Continued from The Final Tree
We have come a long way since the first attempts of JCK Balfry in the 1930s to investigate his origins, thanks largely to the help provided by the persons listed in the Acknowledgements section.
We have come a long way since the first attempts of JCK Balfry in the 1930s to investigate his origins, thanks largely to the help provided by the persons listed in the Acknowledgements section.
The Balfrys were a thriving community in the Limerick area of Ireland in the 1700s and early 1800s who dispersed widely, mostly by emigration, during the troubled famine years of 1830 - 1850. But where did they come from? Was there an influx of foreigners in the early 1700s? Did George represent the first generation to arrive in Ireland? Why is the family restricted to the Limerick/Caherconlish/Doneraile area? Why have no other graves been discovered? Given the habit of naming the first son after the father, why is there only one Philip? Fascinating questions that will probably never be answered.
The name Balfe was fairly common in Ireland (there are 471 in the 1901 census). Could there have been a name change to or from Balfry sometime?
Please tell anyone who you think might be interested about this site, think about some of the names and possible links. I have included as much information on the families as
I have been able to find. If anyone can suggest links that I have missed, or have additions or amendments perhaps through their own family stories, I would be most interested to learn of them. If you would like to offer photos or anecdotes about past Balfrys and their relations, I will be pleased to add them to the collection.
John Balfry Davies
57 North Parade
Hoylake, Wirral
CH47 3AL, U.K.
POSTSCRIPT
December 2016
Documents on the Irish Poverty Relief Loans were recently released. I found the following interesting information.
1)William Balfry (b. 1793) was indicted for defaulting on payment of his land tythe dues in 1831, (He took part in a civil disobedience campaign in which farmers refused to pay their tythes due to the circumstances of the potato famine.) He is listed as living in Dunvullen, Ballybrood, Limerick.
2) In 1842 a George Balfry, Carpenter, of Dunvullen took out a loan of 3 guineas on which he defaulted to repay. Guarrantors were Edmund Balfry and John Balfry.
3) In 1841 Bridget Balfry, FARMER, of Dunvullen took out a loan. Guarrantors, Edmund Balfry and Theo. Kelly.
From these we may deduce that:-
1) William Balfry lived at Dunvullen (which we already knew), but by 1841 the farm was in the name of his wife Bridget. Had William died?
2) There might have been a second brother George to Bridget in addition to the William (b.1819) who went to England and was my g-grandfather. We have some old correspondence which mentions a George who went to S. America, and has never been heard of again. Could this be him? Alternatively it might have been the George (b. 1807) son of Edmund.
3) Edmund must have had some standing in the community. Presumably this is Edmund b. 1768, or is it his son b, 1803?
A further item. The "Tipparary Vindicator" of 30 April 1867 reports that a tree was stolen from a nursery by George Balfry (no details). Could this be the same George?
1)William Balfry (b. 1793) was indicted for defaulting on payment of his land tythe dues in 1831, (He took part in a civil disobedience campaign in which farmers refused to pay their tythes due to the circumstances of the potato famine.) He is listed as living in Dunvullen, Ballybrood, Limerick.
2) In 1842 a George Balfry, Carpenter, of Dunvullen took out a loan of 3 guineas on which he defaulted to repay. Guarrantors were Edmund Balfry and John Balfry.
3) In 1841 Bridget Balfry, FARMER, of Dunvullen took out a loan. Guarrantors, Edmund Balfry and Theo. Kelly.
From these we may deduce that:-
1) William Balfry lived at Dunvullen (which we already knew), but by 1841 the farm was in the name of his wife Bridget. Had William died?
2) There might have been a second brother George to Bridget in addition to the William (b.1819) who went to England and was my g-grandfather. We have some old correspondence which mentions a George who went to S. America, and has never been heard of again. Could this be him? Alternatively it might have been the George (b. 1807) son of Edmund.
3) Edmund must have had some standing in the community. Presumably this is Edmund b. 1768, or is it his son b, 1803?
A further item. The "Tipparary Vindicator" of 30 April 1867 reports that a tree was stolen from a nursery by George Balfry (no details). Could this be the same George?
Table 4 in Irish Families lists a Maria BELFREY (b. 1793) and family recorded in the UK 1841 and subsequent Censuses as living in St. Lukes, Middlesex. She is recorded as having been born in Swafham, Norfolk (1851 Census). Thus there must have been a Belfrey
family in Norfolk in the late 1700s who would have been contemporaries of George Balfry of Knockainey. I wonder if there was any connection.
Table 4 also lists a William Balfry marrying a Bridget Mahoney in 1828 in Southwark Surrey, No information on their parents is given in the Surrey Register. They do not appear in the 1841 or 1851 U K. Censuses. It is tempting to speculate whether this might be the William (1819)'s father's marriage to Bridget O'Mealy miss-recorded. Did they elope to England to get married as protestants? Only snag is that their supposed son William who carried the O'Mealy name was born in 1819, nine years before this marriage. So who were this couple?
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Table 4 also lists a William Balfry marrying a Bridget Mahoney in 1828 in Southwark Surrey, No information on their parents is given in the Surrey Register. They do not appear in the 1841 or 1851 U K. Censuses. It is tempting to speculate whether this might be the William (1819)'s father's marriage to Bridget O'Mealy miss-recorded. Did they elope to England to get married as protestants? Only snag is that their supposed son William who carried the O'Mealy name was born in 1819, nine years before this marriage. So who were this couple?
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I have just discovered what is probably the earliest official record of a Balfry. The Limerick 1766 Religious Census of Catholic Families in the Parishes of Tuogh and Clonkeen found in the Ireland Genealogy Project Archives [www.igp-web.com] has the following listing.
1766 - Popish Families - Parish of Tuogh. William Balfry 6.
Tuogh is SW of Limerick, just NW of the town of Adare. there were 6 in his household, Whether these were wife and children or included servants and lodgers, is not clear. Could this be the William that married Mary Fitzmaurice in about 1786, or is it someone else completely? I have added these details to the updated version of the 18c and 19C Tree.
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