The
MacGeoghegan Family Society
VOLUME 2
NUMBER 2 MAY, 1991
THE GEOGHEGANS OF JAMESTOWN COURT
In this newsletter I wouio like to share with you the story of the amazing family and exploits of one of our illustrious ancestors, Kedagh Mac Geoghegan. This story is especially meaningful to me as I was a guest in his old family manor house, "Jamestown Court" during my most recent visit to Ireland in October, 1990.
As
I mentioned in a previous newsletter, Jamestown Court (named by the
way, because the British Catholic King, James II, once encamped on
the property for a few days on his retreat from the battle of the
Boyne) is presently in the process of restoration by Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Vance. I hope the picture I have of it will be legible enough
for printing in this copy of the newsletter. (editor's
note, the picture is not the one that originally appeared)
What made Kedagh Mac Geoghegan (also known without the "Mac") particularly remarkable in addition to his legendary deeds, was the fact that in a time of persecution of Catholics and particularly landed Catholics, he was able to retain both his Catholicism and his extensive landholdings. Kedagh was the son of Bryan Geoghegan of Carne, and Mary Geoghegan, of Donore. He built Jamestown Court in about 1720 on the site of a previous fortified house. It was designed in the early Paladian style by Richard Cassells, a noted architect of the time. Much of the stone for the construction was taken from the ancient Geoghegan (originally, probably De Lacy) castle of Carne, which stood on a small bill about a half mile North of the site.
Kedagh married Anne Brown, daughter of Sir John Brown of Mayo, in 1736 and they had four children: John ("Jack The Buck"), last Lord of Moycashel, who died unmarried in 1776 from wounds suffered in a duel over a London actress; Kedagh, died unmarried in Lisbon, Portugal in 1783; Arthur, who married Marcellina, daughter of Sir Thomas Barnwell, but had no children; and Mary, who married Thomas Nagle, of Cork, in 1763. The estate remained in the Nagle family for three generations (Thomas, Richard, and Richard II, who served as a Member of Parliament for Westmeath from 1832 to 1837). The property then passed to the Nugent family for many years obtaining the estate through Teresa McGeoghegan who married Edmond, Count Nugent, in 1798.
Jamestown Court is located just over the railroad tracks running from Mullingar to Clara, about a mile west of Castletown Geoghegan, off the Mullingar - Horseleap highway. The buildings are not visible from the road, but are reached by a private lane which passes through the ancient gatehouse on the west side of the railroad. A 3-story 18th century tower house built within an old 5th century earthen fort also stands on the property.
Perhaps the most well-known story about Kedagh relates to his habit to meet and dine with the grand jurors in Mullingar at the time of Assizes. Even though he was a papist, and therefore out-lawed from serving on the grand jury, he nevertheless was respected and enjoyed an unusually cordial relationship among the gentry of the area. It was his custom to drive into town in a "coach-and-four" from his estate at Jamestown Court. On one such occasion during the Summer Assizes of 1768, one of the jurors, a George Stepney of Durrow, offered Kedagh Geoghegan ,£20 for his four horses, i.e. £5 apiece in conformity with the penal laws of the time that no Catholic could own a horse worth more than £5. It so happened that Geoghegan's horses were worth at least twenty times that sum. Kedagh excused himself and retiring to the inn stables where the horses were housed he shot all four of the animals dead. Returning to Stepney, he told him he could have the horses for nothing! From that date on, the Geoghegans drove to Mullingar in a carriage pulled by four oxen.
Kedagh was also known as a practical joker. His "jokes" were particularly directed at his lawyer, Anthony Malone. He was eternally scheming and was reported to be a most litigious character, frequently getting into scrapes which he somehow always managed to extricate himself (many times with the help of his lawyer, Mr. Malone). He believed that no man could lead a happy life with his neighbors unless they brought each other into a court of law, for real or imagined offenses, at least twice a year.
On one occasion, he had his herdsmen drive a large herd of cattle along the road, just at the time Mr. Malone was to visit Kedagh to renegotiate the terms of a lease to a large and valuable tract of farmland owned by the lawyer. The herders were to pretend that they did not know who the traveller was and to intimate that they were driving the cattle to a holding lot as a gift from Mr. Kedagh Geoghegan to a Mr. Malone. In view of the generous "gift" of cattle Mr. Malone thought would soon be his, he negotiated a very low lease price for the farm, only to discover, too late, that all the cattle had been driven home to Jamestown Court. To add insult to injury, he had even given the herders 5 guineas.
Because Kedagh continually put off paying Mr. Malone his fees, Mr Malone refused to respond when Kedagh wanted him to draw up a new will. So, Kedagh feigned to be mortally ill, had Mr. Malone come by to draw the will, promising him £500 as a bequeath "for all the trouble and cheating I have done to you". When the will was drawn and Mr. Malone returned home satisfied that at last he would be paid all of the money Kedagh owed him (or cheated him out of), wiley old Kedagh miraculously got "cured". In the meantime, he had the will copied verbatim, but leaving out the £500 bequest to his lawyer. It was not until Kedagh's death years later that Mr. Malone discovered at the probate of the will that he had been had, again!
Kedagh's son, John "Jack the Buck", had an even more colorful and free-wheeling lifestyle than his famous dad. Jack's feats of dueling, gambling and womanizing are legend! Perhaps his most famous escapade involved a run-in with the French Count DuBarry (later, husband to Madame DuBarry, famous mistress of Louis XIV). It seems that Jack suspected the Count of cheating in a high-stakes game of whist at a gambling house in Bath, England. Jack meandered over to the food table which was stacked with meat and breads according to the custom of the times, and picked up a large carving fork. Coming back to the card game in progress, Jack waited until the Count had dealt all but one card remaining in his hand. At that moment he impaled the Count's hand to the wooden table, looked the Count squarely in the eye, and in an even tone said, "Sir, if that not be the ace of clubs ye be holding in your hand, I'll be begging your pardon". Wow! what chutzpah! Of course, the Count was embarrassed to have been caught cheating, especially in such a manner, and was run out of the gambling house nursing his bloody right hand.
"The Buck" was an excellent swordsman and pistol marksman, and seemed to relish the many duels he got involved in. One, however led to his eventual untimely death. It seems that he and a Frenchman were vying for the attentions of an actress in London. One thing led to another and a challenge was hurled by the Frenchman. They agreed to meet after the play was over and swords were chosen. The Buck's sword broke on the Frenchman's chest, and Jack was struck with the Frenchman's sword. The Frenchman was severely scarred and never recovered. The Buck recovered, however the wound eventually became the ultimate cause of his death in 1776.
Another escapade attributed to Jack The Buck had to do with his being discovered making love to a maiden on the very altar of a country church! It is said that the church was abandoned and never used as a place of worship again. It is reported that a portrait of Jack The Buck Geoghegan which once hung at Jamestown Court is now in the possession of a family in Jacksonville, Florida. Perhaps if time permits I will try to track it down and give our readers a report.
The Clan Mac Geoghegan extends sympathy and condolences to the families of Mr. Thomas Anthony Geoghegan of Highcliffe-on-Sea, Dorset, England who passed from this earth on Sunday, April 7th, and Richard T. Geoghegan of Cottonwood, Arizona, USA, whose loving wife, June, died of a heart attack on January 27. Please remember them in your prayers.
HERE'S A DEAL YOU CAN'T REFUSE!
I am pleased to report that the Mac Geoghegan Family Society now numbers 131 active members. The mailings to Australia and Canada unfortunately had most returned: MOVED - NO FORWARDING ADDRESS. However, we did net about seven new members from Australia and several from Canada. From here out we must grow by one family recommending membership to another Geoghegan relative who is not yet a member. There is no charge for membership, but contributions are gratefully accepted to help meet expenses of the Society. All that is required for membership is to send in your name and birthdate and birthplace and the same for as many of your parents, grandparents, etc. that you know about. Now there is an extra incentive to enrol] as a member: all new members are given back issues of all of the Mac Geogbegan Family Society Newsletters that have been published to date. I am just about out of many of the back issues and do not have enough money to have them reprinted. So, it's first come, first served. Whoever applies first by supplying the necessary information will get all the back issues. After that, it's just what is available, not the complete set.
NO FIRM DATE YET ON "GATHERING"
Still no word yet from the Irish Tourist Board or The Irish Genealogical Society on the firm date for the big "Gathering of the Clans". All I know is that is set for May of '92 - probably in the early part of that month. Please start planning now to attend this great event. I will keep you posted on the exact date and further details of the festivities planned for the Mac Geoghegan Clan, just as soon as I have them.
FREE "CLASSIFIED" SECTION IN NEXT NEWSLETTER
Please feel free to use our Newsletter as a "Bulletin Board" to locate missing family records or to seek information about your family history. Starting with the next issue, I will publish as many notices as space permits. Let's make this family society truly responsive to the needs of our membership. I may have to edit some details in the interest of serving as many as possible. I would also like to hear any suggestions any of you may have as to how we can better serve our association, the types of articles you would like included in the newsletter, ideas for family reunions, and other items of general interest to Geoghegans around the world.
I'VE GOT GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS
The good news is that the Mac Geoghegan Family Society Newsletter has been a resounding success, with each issue being looked forward to with anticipation. The bad news is that due to a lack of contributions to help pay the substantial costs of publication and mailing, I can no longer afford to send it out on a regular quarterly basis as I have done in the past.
As you no doubt noticed in our last treasurer's report, the cost of mailings so far have exceeded the total contributions by well over $3,000. Since then, hardly anything has come in and the printing and mailing of this issue will add another several hundred dollars to the deficit. We charge no dues or annual fees, but depend entirely on the generosity of our family members, and what happens to be in my own personal bank account.
Please understand, the Mac Geoghegan Family Society is a labor of love for me. I fully intend to keep on sending out newsletters and coordinating efforts to retrace our family history and genealogy. It is also my hope to move to Ireland some day if I can find the money to restore the old family "castle" (towerhouse) at Donore. It's just that I am disappointed that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for our marvelous heritage enough to help support it financially. To the 43 of our 131 members who have contributed any funds at all, I am most grateful. To those of you who are hard-pressed financially, I would rather you use any money you have for taking care of your family. It's just that as a retired person with limited income, I can no longer afford to heavily subsidize a regular mailing.
Since I no longer send out over a thousand newsletters at every mailing (over half of it overseas at .50 per 1/2 ounce) costs are much more under control. The newsletter now only goes out to those who care enough to send a family tree of their own branch of the family (the 131 "active" members), plus occasional inquiries, plus a small supply of issues to have available as back-issues.
Incidentally, many of you promised to send more background information or better "family trees". Please make an extra effort to see that information is sent so I can start coordinating all the genealogies now on hand. And, if you send in a contribution, please make your check payable to: J. J. Gargan. To open an account in a fictious name ("MacGeoghegan Family Society") does not justify the extra expense and hassle.
PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS
The next newsletter will feature the history of the Ambrose Geoghegan family, who came to the United States as one of the earliest Geoghegan immigrants about the time of the American Revolution. This is a large and influential family in the history of early America, and it has been well documented by Steve Geoghegan, a direct descendent of Ambrose.