GENEALOGICAL HISTORY

Of the

FAMILY OF BRABAZON BY HERCULES SHARPE (1825)

THE ancient and distinguished origin of this family has been recognized by the Crown, in the patent of creation of the Earldom of Meath, 1637, as appears by the following memorable words:

"Cum Brabazoniarum familia nobis certis ac indubitatis testimonies innotuerit, tam ex Oppido de Brabazon in Normandia, ex quo, sub Willielmo rege ejus nominis primo Jacobus de Brabazon eques in Angliam appulerit," etc.

Thus it is recorded that this noble family of Barbanzon, Brabazon, or Brabanzon, assumed that surname from the Castle of Brabazon in Normandyy, whence JAQUES (or James) Le Brabanson (called the great Warrior) came to the aid of William Duke of Normandy, in his conquest of England, as appears by his name being inserted in the roll of Battle-Abbey.

II. JOHN his son, succeeded to him, and had his residence at Betchworth, in the County of Surrey, in the reigns of Henry I. and II. where he was succeeded by

III. ADAM le Brabason, his son, who lived in the time of Richard I. and Henry III. and aliened some part of his inheritance.

IV. THOMAS, his son, succeeded him at Betchworth, and took to wife Amicia, daughter and heir of John de Mosely (or Museley), of Moseley, in the County of Leicester, and by her (who was his wife 20 Hen. III. 1236) had a son

V. ROGER, knighted in 1268 by the name of Sir ROGER LE BRABAZON, of Moseley and Eastwell, in LEICESTERSHIRE; the latter of which is a manor in the Hundred of Framland, and was the chief seat of the family for many years, where, in the church, their coat armour is set up; and in the book of knights for that county, in the reigns of Henry III. and Edward I. his arms are depicted, and were the same as the family bears at this day. He married Beatrix, eldest of three sisters and co-heirs to Mancel de Bissett (to whom King Henry III. gave the manor of Eastbridgeford), and by her, who re-married with William le Gaunt, and was buried in Christ-Church, London, had two sons, Roger, and Matthew;

VI. ROGER, the elder of whom, was knighted - and by charter, dated 28 Edward I. had a grant of Free Warren at Croxhall, in Derbyshire; at Maiton and Hareworth, in Nottinghamshire; Sibertoft, in Northamptonshire; Moseley, in Leicestershire; Garmundeley and Garthorpe, in Lincolnshire. On 26th December, that year, he received a Mandamus from the King, to repair to him at Odyham, to give his advice concerning some weighty affairs; and was constituted in that reign Constable of the Tower of London; in which capacity, with the mayor and sheriffs of that city, on complaint of Henry Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, made in the parliament at Carlisle (1307), he was commissioned to enquire how far the river of Wells went in old time, and that nothing should be left or hurt to stop its course, but to be kept in the same state that it was wont to be: and, upon a petition of the inhabitants of Holborn to the parliament, he was joined in a like commission that year, to remedy the annoyances done to the water of the Fleet, by the course being stopped that used to run under the bridges of Holborn and the Fleet into the Thames. On 16th October 1313 (7 Edward II.), he was made Chief Justice of the Common Pleas; and in 1317, was Lord of the Manor of Saxby, in Leicestershire, which he held at the time of his death His wife was Beatrix, daughter and heir to Sir John Sproxton, of Sproxton, in that county; but dying without issue, he was succeeded by his brother

VI. MATTHEW, then upwards of forth years old (as appears by inquisition, taken 19 Edward II. proving him heir to his brother), who, by Sarah Brabazon his wife, had two sons, Sir William his heir, and Roger, Prior or Tinmouth.

VII. Sir WILLIAM lived at Garthorpe, in the County of Leicester, 20 Edw. II. which manor, with that of Sproxton (as an inquisition, taken 34 Henry VI. manifests), were given to him by his uncle Sir Roger. He married Joan, daughter to Sir William Trussel, of Marston-Trussel, and of Lamport, in the County of Northampton, and of Cublesdon, co. Staff. called the rich Trussel, and they lie buried in the Church of Sproxton, where their arms stand impaled. His issue were two sons, Sir John and Thomas;

VIII. Sir JOHN, the elder whereof, marrying Agnes, daughter of Richard de Whatton. had an only daughter, Joan, who carried the manor of Sproxton to her husband, William de Woodford (or Wadeford), and had issue Sir Robert Woodford, the father of Thomas, whose son Ralph was living at Sproxton, in the reign of Henry Vi. Sir John married 2dly, Maude of Garthorpe, the sister of John Paynell, of Retherby.

VIII. THOMAS, his brother, succeeded, who was born in 1299, and in King Edward IIId's reign held lands in Moseley, of the Honour of Leicester, wherein he was succeeded by his son

JOHN, who was a great Commander for Edward III. in his wars with France (the Herald's Pedigree calls him a General under the Black Prince, 1350), and had is residence at Moseley, and Eastwell, in this reign, and those of Richard II. and Henry IV. He married a daughter of the family of Harcourt

X. NICHOLAS LE BRABAZON, his son, was living at Eastwell, 23 Henry VI. He was father, by the daughter and heir of -- -- Howbeck.

XI. JOHN, of Eastwell, who was slain in the battle of Bosworth Field, 22nd August, 1485, and was buried at Eastwell; leaving by Matilda (Maud), daughter and heiress to Nicholas Jervis, of Hardby, in Leicestershire, one daughter, Isabel, and five sons, viz. Roger, Adam, John, William, and Alexander.

XII. ROGER, of Eastwell, above fourteen years old at his father's death, who left only two daughters, whereof Joan was married to Sir George Hastings, of Elsing, Knight of the Bath, 1509, who, by inquisition taken 3 Henry VIII. was found to hold in her right half the Manor of Eastwell, with other lands, her division of here father's estate, and died 11th June, that year, leaving John his heir, aged fourteen years and more.

Adam, second son, who lived at Allerton, and having no issue, made his will, 25th January, 1509, whereby he directed his body to be buried in St. Mary's Church at Stamford, and left his Estate of Hardby, Wykeham, and Calewell, to his sister Isabel for life, remainder to his brother William and his son John, and their heirs.

John, third son, who carried on the line

William, of Eastwell, 4th son - had issue John, to whom his uncle Adam left his Estate, and a daughter, Margery, married to Sir Edward Moore, of Mellefont, ancestor by her to the Earl of Drogheda. John, the son, married Jane, daughter of Vincent Lowe, Esq. (See Appendix. K.) and, 20th February, 1548, making his will, ordered his Body to be buried in the Chapel of the Parish Church of St. Goodlack, of Eastwell, where his grandfather lay; and left to his cousin William (son of his uncle John) all his Lands in Wykeham and Hardby, which were in variance between them, in consideration (says he) that "he shall be good to Jane my wife, and my child Rose; with all other my Lands in Eyton, Strathome, and Plimgare

Alexander, fifth son - also had issue, as appears by his brother Adam's will, who ordered the lands he had bought of Mrs. Saundford to be sold, to "fynde some of his broder Alexander's children at the schoole."

XII. JOHN, 3d son, already named, married the daughter of -- -- Chaworth, by whom he had a son, William, and a daughter, Elizabeth, married to Richard Neale, of Abketilby, in the County of Leicester, 5 Edw. VI.

