Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:15:12 -0500 From: Abigail C Leibell BEGIN ROSCOMMON - Titile and Conditions of Sale to Lots Nos. 2, 3, 4. Comprising the lands of Ardsallagh, or Ardsallagh Beg, by the original lease and grant in fee described as all the part and pacel of Ardsallagh Beg containing 25a.3r.3p. Irish Plantation measure, together with the lands and premises known as Lisnamoult by said original lease and grant in fee, described as all that part and parcel of land, being part of Lisnamoult, containing 9 a. Irish Plantation measure; but by Survey made pursuant to order of the Incumbered Estates Court, ascertained to contain 12a. 3r. 33p., statute measure; and all that house situate in Abbeytown, with a garden, plot thereunto belonging, and now known as the house and premises of Abbeytown, are all held by the owner, under the lease for the lives renewable forever, bearing date the 20th of April, 1680, made by the Right Hon. the Earl of Ranelagh, to William Thayne, Gentleman, several renewals of which were from time to time obtained, in lieu of which lease and renewals are grant in fee, under the provisions of the Renewable Leasehold Conversion Act, was obtained by Mrs. Jane Plunkett, the mother and guardian of the owner, in trust for the owner, from the Earl of Essex, the present head Landlord, bearing the date 24 April, 1852, at the yearly rent 10 pounds, 13 shillings, 10d., payable half-yearly on every 1st November and 1st of May each year. Lot #2 being Ardsallagh, or Ardsallagh Beg, situate in the Parish of Roscommon, Barony of Ballintubber, and Cof Roscommon, containing 45a etc....... lies within 1/4 of a mile of the Town of Roscommon, on the Athlone road, bounded on the east by Carrowmore Demense, and consists of a number of valuable townparks or plots, weel-squaredout, and perfectly distinct and particular-ized in the following rental. William Thayne, Gent. who was granted lands near Clontuskirt, Roscommon by Ranelagh in 1680 may have been a Protestant. I have been doing Irish genealogy for many years and know that Catholics of that period could not have leases beyond 30 years - and, only then, if they were well-connected. William Thayne has been granted a lease in perpetuity, which makes me wonder whether he is Irish - or, whether he has come from England with Jones (Ranelagh) who had been appointed by Charles II to be Governor of Roscommon.(See Wikipedia) So - William Thayne's identity is intriguing and requires more digging. I do have more info on the Muldowneys. If you will give me some time, I will look in my files and send you the info. My Aunt Clare and I used to talk of you and your work. I'd love to purchase a copy of your new work. Love also to hear your thoughts re William. Best regards, Gail END Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:56:29 -0500 From: Abigail C Leibell END The William Thayne mentioned as an early owner of the Roscommon property, lived in the 1600s. His name, Thayne, which is extremely rare in Ireland, as well as the location of William's land, ie, its close geographic proximity to Clontuskert, certainly points to William Thayne as being our very early ancestor. As I told you in my last email, his lease in perpetuity, as well as his title "Gent.", strongly suggest that William was Protestant. Richard Jones, Earl Ranelagh, was English Gov of Roscommon in the 1680s. It was common custom for such a man as Ranelagh to make grants of Irish land to friends whom he brought over from England. There was living in England at this time an Alexander Thayne, who was Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod in Parliament. Alexander would have had connections with someone like Ranelagh, and may have received a landgrant in Ireland for his son or granson. Thei Thayne family appear to have had roots in Direltoun in Berwickshire on the Scootish border. This info came from the website - Find My Past Ireland. Regards, Gail END Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:55:41 -0500 From: Abigail C Leibell BEGIN The Thayne document in question is a legal deed drawn up by lawyers in the mid 1850s. The deed of sale traces the history of the ownership of the parcels in question from the initial grant in 1680 to William Thayne, Gent. up to the time the lands were owned by James Gunning Plunkett in the nineteeth century. My husband John, who is a lawyer, is a great help in deciphering old documents. He says that these legal documents are the gold standard of genealogy since the facts have been carefully checked in order to determine title to the lands in question. Regards, Gail END Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:51:14 -0500 From: Abigail C Leibell BEGIN In 1686, Bryan Gunning was granted the adjacent land parcel to William Thayne in County Roscommon. Ranelagh was the grantor of both the Thayne and the Gunning lands. Obviously, Ranelagh was parceling out land grants to his friends from England. http://www.landedestates.