The Maxwell Family

Anne (Maxwell) Bowyer

Father: Robert Maxwell

Mother: Grace (Leavens) Maxwell

Married: Robert Bowyer

Sources:

Anne (Maxwell) Maxwell

Father: John Maxwell

Mother: Jane (Wright) Maxwell

Married: Robert Maxwell

Children: Sources:

Anne (Maxwell) Lyte

Birth: 1787/8, in Ireland. Some sources (e.g. Visitation of England and Wales Vol 5) show Anne as born in 1796, at Falkland. This date works better with Anne's marriage date, but has problems with her age as in the 1851 census, as well as leaving a very large gap to the birth of her only sibling, John, in 1782, and the age of her father (who was 66 in 1796). The 1796 date seems to be associated with the age at death in 1856, given as 60.

Father: William Maxwell

Mother: Anne (Massingberd) Maxwell

Anne (Maxwell) Lyte signature
Signature of Anne (Maxwell) Lyte
Married: Henry Francis Lyte on 21 January 1818, at Queen Square Chapel, Bath, Somerset, England

Children: Notes: Anne's father left Falkland Castle in Ireland for Bath when she was very young. As a young woman she lived for a while at Marazion in Cornwall with a maiden aunt, due to ill health. It was here she was to meet her future husband who was curate at Marazion, but before that she befriended the poet Jane Taylor (who most famously penned the words of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"). Anne is remembered by Jane's brother, Rev. Isaac Taylor in his biography of Jane The Family Pen (published 1867):
"A young lady must take the next place in these notices of my sister's Marazion friends. This was Miss Anne Maxwell — the lady to whom is addressed a poem entitled, The Shipwrecked Lascar — a True Tale. The incident out of which this Lascar story took its rise, is mentioned in the foregoing letter to her father and mother. Miss Maxwell was the daughter of a Lincolnshire gentleman; but on account of the extreme delicacy of her health, and perhaps for other reasons, resided at Marazion with a maiden aunt. The circumstances of this young lady's early life, which might not have been of the most favourable kind, had taken effect upon a peculiar temperament in which were combined extraordinary fixedness of temper, with a self-denying kindliness, such as would have fitted her well for the labours and sacrifices of a "Sister of Charity". In truth, her manner and appearance were very much those of a nun. She might have sat to a painter as his model for a St. Agnes. Hitherto Jane had become acquainted with no sample of this order of character. This new friend — a lady by habits and connexions — but destitute of that cultured intelligence and literary proficiency which she had been used to look for as a matter of course in her more intimate friends — nevertheless, commanded respect, and engaged affection on account of virtues of which no instance had before come in her way. Wanting in that liberty of thought which attends intellectuality, Anne Maxwell exhibited upon occasion a courage and a romantic determination which Jane Taylor would not easily have imitated. So it was on the occasion referred to in the Poem above-mentioned. The Indiaman wrecked in Mount's Bay was a "country-built ship" — and was manned by Hindoos, Lascars, and Mahometans. These men were for a time lodged in a building near the town, and it had become our amusement to visit the place, and to watch their various modes of caring for themselves. At length they were put on board a vessel London-bound — one of them excepted, who was in too feeble a state to be moved from his pallet. Of this invalid Anne Maxwell took charge, and during several weeks, or months, was his nurse, and found for him whatever he needed.

A few years later than this time, Miss Maxwell became the wife of a clergyman, the Rev. Henry Lyte, a volume of whose miscellaneous poetry still has its admirers. Husband and wife have been some years deceased."

The book also includes some letters written by Jane Taylor to Anne after Jane's return from Marazion to her father's house.
Jane's poem in honour of Anne Maxwell reads thus:
"The Shipwrecked Lascar." by Jane Taylor (1783-1824)
Publication: The Writings of Jane Taylor, In Five Volumes by Jane Taylor. Volume I, Memoirs and Poetical Remains. Edited by Isaac Taylor, Jr., of Stanford Rivers. Boston: Perkins & Marvin, 1832. pp. 310-311. Editor: Mary Mark Ockerbloom

[Page 310]
THE SHIPWRECKED LASCAR.
(A True Tale.)
ADDRESSED TO MISS M.

–SHE sailed in her pride from the regions of day;
Her cargo was rich, and her pennons were gay:
Long homeward she scudded, defying the blast,
Till Britain's green hills were descried from the mast.

Then gathered the tempest, then heightened the gale:
The hearts of her bravest were ready to fail:
Night adds to the horror, and deepens the roar:–
She lies in the morning a wreck on our shore.