XIII. Sir WILLIAM, who succeeded his father, was honoured with Knighthood, and, 26th August, 1534, appointed Vice-Treasurer and General Receiver of Ireland, which he held to his death, on the 7th of the Ides of July (viz. the 9th day of that month) 1552; which year, says Sir Richard Cox, "was unhappy, not only by the civil dissensions in Ulster, between the Earl of Tyrone and his son Shane O'Neile, and by the scarcity of provisions; but also by the death of Sir William Brabazon, who died in July, and was one of the most faithful men to the English interest that had appeared in Ireland from the conquest to that day." Indeed, his capacity and abilities were so conspicuous, that in a letter, dated 21st August, 1535, from the Lord Chief Justice Aylmer to the Lord Cromwell, Prime Minister to King Hen. VIII. he is styled "the Man that prevented the total ruin and desolation of the country, and is extolled by them as the Saver of the Kingdom." In 1536, with the Lord Chancellor Trimleston, he prevented the ravages of O'Connor in Carbury, by burning many villages in his Country of Offaley, and carrying away great preys. And in the Parliament held that year, there being much difficulty to get the acts for establishing the King's, and abolishing the Pope's Supremacy and Jurisdiction in Ireland, to pass both houses, he seconded the Speech made by Archbishop Browne so effectually, that the HOUSES were startled at it, and prevailed on at length to pass both the bills.

As a consequence hereof, in 1539, many abbots and priors, with their fraternities, treading in the steps of their brethren in England, made a voluntary surrender, by charters under their common seals, of their Abbies, with all their furniture and goods, to the King, to whom annual pensions for life were assigned out of the revenues which the King had reserved to himself; and the disposal of all the abbies in Ireland was given to his Majesty by parliament. These surrenders were taken for his Majesty's use by the Chancellor Allen, the Vice-Treasurer Brabazon, and Robert Cowley, Master of the Rolls, Commissioners for that purpose; who were also commissioned the next year (1540) to grant the said annual pensions to the monks of the suppressed abbies.

These, and other services to his Prince, rendered him worthy to be entrusted with the chief administration of affairs; and accordingly, 12 October, 1543, he was constituted Lord Justice of the Kingdom, and sworn 10th February following: and to him new Seals for the use of the Chnacery, Exchequer, and both the Benches, were sent upon the alteration of the King's style from Lord to King of Ireland. After which, at the King's command, who had declared war against Francis the French kin, he sent his Majesty 700 Foot to Calais. Under the command of Poer, Finglas, and Scurlock, who did him great service at Bulloign. On 1st April, 1546, he was again appointed Lord Justice of Ireland, and that year pursued Patrick O More and Brien O Connor, who had entered the County of Kildare, and, among other damages, burned a great part of Athy, in the castle whereof he left a garrison, proclaimed them traitors, marched into Offaley, made a fort at Philips-town, destroyed their territories, and forced O Connel to fly into Connaught.

After King Edward's accession to the Crown, his majesty, by letter to the Lord Deputy St. Leger, dated at Greenwich, 7th April, 1547, directed, that in respect of his faithful and diligent service done to his father and himself, he should be one of this Privy Council. In which year, the Castle of Athlone, at his motion and instigation, being repaired and garrisoned by order of council, the charge thereof was committed to him, which he most effectually performed, notwithstanding the great opposition of Dominick O Kelly and other powerful chiefs in Connaught. In the Spring of 1548 he accompanied the Lord Deputy against Richard and Alexander, the younger sons of Thomas Viscount Baltinglas, then raising sedition in Kildare, which was suppressed in its very contrivance by their submission. On 2nd February, 1549, he was a third time made Lord Justice, being so elected by the Council, on the death of Sir Francis Bryan, after which he made a journey to Limerick, where Teige O Carrol submitted, was pardoned, and subscribed to certain articles, binding himself not to assume the title of President of Ormond, to pay to the Exchequer a yearly rent, and maintain a certain number of horse and foot for the King's service; by whose intercession also, Letters of Protection were granted to Mac-Murrough, O Kelly, and O McLaghlin. And receiving from England 80001 and 400 men, in August, 1550, he pursued with indefatigable labour, Charles Mac Art Cavenagh, again in rebellion, declared him traitor, killed many of his followers, and burned his country, which obliged him to make a very formal submission, in Dublin, on the 4th of November following, to renounce the name of Mac-Murrough, and part with some of his usurped jurisdiction and estate. He died in Ulster, as before-mentioned, having his heart interred with his ancestors at Eastwell, and his body buried in the Chancel of St. Catherine's Church, Dublin, where a Monument is erected to his Memory, with the following inscription:

Sub hoc Tumulo in Christo obdormit GULIELMUS BRA-BAZON, Eques Auratus, qui triginta annos Belli Thesaurus, et quarter Dominus Justiciarius hujus Regni Hiberniæ floruit: Athlon Castrum primus ex- Pugnavit, unde Provincia Conachtia, et ejusdem Incoiæ
Civilibus Institutis facilius jam inde exculti fuerunt. Vir ob justitiam, Benignitatem et Liberalitatem lauda- Tissimus. Elizabetham Cliffordiam, ex illustri Comitum Cumbriæ stripe oriundam, in uxorem duxit, è quâ duos Filios totidemque Filias suscepit; Edvartdum Militem,
Et Regni hujus Consiliarium, Anthonium quondam Conachtæ Præfectum, Annam Gulielmi Thwaits Armigeri Uxorem, et Elizabetham primum Johanni Giffordo Ar Migero, postea Henrico Duco Equiti Aurato, enuptam.
Obiit apud Kockfergus Anno Salutis 1548: dieOptimo Patri Edwardus filius mœstissimus posuit.

And on the Grave-stone, under the Monument, is this circumscription:

Here lieth the Body of Sir WILLIAM BRABZON, Knt.
Who continued Tresorer in this Kingdom XXXII
Years, in which Time he was Lord Justice v several
Times; he was the first Englishman that planted in
Conoght, and wan the Castle of Athlone. He served
In the Reigne of Kinge Henry the VIII. and Kinge Edward
The VI. His Son, Sir Edward Brabazon, Knt. Lord Baron of
Ardee, purposeth to be entombed by his Father and Mother.

His wife ELIZABETH CLIFFORD was the daughter and co-heir of NICHOLAS CLIFFORD, of Home; in the county of Kent, Esq. and his children were by her, two sons, and two daughters.

1. Sir EDWARD, created Baron of Ardee, whose son William was created 1st Earl of Meath.
2. Sir ANTHONY, ancestor to the Brabazons, of Brabazon Park.
3. Anne, first married to Andrew Wise, of Dublin, Esq.; and, secondly, to William Thwaits, of the County of Kent, by whom she had an only daughter, Ursula, who, being married to Sir Henry Finch, Serjeant at Law to King James I. was mother of John Finch, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, created Lord Finch, of Fordwich, in the County of Kent.
4. Elizabeth, the younger daughter, was first married to John Giffard, Esq. and, secondly, to Sir Henry Duke, of Castle-Jordan, who, dying 12th February, 1595, left two only daughters and co-heirs, whereof 1. Anne Duke was married to Sir Edward Loftus, (second son of Adam, Archbishop of Dublin), who died at the Siege of Kingsale, 10th May, 1604, and, 6th July following, she died in childbirth of a daughter, which deceased the 21st of that month; and 2. Mary Duke, who became heir, was first married to Richard Giffard, Esq. who was killed in the wars of Ireland; secondly, to Sir Francis Ruish (Privy Counsellor to James I.), in her right, of Castle-Jordan, who died in 1623, having issue one son, Thomas, who died unmarried, and three daughters, Elenor Ruish, married to Sir Robert Loftus, son and heir of Adam Viscount Elye; Mary Ruish, to Sir Charles Coote, first Earl of Mountrath; and Anne Ruish. The third husband of the said Mary Duke was Sir John Jephson, Knt.

