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Deacon and Cunningham to Canada

LeitrimKiltoghert (Leitrim)

I am researching the Irish ancestors of my  Deacon and Cunningham families.  I was given the following information  by a member of the Deacon family - I would like to verify its accuracy:

William Deacon was born in 1786, in Kiltoghert Parish, in Leitrim, in the County of Leitrim, Ireland.  Leitrim was a "Plantation County" which means that the land was given or sold to the Protestants from England, who were rewarded with land at the time of James I (1609), and again after the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.

In Leitrim, William first became a weaver.  After turning 16, he like every other man that age or older, was conscripted into the army.  He served in the 13th Regiment of Light Dragoons.  At the age of 21, William was in the 88th Regiment of Foot, fighting oversears in the Napoleonic War, (from October 2, 1807 to March 24, 1813).  He was then transfereed to the 13th Regiment of Veterans (from March 25, 1813 until April 14, 1815 - missing the Battle of Waterloo by three months.

In June 1824, William Deacon, his wife and four children emigrated to Canada.  As William paid his own passage, there is no record of the names of the four children.  William's 2nd wife was Agnes Cunningham, born in 1799 (Ireland?). (No name nor details have been found for his first wife.)

In Canada William was given 200 acres of land:  100 as a settler and 100 as a veteran of the Napoleonic War.  He and the family settled in Innisfil Township, Simcoe County, Ontario where my Great 3 Grandmother Eliza was born in 1834.  I have found details about Eliza and her family (husband Charles Moore) and their lives - they left Ontario to settle on homestead land in Didsbury, Alberta in the early 1900s.  But, I can find very little about William and Ann.

I would love to learn more about my Irish ancestors.  Who was William's first wife?  What were the names and birth dates of the children that came to Canada in 1824?  Who were and what became of William's and his wive's parents/family?  Are details of his military service true?   How can I find more details about their trip in 1824?  I have access to Ancestry and have searched at the local Family Search centre but I'm not having much luck.

Thank you for any suggestions you can offer!

Shirley

IrelandXO member

2 replies

A few comments.

There was no mandatory conscription for 16 year olds in Ireland in the 1800s (or ever). If William joined the army he would have been a volunteer. If they have survived, details of his military service may be held in the National Archives in London. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ I don?t think you can access individual records on-line and a visit may be necessary to get the full details.

Part of Leitrim was indeed settled in the Plantation in the 1600s. Settlers came from Scotland as well as England. Large quantities of forfeited land were allocated to big landowners in Scotland & England, called undertakers, because they undertook to do various things including bring an agreed number of settlers from their estates in England or Scotland.

I know that you are uncertain where William?s second wife came from but Cunningham is quite common in Co Leitrim so there?s a possibility she was someone he knew from that county. Cunningham is a very common Scottish name and I would suspect that most of those in Co Leitrim came with one of the local Scottish undertakers eg the Hamiltons (who were RC, as were many of their Scottish tenants). Deacon is also found in Scotland but it?s much less common so I am less sure about their origins.

This link will give you a little general information about the plantation in Leitrim:

http://www.manorhamiltoncastle.ie/a-brief-history/

You don?t say what denomination the Deacon family was but I?ll assume RC. If so, the Kiltoghert parish records only start in 1826 (baptisms) & 1832 (marriages), so it may be difficult to trace William?s early years. You can see what records exist and where copies are held using this link:

 

http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/browse/counties/rcmaps/

Ahoghill AntrimIrelandXO Volunteer

I apologize for the delay in my response.

Thank you very much for the information clarifying the military.  And, for your suggestions and links.  I will follow the links and continue the search!

IrelandXO member

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