The
Irish Sea-Officers of the Royal Navy, 1793-1815
Anthony Gary Brown
© 1999, 2004;
First published in “The Irish Sword”,
the Journal of the Military History Society of Ireland, Vol. XXI, No. 86,
Winter 1999, pp.393-429
The distinguished historian Brian Lavery
has noted in his recent Shipboard Life
and Organisation, 1731-1815 that there is a renewed interest in social
structure in the Georgian Royal Navy, particularly as it relates to matters of
discipline and fighting spirit - or lack thereof - in individual ships,
squadrons or fleets. The present article
is intended to facilitate, rather than substantively advance, such debate by
turning in a systematic fashion to something that has from time to time
interested the Irish Sword: who were
the Irish officers of the Navy in any given period? Listed below are some 650 sea-officers, Irish
by birth, family or marriage, who served during the intermittent wars with
France, Spain and Holland and the USA that were fought between 1793 and 1815, a
time that may fairly be said to have established the claim that ‘Britannia
rules the waves’[1].
By sea-officers and my chosen dates
I mean men who held the rank of Midshipman or above[2]
in the Royal Navy after 1793 but before 1815[3]. Naturally some of these would have been far
too old to see any active service at all and some rather to young to have been
of very much use when they did. In each
case, I have given the most senior and rank and title known to have been
achieved by the officer by the end of his life.
Excluded from the list, purely on the grounds of non-availability of
systematically organised biographical information, are officers of the Royal
Marines, non-commissioned officers (bosuns, sailing masters, parsons, pursers
etc.) and civil officers of the Navy establishment (Admiralty administrators
and the like).
The list is further restricted to
those men who can be shown with some
considerable degree of certainty, based on the chief biographical sources,
to have had very strong connections to Ireland.
Consequently, it is certain to be a considerable understatement of its
target set[4]. As will be seen from the section below
discussing the sources of information, fame, infamy, longevity or distinction
of family are the usual ways by which ‘Irishness’ (or ‘Scottishness’,
‘Englishness’ and so on) are brought to light.
The obscure, the relatively short-lived, the less-well-connected may
even have made up the bulk of the officer class of the period, but of them we
often know little more than name, rank and - perhaps - ships served in. That proportion of them that must surely have
been Irish cannot yet find their way onto this list. Again as will be seen below, even those who
do attract biographical attention may not always have their family origins
revealed, perhaps because these are obscure, or not thought to be of
significance, or - quite commonly - perhaps too well-known to their
contemporaries to need comment. For the
most part the sources focus on the paternal lineage of their officers, this
being indicated in my list as some variant of the phrase ‘Irish family’; I have only given the father’s full name
where this varies from that of the son (e.g. in titled families). Where officers’ mothers or wives are also
said to be Irish, I have so indicated[5],
in each case of course using the maiden name where known. As to Irish location, I have usually
indicated County association alone, although the sources are often either far
more specific or maddeningly vague.
Where my list deals with families
with large numbers of naval members, it has often been convenient to summarise
the links between them in just one of the entries. In looking up, say, an individual Seymour, it
will prove useful to scan through all the Seymour entries. Furthermore, in
using alphabetically-organised naval sources such as O’Byrne and Syrett &
DiNardo, it is tempting to conclude that men of identical or similar name to a
known Irishman must be Irishman themselves, especially if the dates given hint
at sons, brothers or cousins [6]. I have resisted this temptation unless the
Irishness can be confirmed from some other source. Nevertheless, scanning these tantalizing
names will provide a spur to further research.
Although the sheer length of the
list itself, and the necessity of prefacing it with a critical apparatus on the
sources, precludes extensive comment here on the uses to which it might be put,
it is worth highlighting a few facts and features in some way revealing of the
Royal Navy of the time. For example, the
highest service rank was Admiral of the Fleet and during the period in question
this position - in truth rather more honorific than active[7]
- was held successively by four men, the Hon. John Forbes, Lord Howe, Sir Peter
Parker and HRH Prince William, Duke of Clarence; all appear in the list below,
the first three Irish by birth or family, the last a man with the strongest, if
somewhat irregular, Irish connections.
Nor will readers be surprised that some of the most famous and dashing
names in naval history appear: Pakenham, Seymour, Blackwood, Drury, Fitton,
various O’Briens, and Troubridge, an officer thought by the Earl of St. Vincent
to be Nelson’s equal[8]. As well as individual officers of great note,
there are also some remarkable family groupings: the Rowleys, Moriartys,
Graves’s, Digbys, Gardners, Gores, Stopfords and Jones’s amongst them. In connections through marriage, the ladies
of the Dawson and Blennerhasset families deserve their own chapter in the
social history of the Navy!
Readers who follow up the biographical references will also find that a good
number of RN ships appear to have had largely Irish quarterdecks (just as an
example, Sir Henry Blackwood’s HMS Euryalus
at the Battle of Trafalgar). Quite apart
from the insights this may give us into career paths amongst the officer class,
one may perhaps wonder whether relationships between officers - individual or
in cliques - of the Protestant
ascendancy and the many lower-deck seamen of Irish Catholic origins were
unusually troublesome or not.
Furthermore, although commissioned officers were by definition
Protestant - the oath abjuring the Pope had to be sworn - is it really
possible, looking at the names and families listed below, that there were no closet Catholics whatever in the upper
ranks of the Royal Navy[9]? Clearly, there is the opportunity to put much
flesh on the bare bones to be found herein.
