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On the gatepost of my house, carved into the soft sandstone and still just legible if one looks for it, is the name "Kilgarron". One day I was bound to search Google to see where it took me. I did this morning. What I found was the name of the first person to own the house back in the 1880s and a bit about him.

He was William Raymond Garrett, originally from County Carlow in Ireland and a Solicitor (that being a form of attorney). He was born in 1840 and lived to be 85.

His son Arthur was around eight when the family moved to this house, and died in World War One as a Major in the Royal Engineers. I found this tribute to Arthur originally taken from the Royal Engineers Journal of September 1920.We print the following letter from Major-General Sir G. K. Scott-Moncrief, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., C.I.E.,R.E., containing a tribute to the late Major A. Garrett.

Dear Sir - I have read with great sorrow the account of the career of Major Garrett and I should like to offer a sincere tribute to the memory of so admirable and distinguished an officer and to state that, in my opinion, not only the Corps, but the scientific world, has lost in him one of its most rising men.

He passed through my hands when I was Instructor in Construction at the School of Military Engineering about 25 years ago, and I regarded him as one of the very best of the many talented young men with whom I was then brought in contact.

Later on, in India, he used to correspond with me about his remarkable researches into the theory of arched masonry dams, which he carried into practical effect with so much economy and success in Bajputana.

He subsequently sent me his diagrams about the discharge of water in channels, in connection with which his name will be always associated, and which seemed to me to be an admirable embodiment of scientific skill and practical knowledge.

Had he lived, he would have risen to the very highest rank among hydraulic engineers.

His life was given without stint to the service of his country, and while we mourn his loss, we look back with pride and admiration to his achievements.This is a note about the family, from the Irish Times archive:Sir, - Flann O'Riain, in his always interesting feature "Where's That?" referred (December 7th) to the Garretts of Fennagh (sic), Co. Carlow and questioned whether Kilgarron, Mountpleasant and Janeville were, in fact the same place. The short answer is yes, but some details may be of interest.

James Garrett was one of five English brothers who served under Cromwell and he afterwards settled in the townland of Kilgarron, near Fenagh. His grandson, Thomas, renamed the house - after his wife - Janeville, and his son James subsequently changed the name to Mountpleasant. This information is recorded on their respective tombstones in Fenagh churchyard.So, that's the tale of where my house is named after and by whom. The only other snippet which sprang off the Google search was that William Raymond Garrett's niece became the disappeared Earl of Lucan's granny. Maybe she visited.

Oh - and Arthur Garrett "supervised early restoration work" of the Jantar Mantar Indian astronomical observatory in Jaipur. I spent hours trying to get my head around that observatory when I visited it. And then I came back to England and bought the house he'd grown up in, and until today I didn't even know.

This

Major Arthur Ffolliott Garrett O.B.E. R.E

Must have been the son, Major Garrett.

And before you ask, My Grandfather served for a short time under a Major Garret when he volunteered to serve in the Royal Engineers, before America entered the war.

The name peaked my curiosity.

That's filled in several of my speculations Lars, thank you for finding it. So the Great War killed him but not until 1920, and he went to Clifton College. I couldn't find my copy of their Register on my shelf this afternoon when I tried to check but it seemed likely.

Which campaigns did your grandfather serve in?

He served with the Royal Engineers, VIII Corps,

If your grandfather's tale of his wartime experiences reached you - mine didn't, it wasn't a matter he ever discussed in my hearing - this would be a reasonable moment to sketch them out.

He told about being with the Engineers, who bivouac'd behind the Artillery, during the day, and went out at night to mind the "forward fortifications." (meaning mending the barbed wire, setting trip mines, and the like.) They would often be within hearing range of the German engineers, doing the same.

Some nights both teams would take a break and meet in the middle of the "No Man's Land" and swap foods and cigarettes, brandy and schnapps, and such.

Grandpa and several of the Brits spoke German, and many of the Germans spoke English, so they became quite comfortable with each other.

He also told of being in the "Laundry detail" after one battle. He was on a detail to go out and pick up the "dirty Laundry" from the field.

He never told much of the actual battles. He preferred tales the exploits he and his buddies had after the war.

He stayed in Europe for almost a year after the Armistice.

