"The last will and testament of Alexander Burrows of Drum in the Parish of Ballysumaghan in the County of Sligo"....this is an enlarged section of the beginning of his will.
The Will of Alexander Burrows Witnessed 6 Aug 1889 Ireland Wills and Grants of Probate, 1858-1900 Ancestry.com (it begins on the right hand side, bottom corner).
Page two, left hand side
In my last several posts I have begun to share letters that were written by Jane Burrows White and Ismena Burrows, daughters of Alexander Burrows, my third great grandfather. They were written in 1890 to their brother, my Great Great Grandfather Alexander Burrows, who was living in Grass Valley, California. They were written in June, August and December of 1890 from Jane's home in County Leitrim, called Whitehall (or WhiteHall). Their father passed away on the 9th of August, 1889 in Drum, County Sligo, Ireland. These letters give a glimpse into the family dynamics as they tried to resolve conflicts over the will, even a year after their father's death.
This map shows the counties of Ireland. County Leitrim shares half its western border with County Sligo. Both are in the Province of Connaught, in the Republic of Ireland. WhiteHall was located in the area of Tullycooley (Tullycoly Townland) County Leitrim, very close to the border with County Sligo.
In order to understand the context of the letters, we need to look at the will itself. This was the will that Alexander Burrows finalized on the 6th of August, several days before he died. He added a codicil the next day on the 7th of August, 1889. He passed away on the 9th of August, 1889. The will was proved in Ballina on the 18th of January, 1890.
1890
The will contains clues as to the area the Burrows lived in, what they did for a living, and how much land they owned by 1890. I have added maps and other bits of research information for reference points throughout the transcription of the will. I would like to say thank you to my Burrows DNA cousins for all their research into the area and for sharing their information. This is my transcription that I did last summer.....I have underlined family names to help with the context of the letters.
Will of Alexander Burrows 1889
The last will and testament of Alexander Burrows of Drum in the Parish of Ballysumaghan in the County of Sligo, I hereby bequeath to my son Thomas Rutledge Burrows the house and land called Drum in the Parish of Ballysumaghan in the County of Sligo for his use and benefit with all cattle stock and crop standing or otherwise in the above mentioned land with goods and chattels in the house of Drum and I desire the land called Lurgan owned by me to be sold and out of the proceeds of sale the sum of two hundred pounds to be held in trust and invested for the benefit of my son Adam Burrows and the Rev'd Thomas Henry Moulsdale I appoint trustee for the [same?] and the said Thomas Henry Moulsdale is to see that my son Adam Burrows be paid quarterly the interest on the above mentioned sum of two hundred pounds for his sole use and benefit....
Screenshot of Drumederalena Townland, Co. Sligo. Drum is in the purple area. Rosses Point is circled in the top left hand corner. Jane White went to Rosses Point in June of 1890 (see post from 20 March 2022). townlands.ie
A close up of Drumederalena Townland (Drum), County Sligo. You can see the dotted line marking the division between Co. Sligo and Co. Leitrim. townlands.ie. Was Drum House located here? I believe so.
Tullycoly Township in relation to Drum House (small orange dot). WhiteHall, the home of Adam and Jane Burrows White, was located in the area of (Tullycoly) Tullycooley, but is no longer standing. Note the county division line between Leitrim and Sligo. townlands.ie
...And I further bequeath from the proceeds of the abovementioned sale of my farm Lurgan the sum of one hundred pounds to my granddaughter Francis Burrows the daughter of my son John Burrows now residing in America. And a further one hundred pounds I bequeath to my daughter Jane White the same to be paid out of the proceeds of the above mentioned sale of Lurgan. To my son Alexander Burrows now residing in America I bequeath the sum of one hundred pounds the said sum to paid out of the proceeds of the sale of Lurgan farm......
Lurgan Townland, County Sligo, screenshot. It is two miles from Collooney. townlands.ie The location of the orange dot is where I believe Drum House stands today.
Newspaper article from 1890 shared by DNA cousins. This gives wonderful descriptors for where the farm was located, and what the land was used for.
....I further desire the sum of one hundred pounds to be paid from the sale of Lurgan for the benefit of the Church and Parish of Ballysumaghan the said sum to be used in such a manner as the incumbent the Rev'd. Thomas Henry Mousldale and Church Wardens of the said Parish may consider most beneficial. ...
Note where the orange dot is. The blue X is where Lurgan Farm was located. The yellow circle denotes the Ballysumaghan Church of Ireland.
