Origins of the Blood Family
This family can be traced back to one Edmund Blood of Makeney House, Co. Derbyshire, England. This Edmund Blood, who was born in 1540 and died in 1588, married Margaret ___ and had issue. One of his sons, also Edmund, was born in the year of 1568. Edmund Blood, the younger, was a Captain of a force raised in the English Midlands. They went over to Ireland in 1595. Edmund Blood was then brought over to Co. Clare by the Lord O'Brien of Inchiquin, with the purpose of introducing 'law and order' to the 'among the wild and unruly.' Though brought in to introduce law and order, early members of the Blood family in Ireland were unruly themselves. The History and Topography of the County of Clare by James Frost, tells us:
"Another tradition about the Captain and his eldest son, Dean Neptune Blood of Kilfenora Cathedral in West Clare, a "Pillar of the Church" has it that they added to their incomes by levying tolls on the ships that passed, at that time in large numbers, to and from the Port of Galway. They arranged this by means of a small harbour on the coast just outside the southern limit of the Bay of Galway, which was protected by a castle and afforded shelter to a number of longboats with well-armed crews, who boarded the ships and levied the tolls. When the Cromwellians took Limerick in 1651, and carried out a "settlement" in Clare, they are said to have objected to these doings, even to the extent of calling them piracy, of burning the boats, blowing up the castle and dispersing the fighting men; but, strange to say, at the same time they gave the Dean compensation in the shape of three grants of confiscated land - this last transaction being officially on record to this day."
The fact that the Bloods have their origins in Derbyshire is disputed, with some believing that the Bloods of Makeney are merely fictitious. There is good reason to doubt the Bloods origins as the birth and death dates of Edmund Blood of Makeney (1540-1588) cannot be found in any records. What we can say certainly about the origins of the Bloods, is that Edmund Blood of Kilnaboy Castle (1568-1640) was the first Blood of this family in Ireland.
The Blood family motto is 'Honor virtutis praemium', meaning 'Honour is the reward of virtue.'
"Another tradition about the Captain and his eldest son, Dean Neptune Blood of Kilfenora Cathedral in West Clare, a "Pillar of the Church" has it that they added to their incomes by levying tolls on the ships that passed, at that time in large numbers, to and from the Port of Galway. They arranged this by means of a small harbour on the coast just outside the southern limit of the Bay of Galway, which was protected by a castle and afforded shelter to a number of longboats with well-armed crews, who boarded the ships and levied the tolls. When the Cromwellians took Limerick in 1651, and carried out a "settlement" in Clare, they are said to have objected to these doings, even to the extent of calling them piracy, of burning the boats, blowing up the castle and dispersing the fighting men; but, strange to say, at the same time they gave the Dean compensation in the shape of three grants of confiscated land - this last transaction being officially on record to this day."
The fact that the Bloods have their origins in Derbyshire is disputed, with some believing that the Bloods of Makeney are merely fictitious. There is good reason to doubt the Bloods origins as the birth and death dates of Edmund Blood of Makeney (1540-1588) cannot be found in any records. What we can say certainly about the origins of the Bloods, is that Edmund Blood of Kilnaboy Castle (1568-1640) was the first Blood of this family in Ireland.
The Blood family motto is 'Honor virtutis praemium', meaning 'Honour is the reward of virtue.'
