Untangling Corneille

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]

This is an effort to begin untangling the Corneille / Corneal / Cornelius / Corneil families.

Contents 1 Executive summary 2 Jones 3 The Huguenots 4 Misc others 5 17th and 18th century shipwrecks in the Shannon Estuary 6 Cromwell's Adventurers 7 Sources

Executive summary

Working theory is that Adam "the 1709er" has been conflated with his son named Adam. So the tree which has everybody as a descendant of Adam should look like this :

Adam b.c.1690 Germany (the Immigrant / "the 1709er") - currently identified as b.c.1680 Killeheen - father of 6 children

• Adam b.c.1715 Killeheen / Rathkeale (but currently identified as b.1700)
  • possibly Adam
  • John
  • Jacob b.c.1743

• Jacob b.c.1720 - duplicate of Jacob (identified as b.1720 Killeheen)
  • Jacob b.1748
  • John b.1758
  • possibly Adam

• Ann b.c.1720 and d. unm.

• John b.c.1721 and d.1763 - no issue known

• Mary b.c.1725 m. Charles Doupe

• Sophia b.c.1729 m. Martin Shouldise

Jones

An immigrant Palatine family was described in 1990 by Jones,^[1] who observed that there was a strong family tradition of Huguenot origins, and that records to confirm the links between families were lacking. Other researchers assert that there were two distinct families with similar names in the area at the same time. Sources are needed to confirm / clarify.

Jones identified the "1709er" Adam, who married (1st) Elizabeth and (2nd) Dorothy Dollmage. He also identified 3 "probable" daughters (Mary, Anna Sophia, Elizabeth), 1 "firm" son (Jacob), and 1 "probable" son (John) :

PROBABLE : Mary m.1744 Charles Dope

PROBABLE : Anna Sophia m. 1750 Martin Shuldise

PROBABLE : Elizabeth m.1764 George Glazier

FIRM : Jacob (bap. 1742/3) m.1766 Dorothy Dullmage - info from The Corneille Family (sighted by Jones)

Note the children listed as being in the family of Jacob and Dorothy were born over a period of 27 years between 1767 and 1794. Most women had children over a period of only around 20 years, and had finished having children by their early 40's. It's not impossible that the same Dorothy was the mother of all these children, but it would have been unusual. Has there been a conflation of two families?

• Adam (bap.1767) m. Elizabeth Benner
  • Agnes
  • John
  • William
  • Lucy
  • Maryanne
  • Dora
  • Eliza
• Ann / Nancy (bap. 1769) m. Christopher Sparling
• Mary (bap.1771) m. [FNU] Shier
• John (1778-1865) m. [FNU] Eaton
• James
• Christopher m.1812 Julia Delmege
• William (1785-1831) m. [FNU] Eaton
• Dora m. Michael Ruttle
• Sarah
• Barbara
• Benjamin (1794 - 1868)

PROBABLE : John m.1761 Ann Dollmage

Similar comment to the notes on the family of Jacob (above). The children listed as being in the family of John and Ann were born over a period of 25 years between 1763 and 1788. Most women had children over a period of only around 20 years, and had no children after their early 40's. It's not impossible that the same Ann was the mother of all these children, but it would have been unusual. Has there been a conflation of two families?

• Elizabeth bap.1761 m. John Piper
• Adam bap.1763
• Dorothy bap. 1766 m. Christopher Sparling
• Mary bap. 1768
• Jacob bap.1770 m. Bridget
  • Mary
  • Catherine
  • Adam
  • Elizabeth
  • Bridget
  • John
  • Ann
• John bap.1779
• Samuel bap.1783
• Charles bap.1786
• Anne bap.1788

Jones also recorded the presence of other families in the area who were not easily connected to this Palatine family. They include :

UNPLACED : Jacob m. Ann

• Jacob bap.1749 m. Elizabeth Hyphel
  • Ann bap.1774
• Elizabeth bap.1753

UNPLACED : Adam d.1784 m. Catharine Elizabeth (NB Adam currently identified as a son of Adam b.c.1700 for whom no documentation is provided, and who may or may not be the "1709er".)

UNPLACED John m.1786 Catherine Dolmage

• Adam
• Dorothy
• Elizabeth
• Frances
• Mary

Jones mentions the burial in 1766 of "Ann Cornell, d/o the Widower" but then speculates that Ann may have been the wife of Jacob or of an unknown son of Adam. It's not clear whether Jones has confused daughters, wives and widows, or whether there is a typographic error in the book.

The Huguenots

Evidently there were Huguenot Corneille families in Ireland. Unclear if / how they were connected. Early members include :

• Daniel b.c.1745
• Rodolph b.c.1750
• John b.c.1775 (possibly duplicate of John son of Daniel)

Misc others

• A dubious art reproduction company offers for sale a reproduction of the portrait of "An Officer, Of The Corneille Family Of Ballygarane (?), Near Adare, Wearing The Uniform Of The 39th Foot, Red Coat With Green Facings, Gold Lace Epaulette" ^[2]

17th and 18th century shipwrecks in the Shannon Estuary

The Corneil Family History reports the family tradition that :

The account in our family says that a ship which was bound for America from London, was shipwrecked in the mouth of the river Shannon. The passengers were all saved, Jacob Corneille being one of these. He received a grant of the downland of Ballygarane (Ballycurrane) on the estate of the Earl of Ponsonby.

