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FitzGerald Boar Crest
FitzGerald Teaspoon

Origins of the FitzGerald Family

This branch of the FitzGerald family originates from County Clare, being settled at Kilcarragh, near Kilfenora from the early 1700's. The FitzGerald family can be traced back to to the 11th century, but this branch only definitely to the 17th century. It is unclear how the first of the Kilcarragh family, Theobald FitzGerald, links into the main FitzGerald family. From the family's crest, a boar, one could assume that Theobald descended from the FitzGerald Earls of Desmond, but no definite link can be found. The fact that Theobald's grandson is called Garrett, could even indicate that they descend from the Kildare FitzGerald branch, Garrett being an echo of Garrett the Great, 8th Earl of Kildare.

So the origins of this family are not clear, though obviously they descend from Maurice FitzGerald (-1176). What we do know is that Theobald FitzGerald was an officer in the Irish Brigade. The Irish Brigade consisted of exiled Jacobite Irish troops who had been sent to France in exchange for a larger amount of French troops. Presumably Theobald returned from France at some point, and married in Ireland.

In the entry for Woulfe in Burke's Landed Gentry, a Patrick Woulfe is listed as having married Mary, daughter of Theobald FitzGerald of Gortmore, Co. Clare. Mary Woulfe (FitzGerald), was buried at Ennis in 1697. Given the earliness of this date, I would speculate that this Theobald of Gortmore is the above Theobald's father. Gortmore is a townland just to the west of Ennis. Other early, possibly related FitzGeralds, are Francis and Maurice FitzGerald of Roslevan, who seem to have been living as adults in the late 1600's and early 1700's. Perhaps they were brothers to one of these Theobalds. Maurice FitzGerald was married to Joan Prendergast of Racaghan. They converted from 'Popery' in the 1710's. Francis FitzGerald married Elizabeth ___. Roslevan is in the North-East of Ennis.

The FitzGerald family motto is 'Shannet-a-boo',meaning 'Shannet to victory' or 'Shannet forever.'

Kilcarragh House was demolished in the 1900s, but Adelphi House still stands:
Adelphi House

FitzGerald of Kilcarragh

FitzGerald Family Coat of ArmsThe FitzGerald-Wilson Coat of Arms
Theobald FitzGerald m. ___ McDonough of Co. Clare and was father to:

 1. Gerald FitzGerald (-1762) m. Anne Perreau (-1734)
                                               m. Anne Grady

Gerald FitzGerald settled at Kilcarragh, Co. Clare. He left no issue by his second wife, Anne Grady. Gerald's first wife, Anne Perreau was a relation of the Daunt and Busted families of Co. Cork. He had issue by her:

 1. Maurice FitzGerald, died without issue

 2. Francis FitzGerald, ancestor of the Adelphi FitzGerald branch, m. Elizabeth, daughter of David Comyn of Kilcoursey

 3. Garrett FitzGerald m. Juliana, daughter of Patrick Kerin of Corofin

 4. Theobald FitzGerald m. ___ Comyn (sister of Elizabeth Comyn?)

A Garrett FitzGerald, of Carrowkeel, Co. Clare, converted from 'Popery' to the Protestant religion in 1754. Whether or not this is the right Garrett FitzGerald and which Carrowkeel in Clare is being referred to, I do not know. It might be the Carrowkeel in the Parish of Kilfarboy, as in the Griffiths Valuation, dated about 100 years after Garrett's conversion, there is a Garrett FitzGerald of Carrowkeel there. This is probably a descendant of the first Garrett FitzGerald. There are also other highly likely related FitzGeralds in Kilfarboy Parish at the time of the Griffiths Valuation. A Terence and a Maurice FitzGerald are also in close proximity to the second Garrett FitzGerald. As only descendants of Garrett's son Maurice FitzGerald are listed in the Landed Gentry, it is unclear how these FitzGeralds in the mid 18th century fit in. They are probably descendants of one of Garrett FitzGerald's other sons. Members of Garrett's wife's family also converted, Terence Kerin of Ennis in 1751 and Patrick Kerin of Corofin in 1768. Garrett and Juliana had seven children:

 1. Maurice FitzGerald (-1838) m. (22/05/1797), Margaretta, daughter of Colonel Kennedy of the Madras Establishment  
                                                 m. (1803), Mary (1786-30/05/1821), youngest daughter of Edward William Burton of Clifden, Co. Clare, and his wife Jane Blood 

 2. Terence FitzGerald

 3. William FitzGerald

 4. Gerald FitzGerald

 5. Eleanor FitzGerald

 6. Mary FitzGerald

 7. Margaret FitzGerald

Mary BurtonMary Burton, second wife of Maurice FitzGerald
Maurice FitzGerald was a Medical Doctor and Surgeon. He was in the service of the East India Company at Madras, India. He also served the Nabob Omdut Ul Omrah as a physician from 1799 until 15th July 1801.

Surgeon Maurice FitzGerald bought the Madras Lunatic Asylum from Valentine Connolly and held charge of it from sometime after 1795, to 1803 He then sold it to Dr. Dalton, from then it became known as 'Dalton's Mad Hospital.'

Maurice's first wife was the widow of Benjamin Frend, Lieutenant of the Madras Army. Margaretta Kennedy had married Benjamin Frend on 15 January 1790 and had had by him, whom died in 1796, three children. 

A marriage licence was for Maurice's second marriage is dated 1803 in Dublin, though he was still in India at the time. In 1808 he moved to England. Maurice then returned to Ireland, living at Lifford, Co. Limerick where he resided for some time, hence he is often referred to as Maurice FitzGerald of Lifford. Before 1821, Maurice moved back to England, living principally in London, which is where his his wife died on 30 May 1821. Finally, Maurice returned to Dublin. He lived there until his death in 1838.

Maurice FitzGerald had two children by his first wife, Margaretta:

 1. Juliana Cecilia FitzGerald (21/10/1799-23/06/1823) m. (08/05/1817), her second cousin, William FitzGerald of Adelphi and Kilcarragh (1789-1782), son of William FitzGerald (-1789), son of the above Francis FitzGerald. They were parents to, as well as two sons, both of whom died young:
 i. Mary FitzGerald (1819-26/05/1852) m. (21/02/1837), Lucius O'Brien, later 13th Baron Inchiquin  
 ii. Anne FitzGerald (-1877) m. (05/12/1839), Richard Bassett Wilson. Their son, William Henry Wilson FitzGerald was heir to the Adelphi estate.

 2. Maurice Gerald FitzGerald (15/01/1801-1827), Lieutenant in the Madras Army

Maurice FitzGerald had six children by his second wife, Mary Burton:
 
 1. Edward William (Marlborough?) FitzGerald (16/11/1804-12/08/1840)

 2. Jane Mary FitzGerald (09/12/1805 or 01/12/1805-20/01/1829)

 3. Francis Alexander FitzGerald (05/06/1807-1897), 3rd Baron of the Exchequer m. (his cousin?) Janet Burton. They were parents to, among others:
 i. Charles Edward FitzGerald (09/02/1843-27/05/1916), a renowned Medical Doctor m. Isabella Ferrier
 ii. Margaret Ann FitzGerald m. Gerald FitzGibbon, son of Gerald FitzGibbon, author and Ellen Patterson. They were parents to Gerald FitzGibbon, Barrister and one of the Original members of the Supreme Court of Ireland

 4. Garrett FitzGerald (16/06/1809-Oct.1836)

 5. Anne FitzGerald (17/11/1811-1830)

 6. William FitzGerald (03/12/1814-24/11/1883), Bishop of Cork, then Killaloe m. (23/04/1846), his 1st cousin 1x removed through the Burtons (and 2nd cousin 1x removed through the Bloods), Anne Frances, daughter of George Stoney of Oakley Park and Anne Blood.

