Halpin family of Wicklow - Part 1

[Shanachai]

2.

The June 25 edition of the Wicklow News-Letter reported on how the Queen’s visit was celebrated in places like Greystones, Shillelagh, Glendalough, Kingstown and Dalkey, Rathdrum, Bray and Arklow.  For instance, in Rathdrum the paper reports that “A party of rowdies paraded the streets shouting for the “Plan of Campaign,” but no disturbance took place.”  What was the ‘Plan of Campaign’, anybody?  Some initiative by the Irish Parliamentary party for greater autonomy?  At any rate, celebrations in Wicklow were described as being “carried out with great enthusiasm.  A special service was held in the parish church on Sunday, when an appropriate sermon was preached by the Rev. Henry Rooke, R.D.  On Tuesday flags were hoisted to the church steeple, and the local coastguard stations were profuse in bunting, while from many of the houses in the town and a few vessels in port flags were displayed.  The Customs office unfurled the White Ensign.  Dr. Cruice, Mr. George Wynne, Captain Nott, and several other gentlemen ornamented their residences with similar tokens.  Tinakilly House and the Parsonage possessed flagstaffs covered with bunting.  The Constabulary barrack was gaily decorated, and a large portrait of her Majesty, with the words “God bless the Queen; long may she reign,” tastefully affixed to a banner.  The only Government building in the town which did not recognise the occasion was the militia barrack and camp, where not the slightest attempt at display was made.  At half-past nine o’clock huge bonfires and tar barrels were lighted on the neighbouring hills, including the Church Banks, from whence an excellent display of fireworks were let off.  At Clonmannon, Ballinapark, Ballycurry, Ashford and Carrig great bonfires blazed up to a late hour, and rockets were as numerous as stars.  Many houses were illuminated.  Everything passed off quietly.”
In the column next to this description of the festivities in Wicklow, we find Dr. George H. Halpin’s obituary:
It is with deep regret that we have to announce the death of our highly esteemed felloe-townsman, Dr. George Halbert Halpin, second son of the late Mr. James Halpin, which took place at his residence, Main Street, Wicklow, at 3 o’clock, p.m. on Tuesday last.  The deceased gentleman had only reached his sixty-sixth year, the last twelve months of which he had, we may say, retired from public life, his health having given way under the great strain of work devolving upon him in his capacity of medical officer of the populous town and district of Wicklow.  Dr. Halpin, in 1847, was L.A.H., Dublin, and subsequently LRCS Ireland, and LRCP Edinburgh.  He was for many years the medical officer of Wicklow and Ashford dispensary districts, Fever Hospital and Admiralty Surgeon, and medical attendant to the R.I.C., and after upwards of forty years of faithful service in these capacities he retired in January last in favour of his son, Dr. James Halpin.  The demise of one so closely associated with the town cast a gloom over the neighbourhood, and an intense feeling of regret pervaded every class of the community when it became known that he, who was so kind and attentive to the sick, so ready to respond to the never ceasing calls of the poor, and so faithful in the discharge of his official duties, had passed away into a better world.  Vividly can we remember the great services rendered by Dr. Halpin in the time of the cholera, when he ministered to the dying in cabins into which the bravest hearts feared to enter.  These invaluable services passed unrecognised at the time, but his sorrowing family have now this consolation in their bereavement that the Great Physician, is ever ready and willing to reward those who love him and help the poor and needy.
     The funeral which took place yesterday (Friday) was very largely attended.  Detachments of the Constabulary, Coastguards, 7th and 4th Brigades, Royal Artillery, with many sailors of the port joined in the mournful procession to Wicklow Church, where the funeral service was gone through, and an impressive address delivered by the Rev. Henry Rooke, Incumbent of the parish.  The coffin was then borne to the family grave and interred. 
The chief mourners were – Dr. James H. Halpin, son; Captain R C Halpin, Captain Richard Halpin, brothers; Dr. Richard Halpin and Mr. James E. Halpin, nephews; Mr. W. H. H. Kennedy, Mr. George Newsom, Mr. H S Bond, and Mr. James Gibson [are these last his sons in law?].
Amongst those present were – Rev. Henry Rooke, Rev. George McCaughey, Rev. Arthur Bonynge, Colonel Tottenham, Dr. H P Truell, Julius Casement, William Magee, Captain Nott, Major Tabor, Captain Watson, T Dowling, W S Tighe, Deputy Inspector general Cruise, County inspector Cruise, District Inspector Maxwell, Lieut.-Col. Atkinson, Messrs Delahunt, Edwards, Padin, Murray, Flanagan, Carr, Garret Byrne, Byrne (Gerald), Collins, Roach, Hamilton, Doolittle(A), D Kennedy, P J Byrne, Darcy McCabe, Dr. L’Estrange, Shepard, Harding, Lawrenson, Burkitt, Manning, Jones (MH), W Byrne (Milltown), Trim, Clements, Wynne...etc, etc...Wreaths ‘ both numerous and beautiful’ were received from everyone of note in Wicklow (I’ll type in the names another time).

