Six degrees of separation and bequests!
Spare a thought for bequest files in conducting historical research....
As 2023 draws to an end, it seems appropriate that I am cataloguing charitable bequests to the Royal Hospital Donnybrook from its surviving historical collection of records. The types of records found in the 572 bequest files catalogued to date include copies of wills, deeds, legal letters, and schedules of assets and also a few surprises, including inquest reports, keys and jewellery!
In addition to bequest records found in archival repositories, it is worth noting that all wills since 1992 which have been provided a grant of probate in Ireland are public documents and available to access on the Courts Service website https://www.courts.ie/probate-register-online. For wills before this time and dating as far back as 1858, it is possible to search and obtain copies of wills from the National Archives. A guide to this process is available at https://www.nationalarchives.ie/article/testamentary-record/.
The bequest files in the Royal Hospital Donnybrook collection vary vastly both in terms of the type of, and number of records surviving particular to each bequest. However, while cataloguing these files, it struck me that these files should not be overlooked as part of historical research efforts. They may reveal new research narratives and surprising connections from beyond the grave.
I found one such surprising connection in a file relating to a bequest from a woman named Mary Stedmond (d.1951) to the hospital. The file includes a record from the Probate Registry, which names Dr Kathleen Lynn, 9 Belgrave Road, Rathmines and Lyndon George Carr Lett, 23 Ely Place as executors of Stedmond’s estate.
What a surprising connection to find to the formidable Dr Kathleen Lynn, co-founder of Saint Ultan’s Hospital and a key figure in suffragist, labour and Nationalist movements in Ireland in the early twentieth century. Renowned for her role as Chief Medical Officer to the Irish Citizen Army during 1916 and consequent imprisonment, her diaries of this time are an important collection in RCPI’s archive.
Lynn’s diaries which are digitised and available to view on RCPI Heritage Centre’s website, https://heritage.rcpi.ie/Projects/Dr-Kathleen-Lynn refer to the funeral of Stedmond. Lynn writes on 24 January 1951, ‘Mr Lett rang, poor Miss Steddmond [sic] was knocked down in Pearse St. on night of 22nd & killed, he & I are executors & he & I have been left money £100. If it goes on like this I’ll be wealthy! We are all sorry for her. She was very faithful to Teac.’ Saint Ultan’s was also referred to as Teach Ultáin Infant Hospital.
A legal bill of costs summary record in Stedmond’s bequest file indicates Stedmond rented a property in Ranelagh. Reference to an inquest indicates she ‘crossed the road with her head down’ and therefore, that no civil action was planned. The relationship between Stedmond and Lynn is not revealed in this file or Lynn’s diaries, but what is known, is that Stedmond was a kind soul, a good friend to ‘Teac’ [Saint Ultan’s] and also bequeathed War Stock for £482.18.0 to the Royal Hospital Donnybrook.
The file containing a bequest from Reverend John Barrett (1753-1821), referred to in a deed of trust as 'one of the senior fellows of Trinity College Dublin’, is very engaging and it is difficult to resist falling down a rabbit hole of inquiry about him! Dr Barrett reads as a fascinating character from the early nineteenth century. The Dictionary of Irish Biography (https://www.dib.ie/biography/barrett-john-jacky-a0407) indicates he was quite part of the furniture at Trinity for his entire lifetime. After graduating from the university with a BA in 1775, he went on to hold positions as college librarian, regius professor of Greek, professor of Hebrew and vice-provost. Known as Jacky, historical references seem to leave no doubt but that he was a highly eccentric character, small in stature, slovenly, frugal and with a huge appetite for food! Yet, while he seems renowned for his miserly ways in life, his will indicates he was generous in death. His estate was worth about £80,000 on his death in 1821. The Royal Hospital Donnybrook also benefited from his generosity and by 1883, a court order record in Barrett’s file indicates his bequest had grown to amount to £3,500 Indian 4 per cent stock.
So, as the year draws to a close, remember to consider bequest files as an additional archival historical resource. It may surprise you who you will meet and more fascinatingly, who knew who!
Jane Moloney
Assistant Archivist