My search for Hempfield started after I found two death notices for William Frost which both described his father as "the late Solomon Frost, Hempfield, Bunratty, county Clare". Waldron-201 17:13, 25 November 2023 (UTC)
The search led me to the following conclusions:
- William's father may not have been called Solomon;
- William's father may not have lived in Hempfield; and
- Hempfield may not be in Bunratty.
I came to these conclusions after considering four separate questions, set out in the first four sections below:
Contents |
Where is Hempfield?
The only Hempfields known to logainm.ie are streets in Enniscorthy, County Wexford.
A Hempfield is marked with a red pin in County Clare on Google maps, not necessarily always a reliable source.
In this case, however, Hempfield Cottage is shown nearby on the 25 Inch MapGenie (ITM) maps, dating to the late 1800s or early 1900s, on the Historic Environment Viewer website, in the townland of Ballaghafadda West in the civil parish of Clareabbey and in the barony of Islands in County Clare.
This Hempfield is not in the townlands of either Bunratty East or Bunratty West, nor elsewhere in the civil parish of Bunratty, nor elsewhere in the barony of Bunratty Lower, nor in the barony of Bunratty Upper, but is on the opposite side of the Fergus Estuary from all of those places. So either there are two Hempfields in County Clare, or there is at least one inaccuracy in the death notices.
There are other references to Hempfield, probably all to the area in Ballaghafadda West:
- in 1833, Sir N L Peacock Bart took ejectment proceedings against a tenant named James Going, Esq., in respect of the "farm and lands of Hempfield" in the parish of Clareabbey and barony of Islands.[1]
- in 1876, E. Quinlivan of Hempfield was a bankrupt:[2]
IN THE COURT OF BANKRUPTCY, IRELAND.
In the Matter of
E. QUINLIVAN,
Hempfield, a Bankrupt
TO BE LET
To the 25th March, next
(By Order of the Court
THE GRAZING OF HEMPFIELD FARM
Containing about 44 Acres, good Winterage Cragg Land
Tenders to be sent to L. H. Deering Esq., O.A., 33, Upper Ormond Quay, Dublin, on or before the 2nd January next, when they will be submitted for approval of the Court.
December 15th, 1876. - in 1886, Edmond Quinlivan died at Hempfield.[3]
- John Enright, cattle dealer, and his family appear to have moved from Market Place in Ennis to Hempfield some time between the 1911 census[4] and his son's ordination to the priesthood in 1927;[5][6]
- in 1981, the sight distance at Enright's Cross, Hempfield, Clarecastle, was discussed at the January meeting of Clare County Council.[7]
- in 2022, Councillor Paul Murphy (who grew up in Barntick, adjoining Hempfield Farm) pointed out a number of ‘pinch points’ along a route passing from St Anthony’s Grove through to Hempfield/Claremount Cross, confirming that Hempfield is still in local use.[8]
Are William Frost's death notices reliable?
Hempfield is mentioned in at least the following death notices:
- The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) Monday 9 October 1882 p 1 Family Notices:
FROST.-October 7, at the residence of his son-in-law, Robert Scraggs, Crown-street, Surry Hills, William Frost, aged 68, relict of Mary Frost, last surviving son of the late Solomon Frost, Hempfield, Bunratty, county Clare, and first-cousin of James Frost, Ballymorris, ex-High Sheriff, county Clare, deeply regretted by all who knew him. R. I. P. Home and American papers please copy.
- Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954) Monday 16 October 1882 Page 2 of 4:
DEATH.
FROST. — October 7, at the residence of his Son-in-law, Robert Scraggs, Crown-street, Surrey Hills, Sydney, WILLAM FROST, aged 68, relict of Mary Frost, last surviving son of the late Solomon Frost, Hempfield, Bunratty, county Clare, nephew of John Frost, solicitor, Ennis, and first cousin of James Frost, Ballymorris, ex-High Sheriff, county Clare, deeply regretted by all who knew him. R.I.P. Home and American papers please copy.
William Frost's death certificate[9] shows that he was born in Co. Clare, Ireland to parents Solomon Frost and Susan Clancy. At the time of creation of this page, however, WikiTree shows his parents as Patrick Frost (abt.1785-1851) and Susan (Clancy ‘Mac Fhlannchadha’) Frost (abt.1780-) (with the unconventional combination of the English-language and Irish-language versions of her surname in the LNAB field).
No trace of a couple named Solomon Frost and Susan Clancy has been found in Irish records, but the 1844 will of James Frost mentions his father Patrick and his uncle Michael Clancy. Should "Solomon" in the death notices read "Patrick"?
This raises the possibility that William may have been the last surviving son of the late Patrick Frost. A Frost pedigree by Patrick's GGgrandson Flan Enright[10] lists eight sons of Patrick, but two of these were still alive in 1882, namely Thomas, who died in 1892 and Solomon, who died in 1893. Should "last surviving" in the death notices be omitted?
The life of "James Frost, Ballymorris, ex-High Sheriff, county Clare" is well documented.
What are the connections between the Frost family and Hempfield?
The widowed Honora Frost née Lyons remarried to Edward Quinlivan with whom she lived at Hempfield Cottage until his death there and her own subsequent eviction.
Where did William Frost's father live?
To disprove that William Frost's father lived at Hempfield, some alternative residence must be proposed.
Sources
- ↑ Ejectment Books of County Clare 1816-1835.
- ↑ Clare Freeman and Ennis Gazette - Wednesday 03 January 1877.
- ↑ https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1886/06238/4785762.pdf
- ↑ http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Clare/Ennis_No__2_Urban/Market_Place/353439/
- ↑ Irish Independent 1905-current, Friday, July 01, 1927; Page: 8 etc.
- ↑ There are other Enrights of Hempfield in the biographical notices in the Clare Champion.
- ↑ Clare Champion 1950-2020, Friday, February 06, 1981; Page: 8
- ↑ https://clarechampion.ie/cyclists-in-a-pinch-along-shannon-estuary-way/
- ↑ New South Wales Death Certificate Number 1967/1882.
- ↑ https://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/genealogy/don_tran/fam_his/patrick_frost.htm