June 15 - At the final re-enactment of the battle of Waterloo, Braine l'Alleud

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6504eRh5h6M

 

Warning: Genealogy ahead

- The following is only of interest to close family or relatives on my Dad's Dad's side.: I didn't know it when I was here, but according to "family tradition" a great x 4 grandfather, John Large (Dad's Dad's Mom's Dad's Mom's Dad), was "a British officer during the Napoleonic wars" and might have fought here at Waterloo. I've known a fair bit about him since I met up with cousins in P.E.I. in '86 when I hitched @ Quebec and the Maritimes at age 18 (my elderly cousin Hazel in particular, who said she had to give up genealogy as she found it so exciting she was having trouble sleeping at night) and obtained a copy of a beautifully-written affidavit he prepared in 1817, a complaint re the conduct of the captain of the brig 'Harriott' (who extorted his passengers that brought him from Dublin to Prince Edward Island. I was told that he was an 'Irish Huguenot' of French Huguenot descent and that his name derives from 'DeLarge'. (It might derive from 'LeLarge'. See below.) He did well in his new life on P.E.I. where he was appointed as a J.P. and then as a judge and a 'fence viewer'. But I've learned much more about him much more recently.

- There are records in ledgers that were kept at Ballykilcavan estate in co. Laois (in central Ireland) /b/ 1777 and 1795 which refer to rent payments made by a John Large, and "the names of a Richard Large and of a John Large are recorded as jurymen at an inquisition at Ballykilcavan in 1802." However, a "recent genealogical search traced a John Large to a family in Dundalk, Co. Louth" and referred to him as "a veteran of the Napoleonic War [who] is said to have emigrated with 5 sons to Prince Edward Island after 1815," as my ancestor had done (see p. 32 in the book in the last link below). I don't know if this information is contradictory, or could refer to the same John Large, but it seems to in light of the details. (I assume the records kept in ledgers at Ballykilcavan refer to Large as a tenant in the more recent years, but not as early as 1777, or that would have to be a different John Large, likely a relative.)

 

- In 1818, less than a year after his arrival on P.E.I., Large was appointed land agent of the settlement of land owned by John Walsh (or 'John Allen Johnson-Walsh'), proprietor of the estate at Ballykilcavan, in the west of the island (Lot or Township 11) settled by Irish Catholic immigrant tenants. Large was a Protestant himself. (The Walsh family still owns and runs that historic estate in Ballykilcavan, the 13th generation to do so since 1639, and today it's a brewery where tours are conducted. www.ballykilcavan.com/ ). Large later moved to the Charlottetown area and was appointed as a justice of the peace and then as a judge and a 'fence viewer'. There's more written by him and about him in the provincial archives in Charlottetown than by or about any of my Dad's other ancestors.

- Large is an English surname, but again I understand that in his case his name was anglicized from 'De Large' (or 'Le Large'?), and that he was of descent from French Huguenots, at least on his patrilineal line. His is one of 2 Huguenot surnames on that branch of my family tree, as his daughter's mother-in-law's maiden name was Ann Lacomber (I've also seen the name spelled Lucumber) (Dad's Dad's Mom's Dad's Dad's Mom) whose surname was anglicized from 'La combre' or 'La combe'. She was born no later than 1775 (more likely from 1770 to '72) and I've read that she hailed from South Kildare. Her descendants claim that she and her husband dubbed 'Kildare Capes' in the west of P.E.I., the site where she and her husband initially settled, in honour of Ann's home co. in Ireland. As to the Huguenot heritage of John Large, Brendan O'Grady notes in his book 'Exiles and Islanders: The Irish Settlers of Prince Edward Island' (see below) that Dundalk, like Portarlington, was a "centre of post-Cromwellian Huguenot settlement." (p. 32) But according to genealogist Vivien Costello, while it was home to > 50 Huguenot families, Dundalk had a Huguenot minister but no Huguenot church. After Dublin and Cork, Portarlington was the centre for Huguenot settlement and culture in 18th cent. Ireland. scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1035&... youtu.be/U5feFi1_80I?si=Mw0VFAfi3KJ_CShX Watch this from 2:20 to 3:24: youtu.be/jLEKGp7Lei8?si=mO3_4JvYB0I7_J6N

