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Robert (Bobby) FROST [Parents]

Lucia HOURIGAN

They had the following children:

  F i Sarah FROST
  F ii Georgina FROST
  F iii Mary FROST

Thomas (Tommy) FROST [Parents]

Helen LOOBY

They had the following children:

  F i Rebecca FROST
  F ii Rachel FROST
  M iii George FROST
  F iv Margaret FROST

James (Jamesy Dan) O'SULLIVAN [Parents] was born about 10 Jan 1883 in Glynn, Mourneabbey, Co. Cork and was christened 10 Jan 1883 in Mourneabbey, Co. Cork. He died Jun 1966 and was buried in Gouldshill Cemetery, Mallow, Co. Cork. James married Catherine (Kate) MURPHY.

Jamesy Dan ran the family farm in Glynn, Mourneabbey.

Catherine (Kate) MURPHY was born in Grenagh, Co. Cork. She died Jan 1959 and was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery, Garryclone, Blarney, Co. Cork. Catherine married James (Jamesy Dan) O'SULLIVAN.

They had the following children:

  M i Daniel (Dan) O'SULLIVAN
  M ii Patrick (Paddy) O'SULLIVAN died 9 Sep 2007.
  F iii Margaret O'SULLIVAN
  F iv Kathleen O'SULLIVAN was born 1929 and died Oct 2000.
  M v
John O'SULLIVAN was born in Glynn, Mourneabbey, Co. Cork. He died 16 Feb 2004 and was buried in Gouldshill Cemetery, Mallow, Co . Cork.

John lived with his brother Paddy in Glynn, Mourneabbey. He is buried with his father and uncle Dan.
  M vi Denis O'SULLIVAN

Kevin FROST [Parents]

Sharon FULLER

They had the following children:

  F i Kate FROST
  M ii Evan FROST
  M iii Rohan FROST

William BERTRIDGE was born abt 1770s in probably Co. Leitrim. He died 5 Nov 1866 in Cloonfeacle, Kiltoghert, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim. William married Catherine REYNOLDS (caution: not verified) on 1801 in diocese of Elphin, Co. Roscommon.

It's known that William was farming in the townland of Cloonfeacle in the parish of Kiltoghert, near Carrick-on-Shannon, in 1833 because he's listed in the Tithe Applotment Books which were compiled for Co. Leitrim in that year. We know William's approximate year of birth from his death certificate which gives his age at death as 96.

Bertridge is a very rare surname in Ireland, as are the names of Bertrige, Bertidge, Bertige, Bertredge, Betridge, Beterige, Betteridge, Bartridge, etc. which seem to be synonymous with Bertridge. It appears the name has now died out in Co. Leitrim. Nor does it seem to be present in Co. Roscommon which borders the parish of Kiltoghert. In the Irish Linen Board's 1796 list of flax growers there's an entry for a John Beteredg (sic) who grew flax in Kiltoghert, so it's possible John was the father or a brother of our William above. In Griffiths Valuation, carried out for Co. Leitrim in 1856 and 1857, the only Bertridge listed for the entire county is William Bertridge (which would be either William above or his son William), although there's a Patrick Betridge (sic) listed for the townland of Fearnaght in Annaduff parish. There's only one other Bertridge listed in Griffiths for the whole of Ireland, and he occupied land in Co. Dublin. There are no Bertridges at all - or anyone with a similar name - listed in the 1901 census for either Co. Leitrim or Co. Roscommon.

A search on the LDS FamilySearch website (www.familysearch.org) did reveal a Bertridge family from Templemore, Co. Mayo in the 18th century, details of which are as follows:
John Bertridge, born abt 1738
His wife (no name provided), born abt 1743
Their daughter Anne, born abt 1760

And in the IGI (International Genealogical Index) pages of the FamilySearch site we can see the following marriage records for the Diocese of Elphin (in Co. Roscommon):
Elizabeth Betridge (sic) and James Langford (born c.1775 and c.1771 respectively), married in 1796
William Betteridge (sic) and Catherine Reynolds (born c.1775 and c.1780 respectively), married in 1801
Birchall Bettridge (sic) and Winifred Carty (born c.1786 and c.1790 respectively), married in 1815
Unfortunately no details regarding parish are available. However it's a possibility that William Betteridge who married Catherine Reynolds may be our William Bertridge above.

