Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

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sfitz
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Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by sfitz » Fri Aug 31, 2012 1:45 pm

Hello,

I am writing from the US, and hopefully someone local can help us out! We are doing research on my wife's family, the Brownes, who were from Cappanageeragh. We have a number of old family photographs of the Brownes from the late 1800's, all from a photography studio in Ennis. Included with these old portraits is a photograph of a fairly large country house. I have attached a copy of the photo here (which I hope I did correctly). Family tradition holds that the house belonged to a Browne relative at some point, but this may not be the case. As far as we know, the Brownes were far from wealthy! I know it's probably crazy to ask, but can anyone identify it, or can anyone advise me on who might know? The house would most likely be around Ennis. Thanks very much for any help you can give!

Regards,

Sam
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Kurt in S.A.
Posts: 67
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Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by Kurt in S.A. » Fri Aug 31, 2012 7:22 pm

Sam -

I can't help with the photo, but I'm certainly interested. I, too, have been researching the Brown(e) side of my family. I'm sure Brown(e) is fairly common. I've posted a number of times on this forum. I haven't been able to piece much together. I think my relatives were more from Cappanageeragh and Ballycloghessy in particular. I piece that together from the early 1800 tithe documents that shows Browne family names in this region. One of my relatives mentions being born in Ennis, but I wonder if he just listed the nearest big town.

Where did your family end up in the US? Mine first came over in the Boston and Buffalo areas.

Kurt

sfitz
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Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by sfitz » Mon Sep 03, 2012 3:06 am

Hi Kurt,

If you are researching Brownes in Cappanageeragh, then ours are most likely of the same family. (I say "ours," but it's actually my wife's family I'm researching.) There have only ever been 11 or so households in Cappanageeragh, and two of them were related Browne families.

My wife is descended from George Browne (1842-1932) and Susan Casey (1853-1921), who lived in Cappanageeragh all their lives. George and Susan had nine children. At least five of their children immigrated to the U.S., and all to the Boston area:

1. Margaret Browne (b. 1878) m. Patrick McCarthy - children: Michael; Andrew
2. Anne Browne (b. 1882) m. Patrick Carroll - child Julia lived in Boston
3. Joseph Browne (b.1884) m. Marie Gibbons - children: Rev. George (Philadephia); Eileen (New York); Rev. Thomas (Washington, D.C.); Joseph (Boston area); Theresa (Florida)
4. Michael Browne (b.1886) m. Rose McCrann - children: Mary Clare (died young); Barbara (Connecticut)
5. Patrick Browne (b. 1889) m. Rose Gilbride - children: Marie; Dorothy; James

Michael Browne is my wife's grandfather; Barbara is her mother. Michael and Rose settled in Lowell, MA. Joseph settled in nearby Weymouth, MA., and died a hero in a supermarket explosion in 1935. Patrick settled in Boston (he was the best man for Michael's wedding), but I don't know where his kids finally settled.

Other children of George and Susan Browne:

Mary Browne (b. 1874) m. Patrick Burns, County Clare - child: John
Thomas Browne (b. 1876) m. Anne? - children: Joseph; Mary; Delia; Michael; John; Susan; Thomas K.; George
Catherine Browne (b. 1880) m. Michael Carey (Ireland) - children: Mai; John; Margaret; Vincent; Francis; Patrick; Antony
Susan Browne (b. 1891) - immigrated to Australia

What might be of interest to you is that in 1985 a researcher from the Clare Heritage Centre compiled for my mother-in-law the baptism and marriage records of all 20 Browne families in Clondegad Parish, which includes Cappanageeragh and surrounding towns. This was from 1845 (when records were first kept) through about 1900. It's a pretty exhaustive list - let me know if you'd be interested in having me post that.

Regards,

Sam

Kurt in S.A.
Posts: 67
Joined: Mon Jan 30, 2012 12:06 pm
Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by Kurt in S.A. » Mon Sep 03, 2012 1:19 pm

Sam -

Thanks for the info. Your wife's side of the family doesn't match up with anything that I've been looking into. My Irish ancestors are George Brown(e) married to Ellen Maloney, both born in the early 1800s. They had twelve kids and it appears that most left for the US before 1850 or else in 1850 when George died. About all I'm aware of is they may have had a farm in the Annefield Park area.