The Sources Used
We are fortunate that the cementing
of the reputation of the Royal Navy in the period under review gave rise to a
large number of biographical listings of the officer class, many based on
information obtained directly from the men themselves or from their service
colleagues and near relatives. And even
in those biographical dictionaries that have no specifically naval focus, the
same circumstance gives rise to the inclusion of very many sailors of the
period. Here I propose briefly to
summarise the sources used in this article, for the purpose of showing the
boundaries they place on the research: full details of the works are of course
given in the References section following the list
and any conventions and abbreviations are explained in the section next
following.
I should stress that, in the listing
itself, apart from ranks and dates, the only biographical information given by
me pertains to the officer’s Irishness or Irish connections; sources for full
career details are then given for those who require that further information.
Moreover, I offer no judgement here on the reliability of the sources
themselves, which are often somewhat contradictory, incomplete and (especially
in the case of Charnock, Marshall, Ralfe and O’Byrne) over-complimentary to
their subjects. Because of the derivative
or inconsequential nature of some of the sources (e.g., some of the minor
biographical entries in BBA or the Burke volumes), I have not felt it useful to
list every source for every officer.
Readers with a particular interest in a particular individual would
therefore be well-advised to cast their net a little more widely than this list
alone.
Naval Biographical Sources
It may surprise readers to know that
the Royal Navy of the period kept little detailed information on its officer
class beyond records of initial examinations passed, ranks held over time and,
sometimes, ships served in[10]. Further biographical information has to be
obtained from secondary sources. The
largest single source used for this article is the 1849 edition of William
O’Byrne’s Naval Biographical Dictionary. This gives quite extensive details of every
sea-officer of the rank of Lieutenant or above who was alive at approximately
his date of publication. Many of the
entries also mention deceased family members who had served in the RN. John Marshall’s somewhat similar, though
earlier, Royal Naval Biography of
1829-35 deals with living officers of the rank of Commander and above, again
with many details of deceased relatives[11]. John Charnock’s Biographia Navalis deals with only Captains and Admirals, although
from the earliest time up to his publication date of 1794. James Ralfe’s Naval Biography of 1828 is, again, memoirs of only the most senior
and notable officers. Norie’s Gazetteer
and Biographer of 1827 is a valuable source for details of a limited number
of senior commanders, as is the 40-volume Naval
Chronicle of 1799-1818. This latter
volume has - along with much else besides - memoirs of notable commanders as
well as death, birth and marriage notices for many hundreds of others: the
General Biographical Sources
In each and every case, these works
naturally focus only on the noteworthy of all eras. Chief amongst these is of course the late 19th
century Dictionary of National Biography,
with its main-series naval entries entirely the work of Sir John Knox
Laughten. The Irish biographical
dictionaries of Ryan (1819-21), Webb (1878), Crone (1928) and Boylan (1988) are
of course useful, but are all relatively short works in which naval acumen does
not feature greatly[13]. A small number of similar works from
Britain’s former colonies - chiefly Australia, Canada and New Zealand - have
identified Irish origins for sailors connected with their countries, elsewhere
blandly stated to have been ‘British’.
Frederick Boase’s Modern English
Biography, dating from the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, both captures the final years of many officers who lived beyond
O’Byrne and often gives some detail of long-dead naval relatives; however, the
information in Boase itself is rather compact and relatively rarely mentions an
entry’s origins in any great detail.
Finally, extensive use has been made of the enormous British Biographical Archive microfiche
series, a work that has the double advantage of including many thousands -
indeed hundreds of thousands - of worthy but less-famous figures and of
providing convenient access to some of the rarer works of specialised biography
already mentioned. Again, full details
are given in the References section below.
Genealogical Sources
Burke’s various and compendious
genealogical surveys of the peerage[14]
and landed gentry of Ireland provide much information on officers of the RN who
would otherwise escape notice by either failing to win fame or notoriety, or by
dying at an ‘awkward’ date with respect to the naval biographies. However, the sheer volume of information in
the many editions, combined with vagueness as to identity and dates of minor
family members or those who died young make these monumental works labourious
to use unless one already has a ‘target’ person in mind, and the information
here derived from them must necessarily be incomplete[15]. In some cases where no other date information
is available, I have had to infer
from the context that any service would have fallen in my date-range; these
inferences are noted in the listing.
Other Sources
a) The Irish Sword itself has of course provided information and pointers
to information over a number of years; details of articles used are given
below. In one particular case, a piece
on officers of the Sea Fencible Service in Ireland identified 20 or so men, the
majority of whom turned out on further research to be Irishmen of one form or
another. Consequently, I have included
in the listing those few remaining members of the Fencibles whose origins I
could not track down, suspecting strongly that they were either Irish or
married into Irish families.
b)
A source, and a valuable one, of further personal information would be
the many volumes of memoirs and journals written by the naval or
naval-connected men and women of the time, volumes which often contain authorial
asides or editorial remarks on the origins of the cast of characters. Similarly, more recent and modern biographies
will often make similar slight digressions or observations. However, readers will perhaps appreciate that
the search strategy for information contained in these works is a very
different one to that which can be used amongst the systematic works. Hence, these books have not been used as a
source for this article, excepting 3 instances alone - James Gardner, Henry
Napier and, perhaps, Thomas Troubridge - which have been drawn to my attention
by colleagues. It is hoped that, in
time, many more names can be added to the list in this way.
c)
Finally in dealing with sources, I must mention and acknowledge the
generous help given to me in the later stages of preparing this article by
Patrick Marioné of Brussels, an information specialist who has in preparation a
searchable database of the 11,000-odd officers who served in the RN from
1789-1816. Patrick has been able to
supply me with a number of dates and ranks, derived from the official Navy
Lists, that were otherwise obscure to me, as well giving me some basic data
that greatly simplified the searches in the Burke volumes. He has also enjoyed better access to the rare
2nd edition of O’Byrne than I.