- 'Post-Cromwellian' Huguenot immigrants are those who left France as refugees, persecuted for their Protestant faith at or @ the time of the revocation of 'the Edict of Nantes' (aka 'the Edict of Fontainebleu') by Louis XIV in 1685. "It was estimated that > 200,000 [members] of this congregation escaped persecution in one of the most important movements of skilled workers and professionals in European history up to that time. Their exodus introduced the new word 'refugee' into the English language. [!] ... In excess of 5,000 refugees settled here in Ireland. Their major settlements were in Cork, Dublin, Portarlington, Waterford, and in Lisburn in the North of Ireland." youtu.be/zgwscHy693s?si=Znn_42G83lFLv8Os

 

- A further warning.: A detailed review follows (and follows) of entries pertaining to several late 17th / early 18th-cent. Irish Huguenots named 'Le Large', Combe, et al. in extant Registers in only Portarlington and Dublin, but it's quite speculative (re the Dublin records in particular in light of the reference to Dundalk above). "Given the loss of countless key historical records [primarily in a fire in June, 1922 at the PROI in Dublin during the Irish Civil War, which I write about here: www.flickr.com/photos/97924400@N00/4385915526/in/photolis... ], there's been an inevitable tendency to place emphasis on those Irish Huguenot communities for which there is easily accessible data." scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1035&... But the Portarlington results are more interesting in light of a predominance of Lacombers, Lecumbers, Lacombres, Lacumbres, et al. in extant 18th and 19th cent. baptismal, marriage and death records in Portarlington and neighbouring districts in Co.s Laois and Offaly (but none in Kildare apart from a Patrick Lacumber, a Catholic, born in 1872). [Update: I've just learned that Ann's son or brother-in-law attended his daughter's baptism in St. Paul's church, the former 'French church', in Portarlington in 1820. - ! The records I've seen online don't refer to specific churches. Which churches were these Lacombers, Lecumbers, et al. attending at Portarlington and in the co. if not the famous St. Paul's?] 4 'valuation' records are extant for 3 or 4 men (John, Peter x 2, and William) with the surname 'La Combre' in the 'Townland' of "Kilmalogue/town of Portarlington" in Clonyhurk, the Co. Offaly (King's Co.) portion of Portarlington, which sits on the border /b/ Co. Offaly and Co. Laois (Queen's Co.), and which date variously from 1856-'65 (the dates of compilation of these records). And in 1846, "the Huguenot Church in Portarlington wrote to their 'Countrymen', the elders of the French Church of St Patrick's (in the 'metropolis'! [Dublin]) asking for a contribution to repairs. It was signed by Church members, among them many 'Blanc' & 'La Combre'." www.facebook.com/MarshLibrary/posts/in-1846-the-huguenot-... A cousin of mine visited Co. Laois and Portarlington was told by the local minister at St. Paul's that Lecumbers (La Combres?) repaired the church at that time, and he purchased a revealing community history at that church, which I review just below.

- In any event, you can skip to the paragraph that begins with "The Huguenots were quite successful in Ireland ..." to avoid the speculation.

 

- Re Ann Lacomber/Lucumber/La Combe: I looked and didn't find any entries for a Lacombre, La Combre, Lacombres, La Combres, Combre nor Combres in the 'Registers of the French Church of Portartlington', extant from 1694 to 1816 (available online), nor in those extant from Dublin. But my cousin's book reproduces the following record dating from 1805 (in French): "In consequence of a dispensation from 'Milord' Bishop of Kildare, the marriage of William Lacombre [also listed in the register as 'Guillaume Lacombe'] of this town and Grace Fletcher was blessed this Sunday, February 17th, 1805." (Why was the dispensation necessary?) 1 La Combe, 1 Lacombe, 1 Lacomber, 2 Lacumbers, a La Combre and a LaCombre were interred in "Portarlington's French church" /b/ 1808 and 1847, and a La Comber and a Lacombe were buried nearby "at Lea" in 1847 and '48. Peter (a carpenter) and Maria Lacomber of Portarlington had two children who were baptised in 1843 and '48, and the 3rd son of William Lacomber of Kilmalogue was baptised in 1817 (but died the next year).

