William Shapland Lunham

William Shapland Lunham was my maternal gr gr gr grandfather. Various spellings of his surname are Lenham, Lunnum, Lunnam. Wiliam and his father Thomas were Coachmakers at Mungret St., Limerick city.

I first find THOMAS LUNHAM (Lenham) mentioned in the 1788 CITY DIRECTORY LIMERICK. Thomas Lunham's name also appears on 1798 Quaker records re Tithe collections, carried out by him for the protestand church.. He was at that time a Warden for St. John's Church of Ireland church. Further, Thomas appears on the list of Opposers to the Act of Union in 1800. My gr gr gr gr grandfather Thomas Lunham seems to have lived in CASTLECONNELL, parish of Stradbally, as his wife's obit of 1814 states. She is buried in St. John's CoI, Limerick city.

WILLIAM SHAPLAND LUNHAM married 1804 ANNE DEANE, of the late Lieut. Deane, Clare Regiment. Anne's brother was a Captain in the 18th Light Dragoons. William + Anne's daughter, LELIA (Lillias) HEWSON LUNNUM, b. 1816, was my gr gr grandmother, LILY DAVERN. Her middle name HEWSON might mean that they were related to another family of coachmakers in Limerick named HEWSON. Or they were possibly very close friends. There are 2 further records, a baptism 1812 for DELIA LUNNUM + a burial record for an unnamed child in 1808. So far it seems to me, that my gr gr grandmother Lily was the only surviving child of William + Anne Lunham.

Family lore has it that Lily Lunham eloped to marry Dennis Davern, a Roman Catholic. Dennis had been working as a Cabinet Maker in the Lunham home when they fell in love. There was one surprise though when I located their 1833 marriage record. They actually married in a Protestant church and Dennis even gave his religion as Church of Ireland, not Roman Catholic. I suppose, who was there to tell the truth :-) Lily's children were all baptised R. Catholic.

WM. SHAPLAND LUNHAM gave Sallymount, Limerick as his address on the 1829 Freeholders list. He died of fever in 1836 (Limerick Chronicle). His wife Anne died two years previously. Both are presumably buried at St. John's CoI graveyard.

I have no knowledge of when or how my Lunham ancestors arrived in Ireland, or if they were in any way related to other Lunham families in Ireland.

Fáilte :-)