[Shanachai]

3.

The editorial of the same day, already quoted above, concludes thus:
“We have every reason to indulge the hope that Victoria may long adorn her throne.  She is surrounded by wise and sagacious statesmen who have but the welfare and integrity of her Empire at heart.  They are not distracted by Court intrigues, or disturbed by influential factions who would strike at the stability of the throne.  True, there is a party in the state whose professed hatred of England, and of everything English, is unbounded; and it is true also that that party is in effect at this moment led by a Privy Councillor, and the ex-chief Minister of her Majesty.  But the very liberty which our Constitution allows has enabled the extreme Nationalists unconsciously no doubt, but nevertheless surely, to reveal the extent of their treachery, and the diabolical nature of their conspiracy.  Upon this revelation the Government have drawn their teeth so that no harm can come to the unity of Great Britain and Ireland.  The Crimes Bill has scared the revolutionists, and instead, as would have been the case had Mr. Gladstone’s schemes been consummated, of the year of Jubilee being the inauguration of England’s disintegration, it is, under the capable administration of Lord Salisbury, an epoch remarkable for Imperial union, strength, and power.”
The sentiments of a loyal subject and a true believer.  But the editor’s confidence was misplaced, because even among the mourners at Dr. Halpin’s funeral there were names that would feature prominently in the movement to oust the British and serve in the Free State’s early governments  –  Casement, Cruise (of the Cruise O’Briens), for example...and of course one name that would not feature prominently, despite the activities of those who bore it – “Halpin”...William, James, and Cecil Halpin – the Wicklow Post-Master’s Catholic grandsons.  These young men would either murder Black and Tans on the streets of Dublin in the war of Independence (William), or fight on the battlefields of France and Belgium in the First World War for a cause that seemed plausible before the war began – for Irish Independence, that is, which the British agreed to seriously discuss after war’s end, provided the Irish proved themselves loyal subjects by fighting in His Majesty’s Army.  My grandfather James and his brother Cecil enlisted as soon as volunteers were called for in 1914.  They were accepted, despite being only 16 and 15 respectively.  Their brother William (26) followed them to Northern Ireland and demanded the Army release them.  The Army refused to do so.  William then had to raise the money required to buy his brothers out.  He succeeded in doing so and the boys were released.  According to my grandfather he and his brother were then ‘ bounced and battered’ all the way home to Dublin...but they were home at Hawthorne Avenue only a month or so when they ran away again.  This time William couldn’t follow them, and neither he nor Edwin were inclined to raise the money to buy the boys out of the army again.  And so as William fought the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in the North Strand 1916, James and Cecil fought for the Royal Dublin Fusiliers in Belgium and France – James as a marksman (I do not know what Cecil did)...My grandfather served the entire war in combat, I believe, and it is astonishing he got back to Dublin alive.  When he did return, he was shell-shocked and suffering from the effects of poison gas.  I believe he was sent to Leopardstown, Foxrock, to recover along with other damaged servicemen.  It took James 6 months to recover his ability to speak, and from that point on his recovery went well.  Eventually, he was well enough to leave hospital, and he went on to live until his 78th year when in 1975 he succumbed to lung cancer.  As he lay dying in St. Kevin’s hospital in Dublin, he was given morphine to relieve some of the pain he was in.  The drug induced hallucinations and he spent his last hours fighting the war from the trenches again, crying out in the ward “Aw Jesus Christ, here they come again.  Jesus God forgive me.  Jesus God forgive me I’ve shot another one.”
To my way of thinking, the arguments that split the Halpin family in Queen’s County in the 1780s and 90s, that rippled on down the generations in one form or another, affecting the attitudes and beliefs of all of the Halpin families mentioned on this site, ended that day in 1975 with my grandfather’s last words.
         

