Lucy Crofton b.18 Oct 1890, m.25 Sep 1908 at Brandon, Canada,
Notes: 18. British Columbia Death Registrations, no. 1953-09-005220 . 19. Manitoba marriage registrations, no. 1885-001130 . 20. 1901 Census of Canada, Brandon District, division 2, p. 1, PAC micro film no. T-6431. No. 2 The Croftons of Brandon, Manitoba , and their cousinship with the British Royal Famil y By John Blythe Dobson In our recent perusal of a 1911 Crofton genealogy, we found mention of tw o siblings of this name who settled at Brandon, evidently in the late 19t h century.(1) While a check of the LDS website (www.familysearch.org) tur ned up further nothing on the Canadian branch of the family, the RootsWe b website took us to Linzi Meryl’s Linzi’s Family, at http://worldconnect .genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=:2306353, which extended the l ine two generations forward, supplying the names of four children and fou r grandchildren of one of the settlers, although with scant detail of th e persons’ places of residence.(2) Thus, while it is not clear whether th is family has living members in Manitoba, the possibility that there ar e still descendants living somewhere in Western Canada seems strong enoug h to warrant discussion here of some of their interesting connections . Two points touched on in the 1911 genealogy immediately intrigued us. On e is the puzzling discussion of Ernest Augustus Crofton (living 1832), wh o was probably a great-grand-uncle of the Henry Crofton who appears unde r generation 11 in the pedigree below. It is stated: “He claimed to be en titled to the Mount Temple estates [in co. Sligo], through his mother [Fr ances Harwood, of unstated parentage], who was by a line of female descen t a descendant of Capt. Lawrence Hyde (brother of Lord Clarendon), whos e elder daughter married, secondly, Mr. Temple, of Mount Temple. From thi s is may be inferred that Ernest Augustus was [claiming to be his father ] Philip’s eldest son. The claim was quite absurd.†It is unclear whethe r the writer meant that the absurdity lay (a) merely in the claim of Erne st Augustus to have been his father’s eldest son; (b) more seriously, i n the claim that his mother was a representative of the Temples; or (c) s till more seriously, in the claim that his mother was descended from th e Hydes in any manner.(3) The “Lord Clarendon†referred to was probably t he 1st Lord, but with the materials at our disposal we have been unable t o verify any of the other connections suggested. In any case it is diffic ult to see how a descendant of his sibling can have had any claim to th e Mount Temple estates, which have regularly descended to the heirs of th e first Earl of Clarendon to the present day. But it would certainly be i nteresting to see how far the claim of Hyde descent could be rehabilitate d, as it would almost certainly furnish a royal line for the Croftons . The second point of interest is the appearance of the name Ussher, the al liance with which figures in the Crofton pedigree in a part from which th e Croftons of Brandon can certainly claim descent, and which forms the ba sis of the lineage presented below. The Usshers were one of the most dist inguished Anglo-Irish families of the 16th and 17th centuries, figuring s ubstantially in the ancestry of H.M. the late Queen Mother, born Lady Eli zabeth Bowes-Lyon,(4) and perhaps including the famous chronologer, Jame s Ussher (1581-1656), Archbishop of Armaugh.(5) The degree of the relatio nship is slightly closer than that which the late Queen Mother shares wit h many Americans through the Elizabeth ancestors of Great Migration immig rants. Arland Ussher, Mayor of Dublin in 1496-71, living 1471, the first known a ncestor of this family. He m. Anne Berford, whose parentage Paget was lik ewise unable to trace. Christopher Ussher, Mayor of Dublin in 1518 and 1524, d. 30 Jan. 1526. H e m. Anne/Alison FitzWilliam(s), daughter of Thomas FitzWilliam(s) alia s Merrion. John Ussher, Mayor of Dublin, d. 1 May 1600. He m. Alison Newman, d. 1601 , daughter of William Newman, Mayor of Dublin . William Ussher, of Donnybrook, co. Dublin, Clerk of the Council, b. ca. 1 588, knighted 1603, will dated 28 Dec. 1657. He m. Isabella Loftus, d. 1 1 Nov. 1597, daughter of Sir Adam Loftus (1533?