Thursday 23 August 2007

Tom Lefroy’s siblings

In the light of my recent post on Anthony and Thomas Lefroys, and the very big possibility that Tom went to Ireland in the mid of November 1798 to save his brother and his family, this is an excerpt from Cranfield’s From Ireland to Western Australia, page 9-10. In the earlier post, I also revealed the fact that Anthony was indeed the first sibling who got married (November 5th, 1798), followed by Tom (March 16th, 1799) and then their sister Sarah, who married Captain Thomas Courtenay in May 9th, 1799. By the time Anthony got married in 1798, none of Tom’s siblings (including himself) was married. Hence, as Anthony was kicked out of the financial support of Ben Langlois, Tom should really come forward and save his family (including his six sisters). I also include a scan of the page containing Thomas, Anthony and Sarah, for readers’ convenience in following the latest information on the siblings.

Page 9 and 10 of From Ireland to Western Australia:

Children of Anthony Peter Lefroy, and Anna [Ann Gardner]:

1. Lucy, born January 1st, 1768. Married June 6th, 1803, to Hugh Ryves Baker, of Massy Park, County Limerick. She died in May, 1853, leaving issue.

2. Phoebe, born April 15th, 1770. Married January 22nd, 1825, to Captain Richard Butler, 27th Regiment, of Castlecomer, County Kilkenny. Died without issue December 5th, 1839.

3. Catherine, born September 18th, 1771. Died umarried September 3rd, 1805.

4. Sarah, born March 18th, 1773. Married May 9th, 1799, to Captain Thomas Courtenay, of Grange, County Antrim. Died in 1836, leaving issue.

5. Thomas Langlois, born January 8th, 1776. Married March 16th, 1799, Mary, only daughter and heir of Jeffry Paul, of Silver Spring, County Wexford. Died May 4th, 1869, leaving issue.

6. Anthony, born October 19th, 1777. Became Captain in 65th Regiment. Married on November 5th, 1798, Elizabeth, daughter of William Wilkin, of Appleby, Westmorland. Died September 7th, 1857, having had, with other issues, Thomas Edward Preston, M.A., Q.C., born August 30th, 1815, who married September 9th, 1846, Anna Jemima (died October 17th, 1855), eldest daughter of Reverend Benjamin Lefroy, and died July 25th, 1887, leaving issue.

7. Elizabeth, born April 17th, 1780. Married February 13th, 1817, to Richard Sadleir, of Scalaheen, County Tipperary, and died July 22nd, 1867, leaving issue.

8. Benjamin, of Cardenton House, County Kildare, J.P., Captain Royal Artillery. Born May 5th, 1782. Married firstly, October 31st, 1807, Margaret (died July 18th, 1815), daughter of Philip Savage, of Kilgibbon, County Wexford, by his wife Mary, daughter of James Agar, of Ringwood, County Kilkenny, and niece of George, 1st and last Baron Callan, and had issue one son, Anthony George who settled in Canada. Secondly, he married in 1817, Catherine Tessier, daughter of Henry La Nauze, of Aubawn, County Cavan, and by her had issue two sons, George, and Benjamin Langlois.

9. Christopher, Midshipman, R.N. Born June 26th, 1784. Killed in action on board H.M.S. San Fiorenzo, February 14th, 1805.

10. Anne, born January 26th, 1786. Married February 13th, 1817, to Major William Middleton Power, 28th Regiment. Died without issue.

11. Henry (Reverend), M.A., Vicar of Santry near Dublin. Born May 5th, 1789. Married in 1814, Dorothea (died 1865), second daughter of John, The O’Grady of Kilballyowen, and died January 29th, 1876. They had issue, sons: Anthony O’Grady, Gerald de Courcy, and Henry Maunsell (q.v.). Daughters: (1) Elizabeth Waller, born April 11th, 1817. Died unmarried, December 23rd, 1875; (2) Ann Langlois, born September 9th, 1818, married September 9th, 1847, to James Stein, of Chalmington, Dorset and Kennetpans. Died January 4th, 1898, leaving issue. (3) Mary Elizabeth O’Grady, born June 19th, 1824; died unmarried October 1st, 1875. (4) Dorothea Thomasina, born November 17th, 1831; died unmarried February 28th, 1901.


PS 26 May 2010:

Ms. Anne Wilmot, the great-great-great grand daughter of Benjamin Lefroy of Cardenton House (TLL's younger brother, # 8 on the list above), has kindly informed us that from his marriage with Catherine Tessier de la Nauze, Benjamin Lefroy actually also had a daughter (Lucy) who was Ms. Wilmot's great-great grandmother. Thank you very much Anne for the interesting information.

Reference:

Cranfield, R. E. 1960, From Ireland to Western Australia: The Establishment of a Branch of the Lefroy Family at Walebing, Western Australia, 1842 to 1960, Service Printing Perth.


Pic 1: James McAvoy as Tom Lefroy in Becoming Jane, from Jane Austen's Regency World Magazine, March/April 2007

Pic 2: The scanned page of Cranfield’s passage about Tom and Anthony

7 comments:

Tina said...

