Croston Places: Bandon, County Cork, Ireland
Bandon, County Cork is located along the River Bandon, to the west of Cork city. The town was founded in 1604 by English settlers and became one of the largest English settlements in the area.
There was a saying: "Bandon Town where even the pigs are Protestant" The town was surrounded by a wall and only Protestants were allowed inside. The saying refers to the fact that pigs were allowed to walk the streets but not Catholics which caused a great deal of turmoil in the area. Several battles took place over the years and the restrictions were eventually loosened. But to some degree today Bandon is still thought of as a "Black" town.
If an English settler arrived in County Cork through Cobh/ Queenstown harbor they would have traveled up the road from Cork city through Bandon to reach West Cork. Therefore this is a natural place to look for evidence of early Croston settlers.
During my last trip to Ireland I spoke with a Bandon historian who told me that through the 19th century the town became a center of industry and was a station of several military regiments. Many who were struggling and could not find work in the countryside might have traveled to Bandon to find work in the mills or join the military where they would earn a pension.
I researched the Bandon parish registers at the RCB library in Dublin. Fortunately the Bandon parish registers (baptisms, marriages and burials) go back to the 1600's and early 1700's and were not lost in the records office fire. There are also early records for surrounding parishes.
I checked the registers for all parishes in and surrounding Bandon from the beginning, line by line until my eyes strained and I saw double! I have to say that looking through the registers is a great experience- handling old books from the 1600's. If your family was from Bandon and you are ever in Dublin I recommend a trip to the library to see them with your own eyes.
Only 3 Croston family branches are on record in the parish and census records in the Bandon area.
There are no Crostons on record in the area prior to 1813.
1. The family of James Croston who married Ann Bassett in 1813: The parish registers of Ballymodan contain their marriage as well as baptism records for some of their children. The records state that they lived in a part of Bandon called "Irish Town". James, Ann and their children emigrated from Bandon to Philadelphia PA USA in 1830. They later settled as a family group in Iowa, USA and were the ancestors of one of the largest Irish Croston families in the USA.
2.The family of William Croston who married Sarah Hawkes in 1816: The Parish registers for Brinny, just outside of Bandon contain their marriage record. Some of their children were baptized in Brinny and Ballymodan. The children immigrated to Maine, USA first and then all but one son moved to Iowa.
3. The Family of John Croston who first married Mary Elizabeth Brangan in 1854 in Ballymodan: Mary and John had 6 children. Mary died in 1882 and John married a young woman named Rebecca Crowley (25 years younger than John) later that year. Several of the children emigrated because they could not get along with their stepmother. John and Rebecca had 2 children who remained in Bandon.
I have to admit that I expected to find more Crostons in Bandon. There seemed to be certainty among other researchers that James Croston was born in Bandon. I assumed this to be true, but what I found brings me to the conclusion that all 3 of these men lived somewhere else before relocating to Bandon.
1. There are no other Crostons on record in the Bandon area going back into the 1600-1700's.
2. James and William were likely brothers. DNA testing has matched a descendant of James and Ann as a 4th-6th Cousin with a "high" confidence level to a descendant of William Croston and Sarah Hawkes.
3. There is evidence that they had a 3rd brother John Croston who married Sarah Cole. John served in the same military regiment as William. Sarah Cole was of the Durrus or Bantry area.
4. I have been told by descendants of James and Ann that James had a brother who was in the military in Ireland. I'm not sure where this story comes from but it's hard to ignore.
5. The baptism record of William's son states that William was "late of the parish of Aughadown". Aughadown is not far from Skibbereen, Creagh and Ringarogy where the first records of Crostons in Ireland appeared.
6. Both James and Williams families settled in Iowa, USA, although there is no evidence found to date that they lived with or near each other there.
7. James Croston and Ann Bassett had a strong connection to the Cole family:
8. There seems to be a close connection between James and Ann's family and the Durrus Crostons who immigrated to Rochester NY. This is shown in the Cole connection above, the use of the names Gregory and James- which were not commonly used in any other family lines in west Cork. There is also some evidence found in DNA matches.
9. Family 3, while of the same paternal line they were part of a different family branch from the Creagh area. The fact that John moved to Bandon does not closely link him to James and William.
Below are some pictures I took last month at Ballymodan Church (now St. Peters):
Most of the wives of these 3 Croston men were of the immediate Bandon area.
In future newsletters I will go into more detail about the families of James, William and John Croston.
