Sir John Gray's statue in O'Connell Street, Dublin in 1961. Note that Nelson's column was present still in the background.
This page contains a summary of the basic facts about my grandparents’ families in the 19th and early 20th Centuries in various parts of the British Isles. It is an introduction, for the benefit of anyone who might be related and might wish to enquire further. Enquirers are invited to comment below or to email me at pjrw2008 at gmail.com (where “at” is represented by @ in the usual way).
In my genealogical research I have looked at the families of all four grandparents. Comparatively little information has been confirmed by certificates, wills or other documents that would constitute an acceptable standard of proof but a lot of additional information is available that is not included here.
WILLIAMS
My WILLIAMS family can be traced back to Chester by the mid-19th Century. Prior to that they appear to have come from the Holywell district of Flintshire in North Wales where my earliest known ancestor appears to have been Edward Williams. Their son, Thomas has been described as a “smith” and an “engine smith”. He was born in 1817 in Holywell and died in 1883 in Chester. He married Sarah Gerrard.
Thomas and Sarah had a son, George Henry WILLIAMS b1847 Chester, m Martha Helen URMSTON b1849 Woodchurch, Wirral.
Their son was my Grandfather, Albert Lightfoot WILLIAMS b1879 Chester, d1946 Liverpool, m Winifred Mary BRIDGER b1880, d1942 Liverpool.
BRIDGER
Little is known about the BRIDGER family apart from the fact that John Henry BRIDGER, d1882, Liverpool, was in the Coastguards in Ireland. As a Chief Officer he was stationed at Crookhaven in County Cork in the 1860s and 1870s and probably retired from there to Liverpool. I have inherited a faded document which reads as follows:
“Crookhaven, March 1867.
“We, the Undersigned Masters of Vessels have pleasure in bearing testimony to the admirable manner in which the lives of the Crew of the Barque ‘Wolverine’ were saved on Sunday, March 17th, 1867 during a furious storm from the S.E. by the exertions of Mr Bridger, Chief Officer of Coastguards, and the men under his command at the Rock Island Station.
“The Rocket apparatus was managed with great skill and judgement and was the means of saving the lives of the Crew and bringing them all safely ashore at the Crookhaven Lighthouse.
“Signed:
J. Stavers Brig ‘Durham’
J.Cooper Barque ‘St. Angelo’
August Rudin Ship ‘Sverige’
A. A. Braburg Barque ‘Waino’
S. M. Kulints Ship ‘Victor
Emmanual’ Chas Evans Ship ‘Her Royal Highness’
Isaac Notter, Ship Agent, Crookhaven
John S. Sloane M.R.I.A. Superintendent of Lighthouse Works etc.”
Just to confuse us, John Henry’s son was also John Henry BRIDGER, b1853 Dingle, Co. Kerry, Ireland. d1938 Liverpool(?). He married Mary(aka Polly) Anne MACKAY b1856, d1941. Their daughter was Winifred Mary BRIDGER, b1880, d1942 in Liverpool, who had three brothers and four sisters.
SHANNON
Even less is known about the SHANNON family (often spelt Shanan) of my maternal grandfather. The earliest indication is that they might have been from County Cavan, Ireland, where my great grandfather, Robert, is said to have been a farmer with around 25 acres of land. His son, Farrell SHANNON was born c.1856 in County Cavan and joined the Royal Irish Constabulary in 1875, serving in various counties until he left the service in 1900. We know that he was married to Honoria Prendergrast (b1865 Castlebar) and had children with her, who were Patrick (b.1890), Gertrude (b.1892), Francis (b.1894) and Eleanor (b.1898) but Honoria is presumed to have died in the late 1890s. In 1900, Farell SHANNON married Eleanor Charlotte GRAY (b1876, Castlebar, Mayo, d1951 Ballina, Mayo) who had one brother.
Farrell and Eleanor had four children of whom the first was Richard (also known as Dick), born in 1901. He went to New York early in the 20th Century, married and I believe that they had a daughter.
GRAY
The GRAY family are well documented thanks to a few very prominent individuals . “My” line is as follows:
Andrew GRAY b1720, Ballybay, Monaghan, Ireland, d1774, m Agnes FLEMING.
Moses GRAY b1747 d1826.
Joseph GRAY b1778, Claremorris, Mayo, Ireland d1858, French Park, Castlebar, Mayo.
*Richard David GRAY b1822 Westport (?), Mayo, d1897. m Matilda Sarah Jane BOLE b1833 d1909.
Eleanor Charlotte GRAY (my Grandmother) b1876 d1951 Ballina, Mayo.
*Richard David Gray, my great grandfather, was a cousin of Sir John GRAY and of Moses Wilson GRAY.
Sir John’s son was Edmund Dwyer GRAY, and his son was Sir Edmund John Chisholm DWYER-GRAY. These names are linked to other web pages which give additional information about these individuals. I would be interested to hear from anyone who can add to the published information about these individuals in Ireland, the USA, Australia or New Zealand.