Most of those stories were told after Grandma had gone to bed.

what a cool story. Thanks for sharing...

spot;1371667 wrote: Oh - and Arthur Garrett "supervised early restoration work" of the Jantar Mantar Indian astronomical observatory in Jaipur. I spent hours trying to get my head around that observatory when I visited it. And then I came back to England and bought the house he'd grown up in, and until today I didn't even know. Very ironic...

What's more is that I've been reading of Charles Wilson(Just minutes ago) and his invention of the cloud chamber to only then come to the startling realization of just how many well educated, intelligent, and talented people we lost in world war one, among others, and couldn't help but feel how much more we might know if it hadn't been for war.

Then this guy goes and invents the cloud chamber, sits on it for years playing up in the atmosphere, then comes back to the cloud chamber to win a nobel prize! :yh_rotfl

Further information on the family :-

Semper fidelis. In loving memory of the Revd. James Garrett, of

Kilgarron, Precentor of the Cathedral of St. Lazerian and Rector of

Kellistown, born Oct. 10, 1810; died Oct. 18, 1879.

With Christ which is far better.

This tablet is erected by his sorrowing widow and children.


Sacred to the memory of William Garrett, Esq., of Janeville, who

departed this life at Kingstown, Feb. 22nd, 1865, aged 81 years.

His meekness, benevolence, and sincere piety gained for him universal

respect



425 County Carlow



and esteem. Truly the memory of the the just is blessed. Also to

Margaret his wife daughter of Samuel Raymond, Esq., Co. Kerry, who died

May 25th, 1857, aged 68 years. Also to Jane their second daughter who

died June 4th, 1844. Also to Catherine Georgina Augusta their eldest

daughter, who died June 24th, 1854. Also to Anna Maria their youngest

daughter, and the devoted wife of William Blakeman Robertson, Esq.,

Monchistown, Co. Dublin, who died June 19th, 1864. John II. chapter,

25, 26 verses.


Source: Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of

the Dead in Ireland,



Reverend James Perkins Garrett1

M, #332074, b. 10 October 1810, d. 18 October 1869

Last Edited=30 Oct 2009

Reverend James Garrett

Reverend James Perkins Garrett was born on 10 October 1810.2 He married Caroline Anne Elisabeth Moore, daughter of Colonel Hugh Moore and Priscilla Cecilia Armitage.2 He died on 18 October 1869 at age 59.2

He lived at Kilgarron, County Carlow, Ireland.1

Children of Reverend James Perkins Garrett and Caroline Anne Elisabeth Moore

Elizabeth Sydney Jane Garrett+ d. 5 Dec 1912

Priscilla Cecilia Garrett2 b. c 1835, d. 4 Jan 1911

Margaret Clarissa Garrett+3 b. c 1838, d. 4 Apr 1915

William Raymond Garrett2 b. 11 Aug 1840, d. 1925

James Hugh Moore Garrett2 b. 1842

Colonel Annesley John Garrett2 b. 4 Jan 1846, d. 25 May 1923

Jane Harriette Garrett2 b. 1851

Sylvia Christina Armitage Garrett2 b. c 1853, d. 1887

Citations

[S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 3, page 3271. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.

[S3961] Gus Gem, "re: Gem Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger LUNDY (101053), 7 September 2009. Hereinafter cited as "re: Gem Family."

[S37] Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.

Margaret Clarissa Garrett1

F, #332075, b. circa 1838, d. 4 April 1915

Last Edited=19 Oct 2009

Margaret Clarissa Garrett was born circa 1838.3 She married Vesey Edmund Knox, son of Reverend Edmond Francis Knox and Mary Anne Ward, on 1 October 1862.1 She died on 4 April 1915.1

She was the daughter of Reverend James Perkins Garrett and Caroline Anne Elisabeth Moore.2,3 From 1 October 1862, her married name became Knox.

Children of Margaret Clarissa Garrett and Vesey Edmund Knox

Frances Cecilia Caroline Knox2 d. 1953

Edmund Francis Vesey Knox+2 b. 23 Jan 1865, d. 15 May 1921

Charles Thomas Gisborne Knox+2 b. 31 Mar 1868, d. 1957

Maj.-Gen. Sir Alfred William Fortescue Knox2 b. 30 Oct 1870, d. 9 Mar 1964

General Sir Harry Hugh Sidney Knox+2 b. 5 Nov 1873, d. 10 Jun 1971

Elsie Flora Maud Knox2 b. c 1878, d. 28 Oct 1965

Citations

[S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 3, page 3271. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.