XIV. Sir ANTHONY Brabazon, the younger son, was Governor of Connaught, in which Province, at Ballynasloe, in the County of Galway, he became seated. He married Ursula, daughter to Sir Nicholas Malby, of Roscommon, Governor of Connaught and Thomond, who died in February, 1583, and who, as Archdale states, was married to Lady Honora, daughter of Ulric, third Earl of Clanricarde, by Lady Margaret, daughter of Richard Fitz-Alan Earl of Arundel. The issue of Sir Anthony Brabazon by the said Ursula Malby who brough very large possessions in Connaught to the family of her husband, were, 1. Edward, who left no issue; 2. Malby, his successor; 3. Catharine, married to John Burke Lord Viscount Clanmorris; and 4. Sarah, married to John Hamilton, of Carronery, in the County of Cavan, and of Monella, in Armargh, Esq.

XV. MALBY Brabazon, of Ballynasloe, Esq. had a special Livery of his Inheritance, 1st July, 1610; and by Sarah, daughter to Thomas Burke, of Tullagherry, in the County of Galway, Esq. had issue Anthony, his heri; Ursula, married to Bernard Talbot, of Rathdown, in the County of Wicklow, Esq. (who died at Ballynasloe the 20th May, and was buried in the Church of Crioch); Sarah and Dorothy.

XVI. ANTHONY succeeded his father 20th May, 1637, and (as appears by the deposition of John Dodwell, of the Grange, in the County of Roscommon, Gent.) upon the beginning of the commotions in 1641, forsook his Religion and became a Papist, his father and grandfather having been good Protestants; was chosen one of the Committee, and a Captain, for the Regulation and better Encouragement of the Connaught Forces. He stood a siege in his fortified castle of Ballinasloe, and was excepted from Pardon by Cromwell's Act of Parliament, passed 12th August, 1652, and died an Exile in Spain in 1654. He married Ellice, daughter to John Dillon, Esq. of Killynynen, in Westmeath (who afterwards re-married with Colonel Robert Dillon), and by her had an only son, William Brabazon, of Ballynasloe, an infant at the time of his father's flight, and two daughters; 1. Sarah, married to Theobald Dillon, eldest son of the Honourable Thomas Dillon of Brachloon, co. Roscommon, 3d son of Theobald, 1st Viscount Dillon, and married, 2dly, to John Daly, of Lung, co. Mayo. Esq. who died April, 1725. She died 1726. 2 Frances, married to John Dillon, of Lisian, co. Mayo, brother of the said Theobald married to her siste, which John died 1692. The said Frances Brabazon re-married Edmund Lally, Esq.

XVII. WILLIAM married, first, Mary, daughter of George Browne, Esq. of the Neale, ancestor of Lord Kilmaine, descended from George Browne, who settled at the Neale, in the County of Mayo, 1565; and secondly, at an advanced age, in Sept. 1717, Catherine, daughter of William Fitzmaurice, of Coolnaught, Esq. By his first wife he had one son, Anthony, and three daughters: 1. Alice, wife of John Burke, Esq. of Lismore; 2. Ellice, wife of John Nowlan, Esq. of Balinderry; and 3. Bridget, wife of Nicholas Lynch, Esq. of Barna, all in the County of Galway.

Anthony was High Sheriff of Galway anno 1721, and was married to Margaret, daughter of Edward Malone, of Ballynahown, Esq. ancestor of Lord Sunderlin, but by her he had no issue.

The second wife of the said William, the father, was as above-mentioned Catherine Fitzmaurice, by whom he had three sons:

1. William, who died at the age of 13, before the demise of his father;
2. George, who succeeded him; and
3. Malby¸ a Colonel in the Army, who married Charlotte, daughter of -- -- Le Merchant, Governor of Guernsey, and aunt of admiral Sir James Saumarez

XVIII. GEORGE BRABAZON, Esq. of Brabazon Park, married Sarah, daughter of Dominick Burke, Esq. of Gloroch, in Galway, twenty-six years Member of Parliament for the Town of Galway, by -- -- Bingham, sister to Sir George Bingham, father of Charles the first Earl of Lucan, by whom he had several children

1. Anthony, his successor;
2. Malby, a Colonel in the Army, who died at the Siege of Gavanne, in the Island of Granada;
3. William, who married the daughter and heiress of John Phipps, Esq. of Liscony, in the County of Sligo, and had issue Eliza, married to the Honourable Hector Graham Toler, second son of Lord Norbury;
4. George, a Captain in the Army, married in America, and was drowned with all his family on returning from that country.
5. Edward, a Counsellor, married Frances daughter of the Rev. -- -- Lynch, of the County of Wicklow, by whom came two daughters, Elizabeth, married to -- -- Ellard, Esq., and Frances.
6. Anne, married to John Bodkin, Esq. of Annagh, by whom is one daughter, Anne, married to Henry Bigham, Esq. brother of Lord Clanmorris.
7. Catharine, married to -- -- Higgins, Esq., and 8. Rebecca, married to Owen Young, Esq. of Harris-town, County of Roscommon. The rest died young.

George (the father of this issue), died 29th March, 1780, and his widow, Sarah, in 1798.

XIX. Sir ANTHONY BRABAZON succeeded his father, and was created a Baronet 10th November, 1797. He married, anno 1776, Anne, eldest daughter of the Right Honourable Sir Capel Molyneux, M.P. for the University of Dublin, of Castle Dillon, Bart. By Elizabeth, sister of Sir William East, [53] Bart. Of Hall Place, Co. Herks, and had three sons: 1. George Charles, who died unmarried in 1798; 2. Sir William John, his heir; 3. Anthony, died young, and three daughters: 1. Elizabeth, died young; 2. Anne Mary, 3. Sarah

The said Anne Mary married to Hercules Sharpe, of Blackhalls, Co. Durham, Esq. (brother to Sir Cuthbert Sharpe) and has issue, 1. William John, 2. Hercules Brabazon, 3. Anne Sarah, 4. Anthony Molyneux, died an infant.

Sir Anthony died 3d July, 1803, and was succeeded by his only surviving son,

XX. Sir WILLIAM JOHN BRABAZON, of Brabazon Park, Co. Mayo, the second and present Baronet.

Arms. Gules on a bend or, 3 martlets sable.

Crest. On a wreath, a mount proper, and thereon a falcon rising or, with golden bells.

Motto. Vota vita mea.

Femalel Descent. Moseley, De Bisset, ….., Trussel, ….., Harcourt, Hawberk, Jervis, Chaworth, Clifford, Malby, Burke, Dillon, Fitzmaurice, Burke, Molyneux.

