Loftus / Joyce Loughrea 1843
Hello Loughrea Parish,
I am Claire Loftus, a New Zealander living in Australia.
My Great-grandfather was Peter Loftus who was born in Loughrea, County Galway in 1843 and his mother's maiden name is believed to be Joyce. There were several children in the family. An older brother, Fancies served in India with the East India Company forces, returning to England later and one brother is supposed to have immigrated to Seattle, USA.
When Peter was aged three or so the Loftus family were among the tenants evicted by the Earl of Clanricarde, who turned the estate into a hunting reserve. Their cottage was torn down and the story goes that the family slept in a ditch. 1846-47 was also the time of the potato famine in Ireland, so the family moved to Wigan in Lancashire, England. Apparently Peter's parents died there and he was bought up by an uncle named Tuohy, or something similar.
Peter worked from an early age at Bostock's, the shoe manufacturers and at16 he enlisted in the 57th Middlesex Regiment of the British Army, known as the "Die-Hards". Peter served on garrison duty in Ireland & then went to India at the close of the mutiny and then the Regiment was sent to New Zealand, arriving in Auckland in 1861 and took part in the Maori land wars.
Peter took his discharge from the British Army and married an Irish girl Annie Florence Houlheron whose father was an Irishman of French descent.
Peter and Florie, as she was known, had a big family in Wanganui, New Zealand and they are both buried in Wanganui cemetery.
I would like to obtain copy of Peter's Birth Certificate and perhaps any information of the late Earl of Clanricarde that might mention the eviction of the Loftus in 1846-67. Also, if there is any history of the Loftus or Joyce family in the Loughrea area.
I am one of 6 children and proud of my Irish heritage and hope to visit Loughrea one day, to see where my Great-grandfather came from.
Best Wishes, Claire Loftus
