Sec 14 |
|
TUITE |
Hugh Morgan, Esq |
1830 |
101011 |
Sonna |
page 29 |
Sec 14 |
|
TUITE |
James |
1735 |
101011 |
Feimore Meath |
Misc 1617- |
Sec 9 |
|
TUITE |
James |
1735 |
101011 |
Feimore Meath |
Misc/Lse +6 |
Sec 7 |
|
TUITE |
Patrick |
1793 |
101011 |
Shraduff |
Lease, pg -1 |
Sec 7 |
|
TUITE |
Joseph, Sir, Bart |
1699 |
596414 |
Dublin |
Lse #3370 |
54 of 150 |
|
Irish Flax Growers List, 1796 |
|||
|
ID |
County |
Surname |
Given Name |
|
5686 |
Cavan |
Tuite |
Nicholas |
|
6741 |
Cavan |
Tuite |
Andrew |
|
6742 |
Cavan |
Tuite |
Mathias |
|
30936 |
Longford |
Tuite |
Philip |
|
37844 |
Meath |
Tuite |
James |
|
37894 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Michael |
|
38350 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Michael |
|
38558 |
Meath |
Tuite |
James |
|
38666 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Judith |
|
38959 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Eleanor |
|
38970 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Edmond |
|
38984 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Michael |
|
39013 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Anne |
|
39018 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Thomas |
|
39030 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Thomas |
|
39039 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Matthias |
|
39056 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Patrick |
|
39073 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Patrick |
|
39101 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Edmond |
|
39102 |
Meath |
Tuite |
Matthew |
Property owners County Tipperary 1870: Sir Mark Tuite Ballymacur, Nenagh 89 acres
King James's Irish Army List, 1689: Tuite
'Haydn's Dictionary of Dates' published in London in 1895. The name's are as published, with forenames where found. The date is in reference to the day of execution. A reason for execution is noted if known and the last place of reference is the place of the trial. Also noted are the names of the victims, where known: TUITE, Francis 1813 09 Oct Murder of Mr. GOULDING; Dublin.
A poem written by one of the Tuite family.
W. M. H. UP TO DATE (1897)
We have now got joint Masters of whom we are proud-
On sides we hear their praises sung loud!
Let the hunting community give them support,
For the Lord and the Honourable mean to show sport.
Our Hon Sec. And Treasurer, Major George Hall,
Is a topper at jumping a five-foot-six wall:
Better balanced on horseback than in his accounts:
And hunt-races he, gets plenty of mounts.
For his weight our best man – and he rides twenty stone-
Is, without doubt, Colonel Richard Malone,
Of Baronstown owner, a fine-looking man
At the head of his Rifles, or leading the van.
Herbert Fether is one who is all for a start,
And Toby, of that ilk, is wild for a dart:
But the Canon “goes off” at the very first note-
Our honoured and reverned pastor from Moate.
One seldom now Goodbody or Brabazon sees,
And Middleton’s busy at earning his fees.
The hunt, very often, too, misses Tom Maher,
And young Charlie Breville, who’s now a hussar.
True lovers of sport are the two Misses Reynell,
The puppies they walk are the pride of the kennel.
You never draw Edmondton blank of a fox
And they manage the payments for hens and for cocks.
When drawing the laurels and woods about Sonna,
A Vulp will be found, you may bet ‘pon you honour;
He does not ride much, and is fond of a shoot,
But a good fox preserver is Henry Tuite.”
(The
poem contains a total of fifty-nine verses).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Co. Westmeath County
Published in The History of Parliament: the House of
Commons 1820-1832, ed. D.R. Fisher, 2009 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Background Information Number of registered freeholders: 2,601 in 1829; 641 in
1830 Number of voters: 2,507
in 18261 Elections
Main Article Westmeath
was predominantly arable, producing mainly oats and potatoes. There were
several market towns, including Castle Pollard, Moate
and Rathowen, the disfranchised boroughs of Fore, Kilbeggan and Mullingar, the venue for county elections,
and the parliamentary borough of Athlone, which lay
partly in Roscommon.2The representation had long been dominated by the
childless George Rochfort, 2nd earl of Belvidere,
whose kinsman Gustavus Hume Rochfort
had sat since 1798. Following Belvidere’s death in 1814 and the breakup of
his estates, however, the commanding interest had passed to Thomas Pakenham, 2nd earl of Longford,
of Pakenham Hall, Castle Pollard. His brother
Hercules had in 1808 replaced William Smyth, the nominee of the ailing Nugent
interest headed by George Frederick Nugent, 7th earl of Westmeath.
