Parsons
The Parsons were a family of Elizabethan settlers. Richard Parsons settled as Birr in the early 17th century and his nephew Laurence Parsons of Birr Castle was made a baronet in 1677. Laurence Parsons was created Earl of Rosse (of the second creation) in 1806. In the mid 19th century the Earl's county Tipperary property was mainly located in the parishes of Loughkeen and Kilbarron, barony of Lower Ormond but also in the parish of Cloneen, barony of Middlethird. In the 1870s he owned 2,633 acres in county Tipperary and over 22,000 acres in King's County (Offaly). In 2008 the Irish Manuscripts Commission published a calendar, compiled by A.P.W. Malcomson, of the Rosse Estate Papers which are still retained at Birr Castle by the family.
Associated Families
Houses
| Name | Townland | Civil Parish | PLU | DED | Barony | County | Map Ref | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverstown | Ballyloughnane | Loughkeen | Birr | Riverstown 6 | Lower Ormond | Tipperary |
OSI Ref: N052 036
OS Sheet: 5 Discovery map: 53 |
|
Archival sources
- Pedigrees of the Courtenay family (England) and Parsons family, Dublin and Co. Tipperary, 1785-1900. Map of the estate of the Parsons family in Redmondstown and Ballyvaughan, Co. Tipperary, surveyed by Samuel Chaloner, 1820. T. 699 (16-17) ; National Archives of Ireland
- Rosse Papers at Birr Castle, contact the Earl of Rosse, Birr.; Private Possession
Contemporary printed sources
- ''GRIFFITH'S VALUATION OF IRELAND'[Primary Valuation of Tenements]', 1850-1858. : Barony of Lower Ormond, 97 (Ballyloughnane)
- PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. ''Return of owners of land of one acre and upwards, in the several counties .... in Ireland''. HC 1876, LXXX: 169
- 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] : 394