[S37] Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.

[S3961] Gus Gem, "re: Gem Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger LUNDY (101053), 7 September 2009. Hereinafter cited as "re: Gem Family."




I note that one source is ten years out in the date of the Reverend's demise.



b. John Winter Humphrys, born 1829, married 1854 Priscilla who died in 1911 and was a daughter of Rev James Perkins Garrett of Kilgarron or Janeville, Co Carlow. John died in 1884 and Ballyhaise passed to his son William, Anna Maria’s grandson, who served in the Royal Navy. Ballyhaise was sold by William’s second son, Nugent Winter Humphrys, at the beginning of the 1900s, and is now an agricultural college.


Many of the family wills from around the time are given in :-

Print Page - Annesley family CASTLEWELLAN MOORE GARRETT WALLACE YOUNG MARKHAM

and a lovely photograph of the Rev's fourth daughter is at :-

Image_detail

Part of his family tree is shown in :-

Visitation of Ireland - Joseph Jackson Howard, Frederick Arthur Crisp - Google Books

Bryn Mawr;1372493 wrote: and a lovely photograph of the Rev's fourth daughter is at :-Negative size: 12" x 15".

They don't take them like that any more.

I am the great-grandson of William Raymond Garrett and have much family information about him and the Garrett family. If anyone would like further details, contact me.

Thank you for taking the time to register and add your comment, it's very pleasing. If you've noticed any mistakes in what's been written I'd be grateful to have them corrected.

Do you know how long the family's connection with Bristol continued? Clifton College is only a short walk from here, the house would have been a convenient place for any subsequent boys to have lived during term time.

spot;1374297 wrote: Do you know how long the family's connection with Bristol continued? Clifton College is only a short walk from here, the house would have been a convenient place for any subsequent boys to have lived during term time.


I am afraid I don't know. Arthur ffolliott Garrett was his youngest son and would have left Clifton in about 1893. I wonder if the house was for his use. William would probably have been well-heeled enough to have bought a house for that purpose. The family records suggest that, when he sold up in Ireland and moved to England, he himself first lived in Tunbridge Wells and when he retired from the War Office he moved to Haywards Heath in Sussex. He lived in a rented house a few doors up the hill from the house I grew up in and very near to his son James Hugh Eliot Garrett. I have a digital copy of his scrap book. He compiled it in retirement and it is full of family and friends related clippings.

Incidently Arthur ffolliott died in Marseilles of malignant malaria on his way back from India and is buried there. I have a few things of his - an excellent pencil portrait and his writing box among them.

spot;1374297 wrote: Do you know how long the family's connection with Bristol continued? Clifton College is only a short walk from here, the house would have been a convenient place for any subsequent boys to have lived during term time.


I have just come across this

Title : Date of Death : 29 March 1891

Surname : Annesley Date of Grant : 6 May 1891

Forename : Priscilla Cecilia Dowager Countess Reseal Date :

Registry : Belfast Effects : Effects £5,580 9s. 10d.

Open Image

Full Abstract :

The Will of Priscilla Cecilia Dowager Countess Annesley late of Donard Lodge Newcastle County Down Widow who died 29 March 1891 at same place was proved at Belfast by William Raymond Garrett of Kilgarron Beaconsfield-road Clifden Bristol Esquire and Nugent Talbot Everard of Randlestown Navan County Meath Esquire J.P. D.L. the Executors.

That was the trigger for the thread, I've not seen any other connection between the family and the house but I do take it to be pretty substantial evidence.

Agreed

I can now confirm the Garrett family connection to Kilgarron, Clifton. I was today browsing an old Garrett family photo album and found a picture labelled "Kilgarron, Clifton". It is an interior shot with a woman sitting at a writing desk and a youth in an easy chair reading a newspaper. It is dated Sept 88.