- As to earlier records (my great x 4 grandmother Ann was born no later than 1777), several are extant for a Jacques/Jaques Combe aka Combes, a native of "Sanguinet en Vivares" (Vivarais) in Dauphine in SE France (near the Italian border), the son of Mathieu Combe and Jane Daussonne, who wed his wife 'Hélis Queli' (per the register, Alice Kelly in fact, lol) of Dublin in Portarlington in 1701, she being the daughter of a Joseph Queli (Kelly, a native Irish Protestant I safely assume) and one Marie Bruisson. Jacques and Hélis/Els/Hels/Alis/Allis (lol) attended baptisms in Portarlington for their children Anthoine Combes, Jean Combe [I], Jean Combes [II], Marie Combe, Judi Combe, and Jeane Lacombe in 1702, 1705, 1708, 1711, 1712 and 1717 respectively. They also attended the funeral of their 2 yr. old son Jean Combe I in 1707. Note that only their youngest was christened as a Lacombe. Jacques attended baptisms for 7 kids to whom he was a godfather /b/ 1706 and 1716, at which his name was recorded as Combe or Combes for the first 5 from 1706 to 1711, and as Lacombe for the 6th and 7th in 1715 and 1716 (although he signs 'Combe' at the latter). And he was interred as "Jacques Lacombe" on March 8, 1736.

- Vivarais is a traditional region in SE France which includes the département de l'Ardèche, named for its capital Viviers on the river Rhône. (Wikipedia) When I type in Vivares in google maps, the site immediately takes me to Vivarais. Type in 'Sanguinet Vivarais' to be taken to a region in SE France on which I can't read Sanguinet nor Vivarais on the map (?), BUT there's a hamlet named 'La Combe' @ 400 m.s north of 'Le Villard' and 2 km.s west of 'La Tourre', NE of the D993, less than 3 km.s east of 'La Beaume'. www.google.ca/maps/place/Sanguinet,+05140+Saint-Pierre-d'...

- This region is magical. Marvel at Viviers, a time capsule.: youtu.be/CFjSYEhYpBM?si=eg4Lury2gnEJgYBf

- See a map of the location of Huguenot populations in purple at the 1:25 min. pt. (with a predominance in southern France) in this interesting video re the 'St. Bartholomew's Day massacre'.: youtu.be/0c8ZtOzbGpI?si=8QhKmfWwJ4v_Zhl3

- There's a good chance that Jacques was Ann's great or great great grandfather, and my great x 7 or 8, and that either of his sons Anthoine or Jean was Ann's great grandfather if Ann Lucumber/Lacomber had family history in Portarlington, and which seems to be the case in light of the info. above, and the discovery of the records of baptism of Ann's grand-children or niece and nephew Alicia Weeks and William Weekes in 1820 and 1821. (! - Their father Robert Weeks/Weekes was a shoemaker in Ballintocher/Ballintogher, only @ 10 clicks NW of Portarlington as the crow flies.) The only other reference in that registry to anyone with a similar surname in Jacques' generation (the earliest) is to an Anne Combe, who attended the baptism of Pierre A. Durand as his godmother on March 3, 1709.

 

- Other (less likely) candidates competing for the identity of Ann Lacomber / Lucumber's refugee Huguenot ancestor settled and lived in Dublin. One Bernard Combes, a native of Castillon in the province of Guienne (known as 'Castillon-la-Bataille' today, on the Dordogne, site of the last battle of the dreadful 100 years war in 1453 [a rout for the English], @ 40 clicks east of Bordeaux and < 100 east of the Bay of Biscay as the crow flies), a son of Francois Combes and Marguerite Giron, married Anne Combes on Sept. 5, 1695 in the 'Lady Chapel' of St. Patrick's Cathedral, a native of "Lievras en Vivares", the daughter of David Combes and Claudine Faugere. Again, Vivares seems to be Vivarais, a traditional region in SE France which includes l'Ardèche, < 100 km.s S-SE of Lyon and @ 25 SW of Valence as the crow flies, but I can't find 'Lievras' there on google maps nor with google otherwise. At least it's fair to assume that Bernard and Anne were unrelated or weren't close relatives in light of the great distance /b/ Vivarais in SE France and Castillon-la-Bataille in the SW.