And Heaven in its mercy has rescued the crew;
They live and return to their country anew:
But one sickly stranger–unfriended, unknown,
Is left by his comrades to perish alone.

He thinks of his home, for no shelter has he;
His wife and his mother are over the sea:
He came from the Islands of Spices afar,
–The dark Asiatic, the gentle Lascar.

He stretches in anguish the languishing limb,
Expecting no pity, no mercy for him;
–But England has pity–and O, there was one,
Who saw his dark face, and the kindness was done.

She took him, she nursed him with tender address;
And fair was the hand that relieved his distress:
She came like the angel of mercy from far,
To minister health to the dying Lascar.

[Page 311]
His wants and her pity could only be known
By broken expressions, and sympathy's tone:
But pity has language no words can supply,
And gratitude speaks from the eloquent eye.

He watches her coming, for all must appear
In safety and comfort, if Madame be near;
He sits in her casa, unclouded by care,
For nothing is wanting if Madame be there.

Her care is rewarded:–the sick man is well;
And now he must bid her a final farewell:
Have pity, ye sailors, ye sons of the brave!
Oh, bear him in tenderness over the wave!

Borne on by the swell of the ocean he goes
To tell to his kindred the tale of his woes;
To tell his dark beauty, with many a tear,
Of Madame's kind casa, that sheltered him here.

And O, that the knowledge she strove to impart,
May lighten the gloom of his desolate heart!
And long as he lives will be heard from afar,
The blessings and prayers of the grateful Lascar.

  Marazion, November, 1815.

Shortly after her marriage to Henry Lyte, Anne's father died and "left them a very welcome legacy which enabled them to live in reasonable comfort, as the stipend of a clergyman was very small." 

Death: 7 January 1856, at Torquay, Devon, England

Burial: 11 January 1856, at Brixham, Devon, England

Will: dated 28 June 1848, proved (P.C.C., 401, 56) on 3 May 1856, by Rev. John Roughton Hodd, the sole Executor.

Census:
1851: Anne Lyte, Brixham, Devon age 63, b. Ireland 

Sources:

Edward (Maxwell) Maxwell-Brown

Title: General

Father: Henry Maxwell

Mother: Dorothea (Brice) Maxwell

Death: 1803

Notes: 
Edward who, after a flirtation with the law, entered the army and, much too slowly for his own satisfaction, rose to be Colonel of the 67th Regiment and a general. He succeeded to Ballyrolly in 1763, where he and his descendants lived, and leased Ballyrolly, Lisnamaul and Loughfalcon back to the Maxwells of Finnebrogue. He died in 1803, having in later life, assumed the additional surname, Brown, which was a condition of his inheriting a property at Wycke in Hampshire from someone of that name.

Sources:

Elizabeth (Maxwell) Berkeley

Father: Robert Maxwell

Married: Robert Berkeley (also spelled Barclay), D.D., Dean of Clogher

Sources:

Henry Maxwell

Father: Robert Maxwell

Married: Jane Echlin, the daughter of Robert Echlin, Bishop of Down and Conner (d. 1635)

Children: Sources:

Henry Maxwell

Father: James Maxwell

Mother: Jane Norris

Married: Margaret Maxwell

Children: Sources:

Henry Maxwell

Father: Robert Maxwell

Mother: Margaret (Echlin) Maxwell

Married: Anne Stewart, daughter of Colonel George Stewart of Culmore, County Donegal.

Children: Occupation: Clergyman. Henry was Rector of Derrynoose, in the diocese of Armagh, and the prebendary of Tynan. He was also Chancellor of Connor from 1635 until 1682.

Death: 1709, at College Hall, county Armagh, Ireland

From Armagh Clergy and Parishes (Leslie, 1911) p73:
Henry Maxwell, of College Hall,
Prebendary of Tynan and Rector of Derrynoose­ d. 1709
1668 - Henry Maxwell, MA., inst. Preb. Tynan and R. Derry­noose Jan. 20 (F.F.T.).
He was the 3rd son of Dr. Robert Maxwell (see above), and m. Anne Stewart and became ancestor of the Earls of Farnham (see Peerages). He was Chancellor of Connor - then worth £200 yearly - from 1635 to 1682.  In the Carte Papers, Vol. 21, p. 346, dat. 1647, we read "Henry Maxwell, Archdeacon of Down (sic) and 3 others, deprived by the Presby­tery lurke where they can be entertained."
He lost property amounting to £1,823 in the rebellion of 1641, and his living value £440 a year (Dep. of 1641, T.C.D.).
He d. at College Hall in 1709, aged about 100 years.
His P. Will, made 8 April, 1709, was proved on 12 May following. He left his eldest son John his leases in Armagh; and reversion of them to his sister Ann Chambers; to his 2nd ,on Robert his leases from the See of Kilmore ; to his niece Phoebe Gillespy £28, owed him by Rev. James Greenshields ; to the poor of Tynan £5; son John exor.