One thing that strikes me here is how late in life many of Tom's siblings married. He must have been responsible for their financial support for a lot of his own life--not just in his youth, but even later as well. No wonder he had to marry a wealthy woman!

Icha said...

Yep, his sisters did marry late, eh? And the descendants of Henry Lefroy, for instance, Three of four daughters unmarried. And I recall again that NONE of Tom Lefroy's daughters were married. What a strange family. Too independent women there? :-D

Or did Tom advise them NOT to get married unless they met their true love? Speaking from his own experience? He seemed to be quite okay with the spinster status of his female relatives (sisters, daughters, nieces)...

Michelle said...

I haven't read the article yet b/c I'm really supposed to be somewhere else (!) - but your last paragraph grabbed me. It's a really good observation. I had wondered about Tom's own daughters never marrying, but never thought beyond that. So Tom never pushed the 'money attract money' agenda that was so popular back then? It seems like it. Really says a lot about Tom ...

It's an interesting idea to think over, and I'd be really interested if you ever stumble across anything that sheds more light on it. :)

Anonymous said...

Wow so many children, and so many marriages (or so few marriages!).

I can't express to you how exciting this website is to me. I check it every day, about 3 times a day at least - to see if there are any new updates.

Hm, I was thinking a lot about names. And I was wondering if the names actually meant anything? Lots of names mean something significant (ex: Rachel means 'ewe', a female sheep). And then I was thinking, well surnames mean things too. And then I was like "Hmmm, maybe these people's names mean something."
..I mean for example I was, one day, extremely bored in class. I began to do anagrams of names. I found out that my full name can be anagramed to 'miracle.' Now this is cool, otherwise. HOWEVER! My parents and family members call me their 'miracle child' because I was born very, very early (23 weeks to be exact). Anyway, when I told my mom and dad that my name anagramed came out to be that, they thought that was fate (okay they didn't exactly say that, but basically they thought it was cool). :)
...So are Jane Austen and Tom Langlois Lefroy's names anagromically linked??????

Also, I am curious to know what JA fiction you'd reccommend. I have honestly only read two of her works- Emma for school and P&P (I had trouble so I began it once and then had to stop, then picked it up later and read the full thing). Is S&S, and Persuasion as good as they sound? Which one, in your opinion, is best? There have to be movies about them because I read books and then compare to movies. (My mom says I should be a critic!) For example when I finished Pride& Prejudice, I went through my library and saw ALL of the P&P movie versions possible- 1940's, A&E as well as the 2005 version. :) Heck, I even saw 'Bride and Prejudice'- that Bollywood remake (unfortunately my mom bought it for me for my birthday, I *asked for* the Keira version but my mom thought B&P would be better? NOT! Ugh so I'm stuck with no Keira but Alexis Biedel playing a modern version of Darcy's sister!).

:)
I'm like your biggest fan, and I think if we were all in an actual room together, I'd win the award for 'way too enthusastic and obsessed so she goes on this website 300 times a day.' HA HA!!!!

Love love love!

Anonymous said...

haha, I agree with Rachel above... I, too, am extremely enthusiastic and just adore the site! I read through this article a few times at work today and also find it very interesting that so many of the women chose not to marry, or married late in life -- especially considering how important it clearly was to marry well, and as soon as possible. Excellent research here -- I think you could have a concentration at a university the way you're going, hehe :) Thanks for everything, I'll be checking a few hundred times a day as well! :)

Tina said...

Rachel, I'd absolutely recommend reading 'Persuasion'. It's my favorite of the novels, probably the most romantic, and with a very different feeling--softer, more wistful--than anything else she wrote. It has to do with regaining a lost love--maybe she had a certain Mr. Lefroy in mind at least part of the time as she was writing it...

Icha said...

Yes, Rachel <3, I agree with Tina. Persuasion is a very soulful piece. I believe that Capt Wentworth was Tom Lefroy (though an amalgamated of other men could also be correct, but Tom was the main ingredient).

Emma is interesting not only because it's witty, but also because of many hidden secrets there.

http://becomingjane.blogspot.com/2007/07/more-jane-tom-breadcrumbs-from-emma.html

Check also Arnie's site
http://sharpelvessociety.blogspot.com/
about Emma.

Michelle, come to think of it, I agree with you. I've been wondering about the same thing. Obviously Tom was not a supporter for marrying for money, actually. At least, not for his daughters, nieces and sisters.

Rachel <3, can you do the Jane Austen/Thomas Langlois Lefroy anagram for me/us? I have no time and skills. We will credit you, of course! ;-)

Thank you so much, Ladies! I truly treasure new friends like you all. Yes, we might have differing opinions about something, details of Tom's doing what &c, but we're on the same boat of loving Jane and trying to find the truth. Loving all the conversations here, the disagreements are also expressed with proper manners and decorum (aha!).

Meg, don't you start with uni. I have a questionnaire draft I have not finished yet... ^_^