Halpin family of Wicklow - Part 1

[Diane Carruthers]

I did a google book search and came across an entry for a Halpin in Portarlington.

The Gentleman's and London Magazine: or Monthly Chronologer1741-1794

1785
Deaths for June & July
At Portarlington Mrs. Mary Ann Halpin.

Do you think it is possible that William Henry was married twice, both women named Mary Ann/ Marianne?

I always wondered why Marianne Halpin (1785-1857) was born before the marriage of William Halpin and Marianne Crosthwaite. I had assumed it might be a typo in Burkes Landed Gentry. Perhaps though her mother died at her birth and William remarried in 1787.

Or it could be another family entirely.


Any thoughts,
Diane

[Diane Carruthers]

Another Google Book search found:

Obituarys 1808
Sept 8
Much regretted Mrs Halpin, wife of W.H. Halpin esq of Dublin.

The Gentleman's Magazine: and Historical Chronicle for the Year 1808.

Could this be Marianne Crosthwaite?

Diane

[BillW]

Good information, Diane.

Others will have different takes on this but - all your speculations on Mary Ann/Marianne presently seem possible.  Another possibility I suppose is that Mary Ann is William Henry's mother whom we only know as Anne du Bois.

Please correct me but my recollection is that our main source for any of this is a Burke's entry on the Halpins of Ford Lodge, Cavan (can someone please redirect me to a link for this?).  And that information most likely came from someone in that family, open to the usual mistakes, misrecollections, guesses and lore that gather with time and sometimes outright self-serving fibs (not necessarily here).

However, I would think that the 1808 death would be that of Marianne Crosthwaite.  Her son WH had not yet married.

The 1836 will of a Nicholas Halpin is very interesting if it is not Rev NJ Halpin, who died in 1850.  Could it be that this is a will that NJ made in 1836, not one that was proved then?  If it is not NJ, could it be a previously unknown brother of WH and uncle of NJ?  There is every logic to that.  Nicholas Halpin school owner of Portarlington would surely have named a son Nicholas if he had more sons than we know of.  Is there a Nicholas Halpin about (other than Rev NJ) who would fit the bill.  And, it provides another link to Meath (and Cavan?).

Bill

[Diane Carruthers]

Hi,

In "Thom's Directory of Ireland" 1850 I found my great great grandfather Frederick Halpin living next door to a Mrs. Mary Byrne on Prospect Terrace in Kingstown.

Could it be the Mary Halpin who married Patrick Byrne?

I found it through an advanced Google book search. There were about thirty listings for Halpins and several for Crosthwaites.

Diane

[Diane Carruthers]

In regards to the Thom's Directory you have to click on more editions to get the one for 1850.

Diane

[Shanachai]

     Nicholas Halpin's will has been lost or mislaid - there is a reference to it as being in existence at the National Archives but a request for it turns up papers of no relevance whatsoever.  Nicholas Halpin was a Catholic landholder in county Meath, and he turns up on the platform (along with quite a few others) next to O'Connell at one of the latter's Monster rallies (Tara, I think).  There is a press record of the details of his will, and of his children's names - but it's buried somewhere in my files at the moment.  Will try to dig it up.  There is mention of a conversion in the lore, and I have wondered if Nicholas might be a candidate.  But there is no mention of an exact date, nor of the direction of the conversion - from Catholic to Protestant, or the other way round.  I will be too preoccupied with other archival pursuits to follow this 'connection' up.

     On the matter of the names "Halpen" and "Halpin" - they were often interchangeable, as the spelling of surnames (of the language in general) prior to about the 1820s was a little slippery, mostly due to phonetic misunderstandings, I think.  Will have more to say on both matters - and outstanding issues - at a later date.

[BillW]

Di, Mary Villiers (by then Halpin) married Patrick Byrne about 1868.  Bill

PS.  Don't forget Villiers, please, in any TCD searches.  B.

Hi,

In "Thom's Directory of Ireland" 1850 I found my great great grandfather Frederick Halpin living next door to a Mrs. Mary Byrne on Prospect Terrace in Kingstown.

Could it be the Mary Halpin who married Patrick Byrne?

I found it through an advanced Google book search. There were about thirty listings for Halpins and several for Crosthwaites.

Diane

[BillW]

More on Oswald Halpin, only other known child of George Halpin senior, who had put Oswald up to Trinity College Dublin.

We have seen recently that Oswald applied for a cadetship in the East India Company armies in 1825-26 and that he died in Bombay in August 1834 serving as a Lieutenant with the 7th Regiment Native Infantry, aged given as 25.  This would indicate an age of about 17 when he applied for the cadetship.

Ray particularly will be pleased to see that Oswald sailed for Bombay from France.   This gets ever more like a family scion taking off for the French Foreign Legion except that this is for a private army in India.  Was young Oswald fleeing his family, or Ireland, or just seeking adventure?

Source, the Bombay Calendar 1828.  Arrival Jan 23 1827 by French ship Anna Maria, captain Pelletier.  Mr O Halpin, Cadet, passenger and ship origin Bordeaux, 1st port The Cape.

Bill

[Shanachai]

CORRECTION:

My reply to the question about Nicholas Halpin of Spiddal Co. Meath was mistaken.  I doublechecked things today - a microfilm copy of the details of the will exists in the National Archives in Dublin.  The executor's name is difficult to make out, but I think it's either Cahal or an abbreviation of Cathrine.  There was "no inventory" and all property was "under the value of £100".  The will was proved in county Meath on the 6th Dec. 1836.  There were no other details.
     I had confused Nicholas Halpin of Spiddal county Meath with John or James Halpin, of Nobber Co. Meath.  I checked out both (and many others too) some time ago and was relying on memory when I replied first.  While I'm not certain yet, I think the Halpins of Nobber might be related to Gen. William George Halpin, of Cincinnatti, who was involved in a failed Rising in Dublin in the late 1860s.  I'll have more to say about him another time.  I believe the rest of the info I provided is accurate. 
     For the sake of thoroughness I suppose it might be a good idea to follow up every Halpin name mentioned in this thread.  But investigations of that sort depend on resources I don't have.  Generally, research time is of the essence, and I - for what it's worth - decided to concentrate my efforts on leads other than those mentioned above - leads which appeared to me to offer more by way of information on the three Halpin families that tend to dominate discussions here.  From now on my focus will be on them alone.  I will concentrate on transferring every document I have (in summary form) onto this site.  It will take some time, and I will defer my answers to most questions until after I've completed the transfer.  The task will begin in a couple of weeks.  In the meantime I'll post a few things I'm currently putting the finishing touches to.  Once everything's finished, you'll know what I know.