- Just as Jacques Combe/Combes of Portarlington began to go by "Lacombe" by 1715, Bernard Combes had become "Bernard La Combe" by Feb. 1, 1700, the date of the funeral of his young son Pierre. (Was 'La Combe' perceived to have a more impressive or sophisticated ring to it than Combe or Combes?) The b in comb is silent in English, but the French tend to pronounce it subtly, so the French 'Combe' can sound a bit like "Coam-beh" to an English ear. Thus the anglicization of 'La Combe' could result in Lacomber, or in 'La Combre' and then Lacomber.

- A Jean and an Anne Combes attended the funeral of their son Baltasar on May 28, 1699 in the same chapel in Dublin; one Pierre Combes assisted at the funeral there of an Andre Chicot on July 19, 1701; and an Isabeau Combe, wife of "Louis Giraud, du lieu de Mauressarque au Bas Lenguedoc", attended the funeral of her daughter Isabeau there in 1701. (For what it's worth, if anything [seeing as Isabeau Sr. isn't my ancestor], the town or 'commune' of Mauressargues in that region is in the 'Gard dept.' in south-central France, 20-25 km.s NW of Nîmes, home to a 'Fête votive' or 'Fête de Bandido', a 'running of the bulls', but one to a few at a time and with locals on horseback. youtu.be/nQ0pqP8dLVU?si=t4_tP1CWRWYtAV_Y )

- 'Sieur Pierre Combe' and his wife Anne Garsin/Garsen attended the baptisms of their sons Pierre and Laurent in 1702 and 1705 at 'L'Eglise Francoise de Golblac Lane' in Dublin, which I've read was a house on Wood st. A Jaques Combe and his wife Izabeau Fraigneau attended the baptism of their son Jaques in that church (or house) on April 9, 1704.

- Jean-Louis De Combe/De Combes/Combes of Dublin was a native of 'Geneve' (Switzerland I assume. I haven't found a Geneve in France. The 'Republic of Geneva' was Protestant in the late 17th cent., although francophone, but waves of Huguenot refugees were considered to be burdensome and were encouraged to move along, primarily to Germany.) He and his wife Catherine attended baptisms of their 4 children Louis-Bernard de Combe, Jeanne de Combes, Phillippe Combes and Pierre de Combe in 'L'Eglise Francoise de Peter Street' in Dublin in 1715, 1717, 1720 and 1722. Jean-Louis passed away and was interred in Feb. 1729, age 43. One Jean La Combe attended the funeral of his 19-month-old son (name n/a) at 'L'Eglise de Peter St. et Lucy Lane' in 1723. The funeral for a Pierre Combe, a native of "Massilargues près de Nimes en Languedoc" who passed away at age 76, was held in that church in March, 1729. (Massilargues is likely Marsillargues in south-central France, 20 km.s SW of Nîmes.)

How many refugees with the names Combe or Combes arrived in Ireland in the 1680s and '90s?

 

- Further to the ancestry of John Large, for almost 40 years I've understood that his name derived from 'De Large', but 'Registers of the French Conformed churches' in Dublin only list congregants with the name 'Le Large', and there are none with either or a similar name in registry entries in Portarlington, so I wonder. One 'Sieur Robert Le Large' or Lelarge, a merchant, and his wife Jeanne Marquois sired at least 5 children in Dublin, although the Huguenot register for the 'Lady Chapel' in St. Patrick's Cathedral includes only one baptismal record for any of the 5 (?), a Jeanne Le Large, Oct. 1705, and who was interred 6 mos. later in April, 1706. She was Robert and Jeanne's fifth child of 5 (at a minimum) for whom funerals were held, incl. Pierre (2 yr.s), Paul (5 mos., 20 days) and Elizabeth (1 yr., 10 mos.) in Jan., June and Sept. 1696 respectively (?!), and Estienne 5 1/2 yr.s later in Jan. 1702. ("...[T]yphus and dysentery became the chief [infectious] threats ... in mid-17th cent. Ireland." pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7225208/ ) Again, only 1 of the 5 was baptized in the Cathedral (?), and I speculate they sired more or many more.