His work, when finally complete and available (perhaps initially on the
Internet), will be a major new resource for studies of the Georgian Navy.
Abbreviations and Conventions Used
a) Abbreviations
Most of the
sources are simply referred to by their chief author’s name, and full details
will be found in the References section. For reasons of space, all sources have been
given in as compact a form as possible.
In the case of many of them, their alphabetical listing makes further
research straightforward[16]. However, where this is not the case, the
following notes will prove useful.
1) BBA: British Biographical Archive microfiche
and index set.
In the case
of BBA I have also given the name of the source document where this has
something material to add on the question of Irishness;: e.g. (BBA:Ryan).
Occasionally I have merely noted (BBA:many entries) where there is extensive
other biographical information, often merely repeating the text of a principal
source. Care needs to be taken with the
BBA index, which has some slips in its strict alphabetisation, especially as
regards names beginning M’.
2) Boase
The
references are to volume numbers, as the work is in two separate alphabetised
series, 1-3 and the later, supplementary 4-6.
3) BurkeLG:
Burke’s Landed Gentry
References
are to pages in the cited edition.
4) BurkeP:
Burke’s Peerage
References
are to pages in the cited edition.
5) Charnock
References
are to volume numbers. Although officers
are largely arranged in order of seniority, each volume has its own
alphabetical index.
6)
DNB: Stephen’s Dictionary
of National Biography
DNB:Supp is
a reference to one of the Supplementary volumes lying outside the main
alphabetic listing.
7) IS: The Irish Sword
References
are to volume numbers: full details of the individual articles are in the
References section
8) NC: Naval Chronicle
References
are to volume number and page of first mention in an article.
9)
As
Marshall’s own numbering and referencing system is extremely unhandy to use, my
reference is to the binder’s volume number typically found on the spine of
Marshall sets. Each volume does have its
own index of names and corresponding pages.
10) O’Byrne
and O’Byrne2
Most
references are to the 1849 1st edition; occasional reference is made
- as (O’Byrne2) - to the incomplete 2nd edition of some 10 years
later.
11) Ralfe
References
are to volume numbers, each of which has an alphabetical index.
12) RN:
Royal Navy
When no
other date information is available, e.g. (RN 1806) indicates the date the man first entered the
Navy,.
13) TR: Mackenzie’s The
Trafalgar Roll
This work
is arranged ship-by-ship but also has an alphabetic index of names.
b) Conventions Used in the
Alphabetic Listing (these conventions
also appear in the lower left browser frame, where they can be kept visible for
ease of reference)
ADAMS:
Irish by family or birth.
ADAMS: married into Irish family.
+ADAMS: biographical
details to be found only in the sources for the named relative.
*ADAMS: a
cross reference to a headline entry.
Adams or Adams: identity unclear or Irish
connection somewhat tenuous or uncertain.
?: flags an
uncertain rank, date or place.
(Marshall 2, O’Byrne, TR): Irish connection specified in the
regular type ‘O’Byrne’ but unmentioned or unclear in the italicised Marshall and Trafalgar Roll.
[Note: combinations are possible – so, “+Brown” would indicate a man of
uncertain identity, Irish only by marriage, and mentioned only in a relative’s
biography.]
The List of Officers
ACHMUTY,
Lieutenant Robert Ross (d.1844)
Dublin and Co. Longford family.
1822 married Alicia Jane Achmuty of Co. Roscommon. (O’Byrne)
ADAMS, Rear-Admiral John (d.1866)
1846 married Elizabeth Hurst Ellis
of Dublin. (Boase 1, O’Byrne)
ALCOCK,
Commander Richard (1781-1827)
Co. Waterford family. (Marshall 7)
ALEXANDER, Captain Nicholas (d.1852)
1815 (also seen as 1807) married Susannah Legrand of Co. Cork. (Marshall
7, NC 34:440, O’Byrne)
ALEXANDER,
Commander Norton Butler (RN 1808)
Co. Londonderry family. (O’Byrne, O’Byrne2)
ALLEN,
Lieutenant Samuel (1781-1848)
Born Co. Wexford. (O’Byrne) [see also Grosvenor *Winkworth]
ANDERSON,
Commander Alexander (d.1854)
Co. Waterford family, a son of Ellen Carew of Co. Wexford. (BurkeLG: 9)
ANNESLEY,
Commander Hon. Francis Charles
(1775-1832)
Cos. Down and Fermanagh family, a son of the 2nd Earl
Annesley and Anne Lambert of Co. Down.
According to Marshall, possibly father of Francis Charles
*Annesley. (BurkeP: 33; Marshall 7 under the ‘son’)
ANNESLEY,
Commander Francis Charles (1787-1846)
Co. Down family, possibly a son of Hon. Francis Charles *Annesley.