[markenfield]

Raymond, your last post about your grandfather was very moving . Life seemed to be so unjust  and unfair for his generation. My grandfather  (Mary Isabella Halpin's son) was in the Australian Imperial Force and had his knee cap blown off and leg split apart by a German shell explosion in a forward position at the Somme in1916. His war experiences  had a profound effect on him and the family for the rest of his life and my father's life.  Thank you again for all your wonderful Halpin research which is much appreciated.
Kind regards Kim.

[BillW]

From Raymond's quote about a day ago from the Wicklow Newsletter concerning the death of Dr George Halbert Halpin in June 1887, I noticed: 

The chief mourners were – Dr. James H. Halpin, son; Captain R C Halpin, Captain Richard Halpin, brothers.

Richard Halpin is credited elsewhere with aiding Captain R C Halpin’s escaping legal trouble in the USA.  I had asked in what capacity Richard Halpin may have done this.  I think that this is the first occasion in which I have seen him referred to as Captain Richard Halpin.  Does this make him yet another sea captain in this family?

Interestingly here also is a reference to a nephew, Mr James E Halpin.  This is not a James Halpin before documented from evidence to these pages.  However Dr George Halbert Halpin has been shown to have an older brother Eaton and I had noted that an Eaton Cotter Halpin marries in 1852 in the Rathdrum registration district and a James Eaton Halpin marries in 1891 in the Rathdown registration district.  [LDS FamilySearch Pilot site.]

Perhaps the funeral mention of a James E Halpin tends to support that there may have been a nephew James Eaton Halpin (perhaps then aged in his late twenties or early 30s).

Raymond, we have now seen evidence of at least 3 superbly informative obituaries from the Wicklow Newsletter.  The ones that I am thinking of are this one of George Halbert, one of Dr Stopford William and another of Dr Richard Frederick Bestall Halpin.  Such obituaries provide more family information than almost any other  one source likely to be found.

Have you been able to find one on Robert Wellington Halpin in the Wicklow Newsletter?  The only one I have seen is from the Bray Herald and what you have quoted from it is far less detailed these we have been seeing from the Wicklow Newsletter.

Bill

[markenfield]

Hi!

 Thought if you didn't already have you might like this a photo of Captain Robert Halpin on the beach in Darwin Northern Australia, with a cable his ship had just laid  on the ocean bed.
 
The cable was about to connect Australia to Asia.

Captain Halpin is the prominent figure in the middle of the photo. The second photo shows the ship out in the bay.
Cheers  Kim.

[Diane Carruthers]

Hi,

I am new to Rootschat. I tried posting yesterday but I think I did something wrong.

My great grandfather, Herbert Halpin, was a descendant of William Halpin and Marianne Crosthwaite ( see posting on March 24, 2009). I was familiar with much of the information but didn't realize Nicholas had a brother John.

This is some of what I have on my family. I have various newspaper clippings and census records.

William Henry Halpin and Marianne Crosthwaite

William was born in Portarlington, Ireland. His parents were Nicholas Halpin and Anne du Bois. His father was the headmaster at Portarlington School. He had one sister Susanna.

William and Marianne were married in 1787. They had six children. On his sons’ school records at Trinity College William’s profession was given as gentleman. Not much more is known about William and Marianne.