Unsuccessful attempts to unseat the sitting Members had been mounted by
Westmeath’s heir Lord Delvin and Robert Stearne Tighe of Michelstown, both of whom had solicited the support of
William Handcock, 1st Baron Castlemaine,
the proprietor of Athlone, Sir Thomas Chapman of Killua, the various branches of the Smyth family and a
growing ‘Catholic interest’.3 At
the 1820 general election Rochfort and Pakenham offered again. Tighe
urged the electors to ‘change your representatives’ and insist that they
‘give some pledge for the future’, as ‘Ireland is neither
prosperous or safe’, but declined to stand himself. There was no
opposition.4 Both Members continued to support the Liverpool
ministry. Only Pakenham attended to oppose Catholic
claims in 1821, but Rochfort paired against the
bill to relieve Catholic peers of their disabilities the following year. On Rochfort’s death in 1824 his son and heir Gustavus, with only a modest inheritance, refused to come
forward, despite the solicitations of ‘numerous friends’. Robert Smyth of Drumcree, only son of William Smyth, offered, citing
‘nearly similar’ political principles to those of his father and refusing to
be ‘bound by any pledges’. He was supported by Longford,
Richard Malone of Baronston, his proposer, and
Chapman, who apparently looked on him as ‘a sort of locum tenens’ until his
son Montagu came of age. Hugh Morgan Tuite of Sonna,
the pro-Catholic son of a resident gentleman of ‘about £5,000 per annum’,
made a ‘limited canvass’, but on finding ‘the strong interests combined’
against him withdrew, hinting that he intended to stand at the next general
election. Richard Levinge of Knockdrim
Castle was also spoken of and obtained ‘numerous assurances of support’, but
he declined from ‘circumstances of a private nature’, requesting that his
friends ‘keep themselves disengaged for any future election’. Smyth, who
claimed to be ‘truly independent’, was returned unopposed. At the chairing he
scattered a large bag of silver.5 He
opposed Catholic claims, to which Pakenham became a
convert in 1825, much to the dismay of Longford.
During the rumours of a
dissolution that September it was reported to Peel, the home
secretary, that the ‘Westmeath Protestant gentlemen’ were ‘outraged with Pakenham for his votes’ on the issue.6 The
following month the grand jury met at Moate to
condemn the ‘outrages’ that had followed the rejection of the Catholic relief
bill and call on the magistrates for ‘stronger punishments’.7 At
the 1826 general election Pakenham retired amidst reports,
which he repudiated, that he had been ‘discarded’ by his brother and the
‘high Protestant interest’. Smyth stood again, denying allegations in the
Catholic press, which pilloried him as ‘the most stupid and silly man in the
county’, that he was ‘a person advocating violent political opinions’. Gustavus Rochfort, whose family
had ‘long abandoned their influence’, came forward on the ‘Purple [Longford] and Orange interest’, citing his father’s
services. A series of placards, allegedly produced by the Catholic
Association, charged him with being ‘put forward by an intolerant and bigoted
faction, who if they could, would exterminate you and every other Catholic
off the face of the earth’, and denounced him and Smyth as ‘two puppets in
the hands of the Orange faction’ and ‘the sworn enemies of you and your
religion’. Tuite declared on the Catholic interest, stating his independence
from ‘any particular line of politics’ and his belief that emancipation would
restore tranquillity. He urged his supporters, who
included Malone, Sir Richard Nagle of Jamestown and Longford’s
uncle, Admiral Sir Thomas Pakenham, to ‘abstain
from a violent and inflammatory course’. The Irish under-secretary Gregory
informed Peel that the ‘Popish priests are endeavouring
to detach the tenants from their Protestant landlords in Westmeath to support
Tuite, but they are not expected to succeed’.8 During the ensuing contest over 100 people were wounded
and two men killed in ‘scenes that would disgrace the inhabitants of New
Zealand’. Smyth was proposed by Chapman, Rochfort
by Richard Handcock* and Tuite, who arrived in a
‘caravan drawn by a motley crew of the sans culottes armed
with bludgeons’, by Malone. On the first day it became clear that the ‘real
struggle’ would be between Smyth and Tuite, whereupon Malone was ‘started as
a fourth candidate by the liberal party’. (The Catholic freeholders had
initially been advised to give their second votes to Smyth, on the grounds
that it was ‘better to have an idiot than an Orangeman’ returned.) During the
second day, at the close of which Rochfort had
secured 681 votes, Smyth 577, Tuite 494 and Malone an unspecified number, the
Catholic priests were reported to have been ‘very busy about the booths,
threatening, persuading and noting down such as voted contrary to their
wishes’, whom they advised to ‘prepare their coffins or leave the country’.
