General Notes

Dear Joe

The first section relating to the Emigration books was sent to be by Jim Rees, the author of 'Surplus People' and 'Farewell to Famine'.

In the Emigration Books there are the family William Breen aged 48, Anne aged 40 Catherine aged 20 Tom aged 12 Mary aged 10 Bess aged 8 William aged 6 and John aged 4 the last name is crossed out and 'No such person inserted' . Previously this family had held a cabin and 3 acres 1 rood of land. Left for Canada 1848

There was also another family of Breens from Ballykelly who left in 1851. These were

Mary aged 75, Michael aged 30, Mary 24, William aged 33 and Charles aged 25. They sailed on the ship the Glenlyon from New Ross on 15th April and arrived in Quebec on 30th May 1851. Previously they had held a cabin and  3 acres, Charles Breen was given 20 shillings to get provisions for their journey.

In the same book there were other families of Breens from Ballinulta (now Ballynultagh), two families from Coollattin, two from New Roe and others from Coolboy travelling with the families of Byrne and Fox.

At the National Library of Ireland there is an 'Account of all the residents and occupiers of land in the different holdings on Earl Fitzwilliam's property in Ireland' inlcuding 'the quantity of land held by each and the number of their familys with remarks &c by the principal tenants taken in the year 1827 also similar account taken in the year 1839' (ref. MS 6082). This account also includes other for 1848, 1850, 1860 and 1868.

In 1827 at Ballykelly there was

Charles Breen aged 68, who held 8a 2r 38p his wife aged 39 they had one son and 4 daughters, he is described as a farmer

In 1839 on the same holding though reduced to 8 acres 2 roods there was Peter Breen aged 40 his wife was aged 38 they had 3 sons and 1 daughter

In 1827 John Breen aged 64 held 8 a 2 r 38 p his wife was aged 56 they had two sons and one daughter.

In 1839 on the same holding there was

William Breen (John's son) aged 36 his wife aged 34 their son and two daughters.

In 1827 William Breen aged 60 held 5a 0r 30p his wife was aged 56 they had three sons and three daughters.

[I know the exact spot where he lived due to the fact that he was accused of murder in 1817, (see attached file)

In 1839 on the same holding there was William aged 72 his wife aged 69 their son and 2 grandchildren.

Rentals

There copies of the rentals for the Fitzwilliam estates in both Sheffield (see Wentworth Woodhouse Muniments) and Dublin. I have used those in Sheffiled but I believe that they are exactly the same as those in Dublin. Apart from the details of the rents of each tenant and their holdings each volume contains a lists of disbursements payments out of the estate's accounts.

In the rentals the Breen of Ballykelly are first listed in 1811-1812 (ref. WWM/A/899).

The entries are

53 Breen, Charles £6 part of Ballykelly 8a 2r 38p not in lease

54 Breen, John £6 part of Ballykelly 8a 2r 38p not in lease

56 Breen William £3 13s 6d arrears £1 16s 9d part of Ballykelly not in lease.

The listed is at this time arranged alphabetically under the name of each tenant.

There are references to the Breens before this date. On 6 February 1807 Charles Breen was paid 3s 9 1/2 d for carriage of linen from Dublin and there are similar payments to him after that date.

By 1829 the rentals are divided into townlands so the three landholdings are now numbered 140-142. All three were in arrears of rent. In the rental for 1831-1832 (ref. WWM/A/920). There are additional entries 144 Breen Peter 'inserted for the house' and 146 Mary Breen inserted for a cabin.

I have not searched the rentals from 1832 through to 1846.

In the rental up to 25th March 1846 there are

178 Breen Peter arrears due 1846 £6 13s 2d annual rent £1 5s 9d arrears 1847 £5 16s 4d poor rates allowed 3s 3d part of lands of Ballykelly

179 Breen William senior same arrears annual rent £3 2s 6d arrears 1847 £1 11s 3d poor rates allowed 8d

180 Breen William junior annual rent £3 2s arrears 1847 £1 11s

There is also 355 Breen Matthew annual rent £2 arrears in 1847 £2 poor rates allowed 4s 6d 'cabin & part of Coolboy' 4a 0r 26p. He was the eldest son of William Breen senior.

The arrears of each of these tenants increased the following year and the other families of Breens are beginning to leave at the end of the volume (WWM/A/935) there is the following

'Number of Individuals emigrated by Earl Fitzwilliam from his lordship's Irish estates in the year 1847

By the Standard 192
By the Progress 273
By the Agent 169
By the Pandora 399
By the Colonist 439

Total 1472'

In 1847-1848 there are under alterations in tenants and rents

179 Breen Peter taken out for part of lands of Ballykelly
182 Breen Mary his widow inserted for lands of Ballykelly'

In the same rental (WWM/A/935) under 'ejected holdings' there is '24 March 1848 paid William Breen of Ballykelly for manure when leaving for America £1 1s'
7 March 1848 paid William Breen of Ballykelly towards purchasing clothing when emigrating £2 10s'.

On 25th March 1851 under allowances Michael Breen of Ballykelly was paid 'for a heap of manure £1'.  and under ejected holdings 'Michael Breen of Ballykelly balance of support family of 4 £1' and 'Mary Breen of Ballykelly for support allowance £2'.

At the time William Breen owed £8 5s in arrears of rent.

The following year William Breen senior was paid a pension and left his holding but Mary Breen Peter's widow remained on the estate. Apart from the lands at Ballykelly she managed to acquire other lands at Coolboy and Coollattin all previously occupied by Breens. By 1856 she held 21a 3r 1p but was ejected in March 1862 by which time she also held lands in Cronyhorn and the total acreage was 29 a 0r 15p.

I have attached a transcript of the case against William Breen in which other family members are mentioned.

Regards Anthony Breen

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The Irish Naming pattern
The Irish have used a naming pattern for centuries.  This is not used today as it was in earlier days, and it also seems that once they immigrated to the US or Canada, this custom has seems to die out somewhat.  Nonetheless, when researching in Ireland, especially in the nineteenth and eighteenth centuries, this was a very common practice , and it helps immensely when trying to tie names together with families.
With the Kenny family that is still residing in Kennystown, County Wicklow, Ireland, which is just outside the small town of Carnew, in the extreme southeast corner of Wicklow, this practice has been used to some extent.
The present family still there, are using family names.
Denis and Bridget Kenny are the parents to Bartholomew, Michael, Denis, Mary, Richard, Elizabeth, Patricia, Bridget and Rita, not necessarily in this order.

Certain family names in Ireland are Michael, Denis (with one n), Bridget, Anne, Richard, Elizabeth, Thomas, William, James, Edward, Mary, and Bartholomew.  Bartholomew was one in particular that enabled me to trace out family to the one presently living in Kennystown, Wicklow.
In Ireland, there seems to be at least one Bartholomew in every generation for many years.  My 4th great grandfather's name was Bartholomew, married to Anne Breen.  Their son, Thomas and wife Ellen, came to Canada in 1851 with their children, Bartholomew, Richard, Edward, James and Anne. Later in Canada, Thomas and Ellen had Mary and Eleanor.

Below is the Irish naming order that Families in Ireland have used for centuries.
Sons:
First son after father's father
Second son after mother's father
Third son after father
Fourth son after father's oldest brother
Fifth son after mother's oldest brother
(Sometimes father's 2nd. oldest brother)

Daughters:
First daughter after mother's mother (or father's mother)
Second daughter after father's mother (or mother's mother)
Third daughter after mother
Fourth daughter after mother's oldest sister
Fifth daughter after father's oldest sister
(Sometimes mother's 2nd. oldest sister)