(Marshall 7, O’Byrne) [N.b., the dates
rather suggest Marshall is wrong.]
ANTHONY,
Commander Mark (1784-1867)
Born Co. Waterford, a son of Miss Lambert of Co. Wexford. (O’Byrne, TR)
+Arabin,
Lieutenant Augustus (d.1839)
A brother of Septimus *Arabin. (Boase 1, Marshall 5, O’Byrne)
Arabin,
Rear-Admiral Septimus (d.1855)
Possibly an Irish-resident family, a son of Ann Grant of Ballendallack
[?Ballydallagh, Co. Clare]. (Marshall 5,
O’Byrne)
ARBUTHNOTT, Admiral Sir Alexander Dundas Young
(1789-1871)
1826 married Catherine Maria Eustace of Co. Kildare, the claimant to the
Viscountcy of Baltinglass. (Boase 1, Marshall 5, O’Byrne, TR)
ATKINS, Commander James (1777-1864)
1819 married Belle Sophia Grey of Co. Wexford. (O’Byrne)
AYLMER,
Admiral Rt Hon. Frederick William, Lord
(1777-1858)
English-born son of Henry, Lord Aylmer of Balrath, Co. Meath. (Boase 1, BurkeP: 71, Marshall 4, O’Byrne; Charnock 4 for the father)
AYLMER,
Admiral John (d.1841)
English-born member of family of Barons Aylmer of Co. Meath. (BurkeP: 71, Marshall 1)
AYLMER,
Commander John (1785-1845 or 1849)
A son of John *Aylmer. (BurkeP:
71, O’Byrne)
BAKER,
Lieutenant John Robinett (RN 1814)
1838 married Catherine Oxley of Co. Dublin. (O’Byrne)
BALDWIN,
Admiral Augustus (d.1866)
An Irishman. (Boase 1, BBA: Morgan, Marshall 12, O’Byrne)
BARLOW,
Captain Charles Anstruther (1800-55)
A son of Elizabeth Smith of Co. Westmeath. (Boase
1, O’Byrne)
BARRETT,
Captain John (d.1810)
Born Co. Louth. Father of Robert
John *Barrett. (Crone, DNB, NC 37:177)
BARRETT,
Lieutenant Robert John (b.1799)
A son of John *Barrett. (O’Byrne)
BARRINGTON,
Lieutenant Croker (1794-1844)
Co. Limerick family, a son of Mary Baggott of Limerick. 1840 married Margaret Lewin of Co.
Clare. (BurkeP: 90)
BARRINGTON,
Captain Hon. George (1794-1835)
A son of the 3rd Viscount Barrington of Co. Down. (BurkeP: 90, Marshall 5)
BARRINGTON,
Admiral Hon. Samuel (1729-1800)
A son of John Shute, 1st Viscount Barrington of Co.
Down. (BurkeP: 90, Charnock 6, DNB, NC
4:169, Ralfe 1)
BATEMAN, Admiral Charles Philip Butler (1776-1858)
1809 married Lucy Chetwynd of Co. Cork.
(Boase 1, Marshall 9, O’Byrne)
BATTERSBY,
Lieutenant Edward (1805-1839)
Co. Westmeath family. (BurkeLG:
34)
BATTERSBY,
Commander John Palmer (d.1888)
Co. Sligo family. 1835 married
Maria Jones of Co. Wicklow. (BurkeLG:
33, O’Byrne)
BATTERSBY,
Lieutenant Leslie Patrick (dates unknown)
A brother of John Palmer *Battersby.
(BurkeLG: 34)
BATTERSBY,
Captain Robert Henry (d.1816)
Co. Westmeath family, the uncle of John Palmer *Battersby. 1810 married Miss Chapman of Co.
Westmeath. (BurkeLG: 34, NC 36:518;
O’Byrne for the nephew)
BAYLY,
Captain James (1785-1857)
Born Co. Tipperary. (Marshall 8, O’Byrne, TR)
BAYLY,
Lieutenant Peter (d.1853)
A brother of James *Bayly.
(O’Byrne)
BEAUFORT,
Rear-Admiral Sir Francis (1774-1857)
Cos. Louth and Meath family. (Boase
1, Boylan, Crone, DNB, Marshall 10, O’Byrne, Webb)
BEAUMAN,
Rear-Admiral Francis (1778-1846)
Co. Wexford family, a son of Anne Rice of Co. Wexford. (Marshall
9, O’Byrne)
BELLINGHAM,
?Midshipman Thomas (born before 1779)
Co. Louth family, a son of Alice Montgomery of Co. Down. (BurkeP: 115)
BERESFORD,
Midshipman James Hamilton (1782-1806)
A grandson of the Earl of Tyrone.
(BurkeP: 1348)
BERESFORD,
Admiral Sir John Poo (1766-1844)
An Irish-born, natural son of George Lord le Poer, later Marquis of
Waterford. (Crone, DNB, Marshall 2,
Ralfe 4) [see also Henry *Eden]
BINDON, Commander John Read (d.1863)
1806 married Sarah Elize, the daughter of Charles *Vereker, Viscount
Gort, of Co. Limerick. (O’Byrne)
BLACKER,
Captain Stewart (d.1826)
Born Armagh and related to the Earls of Courtown. (BurkeLG: 45, Marshall 12, TR) [see also
James Stopford *Ram, William Alexander *Ram, Sir Montague *Stopford, the Hon.
Philip *Stopford and the Hon. Sir Robert *Stopford]
BLACKWOOD,
Vice-Admiral Hon. Sir Henry (1770-1832)
Co. Down family, a son of Dorcas Stevenson, later Baroness Dufferin and
Clanboye. Father of Henry Martin
*Blackwood, uncle of Hon. Price *Blackwood.
(BurkeP: 127, Crone, DNB, Marshall 2, NC 14:467, 17:176, TR)
BLACKWOOD, Captain
Sir Henry Martin (1801-1851)
Son of Sir Henry *Blackwood.
(Boase 1, BurkeP: 127, Marshall 5, O’Byrne)
BLACKWOOD,
Captain Hon. Price, 3rd Lord Dufferin (1794 or 1796-1841)
Born Dublin, a nephew of Vice-Admiral Sir Henry *Blackwood. 1825 married Helen Selina Sheridan, a
granddaughter of the writer and politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan. (Marshall
5; DNB under his wife)
BLAKE,
Admiral Patrick John (1797-1884)
Son of Louisa Elizabeth, sister of Admiral Sir William *Gage. (Boase
1, Marshall 8, O’Byrne)
BLAKISTON,
Commander Thomas (1790-1855)
Co. Athlone family, a son of Anne Rochford of Co. Carlow. (Marshall 8, O’Byrne; Boase 1 for the
parents)
BLAND,
Midshipman Charles Humphrey (?1795-1811)
A cousin of Loftus Otway *Bland.
(BurkeLG: 54)
BLAND,
Captain Loftus Otway (d.1810)
Queen’s Co. family, a son of Charlotte Smith of Co. Tipperary. (BurkeLG: 54, NC 24: 87, 175)
Blaquiere,
?Lieutenant Peter Boyle de (1784-1860)
Co. Londonderry family, a son of Eleanor Dobson of Co. Cork. 1804 married (1) Eliza O’Brien of Co.
Limerick; 1818 married (2) Eliza Roper of Co. Dublin. N.B. Burke implies that his RN service was
rather brief, and Syrett and DiNardo identify only a ‘Lewis Blaquierre’,
removed from the RN list in 1811.
(BurkeP: 370)
BLENNERHASSET,
?Midshipman Rowland (b.1795)
Co. Kerry family. (BurkeP: 132)
BLOIS, Commander Sir John Ralfe (1795-1853)
1827 married Eliza Knox Barrett of Co. Donegal. (Marshall 8, O’Byrne; Boase 4 under his son Sir John Ralfe Blois)
BLOOD, Lieutenant
Frederick (RN 1812)
Co. Clare family. (BurkeLG: 57, O’Byrne)
BLYTH, Lieutenant Charles (1795-1855)
1829 married Jane M’Dowell of Co. Antrim. (O’Byrne)
BOILEAU,
Lieutenant Lestock Francis (1785-1849)
Born Dublin. (O’Byrne)
BOLTON, Commander Henry (1796-1852)
1839 married Ann Kearny of Waterford.
(Marshall 8, O’Byrne)
BOROUGH, Commander William (1781-1853)
Married a cousin of the Irish peer William Vesey Fitzgerald, Lord
Fitzgerald and Vesci. (O’Byrne; DNB for
the cousin)
BORROWES,
Midshipman Arthur (d.1810)
Co. Kildare family, a son of Henrietta de Robillard, herself a daughter
of Arthur Champagné, Dean of Clonmacnoise.
(BurkeP: 147) [see also Sir
Charles *Paget]
BOURCHIER,
Captain Sir Thomas (1791-1849)
Born Dublin of Co. Clare family.
N.B. Burke incorrectly gives him as Admiral. (BurkeLG: 63, Marshall 6, O’Byrne)
BOURNE,
Midshipman (1787?-1805)
A native of Ireland. (NC 32:14)
BOURNE,
Commander Richard (d.1851)
Co. Westmeath family. 1816
married Louisa Helena Blake of Co. Galway.
(BurkeP: 1338, O’Byrne)
BOWKER,
Rear-Admiral John (1770-1847)
Of Queen’s County, a son of Miss Cosby of Vicarstown, Queen’s Co. (Marshall 10, O’Byrne) [see also Phillips *Cosby]
Bowles,
Admiral of the Fleet Sir William (1780-1869)
O’Byrne notes that Admiral Bowles was a nephew of the Irish politician
Sir Boyle Roche. However, this was not a blood-relationship: Bowles’ mother,
Dinah Frankland, was a Yorkshire lady who had become Sir Boyle’s sister-in-law. (Boase
1, O’Byrne, Marshall 9)
BOYLE,
Vice-Admiral Hon. Sir Courtenay
(1769/70-1844)
A son of the 7th Earl of Cork and Orrery. (BurkeP: 315, Marshall 3, NC 24:437, 30:1)
BOYLE,
Rear-Admiral Courtenay Edmund William (1800-59)
Son of Hon. Courtenay *Boyle.
(BurkeP: 315, Boase 1, Marshall
6, O’Byrne)
BRADSHAW,
Captain Robert Augustus (b.1800)
Born Co. Cork. (O’Byrne)
BREEDON, Lieutenant William (b.1799)
1832 married Waller Kearny of Co. Kilkenny. (O’Byrne)
BREMER, Rear-Admiral Sir James John Gordon (1786-1850)
1811 married Mrs Harriet Glasse, née Wheeler, of Waterford. (DNB, Marshall 11, O’Byrne)
BRENAN,
Commander Alexander (1790-1862)
Born Dublin. (O’Byrne, TR)
BRICE-KINGSMILL, see KINGSMILL
Brodie,
Captain Thomas Charles (d.1811)
Irish Sea Fencible service, 1804.
(IS 14)
BROWNE,
Lieutenant Dodwell (d.1820 or 1821)
Co. Mayo family, a son of Elizabeth Cuff of Co. Mayo, herself a daughter of Lord Tyrawley. 1797 married Maria O’Donol of Newport. (BurkeLG: 77)
BROWNRIGGE,
Lieutenant Marcus Freeman (RN 1813)
Co. Wicklow family, a son of Anne Shearman of Co. Kilkenny. (BurkeP: 180, O’Byrne)
BROWNRIGGE,
Commander William Crosbie (d.1805)
A cousin of Marcus Freeman *Brownrigge.
(BurkeP: 179; O’Byrne under the cousin)
BRUCE,
Admiral Sir Henry William (1792-1863)
Born in Dublin to an English-born vicar from a Co. Londonderry family,
and his wife, Letitia Barnard, a descendant of recent Bishops of Derry and
Limerick. (Boase 1, BurkeP: 181, Marshall 11, O’Byrne, TR)
BUNBURY,
Lieutenant George Benjamin Isaac (RN 1812; later used ISAAC as surname)
Co. Down family. (O’Byrne)
BURDETT,
Captain George (d.1832)
Co. Kildare and Queen’s Co. family.
Irish Sea Fencible service, 1804.
1806 married (2) Catherine
Dorothea Brown of Co. Dublin. (BurkeLG:
84, IS 14, Marshall 4, NC 15:440)
BURGH,
Lieutenant Arthur (1792-1835)
Co. Kildare family, a son of Florinda Gardiner, a sister of Viscount
Mountjoy. (BurkeLG: 172)
BURGH,
Midshipman Luke (1791-1809)
Co. Kildare family, a brother of Arthur *Burgh. (BurkeLG: 172)
+BURKE,
Commander Henry (d.1804/5; his ship is
presumed to have foundered after leaving England
at the very end of 1804)
A son of the Limerick-born Walter Burke, the Purser of Lord Nelson’s HMS
Victory., who was a relative of the
politician Edmund Burke. (BBA:Ryan and
TR for the father) [see also Sir Edmund *Nagle].
BURKE,
Lieutenant Walter (d.1801)
A brother of Henry *Burke. (NC
6:172; BBA:Ryan, TR for their father)
+BURKE,
rank and name unknown (d.1804/5; his ship
is presumed to have foundered after leaving England at the very end of 1804)
A brother of Henry *Burke.
(BBA:Ryan for their father; this son is not mentioned in TR)
Burn, David (1805-75)
A minor author and playwright said to have been an RN officer in his
early life. 1832 married a Miss Fenton
in Ireland. (BBA:several entries, Scholefield)
BURROWES,
Captain Alexander Saunderson (1767?-1806)
Co. Cavan family. (BBA: Ryan)
BURT,
Lieutenant George (d.1815)
Born Dublin. (TR)
BURTCHAELL,
Midshipman George (1798-1857)
Co. Kilkenny family. 1831 married
Ann Wall of Co. Carlow. (BurkeLG: 88)
BURTON,
Admiral James Ryder (1795-1876; later known as: RYDER, James)
Son of a Bishop of Killala. 1822
married the widow Anna Maria Roche, née Plunkett, a daughter of Lord Dunsany of
Co. Meath. (BurkeP: 447, Boase 1, Marshall 5, O’Byrne)
Butcher, Vice-Admiral Samuel (1770-1849)
Irish Sea Fencible service, 1804.
1806 married Elizabeth Herbert of Co Kerry. (IS 14, Marshall 4; Boase 1 under his
Irish-born son, Rev. Samuel Butcher)
BUTLER,
Lieutenant Charles George (b.1793)
Co. Carlow family, a son of Sarah Maria Newenham of Co. Cork. (BurkeP: 204)
BUTLER,
Commander Humphrey (RN 1812)
Co. Fermanagh family. (BurkeP:
767)
CADOGAN,
Admiral Rt Hon. George, 3rd Earl
of Cadogan (1783-1864)
An English-born member of the Irish Sloan family. 1810 married Louisa Honoria Blake, sister of
Lord Wallscourt of Ardfry, Co. Galway.
(Boase 1, Marshall 9, O’Byrne; DNB for earlier Earls)
CALDWELL,
Admiral Sir Benjamin (d.1820)
English-born son of Co. Louth parents, themselves of Scots / English
ancestry. (DNB, Charnock 6, NC 11:1,
Ralfe 1)
CALLANAN, Lieutenant John James (1784-1809;
Syrett & DiNardo give his forename as George)
Born Co. Cork. (TR)
Campbell,
Rear-Admiral Donald (d.1819)
Irish Sea Fencible service, 1804.
(IS 14)
CANNING,
Captain William Pitt (d.1828)
Co. Londonderry family, a son of the London-born statesman George
Canning. (BurkeP: 559; DNB for the
father)
CARDEN,
Admiral John Surman (1771-1855)
English-born member of Irish Templemore family. (Boase 1, Marshall 4, O’Byrne)
CAREW,
Captain Sir Thomas (d.1840)
A nephew of Sir John Newport of Co. Waterford and his wife Ellen Carew
also of Co. Waterford. (Marshall 7, O’Byrne; DNB for the uncle)
CARLETON,
Captain William (d.1874)
American-born son of General Guy Carleton, Lord Dorchester, a native of
Co. Tyrone. (Marshall 8, O’Byrne, TR; DNB for General Carleton).
CARPENTER,
Captain Hon. Charles (1757-1803)
A son of the 1st Earl of Tyrconnnel; his own son became 3rd
Earl. (BBA:Brydges, NC 10:283).
CARROLL, Lieutenant Andrew de la Cour (RN 1812)
1841 married Mary Wright of Co. Wicklow.
(O’Byrne)
CARROLL, Rear-Admiral Sir William Fairbrother (1784-1862)
Born Co. Wicklow. (Boase 1,
Marshall 12, O’Byrne)
CARTER, Captain Benjamin (1772?-1833)
1806 married Miss Graydon of Co. Kildare. (Marshall
4, NC 15:87)
CARTER,
Admiral John (1785-1863)
Cos. Kildare and Meath family, a son of Catherine Butler, an
Irishwoman. (BurkeLG: 101, Boase 1, Marshall 12, O’Byrne, TR)
CARY,
Commander Henry (d.1847)
Born Co. Offaly. (O’Byrne, TR)
CARYSFORT,
see PROBY
CASEY, Lieutenant David O’Brien (d.1848)
1812 married Ann O’Brien of Co. Cork.
(NC 27:438, O’Byrne)
CAULFEILD
or CAULFIELD, Commander Edwin Toby (1793-1881)
From the Queen’s Co. branch of a large Irish family, a son of Anne Cope
of Brewerne, Co. ?Kerry. Married (1)
Frances Sally Irwin of Co. Fermanagh.
(BurkeP: 255, O’Byrne)
CAULFEILD
or CAULFIELD, Commander James (RN 1809)
From the Co. Athlone branch of large Irish family, a son of Lucy
Sanderson of Co. Cavan and cousin of Edwin Toby *Caulfeild. Married Augusta, a sister of George Alfred
*Crofton. (Marshall 8, O’Byrne)
+CAULFEILD
or CAULFIELD, Commander Robert (d.1820)
An uncle of James *Caulfeild.
(BurkeP: 255, O’Byrne)
+CAULFEILD
or CAULFIELD, Captain Thomas Gordon (d.1821)
An uncle of James *Caulfeild and brother of Robert. (BurkeP: 255, O’Byrne)
CAVENDISH,
Captain Hon. George John (RN 1810)
A son of the Irish peer Lord Waterpark and Juliana Cooper of Co.
Kildare. (Marshall 6, O’Byrne)
CLARKE, Commander William Nehemiah (b.1783/4)
1818 married Lydia Delandre of Co. Waterford. (Marshall
8, O’Byrne)
Clayton,
Captain Thomas Wittewrong (d.1806)
Irish Sea Fencible service, 1804.
(IS 14)
COBBE,
Commander William Power (1790-1831)
Co. Dublin family, a son of Anne Power Trench (a sister of the Earl of
Clancarty) of Co. Galway. (BurkeLG: 118,
Marshall 7) [see also William le Poer *Trench]
COCHRANE, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas John
(1789-1872)
1853 married Rosetta Wheeler-Cuffe of Co. Kilkenny. (BurkeP: 344, DNB, Marshall 9, O’Byrne)
Coffin,
Rear-Admiral Francis Holmes (d.1842)
Irish Sea Fencible service, 1804.
(IS 14, Marshall 4)
COGHILL,
Vice-Admiral Sir Josiah or
Joseph (1773-1850; formerly known as
CRAMER, John)
Member of the Cramer family of Co. Kilkenny, a son of Mary Hort, herself
a daughter of an Archbishop of Tuam.
1819 married (2) Anna Maria Bushe, a daughter of the Lord Chief Justice
of Ireland. (BurkeP: 296, Marshall 9,
O’Byrne)
COLBY, Captain Thomas (1782-1864)
1826 married Mary Palmer, an English-resident niece of the Marchioness
of Thomond. (Marshall 7, O’Byrne)
COLLEY, see
POMEROY
COLLINS,
Commander Francis (b.1795)
Born Co. Dublin. 1834 married
Hannah Baylee of Co. Antrim. (O’Byrne)
+Colpoys,
Admiral Sir John (1742?-1821)
A relative of the Irish mother of
John Fitzgerald *Studdert. (Ralfe 2; DNB, O’Byrne for Studdert)
COLTHURST,
Commander Nicholas (d.1854)
Born Co. Cork. (O’Byrne, TR)
COMPTON,
Captain Henry (1774-1847)
Born Co. Limerick. (IS 4,
Marshall 6, O’Byrne)
COMPTON,
Commander William (d.1804)
Born Co. Limerick, the brother of Henry *Compton. (IS 4, Marshall 6)
CONN,
Commander Henry (d.1860)
A relative of John *Conn.