For the next six days polling was repeatedly interrupted by disturbances and
on the seventh a troop of cavalry was sent to disperse the rioters. One of
the agents recorded ‘great complaints about locking up voters, stopping them
on the roads, beating and swearing them to vote for the priests’ friends,
closing booths, etc.’, and that ‘it don’t seem a gentlemanly contest’. Rochfort and Tuite were returned on the eighth day, when
Smyth, who was only 24 votes behind, objected to the closure of the poll.
Smyth absented himself from the declaration, leaving his kinsman Henry Smyth
to denounce the ‘unconstitutional’ interference of the priests who had
‘prostituted their altars’ for Tuite, and to promise to challenge the return.
Tuite denied that the contest had been ‘carried on riotously’ and praised the
‘good temper and orderly conduct’ of his supporters before dispensing silver
from the chair, which Rochfort declined to do. A
mob later went on the rampage, chanting ‘Come out, you bloody Orangemen’,
and, ‘We have not forgotten ‘98 yet’.9 The contest was one of those later described by the
Whig James Abercromby* as ‘a sort of little
bloodless revolution’, in which ‘the political power of the state has passed
from the landed aristocracy’ into ‘the hands of the Catholic priests, the
natural enemies of the government’; the ‘alliance of gentry in favour of Lord Longford was so
great that he looked with scorn on Tuite’, who ‘with the evil of the priests
triumphed’.10 Smyth’s
petition, alleging that his supporters had been kidnapped by mobs, threatened
with ‘excommunication’ by the priests and had their ‘affidavits of registry’
unfairly rejected, and that the poll had been ‘illegally terminated early’,
was presented on 22 Nov. 1826. Citing the admission of 12 Catholic
freeholders with ‘estates for the life of one Peyton John Gamble, who had
died three months before’, he complained of ‘gross impartiality’ in the
issuing of affidavits by Jonathon Ardill, a clerk
of the peace, whose nephew Thomas had been retained by Tuite. If the 50
freeholders ‘improperly allowed were taken off the pollbooks’,
he contended, he would have a majority.11 The petition lapsed, 11 Dec., but one in similar terms
from Smyth’s supporters, who included his kinsman Ralph Smyth of Gaybrook, William Fetherston of
Carrick and Tighe, was presented, 4 Dec. 1826.
Petitions complaining of an insufficient Member’s property qualification were
presented against Rochfort, 27 Nov., and Tuite, 8
Dec., 1826, but lapsed, 12 Dec. 1826 and 8 Feb. 1827 respectively.12 On
14 Feb. 1827 Tuite unexpectedly announced that he would not defend his
return, but Nagle, Malone and others successfully petitioned to be admitted
as parties for his defence, 8 Mar. 1827. A
commission of inquiry was appointed, 29 Mar., but it disintegrated the
following year, whereupon a committee was appointed, 18 Apr., which ruled in Tuite’s favour, 28 Apr. 1828.13 Rochfort
opposed and Tuite supported Catholic relief, against which petitions
condemning the Association and the ‘undisguised interference of the
priesthood’ in the late election were presented to the Commons, 12 Feb., 2
Mar. 1827. Favourable ones reached the Commons, 26
Mar. 1827, 18 Feb., 2 May 1828, and the Lords, 6 Mar. 1827.14 One against alteration of the corn laws was presented
to the Lords, 11 June 1827.15 Following
appeals by the Westmeath
Journal, a Brunswick Club, whose vice-presidents
included Gustavus Lambart
of Beau Parc, Fetherston
and Rochfort, a founder member of the Brunswick
Constitutional Club of Ireland, was established at Tyrrellpass,
27 Oct. 1828. Longford and the Handcock
were toasted at an Orange celebration at Moate, 4
Nov. That month Longford provided the duke of
Wellington, the premier, with ‘a cypher’ used by
the Jesuits, but added that the language employed at Catholic meetings ‘tells
more ... than any cypher can indicate’.16 On
25 Nov. 1828 the Westmeath Brunswick Club held its inaugural meeting at
Mullingar, attended by Longford, Fetherston, Henry Smyth and Rochfort,
when a petition against Catholic claims was started.17 Tuite was a convenor for the
meeting of the ‘friends of civil and religious liberty’ at the Rotunda,
Dublin, 20 Jan. 1829.18 He
and Rochfort took opposite sides on the Wellington
ministry’s concession of emancipation, for which petitions were presented to
the Commons, 17 Feb., 3, 10 Mar. 1829. Hostile ones reached the Commons, 3
Mar., and the Lords, 27 Mar.19 By
the accompanying alteration of the franchise the registered electorate was
reduced from 2,601 to 641, of whom 170 qualified at
the new minimum freehold of £10, 125 at £20 and 346 at £50.20 Nagle
was a member of the committee established for the O’Connell testimonial, 25
Mar.21 Petitions
were presented to the Lords for repeal of the Irish Subletting Act, 12 Feb.,
and to the Commons for the introduction of an Irish poor law, 28 May.22 In
November 1829 Viscount Forbes, Member for county Longford,
informed Lord Anglesey, the former viceroy, that Westmeath was in a
‘disturbed’ state.23 At
the 1830 general election Rochfort offered again.
He was joined by Tuite, who cited his opposition to increased taxation and
infringements on the ‘liberty of the press’. Smyth was spoken of but
declined, and Montagu Chapman, recently of age, declared on the combined
interest of his father and Longford, who were said
to have formed a ‘complete coalition’ for the ‘purpose of ousting Tuite,
whose triumph over them in 1826 will never be forgiven’. Nicholas Fitzsimon of Broughall Castle,
King’s County, was rumoured but declined a
requisition from the Catholics, who at the last minute put up Gerald Dease of Turbotston, nephew of
the 8th earl of Fingall and cousin of Lord Killeen,
Member for county Meath. An observer in Mullingar
reported that ‘there promises to be a wicked contest here’ and that ‘the
priests are already interfering in a most unconstitutional manner’.24 At the nomination Rochfort
was proposed by Handcock, Tuite by Nagle and
Chapman by William Dutton Pollard of Castle Pollard. At the end of the first
day Rochfort had 238 votes, Chapman 223, Tuite 147,
and Dease 61. Next day Tuite, noting that he had
been ‘rather remiss’ in his canvass, and Dease
retired. It was later claimed that ‘but for the frivolous objections’ lodged
by the Catholics ‘for the purpose of delay, upwards of nearly 200 more votes
would have been polled in their favour’.25 Westmeath was erroneously listed as a ‘gain’ by the
Wellington ministry, which both Members helped to vote out of office. The
Grey ministry’s reform bill was supported by Chapman, but opposed by Rochfort. At
the 1831 general election Rochfort, who had been
reconciled to the Tories, stood firm, ‘sufficient’ party funds having been
placed at his disposal.26 Chapman offered as an ‘uncompromising’ supporter of
reform, over which many of his former supporters, including the anti-Tory Brunswickers, were reported to be ‘deeply divided’.
Sensing an opening, a number of candidates declared and another ‘severe
contest’ was expected. Tuite started but withdrew, whereupon Percy Fitzgerald
Nugent of Donmore, the head of ‘a respectable
Catholic family’, came forward professing support for ‘peace, economy and
reform’. Smyth offered, promising to resume his previous line of conduct. Levinge, who was last spoken of in 1824, also came
forward in response to a requisition from the ‘independent’ interest. The
return of Rochfort was deemed certain by the
Protestant press, which contended that ‘plumpers
will be given to him in the event of a contest, even by the personal friends
and the relations of his colleague’. In the event, however, Nugent, Levinge and Smyth agreed to retire at the nomination (the
latter after some persuasion), ‘in order to prevent the county being
disturbed’. Rochfort, who was reported to have
‘undergone a change’ and given a ‘sort of pledge’ for reform, and Chapman
were returned unopposed.27 Rochfort continued to oppose and Chapman to support reform.
Petitions reached the Lords condemning the reform bill as ‘short-sighted’ and
‘erected upon the shifting foundation of popular clamour’,
15 July 1831, and one in favour, 20 Feb. 1832.28 That
month Chapman attended a county meeting to vote a petition for an Irish
measure ‘as effective and comprehensive’ as the English one, which he
presented, 9 Mar.29 Petitions
were presented to the Commons against the Irish education plan, 26 Jan., and
for the abolition of tithes, 9 Mar.30 Rochfort
presented one from the magistrates and the newly appointed lord lieutenant,
the marquess of Westmeath, complaining of the
‘defiance of the peasantry’ and for greater powers ‘to restrain insurgency’,
15 Mar. 1832.31 The
Irish Reform Act did not add any leaseholders to the freeholders, who had
increased to 1,395 (985 registered at £10, 140 at £20, and 270 at £50).32 Thereafter
the Handcock and Longford
interests retained ‘much weight at elections’, but ‘lost the predominance’.33Only
486 voters polled at the 1832 general election, when the Liberals Chapman and
Nagle defeated the Conservatives Rochfort and Gustavus Lambart.34 The
county remained a Liberal stronghold until the advent of Home Rule. Author:
Philip Salmon Notes ·
1.PP (1829), xxii. 22. ·
2.S. Lewis, Top. Dict. of Ireland (1837),
ii. 695. ·
3.HP Commons, 1790-1820, ii. 696-7. ·
4.The Times, 17
Feb.; Dublin Evening Post, 2, 9, 14 Mar. 1820. ·
5.Westmeath Jnl. 12, 26 Feb., 11 Mar. 1824. ·
6.Add. 40381, f. 209. ·
7.Westmeath Jnl. 20 Oct. 1825. ·
8.Brougham mss, Abercromby to
Brougham, 12 July; The Times, 27
May, 6 June; Westmeath Jnl. 8, 15, 22 June; Dublin Evening Post, 10,
17, 22 June 1826; Add. 40334, f. 171; CJ, lxxxii.
17. ·
9.Westmeath Jnl. 29 June, 6 July; Dublin Evening Post, 27 June 1826. ·
10.Brougham mss, Abercromby to Brougham, 12 July 1826. ·
11.Westmeath Jnl. 30 Nov. 1826; CJ, lxxxii.
16-17. ·
12.CJ, lxxxii. 32, 33, 56, 107, 111, 112, 126. ·
13.Ibid. 168, 293, 429; lxxxiii. 244, 277. ·
14.Ibid. lxxxii.
154, 254, 358; lxxxiii. 78, 304; LJ, lix. 136. ·
15.LJ, lix. 395. ·
16.Wellington mss WP1/966/3. ·
17.Westmeath Jnl. 28 Aug., 25 Sept., 2, 30 Oct., 13, 27 Nov., 4 Dec.
1828. ·
18.Dublin Evening Post, 8 Jan. 1829. ·
19.CJ, lxxxiv. 42, 98, 121; LJ, lxi.
302. ·
20.PP (1830), xxix. 462-3. ·
21.Dublin Evening Post, 26 Mar. 1829. ·
22.LJ, lxi. 29; CJ, lxxxiv. 349. ·
23.PRO NI, Anglesey mss
D619/32/A/3/1/239. ·
24.Dublin Evening Post, 29 July, 3, 14 Aug. 1830; NLI, Farnham
mss 18602 (40), Hodson to Maxwell, 9 Aug. 1830. ·
25.Dublin Evening Post, 12, 14 Aug.; Roscommon and Leitrim Gazette, 14 Aug. 1830. ·
26.Farnham mss 18606 (1),
Arbuthnot to Farnham, 4 May 1831. ·
27.Dublin Evening Post, 3, 5, 12 May; O’Connell Corresp. iv. 1800; The Times, 13
May; Roscommon and Leitrim
Gazette, 7, 14 May 1831. ·
28.LJ, lxiii. 821; lxiv. 62. ·
29.CJ, lxxxvii. 177. ·
30.Ibid. 52, 177-8. ·
31.Ibid. 196. ·
32.PP (1833), xxvii. 301. ·
33.Dod’s Electoral Facts ed.
H.J. Hanham, 333. ·
34.PP (1833), xxvii. 301. |
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List of MPs elected
in the United Kingdom general election, 1885 From Wikipedia, the
free encyclopedia
This is a list of Members of Parliament (MPs) elected to the 23rd Parliament of the United Kingdom at the 1885 general election, held over several
days from 24 November 1885 to 18 December 1885.
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