Bloods in Ireland

The first Blood in Ireland, Edmund Blood (1568-1640), settled at Kilnaboy Castle. He married ___ and had issue:
1. Neptune Blood (c.1595-1692?) m. Elizabeth (1622-1644), daughter of Very Rev. Hygate Lone, Dean of Kilfenora
2. Edmund Blood (-1615)
3. Thomas Blood (-1645), ancestor of the Bloods of Sarney, father of Colonel Thomas Blood, see below
4. William Blood, ancestor of the Bloods of Dunboyne, Co. Meath, m. Margery Row
Neptune Blood, named so because he was born at sea, was a Doctor of Divinity (D.D.), Dean of Kilfenora and Vicar General of the Diocese of Kilfenora. He was also a J.P. Neptune was first ordained a priest on 18 March 1622, becoming Dean on 27 January 1663 and finally Vicar General on 27 April 1676. He is said to have married three times, by one of his wives, Elizabeth Lone, he left issue:
1. Thomas Blood (1640-1726) m. ___ Davis
2. Edmund Blood, ancestor of the Bloods of Brickhill, Co. Clare, m. ___
3. Peregrine Blood of Knocknareeha
4. Neptune Blood (-30/03/1716), Dean of Kilfenora (08/12/1692) and ancestor to the Bloods of Corofin, m. Isabella, daughter of Samuel Pullein, Archbishop of Tuam, and Elizabeth Bramhall
5. Henry Blood
Thomas Blood, being born in the year of 1640, did not live at Kilnaboy Castle for long, it being blown up in the Irish Uprising of 1641. Thomas Blood resided instead at Bohersallagh, now Applevale. He had seven children:
1. Neptune Blood (1672-25/11/1744) of Applevale, m. Alice Scott
2. Thomas Blood (1673-12/07/1730) m. Elizabeth (-1750), daughter of Captain John Greene of Old Abbey, Co. Limerick and Catherine Horsey
3. Matthew Blood (1676-29/09/1760) of Cragaunboy, ancestor of the Bloods of Ballykitty m. Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Lucas
4. Edmund Blood m. ___
5. Mark Blood (-24/12/1751), ancestor of both the Blood families of Ballysheen and Huntley Court, Gloucestershire, m. ___
6. William Blood, ancestor of the Bloods of Fantore
7. Deborah Blood m. her cousin, Edmund Blood, son of Edmund Blood
Thomas Blood of Cahirnemoher and Applevale (Bohersallagh) had six children by his wife Elizabeth Greene:
1. Thomas Blood, died unmarried
2. William Blood (1720-1791) m. (1748), Ann, daughter of William Chadwick of Ballinard Co. Tipperary and his wife Jane Greene (a relation of the Greene's of Old Abbey?)
3. Anthony Blood (named after his great grandfather Captain Anthony Horsey of Kilcroney, Co. Kilkenny), died without issue.
4. Edmund Blood m. ___, died without male issue
5. Anne Blood m. William Adams of Ballygriffin
6. Catherine Blood m. Edmund Blood
William Blood of Roxton, the second son, was known as 'Old Will of Roxton'. He was High Sheriff of County Clare in 1750. He was also a J.P. William Blood stole his wife away from her father. Bindon Blood recounts:
"My forefather is said to have fallen very much in love with Miss Chadwick, but on approaching her father with a view to matrimony, he met with a refusal, as Mr. Chadwick strongly objected to County Clare and to Clare men. Thereupon my forefather assembled some friends and followers, attacked the Chadwick house and carried off the young lady, marrying her the next morning. Unfortunately, Mr. Chadwick, who defended his house with resolution, was shot dead, either in the attack or in the pursuit afterwards, during which it is said that a good deal of shooting took place."
William was Ann's half second cousin, Ann being descended from Rodolphus Greene, son of Godfrey Greene by his second wife. William was descended from Godfrey Greene and his first wife. William and Ann had seven children:
1. Jane Blood (06/01/1749-12/04/1820) m. (26/10/1772), (Major) Edward William Burton of Clifden, Co. Clare, possibly the son of Edward Burton of Buncraggy and Mary Hampton. Jane and Edward had, among other, Mary and Anne Burton. Mary married Maurice FitzGerald of Lifford and was mother to William FitzGerald, who married his 1st and 2nd cousin 1x removed through the Burtons and the Bloods, Anne Burton having married Bindon Blood, Jane Blood's nephew (see below).
