Hi Listers: After much searching I found my Great Grandfather John Pendergast at the PRO at Kew. He was listed among the deserters of the British Army. I never knew his regiment, only that per Aunt Nonie --"he was in the British Army and they treated him mean so he swam the channel and came to America." She also mentioned that he had received the Victoria Cross. That was not true. I suspect the channel swim was a bit of a stretch too. Deserters records are very good. They tell you the place where the enlistment occurred. John enlisted in Tuam on June 7 1847. He was in the 63 Regiment of Foot. He deserted on May 8, 1850 at Bury. (From another site it was known to be a place where Galway people fled during the famine.) It is a place close to Liverpool where other ancestors left for America. His age at enlistment was 25 3/4. So John was born around September 1824. Does anyone have access to baptismal records for the area around Tuam for that time frame. He and his wife had three children after marrying in Brooklyn, New York. None had any Pendergast godparents. Any assistance would be appreciated. Pauline San Diego

If he was Church of Ireland most of those church records for the area surrounding Tuam have survived. The smaller churches in the area forwarded their books to St. Mary's as they closed down over the last 100 years. Several books are still kept in the St. Mary's church vault but most were sent to the Church Library in Dublin several years ago. I know one book is missing. Peter Mitchell (Searching for Mitchell's & D'Arcy's around Clifden, Derrigimlagh, Ballyconnelly or Tuam in Galway County or anyplace in Monaghan County) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Pauline Salmon" <lordsalmon@earthlink.net> To: <IRL-GALWAY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 10:19 AM Subject: [GALWAY] Pendergast > Hi Listers: > > After much searching I found my Great Grandfather John Pendergast at the PRO at Kew. He was listed among the deserters of the British Army. I never knew his regiment, only that per Aunt Nonie --"he was in the British Army and they treated him mean so he swam the channel and came to America." She also mentioned that he had received the Victoria Cross. That was not true. I suspect the channel swim was a bit of a stretch too. > > Deserters records are very good. They tell you the place where the enlistment occurred. John enlisted in Tuam on June 7 1847. He was in the 63 Regiment of Foot. He deserted on May 8, 1850 at Bury. (From another site it was known to be a place where Galway people fled during the famine.) It is a place close to Liverpool where other ancestors left for America. > > His age at enlistment was 25 3/4. So John was born around September 1824. > > Does anyone have access to baptismal records for the area around Tuam for that time frame. He and his wife had three children after marrying in Brooklyn, New York. None had any Pendergast godparents. > > Any assistance would be appreciated. > > Pauline > San Diego > > > ==== IRL-GALWAY Mailing List ==== > Galway, City of Tribes: http://www.irishholidays.com/ggtest.shtml > Ireland GenWeb Co. Galway site: http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlgal/Galway.html > To unsub or change your Irl-Galway mailing mode: http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/IRL/IRL-GALWAY.html > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. > Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.7.0 - Release Date: 3/8/2005 > >

Pauline, The following might be tangentially relevant to your Pendergast search. Lough Cutra is in southern Galway. I was interested in it because one of my ancestors probably married a Prindergast in that part of the world at the beginning of the 19th century. The following excerpt is taken from "Beagh, a history and heritage", editors Marie McNamara & Maura Madden. It can be found on pages79-80. This book is definitely a desktop must-have for anyone doing research on this part of Galway. LORDS AND LORE OF LOUGH CUTRA THE EARLY history of Lough Cutra is a well documented subject and is exclusively dealt with in "The Story of an Irish Property" written by Robert S. Rait in 1908. The latter part of this book gives a comprehensive background to the families of Gort and Gough who lived in Lough Cutra and have had such a profound impact on this area in general. In contrast the lives of the tenantry and workmen of the estate is described in great detail in the folklore collected by the Irish Folklore Commission in the 1930's. Our story which is mainly an amalgamation of these two accounts commences with the Gort family who were so captivated by the beauty of the area around Lough Cutra that they made it their home. The Prendergasts first came to Ireland from Pembrokeshire in 1169. Thomas Prendergast who later became Lord Gort was descended from a Tipperary branch of the family. Thomas who was originally a Jacobite later espoused the Williamite cause, following his involvement in the Assassination plot against William of Orange in 1696. Prendergast himself was indeed a leading member of the conspirators, however as the date arranged for the terrible deed drew near, it appears he was overcome with feelings of guilt and went on to divulge the details of the plot to William. His disclosure of the perpetrators of the crime was revealed only on the pretext that his associates would not be charged of the crime. However, following his exposure of the names of the conspirators, they were promptly put under arrest and executed forthwith. For his part in the preservation of William of Orange on the English throne, William rewarded him with a high rank in the army and a grant of the Lough Cutra and Gort inse Guaire