THE BRYAN FAMILY OF BALTRASNA, ASHBOURNE, CO MEATH, IRELAND.

Frances (“Granny’) Smith, was born into a family of six girls.  Her father, Walter Bryan, according to the notice of his death in 1846, was a well-known and respected farmer in the county. So far there is no trace of his birth or marriage records.  He was probably born around 1805. His wife’s maiden surname is unknown but her first name was Lydia. 

Walter was one of the Church Wardens in 1837 who signed a letter of thanks on behalf of “the Parishioners of the Union of Ratoath” to the departing Curate of the parish.  The letter and the response from the Curate were published in the Dublin Evening Packet and Correspondent, 4 March 1837.  

In addition in the same newspaper on 26 December 1835, Walter was a signatory to a petition addressed to the High Sherriff of the County of Meath.  The issue was not absolutely clear to me but it could have been related to what is sometimes called the Tithe War that occurred around that time in Ireland. 

 

 

By the time Walter died in 1846, the couple had six daughters who survived infancy. The family notice advising of his death was published in at least one newspaper.

 

When Walter died Lydia managed the farm and raised their six girls. Lydia is shown in the Griffiths Valuation of 1854 as both a landlord and tenant in four records.  Several advertisements appear in the 1860s and 1870s Dublin papers advertising the sale of Hay (numerous “cocks” of hay, as in “haycock” or “haystack”) on behalf of Mrs W. Bryan.

 

The death of a “Lydia Brien” is registered in the local registration district in 1880, which is quite possibly our “Lydia Bryan”.  Her age shown on this record would indicate that she was born around 1790.  However, that would have made her well over 40 years old when the last two daughters were born.  It is possible that the informant of the registration guessed at her age, which was not uncommon apparently, or perhaps she did have her children a little later than usual.

 

 

The eldest was Anne Jane. Frances, Granny, was born about 1831 and later married James Smith.   The names of the other middle two girls are unknown but one may have been Eliza as a girl of this name was married in the same registration district around the same time as Frances and a younger sister, Hester were married. The two youngest girls were Lydia and Hester.

 

Anne Jane was probably born around 1826 (see death details below). She married John P Phillips of Stackhole, Co Dublin, in Feb 1842 which would have made her about 16 years old at that time.  The officiating minister was the Rector of Cloghran, which is mentioned in her death notice. 

 

                           

 

 

This is a record of the Townland of Stockhole that is in the northern part of County Dublin in the same registry area, Balrothery, as Swords.

 

Anne Jane remarried in 1858 to Ebenezer Ure from Booterstown, Rathdown.  

 At the time of her death in 1870 in Glasnevin, Anne Jane was only 44 years old. She was buried in the family burial ground at Cloghran, Swords.  This is burial ground is worth following up at a later time as there may be more Bryan family details there. 

 

It appears that Frances was born around 1831 as she showed her age as 70 in the 1901 Census.  She married James Smith on 25 August, 1849.  More on Frances will be shown in the Smith Family story later. 

 

 

A marriage record of an Eliza Bryan1854 exists in the same registry district as Frances’ record so it is possible that this is one of the other sisters, leaving only one unnamed.

 

 

 

The fifth daughter of Walter and Lydia was a girl named Lydia after her mother.  She died relatively young.  Whether she had been married or not is unknown. She was staying at her mother’s home at the time of her death so perhaps she had been nursed there.  This notice indicates that she was born around 1835.

 

 

 

The youngest, the sixth, was Hester; she probably was born after 1835. She was married to an English man from Nottinghamshire, William Bates in 1858.

 

 

The 1901 Irish Census shows that William was born about the same year as Hester and that Hester and William had 6 children born and 6 children still living.  Two of these children were living with their parents at the time of the1901 Census, Jane and Samuel.  John and Kate were listed at a different address nearby in Ratoath in 1901; neither was married. The other person on John and Kate’s census form was a groom so perhaps they had horses on their property.  A decade later, the 1911 Census shows William but not Hester listed, and three of their children living with their father; Catherine (“Kate”), Jane and John all still single.  Hester and William’s son John appears to have spent some time with his grandparents in Granby, Nottinghamshire, as a John aged 7 appears in their 1871 Census form and later he is also there aged 17 in the 1881 Census.  In both he is listed as a grandson born in Ireland. However he is back in Ireland for the 1901 Census as detailed above. 

 

Lydia O Bates aged 10 born in Ireland appears in the 1871 English Census living with John Bates (who appears to be Williams brother, therefore Lydia’s uncle) and his wife Sophie. There were a number of servants also in the house so it would be unlikely she was working there.  Perhaps she was a companion to Sophie or going to school there. By the time of the 1881 Census, John Bates (“late farmer, widower”) is back with his parents along with two young children (probably his and Sophie’s).  Lydia is not shown with those English families.  A little more searching might find her in England or back in Ireland. 

 

In 2021 when I wrote this, no trace had yet been found of their other child.  Perhaps they went off to live with another family member........ I now know, in 2022, that the other child was Walter Bryan Bates.  See "A Missing Thread".