2. William Blood (1749-05/11/1784) m. (26/10/1772), Elizabeth (1750-1798), daughter of Nicholas Bindon of Clooney Co. Clare and his wife Elizabeth Ffrench
3. Thomas Blood (-1790), a lieutenant serving with the Spanish forces in Algiers, where he died. Thomas was ancestor of the Bloods of Essex
4. Neptune Blood (?/10/1797), ancestor of the Bloods of Applevale, m. Marianne, daughter of Thomas Davies or Davis of Newcastle, Co. Galway and his wife Mary Buckley
5. Michael Blood (1756-18/10/1812), of Baskin Hill, Co. Dublin, J.P. m. (06/09/1809, secondly), Cecilia, daughter of Francis Comptom and Mary Widenham
6. Frederick Blood (1762-1843), rector of Kilnaboy and J.P. m. Susan Powell
7. Richard Blood of Bannvale, Co. Down m. Jane Maria, daughter of Captain Thomas Shaw of the Lurgan Yeoman
The eldest son, William Blood of Roxton, was known as 'Young Will of Roxton'. William was a Colonel with the Ennis Volunteers. He was also High Sheriff of Co. Clare in 1774 and a J.P. He had just two children by his wife, Elizabeth Bindon:
1. Nicola Blood
2. Bindon Blood (17/03/1775-27/01/1855) m. (05/1796), his cousin, Anne, daughter of Edward William Burton of Clifden, Co. Clare and Jane Blood
m. (27/12/1809), Harriet, daughter of Christopher Bagot of Nerney, Co. Kildare and his wife Elizabeth Clibborn
m. Maria Hinckley, daughter of ___ of Tenterden, Kent, England
Bindon Blood was known as 'The Vampire'. He settled at Cranagher, Co. Clare. Cranagher meaning 'a dense part of a forest'. Bindon Blood was High Sheriff of Co. Clare in 1819. He was also a J.P and D.L. Bindon married three times and had at least sixteen children. By his first wife, Anne Burton, he had at least six children:
1. Elizabeth Blood, died unmarried
2. Jane Blood, died unmarried
3. Anne Blood (04/06/1801-29/10/1883) m. (1821), George Stoney of Oakley Park, Co. Offaly, son of James Johnston Stoney and Catherine Baker
4. Mary Blood m. (14/05/1832), Aylward O'Connor of Milton, Co. Roscommon
5. Fanny Blood married William Hamilton M.D.
6. Nicola Blood, died unmarried
Bindon Blood's second wife, Harriet Bagot, was from an old Quaker family. He had at least five children by her:
1. William Blood, died without issue (and young?)
2. Bindon Blood, died young
3. Bagot Blood (1815-1831)
4. William Bindon Blood (20/01/1817-31/01/1894), ancestor of the rest of the Bloods of Cranagher, including General Sir Bindon Blood (07/11/1842-16/05/1940), see below.
William Bindon Blood m. Margaret, daughter of Robert Stewart of Hawthornside, Co. Roxburgh, Scotland
m. Maria Augusta, daughter of Robert Henry Perse of Castle Boy, Co. Galway
5. Katherine Blood m. her cousin, Charles M Baggot
Bindon Blood had at least five children by his third wife:
1. Bindon Blood (-22/01/1859)
2. Bagot Blood (1845-11/02/1897) of Rockforest, Co. Clare
3. Mary Anne Blood (-1906) m. Hugh Baker Stoney of Abbeyleix (nephew of George Stoney, who married Mary Anne's half sister Anne Blood)
4. Frances Blood, died without issue
5. Maria Blood, died without issue
1. Neptune Blood (c.1595-1692?) m. Elizabeth (1622-1644), daughter of Very Rev. Hygate Lone, Dean of Kilfenora
2. Edmund Blood (-1615)
3. Thomas Blood (-1645), ancestor of the Bloods of Sarney, father of Colonel Thomas Blood, see below
4. William Blood, ancestor of the Bloods of Dunboyne, Co. Meath, m. Margery Row
