Elizabeth Lucia (Minchin) Andrews (1823 - 1912)

Born 30 Sep 1823 in Greenhills, County Tipperary, Ireland

Ancestors

Wife of James Johnstone Stoney JP — married 25 Jan 1845 (to 3 Aug 1849) in Templeharry Church, County Offaly, Ireland

Wife of George Valentine Andrews C.E. — married 2 Nov 1853 (to 3 Feb 1907) in Geashill, Offaly, Ireland

Descendants

Died 30 Sep 1912 at age 89 in Kilkee, Kilrush, County Clare, Ireland

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Biography

Elizabeth Minchin was a member of the aristocracy in British Isles.

Elizabeth (Minchin) Andrews was born in Ireland.

Elizabeth "Bessie" Lucia Minchin was born on 30 September 1823, four years after her older sister, also named Elizabeth had died as a young infant. She was the daughter of Reverend William Minchin and Mary Anne Wright.

She lived with her parents and siblings at Greenhills in county Tipperary. Sadly her mother Mary died on 23 February 1842 at about age 43.

After giving up his curacy at Dunkerrin, her father Reverend William went frequently to Templeharry Church. The older children would walk, while he transported the rest in the "drag". That was a long, four-wheeled wagon (built by the Reverend himself). This was a regular Sunday journey.

It was in Templeharry Church that 21 year old Bessie married James Johnstone Stoney of Emmel Castle (the son of Thomas Butler Stoney and Ruth Falkiner) on 25 January 1845. He was 34 years her senior. Notice of their marriage was printed on page 3 of the Statesman and Dublin Christian Record dated 31 January 1845:

MARRIAGES.

January 25, in Templeharry Church, James J. Stoney, Esq., of Emmell Castle, King's County, to Elizabeth, second daughter of the Rev. Wm. Minchin, of Green Hills, county TIpperary.^[1]

After her marriage she became mistress of Emmel Castle^[2].

They went on to have at least three children:

1. Mary Anne Elizabeth Stoney (b. 1846, d. 11 Mar 1924)
2. Ruth Georgina Stoney (b. 1847, d. 25 Aug 1856)
3. Johnstone Thomas Stoney (b. 28 Jul 1849, d. 9 Nov 1925)

Her widowed father Reverend William remarried, to Catherine Seymour on 10 April 1845.

Unfortunately her husband James passed away on 3 August 1849 at age 58, when their youngest child Johnstone was only one month old. Bessie was now a widow at the age of just 25. She continued to live at Emmel Castle until her children had grown up.

Her brothers and sisters often visited her on Sundays after service at Templeharry Church, which was near Emmel, and at other times they went to Laughton Church and had to walk through a wood belonging to Lord Laughton, a pretty place full of bluebells.

There were fine grounds round about Emmel Castle, the avenue was an Irish mile long (an Irish mile is longer than an English mile). The walls of the old part of the castle were very thick. There was a winding stone staircase in the old part and the windows had been made very tiny for shooting out of. A boy named Twohey used to climb up the Ivy and get in at a window and try to frighten the family by playing at being a ghost. He was employed to do so by someone who wanted the family to leave in order that he might buy the place cheaply for himself. Suspecting tricks being played on her, Bessie accosted Twohey on one of these occasions. Stepping back out of sight she called "Ah, Ghost there! Could you use a drink of whiskey?". Suddenly the apparition became human flesh and, in a thick brogue, cried "That I could"!. Thus the intruder was outed.

In 1851 her family home Greenhills was sold, and her father Reverend William, her stepmother Catherine and some of her siblings immigrated to New Zealand, sailing from Gravesend in England on 10 July 1853 on the ship John Taylor. The battered ship docked at Lyttelton, Christchurch on 18 October 1853 after enduring a four hour hurricane during the voyage.

After four years of widowhood, Bessie married secondly George Valentine Andrews (the third son of Maunsell Andrews and Mary Hawtrey) on 2 November 1853^[3]. Notice of their marriage was printed on page 3 of the Dublin Evening Mail dated 4 November 1853:

MARRIAGES.

November 2, at Clonahuck Church, the Rev. John W. Benn A.M., Incumbent of St. Paul's, Portarlington, George V. Andrews, Esq, third son of Maunsell Andrews, Esq., of Rathenny House, King's County, to Elizabeth Lucy, relict of Johnstone Stoney, Esq. of Emell Castle, Kings County.^[4]

They went on to have one daughter.

Sadly her second daughter Ruth Georgina Stoney died on 25 August 1856 at about age 9.

In the 1901 Ireland Census, E Lucy Andrews (aged 76) was recorded living with her husband George Andrews (86 and a Civil Engineer) at Kilkee Lower, Kilkee, Clare. Also in the household was one servant^[5].

Her husband George died on 3 February 1907, aged 91.

In the 1911 Ireland Census, Elizabeth L Andrews (aged 87) was recorded in the household of her son-in-law Robert H Emerson (55, a Solicitor) at 31 Morehampton Road, Pembroke West, Dublin. Also with her was her widowed daughter Mary Anne Archer (65)^[6].

Elizabeth "Bessie" Lucia Andrews passed away on her birthday, 30 September 1912, at age 89 due to Senile Decay and Heart Failure^[7]. Her Will was proved on 6 February 1913 at Dublin by her son Johnstone Thomas Stoney, esquire^[8]. Her Effects were valued at £208 0s. 9d.

Research Notes

According to "The Peerage" she married a James Houston in 1840 in Ireland, but no record of this supposed marriage can be found. I have removed him as a spouse until concrete evidence is found.

In 1990 Emmel Castle was advertised for sale on page 33 of Country Life magazine for IR/£450,000^[9]. The Stoney family had held the Estate for 200 years until it was sold in 1960 to the Irish Land Commission.

Sources

1. ↑ Statesman and Dublin Christian Record dated 31 January 1845 page 3 (requires subscription to view)
2. ↑ [ http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=OF&regno=14944013 Emmel Castle, EMMEL WEST, OFFALY]
3. ↑ Marriage: "Ireland Marriages, 1619-1898," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FG6J-FRF : accessed 5 January 2016), George Valentine Andrews and Elizabeth Lucy Stoney, 02 Nov 1853; citing Geashill, Kings, Ire, reference 2:3D8H2XX; FHL microfilm 101,349.
4. ↑ Dublin Evening Mail dated 4 November 1853 page 3 (requires subscription to view)
5. ↑ 1901 Ireland Census: https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Clare/Kilkee/Kilkee_Lower/1079994/
6. ↑ 1911 Ireland Census: https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000123972/
7. ↑ Irish Genealogy Daeth Record Image
8. ↑ Probate: https://www.willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie/reels/cwa/005014918/005014918_00013.pdf
9. ↑ Country Life dated 22 February 1990 page 33 (requires subscription to view)

See also:

• The Peerage

• The Book of Minchin: A Family for all Seasons - Dorothy Minchin-Comm

• http://landedfamilies.blogspot.co.nz/2014/09/141-andrews-of-rathenny.html