(update from a DNA cousin ...Ardvarney was the house of the Elliotts in Dromahair. Perhaps David was not able to transcribe this from the original. Dromahair is 6 miles from Manorhamilton. Another correction would be Edward Frazer of Annagh, not Amagh. Thank you Kathy!)
This transcription was shared with me several months ago by David Burrows, who has done extensive research over many years into the Burrows of Sligo. His research has been invaluable and truly appreciated. This is a memorial of a deed of settlement. I had to do some research of my own to find out about registered deeds and what a memorial was....
There is a wonderful website called The Registry of Deeds Index Project Ireland that can be found at irishdeedsindex.net. The purpose of the project is to provide finding aids for the records held at the Registry of Deeds in Dublin. The Registry of Deeds is located in Henrietta Street, Dublin, Ireland, and is a repository of records of wills, land transactions and other deeds dating from 1709. What I didn't know was that the original purpose of the Registry of Deeds was to enforce rules limiting the land transactions of Catholics...just a part of a sad and long chapter of Irish history to be sure. The Registry of Deeds is, however, a rich source of genealogical information, especially when looking at family relationships. I was very happy to receive this transcription from David. It provides some background information on Alexander Burrows of Drum before his last will of 1889 and gives some insight into the content of the letters I have been sharing.
This is a memorial of a deed. The original deed was executed the 13th day of November, 1835 and was a deed of marriage settlement. It was much like a modern day pre-nuptial agreement, except that in the past these agreements were meant to make provisions for when a husband or wife predeceased the other, not in case of divorce. Original deeds were kept by the parties to the deed or by their legal representatives.
This deed was a written agreement stating that Alexander Burrows and Frances Elliott intended to be married. It stated that the bride's father Adam Elliott was going to provide a marriage portion (L400 sterling) and that Adam Elliott was transferring his property in Manor Hamilton, County Leitrim, to Frances and Alexander to benefit from jointly, and to benefit Frances if Alexander might predecease her. Trustees were put in place to guarantee the provisions of the deed for Frances if Alexander died before she did. The trustees were Thomas Irwin of Moorfield and Alexander Burrows of Carrowcrin (I am not sure which Alexander Burrows this was. It could have been Alexander Burrows of Drum's father). The property would be passed down to any children that Alexander might appoint in his will (which he did in 1889).
The memorial of this deed was registered the 7th day of August, 1848. A memorial was essentially a copy of the original deed and was a sworn true representation of the original deed. A memorial could be a verbatim copy of the original, or a broad synopsis setting out the main features. A memorial needed to be signed by at least one party to the deed, and at least one witness to the original deed. So, at some point, Alexander felt the need to register this deed with a memorial in 1848. Registered deeds had precedence over unregistered deeds. There was a strong incentive to register a deed with a memorial if the grantee thought there might be a dispute sometime in the future. This deed was registered some 13 years after the original settlement, which was not unusual. Most deeds were registered months after execution. By this time Alexander and Fanny had at least 4 children.
This memorial is very important as it gives us the names of my great great grandfather's mother and maternal grandfather. Those are names and relationships I can add to the working tree. It also provides additional names and places: Thomas Irwin of Moorefield, Alexander Burrows of Carrowcrin, Elliott Burrows of Carrowcrin, Randle Phibbs of Heathfield (subsequently of Grange) and Edward Frazer of Annagh. These relationships need further research. Irwin, Phibbs and Frazer are names that are deeply intertwined with the Burrows through marriages and give me some dna connections to other cousins.
There are many deeds and memorials hidden in Dublin, just waiting to be transcribed. All of the memorial books and indexes at the Registry of Deeds were microfilmed by the Mormons in the 1950's. The work of transcribing each entry is currently being done by many volunteers. I want to thank David for finding this microfilmed entry, finishing the transcription and sharing it. There must be many more deeds and memorials tied to the Burrows and allied families buried in these volumes reaching further back into the past. The search continues.....
Registry of Deeds Transcription Books
https://irishdeedsindex.net/index.php
Information on deeds and memorials was taken from this website.
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The following tree is our "working tree". It will change as we do more research, fit more pieces together and verify family members. This is the basic tree as of now.
Alexander Burrows of Carrowcrin (based on his will of 1834) father to....
*
Johnston Burrows m. Mary Moysten parents of Mary Anne Burrows (m. George Foster) parents of Georgina Foster (see Thomas Burrows below)
Alexander Burrows of Drum (based on his will of 1889) m. Frances "Fanny" Elliot, youngest daughter of Adam Elliott (based on the Memorial of a Deed of Settlement 1848, original marriage around 1835) parents of.....
*
1. Margaret Burrows Porteus (married Robert Porteus) of Clara
*daughter Frances "Fanny" Porteus Graham
2. Jane Burrows (married Adam Elliott White) of Sligo. The White family lived at WhiteHall (Whitehall), County Leitrim, Ireland.
*son Robert Alexander White born at Whitehall, County Leitrim, Ireland.
3. Adam Burrows (was living in Drum in 1890; lived at the asylum in Sligo sometime after that. )
4. Alexander Burrows (married Elizabeth Jane Hurd in America) my G G Grandparents; they lived in Grass Valley, California.
5. John Elliott Burrows (came to America) m. Margaret O'Leary in St. Louis. Children Frances Burrows Riley and Thomas A. Burrows.
6. Thomas Burrows (bequeathed house and land in Drum and was to look after Adam per will of 1889. Left for America shortly after his father's death). M. Georgina Foster b. 1871 d. 1890. Per marriage index Ireland, Civil Registration of Marriage, she married Thomas in 1888. This relationship was also mentioned in Emy's letter of 24 June, 1890).
7. Ismena "Emy" Burrows (spent time in America but went back home to Ireland to claim her inheritance, per letters written in 1890)
8. Elizabeth Burrows (came to America) and married Hermann Bucher in 1892 in New York; was called Emma (based on letters written by Hermann Bucher)
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