Another Bertridge located was an actor, poet and playwright named John Bertridge Clarke who was born in Co. Roscommon about 1780 and died (in poverty) in 1824.

A search of Irish civil registration indexes on the FamilySearch site has uncovered three people with a surname of Bartridge which may be synonymous with Bertridge:

Esther Bartridge, born about 1868, death registered in quarter Jan-Mar 1894 in Dublin North
Bridget Bartridge, marriage registered Apr-Jun 1927 in Dublin North
Mary Bartridge, born about 1881, death registered Jul-Sep 1909 in Cork

It may be less difficult to link the following records, located by the Leitrim Genealogy Centre, to our family:

Marriages:
Patrick Betridge (sic) and Ellen Stanford, in Mohill, 24 November 1851
Bridget Beterige (sic) aged 23 of Finnalaghta, Annaduff, daughter of Patrick Beterige, labourer, and Andrew MacDonnell aged 24 of Aghintass, Annaduff, son of Andrew MacDonnell (deceased), farmer, 9 May 1882 in Drumsna. Witnesses were William Crowley and Mary Mulvey.

Burials:
Patrick Berthridge (sic), no date given
Bridget Betridge (sic), of Finnalaghta, Annaduff, died 5 January 1851, buried Annaduff
Bridget Betridge (sic) of Finnalaghta, Annaduff, died 13 June 1873, buried Annaduff  
Eleanor Bertridge of Finnalaghta, Annaduff, died 19 December 1880, buried Annaduff

If the origin of our Bertridge name is actually Betridge, then it's possible that our Bertridge family may have originated in Gloucestershire in England as Betridge is a name associated with that county.

Catherine REYNOLDS (caution: not verified) was born about 1780 in probably Co. Roscommon or Co. Leitrim. She died possibly 30 Mar 1835 in possibly Cloonfeacle, Kiltoghert, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim and was buried in possibly Kiltoghert, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim. Catherine married William BERTRIDGE on 1801 in diocese of Elphin, Co. Roscommon.

We are assuming that our William Bertridge married a Catherine Reynolds because the Leitrim Genealogy Centre has a record of the marriage of a Catherine Reynolds, born about 1780, and a William Betteridge (sic) in the diocese of Elphin in 1801. Given the rarity of the Bertridge name and variants thereof, it's likely that the Catherine Reynolds who married in 1801 was our William's wife. The Elphin diocese covers counties Roscommon, Sligo and Galway and since marriages generally took place in the bride's parish, it's reasonable to assume that Catherine came from one of these counties.  

The Leitrim Genealogy Centre also has a record of the burial in Kiltoghert parish of a 'Mrs Bertridge' who died on 30 March 1835 aged 56 (i.e., born abt 1778). Could Mrs Bertridge have been William's wife?

In Ireland the English surname of Reynolds derives usually from the Irish surname Mac Raghnaill, which itself derives from the Norse first name of Raghnall. The surname is very numerous in north Leinster, Connacht and east Ulster, the east Ulster families being mainly of English origin. The Reynolds name is particularly associated with Co. Leitrim.

They had the following children:

  M i
Michael BERTRIDGE (caution: not verified) was born about 1809. He died 22 Nov 1839 and was buried in Kiltoghert, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim.

On his burial record, Michael's surname is Bertrige, which is presumably interchangeable with Bertridge. We have absolutely no proof the Michael was a son of our William Bertridge (hence the caution) but given the rarity of the surname and the fact that the burial took place in Kiltoghert, it's a possibility.

We know Michael's approximate year of birth from his burial record which gives his age at death as 30.
  M ii
Robert BERTRIDGE was born about 1811 in possibly Cloonfeacle, Kiltoghert, Carrick-on-Shannon. He died possibly 5 Nov 1838.

We know of Robert's existence from the report of a Co. Roscommon court case from 1836 in which Robert and William Bertridge, sons of William Bertridge of Cloonfeacle, were tried for abduction and sentenced to death.