I will post information about their children next.

I look forward to sharing information and have many questions.

Diane
Canada

[Diane Carruthers]

Children of William & Marianne

Nicholas John
Nicholas was born in 1790. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin and received his BA in 1815. He married Ann Greham in 1817. They had six children: Nicholas John, William Henry, Charles, Lucy, Louisa and Marianne. Nicholas took orders in the Irish Church and was a rector at Oldcastle, Meath. He devoted himself largely to literary pursuits and published three works of Shakespearean criticism. For many years Nicholas was the editor of the Dublin Evening Mail, the chief Protestant newspaper in Dublin. He was a bitter opponent of Daniel O’Connell. In Shaw’s Dublin City Directory  for 1850 Rev. Nicholas John Halpin was living at 14 Seville Place.  Nicholas died in 1850.

His son Nicholas John graduated from Trinity College (BA 1841). He married Rebecca Doherty in 1848. They had four sons and four daughters. Nicholas died in 1891. This is the line covered extensively in Burkes “The Landed Gentry of Ireland”.

His son William Henry graduated from Trinity College and was ordained a deacon in 1851. In 1864 he accepted a post as Classical and Mathematical Professor at Huron College in Ontario, Canada. He was married twice, first to Elizabeth Gaston Regan and next to Eleanor Baynham. He had seven children. William’s son, Nicholas John, was the cousin that helped my great grandfather, Herbert Halpin, buy the engagement ring for my great grandmother.

His son Charles Greham was educated at Trinity College. He married Margaret G. Milligan in 1849. They had six children. The family moved to the United States in 1851. Charles was a prominent journalist with the New York Times. He also wrote under the pseudonym Private Miles O’Reilly. It was under this name he wrote a popular series of letters to the media defending the union. He worked at one time as a private secretary to P.T. Barnum. He was a decorated soldier in the 69th New York Volunteer Infantry and in the Irish Brigade. He was a key figure in the creation of the United States Army’s first African American regiment. He rose to the rank of Brigadier General. He died in 1869. His death was extensively covered in American newspapers.

His daughter Marianne married Charles Russell in 1857. They had two daughters. The family lived in New York, Illinois and Missouri.

His youngest daughter Louisa married Isaiah Deck in New York in 1853. Unfortunately he turned out to be a bigamist and a divorce soon followed.


Victor
Victor was born in 1791. He was educated at Trinity College.


William Henry
William was born in 1795.  He married Elizabeth Prestidge in 1823. He was connected with the metropolitan and provincial press of England for over thirty years. He was the editor of the Cheltenham Mail in the 1820’s. He lost this position and spent a year in jail as a result of being charged with libel. He worked for the Salisbury & Wiltshire Herald in the 1840’s. He also was a published author of such works as The Glenfull, with other poems (1820) and The Cheltenham Mailbag, or letters from Gloucestershire.  He wrote under the name Peter Quince, the younger. In 1846 he filed for bankruptcy in London. He died in Dublin in 1848.


Charles
Charles was born in 1800. He married Esther Druitt in 1836. They had four children: Druitt, Judith, Mary and Esther. Charles was a doctor in Cavan, Ireland. He was instrumental in setting up the county hospital and was honoured publicly for his hard work. Some of his surgical procedures were widely covered in various medical journals. He died in 1859.

His son Druitt was an engineer in London. He married Catharine Monsell in Brussels in 1873. He died in London in 1922.

His daughter Judith married Conrad Heucken in Germany in 1864. It appears they remained in Germany.

His daughter Esther married Hermann von Koppelow in Germany in 1873. By 1881 she was a widow living in London with her son Charles. She died in London in 1907.

His daughter Mary married Charles Herring, a retired lieutenant with the Royal Navy, in 1886. They were living in Birmingham in 1891.


