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How do you find information on the net for that far back or is it posible. I have Enniscorthy, co Wexford, Ireland Dr. William Lee 1764 with parents Dorothy Oriel and Anthony Lee and grandparents William? Lee and Elizabeth .
Any help appreciated.
jsandra@sympatico.ca



We had been told that the family of Anthony Lee had been "piked" on the bridge at Wexford during the uprising of 1798. However, I have found letters and other items that indicate that Dr. William's older brother, Oriel, was alive after that event. Our Grandfather William Horace Lee corresponded with a cousin in Dublin. When mother, father and I went to Ireland in 1968, we went straight to Wexford and discovered that we should have been in Enniscorthy. We had a very pleasant weekend and found Dr. William Lee's name listed in the Deanery records at the Cathedral at Fern with other information and we found that he was born at Ballylock, Enniscorthy. Also, we were given the name of the house of Moyn. We never did find Kyle but we found the farm called Ballylock and photographed it. It was just a farmhouse, all stone of course, three stories and the farmyard was all surrounded by stone. We were not welcomed by the residents however we did get a picture. It was a muddy, dirty farmyard and we did drive around again and found Moyn.

I quote now from a memo written by William Horace Lee on Privy Council paper:
"Doctor Wm. Lee formerly of Enniscorthy, Ireland, died at York, now Toronto, on the 1st July, 1833 in the 71st year of his age - he had an only and elder brother, Oriel and four sisters, Margaret, Dora, Cammy and Fanny.
Oriel left Sons Daughters Kyle.
Margaret married Samuel Goodison leaving Oriel of Dublin and Thomas also of Dublin and Daughters
... was Grandmother to Doctor Samuel Goodison of Enniscorthy and Henry Goodison of Ganny Duff. Consequently nephews of Oriel and Thomas of Dublin which latter left two sons now in Australia and a third John, who is in London. Dora married - Rudd. Cammy and Fanny were unmarried.
Met with a Wm. Lee in Dublin - son of Oriel Lee of Kyle, Grandson of Charles Lee and Great-Grandson of Oriel Lee who is the elder brother of Dr. Wm. Lee of Toronto. Mrs. Doctor Goodison of Ennisdale was a Mi (?) Minchin( ?)".

A. E. Cameron's diary of trip to Ireland in 1959.
"Dated July 11th.
Got the car at 10:15. Out to Enniscorthy, St. Mary's Church, Reverend Mr. Bowers but could not find any records. Moved on to Ferns where Dean McPhail showed us records with family of Anthony Lee from Ballylock listed together after Anthony's death? This is at Ballylock an old blocked-in farm with a house facing west and yard enclosed with out-houses on the three sides. Mother questions that this is the gentlemen's house of the old days. Maps show only a farm house with that name. Moyne house is shown as such also Ballydown house and Ballymotten house." It looks as though Ballylock was always a farm establishment. However I found s letter from Francis Lee addressed to her niece Francis Lee, daughter of Dr. William Lee. stating that the income from Ballylock in Moyne would cease. Having just read Francis' letter I wish to correct that she states the income is for Moyne house and one small farm at 2 lb. a year. The income of Moyne house ceased for both Dr. Lee and for Francis. So it sounds as if Mother is correct in that it was not a gentlemen's house but is the farm that we saw at Ballylock.

We have always understood that Dr. Lee came from Ballylock. I'm looking at the family tree made by a cousin of mother's, perhaps a granddaughter of Elizabeth who was the daughter of Dr. William. She did a great deal of research. She must have been in Ireland because at the top of the chart it says: "all these wills are in the public record office, Dublin. John Lee of Barnadown was among the perogative wills. The others are all registered in the diocese of Ferns".

