The Bowles of New Inn
There was a family of Bowels (pronounced like the body part) in the area
of Knockgraffon in the parish of New Inn in the 1700's.
The 1766 Religious Census of Tipperary only records 5 Bowles, of any
spelling variation, in all of Tipperary. Two of these are John
Bowels (8 in the family) and Thomas Bowels (4 in the family) at
Knockgraffon, both are listed as Protestants.
This may indicate two different families of Bowles in this small area
though as the descendants of James Bowles of Garranlea have the family
tradition that the first Bowles of their family came to Garranlea to
work as a Coachman for the Cooney family and that they had come there
from Tullamain Castle near Fethard. That would probably mean that
their ancestor had also been a coachman for the Maher family of
Tullamain Castle as you did not get a job as Coachman without the proper
training.
By the 1800's all the references in this area use the Bowles
spelling. There is some evidence, however, that despite using that
spelling, some of them still used the original pronunciation of Bow-els.
The Boles of Cahir have the following
family story: their ancestor Robert Boles, the 1852 Robert, recounted a
story to my father's father (Bobby the Grocer) of meeting a young boy
who opened a gate for him as he was riding his horse somewhere between
the village of Golden and New Inn (which would be around Garranlea or
Boytonrath) and when he asked him his name the boy said his name was
"Bowels" (he pronounced it like the intestinal organ so this suggests it
was also spelt that way).
The descendants of the Bowles of Garranlea certainly use the usual
'bowls' pronunciation of the name today .
In order to assess whether there are two distinct Bowles lines in
this area much further research needs to be done.
I have the following references for Bowles in this area in
chronological order. I haven't enough records yet to figure out
their relationships but we're getting there.
Matthew Bowles
is listed in the Nov. 1, 1825 Tithe Applotment List for Tipperary
South, Outrath:
Matw. Bowles Acreage: 9
acres, 1 rod, 13 perches; Tithe per acre 2 s .75 d., Tithe per annum
18 s. 8.5 d.
and he is also
listed in the 1831 Tithe Defaulters List as living at Outeragh near
Cahir.
Thomas Bowles of Rathgallen m. Catherine Conway of Knockgraffon
Apr. 26, 1837 New Inn, co. Tipperary (witnesses: Martin Burke, Bridget
Conway) (note: the name Bowes/Bowles is written in the transcription so
the transcriber may have been unsure which surname this was)
Michael Bowles of Masterstown m. Margaret Guiry of Knockgraffon
July 30, 1843 New Inn, co. Tipperary (witnesses: Thomas Guiry, Mary
Farrell)
The first witness listed above may be the same Thomas Guiry who
married an Anne Bowles in Cahir (RC) on Feb. 21, 1827.
Anne
Bowls m. Thomas Guiry Feb. 21, 1827 Cahir
(Witnesses: Jacob (James) Guiry and
Catherine Guiry)
(they lived at Knockenevea)
1.
Michael Guirey bp. Oct. 6, 1829 New Inn and Knockgraffon (parents lived
Knockenevea near New Inn)
(Sponsors: William Lonergan and Catherine
Guirey)
The Griffith's Primary Valuation of Knockgraffon Parish (Aug. 1850)
includes James Bowles at Woodinstown (holding land from the immediate
lessor Robert Shapland Carew Esq.)
John Malony m. Bridget Bowles Feb. 15, 1864 New Inn Catholic Church
(Malony had previously been married
but
his marriage had been annulled by Bishop Leahy due to his first wife’s
infertility)
ref.
Michael Bowles of New Inn m. Ellen Lonergan of Boytonrath July 18,
1875 New Inn, co. Tipperary (witnesses: Denis Guilfoyle and
Johanna Lonergan)
The book
"County Tipperary One Hundred Years Ago: A Guide and
Directory 1889", reprint, by George Henry Basset, Friar's Bush Press,
Belfast (1991) lists only one Bowles at New Inn and he is listed as
Michael Bowel, clerk of the Petty Sessions (held the 4th Thursday of
every month).
The Family Tree of the Bowles of New Inn (and area)
(currently in
the process of development and is not confirmed)
George Bowles (a coachman)
m. Margaret Ahearn Mar. 1, 1835
Cahir parish
(Witnesses: Michael Bowles and E O’Donnell)
1. James Bowles bp.
May 5, 1835 Cahir (lived Garranlea)
(Sponsors: Patrick O’Donnell and M. McGuire)
(the family apparently pronounced their name 'bow-els' or so the parish clerks
tended to record it)
m. Ellen Cormack (of Lagganstown in
1874; lived New Inn) Apr. 29, 1874 New Inn, co. Tipperay
ref.
