Hamilton

My 4th Great Grandfather, John Hamilton, led an extraordinary life during one of Ireland’s most tumultuous era’s. In 1998 he was the subject of a book written by the author Dermot James detailing wonderfully his life and times:

John Hamilton of Donegal 1800-1884: This Recklessly Generous Landlord - published by the Woodfield Press.

It was at the height of my genealogy work that I discovered the book had just been published and was ecstatic that an ancestor of mine was the subject of an entire publication. I ordered a copy immediately from a bookshop on The Diamond in Donegal Town and waited three weeks for it to arrive to Australia. I was overjoyed to be able to take a brief respite from my research and sit and read information that I possibly would never have been able to gather personally - Dermot had done it all ! to be able to read a book detailing so well the life and times of your own ancestor was such a priviledge.

John Hamilton, the father of Mary Hamilton ( my 3rd Great Grandmother) inherited the family estate of Brownhall in County Donegal at the age of 18 but officially took possession at the age of 20. He was to become a landlord with a difference through times of extreme hardship for many in Ireland, Co Donegal being no exception, and was to become a legend renowned for his concern for the tenants on his lands and his overwhelming generosity towards them. During the great famine his tenants were never evicted from their homes as was the case for so many other poor folk, victims of their unsympathetic and often greedy landlords.

It will be a sheer joy to recount the outline of his life here; for those of you who wish to read more in detail I urge you to seek out and purchase a copy of the book itself. Last time I checked, a few months back, very few copies were currently in print with just one being offered on Amazon UK. You could always try The Four Masters bookshop in Donegal Town itself.

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Thanks to this site I have found yet another cousin! and this time it is from my Dad’s side though his mother Bernice. Thanks to James Thorn of Sydney I can now add some data and this is regarding the family of my Grandmother Bernice Reynolds (Reid) and her siblings. Also James has very kindly sent me photographs of Sarah and a group photo of her children (below), with my Grandmother Bernice sitting front at the right. This is my first ever viewing of my grandmother and I wish to thank James Thorn for sharing this with me. Jame’s grandmother, Blanche, is seated second from right.

Parents: Charles Wagner (Wegener) Reynolds and Sara Sophia Willis.

Children:

* Bernice Isabel, born 5/2/1877 Forbes (my paternal grandmother)

* Alice Maud, born 28/12/1879 Forbes - (married Edwin R Bloomfield 1903 Newtown) - died 23/6/1927 buried Waverley

* Blanche Laura, born 26/5/1883 Forbes (paternal grandmother of James Thorn) died 25/06/1962

* Charles Joseph, born 19/11/1885, Cobar -(married Lucy Marie Holman) - died Sydney 1944

* Alma, born 13/7/1888, Parkes

* Arthur Alfred, born 28/12/1890, Parkes &

* Walter Ernest, born 28/12/1890, Parkes (twins - died in infancy)

The children of Charles Wagner Reynolds and Sarah Sophia (Willis).

Pictured seated from left: Alice Maud; Charles Joseph; Alma (baby); Bernice; standing at back - Blanche Laura.

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