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The Bowles of Clonmel

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While they don't seem to have remained there very long, there were two Bowles lines in Clonmel in the late 1700's.  John who used the Boles spelling and Walter who spelled his name Bowles.  It's difficult to judge whether the difference in the spelling of their surname is significant or not or whether these two families were related or not.   Both seem to have moved on to Cahir later and the witness at the 1839 baptism of one of Walter Jr.'s children was a J. Bowles.

The Walter Bowles line

The eldest Bowles I have found in Clonmel would be Walter Bowles' wife born about 1735, although she was not necessarily born in Clonmel.  We know that she died there based on a burial record for Mrs. Walter Bowles, aged 76, at St. Mary's Clonmel in 1811. (Note all St. Mary's Clonmel references on this page can be checked at Bowles B/M/D Registry Entries at St. Mary's Clonmel)

There is also a record for a Walter Bowles who was baptized at St. Mary's Clonmel on Feb. 21, 1781 to parents Walter and Mary Bowles.  The above Mrs. Walter Bowles (born 1735) would have been about 45 in February 1781 so she could have been this Mary Bowles or at 45 she could have a son Walter married to a Mary Bowles.

There is a possibility that this Walter Bowles Sr. may be the Walter Croker Boles in the Thomas Boles of Cork's Family Tree.  See a discussion of this possibility.  At this point this claim is not proven but it cannot be dismissed either.  I have reflected this connection in the trees as a possibility only.

The next time we see a Walter Bowles in Clonmel is in the list of registered voters in Clonmel of 1837 which shows that in 1833 he was a glazier and painter living on Upper Johnson Street in Clonmel.  In 1830 he is listed on a petition seeking Repeal of the Union. ref.  According to The Report of the Select Committee on Fictitious Votes in Ireland he was living in a 1 story cottage with a thatched roof with two rooms and a kitchen and a garden attached which he rented at ₤6 per year and which he had lived in for the last 25 or 26 years. ref.

The value of Walter's house became one of the main items of focus when several Members of Parliament including Daniel O'Connell challenged the outcome of the 1833 General Election and alleged that ineligible voters had been allowed to register in order to support Whig candidates.   See Walter Bowles' House and the Select Committee on Fictitious Votes in Ireland

Appendix 8 of this same report lists the registered voters in Clonmel by street with an estimated value given for their property:

Upper Johnson Street
Walter Bowels              house                           annual value: ₤6
Edward Cunningham      house and grounds         annual value: ₤7
Thomas Bowels            house and grounds         annual value: ₤7

I don't know at this point whether Thomas was Walter's brother or son but undoubtedly they were related.  The Edward Cunningham mentioned as their neighbour is interesting as The Boles of Guysborough, Nova Scotia Story refers to a Robert Boles of the Tipperary Militia based in Clonmel who bought land in Nova Scotia from a Captain Ralph Cunningham of Clonmel in 1822.  This Cunningham reference on Upper Johnson Street could indicate a connection between Walter Bowles line and the Robert Boles line in Nova Scotia.

This clearly would have been a Protestant line and even then this list should not be taken as a complete list of even the Protestant Bowles in Clonmel in the 1830's. These are just the ones who owned property worth more than ₤10.  For example, we know that there was a shoemaker, Charles Boles, in Clonmel in 1840 whose son Michael was born there in 1812.  reference    This indicates a likely connection to the Boles of Fethard who were predominately shoemakers and smiths. 

Charles Bowles of Clonmel

Charles Bowles b. ~ 1779 m. Honora Hatcher
(was "a shoemaker at Clonmel" in 1840; the following baptisms are all on record at St. Mary's Clonmel with several variations of the mother's name; the mother's name is shown in brackets)
1.  Bridget bp. Sept. 1, 1799 Clonmel (Hanora)
2.  Mary bp. July 19, 1801 Clonmel (Norry)
3.  Anne bp. Jan. 16, 1807 Clonmel (Hanora)
4.  Michael Boles b. Aug. 16, 1809 bp. Sept. 1, 1809 Clonmel (Norah)
m. Eliza Brimmer (b. ~ 1813, London)
(Michael emigrated to Australia in 1840 (with no children)) reference
5.  John b. Dec. 26, 1812 bp. Jan. 1, 1813 Clonmel (Hanna)
6.  Walter b. Apr. 11, 1815 bp. Apr. 14, 1815 Clonmel (Honora)

We know that the Bowles line in Clonmel goes back to a Walter Bowles who baptized a son, also a Walter, there in 1781.  It would seem very likely that a Charles Bowles born there in about 1779 who later names a son Walter would be another son of this same family.

However, there was also a Charles Boles born in nearby Fethard in 1775 who would be another candidate for our Charles. There were no known Walters in that line, they were 10 km. away and used the Boles spelling rather than Bowles but it's a possibility which has to be considerd. See John Boles of Fethard's Family Tree

 

There was also a Catholic line in Clonmel going back to the 1700's.  They could have been a branch of the above line or a completely separate line.  There are so few records from this period which have survived for us to be able to tell just yet.

The John Boles line

There is a memorial stone in the St. Mary's Clonmel (Church of Ireland) with this inscription:

[on the upper panel]
Erected by John Boles
in memory of his wife
Judith Boles who died
July 14th 1822 aged 27 yer
Mary Boles died Jan 30
1833 aged 66Years
Margt Boles died Sep
14 1841 aged 26 year

[on the lower panel]
Ellen o Flanagan alias Boles
died feb 5th 1845 aged 24 years
to the memory of the above
John Boles who died dec 22
1856 aged 70 years


Since they are all on the same stone, it should be fairly safe to assume this is one directly related family.  While this is a Protestant Cemetery there are enough indications in later references to indicate that this was a Catholic family. 

The most likely relationship would be:
 

? Boles m. Mary (b. ~ 1769) ~ 1785
 1. John b. 1786
 John m. Judith (b. ~ 1795) ~ 1813
 1.1 Margaret b. ~ 1815
 Margaret d. 1841 age 26
 1.2 Ellen b. ~ 1821
 m. Mr. o Flanagan
 Ellen d. 1845 age 24
 Judith d. 1822 age 27
 John d. 1856 age 70
Mary Boles d. 1835 age 66
 
Mary Boles' husband is not buried with them so he possibly died prior to the family settling in Clonmel.  Most likely this was after John's birth in 1786 and before Judith's death in Clonmel in 1822.
 
The following entries from the St. Mary's Clonmel parish registry indicate three possible couples as John Boles parent's: (note: all of these used the 'Bowles' spelling)
 
Walter Bowles of Clonmel and wife Mary
           based on their son Walter Bowles jr. baptized Feb. 21, 1781 Clonmel reference
 
James Bowles and wife Mary
            Based on their daughter Joanna baptized  Aug. 29, 1790 Clonmel reference
 
Robert Bowles (of the 14th Dragoons) married Mary Lynch June 21, 1784 Clonmel reference
 
The given names in the above family and the birth dates for John and Judith's children would make them fit very well as the parents of Robert Boles of Cahir as well.  Neil Boles of that line settled back here in Clonmel in the 1890's and established himself as a builder.  See The Boles of Cahir for more on this family.
 
 
See Bowles B/M/D Records at St. Mary's Clonmel (C of I)
 

This site was last updated 10/19/18