-1605), Archbishop of Arma ugh and afterwards of Dublin, Lord Keeper, Lord Chancellor, and Lord Just ice of Ireland,(6) by his wife Jane, daughter of Adam Purdon, of Lurgan R ace, co. Louth. (The Archbishop and his wife were ancestors of H.M. the l ate Queen Mother through two different lines.(7) They were also ancestor s of the Viscounts, later Marquesses, of Ely. ) Arthur Ussher, of Donnybrook, Dublin, b. say 1605, d. 2 March 1628 by dro wning, in the River Dodder.(8) He m. Judith Newcomen, d. 1652, eldest dau ghter of Sir Robert Newcomen, 1st Baronet,(9) of Moystown, Kings County , by his wife Catherine, daughter of Sir Thomas Molyneux, Chancellor of t he Exchequer of Ireland.(10) Surprisingly, her ancestry, for all its cons iderable distinction, does not include any traceable royal lines. However , through their son Sir William Ussher of Portrane, she and her husband w ere direct ancestors of H.M. the late Queen Mother.(11 ) Beverley Ussher, of Kilmeadon, co. Waterford, b. say 1644, d. 1683. He m . (1) Joan, daughter of Sir Percy Smith. He m. (2) by 1683, Grace Osborn , daughter of Richard Osborne, of Ballyntaylor, co. Waterford, by his wif e Elizabeth —. Arthur Ussher, of Cappagh, Camphire, co. Waterford, b. 1683, d. 1768. H e m. Lucy Taylor, daughter of Berkeley Taylor, of Askeaton, co. Limerick . John Ussher, of Cappagh, co. Waterford, Ireland, b. ca. 1743, d. 8 Marc h 1789. He m. possibly 8 June 1761,(12) Elizabeth Musgrave, daughter of C hristopher Musgrave, of Ballyin, co. Waterford, Ireland.(13 ) Arthur Ussher, of Camphire, b. 30 March 1764 at Cappagh, co. Waterford, I reland. He m. probably in Dec. 1787 at Limerick,(14) Margaret Hewetson, d aughter of The Rev. John Hewetson, J.P., of Suir View, Ireland.(15 ) Sarah Ussher, b. say 1800. She m. by 1824, Richard A. Pearson, of the 1s t Dragoon Guards, and 87th Regiment, or Royal Irish Fusiliers, d. 1866, s aid to have been a son of James and Sarah (Sparrow) Pearson.(16) He serve d in the Peninsular War. Hannah Mina Pearson, b. 1824, d. 1886, her parents’ only child. She m. 1 7 Feb. 1848, Henry Crofton, b. 12 May 1818 at Aughnacloy, co. Tyrone, d . 6 Oct. 1861 at Dublin, son of William Edward Crofton, Captain in the 50 th and 91st Regiments, by his wife Alicia, daughter of William Moore, o f “The Bawn,†Auchnacloy, co. Tyrone. Two of their children came to Manit oba: Mary Hermine Crofton, b. 10 Nov. 1857, living 1900. She m. — Mercer,(17 ) of Brandon. Manitoba birth registrations through 1901 do not list any c hild of such a couple, whatever the name of the father . Charles Moore Crofton, of Brandon, b. 30 or 31 Jan. 1861, d. 10 April 195 3 at Vancouver, British Columbia.(18) He is not found in the LDS index t o the 1881 Canadian census, and so was presumably not yet in the countr y at that time. He m. 18 Nov. 1885 at Brandon,(19) Elizabeth Hodson (call ed Hudson in the marriage record, but Hodson in the birth records of thei r two children Arthur and Lucy), b. 26 Oct. 1865 (according to the 1901 c ensus), living 1901. They were enumerated at Doly, near Brandon in the 19 01 census.(20) Issue: Arthur Crofton, b. 13 March 1886 in the R.M. of Daly.(21 ) Richard Crofton, b. 14 Nov. 1888 (according to the 1901 census). He m . 1 Jan. 1918 at Brandon,(22) Grace Constance Lillith Plows, and accordin g to Linzi Meryl had: Evelyn Crofton; Eileen Crofton (who m. Frank A. Sch ultz); Francis Gordon Crofton; Vernon Crofton . Lucy Crofton, b. 18 Oct. 1890 in the R.M. of Daly.(23) She m. 25 Sept. 19 08 at Brandon,(24) Joel Smith. We do not know if there was issue of thi s marriage. (according to Linzi Meryl) Dorothy Crofton, b. say 1892, d. 1940; m. Will iam —. Was this daughter missed in the 1901 census ? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- N O T E S 1. Henry Thomas Crofton, Crofton memoirs; an account of John Crofton o f Ballymurry, Co. Roscommon, Queen Elizabeth’s escheator-general of Irela nd, and of his ancestors and descendants, and others bearing the name (Yo rk, England, 1911), 258. 