There is too much detail in this for there not to be some element of truth, although it's more than likely that it conflates or confuses several different elements. Some notes :

• There is no "Earl of Ponsonby".
• There is a Ponsonby family who were earls of Bessborough, but the title was created in 1739 and the earldom is in Kilkenny (not Limerick). [Earl of Bessborough]
• There was a French frigate carrying ammunition wrecked at the mouth of the Shannon in 1690, which probably had some involvement with the Williamite / Jacobite war and the siege of Limerick of that same year.
• There was a Palatine ship wrecked off Rhode Island in 1738 - the Princess Augusta, which is famed in song and story as the [Wikipedia (Palatine LighT) Palatine Light]
• The 9th Earl, Vere Ponsonby, was GG of Canada - possibly unconnected.

[Irish Shipwrecks]

• 13 Dec 1759 Elizabeth from London, for Limerick
• 1 Sep 1786 Jackson

[Irish Wrecks Online]

• 1747 Hannah, near Newfoundland for Limerick
• 1691 a French longboat carrying wages
• 1690 a French frigate carrying ammunition, at the mouth of the river - this looks interesting, given the military connections of the Huguenot family
• 1789 Adventure - coal sloop

citing "Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast 932 - 1997" Edward J. Bourke 1998 - ISBN: 0952302713

and "Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast 1105 - 1993" Edward J. Bourke 1994 - ISBN: 0952302705

Cromwell's Adventurers

It has been asserted that "John Cornelius (born 1600 in England) was rewarded the Killeheen estate, for service as an Officer of Cromwell in the "taming" of Ireland (1649-1652) about 1656".

John Cornelius is listed as one of the "Forty Nine" officers : Inrolments of the Adjudications in favour of the (A.D.) 1649 Officers (formerly denominated "THE '49 LOTS") : Preserved in the Office of the Chief Remembrancer of the Exchequer, Dublin. - See "Records of Ireland", Marked "1821-1825," pp.610-637. ^[3]

However the name Cornelius does not appear :

• on a list of surnames of the Cromwellian adventurers at https://www.libraryireland.com/Pedigrees2/names-cromwellian-adventurers-ireland.php
• in Prendergast's The Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland"
• in McKenny's 1989 thesis p.228 - this records four lots allocated to Southwell, one of them apparently under Trusteeship although details are not given ^[4]

Barry records the following lands granted in Limerick ^[5] :

• In the parish of Rathkeale, the townland of Rathkeale to Morish Herbert and Oliver Lambert and Brooke Bridges
• In the parish of Rathkeale, the townland of Ardboglane to Nich. Bourke and Sir Thomas Southweel [sic] (148 acres)
• in the parish of Rathkeale, the townland of Ballyallinan, in two parts to Rob. Dowger and Sir Thomas Southwell (444 acres) and Lord Kingston and Sir Thomas Southwell (23 acres).
• In the parish of Kilscanlan, the townlands of Killehene (143 acres) and Ballinly (141 acres), to Sir T. Southwell
• to Thomas Southwell in the parish of Kilbradan
• to Thomas Southwell in the parish of Cloneagh
• to Thomas Southwell in the parish of Rathronan

Note that landowners rarely lived in the townlands they owned, but collected rent from a distance.

Sources

1. ↑ Jones, Henry Z. (1990) The Palatine Families in Ireland (2nd ed.) pp.28-30. Camden, ME : Picton
2. ↑ Niceartgallery viewed 6 May 2022 at https://www.niceartgallery.com/Frederick-Buck/An-Officer,-Of-The-Corneille-Family-Of-Ballygarane-(-),-Near-Adare,-Wearing-The-Uniform-Of-The-39th-Foot,-Red-Coat-With-Green-Facings,-Gold-Lace-Epaulette.html
3. ↑ O'Hart, John (1887). The Irish landed gentry when Cromwell came to Ireland p.380, Dublin : J. Duffy. Viewed at https://archive.org/details/irishlandedgentr00ohar/page/380/mode/2up?q=cornelius
4. ↑ McKenny, Kevin (1989). A 17th Century "Real Estate Company" : The 1649 officers and the Irish land settlements, 1641-1681 p.228 [Masters thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth] viewed at https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/5242/1/Kevin_McKenny_20140718104429.pdf
5. ↑ Barry, James Grene (). The Cromwellian Settlement of the County of Limerick : Part the Ninth and Last (Connelloe Barony) viewed at http://www.limerickcity.ie/Library/LocalStudies/BooksJournals/TheCromwellianSettlementoftheCountyofLimerickbyJamesGreneBarry/Cromwellian%20Settlement%20of%20Limerick.pdf