Sources:

Henry Maxwell

Title: Right Honourable

Birth: 1669

Father: Robert Maxwell

Mother: Jane (Chichester) Maxwell

Married (1st): Jane Maxwell

Married (2nd): Dorothea Brice in 1713. Dorothea was the daughter of Edward Brice of Kilroot, Co. Antrim.

Children: Death: 12 February 1729/30 (OS/NS)

Notes: 
Henry Maxwell who succeeded in 1686 expanded the Finnebrogue estate in 1710 by purchasing additional townlands from the Rt Hon. Edward Southwell (the descendant and representative of the extinct earls of Ardglass), and in 1728 acquired the three nearby townlands of Ballyrolly, Lisnamaul and Loughfalcon. These were to have a life of their own, independent of the rest of the Finnebrogue estate, to pass down two successive junior lines of the family, and be leased back to and ultimately part-owned by the main Finnebrogue branch. In 1713, Henry Maxwell's rental income was reckoned at £600 a year.

At the 1715 general election, and possibly on other occasions as well, he aspired to represent Co. Down in parliament. In the end, however, his long career in the House of Commons was spent as MP for a succession of close boroughs controlled by other people: Bangor, 1698-1699, and 1703-1713; Killybegs, Co. Donegal, 1713-1714; and Donegal borough, 1715-1730. On the evidence of his surviving papers, he took a keen interest as a parliamentarian in Revenue matters and was very frequently nominated to serve on committees. So closely was he in politics with the Rt Hon. William Conolly, who was both Chief Commissioner of the Revenue and Speaker of the House of Commons, 1715-1729, that he was nicknamed 'the Speaker's Shadow'. It was Conolly who returned him for Killybegs in 1713. In 1721, he wrote a pamphlet in support of the scheme, abortive at that stage, for establishing a national bank. He was made an Irish Privy Councillor in 1727. He died in 1730.

Sources:

Isabella (Maxwell) Graham

Father: Robert Maxwell

Mother: Grace (Leavens) Maxwell

Married: Hector Graham

Sources:

James Maxwell

Father: Robert Maxwell

Married: Jane Norris

Children: Notes: of Mullatinny, now Elm Park, County Armagh

Sources:

James Maxwell

Father: Robert Maxwell

Mother: Margaret (Echlin) Maxwell

Married: Jane Maxwell, his cousin.

Children: Notes: of Fellows Hall, County Armagh

Sources:

James Maxwell

Father: John Maxwell

Mother: Isabella Leavons

Occupation: Clergyman. James was Rector of Tullamore.

Sources:

Jane (Maxwell) Maxwell

Father: Henry Maxwell

Mother: Jane (Echlin) Maxwell

Married: James Maxwell, her cousin.

Children: Sources:

Jane (Maxwell) Maxwell

Father: Henry Maxwell

Mother: Anne (Stewart) Maxwell

Married: Henry Maxwell

Death: 20 February 1711

Notes: of Derrynoose, Armagh.

Sources:

Jane (Maxwell) Carpendale

of Falkland, County Monaghan, Ireland

Birth: 1762/3

Father: John Maxwell

Mother: Jane (Wright) Maxwell

Married: Thomas William Carpendale on 29 July 1782.

Children:
English Street, Armagh
Postcard showing an old view of English Street, Armagh
Death: 11 March 1835, in Armagh, Ireland (now Northern Ireland), aged 72

Notes:
Jane is likely the Mrs. Jane Carpendale who is listed in Bradshaw's 1819 Directory for Armagh City, living on English Street.

Sources:

John Maxwell

of Calderwood, in Scotland

Title: Sir

Father: Robert Maxwell

Mother: Sibella (Carmichael) Maxwell

Married: Elizabeth Hamilton

Children: Death: 1571

Sources:

John Maxwell

Farnham House
Farnham House (before its redesign in the 1970's. It was surely added to and redesigned substantially since the initial build by John Maxwell.
image from http://homepage.tinet.ie/~cavanno1/FarnhamEstate.htm
Father: Robert Maxwell

Mother: Margaret (Echlin) Maxwell

Death: 1713

Notes: Built the house at Farnham, County Cavan, and resided there.

