Halpin family of Wicklow - Part 1

[Shanachai]

     First class work, lads.  On John Halpin, libeller and bookseller - he was hauled before Grattan's Parliament (mid 1790s) and asked to explain himself (I have the transcripts and will post them when I pull the finger out).  Satisfied with his testimony he was immediately released.  The libel in question was actually made by Lord Aldborough (a Whig) against Lord Fitzgibbon, Chancellor (Tory), in a pamphlet printed by Halpin but circulated privately.  That last fact - circulated privately - saved Halpin from prison, but not Lord Aldborough.  Lord Aldborough built a splendid city mansion which is still standing in Dublin, next to the Five Lamps in the North Strand, situated less than a hundred meters from the old Mecklenburgh street...
     Ken, I'm delighted to see the link to a landscape painter because I found a few myself in my "sideways search" into the early Halpins.  Must flesh that thread out in subsequent research.
     Bill - great discovery on George.  When I was researching Portarlington during the 98 rebellion I recall that the local Militia leader was rewarded for his success with a job - as head of the city institution George worked for.  Almost no one got such appointments unless they were Protestant - and George would never have been given a position there in 1800 if the authorities were not absolutely certain of his political loyalty.  It got me excited at the time because it suggested to me that George's social network must have had connections to Portarlington.  Will track down names and dates.
     It's beginning to come together, now - the bones of the Halpin saga are acquiring flesh.

[Shanachai]

     Bill, you may already have this, but I happened across Griffiths Valuation for Arklow, Co. Wicklow, and found:

Letitia Eaton and the Rev. Richard E Eaton of Main street Arklow.
Also, Susan Crozier, and the Watters John, Mathew, Patrick and Thomas.

Mary Ann Eaton died Jan. 3rd 1868 aged 38.  Think she's buried at Seven Churches, Glendalough, Wicklow (was just Googling a few surnames last night).

And I'm afraid you just haven't been ambitious enough - check this out:

http://www.historyhome.co.uk/people/villiers-g.htm

Note Clarendon's activities at customs and excise - the George Halpins snr and jnr were nearby.  And the surname Villiers belongs to one of your ancestors, to George jnr's wife.  And there's another 'coincidence' - Marmion Savage, novelist and close friend of the Rev. NJ Halpin, was usher and keeper of the council chamber in Dublin castle during Clarendon's term of office, I believe.  Curiouser and curiouser...

Are we simply re-establishing the structure of power in Ascendancy Ireland - unwittingly exposing the web of contacts and connections that put relatively humble clergymen from the equivalent of small outback towns a handshake or two away from the most powerful civil servants in Ireland at that time?  All Protestant, of course.  For those locked out of this system the spectacle of an Earl being on a first name basis with a clergyman must have been enraging.  Of course, The Rev. NJ Halpin was editor of the Dublin Evening Mail - a high Tory newspaper with tremendous support from the C of I community - so he wasn't too lowly a clergyman I suppose, but he would have been obliged to have been critical of Clarendon (a Whig). 

Lastly, a Mrs. Hannah Villiers founded the Villiers school in Limerick in 1821.        

[BillW]

It would be good to follow up those Eatons, Ray.

The Cozier is interesting.  I know you have included the Watters for my benefit but I would discount these ones, thanks all the same.  I will get to you off-list about Villiers.

Bill

[J.M. Flannery]

Bill,

I'm sure you have looked up the 1911 census for Wicklow, but if not I enclose the following.

Search results Displaying results 411 for all Ireland

Residents of house number 22 in Killincarrig (Greystones, Wicklow). The only 1 for County Wicklow

McAlister   Robert, age 40, Head of Family,   Brethren, Co Louth, Chauffeur.    
McAlister   Nellie, age 40, Wife, Brethren, born Co Louth, Married   15yrs, 4 children born 4 alive
Anna, age 14, Daughter, Brethren, born Co Dublin, Scholar
Mary, age   10, Daughter, Brethren, Co Dublin
John, age    8, Son, Brethren, Co Dublin
Ileene, age 2, Daughter, Brethren, Co Wicklow
Eaton, Oscar, age 20, Boarder,Presbyterian, born England, Electrician, Read write, Single   

Julia      

[tompion]

Hi All,

Just discovered that my William George and Charlotte Elizabeth Bradley had a son called Sibthorpe Bradley who was L.R.C.S.I.   The initials are Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland and thus Sibthorpe was a medic.  Very unusual christian name and probably comes from the maiden name of a wife in an earlier generation. There were Sibthorpes who were well known doctors and I strongly suspect that a Sibthorpe girl married a Bradley, presumably in or around Dublin in the early to mid 19th Century.  Does the surname Sibthorpe ring a bell with any of you Halpin people?
 

As detailed in this thread, the eldest son of William George and Charlotte Bradley married a Halpin - the two daughters of WGB and CB married a Martelli and a Brooke (ca 1850 probably) in case these names mean anything to anyone.

Best wishes,

Brian

[Diane Carruthers]

Hi,

I just checked the forum the other day and have been reading all the recent postings.

I found the chart attached for James Halpin helpful when I was reading through all the information about the different families.  It also helps when checking different resources.

Bill do you have one for your family? Is there one for the decsendants of Robert Wellington Halpin?

Diane

[BillW]

Hi Diane

For Robert Wellington Halpin, I would be happy to produce a chart but would need Ray to supply the names and connections.  I know he has done so here and there, and possibly not completely.  Also, Ray, I have never quite been clear on RW's father.  I think you have stated that RW was a cousin of Captain Robert Charles Halpin, son of James Halpin, making his father a brother of James Halpin.

Ray is about to expound on the most likely connections of all the Halpins and I think he has strong circumstantial evidence of my George Halpin connections to the Portarlington line of Nicholas Halpins.  I am not sure yet how he connects these to the Wicklow family except that James Halpin had been a brewer or publican (or both) in Dublin where the rest of the Halpins were at the time.  It is a melting pot that I will leave to Ray.

At present I know nothing further back about my family than George Halpin born about 1779 and I am happy to attach here a chart.  The intriguing and juicy part is that George junior and Julia had all their children while unmarried and we have seen that the children were baptised Villiers.  The surviving children adopted their father's surname around 1865 at his request when George and Julia are said to have married.  Thereafter Julia referred to herself as Halpin.  Cynically, this may have been for inheritance reasons because George had a large portfolio of properties inherited or entailed from his father and George was clearly in declining health.

Lovely to hear from you again.  Please update us on anything you have found.

Bill

[Diane Carruthers]

Thank you Bill!

It is so much easier to follow everything  when I have a chart. I guess I am a visual learner.

Diane

[Diane Carruthers]

Hi,

I was looking at the Alumni Dublinenses: a register of the students, graduates, professors and provosts of Trinity College in the University of Dublin.

I noticed the were three Halpin boys:
Richard b 1799 Wicklow son of William, officer
William b 1801 Wicklow son of William , captain
John b 1803 Wicklow son of William , officer

Does anyone know who their father William was?
How do they tie in with the Wicklow Halpins?

Diane