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/family-show.jsp?id=1506 Family: Gunning (Co Roscommon) Family name: Gunning (Co Roscommon) Family title: Description: There are 2 branches of this family descended from John Gunning and his wife Margaret Malone of Castlecoote in the 17th century. Estates: Gunning (Horton) - A family who came to Ireland in the early 17th century and settled in county Roscommon, however from about the mid 18th century they were absentee landlords. Robert Gunning (1734-1816), a diplomat of the 1760s and 1770s was rewarded with a baronetcy in 1778. In 1781 he bought the Horton estate in Northamptonshire, which remained in the possession of the Gunning family until 1888. In the mid 19th century the Gunnings owned land in the parishes of Killinvoy and Rahara, barony of Athlone, Kilteevan and Roscommon, barony of Ballintober South, county Roscommon. In the 1870s the Reverend Sir Henry John Gunning of Horton House owned 704 acres in county Roscommon and 2,033 acres in county Longford. Other members of the Gunning family such as the Reverend Hodson Gunning and Alexander Gunning held land in the parish of St Johns, barony of Athlone, in the 1850s and are recorded as owning respectively 185 acres and 215 acres in the county in the 1870s. Gunning Plunkett - The Gunnings were an English family who settled at Castlecoote in county Roscommon in the 17th century. In 1768 General John Gunning married Susanna Minifie and had a daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth Gunning was a novelist and a niece of the famous Gunning sisters. In 1803 she married Major James Plunkett son of Bartholomew Plunkett. James Gunning Plunkett, an army officer, was their grandson. He owned an estate in the parishes of Athleague, barony of Athlone, Roscommon, barony of Ballintober South, Killukin and Kilcooley, barony and county of Roscommon . He was a non resident proprietor who lived in Lancashire and owned The Northern Press and Liverpool General Advertiser in the 1860s. In June 1857 the estate of James Gunning Nelson Plunkett was advertised for sale in 2 divisions, Tulsk and Roscommon, amounting in total to 2,407 acres. Two lots were readvertised in May 1864. This was the senior branch of the Gunning family. http://english.unl.edu/corvey/html/Projects/CorveyNovels/Gunning/Gunning%20Family%20Overview.htm Blakeney (Holywell) - In 1761 Charles Blakeney, a member of a junior branch of the Blakeneys of Abbert, married Bridget daughter and heiress of Barnaby Gunning of Holywell, county Roscommon. Their second son the Reverend Thomas Blakeney, rector of Roscommon parish in the early 19th century, took over the Holywell estate. He was succeeded by his son Charles William, who sold the estate comprised of 1681 acres of the townland of Coolteige, in 1853 and emigrated to Australia. Other descendants of Charles and Bridget Blakeney are recording as holding small estates in county Roscommon in the 1870s. 579 acres belonging to Anne Blakeney in county Roscommon was vested in the Congested Districts' Board in March 1912. Browne (Mount Browne) - George Browne held 3 townlands in the parish of Kiltrustan, barony and county of Roscommon at the time of Griffith's Valuation which he purchased from the sale of Gilbert Conry's estate in 1853 and had a house at Falsk in the parish of Killukin. He was a brother of Arthur Browne of Newtown, parish of Oran and a descendant of John Browne 1st Earl of Altamont. Arthur Browne, third son of George, owned an estate of 455 acres at Mount Browne in the 1870s. Davis (Carrowmore) - John Davis of Carrowmore, parish of Roscommon, held a small estate from the Gunning family. In the 1870s John H. Davis of Carramore owned 567 acres in the county. McDonnell (Dunmore) - Martin McDonnell was a merchant from Roscommon who prospered significantly in the mid 19th century. He held 8 townlands in the parish of Boyounagh, barony of Tiaquin, 1 townland in the parish of Tuam, barony of Clare and 1 townland in the parish of Dunmore, barony of Ballymoe, county Galway at time of Griffith's Valuation. P. Lane writes that McDonnell bought almost 6,000 acres of Lord Fitzgerald's estate in the vicinity of Dunmore in the early 1850s. By the 1870s he owned over 9,000 acres in county Galway, 2,940 acres in county Roscommon and 3 acres in county Mayo. The lands in Roscommon included property in the parish of Kiltullagh, barony of Castlereagh. Sister Delaney writes that in 1893 he bought Headford Castle and much of the town. Over 3,000 acres of the estate of his son James McDonnell in county Galway was vested in the Congested Districts' Board on 24 Mar 1911 and a further 1,000 acres in February 1912. The Congested Districts' Board was negotiating the purchase of some of McDonnell's county Roscommon estate in 1916. Martin McDonnell also had a son named Farrell. Sister Delaney writes that Farrell went to Clongowes and married the daughter of Frank McDonagh of Wilmount, Portumna. She also records James McDonnell residing at Waterslade, Tuam and at Castle Ellen, Athenry. END