Sources:

John Maxwell

Title: Baron Farnham of Farnham, County Cavan

Father: Henry Maxwell

Mother: Anne (Stewart) Maxwell

Married: Judith Barry in 1719. Judith was the daughter and heir of James Barry of Newton Barry, County Wexford.

Children: Death: 1759

Notes: John represented the county of Cavan in Parliament from 1727 until his elevation to the peerage of Ireland on 6 May 1756.

Sources:

John Maxwell

of Falkland, County Monaghan

Title: Venerable Reverend

Birth: 1705/6

Father: Robert Maxwell

Mother: Sarah (Waring) Maxwell

Married (1st): Jane Wright

Children: Married (2nd): Isabella Leavons, the daughter of Rev. John Leavons of County Lough.

Children: Education: Trinity College Dublin. John entered Trinity College on 13 May 1721, aged 15, and obtained his B.A. in 1725 and M.A. in 1728. Later he was awarded B.D. and D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) in 1753.

Occupation: Clergyman. John rose to be Archdeacon of Clogher from 1762 until 1783. John may have been the J.M., who was C. St. Catherine’s Dublin, 1732 ; C. Clontibret, 1735. He was V. Donagh, 1738-46, R. Aughnamullen 1746-62, R. and V. Rossory 1764-8, R. Drummully, c. 1763 to 1783, holding with it this Archdeaconry of Clogher.

From Clogher Clergy and Parishes by Rev James B Leslie, 1929 p46
1762- John Maxwell, coll. Nov. 12 (D.R.)
He was the eldest Son of Robert M. of Falkland (son of Robert M., Bishop of Kilmore) was b. at Falkland. Ed. by Mr. Knowles, in his father’s house. , ent. T.C.D. May 13, 1721, aged 15, B.A. 1725, M.A. 1728, B.D. and D.D. 1753. He may have been The J.M., who was C. St. Catherine’s Dublin, 1732 ; C. Clontibret, 1735. He was V. Donagh, 1738-46, R. Aughnamullen 1746-62, R. and V. Rossory 1764-8, R. Drummully, c. 1763 to 1783, holding with it this Archdeaconry.
He m (1) Jane dau. of Thos. Wright, and had issue – 3 daus. ; m. (2) Isabella, dau of Rev. John Leavons, Co. Lough, and by her had issue – Rev. William D.D., R. of Kilcleagh and Ballyloughloe (Meath) ; Rev. James, R. of Tullamore, and another son. (See B.L.G and Peerages, "Farnham"). He res. in 1783 (D.R.) and d. in 1784, in which year his P. Will was proved.

Death: 1783

Will: proved 3 January 1784

Notes: Clearly some data is astray here. Leslie clearly has John as married 1st to Jane Wright and 2nd to Isabella Leavons, but in his entry for Thomas Carpendale he states that Jane Maxwell, daughter of John Maxwell and Jane Wright, died in 1835 aged 72, making her birth in 1762/3, when John was about 57 years old, and much later than the birth of William from his second marriage which is given as 1832 by Shirley. I suspect William's birthdate is wrong, but if so, John was marrying, having children, remarrying and having more children at quite an advanced age.

Sources:

John Robert Maxwell

Title: Colonel

Father: John Maxwell

Mother: Isabella Leavons

Married: Mrs. Grace Corry, a widow, in 1776.
from http://www.proni.gov.uk/records/private/perceval.htm#1791
In 1776, [Col. John Maxwell] married a landed widow, Mrs Grace Corry, and her property, in Cos Fermanagh, Monaghan and Tyrone, was settled on the issue of their marriage, with remainder to herself. There was no issue: as she later complained in 1779, when seeking a divorce, Colonel Maxwell, in spite of 'repeated efforts for the purpose', had 'never consummated the said marriage, but appears totally impotent'. She also complained that, in the previous year, he had induced her to re-settle her estate on him, in failure of issue; and that she had subsequently discovered that he had made a will by which he had left his remainder in fee in her estate to his nephews and nieces, leaving to her nothing but 'a small island on the coast of North America at ... [that] time ... actually in the hands of the insurgents'. It is unclear if Mrs Maxwell obtained her divorce and reacquired her landed property.