- Many of Dublin's Huguenots worshipped in the 'Lady Chapel' of St. Patrick's Cathedral for a spell youtu.be/A_3wIdUNop0?si=2habOGoaBqb1v7gz , and then in the Church of St. Nicholas. Here's a discussion of Dublin's old Huguenot burying ground.: youtu.be/7mM5WkcDczk?si=SOkjsEqzIpEVvPC5

- 'Sieur Robert Le Large' attended the baptism of Marie Morise (daughter of 'Sieur Jean Maurice et de Damoiselle Chaterine [sic] Wandam') as her godfather on Aug. 25, 1706 at 'L'Eglise Francoise de Golblac Lane' in Dublin.

- A funeral was held for Genevieve Le Large, wife of Nicolas le Febvre, in 'the Lady Chapel' in Oct., 1698. A funeral was held for her son Nicolas Jr. only 4 mos. earlier in June. It seems Nicolas remarried to Genevieve's sister or cousin Marie Le Large, who attended a funeral for her daughter Jeanne, age 11, with her husband Nicolas in 1704. Genevieve and Marie were likely Robert's sisters, and were certainly his relations, for Nicolas Lefebvre assisted at the funeral of Robert's 2 yr. old daughter Estienne in Jan. 1702.

- Robert LeLarge assisted at the funeral (so many funerals for kids!) of Daniel Marquois, a 6 month old infant and almost certainly Robert's nephew, the son of 'Sr. Nicolas Marcois' [sic?] and 'Dle. Marie Marcois', in Oct. 1700.

- 'Sieur Robert Le Large' of Dublin is the only candidate for the patrilineal great grandfather of John Large that I've found in surviving church registers. Unfortunately I've found no reference to his provenance nor to that of his wife. That said, the odds are that John Large's immigrant ancestor settled (and attended christenings for his children) in one of the other Huguenot communities across much of Ireland, most likely in Dundalk (see above).

- "@ 5000 Huguenots came to live in Ireland. The largest Huguenot settlements in Ireland were in Dublin and Cork. Other sizeable communities were in Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Lisburn in Co. Antrim and Portarlington [the 3rd largest I think], in Co. Laois. Some also settled in Wexford, Clare, Limerick, Sligo, Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir in Co. Tipperary, Dundalk in Co. Louth, Innishannon and Youghal in Co. Cork; Castleblaney in Co. Monaghan and Killeshandra, Co. Cavan." huguenotsinireland.com/?page_id=23

 

 

- The Huguenots were quite successful in Ireland, and were well accepted by the Anglo-Irish establishment there in the 18th and early 19th cent.s. In fact, the Huguenots are credited with the introduction and development of the famous Irish linen industry (although I've read that the importance of their role is exaggerated).: www.historyireland.com/18th-19th-century-history/huguenot... A quote from the article in the link.: "Whatever occupations they had had in France, the military became a permanent life for many families. A high number were officers, and from the minor nobility of southern and western France. In many cases their title in France became their surname in Ireland. The Robillards were Sieurs de Champagné near La Rochelle, and in Ireland became known as Champagné. This image was puffed up by Borrowes who wrote: 'The exiles formed a highly select society … of pure morals, and of gentle birth and manners. They were contented, cheerful and even gay. Traditions still exist of military refugees in their scarlet cloaks in groups under the old oaks in the market place, sipping tea out of their small china cups. …"