Two of the kids, Michael and Bridget, settled in and around Ayer, MA, while quite a few of the other children made their way to just east of Buffalo, NY, where they likely were involved in the Erie canal upgrades or just figured with all people flocking to work on the canal, that there might be good work there.

RE: the listing of marriages and baptisms...by any chance is this the history of the Browne Family in County Clare by Antoinette O'Brien, put together in 1997? That publication was mentioned about a year ago on this forum and I have since gotten a copy of the pertinent pages of that. However, it doesn't represent any Brownes that I was looking for.

But if you have another or different listing, I would definitely be interested in having a look. If it's extensive, maybe you could share an electronic copy. PM me to get contact information.

Thanks...Kurt

murf
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Location: Qld Australia

Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by murf » Tue Sep 04, 2012 12:45 am

Hello Sam and Kurt
The following may be of some help to your researches into the Browns of Clondagad Parish.
Some time ago on the EPPI website I came across a letter sent by a Captain Wynne from Ennis presumably to his superior in London. Attached to the letter (dated 22 Dec 1846) is a list of applicants for famine relief in Clondegad Parish. The list includes a number of Brown families as below:

Edmund Brown Ballycorick Family size 8
James Brown Ballycorick " " 8 Holding size 2 acres
Bridget Brown Ballyclohesy " " 7 " " 7.5 acres
Michael Brown Lavalle Coppinger " " 8 " " 1 acre
Andrew Brown Cappanagerach " " 10 " " 4 acres
Michael Brown Cappanagerach " " 13 " " 15 acres
Captain Wynne was very suspicious of the family sizes given by the applicants and suggested that in most cases they had been multiplied by two.

Murf
(Apologies for the formatting, I always seem to have trouble with lists)

Kurt in S.A.
Posts: 67
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Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by Kurt in S.A. » Tue Sep 04, 2012 12:13 pm

Murf -

With nothing else to go on, the last entry for Michael Brown could be correct for my situation. I have a Michael Brown (b ~1780) from England along with a brother Nicholas. A third brother, Peter, is said to have gone to Australia. Michael had one son, George, that I know of. George's first born was also named Michael and my info is that George had a total of 12 kids. Somewhere in the late 1840s (although I think it was closer to 1848, not 1846 as the time of the letter), the kids started to make their way to the US. So, the grandson Michael could have been the farm owner on record and the total dependents could have been his brothers and sisters along with his mother and father.

Kurt

murf
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Location: Qld Australia

Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by murf » Wed Sep 05, 2012 3:37 am

I have previously on this forum raised the subject of the Clondagad Riot of 1831 which culminated at the residence of Rev Kennedy at Clondagad. This is within earshot (for a riot) of Annefield and the townland of Cappanageeragh. One of the alleged offenders charged and tried over the incident was one John Browne. He was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to transportation. However it seems that he got a last minute reprieve, for he was not among the group of transportees that arrived in Australia on board the Asia V. Perhaps Rev. Kennedy, who had provided a character reference for him at the trial, had interceded on his behalf.
My interest in this event revolved around another of the transportees, namely Martin Phillips, who may have been related to my grandmother Bridget Phillips of Caherea. Upon his release in New South Wales in 1841, Martin Phillips married one Ellen Brown. Now this may have been pure coincidence, or could they have already known each other and Ellen was a sister perhaps of John Browne of the Clondagad riot?

sfitz
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Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by sfitz » Wed Sep 05, 2012 6:24 pm

Hi Kurt,

It looks like you are one or two generations ahead of me in Browne research, so I probably won't be of much help to you. I will still post the list of Browne baptisms and marriages that I have. It is a handwritten list (now computerized) compiled in 1985 by a researcher from the Clare Heritage Centre of all baptisms and some marriages for all 20 Browne families in Clondegad starting in 1845 through the late 1800's. This info may already be out there, and if so you can obviously ignore my post. I should have it up later in the week.