Googlemaps
Location of Ballysumaghan Church. It is around 3 miles from where Drum House is located. Also note the location of Fannybrook in the left hand bottom corner. Other family members lived in this location. Fanny (Frances) was a name that repeated often in the Burrows lines.
Ballysumaghen Church and Cemetery. The Reverend Thomas Henry Platt Moulsdale was Rector of the Parish for 8 years and was buried here as were several Burrows. A DNA cousin visited there several years ago and said that the corner area where the Burrows are buried has been long forgotten and not maintained.
....I also desire a further sum of one hundred pounds to be paid out of the proceeds of the sale of Lurgan to my daughter Margaret Porteus for her use and benefit. I also desire the sum of ten pounds to be paid to Mrs. McDonough for her kindness and attention to me during my illness the said sum of ten pounds also to be paid out of the proceeds of the above mentioned sale of Lurgan. The residue of the above mentioned proceeds of the sale of Lurgan after all my just debts and funeral expenses are paid to be equally divided between my grandchildren the daughters and sons of Adam and Jane White for their sole use and benefit. The sum of three hundred pounds now invested in the Provincial Bank in Sligo the receipt of which will be found amongst my papers I bequeath to my daughter Esmenia otherwise called Amy Burrows now residing in America......
The Provincial Bank on Stephen Street, Sligo. Built in 1877. Now the Allied Irish Bank. Ismena needed to come back home to Ireland to claim her inheritance (see post of 4 April, 2022).
....All my property situated in the town of Manorhamilton in the Parish of Cloonclare in the County of Leitrim I bequeath to my son Adam Burrows the same to be held in trust by the above mentioned Rev'd. Thomas Henry Moulsdale and the proceeds of rents to be paid quarterly for the benefit of the said Adam Burrows. And I further request that my son Thomas Rutledge Burrows take charge and look after my son Adam Burrows and in case of the death of the said Adam Burrows my son Thomas Rutledge Burrows is to inherit the above mentioned interest in my said property in the town of Manorhamilton and the above mentioned sum of two hundred from the sale of Lurgan.....
Googlemaps
Alexander Burrows owned property in Manor Hamilton. This may have been acquired through marriage when Francis Elliott married Alexander Burrows of Drum (currently being researched).
....I desire that William Crawford [?] and the Rev'd. Thomas Henry Mousldale should act as executors. Alex'r Burrows Witness E. Tyrrell Cummings Aug. 6th 1889
Thomas Henry Mousldale incumbent of Ballysumaghan Aug. 6th 1889
I further request that my watch chain be given to George Armstrong now working with me and all my clothes be given to my son Adam Burrows Alex'r Burrows Witness E. Tyrrell Cummings 7th August 1889
Thomas Henry Moulsdale incumbent of Ballysumaghan 7th August 1889
Will of Alexander Burrows 1889
Will book 1865-1891 FHL Film No. 100925 No. 534/535
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Where exactly was Drum House located? I received this piece of information from a DNA cousin from Australia that I recently made contact with. It turns out that he had been in contact with Auntie Claire many years ago, and unfortunately they did not stay connected with each other. It was serendipitous that he and I reconnected after all these years. I am not sure when this was printed, but it was sometime after 1986. It looks like a real estate listing.
The current Drum House, taken from a 2018 real estate listing found on the internet and shared by another DNA cousin. It is hard to tell, but the garden pathway looks similar to the one above.
Drum House side view. This looks like the same house.
Drum House view from the fields.
Drum House. Notice the small lodging house in the front of the property. This was described in the first real estate listing, and was a later addition, as were some of the outbuildings.
Drum House location with footprint of buildings circled in orange.
Sooey Townland, County Sligo in purple. Notice the footprint of Drum House circled in orange.
Alexander Burrows specified that William Crawford was to act as one of his executors. William Crawford (senior) was a farmer who was from Sooey. In Jane White's letter of June 26th, 1890 she wrote that William Crawford was in the presence of Alexander Burrows several days before he died, and that a year later brother "Adam etes (eats) in Crawfords as no one is in Drum to cook for him". I found Sooey Townland on the map in relation to the current Drum House. If you walk across the fields, it is a mere 1-2 miles, depending on exactly where the Crawford farm was located. William Crawford was most likely a close neighbor familiar with the Burrows family. It is not hard to imagine that we have found the Burrows' Drum House!
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