The Bowles of Crohane
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Note: the Bowles of Crohane were closely connected to the Bowles of Bawnlea. DNA testing has proven that descendants of the Bawnlea Bowles and the Springhill Bowles, both of whom emigrated to Canada from Kilcooly parish, share a close connection to a common ancestor. As The Bowles of Springhill were members of the Killenaule RC parish and the Bowles of Crohane, which is also close to Killenaule, seem to have been connected to the Bowles of Fethard there is a very good possibility that the Bowles of Crohane, Bawnlea, Springhill, Killenaule and Fethard were all closely related. See Sorting Out The Bowles of Killenaule and KilcoolyThere were Bowles in the Crohane/Coolquill/Knocknahown area a few miles to the East of Killenaule from the late 1700's until recent times.
As usual in this early period the spelling of their surname within the same family varied greatly in both original source material and in early and even recent transcriptions. Boles and Bowles appear regularly with Bowls and Bowels occasionally.
George Bowles of Coolquill was admitted as a Freeman of Fethard in 1771. Nearby Killenaule was a walled market town but there was a much larger market at Fethard about 6 miles south of Killenaule. If you were not a resident of Fethard you had to pay a market fee to the Corporation of Fethard if you wanted to sell your trade or produce there.
Probably George was just getting himself a larger market. John Bowles of Fethard, whom I have long thought was George's brother, was also admitted that same year. Otherwise there were only a handful of admissions in 1771. They were both admitted without being sworn which was probably due to William Barton not being there.
From 1773 to 1775, during the ongoing struggle between Cornelius O'Callaghan and William Barton over control of the Corporation, George and John were both admitted again including this time swearing the required oath of allegiance to the Crown and a denial of the authority of the Pope. This was a measure to prevent Catholics from obtaining Freeman status which Barton insisted on to prevent O'Callaghan admitting them.
See The Bowles as Freemen of the Corporation Of Fethard for much, much more on this topic.
I believe George Bowles of Coolquill and John Bowles of Fethard to be brothers.
The cemetery of the Crohane Church of Ireland (built in 1848 but the cemetery is older) has two Bowles headstones:
Plot 28
Erected by Charles Boles of Knocknahone in memory of his father John
BOLES who departed this life June 16 1840 aged 78.
Plot 27
Erected by Susan Bowles of Crohane in Memory of her beloved William
Bowles who died June 22nd 1851 aged 50 years. Also her son John
Bowles who died Oct. 20 1868 aged 17. James Simpson, Crohane died
March 9th 1967 aged 78.
The Anti-Catholic Petition of 1827 was signed by John Bowles Sr., Chas. Bowles, Wm. Bowles and David Bowles of Cruhane parish. We have evidence for John Sr., Charles and William Bowles there but these signatures mean that there was also a John Jr. and a David Bowles in the family. See the proposed family tree below.
The Church Tithes List for the Parish of Crohane Lower
for October 1830 includes John Bowles holding two 4 acre plots under
Anthony Guy Luther, Esq.
The Tithe Defaulters list of 1831 includes John Bowles, farmer, of Lower Crohane. Given his pro-establishment position in 1827 it's strange that he had not paid his tithes and may indicate that he had passed on his holdings to his son Charles. Charles and William remained here, as shown by the Griffith Survey below, despite the backlash they must have experienced as signers of the petition in 1827 but there is no further sign of David Bowles who may be the one we find in Guysborough, Nova Scotia in 1829 where he lived near John Bowles of Fethard's son Robert. See David Bowles of Guysborough's Story and David Bowles of Guysborough's Family Tree
The 1850 Griffith's Valuation of the barony of
Slieveardagh, Civil Parish of Crohane includes:
Ballyphillip
William Bowles
Holding a house and land from Colonel Palliser 22 acres, 3 roods, 14
perches
Crohane Lower
William Bowles
Holding a house and land from Messrs. Malcolmson, Pike & Fennell
42, 0, 35
William Bowles
Another house (vacant)
Charles Bowles
Holding a house and land under Guy Luther 13 acres, 2 roods, 6
perches
Note: 1 acre = 4 roods, 1 rood = 40
perches
Griffith's Valuation of Charles and William's buildings on their farms in Lower Crohane in the 1846 House Book (revised 1848)
Griffith's Tenure Book of 1847
The Irish Civil Registration books contain a reference for Jane Bowles, daughter of William Bowles, marrying a James Simpson at Crohane on May 8, 1862. ref.
An 1863 Coroner's Report for Honora Holmes of Crohane was submitted by a Dr. George Boles ref.
The Bowles of Crohane Family Tree (proposed but not yet entirely documented)
I have found two possible origins for George Bowles of Coolquill and also for John Bowles of Fethard, assuming that they were brothers as seems likely, again this is a suggestion and is not proven.
First Possibility:
Charles Bowls b. ~ 1725
m. Anastasia Delahunty ~ ?
(George b. ca. 1735 and John b. ca. 1744 may have been born to them before the ones below that we know of; there was also a David Bowles admitted to the Fethard Corporation in 1755, possibly they were his children; the Minutes of the Corporation in the National Library may tell us)
1. Peter Bowls bp. Feb. 7, 1747/48 Killenaule (RC)
2. Edmund Bowls bp. Apr. ?,
1750 Killenaule (RC)
Family may have converted to C of I by 1755 when a Charles Bowles was
sworn as a Freeman of Fethard
Second Possibility:
John Bowles (he may have been the son of Charles Bowles of Dublin and grandson of John Boles of Woodhouse) (note: he would be 7.1.3 in the Richard Boles of Cork Family Tree; the George and John in his family would fit our George and John very well and their Grandfather had been a major landowner with holdings adjacent to Killenaule)
m. Mary ca. 1732
1. George Bowles bp. Nov.
2, 1736 St Luke, Dublin
2. Jonathan Bowles bp. Nov.
2, 1736 St Luke, Dublin
(note: although baptized on the same day they were probably not twins;
likely the baptism of one or both of them was delayed while John
was still trying to get accepted back into the Friends faith after they
denied him in 1732)
3. John Bowles bp. Apr. 25,
1740 St Mary, Dublin
4. Margaret Bowles b. Dec.
20, bp. Dec. 26, 1742 St Mary, Dublin
John bur. June 2, 1742 St Mary, Dublin
Regardless who his parents were, we know more about George's family:
George Bowles b. ~ 1735 m. ~ 1754 lived Coolquill d.George Bowles Sr. d. Feb. 9, 1777 (age 42) bur. Killenaule Cemetery