Occupation: Army officer, and Governor of the Bahamas
from http://www.proni.gov.uk/records/private/perceval.htm#1791
He was probably the John Maxwell who was promoted to be Major in the 15th Regiment of Foot in 1771, and he was later Colonel of the 27th Infantry. His papers contain important documentation of the American invasion of Canada in 1775-1776, when he was on the staff of Sir Guy Carleton, Governor of Quebec. Thereafter, he was Governor of the Bahamas.

John was Governor of the Bahamas from 1780 until 2 May 1782 when the Spanish occupied the island, imprisoning John Maxwell until 1783, when the Bahamas became a British possession and John became Governor again until 1784.

Death: 1791
John had no children, and almost all his property was passed to his sister's son, John Waring, who had married another of his sisters's daughters, Dorothea Maxwell.

Sources:

John Maxwell

Birth: 1781/2

Father: William Maxwell

Mother: Anne (Massingberd) Maxwell

Death: 29 November 1861, in Torquay, Devon, England, aged 80
The Gentleman's Magazine (1862)
OBITUARY
At Torquay, aged 80, John, only son of the late Rev. William Maxwell, D.D., of Falkland, co. Monaghan, and of Bath.

Notes: John was insane (a "lunatic" in the parlance of the day), and never married. There is a 19 year discrepancy in his age as given at the 1851 and 1861 censuses. The age at death corresponds with the 1861 census age.

Census:
1851: Brixham, Devon; John Maxwell,  Visitor (of Henry Lyte); age 60
1861: Tormoham, Torquay, Devon; John Maxwell, Uncle (of  Anna Maria Hogg); aged 79

Sources:

Margaret (Maxwell) Maxwell

Father: Robert Maxwell

Mother: Margaret (Echlin) Maxwell

Married: Henry Maxwell

Children: Sources:

Margaret (Maxwell, Maxwell) Butler

Father: Henry Maxwell

Mother: Margaret (Maxwell) Maxwell

Married (1st): Sir Robert Maxwell, of Orchardtown

Married (2nd): James Butler

Children: Sources:

Margaret (Maxwell) Tew

Father: Robert Maxwell

Mother: Grace (Leavens) Maxwell

Married: John Tew

Children: Sources:

Mary (Maxwell) Close

Father: Robert Maxwell

Mother: Grace (Leavens) Maxwell

Married: Maxwell Close, of Elm Park

Sources:

Patrick Maxwell

Birth: 1721

Father: Henry Maxwell

Mother: Dorothea (Brice) Maxwell

Death: 1749

Notes: 
Patrick succeeded to the estate at Finnebrogue, but died unmarried and the estate passed to his younger brother, Robert.

Sources:

Robert Maxwell

Title: Very Reverend

Father: John Maxwell

Mother: Elizabeth (Hamilton) Maxwell

Married:  Isabella Seaton (according to Leslie) or Susan Armstrong (according to Burke)

Children: Occupation: Clergyman. Dean of Armagh, Chancellor of Connor

Death: 1622

Notes: from Burke's Baronetage and Peerage, 1875 pp449-450
THE VERY REV. ROBERT MAXWELL, 2nd son of Sir John Maxwell, Knt. of Calderwood, in Scotland, went over into Ireland, in the latter end of the reign of ELIZABETH, by order of JAMES VI., in order to secure an interest for his majesty in that kingdom.  Mr. Maxwell was appointed dean of Armagh, which deanery, with other considerable Church livings, he held till his decease.

From Armagh Clergy and Parishes (Leslie, 1911) pp12-13
Robert Maxwell, Dean of Armagh, d.1635
King James, writing to Sir A. Chichester, July 15, 1609, says that Maxwell "has painfully laboured [in Ireland] for certain years past in his ministry, and the king designs to confer upon him some ecclesiastical dignity in his gift" (S.P.I.). It is therefore probably the same who was nom­inated Chancellor of Connor in the Charter of July 20, 1609, and who held that position also in 1622.
...It is said that he debarred himself from further prefer­ment by opposing Primate Henry Ussher, who had intended to lease the See lands of the Primacy in a fee farm grant for £1,500 per annum for ever to a dependant of the Duke of Buckingham on the latter's solicitation (Lodge and Old See Rental). He received a grant of denization 20 May, 1617 (P.R.). He received a grant of the Dean's Demesne in Armagh and also the territory of Derrynoose 27 Feb., 1613 (P. R. ).

