BRENNEN FAMILY CHRONICLES

© Christopher Earls Brennen

Appendix 8B. THE VESEY FAMILY

The Vesey family played an important role in the history of Magherafelt in the 1800s. From the ``History of Magherafelt'' by W.H.Maitland we learn of the Vesey family who lived in the house in the 1800s. The following is a preliminary genealogy of the Vesey family:

Rev. Thomas Agmondisham Vesey became the rector of the Parish Church in Magherafelt in 1807 and lived in the Glebe House or Rectory until 1844. His wife, Anne Maria Vesey, died on Sep.13, 1837, at the age of 63. They had the following children:

  1. John Stuart Vesey was born in 1815 and became a medical doctor. He was appointed the first Dispensary Medical Officer in Magherafelt on Nov.20, 1851, and also became Medical Officer of the Magherafelt Workhouse. In both the 1846 and 1856 Ulster Directories the physician and surgeon John Vesey, M.D., is listed as living on ``Castledawson Street'', Magherafelt. It is therefore possible that he had built and occupied ``Cranagh Dhu'' as early as 1846. Then, in the 1863-64 Directory he is listed as residing at ``Railway View'', Magherafelt, which is almost certainly ``Cranagh Dhu'' for the latter overlooked the local railway when the railway was still intact. It does not appear in the 1833 Ordnance Survey map [PRONI OS 9/20/1] of Magherafelt nor is it mentioned in the 1833 Ordnance Survey Memoirs of the town. Furthermore it is not included in the list of the four principal residences in Magherafelt compiled by Thomas Fagan in 1836. It follows that the main house must have been constructed after 1836 and before 1863. John Stuart Vesey married Lucy Elizabeth (Maria) Boyle, daughter of Captain Henderson Boyle, on Dec.21, 1847, in Magherafelt.

    He took out a 50-year lease on the house on Oct.18, 1867. John died on Oct.8, 1874, at the age of 59. Lucy Boyle was the daughter of Captain Henderson Boyle of the Londonderry Militia. On page 117 of A List of the Officers of the militia of the United Kingdom, published in 1809 by the War Office in London; under the Londonderry Militia, the name of Captain Henderson Boyle (born about 1788) is listed with the date Feb.28, 1806. According to the History of Magherafelt, in 1824 Captain Boyle was the "Linen Inspector" in Magherafelt with an office in Charity Street (now Rainey Street). He is also listed as a contributor to St. Swithins Parish Church in 1833. On Jun.9, 1810, Captain Henderson Boyle married Anne Hill who, according to Burke's 1858 Landed Gentry came from the Hill Family of Doneraile, County Cork. Ann Hill was born on Mar.8, 1789, and married Captain Boyle on Jun.9, 1810. Anne Boyle died on Mar.8, 1836, and Captain Boyle died on Jan.9, 1845, aged 57. Their children included: (1) James Boyle C.E.0, (2) Helen Hill Boyle married A.C.Montgomery (3) Anne Boyle married Rev. Samuel Twigg of Magherafelt (4) Anne Boyle married Rev. Samuel Twigg of Magherafelt.

    John Stuart Vesey died on Oct.8, 1874, at the age of 59 and was succeeded as Medical Officer by his son, Dr. Agmondishane Blathwayt Vesey. John and Lucy had the following children:

    1. Agmon B. Vesey, also named Thomas Agmondisham George William Blathwayt Vesey, was born on Sep.24, 1848, his birth being noted in the records of St. Swithins Parish Church. He became a doctor. A member of the Royal College of Surgeons, this Dr. Vesey had held numerous high profile offices including Senior Resident Clinical Assistant of the House of Industry Hospitals, Dublin, and posts at the Rotundo Hospital, Trinity College, Dublin, and was Certifying Factory Surgeon, Medical Referee and Clinical Prizeman two years. He succeeded his father as Medical Officer in Magherafelt. He also became a Justice of the Peace for County Londonderry and a Synodsman in St. Swithins Parish Church, Magherafelt. He lived in the house he named Bellevue and that the Brennens called ''Cranagh Dhu". He was very much a local favorite, a country gentleman and an enthusiastic hunter. He was married on Jan.2, 1873, in Clondermot, Londonderry, to Kathleen Hannah Murray Alexander. Agmon died in Magherafelt on Mar.12, 1901, at the age of 53. He had children:
      1. Eustace Deburgh Agmondisham Vesey was born in Antrim in 1875.
    2. Anne Francis Georgina Vesey, eldest daughter, was born on Feb.3, 1851, her birth being noted in the records of St. Swithins Parish Church; Anne's sponsors were Rowley Millar, William Miller and Mrs. Wynton Blathwayt (perhaps Lucy's mother). She was married on Feb.7, 1871, in Magherafelt to Charles John Hives, Lieutenant in the Royal Navy.
    3. Charlotte Amelia Grace Vesey was a minor when her father died in 1874. She married ? Purdon and had children:
      1. Henry Delacherois Purdon was born in Antrim in 1894 and died in 2004?. Henry married Alice Elizabeth Griffin, born in 1891. Their daughter:
        1. Ellinore Elizabeth Purdon was born in Belfast in 1946 and became a nurse. On Oct.9, 1953, in Whitby, Durham, Ontario, Canada, she married Guido Isidor Colm, born in 1923, died in 2008. Their son:
          1. Isidore Colm was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1962. He became a Benedictine monk and moved to St.Mary's Monastery in Petersham, MA, in 1995. Isidore used to visit his grandparents in Bangor when he was a youth. ,
    4. Elizabeth Mary Vesey was born on Mar.20, 1854, her birth being noted in the records of St. Swithins Parish Church. On Jan.29. 1878, she was married in Magherafelt to Willam Moor Armstrong.
  2. Richard Vesey, second son of Rev. Thomas Agmondisham Vesey, was born about 1806 and died in Apr. 1831 at the age of 25.
  3. Frances Letitia Vesey, daughter of Rev. Thomas Agmondisham Vesey, was born about 1812 and died in Magherafelt on Feb.8, 1834, of rapid consumption at the age of 22.
  4. Mary Ann Vesey, daughter of Rev. Thomas Agmondisham Vesey, married Col. George William Blathwayt, son of Rev. George William Blathwayt from Gloucestershire.
  5. Thomas Agmondishen Vesey, third son of Rev. Thomas Agmondisham Vesey, was born about 1813. He was married on Nov.13, 1838, in the Cathedral Church of Derry to Jemima Belford Gregg, second daughter of James Gregg of Londonderry, born about 1820. In the 1891 English Census Thomas, retired from his job as a bank manager, and Jemima are living in Portsea, Hampshire, with their daughter Elizabeth Frances and her husband. Thomas died in Southsea on Mar.17, 1895, at the age of 82 and Jemima died in Portsea, Hampshire in Sep.1898. They had children:
    1. Thomas Agmondishen Vesey was born in 1841 and became a medical doctor. He married Frances Blakeney, known as Fanny, who was born in 1844. Thomas, Fanny and daughter Edythe are listed as living in Rostrevor in the 1901 Census of Ireland. Thomas died in Rostrevor on Aug.31, 1909. Thomas and Fanny had the following children:
      1. Edythe Frances Vesey was born in Kilkeel on Apr.8, 1868. In the 1901 Census of Ireland Edythe is listed as a single 32-year-old living in Rostrevor with her parenst. She was married in Rostrevor, Kilkeel on Jun.26, 1901, to Herbert Haslett Mitchell. In the 1911 Census of England Edythe Mitchell is listed as a widow living with Florence Mitchell at Kelso, Mulgrave Road, Sutton, Surrey. In the 1924 Voter register of New York Edythe Mitchell is listed living at 590 E. 21st Street, Brooklyn. In the 1939 Census of England Edythe Mitchell is listed as a widow living at 11 Capel Close, Oxford, England. Edythe died in Oxford in 1946.
      2. George Agmondishen Vesey was born in Kilkeel on Mar.30, 1869. On Apr.30, 1901, in Rossorry, Enniskillen, he married Frances Anne Wood. In the 1901 Census of England, George is listed as a Church of England clergyman living in Dyrham and Hinton, Gloucestershire, with the Blathwayt family.
      3. Kathleen Marion Vesey was born in Kilkeel on Jun.25, 1870. She died on Jun.14, 1894, in Rostrevor.
      4. John Richard Murray Vesey was born in Kilkeel on Jun.13, 1871. In the 1901 Census of England, 30-year-old unmarried John Richard Murray Vesey is listed as living in Orton Waterville, Huntingdonshire, England, where he is Secretary of Political Association. In the 1911 Census of England, 39-year-old unmarried John Richard Murray Vesey is listed as living with Robert and Margaret Blathwayt in West Littleton, Dyrham and Hinton, Gloucestershire. His occupation is listed as Political Secretary in the Conservative Central Office. John joined the British Army, 3rd Battalion, the Suffolk Regiment and was promoted to Second Lieutenant on Sep.30, 1914. Later he joined the Fifth Nots Hussars where he became a Captain. He emigrated to New Zealand leaving England on Mar.5, 1921, on the "Remuera" bound for Wellington, New Zealand. In 1922, he was a farmer at Wa'soken Farm, Mangere, Auckland.
    2. Elizabeth Frances Vesey was born in Londonderry on Apr.28, 1843. She married William A. Douglas, born in Yorkshire about 1824, who became a commander in the Royal Navy. In the 1891 English Census William is retired and he and his family are living in Portsea, Hampshire. William and Elizabeth had a daughter:
      1. Maude Douglas was born in Ireland about 1869 and in the 1891 English Census is 22 years old and living in Portsea, Hampshire, with her parents and grandparents.

    Christopher E. Brennen