2. Although Ms. Meryl’s treatment of the recent Croftons is persuasive , especially as she has clearly not seen the 1911 Crofton genealogy and i s not copying from it, some of her estimated dates require correction, a s the resulting pedigree is chronologically impossible in the early 2 CON C portions. 3. 1911 Crofton genealogy, p. 252. Note the further difficulty, in tha t under the treatment of Ernest Augustus Crofton’s supposed younger broth er, Philip Crofton (father of William Edward, and grandfather of Henry) , it is stated on p. 253: “Some records assert that he was a member of th e Longford House family [of Croftons], but this seems to be an error.†Th is is all somewhat off-hand, and in the complete absence of onomastic evi dence for the alleged connection we are surely entitled to ask on what gr ounds it is claimed. 4. Gerald Paget, The Lineage and Ancestry of H.R.H. Prince Charles, Prin ce of Wales, 2 vols. (Edinburgh & London, 1977), 2:40 ff. Paget’s work o n these families is really superb, and we are much indebted to it for ou r account. 5. For Ussher, see Rosemary Coleby, Melian, available online at http://w orldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:900330&id=I 317. This is our main source for generations 6-10 of the pedigree below . Unfortunately, we have not had access to the Rev. William Ball Wright , The Ussher memoirs; or, genealogical memoirs of the Ussher Families i n Ireland (Dublin & London, 1889 and 1899) . 6. See the DNB. 7. Paget, op. cit., 2:91 bis. 8. “Ussher of Eastwell,†Burke’s Landed Gentry, 1855 ed., 1252-53 . 9. See Burke’s Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies . 10. Gisborne Molineux, Memoir of the Molineux Family (1882), p. 83, stat es that he was born at Calais in 1581 (a misprint for 1531), and was desc ended, “it is supposed, from Sir Thomas Molyneux, second son of Sir Willi am Molyneux, of Sefton [in Derbyshire], Knight Banneret.†This would be v ery interesting if true, but there is no mention of him in the account o f the Molyneuxs of Sefton in The Victoria History of the County of Lancas ter, 8 vols. (London, 190?-1914), 3:67-74 . 11. Paget, op. cit., p. 40. 12. Unsourced entry in the IGI and LDS Ancestral File . 13. At least this is his residence as stated by Rosemary Coleby, Linzi M eryl, and others. Several patrons’s submission records indexed in the IG I assert his identity with Christopher Musgrave of Tourin, who m. Susanna h, dau. of James Ussher by his wife Jane Donellan; but we have been unabl e to verify this claim. 14. “Arthur Usher [sic] m. Dec. 1787 in Limerick, to Miss Hewitson [sic] .†See Irish Marriages; being an index to the marriages in Walker’s Hiber nian Magazine, 1771 to 1812... (London, 1897), p. 445. However, an unsour ced IGI entry gives the date as 3 Jan. 1788, which is possible . 15. Arthur Ussher and his wife are mentioned incidentally in Joseph Jack son Howard and Frederick Arthur Crispe, Visitation of Ireland, 6 vols. (1 897-1918), 1:9. 16. “Mr. Pearson, surgeon, of Abbey Street, m. Apr. 1789 to Miss Sparrow , of Queen Street†(Irish Marriages, p. 352) . 17. The 1911 Crofton genealogy calls him Alfred Mercer, while Linzi Mery l calls him David Mercer. 18. British Columbia Death Registrations, no. 1953-09-005220 . 19. Manitoba marriage registrations, no. 1885-001130 . 20. 1901 Census of Canada, Brandon District, division 2, p. 1, PAC micro film no. T-6431. 21. Manitoba birth registrations, no. 1886-17710445 . 22. Manitoba marriage registration, no. 1918-003000 . 23. Manitoba birth registrations, no. 1890-002378 . 24. Manitoba marriage registrations, no. 1908-002933 . ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- [home] Miscellanea Manitobiana, no. 2 URL = cybrary.uwinnipeg.ca/people/Dobson/Manitobiana/issues/002.cf m Published by John Blythe Dobson, 23-10 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg, 2 CON C Manitoba R3C 1X2, Canada j.dobson@uwinnipeg.ca This page created 4 October 2003 2003 http://cybrary.uwinnipeg.ca/people/Dobson/Manitobiana/issues/002.cfm