In 1622 he was "taken with a dead palsie." The Deanery was rated in the King's books at £35; value £120; Resident at Armagh."  His charge is at the Cathedrall. The Deanery consisteth only in land. He hath a poore house in Ardmagh opposite the land of the Deanery " (R. V. 1622).

Sources:

Robert Maxwell

Title: Right Reverend

Birth: 1598, in Kilbride, County Armagh, Ireland

Father: Robert Maxwell

Married: Margaret Echlin

Children: Education: M.A., D.D. and Fellow of Trinity College Dublin.

Occupation: Clergyman. Robert was ordained on 27 January 1617/8 (OS/NS). He held the Rectories of Derrynoose and Clonoe from 1623 to 1666, and was named the 4th Prebendary of Tynan in 1625. In 1643 he became the Bishop of Kilmore, and the Bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh in 1666.

From Armagh Clergy and Parishes, Rev James B Leslie, 1911 p73
Robert Maxwell, Prebendary of Tynan, 1625 – c. 1661 and Bishop of Kilmore 1643
1625-Robert Maxwell, M.A. (afterwards D.D.), coll. Mar. 7 (R.V. 1633). Query, was it 1625/6, for, according to the P.R., he was pres. by the Crown Nov. 22, 1625.
He was again admitted on 2nd April, 1634/5 (F.F.T.), being pres.18 Mar. (R. V. 1633) and was named as 4th Preb. under the new Charter, Jan. 23, 1637/8, and allowed the parish in commendam with the Bishopric of Kilmore Mar. 22, 1643 (P.R.). He held also from 1623 to 1666 the Rectories of Derrynoose and Clonoe.
He was the eldest son of Robert M. Dean of Armagh; was ord. D. Jan. 27, 1617/8 (one copy of the R. V. of 1633 has " 1627 ") ; P. May 2, 1618. He was an M.A., D.D. and Fellow of T.C.D. and Chaplain to the Lord Lieutenant, and may have succeeded his father as Chancellor of Connor, but it is doubtful.
He became Archdeacon of Down in 1628, which dignity he res. in 1639. Cotton seems to think that he was Archdeacon of Down, Dean of Connor and Chancellor of Connor - an unheard of plurality - at the same time in 1634. He quotes as his authority "Commons Journals" (see Fasti V, 243). We find R.M. writing to Wentworth from Armagh on May 29, 1639, concerning the landing of boats at Copeland I. He speaks of himself as not being much "in favour with the Covenanters" (Harris M.S.S., Vol. VIII).
He suffered much in the rebellion of 1641, as appears from his Deposition in T.C.D. Library. He got £120 pension from the Commonwealth 10 Mar., 1657 (Comm. M.S.S., P.R.O.).
In 1643 he was raised to the Bishopric of Kilmore, to which Ardagh was added in 1666. He m. Margaret, dau. of Henry Echlin, Bishop of Down (who survived him) and had
(1) John of Farnham, ob. 1713 ;
(2) James of Fellows Hall,
(3) Henry of College Hall, who also became Preb. Tynan,
(4) William of FaIkland, who. m. Anne, dau. of Rev. George Walker, Chancellor of Armagh, and whose son was Robert of Falkland, D.D. (See Shirley's Monaghan, and Peerages).
He d. Nov. 1, 1672, and was bur. "in the country on Nov. 6" (Funeral Entries, U.0.). Shirley's Hist. of Monaghan has "Nov. 16." He left £200 to 'T.C.D.
In his P. Will, proved 1672, he desired to be bur. in Tynan ; mentions his sons and his dau. Mrs. Phoebe Maxwell (£300) and his son-in-law Henry Maxwell. He seems to have res. the Preb. Tynan before 1661.

Death: 1 November 1672

Buried: 6 November 1672

Farnham Estate
Farnham Estate
photo from http://homepage.tinet.ie/~cavanno1/FarnhamEstate.htm
Notes:
Robert was imprisoned by the Catholics during the rebellion of 1641, and held in County Tyrone. In 1642, he gave a famous deposition to a commission of enquiry in which he testified to the extent of certain massacres of Protestants, the extent or even existence of some of which is now in dispute.

Farnham Estate to the northwest of Cavan town as it is now known was originally called Waldron Estate, after Sir Richard Waldron the first landlord in the area. In 1664 the Right Rev. Robert Maxwell, Bishop of Kilmore purchased the Waldron Estate and renamed it Farnham after Sir Richard's wife who was a Miss Farnham. The estate remained in the family since then, until being sold to a hotel developer in 2001. Farnham House is one of the largest houses in Co. Cavan.