Frederick James
Frederick was born in Portarlington, Ireland around 1805. In 1844 he married Maria Howse in Cullumpton, Devon. They spent their married life in Kingstown, Ireland. Frederick and Maria had twelve children. Frederick’s occupation was usually given as gentleman though on the christening records of his last two children it was given as schoolteacher (1864) and schoolmaster (1865). He ran the Kingstown Preparatory School for the Sons of Gentlemen. Frederick died in 1890.


Marianne
Marianne died in 1857. She never married.

Diane

[J.M. Flannery]

Church of Ireland Marriage Registers for Church of Ireland, Church Hill, Wicklow
Town. Researched 3rd April 2002 in the R.C.B. Library, Brearmor Road, Dublin
Docket Ref.  611/3/2

31st Dec. 1889 The marriage of
Robert John Kent, Bachelor, of Claremont Villa, occupation Miller, son of George Kent, Merchant, &
Georgina A Halpin, Spinster, The White House, Wicklow, daughter of
George H Halpin, Surgeon & Physician   
Witnesses: Samuel Herbert Kent & James H. Halpin

George Halbert Halpin,
Who fell asleep in Jesus,
The 21st of June 1887,
In the 54th Year of his age
Ref. Memorial Card.
JMF

[J.M. Flannery]

Hi all family of Halpin, from Wicklow Town. I hope I am not repeating myself but will pass on these messages. I think I will have to send them in batches!
no1.
29th Dec.1906. Marriage in C of I Church, Church Hill, Wicklow Town of

George Cockshott, Full age, Bachelor, Solicitor of 31, Queens Road, Southport.
          Son of  John James Cockshott, Solicitor &
Mary Ellen Beatrice Kent, Full age, Spinster, Leitrim House, Wicklow.
          Daughter of Samuel Mason Kent, (Occupation left blank)
Witness for George = James J. Cockshott,
For Mary Ellen Beatrice Kent = S. Mason Kent, James J. Cockshott, Beatrice Kent & George Kent.
~~~~~~~~-----------------------------------------------
c. 1901 b9 Leitrim Place 62/56 Wicklow.
Private Dwelling, 14 windows in front of 1st class house. 10 rooms occupied by 12 persons. 2 out offices 1 stable & 1 coach house. All Church of I, all children single, could read & write except Nadine, all except Parents were born in Wicklow.

1 Samuel Mason Kent 44,yr.  Corn Merchant, married, born Limerick.
2 Beatrice Kent, Wife Beatrice 42 yr. married, born England.
3 George Kent son age 16 yrs
4 Ellen Kent, daughter age 15 yrs
5 Samuel Kent, son age 14 yrs
6 Anthony Kent, son age 11 yrs
7 Kathleen Kent, daughter age 10 yrs
8 Richard Kent, son age 8 yrs,
9 Robert Kent, son age 5 yrs
10 Nadine Kent daughter age 4 yrs
11 Dara Tuke age 19 yrs general Domestic Servant, single, born Wicklow
12 Elizabeth Rochford, R.C. age 21 yrs, Cook Domestic Servant single, born Wicklow


 ~~~~~~~~-------------------------------------------
C 1911 b9 Leitrim Place 65/55.
Private Dwelling, 15 windows in front of 2nd class house. 15 rooms occupied by 5 persons. 2 out offices 1 stable & 1 fowl house. All Church of I and all except Beatrice born Wicklow. All 5 could read & write.

1 Beatrice Kent, Mother, 52 yr. b. Dover, Widow, mar 24 yr. 8 children & 8 living.
2 Kathleen Kent, daughter age 20 yrs, single
3 Richard Kent, son age 18 yrs, scholar, single.
4 Robert Kent, son age 15 yrs
5 Jane Kent, sister-in-law age 46 yrs single, born Wicklow
~~~~~~~~----------------------------------------------
On the lighter side of things.

Dr. James H. Halpin lived in Main Street, Castle Ward, beside a flight of stone steps leading to the quay side. He was also very fond of the sea, and whenever he could, he would be on the sea in Wicklow Harbour. Legend has it, when a patient called to the house, his wife would hoist a flag to let him know he was needed. These steps are called the ‘Doctor’s Steps’, but sometimes The Docker’s steps.