I'm very grateful to Dan Morahan from Colorado, a descendant of Robert's father, William, for sharing the results of his research into the crime:   

The abduction took place on the night of 7 April or in the early hours of 8 April 1836 when eight men, including the Bertridges and their brother-in-law John Morahan, broke into the house of a Mrs. Hanley (also spelled Hanly), a widow who lived in the townland of Pullymaughel (also spelled Pollnamoghil) in the parish of Aughrim, Co. Roscommon, a few miles south-west of Cloonfeacle. According to a letter from the local authorities to the Chief Magistrate at Dublin Castle, "they [the intruders] then searched the house for her daughter Catherine Hanley, who they dragged down off the loft where she had concealed herself while they were breaking in the door. They beat her mother, a feeble old woman, in a very cruel manner, and also two boys [Patt Hanley and Patt Conry], her cousins, who slept in the house, with the butt ends of their guns. They took off Catherine Hanley, and placed her in a car [presumably a horse-driven cart] which they had brought for the purpose, and would not allow her to put on her clothes and kept her by force on the car with nothing on her but her shift until the arrival at Carrick-on-Shannon, a distance of 7 miles from her home". In the meantime the police had been summoned and the abductors were traced to the home of William Bertridge, the father of the Bertridge brothers, in Cloonfeacle (near Carrick-on-Shannon). Catherine was rescued and the Bertridges, John Morahan and accomplice Owen Fitzmaurice were arrested at the scene. James Duffy, the boy who drove the cart, would later give evidence against them. In his deposition James Duffy mentioned that when he and the other abductors entered the Bertridge home with their captive, he saw "three females and an old man". The old man was most likely William Bertridge, father of Robert and William, and the three females may have been the three daughters of his that we know of: Mary (who had married John Morahan two weeks earlier), Catherine and Bridget.  

The Bertridge brothers along with John Morahan and Owen Fitzmaurice were tried in Roscommon on 5 July 1836 and sentenced to death. However their names appear on the Roscommon Jail transportation lists, indicating they may have been destined to be transported to Australia. The words 'Free Pardon' appear beside the Bertridge and Morahan names, with '6 months' beside Owen Fitzmaurice's name, so it appears they escaped death and transportation. Their pardon may have been due in some part to the intervention of the Bertridge family because William Lloyd, the Roscommon magistrate, recommended in a letter to a counterpart in Dublin Castle that James Duffy, the cart driver who was to give evidence against the other abductors, should be placed in custody in Dublin rather than in Roscommon "fearing least he might be tampered with". William Lloyd goes on to say that "the Bertridges are of a very respectable family, and no doubt but their relatives will exert themselves to prevent prosecution". That the group seems to have escaped serious punishment, and the apparent absence of newspaper coverage of the case, suggests that the efforts of the Bertridge family, if any, were successful.  

Why this group abducted Catherine Hanley is unknown, but the following extract from "On Local Disturbances in Ireland; and on the Irish Church Question" (1836) by George Cornewall Lewis is interesting in this regard:

"It may, however, be added that the existence of factions has contributed to favour the crime of abduction of unmarried women, which is viewed by the peasantry as a kind of Whiteboy¹ offence. The crime is usually committed as follows: a party of men go by night to the house of the young woman, who is generally a farmer's daughter, with a small fortune, and somewhat above the rank of the intended husband; carry her away by force, and on horseback; and lodge her in some hiding place with the man who intends that she should be his wife. Sometimes the parties are married forthwith; sometimes a communication is made to the father that the man is willing to marry the girl, if the fortune is paid. The father, therefore, finding himself compelled either to sanction the marriage, or to take back his daughter in an impaired state, usually adopts the former alternative. In every case the abductions, which are sometimes collusive, arise from an interested motive. Their frequency was at one time so great in parts of Ireland as to affect the marrying habits² of the population".

In light of the above extract, could it be that Catherine Hanley was intended to be the wife of one of the abductors? John Morahan was newly married; and the Bertridges, who were only in their twenties and from a "very respectable" and apparently influential family, would surely not resort to abducting a woman for themselves. Owen Fitzmaurice, on the other hand, was aged 40. Was it intended, therefore, that Catherine Hanley would become Owen Fitzmaurice's wife?    

Nothing is known of Robert after his pardon. We have information on the deaths of two Robert Bertridges who could possibly be our Robert. One died on 5 November 1838 and is buried in Kiltoghert (this information comes from the Leitrim Genealogy Centre) and the other was living in Summer St. North in Dublin in May 1854. He died in 1855 and is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery. For now we are making the assumption that the Robert Bertridge who was buried in Kiltoghert in 1838 is our Robert above.