And famously Charles Maturin (author of 'Melmoth the Wanderer' and of the gothic play 'Bertram') and J. Sheridan Le Fanu, both of Huguenot descent, became 2 of Ireland's most famous writers in their day, known today for their gothic fiction and Le Fanu, the most famous of all Irish Huguenots, for his ghost stories. (I read some of his short stories and his famous novella 'Carmilla' when I was reading gothic fiction as a tween. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO9Lx7PbTN8 www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk5z3A2Cecc Carmilla was a strong influence on Bram Stoker when he was set to write Dracula. In fact Stoker had planned to set his novel in Styria as well before he received the inspiration to research Transylvania. [Le Fanu was inspired to set his novella in an uncanny Styria by Basil Hall's 'Schloss Hainfeld; or a Winter in Lower Styria'.] I've had 'Uncle Silas' since those days too but still haven't read it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiBucdM7Q-I www.youtube.com/watch?v=E36F9PhXn6s

- Update: Samuel Beckett's father is said to be of Irish Huguenot descent as well ('Beckett' deriving from 'Becquet'), but this is uncertain and disputed by some historians.

- More re Portarlington.: "... In 1696, William III converted the custodiam grant into an absolute gift, and Galway received the Portarlington estate on 26 June 1696. At the end of the War of the Grand Alliance, also known as the Nine Years’ War, in 1697, William III’s army was disbanded, the Huguenot regiments were broken, and about 600 reformed officers settled at Portarlington. Their main income was the pensions they received out of the Treasury. By granting them long-term leases at nominal rents on all the houses, plots and lands, Galway effectively established a colony of French Huguenot ex-officers in the Irish midlands. He is also credited with financing, out of his own money, the construction of two churches, one for the French settlers, St Paul’s, in 1696, and another for the English; a classical and a French school, which were reputed for the standard of their teaching; and over 100 houses, so that by 1703 most of the town had been built. The church register, which had started in 1694, was written in French by a succession of refugee pastors who followed the Calvinist discipline, and provides much biographical information on its parishioners, many of them members of distinguished Huguenot military families. ... However, the Portarlington Huguenots were forced to conform to the [Anglican] Church of Ireland, with the consecration of St Paul’s as a new church in 1702. Portarlington was confirmed as an Anglican settlement on 29 September of that year. Religious conformity, alongside the demand for soldiers which followed the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession, disrupted the colony and deprived it of a good part of its population. Many of the veterans re-enlisted and followed the Earl of Galway to the front in Portugal. ..."

- youtu.be/xcpT7FRhddk?si=HawckWniSt9QLSRv

 

- More re the Huguenots of Dundalk.:

"A colony of cambric weavers was established in Dundalk by the brothers Ciprian and Estienne de Joncourt (cousins of the Crommelin/de La Cherois family of Lisburn [credited with jump-starting the Irish Linen Industry in Ulster]), under the auspices of the Irish Linen Board in 1736. Funding was provided for 2 flax dressers, 2 weavers, 2 spinning mistresses, a bleaching green and seed for growing flax. Black soap and bleaching linen were manufactured in addition to cambric. The Primate of Armagh wrote the following to the Duke of Dorset 28 April 1739: "... Since his [Estienne de Joncourt’s] arrival we have a linnen board and we have furnished him and his brother with money to go with their workmen to Dundalk where we have fixed this new manufacture. ..."

 

- The name of Large's wife is unknown, but it's not unlikely that it was Vickers as that was the middle name of one of his children and the maiden surname of the mother was often chosen as the middle name of a child in those days. I don't know who his folks were, but "circumstantial evidence [whatever that is] points to the probability of his being related to the Thomas Large of Derrycloney, Co. Laois [his father?], who leased a 90 acre farm at Drumneen (Little Hill) from the Walsh family of Ballykilcavan in 1764." (again, p. 32). Derrycloney is 171 km.s from Dundalk driving via the M7 and M1 (@ 150 as the crow flies).