Magus;1416927 wrote: I can now confirm the Garrett family connection to Kilgarron, Clifton. I was today browsing an old Garrett family photo album and found a picture labelled "Kilgarron, Clifton". It is an interior shot with a woman sitting at a writing desk and a youth in an easy chair reading a newspaper. It is dated Sept 88.


I moved in 100 years after that, to the month.

If you'd like to email a scan or photo of the picture to beaconsfield@gmail.com I'll take a photo of the same location and put them both into the thread. I even have a convenient writing desk.



eta: same chap as spot, different posting account.

"Uncle Arthur" was the person I had to live up to while at Clifton........ incidentally, FG, he is on the War Memorial Arch on College Road, if you care to look. His widow, my Aunt Ida, I knew for many years until she died. She lived with her sister, my great grandmother, and my grandparents, in Herefordshire, after Partition. I have Uncle Arthur's instruments. He is buried in the Military Cemetery in (just outside) Marseilles. He was awarded one of the very first OBEs in 1917 for his work on the North West Frontier, civil engineering again! The Chartered Institute of Civil Engineers have a prize awarded in his name to this day, and his treatises on dams and culverts are still used. A remarkable, humorous and self effacing man. I feel a sense of loss never to have had the privilege of knowing him. His widow never accepted that he was dead, and continued trying to contact him via "psychics" (taking her money) till the day she died in 1964, poor thing. she was nearly 100. So, is your house on Beaconsfield Road? I used to live on Apsley Road until 1973.........

Attached files

Hi Ian,

As I said earlier in the thread, I am related to Arthur (also always known in our family as Uncle Arthur) and have some mementos of him. I am descended from his eldest brother, James Hugh Eliot Garrett (d 1938 so I did not know him) but I did know the middle brother John Raymond Garrett who didn't die until 1952 - he lived fairly close to us and used to come over for tea fairly regularly. He was a cheery soul - very much the bluff ex-marine.

The sum total of my information about Arthur is:

Clifton College and Woolwich (Pollock Medal)

Royal Engineers

Irrigation Engineer

Fanatical amateur astronomer he restored the great Observatory at Jaipur (Jantar Mantar)

Author with Chandradhar Guleri: 'The Jaipur Observatory and its Builder'

Wounded Suuvla Bay, Gallipoli

Afghan War - CRE of the 2nd Division

OBE (1917) for services on the North West Frontier

m 18 Dec 1900 Dehra Dun(Dehradun), Bengal(incorrect, actually Uttarakhand)

Caught acute malaria in Peshawar and d Marseilles on the way home

bur. Mazargues War Cemetery, Marseilles 45 III. C. 13,.

I have vague memories in my teens of the family talking about Aunt Ida though I never met her.

The information I have about her is:

dau. of the Rev James F A Gawin (b not known), Chaplain to the Bengal Establishment

m.(reg Dec 1871 W. Ham 4a 105) to Matilda Mary Ann Bearchell (b reg Dec 1849 W Ham 12 271)

FamilySearch transcription of the Indian marriage record gives her name as Ida Gavin and her father's as Jeremial Fitz Anstin Gavin! (possibly should be Jeremiah Fitzaustin Gavin)

I would be most grateful for any additions/corrections.

All the best,

Gus

Gus,

Thank you so much for this, fascinating. Yes, it was Jeremiah FitzAustin Gavin who was Aunt Ida's father. Aunt Ida and my great grandmother (Ella Maude) were sisters. Aunt Ida lived with her sister from when war broke out in 1939 until my great-grandmother died, then continued living with my grandparents with her own maid until she died in 1964. She had weekly seances to try to establish contact.... Eurgh! Jeremiah married Emily Sophia Jackson in Dublin in 1849 then worked as a curate in Manchester. I feel that James must be another person, possibly a brother. Emily Sophia died in Liguria in 1912. She bore him 12 children........ Aunt Ida was rather like the teacher in the Harry Potter films who did the psychic readings..... Vague, bottle glasses, ethereal...... Quite unlike my great grandmother, who was a) grounded, b) humorous and c) vivacious. I think that when Uncle Arthur died, the light had gone out of her life. Very sad, but so common around that time. My ancestry.co.uk record has much information. Btw, do you know who had Uncle Arthur's medals? His OBE was one of the first awarded!!! My wife had hers two years ago, so exciting!

Iain -have a look at your personal messages.

Gus