Neptune Blood, named so because he was born at sea, was a Doctor of Divinity (D.D.), Dean of Kilfenora and Vicar General of the Diocese of Kilfenora. He was also a J.P. Neptune was first ordained a priest on 18 March 1622, becoming Dean on 27 January 1663 and finally Vicar General on 27 April 1676. He is said to have married three times, by one of his wives, Elizabeth Lone, he left issue:
1. Thomas Blood (1640-1726) m. ___ Davis
2. Edmund Blood, ancestor of the Bloods of Brickhill, Co. Clare, m. ___
3. Peregrine Blood of Knocknareeha
4. Neptune Blood (-30/03/1716), Dean of Kilfenora (08/12/1692) and ancestor to the Bloods of Corofin, m. Isabella, daughter of Samuel Pullein, Archbishop of Tuam, and Elizabeth Bramhall
5. Henry Blood
Thomas Blood, being born in the year of 1640, did not live at Kilnaboy Castle for long, it being blown up in the Irish Uprising of 1641. Thomas Blood resided instead at Bohersallagh, now Applevale. He had seven children:
1. Neptune Blood (1672-25/11/1744) of Applevale, m. Alice Scott
2. Thomas Blood (1673-12/07/1730) m. Elizabeth (-1750), daughter of Captain John Greene of Old Abbey, Co. Limerick and Catherine Horsey
3. Matthew Blood (1676-29/09/1760) of Cragaunboy, ancestor of the Bloods of Ballykitty m. Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Lucas
4. Edmund Blood m. ___
5. Mark Blood (-24/12/1751), ancestor of both the Blood families of Ballysheen and Huntley Court, Gloucestershire, m. ___
6. William Blood, ancestor of the Bloods of Fantore
7. Deborah Blood m. her cousin, Edmund Blood, son of Edmund Blood
Thomas Blood of Cahirnemoher and Applevale (Bohersallagh) had six children by his wife Elizabeth Greene:
1. Thomas Blood, died unmarried
2. William Blood (1720-1791) m. (1748), Ann, daughter of William Chadwick of Ballinard Co. Tipperary and his wife Jane Greene (a relation of the Greene's of Old Abbey?)
3. Anthony Blood (named after his great grandfather Captain Anthony Horsey of Kilcroney, Co. Kilkenny), died without issue.
4. Edmund Blood m. ___, died without male issue
5. Anne Blood m. William Adams of Ballygriffin
6. Catherine Blood m. Edmund Blood
William Blood of Roxton, the second son, was known as 'Old Will of Roxton'. He was High Sheriff of County Clare in 1750. He was also a J.P. William Blood stole his wife away from her father. Bindon Blood recounts:
"My forefather is said to have fallen very much in love with Miss Chadwick, but on approaching her father with a view to matrimony, he met with a refusal, as Mr. Chadwick strongly objected to County Clare and to Clare men. Thereupon my forefather assembled some friends and followers, attacked the Chadwick house and carried off the young lady, marrying her the next morning. Unfortunately, Mr. Chadwick, who defended his house with resolution, was shot dead, either in the attack or in the pursuit afterwards, during which it is said that a good deal of shooting took place."
William was Ann's half second cousin, Ann being descended from Rodolphus Greene, son of Godfrey Greene by his second wife. William was descended from Godfrey Greene and his first wife. William and Ann had seven children:
1. Jane Blood (06/01/1749-12/04/1820) m. (26/10/1772), (Major) Edward William Burton of Clifden, Co. Clare, possibly the son of Edward Burton of Buncraggy and Mary Hampton. Jane and Edward had, among other, Mary and Anne Burton. Mary married Maurice FitzGerald of Lifford and was mother to William FitzGerald, who married his 1st and 2nd cousin 1x removed through the Burtons and the Bloods, Anne Burton having married Bindon Blood, Jane Blood's nephew (see below).
