Mary (Nickson) Mosse (abt. 1743 - 1818)

Born about 8 Oct 1743 in Wilton, County Cork, Ireland. [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of Peter Mosse M.A. — married 1774 in Ireland

Descendants

Died 20 Dec 1818 at about age 75 in Maryborough, Queen's County, Ireland

Problems/Questions Profile manager: M Roberts [send private message]

Biography

Mary Nickson's birth details are given as 8 Oct 1743, in Wilton, County Cork, Ireland, by an unsourced entry in the IGI. She may have been a twin with her sister Frances, who has the same birth details recorded. It is also possible the date may have been their baptism date, which allows for the possibility that they might not have actually been the same age. Their brother Lorenzo married into the wealthy Izod family from Wilton, so some connection with that area seems plausible, but this unsourced information needs further investigation. Mary's parents were Abraham Nickson and Mary Hodson, of Munny House, in Coolkenna, County Wicklow. ^[1]

Their niece, Henrietta Maria Hickey, later recalled that Mary's twin sister Frances died young, shortly after the untimely death of a man to whom she was engaged to be married. Frances seems to have been deceased by the time their grandmother Elizabeth (Hutchinson) Hodson made her will in 1760.

In 1774, Mary married the Rev. Peter Mosse, who was at that time working towards a Master of Arts at Trinity College, in Dublin. Peter would have been around 24 years of age and it appears that Mary was about 31 years old when they married. Peter's family was originally from around Maryborough, in Queen's County, however they acquired property in the townland of Ardoyne (Ard Dúin), near Mary's home at Coolkenno, which Peter's father, Andrew Mosse, probably inherited from his own father-in-law, the Rev. Peter Tindall, of Ardoyne, who died in 1751. Peter Tindall's wife may have survived him for a time, although nothing at all is known of her, however we do know that Andrew Mosse was residing at Ardoyne by 1782. ^[2]

Peter was rector of the nearby Dunleckney Church from 1781 to 1788. Some of Mary's relatives also seem to have settled around Dunleckney. An advertisement seeking a lease for Clonrusk House, near Maryborough, in 1782, states that Peter Mosse was then residing a few miles from Dunleckney, at Bettymount, near Gowran, in County Kilkenny. Their family probably also spent some time living in Clonrusk House itself, as it was referred to in a traveler's guide as "the seat of the Rev. Mosse", in 1786, and some of their children later claimed to have been born at Clonrusk. Peter seems to have relinquished his lease on Bettymount House in 1786.

Peter and Mary Mosse had eight known children ^[3][4][5]:-

1. Rev. Andrew Mosse (b.1776), marr. Anne Hobson, d.s.p.
2. Abraham Augustus Mosse, military officer, d.s.p.
3. Mary Frances Mosse (b. c.1780), marr. (1) 1803, Pierre Abercrombie Le Clerc, marr. (2) 1811, Henry Francis McDonald
4. Eliza Mosse, d.s.p.
5. Capt. Thomas Mosse (b.1784), marr. 1818, Margaret Essex Forbes-Gordon
6. Frances Mosse (c.1786 - 1874), marr. 1815, Charles Sprigg
7. Harriet Mosse, d.s.p.
8. Lt. Peter Benjamin Mosse (1792 - 1861), marr. 1815, Sophia Jane Fletcher

Mary Mosse died on 20 Dec 1818. She was buried at St Peter's Church, in Maryborough, Queen's County. ^[6]

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"My next great aunt, Mary Nickson, married the Rev. P. Mosse. She had three sons, Andrew, Thomas, and Peter, and three daughters, Mary, (Mrs McDonald), Frances, (Mrs Spriggs), and Eliza." -- Henrietta Maria Hickey (1862).

