Esmonde Baronets

Question

There are conflicting versions of the relationships between the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Baronets Esmonde.  The 3rd and 4th Baronets were father and son, both named Laurence.

* ESMONDE in Burke's Peerage (1915, pp. 688-9) and ESMOND, or ESMONDE in Cokayne's Complete Baronetage (pp. 255-7) both say that the 5th Baronet (John) and 6th Baronet (Walter) were brothers of the 3rd Baronet, and that the 4th Baronet was succeeded by his uncle; but

* thepeerage.com and
http://lordbelmontinnorthernireland.blogspot.com/2018/08/ballynastragh-house.html
both say that the 5th Baronet (John) and 6th Baronet (Walter) were brothers of the 4th Baronet and that the 4th Baronet was succeded by his brother.

Which version is correct?

WikiTree seems to go with the former theory, except in the biography of the 3rd Baronet, which recites the latter theory.

Has the Burke pedigree changed between the 1915 and 2003 editions?

Comments

No relation, but my 2nd great grandfather https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Louth-39 was a game keeper on the Ballynestragh estate.

Answer 1

I don't know if it is possible, but it would be good to find some primary sources for these people, instead of relying on secondary (tertiary?) sources, some of them of dubious reliability.

Comments

I haven't found any primary sources yet.  However it is a bit circumstantial but ...

The Complete Baronetage, vol. 2, p. 256 states that Walter Esmonde the 6th Baronet, married after Jan 1722, Joanna ... 2nd dau of Theobald Butler, 7th Baron Cahir with his 1st wife Mary Everard.

The Complete Peerage, 2nd edn, vol. 2, p. 467 doesn't have any dates for Theobald Butler's first marriage but does state that he married his second wife in Feb 1693, which means Joanna, the wife of Walter Esmonde, 6th Bt had to be born about 1692 or earlier.

Back to The Complete Baronetage, it states that Laurence Esmonde the 3rd Baronet, married in 1703 and died about 1717. Following thePeerage, If Walter, 6th Bt was his third son, then he would be younger than his wife by perhaps about 15 years or more and would probably be married as a minor (depending on how much after Jan 1722 the marriage took place).

If though following Cokayne and Burke's Peerage, Walter. 6th Bt was the son of Laurence Esmonde, 2nd Bt (see p. 255) who died in 1688, then he would be about the same age as his wife and married when he is an adult.

As I said it's circumstantial but I think it is more likely that Cokayne and Burke's Peerage are correct and John and Walter, 5th and 6th Bts are the brothers of 3rd Baronet not his sons.

Answer 2

Have You checked with Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, ? 

I could not find it on line,

Answer 3

Thanks, all.

I don't have access to hard copies of either Debrett or the 2003 edition of Burke, which may just have been misquoted at thepeerage.com, or which alternatively may contain an explanation as to why Burke's pedigree has changed since 1915.

I did find a manuscript pedigree from the Genealogical Office, ca. 1840-1850, which agrees with the 1915 version (Image 41 of 91), but still doesn't qualify as a primary source.

However, this manuscript pedigree adds to questions as to which of three daughters of the 6th Baronet married Stanislaus M(a)cMahon:

* Mrs. McMahon was Lucinda according to a contemporary newspaper marriage notice quoted on her profile;
* Mrs. MacMahon was Frances according to the 1915 Burke pedigree (and thepeerage.com); but
* Mrs. MacMahon was Elizabeth according to the GO pedigree!

Another modern printed source which I don't have is KAVANAGH, Art & MURPHY, Rory. ''Wexford Gentry''. Vols. 1 & 2. Bunclody: Irish Family Names, 1994. : 97-111, cited here.

Answer 4

There are a number of Esmond/e Wills listed in the 'Index to Prerogative Wills of Ireland' and the National Archives of Ireland has a facility to order copies at https://www.nationalarchives.ie/article/wills-and-administrations/