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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => London and Middlesex => Topic started by: BAC3 on Friday 12 November 21 13:55 GMT (UK)
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Edmund Keane BYRNE was born in London between 1833-1838. Can anyone identify a more exact date please?
He was the son of Francis Michael Edward BYRNE, a Musician, who died on 14/04/1838 in Somers Town, and his wife Ann, nee KEANE, a Charwoman, who died in 1847. In 1845 Ann was living at 6 Little Albany Street, Regents Park.
Thank You
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Have you looked for a baptism?
How old was he in 1841?
When did he die & how old was he when he died?
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There is a tree on Ancestry - showing his grave from Find a Grave.
Seemingly he died in Chittering, Western Australia on 20th Jan 1904 aged 71. So a birth year of 1833 (maybe!!) He had married in Australia in 1860.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/92595637/by
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I see his criminal record is giving an 1837 birth year!
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Cannot find birth or baptismal records!!
1841 Census states he was 6 years of age.
Criminal records in 1845 state he was 8 years of age.
He died in 1904 aged 71 ex-Death Certificate.
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He was possibly Roman Catholic and records of baptisms can be difficult to find.
From the many trees available - (and I do appreciate you cannot take these as gospel - but there are lots of photographs and research on these ones) -- Edmund's parents were Irish and R.C.
You may not be able to find his baptism unfortunately, until more RC records are published.
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Thank you Pennines,
I did scour unavailingly the 163 (??) Ancestry Public Member Trees and Ancestry's full "Research" function!! Then thought RootsChat inevitably would provide an answer or pathway. 8)
BAC3
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Don't despair BAC3 -- some cleverer Rootschatter may find something for you yet.
Hope so.
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Hi BAC3,
I am grateful for the work that you have done on the history of the Parkhurst boys. I want to honour your request regarding my ancestor with as detailed a response as I can generate.
As you point out, we can only infer the year of Edmund's birth by looking at other records, and it is anywhere between 1833 and 1838. It's possible that he was not even baptised and never had his birth registered. This would not be surprising because it does appear as though his family were poor, living in the densely populated low socioeconomic area of Somers Town in St Pancras, and otherwise experiencing tough times around the time he was born.
The earliest mention of his parents Francis Byrne and Anne is in 1818 on the baptism register for their son Francis Joseph Byrne in Crewkerne where the occupation is listed as 'Player'. Then in 1820, their daughter Mary Byrne was baptised in Chichester where the occupation for Francis Michael Edward Byrne is again 'Player'. The term 'player' covers both actor and musician, however it is still difficult to distinguish the details of his career mainly because almost all the theatre playbills only use surnames in the dramatis personae. There is an account of a play called 'The Fate of Frankenstein' 1824 in Stratford-Upon-Avon for the benefit of "Mr Byrne" where he ran around playing fiddle in between his acting parts. In the same town in the same month, there is a legal complaint against John Barnett for assault, where Francis Byrne is referred to as Irish. Edmund may have been as young as 1 year old when his father died in 1838 in Tom's Buildings on Ossulston Street, and it appears as though Edmund's older brother Francis Joseph Byrne (also a musician) was present at his father's death. There is a note on the burial indicating he was poor. Francis was listed as 43 years old when he died, and so working backwards would have him born around 1795. There is a Francis Byrne born in Southwark in 1795, but accounting for all the other clues, the most likely baptism is for Francis Michael Byrne in St Michan's Dublin in 1792.
Edmund Kean Byrne's mother Anne was witness to the marriage for Francis Joseph Byrne in Paddington in 1839. Then, in UK Census of 1841, Anne aged 40 lived in Phoenix Street, Somers Town, St Pancras with Edmund (8yo) and his siblings Henry (14) and Amelia (7). The census indicates that Edmund was born in the county of Middlesex, however the others were born out of county (Ann is not indicated to be born in Ireland). Then in 1845 Anne worked as a charwoman in Regent's Park which is not too far from Somers Town. Anne apparently died in 1847 in the Dean Street workhouse in the parish of St Margaret Westminster. Incidentally, Edmund Kean Byrne was recorded as living in the parish of St Margaret Westminster when he was committed for trial in 1845. I haven't found much else about Anne Byrne.
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Regarding the marriage of Francis and Anne, the parish register that makes the most sense to me, being prior to the date of their oldest known child Francis Joseph Byrne (born 1818) is Francis Byrne marrying Ann Alcock in 1815 in St Paul's Dublin. Another possibility is Francis Byrne marrying Ann Cullin in 1813 in Killaveny Ireland. Otherwise, if they chose to get married under pseudonyms, then the marriage of Edward Byrne esquire and Ann Scruggal Pattin in 1813 in St Martin in the Fields London is possible, however why would they use a pseudonym in marriage but then their full name for their children's baptisms?
Following the Alcock option, a baptism for Ann Alcock in 1791 in St Andrew's Dublin shows Joseph and Catherine Alcock as parents. It looks like they also had a daughter Elenor baptised in 1781 St Michan's Dublin. It's possible that prior to that, Joseph Alcock was in the 29th Regiment on foot, and possibly in Kilkenny in 1759 he was a founder of the travelling Glittering Star Lodge No 322. In Thomastown Ireland in 1769 he was discharged as 'worn out', and after establishing a family in Ireland, he may have later moved to England and died in 1817 in Staffordshire. Fair bit of work to do here with confirming all the details.
Back to Edmund… A family story passed down from Edmund himself explains that his mother was related to Edmund Kean the Shakespearean actor, which is why Edmund's middle name is Kean. I intentionally use the spelling Kean to align with this story. In the biographies for Edmund Kean (the actor), there is a mention of a Mrs Byrne present at the actor's birth circa ~1787-9, and I have read that this is Charlotte Tidswell's aunt. I have also read that the actor occasionally referred to Charlotte Tidswell as 'Aunt Tid', although it is up for debate whether she was his aunt. Other than that, nothing can be found to directly support the family story. Indeed, the actor was in the spotlight from a young age and he lived a debauched life, so he may have any number of illegitimate children. It is also possible that Francis Michael Edward Byrne and Edmund Kean the actor became acquainted while playing the provincial theatre circuit in his early years, so they may have been family friends and perhaps Edmund Kean Byrne was so named as a homage to the actor who died in 1833 - which is around the time Edmund Kean Byrne was born.
Assuming that a birth/baptism record exists (and that it has been digitised), I can only match loosely fitting theories with circumstantial evidence...
There is a baptism for Edmundus Byrns in 1834 in the Isleworth Roman Catholic Chapel, with parents Danielis Byrne and Alliciae Hunt. I investigated this one, and Isleworth is not far from Richmond, where Edmund Kean was buried a year prior. Interestingly I can also find a Daniel Byrne baptised 1815 in St Andrew RC church in Dublin, and Daniel's parents are Michs and Anna Byrne. In the 1841 UK Census, I find a Daniel Byrne born in Ireland aged 25 working as an artist, living in Southampton St in St Pancras, with a music seller named William Ebblewhite and 2 other artists aged 25. So there are snippets of circumstantial evidence here, but there are so many questions that I can't answer.
There is an Edmund Byrne born 1833 in Leek Staffordshire, but the parents and siblings all bear unfamiliar names. I haven't seen the image of the baptism register, but the mother's name Susannah is coincidentally similar to Susan, which is the name of the sister of Mary Chambers (the wife of Edmund Kean the actor). This would have Edmund Kean the actor be his uncle, but this can only be considered as part of a very creative theory, which I haven't invested any time into researching.
Thanks!