Robert was according to Leslie "Chaplain to Henry Carey, Fifth Viscount Falkland and Lord Deputy of Ireland (1622-1629). From hence we have the name Falkland, which he gave to the Townland and Seat acquired early in Reign of Charles II under a fee farm rent payable to the Leslie Estate, in which the whole is now again vested, by purchase from the Representatives of Mr. Maxwell Lyte, in 1874." (note that Henry Carey was actually the First Viscount Falkland, not the Fifth who was Anthony Carey, Lord of the Admiralty). The Falkland estate, "which appears to have been Identical with Drumnagmore in the Parish of Donagh", passed to his youngest son William. The link to the Falkland Islands is that Lord Falkland's grandson, the fifth Viscount was first Lord of the Admiralty in 1690, and when one Captain John Strong became the first man to land on the Islands in that year, he named them The Falkland Islands, after the Viscount.

Sources:

Robert Maxwell

of Killyleagh, County Down

Father: Henry Maxwell

Mother: Jane (Echlin) Maxwell

Married: Jane Chichester, the daughter of the Rev. John Chichester of Belfast

Children: Death: 1686

Notes: It was Robert's achievement to add to the family property the Ards or Groomsport estate, near Bangor, which he purchased from Henry Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Clanbrassill, in 1674. In the deeds documenting this transaction he is still described as 'of Killyleagh'.

Sources:

Robert Maxwell

Title: Reverend

Birth: 1665/6

Father: James Maxwell

Mother: Jane (Maxwell) Maxwell

Education: D.D. from Trinity College Dublin. He entered TCD aged 16 on 15 June 1682, and obtained his B.A. in 1687, his M.A. in 1693 and B.D. and D.D. in 1719.

Married: Ann

Death: 1737

Notes: Robert succeeded his uncle John at Farnham House, County Cavan. He died without children, and the estate passed to his cousin John Maxwell who was later elevated to the title of Baron Farnham.

From Armagh Clergy and Parishes, Rev James B Leslie, 1911 p74
Robert Maxwell, of Fellows Hall, Prebendary of Tynan, d. in 1737
1709-Robert Maxwell, coll. Sep. 17 (D.R.).
He was the son of James M. of Fellows Hall, 2nd son of Bishop Robert Maxwell, born in Co. Armagh, ent. T.C.D. aged 16 as a Pensioner June 15, 1682; became B.A. 1687 ; M.A. 1693; B.D. and D.D. 1719 (Reg. T.C.D.). He had a licence to go to England June 7, 1722 (D.R.). He d. in 1737, and by his P. Will, dated 29 Oct., 1721, proved 4 Mar., 1737/8, he desired to be bur. in Tynan Church with his ancestors, and left 4 townlands purchased by him from the late John Hamilton, of Caledon, to his wife Ann for life - she paying £40 to his nephew Robert Maxwell Leavens - then to said nephew and his heirs, failing these to his nephew Cap. Robert M., of College Hall, and his heirs, failing whom to his nephew Captain John M., of Falkland; £100 to the poor of Tynan and £50 to the poor tenants of Farnham. His college leases, to his wife for life and then to Cap. Robert M, - he paying £3,000 to be equally divided between the children of Captain John Charlton and testator's brother Lieut. Robert Maxwell, of Dunmurry, Co. Cavan. Wife exor.

Sources:

Robert Maxwell

of Falkland, County Monaghan

Birth: in Donagh, County Monaghan, Ireland

Father: William Maxwell

Mother: Anne (Walker) Maxwell

Married: Sarah Waring on 3 March 1703 in Tullylish, County Down, Ireland

Children: Death: 1750

Sources:

Robert Maxwell

Father: Henry Maxwell

Mother: Anne (Stewart) Maxwell

Married: Grace Leavens, the daughter of Rev. John Leavens

Children: Notes: Robert was of Fellows Hall, County Armagh. He was a "captain of horse".

Sources:

Robert Maxwell

Father: Henry Maxwell

Mother: Dorothea (Brice) Maxwell

Married (1st): Anne Ward in 1741. Anne was the younger daughter of Robert Ward of Strangford, Co. Down. She died without children.

Married (2nd): Mary Montgomery in 1749. Mary was the eldest daughter of William Montgomery of Greyabbey, Co. Down. There were no children from this marriage.