estates, which essentially comprised the confiscated property of the O'Shaughnessys. While living in Gort, Thomas Prendergast was M.P. for Monaghan, having being made a baronet in 1690. In the war of the Spanish Succession Sir Thomas held the high office of Brigadier-General until he finally met his fate at the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709. Sir Thomas had married Penelope, sister of the Earl of Cadogan and had by her a son Thomas, who inherited his title and estates and two daughters, namely Juliana and Elizabeth. Penelope had an annuity of £200 charged upon the Galway estates. She leased Knockmow, Tiraloughan, Carrowgarriff, the islands in Lough Cutra and other lands to her agent and another tenant in 1718. The estate which her son inherited was valued at £3000 a year in 1723. The second Sir Thomas Prendergast was a man of great influence and was an M.P. for Chichester and Clonmel and later occupied the position of Postmaster-General of Ireland. His possession of the Gort estates had been endangered by a suit brought against him in the interests of the O'Shaughnessys. The litigation between the O'Shaughnessys and the Prendgergasts continued for many years with the O'Shaughnessys flnaI1y being forced to relinquish aI1 interests to the Gort properties in 1770. The lawsuit had exhausted the financial resources of the second baronet, forcing him to seI1 Prendergast property in Tipperary. The Lord ChanceI1or, Lord Mansfield had procured a considerable amount of money for him, as a mortgage on the property, to enable Prendergast to prosecute the suit. Lord Brougham is thought to have been the real owner of the mortgage who sold his claim to Vicesimus Knox who was in fact Lord Mansfield's nephew. Knox subsequently lent Prendergast further capital for the erection of the castle at Lough Cutra. This combined loan was the debt on the property which passed to Sir Thomas' heir in 1852. Sir Thomas died without male issue in 1760, as preparations were being made to grant him the title of Viscount Clonmel. The estates of the second baronet passed to his sister Juliana's son, John Smyth, who changed his name to Prendergast in 1760 but was later known as John Prendergast Smyth, M.P. for Limerick. He devoted himself to the management of the estate and is credited with the founding of the modern town of Gort. He erected a house, near to the bridge in Gort, aptly called Bridge House, which has long since been in the possession of the Sisters of Mercy. He lived in this house until the castle at Lough Cutra was completed by his heir. Under his patronage industries were established in the town, including a successful tanyard and brewery and the facilities for town houses were also afforded by him. John Prendergast Smyth was given the title Baron Kiltartan in 181 0 and for six years had the title of Viscount Gort conferred on him. Having no male issue, Lord Kiltartan adopted his nephew Charles Vereker to succeed him. Charles was son of Thomas Vereker of Roxboro by John Prendergast Smith's sister Julia. This title passed to Vereker, who became the second Viscount Gort. The foI1owing year he became owner of Lough Cutra estate, which at that this time comprised 12,000 acres. The family of Vereker, who thus came to represent the families of Prendergast and Smyth were of Dutch origin. They first settled in Limerick during the reign of Queen Anne where they purchased the estate of Roxboro. In the rebellion of 1798, Charles Vereker played a distinguished part as Colonel of the City of Limerick Regiment, defeating the French forces under General Humbert at Colooney, Co. Sligo. From 1807 to 1810, Colonel Vereker held the position of Lord of the Treasury for Ireland. He also acted in the capacity of magistrate for the Gort area. Pádraig (the Paddy that was) -----Original Message----- From: IRL-GALWAY-L-request@rootsweb.com [mailto:IRL-GALWAY-L-request@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Pauline Salmon Sent: 08 March 2005 16:20 To: IRL-GALWAY-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [GALWAY] Pendergast Hi Listers: After much searching I found my Great Grandfather John Pendergast at the PRO at Kew. He was listed among the deserters of the British Army. I never knew his regiment, only that per Aunt Nonie --"he was in the British Army and they treated him mean so he swam the channel and came to America." She also mentioned that he had received the Victoria Cross. That was not true. I suspect the channel swim was a bit of a stretch too. Deserters records are very good. They tell you the place where the enlistment occurred. John enlisted in Tuam on June 7 1847. He was in the 63 Regiment of Foot. He deserted on May 8, 1850 at Bury. (From another site it was known to be a place where Galway people fled during the famine.) It is a place close to Liverpool where other ancestors left for America. His age at enlistment was 25 3/4. So John was born around September 1824. Does anyone have access to baptismal records for the area around Tuam for that time frame. He and his wife had three children after marrying in Brooklyn, New York. None had any Pendergast godparents. Any assistance would be appreciated. Pauline San Diego ==== IRL-GALWAY Mailing List ==== Galway, City of Tribes: http://www.irishholidays.com/ggtest.shtml Ireland GenWeb Co. Galway site: http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlgal/Galway.html To unsub or change your Irl-Galway mailing mode: http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/IRL/IRL-GALWAY.html ============================== View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find marriage announcements and more. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx