The homeland of my 2x great grandmother Esther Stratton nee Farrell (1839 - 1896)
Interestingly I know very little about my 2x great grandmother Esther Stratton.
For me, her life has been nothing more than a few identifying marks on scarce family records. There are no photos. There are no stories. There are few memories.
I know that Esther travelled to Australia with her siblings departing Liverpool, England on 16 September 1852 aboard the 'John Brown'. Just four and a half months later they arrived in Port Henry, Geelong, Victoria. It was January 5, 1853. Esther was just 14 years of age and described as a domestic servant. Each of her siblings were sent to different places to work as domestic servants or agricultural labourers. Her youngest sister however, just seven years of age, was sent to stay with relatives in Melbourne.
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| Assisted and Unassisted Passenger List, James Brown, Arrived Point Henry, Geelong 5 January 1853. Passenger Esther Farrell, 14, Domestic Servant, Disposed of to Mr George Coveney, Point Henry. |
One can only imagine the first impressions of the Farrell family as they arrived in this uncomfortably hot, dry place with brown land and little more than unrecognisable trees, bush and red soil to be seen. They had left Wicklow, described as the garden of Ireland, in late autumn. The days must have still been quite cool, with hints of the emerging winter and early signs that the rich green fertile countryside they recognised as their homeland would soon be fields of white snow. The contrast in weather, geography and flora could not have been more apparent to the Farrell's as they first set their eyes on what was to be their new homeland.
Esther was the fifth child of a family of eight for John Farrell and Eliza Neil. The children were all baptised in the parish of Killaveny, Co Wicklow where their residence was listed as Clone. It was this fact that enabled me to discover Esther Farrell's homeland.
Through an examination of the Griffith's Valuation records for the townland of Clone, in the parish of Kilpipe, Co Wicklow, the world of Esther's home was opened up before me.
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| Griffith's Valuation, Clone, Parish of Kilpipe, County Wicklow, 1854. |
Looking at the maps of the Parish of Kilpipe and then zooming in on the townland of Clone I could easily see the six lots of land and particularly Lots 5 and 6 that were occupied by various members of the Farrell family. Thomas and Peter Farrell together leased Lot 5 from Robert Patton. It was a substantial plot of 134 acres of land, containing 4 houses, offices and land. Lot 6, leased by Thomas Farrell was 27 acres of land only.
Within Lot 5 William Farrell leased a house from Thomas and Peter Farrell and there was also a vacant house within Lot 5 that I believe was most likely to be the home of John Farrell and his family.
Why is this my belief? Because the Griffith's mapping of Clone townland took place in 1854. Esther Farrell and her family left Clone to come to Australia in September of 1853. This is the only identifiable vacant lot in the townland of Clone being leased by the Farrell family. Moreover, the baptismal registers for each of the children had told me the family resided in Clone.
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| Clone townland, in the Parish of Kilpipe, County Wicklow identifying Lots 5 and 6 leased by the Farrell family, Griffith's Valuation 1854. |
Zooming in on Lot 5 the position of the various homes becomes evident along the boundaries and especially at the eastern corner where the townland turns at an almost 90 degree angle before heading towards the Lot 6 plot of land. Moving from the historical Griffith's Valuation map to the present day Google maps and following street view around the boundaries of the Clone townland, I came across two derelict homes in the precise position shown on the Griffiths maps. I believe that one of these two derelict homes was likely the residence of my 2x great grandmother Esther with her parents John and Eliza and her siblings, back prior to their leaving in 1853.
Through the use of modern technology I have been able to step back in time to see the homeland of my Farrell ancestors. What an amazing reality!
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| Google maps street view showing derelict home at Lot 5 of Clone townland. |
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| Google maps showing the second derelict home on what was Lot 5 of Clone townland. |
I was further surprised when I noticed on the modern map that the main home in the Clone townland was identified as 'Clone Country House - Wicklow.' I then immediately went to Google and in a matter of seconds was able to read the history of Clone Country House. And what a tumultuous history it had!
Living in the townland of Clone throughout some of this tumultous period was the Farrell family, including my 2x great grandmother Esther. Her family would have been well aware of the history of this amazing place. You can read all about it here:
https://clonehouse.com/clone-house/history/
Today, Clone Country House functions as a B&B and as such there are many images of the home and the surrounding lands. I can only wonder whether perhaps Esther, or her older siblings, worked for the Patton family in this magnificent home.
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| Clone Country House, Wicklow. Image from https://clonehouse.com |
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| Various images of Clone Country House, County Wicklow. Source: https://clonehouse.com |
