Annie Miller

• General Notes
  • 
     Further research has now been carried out on the Stuart and Miller families of Co. Kilkenny. Because of the destruction of the Church of Ireland records of the Rower parish, no information was available on ancestry of Charles James Stuart who was probably the son of Henry Stuart of Kylemore and who married Anne Miller in 1842. It was hoped to establish the ancestry of Anne Miller, whose family was said to have come from Ballycocksoost in Inistioge parish, Co. Kilkenny. The Inistioge regis¬ters, dating from 1797, are in' local custody but, unfor¬tunately there has been no incumbent in Inistioge for many months. We postponed research on this family in the hope that the vacancy would be filled and that the new incumbent would be able to search his baptism and marriage records.
    However, since so much time had elapsed, it was decided to go ahead with research from other sources. The Index¬es to Ossory Diocesan Marriage Licence Bonds and Wills were examined for Miller entries and the results have been set out in the appendix. The 1850 Primary Valuation of Inistioge did not show any Miller family on 'Ballycock¬soost but showed a Henry Miller on Killeen townland. The 1829, Tithe Applotment showed a Joseph Miller with 24 acres on Killeen townland and it seemed that this Joseph might have been the father of both Henry of 1850
    and Anne who married Charles James Stuart.     The parish
    register should give the name of Joseph Miller's wife.
    The 1901 and 1911 Census returns for Killeen did not show any Miller famiy, but Henry Miller had apparantly moved to Ballycocksoost some time after 1850. Since Anne Miller's family is known to have lived ther~, it appears that this is definitely the correct family. Details of the census are in the appendix, and indicate that Henry was born c.1825. If he was born in Inistioge the parish register should give his parents names and those of Anne.
    One Joseph Miller married Henrietta Obins in 1792 and one Lewis Obins Miller married Mary Peppard in 1798.
    It is possible that this Joseph and Lewis are the two sons of Joseph Miller of Wexford, clerk, whose prerogative will was proved in 1791. An abstract of his will was found in the Betham notebooks in the P.R.O. and will be found in the appendix. No relevant entries for Miller or Stuart occurred in either the Ferns or Ossory Diocesan Wills, or in the Probate Calendars 1858 77. Both families held fairly small farms of under 30 acres and so did not occur in the Registry of Deeds.
    Henry Miller of Ballycocksoost had at least nine children but seven of them were still unmarried in 1911. The current Irish telephone directory does not show any Miller living there at present and time did not permit a search in the Land Valuation Office for the current occupiers. Again, the parish registers should eventually supply information on their marriages and deaths.
    The Bethamn Abstracts of Prerogative Wills, covering the period 1700 - 1800 were examined, but no entry relat¬ing to any of the Stuarts noted there seemed relevant
    to the Kylemore family. Tradi tion has linked them to a Scottish Bishop Stuart.     The Prerogative Will of Will-
    iam Stewart of Finnick (sic) in Scotland was. proved in Ireland in 1760. He left an only son, James Stewart, but there is no evidence to connect this James Stuart with the Henry Stuart on Kylemore in 1826.
    A search was made in the General Index of Marriages for Henry Miller's marriage c .1868. Only one Henry Miller entry occurred 1864 9, in the parish of Ra t hm o y La n ,
    Co. Waterford. As can be seen, Henry Miller, farmer, was the son of Matthew Miller, farmer and married Eliza, daughter of Ebenezer Lodge, farmer, of Ballymacaw in Rathmoylan Parish, on Waterford harbour. Both parties were living at Ballymacaw at the date of their marriage but, since Henry said in 1901 that he was born in Co. Kilkenny, he most probably originated in Inistioge.
    It seems then, that Henry was not the son of Joseph Miller of Killeen and we do not know if Anne Miller was in fact his sister.
    Before finalising this report we ascertained that the parish of Inistioge now has a new incumbent. We suggest that you write to him, Rev. William Eric Browne, Kells Priory, Co. Kilkenny, and ask him to examine the Inistioge parish register for Miller entries. The fee for such a search is £5. and, since Rev. Browne now has the care of four parishes, it may take some time to get a reply.
    Our research had to be concluded at this point and, it is hoped, will be of interest.