There was a saying: "Bandon Town where even the pigs are Protestant" The town was surrounded by a wall and only Protestants were allowed inside. The saying refers to the fact that pigs were allowed to walk the streets but not Catholics which caused a great deal of turmoil in the area. Several battles took place over the years and the restrictions were eventually loosened. But to some degree today Bandon is still thought of as a "Black" town.
If an English settler arrived in County Cork through Cobh/ Queenstown harbor they would have traveled up the road from Cork city through Bandon to reach West Cork. Therefore this is a natural place to look for evidence of early Croston settlers.
I researched the Bandon parish registers at the RCB library in Dublin. Fortunately the Bandon parish registers (baptisms, marriages and burials) go back to the 1600's and early 1700's and were not lost in the records office fire. There are also early records for surrounding parishes.
I checked the registers for all parishes in and surrounding Bandon from the beginning, line by line until my eyes strained and I saw double! I have to say that looking through the registers is a great experience- handling old books from the 1600's. If your family was from Bandon and you are ever in Dublin I recommend a trip to the library to see them with your own eyes.
Only 3 Croston family branches are on record in the parish and census records in the Bandon area.
There are no Crostons on record in the area prior to 1813.
1. The family of James Croston who married Ann Bassett in 1813: The parish registers of Ballymodan contain their marriage as well as baptism records for some of their children. The records state that they lived in a part of Bandon called "Irish Town". James, Ann and their children emigrated from Bandon to Philadelphia PA USA in 1830. They later settled as a family group in Iowa, USA and were the ancestors of one of the largest Irish Croston families in the USA.
2.The family of William Croston who married Sarah Hawkes in 1816: The Parish registers for Brinny, just outside of Bandon contain their marriage record. Some of their children were baptized in Brinny and Ballymodan. The children immigrated to Maine, USA first and then all but one son moved to Iowa.
3. The Family of John Croston who first married Mary Elizabeth Brangan in 1854 in Ballymodan: Mary and John had 6 children. Mary died in 1882 and John married a young woman named Rebecca Crowley (25 years younger than John) later that year. Several of the children emigrated because they could not get along with their stepmother. John and Rebecca had 2 children who remained in Bandon.
I have to admit that I expected to find more Crostons in Bandon. There seemed to be certainty among other researchers that James Croston was born in Bandon. I assumed this to be true, but what I found brings me to the conclusion that all 3 of these men lived somewhere else before relocating to Bandon.
1. There are no other Crostons on record in the Bandon area going back into the 1600-1700's.
2. James and William were likely brothers. DNA testing has matched a descendant of James and Ann as a 4th-6th Cousin with a "high" confidence level to a descendant of William Croston and Sarah Hawkes.
3. There is evidence that they had a 3rd brother John Croston who married Sarah Cole. John served in the same military regiment as William. Sarah Cole was of the Durrus or Bantry area.
4. I have been told by descendants of James and Ann that James had a brother who was in the military in Ireland. I'm not sure where this story comes from but it's hard to ignore.
5. The baptism record of William's son states that William was "late of the parish of Aughadown". Aughadown is not far from Skibbereen, Creagh and Ringarogy where the first records of Crostons in Ireland appeared.
6. Both James and Williams families settled in Iowa, USA, although there is no evidence found to date that they lived with or near each other there.
7. James Croston and Ann Bassett had a strong connection to the Cole family:
- Several generations carried the name Gregory Cole Croston or Cole as a middle name.
- The Coles and Crostons were shown living among each other on Ringarogy in the census of 1766. (Carberry Cole book)
- James' possible brother John married a Sarah Cole.
- 2 Croston men were weaving apprentices to a Gregory Cole in Durrus.
- The name Gregory was also used in William and Sarah's family.
8. There seems to be a close connection between James and Ann's family and the Durrus Crostons who immigrated to Rochester NY. This is shown in the Cole connection above, the use of the names Gregory and James- which were not commonly used in any other family lines in west Cork. There is also some evidence found in DNA matches.
9. Family 3, while of the same paternal line they were part of a different family branch from the Creagh area. The fact that John moved to Bandon does not closely link him to James and William.
Below are some pictures I took last month at Ballymodan Church (now St. Peters):
- There is a Bassett tomb in the Ballymodan Churchyard. It was not visible when I looked for it, but it appears on the map below.
- The Hawkes were from the Brinny and Kilpatrick area near Bandon
- Mary Brangan was born in Ballymodan. I'm not sure of the birthplace of Rebecca Crowley.
In future newsletters I will go into more detail about the families of James, William and John Croston.
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