I would like to hear from, and exchange information with, anyone who has reason to believe that they might be related to anyone mentioned above and I can be contacted either by commenting below, or by using the email address in the first paragraph at the top of this page.
In reply to Shoreacres, April 6th, 2009.
As far as I know, my Williams family remained in the UK – it was the others who did the travelling: Richard Shannon (born 1901 in County Mayo, Ireland) went to New York and died there in the 1960s. I suspect that other Shannons from Cavan and Mayo emigrated in the 19th Century and I know that some came to England in the 20th Century. Various Grays went to the USA (Detroit and San Francisco), Australia (Melbourne and Hobart) and New Zealand in the 19th Century, while others remained in Ireland (County Mayo and Dublin). The first John Henry Bridger (died 1882 in Liverpool) is reputed to have come from Devon or Cornwall, England, and to have run away to sea at a young age and I have no idea what happened to him before he became a coastguard later.
Hello Justwilliams, I am definately related to you -
I came across your website whilst trying to research my mother’s family who are Shannon. My mother is the grand daughter of Farrell Shannon and Eleanor Charlotte Gray. Farrell and Eleanor had four children, Dick, Dolly, Jenny, and my grandfather David. They were all born in Castlebar and Ballina County Mayo, Eire. The graves of Farrell, Eleanor, Dolly and David are here in Ballina where I live.
I knew my grandfather and also knew my great aunt Dolly well. Dick Shannon did indeed go to the U.S.A. but not before founding the ‘Shannon medals’ which are famous GAA (Gaelic football) medals which are still won with pride today.
My grandfather had four children whom I have known all my life.
My mother is the second youngest but unfortunately is now suffering from dementia. There is also one other surviving daughter.
Jenny Shannon married in Wales and has a son still living there. Dolly married late in life (she taught primary school children in Dromore-West County Sligo) and had no children, I attended her funeral.
Dick went to America and had a son.
Farrell Shannon was in the R.I.C. in Castlebar, Co. Mayo and later became a Guard when it changed over. They had sweet shop here in Ballina which my mother and her siblings remember frequenting.
I would look forward to any info you may have on the history of Farrells family in Co. Cavan and the Grays also.
God Bless,
Catherine x
Catherine, I am very pleased to hear from you. I think we are related and I have emailed you.
By the way, you may like to read another post about Ballina here… http://justwilliams.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/memories-of-ballina-a-different-world/
JW.
Hello Just Williams
Just discovered a ‘Gray’ connection while researching my family tree. Although my grandmother who died in 1979 always insisted there was a link to the man on the statue I couldn’t pin it down until recently. While researching John Gray I came across your website.
The link is this: my maternal great grandmother was Adelaide Lovely. Adelaide’s father was Joseph Lovely, and as far as i can make out, one of his sisters, Deborah Emily Lovely, married a Gerald Alexander Gray in 1864 in Donnybrook, Dublin. Familysearch says Gerald’s father was John Gray. Joseph and Deborah were just two of the children of Robert Lovely, a landowner and merchant.
Problem is, other than Edmund, I can find no mention of any of John Gray’s other children so i can’t absolutely 100percent confirm this John Gray is ‘Sir John Gray’. Will retrieve the wedding cert to see how his occupation is listed.
I know the link is tenuous. My family tree maker programme lists John Gray as the ‘Father in law of my second great grand aunt’. Nevertheless, i regret doubting my gran.
Des Breen
Hello Des,
Apologies for the delay in replying. Have just returned from a holiday.
It is good to hear from you and, yes, you appear to have a connection with Sir John Gray (1815-1875). Gerald Alexander Gray (1823-1870) seems to have been one of Sir John’s brothers. There is scope for confusion here because their father was also John Gray (1770-1856). Their mother was Elizabeth Wilson.
Dear Just Williams,
My great grandparents lived in Mount St Claremorris & were tenants of the Grays,who had a distillery in the same Street. George Edward Gray died on Feb 1st 1873 @ Albert St. Dunedin ,New Zealand. he was the eldest brother of sir John Gray M.P. & of Mr. Wilson Gray district judge new Zealand.
In 1897, Mr Edmund Dwyer Gray,The son of the man who made the “Freeman’ the leading popular daily paper in ireland arrived in London from Australia with his bride,formerly a Miss Rose from Australia to whom he was recently married. “Mrs. O’Connor,his mother has made handsome provision for him.”
Mrs. O’Connor’s summer residence is on the island on Lough Allen where she sojourned in 1897. Her husband was a Major in the Connaught Rangers.
yours
Michael Keane
Mayfield
Claremorris
Co. Mayo
Hello Michael,
Thank you for your comment above. I didn’t know that the Grays had a distillery or that George Edward Gray died in New Zealand.
