Descendants of William BERTRIDGE

First Generation

They had the following children:

	2	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.
	3	M	ii	Robert BERTRIDGE was born about 1811 in poss. Cloonfeacle, Kiltoghert, Carrick-on-Shannon. He died poss. 5 Nov 1838. We know of Robert's existence from the report of an 1836 court case in Co. Roscommon: on 5 July 1836 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 for sharing the results of his research into the crime:    According to the police report, the abduction took place on 8 April 1836 when eight men, including the Bertridges, forced their way into the home of a Mrs. Hanley (also spelled Hanly), a widow, who lived a few miles outside Carrick on Shannon, on the Co. Roscommon side. They took Mrs. Hanley's young daughter Catherine and brought her, on a horse-drawn cart, to the home of William Bertridge (presumably the Bertridge brothers' father) in Cloonfeacle. The police were contacted, Catherine was rescued, and the Berrtridges and a John Morahan (presumably their brother-in law) and an Owen Fitzmaurice were arrested. Although the Bertridges and John Morahan were sentenced to death, their names appear on the Roscommon Jail transportation lists, indicating they may have been destined to be transported to Australia. However 'Free Pardon' appears beside their names so it appears they escaped death and transportation. Owen Fitzmaurice received six months' imprisonment. The Bertridges' pardon may have been due in some part to family intervention for, according to a report from the magistrate who filed charges against the Bertridge brothers, "the Bertridges are of a very respectable family, and no doubt but their relatives will exert themselves to prevent prosecution". 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". A Robert Bertridge, who died on 5 November 1838, is buried in Kiltoghert (this information from the Leitrim Genealogy Centre). Could this be 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.
+	4	M	iii	Thomas BERTRIDGE (Caution: not verified).
+	5	M	iv	William BERTRIDGE was born about 1813.
+	6	F	v	Mary BERTRIDGE died prob.18 May 1853.
	7	F	vi	Catherine BERTRIDGE (Caution: not verified). On her marriage record Catherine's surname is Bertrige, which is presumably synonymous with Bertridge. We have absolutely no proof the Catherine was a daughter of our William Bertridge (hence the caution) but given the rarity of the surname and the fact that the marriage took place in Kiltoghert, it's a possibility.
				Catherine married Matthew GARVEY / GARVY on 22 Apr 1838 in Kiltoghert, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim. Marriage Notes: Witnesses to the marriage of Catherine and Matthew were William Down and Margaret Lenahan.
	8	F	vii	Bridget BERTRIDGE (Caution: not verified). On her marriage record Bridget's surname is Betridge, which is presumably synonymous with Bertridge. We have absolutely no proof the Bridget was a daughter of our William Bertridge (hence the caution) but given the rarity of the surname and the fact that the marriage took place in Kiltoghert, it's a possibility.
				Bridget married Patrick FALLEN / FALLON on 17 Feb 1845 in Kiltoghert, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim.

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