- I don't know where he's buried on the island although he "was active in the Little York Methodist Chapel" after he had moved to Lot 34 "by 1838" and he died at that lot after 1841. And I don't know if the 'York United church', moved to its current site may years ago, includes elements of the former Methodist chapel of Large's day (the steeple?). But his daughter Elizabeth, great x 3 grandma, and his son-in-law Stephen Weeks the 2nd (of 3), both "natives of Queen's co. [Co. Laois, pron Leesh], Ireland", are buried together in a cemetery at St. Elizabeth's Anglican in Springfield on Lot 67. I've seen their stone there, and here it is.: billiongraves.com/grave/Elizabeth-Large-Weeks/12810464

- I've found a web-page devoted to John Large replete with a photo which states (as quoted above) that "according to family tradition, (he) served as a British officer during the Napoleonic Wars." (Don't hesitate to google things, you never know what you'll find.) www.angelfire.com/biz/pottershouse/1Large.html He sailed for P.E.I. 2 years after the British victory at Waterloo. Had he been rewarded with plum official appointments after serving at that battle?

- One story I heard so many years ago is that he'd been an official at one time in the area of St. Eleanor's or Summerside where he tried to clamp down on the pilfering of shipwrecks by local Acadians in the area and made himself unpopular in the process, which is one reason why he moved east towards Charlottetown. That website provides information which is somewhat consistent with that account.: "Besides administering the affairs of Sir John [Walsh], on Prince Edward Island, John Large was selected to serve as a magistrate. His attempt to protect the wreck and the materials of the ship 'Margaret Anne' was a tale recorded within the report of Attorney General Johnston in 1827. The prisoners he arrested in this case were eventually discharged when evidence against them was found to be insufficient. It's believed that this ship was likely the 'Margaret Ann' of Whitby, bound for Quebec, which wrecked on the North Cape of Prince Edward Island in a late gale. Records of the Provincial Secretary's Office in Quebec dating from May 31st, 1827 indicate that "all on board, about 20 souls, are drowned. The Stockton's people buried 14 of the dead bodies."

- According to yet another site devoted to John Large's descendants, 'The Descendants of John Large' www.islandregister.com/large2.html , he was born "bef. 1781", and if so he would've been at least @ 34 yr.s old at the time of the battle of Waterloo, at least @ 36 when he arrived on the island, and it's likely he was born a little less than a century after the arrival of his Huguenot ancestor in Ireland.

- There's a chapter written about him in his role as land agent for the Irish settlement of Lot or Township 11 in 'Exiles and Islanders: The Irish Settlers of Prince Edward Island' by Brendan O'Grady, and which I've been quoting from above.: books.google.ca/books?id=y4fZZeJqqRcC&pg=PA32&lpg...

- Large's predecessor as land agent, one James Bardin Palmer from Dublin, founded 'the Loyal Electors' in 1806, "said to have been the first political society in British North America." !! (Halifax was without a 'political society' from 1749 to 1806?) "According to Greenhill and Gifford, Palmer's party "marked the very beginning of the long fight for the political emancipation of the Islanders, first towards a government responsible to the people and then to the freeing of the people from the incubus of the landlords."" books.google.ca/books?id=y4fZZeJqqRcC&pg=PA32&lpg...

 

- Here's a copy of the obituary of Elizabeth Large, published in 'The Islander', July 12, 1867.

"Died. At her residence, Fredericton, Lot 67 on the 27th June, aged 62 years, Eliza the beloved wife of Stephen Weeks, Esq., and second daughter of the late John Large, Esq., who emigrated to this Island from Queen’s County, Ireland, [Co. Laois today,] in 1817. [The] Deceased was deeply and deservedly regretted by a large circle of relatives, friends and neighbours, to whom she was justly endeared on account of her amiable, meek and Christian disposition. She leaves a disconsolate husband, 10 children and 31 grand-children, to mourn the loss of an affectionate wife and loving mother. But they mourn not without hope, for they enjoy the blessed consolation that although she is now absent from the body, she is present with the Lord, having exchanged the sorrows of time for the joys of eternity. She was followed to the grave by a large number of friends and relatives."

 

- Her widower Stephen Weeks passed almost two yr.s later. His obituary was published in 'The Islander', April 16, 1869.

"Died. ... At Fredericton, Lot 67, of congestion of the lungs, on the 5th inst., in the full assurance of a blissful immortality, Mr. Stephen Weeks, aged 74 years. Deceased immigrated to this Island in the year 1823, and was highly respected."

Done