I am trying to understand the last few lines of your comment (from “In 1897″ onwards). Presumably the Edmund Dwyer Gray to whome you refer is actually Edmund John Chisholm Dwyer Gray (son of Edmund Dwyer Gray who died in 1888 and the grandson of Sir John Gray) who later hyphenated his name (for electoral reasons) to Dwyer-Gray and eventua\lly became the Premier of Tasmania in the late 1930s. If he married a Miss Rose, her name might have been Clara Rose.
So whose mother was Mrs O’Connor, and for whom did she “make handsome provision”?
That’s the fascination of family history – new info so often includes details that raise further questions?
Kind Regards
John Williams.
Hello Just Williams
I sending this note on behalf of the great great great granddaughter of Sir John Gray -picture of his statue on your site. In helping her search for information on her family, we found the 1911 census for her father’s(Joseph Lehand Gray) family, and George David Gray was Joseph’s father and Gladys Emmeline, Alan, Francis, were Joseph’s siblings. She is interested in any information you may have, and asked me to email you. She was born in Ireland and now resides in Australia.
Regards
Ev
Hello Evelyn,
The information that I have indicates that Sir Edmund John Chisholm Dwyer-Gray was Sir John Gray’s grandson but he had no children. Therefore your friend cannot be a g-g-g-granddaughter of Sir John.
She is more likely (if memory serves me correctly) to be a first cousin of Sir John, four or five times removed. I have brief details of her father, with a reference to three children who went to Australia. I have no details of them – perhaps you could help me with these and with dates of birth etc. of her immediate family?
I will look in the family history files in a day or two (a bit busy here at the moment) and let you know what else I find if you would please let me have an email address as there may be too much information for a comment here.
My email address is pjrw2008 “at” gmail.com
Kind regards,
John Williams.
Hello Evelyn,
I have just realised that my previous comment was misleading, as Sir John certainly had other grandchildren apart from Sir Edmund. However, my conclusion was correct to the best of my knowledge.
Joseph Leland Gray’s father was George David Gray (1864-1949), and his father was George Gray (1832-90) and George Gray was a cousin of Sir John Gray.
Incidentally, Joseph Leland Gray was a first cousin, once removed, of my grandmother, Eleanor Charlotte Gray.
All of these details are believed to be correct but if anyone can find and confirm errors I will be very pleased to be corrected.
Evelyn – I see that it is 6 months since your last note and I hope you are still reading John’s blog….. My mother was Leland’s cousin and her mother Nettie Blean in Berkeley California corresponded with him for many years. I tried using the email address given which did not work so am hoping you will contact me…… allread5161@sbcglobal.net. He loved sending photos of Dublin to her. I have a chapter on Matthew Gray and Margaret that I would be happy to share with you…… with pictures. Thank you Jean
Hello JustWilliams,
I wonder if you have heard of a Hugh Grey who married Prudentia Fitzpatrick round about 1840? The family story is that Hugh was a son of Samuel Gray of Ballybay and, but I cannot find a direct link. However, the families were definitely related somehow, as the children regarded each other as cousins. Hugh’s eldest son, James (Grattan) Grey was well-educated and became the Chief Hansard reporter for the New Zealand parliament – he was a journalist and author. In his own biography, he wrote ..”both on the paternal and maternal side, Mr. Gray comes from families which have long been associated with journalism in Dublin, Belfast, London, the United States and India”. This made me wonder if he had been associated with the “Freeman’s Journal”. All his children were born in Downpatrick, and Hugh died aboard ship in 1863 while on his way to New Zealand. Consequently, his death certificate gave no hint as to his origins. Would anyone have heard of Hugh or Prudentia?
Kind regards,
Judy
Hello Judy, thank you for your very interesting information. No, I am not aware of Hugh Grey but will dig into my files in the next day or two to see whether I can find anything about him. Your reference to Ballybay does suggest a possible connection to “my” Gray family though I am not aware that we had any journalistic connections in London, the USA or India.
I suspect that there are numerous Gray or Gray families in Ireland (perhaps especially in what we now call Northern Ireland) who came from Scotland, in the 17th and 18th Centuries, where these names are said to be the most common surnames.
I will add a further comment here if I find anything of interest in the next few days.
Thank you so much for replying to my email. I knew it was a long shot, but you just might have heard of him. Of course, it could have been the Fitzpatricks who were the journalists – I just don’t know. I don’t know where they came from either, and I’ve been at this for nearly 20 years!
Hello Judy, I have now looked through my files but find no Hugh Gray. The name Hugh just isn’t there.
“My” Gray family were descended from Andrew Gray (1720-1774) whose lived in the Ballybay area in the mid-1700s. His descendents, of whom I have a detailed list compiled by my friend Jean Allread, moved to County Mayo later and were well documented only because of the well-recorded careers of Sir John Gray and his son and grandson.
Your Hugh Gray could well belong to a parallel line of cousins who remained in or near Ballybay or he may not be related at all. Will we ever know?