Ferguson (Smithfield)
The Fergusons of Rathkeale, county Limerick, descend from David Ferguson and his wife Margaret O'Conner. Their eldest son John (born 1797), a solicitor, married Mary Leake and it was their son David Ferguson of Smithfield, Croagh, county Limerick, who in the 1870s owned 778 acres in the county. David Ferguson was also a solicitor. He married Susan daughter of Julius Delmege of Rathkeale and had a son and two daughters. David's uncle Robert Ferguson bought over a thousand acres (Rathkeale Abbey, Knockanavad and Garryduff) of the estate of Anna and [her daughter] Alice Leake (an infant) for sale in the Encumbered Estates Court in 1853. Robert Ferguson was the guardian of Alice. In the 1870s Robert Ferguson owned 1,435 acres in county Limerick. see http://dna.cfsna.net/GEN/Rathkeale.html and http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~colin/FergusonsOfIreland/Limerick.htm
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithfield | Croagh | Croagh | Rathkeale | Croagh 134 | Connello Lower | Limerick |
OSI Ref: R419 439
OS Sheet: 20 Discovery map: 65 |
|
| Rathkeale Abbey | Abbeylands | Rathkeale | Rathkeale | Rathkeale Urban 131 | Connello Lower | Limerick |
OSI Ref: R372 416
OS Sheet: 29 Discovery map: 64 |
|
| Garryduff | Garryduff | Monagay | Newcastle | Garryduff 114 | Glenquin | Limerick |
OSI Ref: R230 318
OS Sheet: 35 Discovery map: 64 |
Archival sources
- W.B. Scott, solicitor's collection, contains many records re land transactions in Cos Clare, Limerick & Cork, 18th-19th centuries, including marriage settlement of Robert Ferguson, merchant of Limerick, son of David & Agnes Enright daughter of Matthew deceased, 1801. Small Accs Index 76, D.10,182 ; National Archives of Ireland
- Fred Sutton, solicitor's collection, includes leases of Ashgrove, parish of Ardagh, barony of Glenquin, Stephen D. Brazil to Robert Ferguson, 17 Dec 1855. Small Accs. Index 1/698, D.12,792-12,793; National Archives of Ireland
Contemporary printed sources
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: 148
- HUSSEY DE BURGH, U. H. ''The Landowners of Ireland. An alphabetical list of the owners of estates of 500 acres or £500 valuation and upwards in Ireland''. Dublin: Hodges, Foster and Figgis, 1878. [available online at www.askaboutireland.ie] : 154