(O’Byrne)
CONN, Captain John (1764-1810)
Born Waterford (N.b., Conn was a
cousin by marriage of Vice-Admiral Viscount Nelson). (NC
23:520, TR)
CONNER or
CONNOR, Captain Richard (d.1862)
Co. Cork family. 1831 married
Elizabeth Perrott of Co. Cork. (Marshall
8, O’Byrne) [see also Sir Frederick
Lewis *Maitland]
COOTE,
Captain William (d. 1857)
Dublin family. (Marshall 6, O’Byrne, TR)
COPPINGER,
Commander Thomas Stephen (d.1878)
Co. Cork family. (BurkeLG: 135,
O’Byrne)
Corbet, Captain
Robert (d.1810)
Said in O’Byrne to be a relative of George *Daniell, though DNB merely
states him to be of an old Shropshire English family. (DNB)
CORNWALL,
Rear-Admiral John (1795-1870)
A grandson of Admiral Lord Alan *Gardner. (Marshall 8, O’Byrne)
CORRY, Rear-Admiral Armar Lowry (d.1855)
1842 married Elizabeth Rosetta Massey-Dawson of Co. Tipperary. (BurkeP: 879, Marshall 12, O’Byrne)
COSBY,
Admiral Phillips (1727-1808)
From a Queen’s Co. family, though possibly born in Nova Scotia. (BBA: Ryan, Charnock 6, Crone, DNB, NC 14:353 & 19:88, Webb)
Cotter,
Lieutenant Edmond Ludlow Rogerson (dates unknown)
Co. Cork family. I have been
unable to find further details of this officer.
(BurkeP: 319)
COTTON, Admiral Sir Charles (1753-1812)
1798 married Philadelphia Rowley, a sister of Admiral Sir Charles
*Rowley. (DNB, O’Byrne footnote under
Lieutenant Alexander Rowley)
Countess,
Rear-Admiral George (d.1811)
Irish Sea Fencible service,
1804. (IS 14)
COURCY,
Admiral Hon. Michael de (d.1824)
Son of the Irish peer John, Lord Kingsale. 1796 married Anne Blennerhasset of Co.
Kerry. (BurkeP: 750, Marshall 1) [see also Sir Charles *Dashwood, John *Meade
and Sir John Gordon *Sinclair]
COURCY,
Commander Hon. Michael de (d.1813)
A son of Susan Blennerhasset of Co. Kerry and a nephew of Admiral Hon.
Michael de *Courcy. Both his father and
his own son held the family title of Lord Kingsale. (IS 5, NC 5:280,
30:176) [see also Sir Charles *Dashwood]
COURCY,
Captain Nevinson de (1788-1845)
A son of Admiral Hon. Michael de *Courcy. 1810 married Mary Blennerhasset of Co.
Kerry. (BurkeLG: 55, BurkeP: 750,
Marshall 12; Boase 1 under his son Captain Michael de Courcy)
CRAWFORD,
Admiral Abraham (1788-1869)
Co. Waterford family. 1831
married Sophia Mockler of Co. Cork.
(Boase 1, Marshall 6, O’Byrne)
+CRAWFORD,
Lieutenant Richard (d.1815)
A brother of Admiral Abraham *Crawford.
(O’Byrne)
CREAGH,
Commander James (b.1798)
Co. Clare family. 1835 married
Grace Emily O’Moore of Co. Kerry. (Marshall 8, O’Byrne)
CRISP or CRISPE, Lieutenant George (1770-1831)
Born Cork. (TR)
CROASDAILE,
Commander Thomas Pearson (d.1836 or 1838)
Queen’s Co. family, a son of Elizabeth Sandes of Queen’s Co. (BurkeLG: 147)
CROFTON,
Captain Edward Lowther (1783-?1818)
Co. Roscommon family, a cousin of George Alfred *Crofton. Syrett & DiNardo give a London Times
notice as the source of the 1818 death date, but the NC death notice for the
same year seems to be for the brother, below. (BurkeP: 339, NC 40:243) [see also William Burdett
*Dobson]
CROFTON,
Lieutenant Frederick J. Lowther (1788?-1818)
A brother of Edward Lowther *Crofton.
(BurkeP: 339, NC 40:243) [N.b., as there is no officer of this name in
the Navy List, it is possible that he was in fact a Royal Marine.]
CROFTON,
Vice-Admiral Hon. George Alfred
(1785-1858)
Co. Roscommon family, a son of Lady Anne Croker of Co. Kildare and brother-in-law of Commander James
*Caulfeild. (BurkeP: 340, Boase 1, Marshall 12, O’Byrne)
CROFTON, Commander Morgan (d.1871)
1818 married Miss O’Hara of Co. Kildare.
(O’Byrne)
CROFTON,
Lieutenant Sir Morgan George (1788-1867)
Co. Antrim family. (TR; Boase 4
under his son Denis Crofton)
+CROKER, Lieutenant Albert (d. 1826)
Co. Limerick family, a brother of
Charles *Croker. (O’Byrne,
Marshall 8)
CROKER,
Commander Charles (d.1877 or 1878)
Co. Limerick family, a son of Margaret Anne Hare, a sister of the Earl
of Listowel. 1830 married Miss Crowe of
Co. Cork. (BurkeLG: 149, O’Byrne,
Marshall 8)
CROKER,
Captain Richard (d.1836)
Queen’s Co. family. Married
Catherine Jane Bland of Queen’s Co.
(BurkeLG: 54, Marshall 7)