1. See the whole words of the preamble to the Patent granted, in a Note, postea, under the first Earl.

2. Lodge derives the origin from Brabant, in Flanders, and in that country is the village and castle of Brabançon, of which the Lords were a family of considerable distinction. Guicciardini, in his Descrittione di tutti I Paesi Bassi, in folio, printed Antwerp, 1581, thus speaks of it:-
P.504. "Barbanzon è presso a Beaumont una piccola lega, ed ha vicino un'bell'bosco del nobile arboure Tasso. È buon villagio, ed ha castello con dignità di Baronia. Appartiene al Signor Giovanni di Ligne, Conte per parte della consorte D'Arenberg, Barone molto valoroso e di gran' qualità, Cavaliere dell' ordine, Governatore di Frisia ed Overissel."
In the Annales de la Province de Haynau, by François Vinchant, augmenté par Ruteau, printed at Mons, in folio, 1648, chapter vii. contains "Les descentes des Seigneurs de BARBANÇON, de Jauche, de Ligne, de Conde, de Roysin, et D'Antoing."
It begins with Baudoin de Jerusalem, Comte D'Haynau, the brother of Godfrey of Bouillon -
"il capitano
"Che il gran sepolcro Liberò di Cristo:"
names familiar to all persons conversant with the history of the Crusades, in which Godfrey is thus described:-
""Pieu di fê, di zelo, ogni mortale
"Gloria, imperio, tesor mette in non cale." -

"Ma vede in BALDOVIN cupido ingegno,
"Ch' all umane grandezze intento aspira."
"Baudoin de Jerusalem eut entre autres une fille dite Aliz, qui espousa Hugues de Romigny et Florine," who had a son, Nicolas, and several daughters, from whom came most of the oldest and most distinguished families of Hainault. Of these daughters, Mahaut married Isaac, Seigneur de Barbançon, who lived in 1100, and who, as our author says, is the "premier Barbançon don't nous avons connaissance;" and he refers to de Guise, Chroniques et Annales de Hannau, tom 3. c 36, 54, who writes as follows:-
"La sixieme fille dudit Sire de Rumegny fut donnée a Messire Isaac de Barbençon, de laquelle Messire Isaac eust un fils seulement appelle Nicole: qui tres vaillament gouverna la terre de Barbençon après le trespass de son pere. Or dôc la genealogie dicte de Messire Hue de Rumigny et de Alexis sa femme fille du dit conte Baudoyn fils de Richilde, quât auz filles reste maintenant de leur fils q fut nome lequel aps la mort du pere gouverna la terre. Celluy comme dit est eust grant auctorité tant au pay de Liege, de Hasebaing comme de Haynau, et estoit tenu pur le plus sage chevalier de son temps. " - Printed in 3 vols. Folio, 1531, by Galliot du Pré.
The male line of the Barbançons ended in an heiress Eustachie, dame et heritiére de Barbançon, 1424: and from her the Barony passed to the house of DE LIGNE, in Guillaume, whose son Louis, Pair de Haynaut, was buried at Brabançon, being succeeded by his son John, who married, in 1547, Marguerite de la Marck Countess Sovereign d'AREMBERG, and was slain 1568, leaving his eldest son Charles Prince d'Aremberg, and his second son Robert Baron de Barbançon, born 1564, Comte D'Aigremont et de Barbançon, who died 1614, leaving Albert, created by the emperor Frederick III. Duc et Prince de Barbançon, who died at Madrid, 1674, leaving Octave Ignace Due et Prince de Barbançon, etc. slain 1693, leaving Marie Thérèse de Ligne Duchesse D'Aremberg, Princesse de Barbançon, etc. three times married. - See Anselme's Royal Geneal. Vol. Viii. 34-44.
That the family of BARBANÇON, in Flanders, and that which accompanied the Conqueror from Normandy, have had one common origin, is by no means an unreasonable opinion, since both are clearly traced to the eleventh century; previous to which time, the frequency of the Norman irruptions into all the countries lying between Normandy and the Rhine, and the nature of those wars, might occasion the same family, or different branches of it, to be settled in both Normandy and Flanders.
The difference of arms proves nothing to the contrary, the Brabançons of Flanders having Argent 3 lions gules crowned and armed or, and those of England, Gules, on a bed or, 3 martlets sable; for in those times, and especially during the Crusades, changes of arms were very frequent. Dugdale mentions that two of the great Norman Earls bore different arms and even different names, although brothers. But the following curious story, as to a change of arms by "Godefroy de Bouillon," is very remarkable, both as to a change, and as to its connection with the present history:-
"Godefory de Bouillon, après avoir percè trios oiseaux d'un coup de fleche contra la TOUR DE DAVID, au seig de JERUSALEM, quitta les armes d'Alsace, qui'il portoit de gueulles a la band d'or, et un mémoire prit la bande de gueulles chargèe de trios allèrions d'argent en champ d'or." - Annales de Haynau, par Vinchant, p.18.
This is a curious coincidence with reference to the arms of the English Brabazons; for the identical coat, of which Godefroy de Bouillon changed the colours, adding the 3 martlets upon bend, is the coat which has always been worn by the English Brabazons in the original colours, with the addition of the same martlets, the colour being sable. Such an addition to the original coat is exactly what the heralds were in the habit of assigning to designate younger branches. Now, if an argument from mere usage of arms could be relied on, it might be presumed the English or Norman Brabazons were a branch of the illustrious House of Alsace.

3. The Castle of Betchworth belonged, at a subsequent period, to a branch of the noble family of Browne Viscounts Montague, now extinct; which Viscounts Montacute or Montague were the ancestors of George Browne of the Neale, Mayo, Esq. whose daughter Mary, was first wife of William Brabazon, Esq anno 1690, and from which George Browne descend the Lords Kilmaine. John Browne, his younger brother, was ancestor to the Marquisses of Sligo. - Vide note, p.20. Betchworth now belongs to Henry Peters, Esq. A view of this castle, as drawn by Buck, accompanies this History. For a further account of BETCHWORTH see Appendix. A.

4. This appears from the following Deed of William Earl Warren to Thomas Niger: "Sciant præsentes et futuri quod ego Willielmus, Comes Warren, dedi et concessi, et hac præsenti charta mea confirmavi Thomæ Nigro, pro homagio et servitio suo, unam virgatam Terræ in Bechworth, scil. Illam Terram, quam Adam le Brabazon, filius Johannis le Brabazon, tenuit," etc.

5. At Moseley Roger Brabazon (the successor of the above named Sir Roger) had liberty of free warren granted unto him by King Edward I. (28 Edw. I.). There is a small wood which still retains his name, called Brabazon Wood, and remains of fish ponds. Probably the mansion was near it. Nichols's Collections for Leic. p. 503.

6. It appears by Thoroton's Notts. P. 149, under the pedigree of Bissett, that Beatriz, the wife of Roger le Brabazon, who died 11 Edw. II. was daughter of William de Grant, by Albrea (21 Edw. I.) seemingly daughter of Warine de Basingbourne by Albrea, daughter of Henry de Biset, by Albrea de Lizures.

7. There is a manuscript confirmation of this in the British Museum, Harleian MSS., No. 1088, p. 34. in the following words:-
" Bodyes bury'd in the Yard of Christ church, London."
Amongst the rest, "In the Quire are - At the right Here lyeth the lady Informe de Bysames, and by her, towards the South, the Lady Beatrix Brabason."
This is also mentioned by Stowe, vol. I. p. 132, who notices also, buried in the Quire, Gregory Rokysle, Mayor, 1282, and Roger Mortimer Earl of March, beheaded 1329.

8. "Rex dilecto et fidelissimo Rogero le Brabzon, salutem. Quia super quibusdam negotiis nos specialiter tangentibus, vobiscum haabere colloguium et tractatum, vobis mandamus, firmiter injungentes, quod omnibus aliis prætermissis, sitis apud nos apud Odyham, die Dominica in instanti festo Epiphaniæ," etc.