Married (3rd): Anne Maxwell

 Children: Death: 1769

Notes:
Robert succeeded to Finnebrogue in 1749, upon the death of his elder brother, Patrick. The estate passed to his son Edward, and later to his daughter, Dorothea.

Sources:

William Maxwell

of Kilmore, County Cavan, Ireland

Birth: 1652

Father: Robert Maxwell

Mother: Margaret (Echlin) Maxwell

Married: Anne Walker in 1691

Children: Notes: High Sheriff of Monaghan (County Monaghan, Ireland) in 1691

Sources:

William Maxwell

Dr Johnson at the Mitre
William Maxwell is the gentleman seated on the right in this drawing Dr. Johnson at the Mitre by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1860).
The drawing illustrates the following passage from Dr. Maxwell's Collectanea in from Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson: ‘Two young women from Staffordshire visited him when I was present to consult him on the subject of Methodism, to which they were inclined. “Come,” said he, “You pretty fools, dine with Maxwell and me at the Mitre and we will talk over that subject,” which they did and after dinner he took one of them on his knees, and fondled them for half-an-hour together.’
scan from www.rossettiarchive.org
Title: Reverend Dr.

Birth: 1732

Father: John Maxwell

Mother: Isabella Leavons

Education: Trinity College Dublin MA, 1755, and DD 1777

Married (1st): Anne Massingberd on 6 December 1777. Anne was the daughter of William Burrell Massingberd of Ormsby, Sheriff of Lincolnshire (1745), and Anne Tancred Dobson.

Children: Married (2nd): Jane Ellis, the daughter of Robert Ellis and Penelope Leslie. Jane died in 1847.

Occupation: Clergyman. William was Rector of Kilcleagh, county Clogher and Ballyloughloe, county Meath.

Notes:
Rev. Dr. William Maxwell was a personal friend of the diarist Dr. Johnson, and provided the material for the Collectanea in Boswell's biography Life of Samuel Johnson. Maxwell termed his friendship with Johnson "At once the pride and happiness of his life" (Leslie), and it is said that he attempted to imitate Dr. Johnson's maner and appearance.

William was also the last inhabitant of Falkland Castle before leaving Ireland for Bath in 1780, after which the castle fell into ruin. The ruins still exist today. Of that estate at Falkland, Leslie writes
"The house is a Ruin, though inhabited by Rev. Dr. William Maxwell 1732-1818 at the end of the last century. It must have been a mansion of considerable pretension. There are remains of old trees, and an avenue of Limes, still very perfect. The relics of the Library, a rare thing in Ireland, are still preserved at Tarough Lodge the Seat of Mr. Anketell...
   Dr. Maxwell is said to have gone to reside in Bath about 1780, and to have allowed Falkland subsequently to fall into ruin. However, he appears to have been there about the time of the Rebellion, when by the relation of his widow to the Late Mrs. Auketell, she stated that the Rebels fired into his bedroom with intent to kill him: she was standing near a window. The Ball passed over her head. This was the principal reason of his leaving Falkland. "

The estate which had been "acquired early in Reign of Charles II under a fee farm rent payable to the Leslie Estate, in which the whole is now again vested, by purchase from the Representatives of Mr. Maxwell Lyte, in 1874"

Death: 8 September 1818, in Bath, Somerset, England
The Gentleman's Magazine by Sylvanus Urban of January 1819 p92 records:
At Bath, in his 87th year, Rev. William Maxwell, D.D. of Falkland, co Monaghan, a gentleman of a most respectable Irish family, who for nearly fifty years had chiefly resided in that city.

Will: dated 25 March 1818. William's will was a complex affair, mainly due to his desire to provide for his insane son, and for the possibility that his son might regain his sanity and have male heirs. The will landed up in court an number of times, some of the cases providing arcanes points of legal precedent. Ellis vs. Maxwell in March 1841 decided the ability of William's grandson, Henry William Maxwell Lyte to continue to receive a maintenance allowance from the will even after twenty one. Hogg vs. Jones decides that William's plate should go to his great-grandson, Edward Maxwell Lyte, in a case convoluted by disentailing deeds to William's entailed estate.

A biography of William son-in-law, Henry Francis Lyte, notes that William "died shortly after the Lytes were married and left them a very welcome legacy which enabled them to live in reasonable comfort, as the stipend of a clergyman was very small."

Sources:
Return to Chris Gosnell's Home Page
Return to Chris Gosnell's Genealogy Page

If you have any comments, additions or modifications to the information on this page, please feel free to email me.
Created and maintained by: chris@ocotilloroad.com