Thank you, Clare, for the best Christmas gift a genealogist could hope for - more information about elusive Irish ancestors from the early 1800s! My searches at the Chief Secretary's Office Registered Papers website turned up several letters referring to the murder in May 1821 of my gggg-gfather Thomas Kavanagh at Clonboo near Templemore, Co. Tipperary. He was a victim of the agrarian violence that was widespread in the south of Ireland that year. It would appear from their online descriptions that the letters contain information about (1) the events that led to the attack on the house of Thomas Kavanagh's son Daniel Kavanagh and wife Ellen nee Keyes (my ggg-gparents) in which Thomas was killed and (2) the subsequent trials of some of those prosecuted in the case, who were acquitted as far as I can tell. According to a coroner's report I found two years ago in the Freeman's Journal (Wednesday, June 6, 1821), Ellen's father John Keyes (my other gggg-gfather) was the intended victim of the murderers, who instead killed Thomas Kavanagh in the darkness and confusion. I have mentioned this event on the list previously (see http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/CoTipperary/2011-02/1298017853). The coroner's report was also reprinted verbatim in a magazine called The Antijacobin review and Protestant advocate. This magazine is online at Google Books - here is a shortened URL: *http://tinyurl.com/6o3gvl3 *Despite the magazine's title, the families in this case (Kavanagh and Keyes) were Catholic - a fact not mentioned in the report. The entries I found at the CSORP website indicate that several of the murderers were tried at the County Tipperary Assizes at Clonmel later in 1821 (sometime between July and September perhaps). Few other names are mentioned in the online summaries. One was the crown witness, David Doyle, whose "bad character" was said to have led to the acquittal of the accused murderers, one of whom was James Brute [alternate spelling Bruite? - GWB]. I have no idea whether these men also came from the Templemore area. One of the letters is said to contain a copy of the notice left in Kavanagh's house by his assassins, threatening death to anyone who had recently taken a lease at Clonboo in place of former tenants. The notice was signed "Captain Lightfoot's corps" - Lightfoot being one of the alternative names for "Captain Rock", the alias for vigilantes who avenged agrarian "wrongs" in Ireland in the early 1800s. Some background about Rockite unrest in 1821 insofar as it relates to the CSORP collections appears here: http://www.csorp.nationalarchives.ie/context/1821.html . At the CSORP website, I also found further letters, either from or referring to George Lidwell of Dromard (also near Templemore). My Keyes and Kavanagh families were closely connected with the Lidwell and Bennett families in the area around Templemore. All were tenants or under-tenants of Somerset Richard Butler, 3rd earl of Carrick, who held much land in the vicinity. There were further connections later in the US between members of the Keyes and Lidwell families who settled in St. Louis, Missouri. I guess these letters will have to go onto my list of things to look at if ever I return to Dublin, since these letters are not among the limited few whose images are online at the CSORP website. It looks like there is some interesting material in the CSORP collection, even if your ancestor was not murdered! Happy Holidays to all, Geralyn Wood Barry in Oregon, USA On 12/22/2011 6:14 AM, Clare Tuohy wrote: > Forwarding information received today from Aideen Ireland in the National archives - Maybe of interest to someone as it deals with the early years of 1800 - The catalogue is not finished yet. So if you want respite from the Christmas celebrations and gaiety/noise this may be of help. > Regards > Clare > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Aideen Ireland > To: Aideen Ireland > Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2011 11:48 AM > Subject: Chief Secretary's Office Registered Papers > > > Dear Colleagues, > > You might be interested in the new C.S.O.R.P. site. > > The site went "live" this morning. > > http://www.csorp.nationalarchives.ie/ > > With best wishes to all, > Aideen Ireland > > Aideen M. Ireland, > Head,Reader Services Division, > National Archives of Ireland, > Bishop Street,Dublin 8. > Tel. 01 4072 300 > FAX 01 4072 333 > >