Research Notes

1. Henrietta Maria Hickey places Mary in sequence between siblings Hester and Letitia, which might suggest a birth date around 1740, and also suggests that she might not have been a twin of Frances. Henrietta also identifies Mary as the wife of the Rev. Peter Mosse.
2. Mary's age seems problematic when correlated to the birth dates of her presumed children. If she were born ten years later, say around 1753, then her marriage and children would all fall more appropriately into proper chronological place. However this raises issues with the age of her own mother and Mary's relationship with her own siblings. There is a definite problem here which needs to be resolved. A possible solution is to assume that her mother Mary Hodson was very young when she married. If Mary Hodson was born around 1710, then she would have been 43 years old in 1753, which seems more plausible. Her first children were born around 1727, so her birth date could be pushed forward even as far as 1712 or 1713, which would produce a quite reasonable 40 years of age around 1753. However Mary Hodson's marriage date of 1725, if it is correct, becomes more problematic at those later birth dates. The 1725 marriage date is taken from license records which name the bride of Abraham Nickson as "Mary Nickson" rather than "Mary Hodson", which seems to be a transcription error, but may be significant. There seems little doubt that Mary Hodson was the mother of at least some of the children in this family, and there is no indication that Abraham Nickson had more than one wife. Another possible solution is to assume that the birth date of Mary's own presumed youngest son, Peter Benjamin Mosse, might have been significantly earlier than indicated. Peter Benjamin's birth date has been inferred from a church memorial engraving giving his age as 69 at his time of death. This might conceivably have been mistakenly transcribed, or perhaps even recorded with an incorrect age. Peter Benjamin's wife has also been assumed to have been slightly older than him, which does at least raise questions about the possibility that there might have been an error in his age. If his age proves to be correct, it is still also possible that he might have been adopted, or came into the family by some other irregular means. The uncertainty in the estimated birth dates of Mary's next younger children after Peter Benjamin, does allow some room for adjustments which could possibly bring them into a more reasonable range.

St Peter's (original) Church, Maryborough -- Forum Discussion

"The old St Peters graveyard is indeed locked at all times, but the key can be assessed by application. A lot of the headstone's are unstable as is the old remains within the gates. The Laois Heritage Society are trying to get the site restored, but the cost of such a venture is very high. A list of readable headstones is available, but most stones have suffered from years of weather" -- Jack McDonald 2013 (https://irelandxo.com/ireland/laois/portlaoise/message-board/stpeters-original-church-portlaoise)

Death: Mrs Mosse; 20/12/1818, Relict of late Peter Mosse, Aunt to the Earl of Donoughmore and Lord General Hutchinson

Death: Mrs Mary Eleanor Mosse; 1833, Belligrove Queens County, dtr of late Lewis Tenison Mosse

Landed Estate Court Records;

Arthur Mosse; 1856

Lewis Mosse; 1856

Andrew Mosse; 1856

Benji Forbes Mosse; 1856

Peter Mosse; 1856

Thomas Mosse; 1856

Guys Directory of Munster 1893;

Arthur Moore Mosse; 1845

Thomas Mosse; 1845

Pigots Directory 1824

Arthur Mosse; Maryborough

Slaters Directory; 1881

Arthur Mosse; Durrow

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Post Office Dublin Directory 1858

Arthur Moore Mosse 1858-Maryborough

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Pettigrew Register 1835

Thomas Mosse; Knockfinne QC

Arthur Mosse; Maryborough

Sources

1. ↑ Burke, 1847, Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, p.893.
2. ↑ Burke, 1847, Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, p.893.
3. ↑ Burke, 1847, Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, p.893.
4. ↑ Mosse, 1955, Mosse Family Notes.
5. ↑ Laois Heritage Society Journal, Vol. 2, 2004
6. ↑ Portlaoise (County Laois) Message Board (IrelandXO.com).

• IGI Pedigree (FamilySearch.org): International Genealogical Index (IGI), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch.org, entry for Mary Nickson; submitted by mfpenrod58740 (identity withheld for privacy); no source information is available.

• Family Chronicle: Purcell, Michael (ed.), 'Family Chronicle' (1862), by Henrietta Maria Hickey, Pat Purcell Papers, London, 2012. A six-part online series of edited extracts from a 52 page letter of personal reminiscences produced by Henrietta Maria Hickey for her family in 1862 (IrishGenealogicalProjects.com). (Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6).

• Mosse Family History: Mosse, Rev. Charles H., The Mosse Family Notes, unpublished, 1955 (2nd ed. 2013) Note: This document cites as its source on the Mosse family of Ireland, records in the Genealogical Office, Office of Arms, Dublin Castle, refs: G.O.384. Donovan M.S. (p.145), and G.O.729.

• Burke's Landed Gentry: Burke, John, & Burke, John Bernard, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom: H. Colburn, 1847.

• Laois Heritage Society: Laois Heritage Society Journal, Vol. 2, 2004, Laois Heritage Society.

• St Peter's Church, Maryborough (Forum Discussion): 'St Peter's (original) Church, Portlaoise', Portlaoise (County Laois) Message Board, IrelandXO.com.