Catherine (Purcell) Fanning (abt. 1564)

Born about 1564 in Ballyfoyle, County Kilkenny, Ireland

Ancestors

Wife of William Fanning — married about 1585 in Farranrory, County Tipperary, IRELAND

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in Ireland

Note: For background on the Irish Purcells, including the main branches at Loughmoe (Tipperary) and Ballyfoyle (Kilkenny), please see the page Purcells in Ireland 1200-1600.

Biography

Family Connections with Spain:

Ireland had strong connections with Catholic Europe, and many Irish families sent sons to the Continent for military or religious purposes beginning in the 1500s.

From the history of "Farranrory Castle", Ballingarry. The "Diego" in question (Spanish equivalent of "James") refers to Catherine's grandson James Fanning via her son Nicholas. The well-documented priest Michael Cantwell (Nicholas' brother-in-law) petitioned to have his young nephew "Diego Fanin" [Fañin] naturalised in Spain in the 1630s. Diego's connection with Spain continued until at least the 1640s:^[1][2]

• 1648: "Don Diego Fanin,^[3] a native of Ballingarry, sought admission to the Order of Santiago in Spain. His parents were Don Nicholas Fanning of Ballingarry and Elena Cantwell of Moycarkey and his grandparents were William Fanning and Catelina Purcell of Ballyfoyle and John Cantwell and Margaret Morris, of Latteragh.^[4][5]

Research Notes

For further exploration: Fogarty was her mother-in-law's LNAB, according to Find A Grave^[6] (unsourced, and with errors regarding family connections). Included here only as a potential lead.

Sources

1. ↑ Richard Clutterbuck , The Settlement and Architecture of Later Medieval Slieveardagh, County Tipperary, Volume 2. This thesis is presented in fulfilment of the regulations for the degree of M.Utt in Archaeology, University College Dublin. Supervisors: Prof. Barry Raftery, Dr. Tadhg O’Keeffe, Dr. Muiris 0’Sullivan, August 1998:
   • http://www.slieveardagh.com/places/farranrory-castle-3/
2. ↑ In the late 1630s, Michael Cantwell sought to formalise his position in Cádiz, Spain, and at the same time to secure Spanish residency papers for his nephew, Diego Fanin.
   • Cristina Bravo Lozano, doctoral thesis (2014), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Facultad de Filosofía y Letras: Departamento de Historia Moderna): "Tierras de Misión. La Política Confesional de la Monarquía de España en Las Islas Británicas, 1660-1702," p.92, footnote 234:
     • https://repositorio.uam.es/bitstream/handle/10486/662235/bravo_lozano_cristina.pdf?sequence=1
3. ↑ In Spanish, "Don" is a polite male form of address, and "Diego" is the equivalent of James.
4. ↑ Michael Cantwell -- brother of Ellen, who married Nicholas Fanning -- and his nephew Diego Fañin [sic] are also mentioned (1631) in the Report on Franciscan Manuscripts preserved at The Convent, Merchants' Quay, Dublin. See entry for 20 May 1631 (Madrid) on p.41:
   • https://archive.org/details/reportonfrancisc00greauoft/page/40/mode/2up?q=fanin
5. ↑ Notes on Spanish pedigree requirements of the era, by author Samuel Fannin in “Documents of Irish Interest in Archivo De La Diputación Foral De Bizkaia (Bilbao) [with Index].” Archivium Hibernicum, Vol.64 (2011), pp.170–193:
   • "The rigorous demands of the Spanish notarial system in the 17th and 18th centuries resulted in the production of substantial documentary records. These include the extensive documentation required for the registration of new Irish emigrants wishing to settle in Spain. The information required from the new arrivals included extensive genealogical detail to provide proof of legitimacy, religious conformity and, in the case of claims to nobility, an exposition of the blood lines of preceding generations."
   • "Noble status was reflected in the title 'hidalgo'. To secure recognition of noble title, [people] were required to demonstrate 'limpieza de sangre' (purity of blood or descent) as well as noble origin. In the Basque country [i.e., Bilbao and San Sebastián] the grant of mere citizenship was indicated as 'sello menor', while noble title was referred to as 'sello mayor'."
     • www.jstor.org/stable/23621202
6. ↑ https://findagrave.com/memorial/158313256/william-fanning

• WikiTree profile Purcell-77 created through the import of My Family File072211.ged on Jul 25, 2011 by Grady Lucas.