The Old Leonard Cottage in Kilcummin, County Sligo (Similar and Close to John F. Armstrong’s Childhood Home)

July 28, 2016

Leonard family home, Kilcummin, County Sligo, 2014, Anne Leonard was John F. Armstrong’s mother. Image courtesy of William Coleman.

According to Griffith’s Valuation of 1857, John Leonard of Kilcummin Townland in County Sligo was renting a house (pictured) valued at one old English pound from Edward Cooper. Two lots over, Francis Armstrong was also renting a house valued at one pound from Cooper. At that time, houses at this value would have had roofs made of thatch (Fitzsimmons).

John Leonard may have been Anne Leonard Armstrong‘s brother, which would have made him Francis’ brother-in-law.

John Francis Armstrong (1845-1893), the second of Francis and Anne Leonard Armstrong’s nine children, was my and Marie‘s great-great grandfather. JF immigrated to Augusta, Georgia in the late summer of 1865 at the age of nineteen. His descendants have inherited several letters to him from Kate Leonard, a cousin from County Sligo who immigrated to New York.

When JF’s younger sisters Kitty and Annie defied their parents and visited the United States in 1887, they spent time with Kate in New York.

The above house may be where Kate grew up. The house Francis Armstrong rented nearby would have been similar and would have been where JF spent at least part of his childhood.

The Leonard cottage is not far from Kilcummin Cemetery, where Francis and Anne Armstrong are buried. The cottage is also not far from the two-story Armstrong farmhouse in Derreens.

References

Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI. (2015, July). Retrieved July 12, 2016, from National Library of Ireland: http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0127

Census of Ireland 1901/1911 and Census fragments and substitutes 1821-1851. (2007). Retrieved July 11, 2016, from The National Archives of Ireland: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie

Landed Estates Court Rentals 1850-1885. (n.d.). Retrieved July 2016, from Find My Past: http://www.findmypast.com

Fitzsimmons, F. (2016, March 3). An Expert’s Guide to Griffith’s Valuation. Retrieved July 2016, from Find My Past: https://blog.findmypast.com/an-expert-guide-to-the-griffiths-valuation-1639727438.html

Griffith’s Valuation 1847-1864. (2003). Retrieved July 11, 2016, from Ask About Ireland: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation

“Sligo Prison General Register: 1875-1879”. Irish Prison Registers 1790-1924. Retrieved July 2016, from Find My Past: http://www.findmypast.com

“Sligo Prison General Register: 1883-1890”. Irish Prison Registers 1790-1924. Retrieved July 2016, from Find My Past: http://www.findmypast.com

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Researching the Childhood of John Francis Armstrong (1845-1893) In County Sligo, Barony of Leyny, Civil Parish of Achonry

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Francis and Anne Leonard Armstrong’s Farmhouse in Derreens, County Sligo