Harkness Gunmakers : County Tipperary .
compiled by Irene Wilkinson- 2008.
The following notes were compiled by Irene Wilkinson
in 2008 following her lengthy research into her family tree. We were in correspondence
and it became evident that she had unearthed a very rich seam of information
currently unrecorded. This blog is totally her work and we thank her for the
transcript and information.
James
Dempsey Harkness, Nenagh
Born around 1825/26 (deduced from death
certificate), died in 1889 at Ballinware, near Nenagh, buried in Kilruane
church yard.
First records of him are when he
enlisted with the 15th Hussars in London
in 1848. He sailed immediately to India
on the Gloriana, to join the regiment in Bangalore
in January 1849 taking up the appointment of Armourer Sergeant. He stayed there
until early 1854, when the regiment returned to England , sailing on the Trafalgar.
Evidence of his army service is from the 15th Hussars muster rolls,
kept in the National Archives.
During his time in India he
married Emily Hickie, who is believed to be the daughter of a fellow soldier
Henry Hickie, the regiments Army Schoolmaster Sergeant. Their first child
,Susan Elizabeth, was born in India
and their second daughter Charlotte, was born in Exeter in late 1854. James and Emily had
fifteen children in all of whom twelve survived into adulthood- seven sons and
five daughters, the youngest of whom, we believe was our (Irene Wilkinsons)
grandmother Emily.
James purchased his discharge from the
army in November 1855. The first record we have of him in Ireland is the baptism record of his first son,
James, in Templemore (Church
of Ireland ) in November 1856,
which states that his occupation was a gunsmith. (This son probably died before
1866, when a subsequent son was born and christened James. His address was only
given as Nenagh in this instance but subsequent baptism and civil birth records
give Castle Street, Nenagh as his address ( initially number 27 but later 46 Castle
Street). Bassett's Directory of 1880 lists him as a gunmaker and Guy’s Directory
of 1886 lists him as a whitesmith. His death certificate puzzlingly gives his occupation
as a farmer and his residence as Ballinware-we have not yet found out how this
property came into his possession ( a codicil to his Will, added not long
before he died refers to
” my estate at
Ballinware”.
He apparently was, or became, a man of
some means. The book Nenagh and it’s
Neighbourhood has several references to houses in Nenagh built by James
Dempsey Hackness (including his home in Castle Street) and his Will refers to
over fourteen different properties ( mostly in Nenagh) but several elsewhere
which he divided up amongst his wife and children. Whether these developments
were initially funded by gunmaking, or whether he had other income is not known.
His grave at Kilruane (in which are also
buried his wife Emily, their eldest son, William and their daughter Abigail is
enclosed
by low iron railings and has a headstone
with a still legible inscription; it gives the impression of a being the grave
of a man of some standing.
We have not been able to trace any
record to prove his relationship to the Harkness gunmakers of Templemore but
suspect he could be the younger brother of the William Dempsey Harkness of
Templemore (referred to below) and therefore another son of James and Susan
Harkness? ( the Dempsey middle name is surely more than a coincidence and the birth
dates of the siblings fit). Nor have we been able to find a link with a wealthy
Harkness family with estates in County
Limerick and Somerset , although some of the Christian
names are common to both families.
William
Arthur Dempsey, Nenagh.
Eldest surviving son of James Dempsey Harkness,
he was a gunsmith in Castle Street according to Guy’s directory of 1893 but in
the 1901 census is stated as being a contractor
and in 1911 as a master plumber. He became a significant figure in the local
business community, according to his Nenagh Guardian obituary in 1933.
George
Robert Harkness, Tipperary .
Son of James Dempsey Harkness, he became a watchmaker ,jeweller/gunmaker
in Grattan Street , Tipperary (in property owned by his
father). Listed in Guy’s directory 1886, Bassett’s 1889 (watchmaker only) and
Guy’s 1893; also in 1901 census as watchmaker (and fishing tackle) these more significant
than gunmaking. He was not listed at Grattan
Street in 1911 and we believe he ceased trading
because of ill-health.
James
Samuel Harkness, Nenagh.
Son of James Dempsey Harkness he became
a gunmaker /merchant operating from the family home in Castle Street , Nenagh. After James
Dempsey Harkness died James Samuel traded in partnership with his mother Emily until
her death in 1901. (There are advertisements in the Nenagh Guardian of the 1890’s
for his gunmaking/ammunition selling business; civil records have him as a
general merchant in 1903 and gunmaker in 1905.
James
Dempsey Harkness’s other sons were:
Henry
Howard: Commission Agent for Singer sewing machines and
later a farmer.
Charles
Walter: Church
of Ireland minister.
Frederick
Herbert: Cycle engineer.
Allen
James: Cycle engineer, Nenagh.
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William
Dempsey Harkness, Templemore.
The first reference
to him as a gunsmith is in the 1846 Slater’s directory trading in Church Street ,
Templemore. A subsequent entry is listed in the 1870 Slater’s directory. William
Dempsey Harkness died in 1877.
William
James Harkness, Templemore.
Listed in Guy’s 1886 directory: Gunmaker, Church Street .
Bassetts directory lists him for “
gunsmith and fishing tackle”, in George
Street . Slater’s directory of 1893 lists him as “gunmaker”
and also in Guy’s directory for 1894.
James Robert Harkness, Templemore.
Guy’s directories for 1883 & 1886 list him as a gunmaker in George Street . Also
in the 1901 census.
By 1911 he was Inspector of Waterworks living in main Street.
He died in 1931.
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We thank Irene Wilkinson for all the
above details and wish her well with her further research.
These notes are given as an overview
of the Harkness gunmakers operating in County Tipperary and our research is ongoing.
Dave Stroud. ramrodantiques.co.uk
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