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Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Topic started by: newmark401 on Tuesday 17 January 12 18:22 GMT (UK)
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Hello,
I’m looking for basic biographical information on some early Irish lawn tennis players, from the late nineteenth century. I’m looking mainly for date and place of birth, and date and place of death (date and place of marriage, with wife’s name would be a help, too).
I’ve done a good deal of searching on the internet for information on these players, but with frustratingly little success, so little that I’m not even sure what county they came from.
Here are the names:
W.H. Boyd
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Ernest de Sylly Hamy Browne. A very unusual name, but strangely untraceable.
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Thomas “Tom” S. Campion. Apparently this player died relatively young.
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T.H. Griffiths. It appears that this player went to what is now Trinity College, but his first name is never mentioned in any sources.
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A.H. Porter. This player might have come from what is now called Northern Ireland.
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A.J. de C. Wilson. Another unusual name. First name(s) unknown.
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Any help would be appreciated.
Mark
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UNTRACEABLE did it!
With a name such as Ernest he had to be out there!
This is the 1911 census return for Ernest de Sylly Hamy Browne
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002673527/
as Ernest de S Hamilton Browne (de S on original transcribed as de L)
quote from
The county families of the United Kingdom; or,
Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland (Volume ed.59, yr.1919). (page 50)
BROWNE, Ernest de Silly Hamilton, Esq., of Comber House, Co. Londonderry.
Seventh son of Major George Browne, of Comber House, who rf. 1887, by Susan Mary, who d. 1880, dau. of the late Thomas" Hilton, Esq., of The Polygon, Manchester; b. 1855;
m. 1885 Ellen Augusta, only dau. of Sir Alexander Ramsay, 3rd Bart., of Balmain.
Mr. Browne, who was educated at Cheltenham Coll., is a Magistrate for King's Co. — Comber House, Clandy, Co. Londonderry.
Residence: Brookfield, Tullamore, King's Co. ; Kildare Street Club, Dublin.
As he states he was born in England you may need to look there for his date of birth or in other books on aristocratic families.
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Good find, myluck!
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UNTRACEABLE did it!
With a name such as Ernest he had to be out there!
This is the 1911 census return for Ernest de Sylly Hamy Browne
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002673527/
as Ernest de S Hamilton Browne (de S on original transcribed as de L)
quote from
The county families of the United Kingdom; or,
Royal manual of the titled and untitled aristocracy of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland (Volume ed.59, yr.1919). (page 50)
BROWNE, Ernest de Silly Hamilton, Esq., of Comber House, Co. Londonderry.
Seventh son of Major George Browne, of Comber House, who rf. 1887, by Susan Mary, who d. 1880, dau. of the late Thomas" Hilton, Esq., of The Polygon, Manchester; b. 1855;
m. 1885 Ellen Augusta, only dau. of Sir Alexander Ramsay, 3rd Bart., of Balmain.
Mr. Browne, who was educated at Cheltenham Coll., is a Magistrate for King's Co. — Comber House, Clandy, Co. Londonderry.
Residence: Brookfield, Tullamore, King's Co. ; Kildare Street Club, Dublin.
As he states he was born in England you may need to look there for his date of birth or in other books on aristocratic families.
Hi,
That is indeed a great find. I can now hunt up some more information on him based on what you've provided.
Thanks very much.
Mark
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Have you got John Pius Boland on your list?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Pius_Boland
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W.H. Boyd
I think this may have been the barrister & judge Walter Herbert Boyd, 1867-1948, later 2nd Baronet Boyd of Howth House.
Just a hunch at the moment - unfortunately his Times obituary mentions no tennis exploits in his youth.
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Have you got John Pius Boland on your list?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Pius_Boland
Hello,
The thing about someone like John Pius Boland is that he was an Olympic tennis champion, in both singles and doubles, and later on an MP, so there is a lot to go on from the very start. This isn't the case with the players I mentioned above.
Mark
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W.H. Boyd
I think this may have been the barrister & judge Walter Herbert Boyd, 1867-1948, later 2nd Baronet Boyd of Howth House.
Just a hunch at the moment - unfortunately his Times obituary mentions no tennis exploits in his youth.
Hello,
Thanks very much for your reply and that helpful information. I wonder whether W.H. Boyd might have gone either to Dublin University (now Trinity College) or to what is now UCD?
Edit: He went to Trinity College, Dublin. This makes it very likely that he is the player in question because there was a thriving tennis club in Trinity at the time.
Mark
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If you search the Irish Times Archives for Walter Herbert Boyd plus Tennis his obituary appears from April 1948
a trip to the library or a subscription here could confirm for you
http://www.rootschat.com/links/0jvm/
if you leave out tennis there are numerous entries
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Trinity College is mentioned in relation to two people. Have you contacted Trinity to check their student records?
http://www.tcd.ie/Library/manuscripts/collections/archives.php
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Just to clarify the details about Ernest Browne in reply #1- it should be Cumber House, Claudy in County Londonderry.
Even supposed to have its own ghost-
http://www.derryghosts.com/cumber.htm
http://www.martymccolgan.com/design/claudygaa/cumberhouse.html
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Thanks aghadowey - I think its lovely that Mark is trying to add families and information to these names from the past - it may even prompt their family members to research them further.