9. The abstract of the Woodford Chartulary printed in Nichols's Collect. For Leic. vol. 2. pp. 1218, 1219, makes the name of Sir William's father to have been Sir William, not Matthew. - See an extract from this Chartulary in the Appendix. C.

10. For this family of Trussel dee Dugd. Bar. Ii. 143. and Appendix. D.

11. For a detailed account of the family of de Whatton, see Gentleman's Magazine for Feb. 1825, and Appendix. E.

12. See Appendix. B.

13. See Nichols's Additional collections for Leicestershire, p. 1222 and 1225.

14. The arms of Brabazon impaling Harcourt are still to be seen in Eastwell Church. - See Nichols's Leicestershire, and Appendix. F.

15. See Appendix. G.

16. For an account of the Hastingses of Elsiing, which was a distinguished branch of the elder or Pembroke family of Hastings, see Blomfield's History of Norfolk, and Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, and Appendix. H.

17. See a Copy of Adam's Will in the Appendix. I

18. The second son of Sir Edward Moore, Sir Gerald (for the first died s.p.), was created Lord Moore in 1615 and Viscount Drogheda in 1621. He died in 1627. His widow, Mary, daughter of Sir Henry Colley, who was ancestor of the Duke of Wellington, re-married Charles Viscount Wilmot, grandfather of the famous poet John Earl of Rochester. Eleanor Moore, one of the daughters of the first Viscount Drogheda, married Sir John Denham, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in Ireland, and was mother of the poet Sir John Denham.

19. See Appendix. L.

20. In Sir J. Ware's Life and Death of George Browne, Archbishop of Dublin, temp. Hen. VIII. it is related that the Archbishop, anno 1535, when Lord Leonard Grey was Lord Deputy, made a speech in favour of Protestantism for the Act of Supremacy, of which Sir J. Ware gives a copy, and he adds -

"This Speech of George Browne startled the other Bishops and Lords, so that at last, through great difficulty, it passed: upon which speech Justice Brabazon seconded him, as appears by his letter to the Lord Thomas Cromwell, then Privy Seal of England; which original is in that famous library of Sir Robert Cotton, out of which Sir James Ware, that learned antiquary, transcribed the same." - Vide Sir J. Ware's Antiquities of Ireland, folio edit. Lond. 1705, p. 149.
Hence it appears that Sir William Brabazon, in conjunction with Archbishop Browne, was a principal instrument of the first introduction of Protestantism into Ireland.
Other notices of Sir William Brabazon occur in Ware's History, pp. 102, 103 and 110.
At p. 113, "Sir W. Brabazon marched with an army against Patrick O'Moore and Brien O'Connor, who had joined their forces together at Leixe and Ofaly, and fell into the county of Kildare. He destroyed them with fire and sword, leaving, first, a garrison in the caslt of Athy. Besides all this, he built a fort at the Dingen, now called Philipstown, and forced O'Connor, by the assistance of the neighbours, to fly into Connaught."
Other notices, pp. 116, 117, 121.
At p. 127, his death is recorded anno 1552, temp. Edw. VI.
"The 7th of July, Sir Will. Brabazon, Vice Treasurer, who was twice Justice of Ireland, died in Ulster, his body being carried to Dublin, and buried in Trinity Church, but his heart for England, where, in his ancestor's monument, it is said to be interred."

21. On 12th June, 1544, George Archbishop of Dublin, with the consent of his Chapters of Christ-Church and St. Patrick, granted to him and his heirs the Town of Rathland, at the rent of 13s. 4d. Irish. And 31st March following (35 Henry VIII.) he had a grant of the Scite and Circuit of the Monastery of Thomas-Court, near Dublin, the Church, Church-yard, Stable, Malt-mill, Wood-mill, and double Mills belonging to the same; one Carucate of Land, called Donower, etc. all the Tenths of the Premises; and all Jurisdictions, Liberties, etc. spiritual and temporal, to hold in Capite, by the twentieth Part of a Knight's Fee, and the yearly Rent of 1l. 4s, 11d., which Grant was confirmed by Patent, 12 March, 1609, to Sir Edward Brabazon, his Son. In 1579, the City of Dublin called Sir Edward's title in question, claiming it to be within the Jurisdiction and Liberty of the City, and subject to Scotte and Lotte with the Citizens; but 18th October, that Year, he obtained a Decree from Sir William Gerard, Lord Chancellor, against them, with 10l. Costs. On 21st April, 1551, King Edwards VI. directed that Sir William should have a Lease of twenty-one Years in Reversion, of such Farms as he then held by the Demise and Grant of Henry VIII.

22. For a curious and amusing chronological account of what passed at the seige of Boulogne at that time, see l'Histoire due Boulannais, par M. Lusso, Curè; and Journal due Siège de Boulogne par les Anglois, en 1543, par Antoine Morin.

23. When the church of St. Catherine was taken down and rebuilt in the last century, this Monument disappeared; but an authentic copy of the inscription (as well as a drawing of the Monument) was preserved by the Heralds' College in Dublin, and from a certified copy of that drawing an engraving has been made for the present history.

24. The Book of Obits of Christ-Church mentions his death in these words: "Ob. Will. Brabson Miles et Subthesaurarius dom. Regis in Hibernia, cujuc animæ propicietur Deus, Amen. A.D. MDLII. Et anno regni Regis Edwardi sexti sexto." And by inquisitions taken the year of his death, it appears he died the 10th July, 1552, which proves the date of his death in the year 1548 to be an error.

25. This was one of the most illustrious alliances in blood among the highest and most historic noble families in the kingdom, having held baronial rank from the Conquest, the rivals as well as relations of the Pereys and Nevilles, intermarrying with the blood royal, and founders of the most boasted blood of our modern nobility, as the ducal houses of Bridgewater and Devon, the Marquis of Hastings, the Earls of Thanet, the Marquis of Stafford, the Duke of Athol, Lord Clifford of Appleby, etc. etc.
How highly they were estimated by universal consent at that time, appears by the manner in which this alliance is insisted on in both patents of the Barony and Earldom of the Brabason family.
The words of these two patents are "Alque idem Edwardus Brabason" (firs Peer) "ex parte matris sure clarissimá Cliffordorum illustrium Cumberlandiæ Comilum prognatus sit."
Henry, eleventh Lord Clifford, was created Earl of Cumberland in 1523. The Earldom became extinct in Henry, fifth Ear, temp. Ch. I.
See the history of this chivalrous family in Whitaker's Craven, who has made it the most amusing and instructive of all genealogical memoirs.
The said Nichols Clifford, father of Elizabeth, was son of Lewis Clifford, Sheriff of Kent 13 Hen. VII., by Mildred, daughter of Bartholomew Bourne, of Sharsted, son of Alexander Clifford, of Bobbing, by Margaret, daughter of Walter Colepeper, son of Lewis Clifford by Anne, daughter of Lord Molynes, son of William by Eleanor, daughter of Sir Arnold Savage, of Bobbing-Court, son of Sir Lewis Clifford, Knight of the Garter, 1464, by Eleanor, daughter of Lord Delawarre; which Sir Lewis was younger brother to Thomas, sixth Lord Clifford, ancestor of the Earls of Cumberland, and younger son of Roger, fifth Lord Clifford, b y Matilda, daughter of Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, by Katherine de Mortimer, daughter of Roger, Earl of March. See Appendix, M.