(James was a coachman for
the Cooneys of Garranlea)
1.1 James Bowles b. Apr. 24,
1879 Garranlea
(also adopted the Bowles spelling)
m. Ellen Carew (b. Jan. 13, 1884
Derryclooney, New Inn; John, Ellen Lonergan) ~ 1900
(they lived at Ballyslateen, co.
Tipperary)
James Bowles of Lagganstown
and family in the 1920's
1.1.1 Agnes b. Oct. 26, 1920
Ballyslateen (lived Lagganstown)
m. living
1.1.2.1 living (lives Cashel)
Agnes d. Feb. 12, 1996 Cashel
1.1.2 living b. Dec. 7, 1923
(lives Cashel)
1.1.3 Mary (emigrated to
Chicago)
1.1.4 James (emigrated to
Chicago)
1.1.3 4 other children
James d. ?, bur. Lagganstown
Ellen d. Jan. 1, 1965 Lagganstown,
Golden, Tipperary
1.2 Thomas Boles
(he preferred and kept the Boles
spelling)
m. ?
(lived next door to brother James
in Lagganstown)
1.2.1 other brothers
1.2.1.1 Thomas
1.2.1.1.1 Patrick (see the
memorial below)
1.2.2 Mary Boles b. 1925
Lagganstown
m. Jim Griffin
1.2.2.1 living (in Australia)
1.2.3 John (Jack)
1.3 daughter (Margaret?) m.
Mr. Dudley
1.4 George b. June 5, 1876
Garranlea d. June 19, 1876 convulsions
1.5 John (Jack) b. July 8,
1879 Tipperary (per death certificate)
(emigrated to the US in 1898 and
settled in Chicago)
m. Margaret ~ 1903 Chicago
apparently no children
John d. July 8, 1928 Chicago,
Illinois, U.S.A.
Death Certificate
Census records in the US
James d. ?, bur. Lockkent graveyard
2.
Brigitte Bowles bp. Oct. 10, 1837 Cahir
(Sponsors:
Thomas Crotty (?) and M (?) O’Donnell (?))
3.
Margaret Boles bp. June 9, 1840 Cahir
(Sponsors: Jacob (James) Boles and M. Ahearn)
4.
Ann
Boles bp. June 6, 1843 St.
Mary's RC, Cahir (lived Garranlea in 1864)
(Sponsors: Gulielmus (William) Guiry and Elena Doyle)
m. John Fitzgerald of Marlhill
Sept. 24, 1864 New Inn. co. Tipperary
(witnesses: David Cahill and Mary
Bowles)
5. Mary
Boles bp. Mar. 8, 1846 Cahir (parents were of Outrath)
(sponsors:
Joanne (could be John) Hearne and Margaret Gorman)
Michael Boules m. Margaret Guirey July 30, 1843 (both of New Inn)
Knockgraffon and New Inn
(Witnesses: Thomas Guirey and Mary Farrell)
1. Margaret Bowles bp. July 19, 1846 New Inn and Knockgraffon
(Sponsors: Thomas Guirey and Anne Bowles (married in Cahir in 1827
as shown above))
Michael Bowles was a witness at George's wedding, possibly his brother?
Other possible siblings of George
Bowles: Thomas Bowles of Rathgallen; Matthew Bowles of Outeragh
Other possible siblings of the
first James Bowels: Michael Bowles (see above; married to Ellen
Lonergan)
Ann and Bridget Bowles were likely
sisters and possibly were the daughters of the Michael Bowles above
(married to Margaret Guiry)
Matthew Bowles is the only Bowles
mentioned as a landowner in the area in the 1824 Tithe Applotment
List (note: this needs to be checked again more thoroughly as this
information is from an unconfirmed source). His presence on
the Tithe Defaulters List indicates a possibility that he was
Catholic (generally but can't be assumed). Both lists need to
be checked for other surname spelling variations.
This Catholic line is possibly
descended from one of the two Protestant Bowels listed at
Knockgraffon in 1776, John and Thomas. Thomas does seem to run
in the family but John does not.
There is also a current roadside monument on the R505 about 1 mile
out of New Inn:
In Loving Memory of
Patrick Boles
Golden
:Precious son of Tom and Rose,
brother of Tina, Veronica and Stephen,
uncle of Corey and Harry.
Died tragically
30th June 1996
aged 18 years
Sadly missed and always in our hearts and minds.
Love always and forever and ever
Sleep well son xxx |