I have found it interesting that many of the people he has little information on either never married or had no children - can't have been the tennis can it??
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Here's Ernest Browne in 1901 census-
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/King_s_Co_/Tullamore_Rural/Brookfield/1471580/
Looks like his death registration: Ernest De S H BROWNE (age 90) Apr./June 1946 Cheltenham (Gloucester, England) district volume 6a page 407.
"Probate of the Will of Evelyn Susan Hamilton Browne late of Comber House Claudy County Londonderry Spinster who died 17 April 1922 at Elpis Nursing Home 17 Lower Mount Street Dublin granted at Belfast to Constance Lisa Hamilton Browne Spinster and Ernest de Sylly Hamilton Browne Esquire Effects £2412 4s. 3d." www.proni.gov.uk
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Possibly a 2nd marriage for Ernest (finding an obituary for him might help)-
Ernest De S H. Browne July/Aug.1930 St. George's Hanover Square district (London) volume 1a page 1232 (bride Henrietta Griffiths)
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Wonder is Henrietta anything to T.H.Griffiths??!!
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Hello,
Thanks to everyone who has replied so far. The information has been really helpful. I now have a good deal to follow up on.
I think Ernest Browne must have lived to a grand old age if he was born circa 1855 and was still alive circa 1930.
T.H. Griffiths is one of the more vague ones. He might well have been Thomas, but it is very difficult to link these people with lawn tennis even when their first names are known.
Mark
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A.J. de C. Wilson. Another unusual name. First name(s) unknown.
Possibly Arthur John de Courcy Wilson (1867-?)- another Trinity College man?
http://tinyurl.com/7q8e2z9
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I think Ernest Browne must have lived to a grand old age if he was born circa 1855 and was still alive circa 1930.
I posted likely death registration for Ernest earlier-
Looks like his death registration: Ernest De S H BROWNE (age 90) Apr./June 1946 Cheltenham (Gloucester, England) district volume 6a page 407.
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DEATH NOTICE
The late Arthur J. de Courcy Wilson, Gentleman, of Mackesfield Grange, Malvern, b. 1867; m. 1892, Norah, d. of H. Paine; and d. 1920, leaving issue — Cyril John Wilson, Gentleman, Lieut, (ret.) 60th Rifles, b. 1899 (Club — Naval
and Military).
Death record: Upton-on-Severn Worcestershire Jan-Mar 1920 aged 53 ref:6C/200
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TH Griffiths may have been Thomas Harrison Griffiths
born Cheltenham Gloustershire Jan-mar 1856 ref:6A/368
married RATHDOWN 1893 Jan-Mar to Mary Christina LOWRY
died CORK Apr-Jun 1907 aged 50 V5 P129
on 1901 census
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Cork/Queenstown_Urban/Midleton_Park/1138884/
plenty for you to go on with Mark!!!
Like all things in family history proving your find is your relative is tricky but you do have an advantage; your people fall into a small group of society and many have unusual names. They had to be of a class that not only allowed you free time but the financial backing to use it playing tennis as a hobby!
You could try contacting living relatives, if you can locate same, to formalise the connections; they may well have a trophy from the era, formal or reference that could make all the difference
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I think Ernest Browne must have lived to a grand old age if he was born circa 1855 and was still alive circa 1930.
I posted likely death registration for Ernest earlier-
Looks like his death registration: Ernest De S H BROWNE (age 90) Apr./June 1946 Cheltenham (Gloucester, England) district volume 6a page 407.
Thanks, that slipped my eye among all the other information.
Mark
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Thanks to those who posted the great information on A.J. de C. Wilson and T.H. Griffiths. I'm sure about Wilson because of the unusual name, but it's very difficult to link T.H. Griffiths with tennis without the word appearing in any source.
Mark
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A search for an obituary may confirm
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A search for an obituary may confirm
Yes, have looked for an obituary in the "Irish Times", but with no success. I noticed a Thomas Henry Griffiths in another source, but he probably wasn't the one I'm looking for.
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I found a few Thomas Campions, but none who could really be the one who played lawn tennis and was popularly known as "Tom" S. Campion. I think he went to Trinity College, too.
Mark
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It might be worth while contacting some old established tennis clubs in Ireland?
E.G. Carrickmines Croquet & Lawn Tennis Club?
Maybe they have an archive?
Lastly, are you in any way connected to Sligo Tennis Club, and Tom Higgins?
His book "The History of Irish Tennis" apparently contains a Who's Who of over 1,100 Irish tennis players!
www <dot> historyofirishtennis <dot> ie
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Lastly, are you in any way connected to Sligo Tennis Club, and Tom Higgins?
His book "The History of Irish Tennis" apparently contains a Who's Who of over 1,100 Irish tennis players!
www <dot> historyofirishtennis <dot> ie
No, I'm not connected to Sligo Tennis Club or Tom Higgins. I'm from Dublin, though I live in London. I'm very familiar with Tom Higgins' "History of Irish Tennis", which for me is a frustrating work in some ways because it gives very little biographical information on the earliest players, with the exception of the most well-known ones, e.g. the Irish Wimbledon champions.
Mark
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Ah well! It was just a thought! ;D
I'm only familiar with Carrickmines, being a croquet player.
That being so, I don't hold with these "upstarts" and their new-fangled game of sphairistike!! ;D ;D