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Maxwell (Farnham)
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The first member of this family settled in Ireland at the end of the 16th century. The Reverend Robert Maxwell was appointed Bishop of Kilmore in 1643 and of Ardagh in 1661. In 1664, he bought the manors of Dromhill and Dromellan in the barony of Upper Loughtee, county Cavan, from Thomas Waldron. Other county Cavan purchases by the Maxwells were from Jane Culme in 1715; part of the Massareene estate in 1716; Hampson estate in 1719; Dunsany estate in 1740 which became the core of the Maxwells’ Fortland estate and purchases from John Carmichael in 1758 and 1768. This accumulation of lands all over the county led to the Maxwells being the largest landowners in the county. Members of the Maxwell family were political active and served as Members of Parliament for county Cavan and other counties, others were clergymen. John Maxwell of College Hall, county Armagh, a cousin of the Reverend Robert Maxwell, inherited the estate in 1737 and was elevated to the peerage in 1763 as Baron Farnham. His son, Robert 2nd Baron, became the Earl of Farnham in 1765. This title was granted and became extinct a couple of times when there was no direct heir resulting in collateral succession. The Barons Farnham also owned land in other counties Wexford, Carlow and Kildare (the Newtownbarry estate), through the marriage in 1719 of John Maxwell 1st Baron Farnham and Judith Barry. This estate was sold in the Encumbered Estates Court in the 1850s. They also owned extensive properties in and around the town of Cavan. Griffith’s Valuation (1856) records the main part of the Farnham estate in the parishes of Kilmore, Urney, Kildallan, Killashandra, Castlerahan, Killinkere and Drumlumman while the Fortland estate, mainly in the parishes of Ballymachugh, Kilbride and Crosserlough, was held by Somerset Maxwell, the 7th Baron’s brother. By 1876, the Farnham estate was comprised of 29,455 acres in county Cavan. Much of the estate was sold in the early years of the 20th century, the family retaining about 2,800 acres and the house. By the early 21st century the estate was reduced to 1,200 acres and was sold in 2001.
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