You mentioned the book of Clare Brownes. It doesn't look like you can buy a copy online, but you were able to get copies of pages from somewhere? Is this a source you wouldn't mind sharing?

Thanks,

Sam

sfitz
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Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by sfitz » Wed Sep 05, 2012 6:27 pm

Hi Murf,

Thanks for the great info in your posts. The Michael Browne from Captain Wynne's list may be our relation, and I will be following up on that.

Sam

Kurt in S.A.
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Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by Kurt in S.A. » Wed Sep 05, 2012 6:53 pm

sfitz wrote:You mentioned the book of Clare Brownes. It doesn't look like you can buy a copy online, but you were able to get copies of pages from somewhere? Is this a source you wouldn't mind sharing?
Sam -

I look forward to seeing your post on marriages/baptisms. As for the book that I mentioned, there appears to be only one copy in the US, at the Buffalo Public Library. I tried an interlibrary loan, but figuring they would never loan it out, I paid a genealogy researcher from the local area go to the library and xerox the pertinent pages from the beginning. It was pretty clear when looking at it that it didn't connect with my family.

Kurt

sfitz
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Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by sfitz » Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:31 pm

Hi Kurt,

The following are the Browne Family baptism records from Clondegad that I have. There are also some marriage records as well:

CLONDEGAD BAPTISM RECORDS (Records begin in 1845)

ANDREW BROWNE + MARY CLEARY, Lanna
Nicholas – 15 April 1849
Thomas – 4 April 1851

ANDREW BROWNE + MARY O’DEA
Thomas – 6 December 1879
Mary – 15 May 1882
Bridget – 14 February 1884 (married Martin Galvin 1914)
Michael – 18 September 1888
James – 1 July 1891 (married Mary Cleary 1916)

BARTHOLOMEW BROWNE +MARY CORRY
John – 21 June ??

GEORGE BROWNE (1842-1932) + SUSAN CASEY (1853-1921), Cappanageeragh
Thomas – 29 December 1876
Margaret – 3 March 1878
Catherine – 18 November 1880
Anne – 24 June 1882
Joseph – 6 May 1884
Michael – 8 August 1886
Patrick – 23 January 1889
Susan – 30 September 1891

JAMES BROWNE + ANNE BROWNE, Cappanageeragh
Patrick – 16 March 1847

JOHN BROWNE + CATHERINE GEERY, Lisseycassey
Margaret – 15 October 1852
Thomas – 26 December 1856
Catherine – 1 July 1859
Pat – 1863
John – 27 May 1866
Michael – 12 May 1873 (Mother listed as Garry)

JOHN BROWNE + ANNE MALONEY, Mount
John – 30 April 1861

JOHN BROWNE + MARY MCMAHON
John – March 1860
Nora – 16 July 1865
Kate – 5 January 1868
John – 12 June 1870

JOHN BROWNE + MARY O’LAUGHLIN, Ballynacally
Thomas – 12 February 1893
Bridget – 7 November 1884 (married Mr. Moore)
Mary – 7 August 1887
Michael – 19 September 1900

MARTIN BROWNE + BRIDGET FLANAGAN, Glaun
Martin – 25 August 1848

MICHAEL BROWN + MARY BROWN, Lanna
Lot – 11 August 1853

MICHAEL BROWN + MARY CONNOR, Cloncolman
Ellen – 6 July 1848

MICHAEL BROWN + SUSAN CLANCY, Cloncolman
Mary – 10 June 1874
Bridget – 19 March 1876
Margaret – 7 November 1877
Kate – 14 January 1880
Susan – 4 September 183 (married Pat McGuane in Lisseycasey, 1911)
Honor – 15 May 1889 (married Pat Scanlan, 1918)
Pat – 30 January 1867 (married Mary Fogarty, 1911 in U.S.)
Thomas – 15 December 1868
Anne – 27 August 1870
Martin – 7 March 1872 (married Mary Clancy, 1919)

PAT BROWN + MARGARET SCANLAN, Lanna
Thomas – 11 June 1848
James – 18 October 1850

PAT BROWNE + ANNE HILL, Lisheen
Thomas – 22 December 1857
Michael – 24 May 1860

PAT BROWNE + MARY CARRIG, Ballycorick (Gortnamuck)
Pat – 18 March 1862
James – 31 January 1866
Michael – 2 May 1868
Thomas – 7 August 1870
Eliza – 7 February 1872

PAT BROWNE + CATHERINE CARRIG, Lisheen
James – 17 October 1863
Michael – 31 May 1865
Mary – 28 May 1863
Kate – 13 September 1870
Andrew – 25 May 1873 (married Katherine Agnes Curtin [Curtis?], Ennistymon)
George – 15 April 1876
George – 27 April 1876 [same person, clearly, but listed twice]

THOMAS BROWNE + CATHERINE MCMAHON
Pat – 26 January 1879
James – 21 August 1880
Mary – 30 August 1881

THOMAS BROWNE + BRIDGET MALONEY
Mary – 30 October 1880
Margaret – 18 May 1882
Catherine – 19 July 1890

TIM BROWNE + BRIDGET MCMAHON, Ballycloghessy
Honor – 21 August 1847
Nicholas – 17 September 1848


CLONDEGAD MARRIAGES

6 February 1877 - George Browne + Mary Sexton
28 February 1851 – John Browne + Catherine Geary
12 June 1877 – John Browne + Mary Tuohy
9 February 1866 – Michael Browne + Susan Clancy
9 June 1850 – Pat Browne + Anne Hill
11 March 1860 – Pat Browne + Mary Cunnulty
13 February 1878 – Thomas Browne + Catherine McMahon


KILMALEY MARRIAGES

8 April 1864 – James Browne + Frances Holmes
26 September 1870 – Pat Browne + Bridget Sharry


KILMALEY BAPTISMS

FRANCIS BROWN + ELIZA CUSACK
Margaret – 9 March 1834

JOHN BROWN + JUDY MCMAHON
John – 5 September 1831
Eliza – 21 April 1834
Nance – 30 August 1837
Jane – 30 June ??

MICHAEL BROWN + MARY FRALY
Honor – 12 June 1829
Mary – 10 August 1830

PAT BROWNE + BRIDGET SHARRY (married in Kilmaley 26 August 1870)
James – 30 July 1871
Mary – 23 March 1873
Catherine – 27 February 1875

THOMAS BROWN + ALICE CUSACK
Anne – 30 June 1830

Kurt in S.A.
Posts: 67
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Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by Kurt in S.A. » Fri Sep 07, 2012 6:59 pm

Sam -

Thanks for all that typing!! The first entry for Andrew may be a relative. Some of my Browns married Clearys. Plus the first son, Nicholas, is likely a call back to another family member.

Other than that, the other names don't appear to be related to me. As I had mentioned, it seems most all the kids were already born/married by 1845 and by around 1850, all should have been in the US. I will go over the list again.

BTW...check your private messages!

Kurt

sfitz
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Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by sfitz » Wed Sep 12, 2012 5:09 pm

With the help of Peter Beirne from the Library and Hugh Weir, Clare architectural historian, the house has been identified - thanks very much! It is the Bushy Park House, 3.5 km west of Ennis. It is now the Clare Addiction and Treatment Centre, and looks to be very well maintained. I have put a recent photo of the house from the Centre's website next to the old photo I have. How nice that the photographers from today and from 120 years ago were standing in the same spot!
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miriam scahill
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Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by miriam scahill » Wed Sep 12, 2012 6:34 pm

Great work !! The house is almost identical - just one chimney missing on right - and some new steps, etc. at entrance. What family lived there in early 1900's ??

Kurt in S.A.
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Re: Browne Family - Can anyone recognize this house?

Post by Kurt in S.A. » Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:09 pm

That's what I'd like to know...who lived in the house in the 1800s? When was it built?

Kurt

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