I will now read from the notes of the cousin:
"I found one earlier Lee will, William Lee of Ballycarry, who left everything to his wife Elizabeth, dated 1750 proved 1752. There is nothing to show whether he was father or brother or uncle or cousin to John and Anthony so I have not put him in, though no doubt he is some relation as John owned Ballicarry later.
I think John Lee was the elder of the two brothers as all his children but Jane appear to have been of age in 1773. So that he might have been born about 1720 and married about 1740-5 while Anthony Lee could not have married much before 1760 so one might guess him to have been born about 1735 or "40. They may have been the eldest and youngest of a large family or John may have married early and Anthony late and the gap not be so great between them, but these dates are all guesswork. We only know for certain that Anthony was John's brother. I have not found, as yet, anything more about John's eight children.
I expect you know that Elizabeth King's mother was Elizabeth Krum, and that she had one brother George King. I have Godfrey King's will, in which he gives these particulars and says he had only the two children George and Elizabeth."

Back to looking at part of the (cousin's) chart.
"Anthony Lee of Ballylock, County Wexford, gentleman, the will proved 1779, married Dorothy Oriel who had Moyne will proved 1801. They had:
1) Oriel Lee of Bandview also: Ballylock and Kyle Co. Wex. will proved 1799 b. before April 1762. Married Dorothy ? ? . They had: Robert Lee, Charles Lee of Kyle, Co. Wexford gent. m. Dorothy Goodison his first cousin
2) William Lee b. Enniscorthy, Co. Wex about 1764, d. Toronto 1833. Married Elizabeth King daughter of Godfrey King of Quebec and wife Elizabeth Krum m. 1798. They had: Wm. Henry, Anne Elizabeth & Frances.
3) Gambia Lee b. before 1770
4) Frances Lee will proved 1837 of Enniscorthy
5) Dorothy Lee - Rudd. They had: Anthony, Dora, Mary Ann, Susan & Eliza.
6) Margaret Lee - (Samuel) Goodison of Garryduff, Wexford. They had:
William, Anthony, John, Dora, Tom, Oriel, Samuel, Alicia & Frances"


Further notes by the cousin:
"We were told thrilling legends of the rebellion in Wexford of '98 as children and used to act them in the nursery. They were that one "uncle" was killed at the head of his men on Enniscorthy bridge and that another defended his house from the front door all the way up the staircase to the garret where his wife and children were hidden and was there killed before their eyes and his wife and children slaughtered on top of him. I expect Oriel Lee and perhaps his son Robert were killed in the '98. Mrs. Rudd and Mrs. Goodison were both widows in 1800 so I think their husbands too may have been murdered then. But this is guess work again.
We do not know the surname of Oriel Lee's wife Dorothy so I have put dots.. . Great Grandfather's sister Francis Lee in her will dated 1835 and proved in 1837 mentions Dorothy, wife of Charles Lee of Kyle and their children, but till you sent me cousin Horace's notes I did not know she was a Goodison and his first cousin. She also mentioned Alicia Goodison and Frances Goodison wife of Samuel Butler of Sidmouth in England, but not her children. She seems to have left her property to her three Goodison nieces only" (cousin, a Stanton ?).
You will remember that I (Alice) could not make out Horace's writing about the sisters of Oriel Lee and Doctor William. The sisters were: Gambia Lee, Frances Lee, Dorothy Lee who married the Rudd and Margaret Lee who married (Samuel) Goodison. Frances Lee and Gambia did not marry. (Aunt Alice Cameron's Words)

Written Pages

I found one earlier Lee will. William Lee of Ballycarny who left everything to his wife Elizabeth dated 1750 proved 1752. There is nothing to show whether he was father or brother or uncle or cousin to John and Anthony, so I have not put him in, though no doubt he is some relation as John owned Ballicarry later.

I think John Lee was the elder of the two brothers as all his children but Jane appear to have been of age in 1773. So that he might have been born about 1720 and married about 1740-5 while Anthony Lee could not have married much before 1760 as one might guess him to have been born about 1735 or 40. They may have been the eldest and youngest of a large family or John may have married early and Anthony late and the gap not be so great between them. but these dates are all guesswork. We only know for certain that Anthony was John's brother. I have not found, as yet, anything more about John's eight children.

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