26. Who, 20th January, 1550, was joined in commission with her father, in the office of Vice-Treasurer, during their respective lives; and to them, their heirs and assigns, by deed, dated March, 1551-2, Sir William conveyed the Rectories, Vicarages, Churches, and Chapels of Baltinglass, the Grange, Kilmore, Hiltonston, with divers others in the Counties of Kildare and Carlow; the Manor of the Norragh, the Tythes of Moone, and many others in the County of Kildare; the Tythes of Malahyde, etc. in the County of Dublin; and the Towns of Oldbridge, Sheep-house, Rathmolan, Stalynge, and Donore, in the County of Meath.

27. In him that title expired. See his character given in Lord Clarendon's History. He resided at the Moat, about a mile from Canterbury, in the Parish of St Martin, in which church remains his monumental inscription. The ancient mansion called the Moat, within a walled park, was purchased by Lord Chancellor Cowper, and belongs to the present Earl.Sir Henry Finch, Serjeant at Law, was younger brother of Sir Moyle Finch, father of Thomas the first Earl of Winchelsea.

28. This John Giffard was the ancestor of Duke Giffard, of Castle Jordan, whose widow was re-married May 27, 1805, to John Henry late Marquis of Lansdown. See Debrett's Peerage. Of this family of Giffard, Elizabeth, sister to Sir John Giffard, of Castle Jordan, married Sir George Colley, and dying in 1629, was ancestor, by him, to the noble family of Wellesley, now represented by the Marquisses Wellesley and Dukes of Wellington, etc

29. This Sir Edward Loftus was Serjeant at Law in 1597, and knighted by Robert Devereux Earl of Essex, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in 1599. Adam Loftus, Archbishop of Dublin, his father, was born at Swineshead, in Yorkshire, and went over to Ireland as chaplain to Thomas Ratcliffe Earl of Sussex, Lord Lieutenant; was nominated to the Archiepiscopal See of Armagh in 1563, Lord Chancellor in 1578. By Jane, daughter of Adam Purdon, of Largan-Race, County of Louth, Esq. he had five sons and seven daughters, who survived. Isabella, the eldest daughter, married Sir William Usher, Clerk of the Council, knighted in 1603. She died in 1597. Her second daughter, Jane, married Daniel Molyneux, Esq. son of Sir Thomas Molyneux, Chancellor of the Exchequer temp. Elizabeth. The representative of this marriage is Sir Capel Molyneux, whose eldest sister, Anne, is now living, the widow of the late Sir Anthony Brabanzon, Bart.
See the end of this History and Appendix for an account of the Molyneux family.

30. King Charles I. in consideration of the services of her father and husband against the rebels, and for that she herself had received, from their violence and inhumanity, many wounds in her own person, did by patent, dated at Canobury, 28th August, 1627, grant and confirm to her in fee the Castle of Clonmore, alias Crosteown, the entire manor of Castle Jordan, and divers other lands in the King's County, Meath, Westmeath, and Kildare, with all those that were granted by Queen Elizabeth to Richard Croft, Gent. For life; remainder to her father Sir Henry Duke and his heirs, 20th December, 26th of her reign.

31. This Adam Viscount Ely was second son of Robert Loftus, elder brother of Adam, Archbishop of Dublin, who died in 1605, arlatis 72. Sir Adam was knighted by James I., constituted Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1619, and created Viscount Loftus of Ely in 1622. Being obliged, in the rebellion of 1641, to fly from Ireland, he died at Middleham, in Yorkshire. By Sarah, daughter of Bathow, widow of Richard Meredyth, Bishop of Leighlin, who died in 1650, he had issue Sir Robert Loftus, knighted by the Lord Deputy St. John. Who married the above Eleanor, eldest daughter and co-heir to the above-named Sir Francis Ruish, of Castle Jordan, and dying at Melleforts, 11th October, 1640, was buried at St. Patrick's. He had issue by her, who died in 1639, Anne Loftus, his heir, born in 1626, who married Richard Barrett Lennard, of Bell House, in Essex, Esq. second son of Richard Lord Dacre, and died in 1659, leaving issue by him, who died in 1696, Dacre Barrett Lennard, who married Lady Jane Chichester, by whom he had issue Richard, who married his cousin Lady Anne Lennard, daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Lennard Earl of Sussex, Baroness Dacre in her own right, mother of Thomas Barrett Lord Dacre, who died in 1786, His son, Sir Thomas Lennard, Bart. Of Bell House, in Essex, now inherits his estates. He married Dorothy, sister of Sir John St. Aubyn, Bart

32. Which Earl died in 1661. His eldest son Charles, second Earl of Mountrath, married, in 1653, Alice, daughter of Sir Robert Meredyth, of Greenhills, County of Kildare, Knt. Chancellor of the Exchequer, by his wife Anne, sixth daughter of Sir William Usher, and sister of Jane, who married Daniel Molyneux, Esq. Charles, third Earl of Mountrath, was grandfather of Charles Henry, seventh and last Earl. Audley Coote, younger brother of the 1st Earl of Mountrath, married Alice, daughter of Sir Thomas Phillips, by Alice, daughter to Sir William Usher, and had issue, a younger son, Sir Phillips Coote, who died 1715, having married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of William Brabazon 3d Earl of Meath.

33. It is to be presumed that this is the family of Jephson, of Moyallow, County of Cork, descended from Sir William Jephson, of Froyle, in Hampshire, who was ancestor to Major-General William Jephson. In 1741, Mary, the daughter of Anthony Jephson, of Moyallow, Esq. married Philip, sixth Viscount Strangford, grandfather of the present Viscount. From the same family is also descended Sir Richard Mounteney Jephson, of Springvale, County of Dorset, created a Baronet in 1814.

34. Sir Nicholas Malby is mentioned in all the histories of the events, which occur in Ireland at this period, as taking a leading part in both civil and military affairs. He is mentioned in Leland, vol. Ii. p. 274, as one of the distinguished officers "who had been trained in the Irish wards" accompanying the Lord Deputy, Sir William Drury, against the Spaniards, and the Earl of Desmond, temp. Elizabeth 1591; and that when the Lord Deputy retired from ill health, he left the army under the command of Sir Nicolas Malby. But the Lord Deputy's death ensued shortly after, which put an end to Malby's authority, and "whereupon he distributed his forces, and retired to his government of Connaught". For a further account of Sir Nicholas Malby, taken from Sir Henry Sidney's Letters. See Appendix. N.

35. See Archdale's Irish Peerage, under article Clanricarde, vol. I.

36. The noble family of De Burgh, which in many of its branches has become Bourke and Burke, is one of the most ancient and illustrious in the three kingdoms. Their immediate ancestor was William Fitz-Aldelm, Steward to King Henry II. said to have sprung from the princely house of Baudouin, Sovereign Counts of Flanders. Hubert de Burgh was created Earl of Kent by Edward III. Richard de Burgo, son of Fitz-Adelm, was Lord of Connaught and Trim, and, in 1227, was Lord Justice of Ireland. His eldest son, Walter, was Earl of Ulster; whose grandson William, third Earl, left a daughter and heir, married to Lionel Plantagenet Duke of Clarence. William, younger son of the first Earl, was appointed Lord Justice of Ireland in 1308; Sir Edward, his younger son, was ancestor to the Earls of Mayo; and Sir Ulic, his eldest, was Lord of Clanricarde; and his grandson Ulic was created by Henry VIII. Earl of Clanricarde, and died in 1544. He was ancestor of the present Ulic John, fourteenth Earl of Clanricarde (just married to Henrietta, only daughter of the Right Honourable George Canning), thus uniting this representative of a series of statesmen, holding the highest offices for a succession of seven centuries, to the family of, perhaps, the most illustrious politician of modern times.

37. These Fitz-Alans were descended from John Fitz-Alan Lord of Clun, who married Isabella, sister and heir of Hugh d'Albini Earl of Arundel and Sussex, grandson of William Earl of Arundel, who died in 1157. Hence came the subsequent Earls of Arundel down to the last Earl of the male line of Fitz-Alan, who had two daughters, co-heirs, one of whom, Jane, married John, Lord Lumley, and the other, Mary, carried that earldom, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, to the Howards Dukes of Norfolk.

38. It would seem, by a loosely written memorandum in the Harleian MSS. No. 1425, p. 157, that Sir Nicolas (as well as the compiler can understand that document) had had a former wife of the name of Lambe, from which appear to issue Henry Malby, married to Eleanor, daughter to John Jobson, Esq. son of Sir -- -- Jobson, Lieut. Of the Tower; George Malby, of Roscommon, married to a daughter of Arthur Savage, Knt., and a daughter, married to -- -- Powlett, son of Sir George Powlett, of Jarsey. See Appendix. O.
But Ursula, the daughter of Sir Nicolas Malby, who married Sir Anthony Brabazon is well known to have brought immense possessions to her husband, and haas always been considered, by the tradition of the family, an heiress. This heirship may perhaps be reconciled to the assumption of a former marriage, and of issue from that marriage, in conformity with the said Harleian MSS. if we consider the high alliances brought by lady Honora, the daughter of Ulic, the Earl of Clanricarde; and the augmented possessions of which the acquirement might probably be attributed mainly to this source. Indeed the family of Brabazon have always been ignorant of any other issue of Sir Nicolas than Ursula, their ancestress. But the compiler having accidentally met with the above note, has thought it due to the fidelity which alone gives value to these genealogical deductions thus to mention it.

39. ???? Ursula appears in the official pedigrees in Ulster's Office of Arms, survived her husband Sir Anthony, and re-married Sir Thomas Burke, Knight, 3d son of Ulic, 3d Earl of Clanricard, but had no issue by her.

40. The peerage of Clanmorris has been long since extinct in the De Burgh family. John Bingham, of New Brook?????, a branch of the Lucan family, was created Baron Clanmorris in 1800.

41. He was the next brother to James, created Viscount Clandeboy, and died 4th December, 1639, leaving Sir Hans, James, Francis of Tullybrick, in Armagh, and of Cran, in Cavan; Mary, and Ellinor. Sir Hans, of Monella and Hamilton's-Bawn, was made a Captain of Foot, 13th December, 1660 (of which his brother Francis was Lieutenant), represented the County of Armagh in the Parliament of 1661, in which year he was knighted and was by patent, 6th April, 1662, created a Baronet. He married Magdalene, daughter of Sir Edward Trevor, Knt. And sister to Marcus, created Viscount Dungannon, and dying suddenly, 15th February 1681, had an only daughter, Sarah, married to Sir Robert Hailton, of Mount-Hamilton, in the County of Armarch, Knt. Who, 21st March, 1681, was appointed Sir Hans's successor as Custos Rotulorum of that County; and 19th February, 1681, also created a Baronet. He died in 1703, leaving by her, who deceased before her father, an only child, Sir Hans Hamilton, Bart. Heir to his grandfather, born in 1676, who married Jane, daughter and co-heiress of James Smithsby, Esq. son of Sir Thomas Smithsby, Knt. and dying in 1729 (or 1730), left issueby her Anne, his only daughter and heir, married to James Campbell, Esq. Banker, of London, and founder of the great house of Coutts and Co. in the Strand. He assumed the name of Hamilton to possess his wife's estate, and died 7th July, 1749, at 80. His widow died in Sackville-Street, Piccadilly, in 1770, making her executor and residuary legatee Edward Brydges, Esq. of Wootton, in Kent, who had married her cousin Jemima, daughter of William Egerton, LL.D. by Anne Head, daughter of her aunt Lady Head, wife of Sir Francis Head, of Kent, Bart. who had married her aunt Margaret Smithsby. Edward Brydges left issue Sir Egerton Brydges, Bart. claimant to the Barony of Chandos, etc.

42. The compiler has not been able to ascertain to what branch of the Burkes this Thomas Burke of Tullagherry belonged, but as Sir John Burke, Bart. of Glinsk informs him that a tradition has been preserved in his family and neighbourhood of a Catharine Brabazon of Ballinasloe, either one of his own family married to a Brabazon, or a Brabazon married to a Burke, he is uncertain which, it is possible that this tradition belongs to the alliance mentioned in the text. Sir John is, however, certain that the person concerning whom the tradition prevails was called Catharine, always known under the appellation of Catharine Brabazon, of Ballinasloe, Duk a Durris,, which signifies drink at the door, owing to her great hospitality. Sir John Burke, whose ancestor Ulic was created a Baronet in 1628, is of an elder branch of the Burke or De Burgh family, the same as the Lords Castle Connell and Brittas, now extinct, desecended from Edmund, younger son of Richard, 2d Earl of Ulster, of that name, who left Elizabeth, his daughter and heir, married to Lionel Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence.

44. Anthony, by his change of religion and conduct, lost not only his paternal, but, in Connaught also, the vast possessions which he derived maternally from the Malbys. The history of this forfeiture, as delivered down by family tradition, is as follows, and may be easily certified by authentic documents public and private. Anthony, as above mentioned, stood a siege in his fortified castle of Ballinasloe against one of Cromwell's generals: the castle was taken; but he escaped privately at night, by swimming across the ditch, leaving behind him his wife and infant son. He fled to Spain, where he died anno 1654. A gentleman lately in Spain saw the monument of a Brabazon in a cathedral of that kingdom; and this was probably the monument of Anthony

44. Anthony, by his change of religion and conduct, lost not only his paternal, but, in Connaught also, the vast possessions which he derived maternally from the Malbys. The history of this forfeiture, as delivered down by family tradition, is as follows, and may be easily certified by authentic documents public and private. Anthony, as above mentioned, stood a siege in his fortified castle of Ballinasloe against one of Cromwell's generals: the castle was taken; but he escaped privately at night, by swimming across the ditch, leaving behind him his wife and infant son. He fled to Spain, where he died anno 1654. A gentleman lately in Spain saw the monument of a Brabazon in a cathedral of that kingdom; and this was probably the monument of Anthony.

The Compiler of this History, on a late visit to Ireland, having had the curiosity to survey the ruins of the Castle of Ballinasloe, which are covered with ivy and trees, and form a large quadrangle extremely picturesque, discovered above the Eastern gateway (which is approached by a bridge), a square stone, which, seeming to him to have some sculpture on it, proved, on a close inspection, to be inscribed thus:-
Anthony Brabazon 1597
His chief estates were forfeited, but a portion were preserved for his only son by the interest and good management of his widow, a Dillon, whose father, John Dillon of Streamstown, Prime Serjeant, had held high functions under the government of King James I. and Charles II. and who had herself confirmed her influence by her second marriage with her relation Robert (according to Lodge, or Theobald his brother according to Archdale), who was the grandson of Theobald, 1st Viscount Dillon of Costello, while her sister Rose was, according to Archdale married, to the said Robert Dillon, brother to the above Theobald, and was mother by him to Theobald the 7th Viscount. This connection with the Dillons was further linked by the marriage of her two daughers, Sarah and Frances Brabazon, with the two brothers, Theodore and John Dillon, who were sons of the Honourable Thomas Dillon of Brachloon, co. Roscommon, 3d son of the above mentioned Theobald, 1st Viscount Dillon.
As these complicated intermarriages and the family relationship resulting from them are not easily comprehended with sufficient clearness, unless exhibited in a genealogical table, a short sketch of the Dillon genealogy, so far as is necessary for this purpose, is inserted in the Appendix.
A considerable part of the extensive property thus related to have been forfeited by Anthony Brabazon, now belongs to the Earl of Clancarty.

45. This John Dillon, of Killynynen and Streamstown, was an eminent lawyer; and made King's Counsel and afterwards Prime Serjeant, as before mentioned, temp. James I. and Charles I., Privy Councillor, and of the Supreme Council of Kilkenny. His wife was Mary, daughter of Edmond Malone, of Ballynahown, County of Westmeath. Esq. He was son and heir of Hubert Dillon, of Killynynen and Streamstown, by Ellice, daughter of Gerald Fitzgerald, of Piercestown, County of Westmeath; son of John Dillon, by Cecilia, daughter of Sir John Eugan, County of Kilkenny; son of Maurice Dillon, by Mary, daughter of Sir Gerald Fitzgerald, of Tecroghan, County of Meath; son of Sir Maurice Dillon, by Margaret, daughter of Mac Coghlan, Lord of Coghlan's Country; which Sir Maurice was elder brother of Sir James, ancestor to the Dillons, Earls of Roscommon, and Lord Clonbrock;and was himself ancestor to the Viscounts Dillon, by an elder son: both sons of Gerald Dillon, Lord of Drumrany, by Amy, or Emilia, a daughter of the illustrious house of the Fitzgeralds, Earls of Desmond.

This Gerald Dillon was son and heir of Robert Lord of Drumrany, by Anne, second daughter of Sir Eustace Le Poer; son and heir of Sir Henry Dillon, of Drumrany, by Bridget, daughter of Meyler de Bermingham Lord Athenry; son and heir of Sir Thomas Dillon, of Drumrany, by a daughter of Edmond Butler Earl of Carrick; son of Henry Dillon, common ancestor of all the Dillons, who came over to Ireland in 1185; who had immense tracts of land given to him by King John, to hold per Baroniam in capite, by the service of 60 Knights' fees, - afterwards called Dillon's Country. He built his mansion-house, called Drumrany, in the centre of this district. - Vide Archdale's Irish Peerage, art Viscount Dillon¸ and Genealogical Table in the Appendix.

46. Of the family of Browne Viscounts Montacute, of Cowdray, in Sussex, now extinct, and a branch of which family formerly possessed Betchworth Castle, as mentioned in note, p.7.
This George Browne of the Neale, was the 2d Bart. of the family so called by Archdale, vol. 3, p. 272. His wife was the only daughter of Sir Henry Bingham, Bart. ancestor to Lord Lucan. John, the younger brother of the said George, was father of Peter, whose son John was created Lord Monteagle 1761, and Earl of Altamont in 1771. His son Peter was created, in 1800, Marquis of Sligo.

47. These Fitzmaurices were a branch of the ancient baronial family of that name, since Earls of Kerry, and now Marquisses of Lansdown.

48. There is no doubt of this fact: but it is necessary to notice that Playfair (whose inaccuracies it is well known occur every where), has inserted in a note to the Brabazon article, in his Irish Baronetage, that the above named Anthony, married to Margaret Malone, had issue by her a son, William Brabazon, of Ballinasloe, Esq. "the father, by -- --, daughter of -- --, his wife, of a Son," from which he goes on to state there were male descendants then surviving. This must unquestionably have arisen out of some great error or confusion of Playfair, if he meant regular descendants. To prove which, it is not necessary to make any other appeal than to the line of inheritance by which the landed estates of William Brabazon (from whose eldest son Anthony, it is pretended by the same note, there were male descendants), have in fact devolved upon the present Sir William Brabazon, Bart. as heir male of the body of the said William, through his younger son George, by default of issue male of the said Anthony of Galway, his elder brother. Besides which, it is quite impossible that this descent, if it existed, being within memory should have been unknown to the present family, who never heard of such descendants; but, on the contrary, know from the correspondence of the above William with his family, and from all the family traditions, that the said Anthony, his only son, had no issue by his marriage.
The Compiler has just learnt that a large mass of the original letters and documents, from which Playfair compiled his Irish Baronetage, have fallen, by purchase, into the hands of a friend, who promises to afford him access to them, with the probable hope that the source of this palpable error may be elucidated from those autographs.

49. She survived the marriage of her grandson Anthony with Miss Molyneux.

50. It is understood by the family that this Dominick Burke belongs to the Clanricarde branc of the great and numerous family of De Burgh.

51. The Binghams settled in Ireland in the person of George Bingham, of Sligo, (a younger brother of the Dorsetshire family); which George was father of Sir Henry, of Castlebar, created a Baronet in 1632, grandfather of Sir George, who married Anne, daughter of Agmondesham Vesey, Esq., whose son, Sir Charles, was raised to the Irish Peerage in 1776, and was father of the present Earl, and of the Countess Spencer, etc. etc.

52. Sir Capel died in 1797; he was the son of Sir Thomas Molyneux, first Baronet, born 1661, ob. 1733, who, as well as his brother the celebrated William Molyneux, was the friend and correspondent of Locke. Sir Thomas married Catharine, daughter of Ralph Howard, of Shelton, Co. Wicklow, Esq. and sister of Robert Howard, Bishop of Elphin (father of Ralph Viscount Wicklow). He was the son of Samuel Molyneux, who died in 1642, by Margaret Dowdall; son of Daniel Molyneux, Ulster King at Arms, who died in 1632, by Jane, daughter of Sir William Usher; son of Sir Thomas Molyneux, Knt. Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, born at Calais in 1531. Sir Capel, brother of Lady Brabazon, married Margaret, daughter of Sir Neil O'Donnel, Bart. without issue. His next brother and heir presumptive is Major-General Thomas Molyneux, who has several sons and daughters, of whom Elizabeth is married to Lord William George Henry Somerset, brother to the Duke of Beaufort; Mary-Ann to George Keogh, Esq.: and Henrietta to Sir Thomas Phillipps, of Middle Hill, Co. Worcester, Bart.

53. Sir William East was son of William East, Esq. by Anne, daughter of George Cooke, Esq. Chief Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas, and sister of George Cooke, Esq. M.P. for the County of Middlesex. He was born in 1737, and died in 1819, and left issue by Anne Cassamajor, 1. Sir Gilbert, the present Baronet, married Miss Joliffe, daughter of Hylton Joliffe, Esq. of Merstham, in the County of Surrey, Representative in many parliaments for Petersfield; 2. Augustus Henry, married Caroline, elder daughter of the late George Vansittart, Esq. of Bisham Abbey, uncle to Lord Bexley; and 3. Mary, wife of Sir William Clayton, Bart.