1. The Whiteboys were a secret Irish agrarian organisation in 18th-century Ireland which used violent tactics to promote tenant farmer land rights. Their name derives from the white shirts the members wore in their nightly raids. Over time, Whiteboyism became a general term for rural violence carried out by groups. Whiteboys were active throughout the latter half of the 18th and early part of the 19th centuries.

2. Because families were so fearful that their unmarried daughters would be abducted, daughters were married off at an increasingly younger age.
  M iii Thomas BERTRIDGE (caution: not verified) died date unknown.
  M iv William BERTRIDGE was born about 1813 and died possibly 5 May 1888.
  F v Mary BERTRIDGE was born Abt 1810s and died probably 18 May 1853.
  F vi Catherine BERTRIDGE (caution: not verified).
  F vii Bridget BERTRIDGE (caution: not verified).

James MOFFITT died before 2 Apr 1911. He married Mary 'UNKNOWN'.

Mary 'UNKNOWN' was born about 1838. She died after 2 Apr 1911 in possibly Eden, Fairymount, Co. Roscommon. Mary married James MOFFITT.

They had the following children:

  F i Mary MOFFITT was born about 1867 and died after 2 Apr 1911.

T. DILLON (caution: not verified) died date unknown. He married Honoria GORDON.

It's only speculation that Honoria married Mr. Dillon: it's known that one of Michael's and Anne's daughters married a T. Dillon, but we don't know which one. Because Honoria is the only daughter for whom we have no marriage information, it's being assumed that it was she who married Mr. Dillon.

Honoria GORDON [Parents] was born about 3 Nov 1865 in probably Aughalustia, Co. Roscommon and was christened 3 Nov 1865 in Ballaghaderreen, Co. Roscommon. She married T. DILLON (caution: not verified).

Sponsors at Honoria's baptism were John Gordon and Anna Gordon.

They had the following children:

  M i John DILLON (caution: not verified)
  M ii Michael DILLON (caution: not verified)
  M iii Harry DILLON (caution: not verified)

John HANNELLY.

He had the following children:

  F i Anne HANNELLY was born about 1870 and died after 2 Apr 1911.

Michael Joseph LEECH [Parents] was born 1886 in Tallyhoe Lodge, Ballymoe, Castlerea, Co . Roscommon. He died 13 Oct 1960 and was buried in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon. Michael married Dorothy (Dora) Mary GORDON on 9 Jun 1926 in Ballaghaderreen Cathedral, Co. Roscommon.

Michael and Dora lived in Tallyhoe Lodge, Michael's birthplace, after their marriage. They later moved to Elmfort in Castlerea.

Michael was a civil engineer, like his father. He retired as Assistant County Surveyor for Roscommon.

Dorothy (Dora) Mary GORDON [Parents] "Dora" was born 1896 in probably Aughalustia, Co. Roscommon. She died 5 Jan 1978 in Dublin and was buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Castlerea, Co. Roscommon. Dora married Michael Joseph LEECH on 9 Jun 1926 in Ballaghaderreen Cathedral, Co. Roscommon.

Dora lived in Stillorgan, Co. Dublin towards the end of her life.

They had the following children:

  M i Michael Joseph (Jossie) LEECH was born 30 Sep 1927 and died 10 Mar 1986.
  F ii Dorothy Mary (Mary) LEECH
  F iii Anna (Anne) Noel LEECH

Michael Joseph (Jossie) LEECH [Parents] was born 30 Sep 1927 in Tallyho Lodge, Ballymoe, Castlerea, Co. Roscommon. He died 10 Mar 1986 in Dublin and was buried in Deansgrange Cemetery, Dublin. Michael married Annie Teresa DALY on 11 Sep 1954 in St. Mary's Church, Haddington Road, Dublin.

Jossie was the eldest of Michael's and Dora's children.

Annie Teresa DALY

They had the following children:

  M i John Patrick LEECH
  F ii Mary (Miriam) Grace LEECH
  F iii Anne Dorothy LEECH
  F iv Monika Maeve LEECH

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