Bishop William FitzGerald
The Right Reverend William FitzGerald, Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross (1857-1862), then of Killaloe, Kilfenora, Clonfert and Kilmacduagh (1862-1883), was first ordained as a deacon on 25 April 1838, then as a priest on 23 August 1847. He entered Trinity College Dublin aged 16, obtaining his B.A. in 1835, M.A. in 1848, and his B.D. and D.D. (Bachelor and Doctor of Divinity) in 1853. He resided in Dublin and Clarisford Palace, Killaloe, where his children grew up. He had six children by his wife Anne Frances Stoney (16/11/1822-20/10/1859):

 1. Anne Janet FitzGerald (20/09/1847-09/01/1890), Lady Superintendent of the City of Dublin Nursing Institution 

 2. Maurice Frederick FitzGerald (10/07/1850-04/04/1827), Professor of Civil Engineering at Queen's University Belfast, m. (1893), Anna Maria Charnock (1853-1955)

 3. George Francis FitzGerald (03/08/1851-22/02/1901) m. (21/12/1885), Harriette Mary, daughter of Reverend John Hewitt Jellett, Provost of Trinity College Dublin, and Dorothea Charlotte Morris Morgan

 4.  William FitzGerald (05/10/1852-05/05/1919), Canon of Killaloe Cathedral and illustrator to Bram Stoker's early novels

 5. Edith Geraldine FitzGerald (1856-07/02/1937) m. (12/01/1884), Edward Parnall Culverwell

 6. Beatrice Caroline FitzGerald (1858-14/01/1890)

George Francis FitzGerald
George Francis FitzGerald was born on 19 Mount Street Lower Dublin, but spent much of his childhood in Killaloe, Co. Clare. He, and his siblings, were initially educated at home by Mary Ann Boole, sister of the mathematician George Boole. George and his brothers all entered Trinity College Dublin aged 16 or 17, like their father. By the time FitzGerald was 20 he had graduated in both in mathematics and experimental science and then became a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin in 1877, aged about 26. FitzGerald became Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy in 1881. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1883 and was awarded the Royal Medal in 1899. A year later he was made an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 

FitzGerald complained of stomach problems towards the end of his life, saying that he couldn't concentrate on a problem anymore. He died shortly after an operation on a perforated ulcer.

Along, with his Uncle George Johnstone Stoney, with whom FitzGerald was in frequent correspondence with, he has a crater named on the moon after him.

FitzGerald flyingFitzGerald's attempt at flying.
George Francis FitzGerald and Harriette Mary Jellett (19/09/1860-10/02/1919) had eight children:

 1. Nesta FitzGerald (07/12/1886-)

 2. Dorothea Charlotte Jellett FitzGerald (10/04/1888-1979)

 3. William Raymond FitzGerald (16/01/1890-21/06/1964), an engineer, knighted for his services (23/07/1946) as General Manager of the Bengal Nagpur Railway
 m. (05/10/1925), Catherine Geraldine (16/12/1902-20/11/1976), daughter of Garrett William Walker

 4. Anne Janet FitzGerald (28/08/1891-1983) m. (18/01/1916), Eric Gordon Lilley (1887-1968)

 5. Beatrice Mary FitzGerald (25/04/1893-)

 6. George Francis FitzGerald (11/09/1894-) m. Rose ___

 7. Harriette Mary Geraldine FitzGerald (05/10/1896-1983) m. (27/02/1922), Gerald Chaplin Scott, widower, son of Robert William Scott of Bloomhill and Charlotte Pike

 8. John Jellett FitzGerald (15/10/1898-1925), in the army, died in a plane crash in Iraq

7 Ely Place
George Francis FitzGerald lived at 7 Ely Place, Dublin. A commemorative plaque is attached to the house.

Information Sources:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2347913/pdf/brmedj07053-0031a.pdf

http://www.limerickcity.ie/Library/LocalStudies/ObituariesdeathnoticesetcfromTheLimerickChronicle

http://chennaimadras.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/not-all-there.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2745864/

http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2012-11/1351908965

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37667/page/3838

Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons and Command, Volume 10
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