2. William Blood (1749-05/11/1784) m. (26/10/1772), Elizabeth (1750-1798), daughter of Nicholas Bindon of Clooney Co. Clare and his wife Elizabeth Ffrench
3. Thomas Blood (-1790), a lieutenant serving with the Spanish forces in Algiers, where he died. Thomas was ancestor of the Bloods of Essex
4. Neptune Blood (?/10/1797), ancestor of the Bloods of Applevale, m. Marianne, daughter of Thomas Davies or Davis of Newcastle, Co. Galway and his wife Mary Buckley
5. Michael Blood (1756-18/10/1812), of Baskin Hill, Co. Dublin, J.P. m. (06/09/1809, secondly), Cecilia, daughter of Francis Comptom and Mary Widenham
6. Frederick Blood (1762-1843), rector of Kilnaboy and J.P. m. Susan Powell
7. Richard Blood of Bannvale, Co. Down m. Jane Maria, daughter of Captain Thomas Shaw of the Lurgan Yeoman
The eldest son, William Blood of Roxton, was known as 'Young Will of Roxton'. William was a Colonel with the Ennis Volunteers. He was also High Sheriff of Co. Clare in 1774 and a J.P. He had just two children by his wife, Elizabeth Bindon:
1. Nicola Blood
2. Bindon Blood (17/03/1775-27/01/1855) m. (05/1796), his cousin, Anne, daughter of Edward William Burton of Clifden, Co. Clare and Jane Blood
m. (27/12/1809), Harriet, daughter of Christopher Bagot of Nerney, Co. Kildare and his wife Elizabeth Clibborn
m. Maria Hinckley, daughter of ___ of Tenterden, Kent, England
Bindon Blood was known as 'The Vampire'. He settled at Cranagher, Co. Clare. Cranagher meaning 'a dense part of a forest'. Bindon Blood was High Sheriff of Co. Clare in 1819. He was also a J.P and D.L. Bindon married three times and had at least sixteen children. By his first wife, Anne Burton, he had at least six children:
1. Elizabeth Blood, died unmarried
2. Jane Blood, died unmarried
3. Anne Blood (04/06/1801-29/10/1883) m. (1821), George Stoney of Oakley Park, Co. Offaly, son of James Johnston Stoney and Catherine Baker
4. Mary Blood m. (14/05/1832), Aylward O'Connor of Milton, Co. Roscommon
5. Fanny Blood married William Hamilton M.D.
6. Nicola Blood, died unmarried
Bindon Blood's second wife, Harriet Bagot, was from an old Quaker family. He had at least five children by her:
1. William Blood, died without issue (and young?)
2. Bindon Blood, died young
3. Bagot Blood (1815-1831)
4. William Bindon Blood (20/01/1817-31/01/1894), ancestor of the rest of the Bloods of Cranagher, including General Sir Bindon Blood (07/11/1842-16/05/1940), see below.
William Bindon Blood m. Margaret, daughter of Robert Stewart of Hawthornside, Co. Roxburgh, Scotland
m. Maria Augusta, daughter of Robert Henry Perse of Castle Boy, Co. Galway
5. Katherine Blood m. her cousin, Charles M Baggot
Bindon Blood had at least five children by his third wife:
1. Bindon Blood (-22/01/1859)
2. Bagot Blood (1845-11/02/1897) of Rockforest, Co. Clare
3. Mary Anne Blood (-1906) m. Hugh Baker Stoney of Abbeyleix (nephew of George Stoney, who married Mary Anne's half sister Anne Blood)
4. Frances Blood, died without issue
5. Maria Blood, died without issue
Colonel Thomas Blood (1618-1680)

Thomas Blood (1618-24/08/1680) is famous, or infamous, for attempting to steal the Crown Jewels, a feat for which after his capture, he was eventually pardoned and even given a pension! He is also known for his rivalry with James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde. He descends from Edmund Blood like so:
Edmund Blood m. ? His son:
Thomas Blood, a blacksmith of Sarney, Co. Meath and was father to:
Colonel Thomas Blood m. Mary, daughter of John Holcroft of Holcroft
Edmund Blood m. ? His son:
Thomas Blood, a blacksmith of Sarney, Co. Meath and was father to:
Colonel Thomas Blood m. Mary, daughter of John Holcroft of Holcroft
General Sir Bindon Blood (1842-1940)
Bindon Blood (07/11/1842-16/05/1940) was a Royal Engineer and Major-General in the Army. Bindon Blood was the son of William Bindon Bood and his first wife Margaret Stewart. Contrary to many incorrect biographies Bindon Blood was not descended from Colonel Thomas Blood, the Colonel being a cousin several times removed instead. General Sir Bindon Blood sold the Cranagher estate in 1905, though over Bloods remain in other Parts of County Clare, he was the last Blood of Cranagher.
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