William Archer Byrne : Short Biography

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I am researching a Tipperary ancestor and his family, who were natives of Fethard in the early to mid 1800s. 

Of interest is William A. Byrne, born the eldest child of William Archer Byrne and Ellen Byrne (born Lee), in Fethard, County Tipperary in 1841.  William Archer Byrne was a licensed Fethard apothecary.  I do not have the exact date of his son William's birth, unfortunately.  William was christened, according to my research, in Fethard on January 10, 1842.  His father and mother were also born and raised in Fethard and christened in a parish within the Diocese (William Archer Byrne was born in 1814 and christened on November 11, 1812).  I do not have the information for Ellen Lee Byrne, unfortunately.  William Archer and Ellen were married in Fethard in 1840, according to my research.

William A. Byrne (by the name possibly a Jr.) had three younger siblings, also born and christened in Fethard: Eliza Byrne (born 1843 and christened April 15, 1843), Alicia Byrne (also known as Alice, born 1844, no christening date), and John Johnson Byrne (born 1846, who I believe may have died young).

The family emigrated to New York in the late 1840s or early 1850s, during the Famine.

Although not pertinent to his life in Tipperary, but for general interest, William Jr. fought and died (July 21, 1863) on the Union side at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War (1861-65), and is buried in the National Military Cemetery at Gettysburg which was dedicated in 1864 by US President Abraham Lincoln.  William was shot in the thigh on the second day of the battle and lingered and died in a military field hospital thereafter, only 21 years of age.  Given the medical practice of the time, William's leg was likely amputated to prevent sepsis, so the chances for his survival would have been very grim indeed. William is one of many brave Irish soldiers who gave their young lives in the American Civil War.

I would be most appreciative for any information and assistance finding surviving, available information on my ancestor and/or his family.

RWBYRNE

Tuesday 23rd May 2023 11:35PM

My apologies for the typing error in my first message, but William Archer Byrne was born in 1812, not 1814.

RWBYRNE

Tuesday 23rd May 2023 11:39PM

I am researching the younger brother of William Archer, John Johnson Byrne. Baptised at Fethad, 19/01/1816.

The info I have on William is - Baptism for Alicia - 31/12/1844 and John Johnson 21/08/1846. John died on the voyage to New York aboard SS Garrick arrived 20/01/1848. The passenger list had Wm. A Birne 36 - doctor, E. Birne 26, W.A. Birne 6, Eliza 4, Alicia 3 and John Infant. Died at sea... I have not been able to find further info on William Sr, but believe there were 2 more children born in New York - Ida L Byron[?] about 1849 in Long Island and Robert B Byrne born about 1851 in New York (no record found), Died 1875 in Louisiana…

I believe Ellen married [?]  Benjamin J Sammis.  She was listed 1860 Census for Huntington as Ellen Sammis together with Alice 15, born Ireland and Robert 10 born New York. Ellen died 27/08/1890 at Huntington, N.Y. - age 71 years 6mths 14 days.

judy Campbell

Wednesday 24th May 2023 03:03AM

Many thanks, Judy!  So much information I didn't have, and so much appreciated!  I now know that the youngest child (born in Ireland), John Johnson, was named for William Archer's youngest brother.  This would confirm my guess that William Archer's eldest son, William A., was likely a junior, though I have never seen anything where the young William used or referred to himself with the Jr. or II designation.  Interesting.  I also suspected the youngest child died either in Ireland before they left the country, or on route to America.  Your information settled that for me as well, and also the name of the ship they traveled to New York.  The information you have, regarding Ellen and the family in Suffolk County, NY is correct.  There were two children, Ida and Robert born in New York, so William Sr. must have died in NY sometime before William Jr. enlisted for the army.  In fact, several years prior to William Jr.'s enlistment in 1861, he was working (and supporting his mother and siblings) as a farmhand on neighboring farms and for two years as a sailor on ships sailing between the US Atlantic coast and Europe.  There is no mention of William Archer in any of the information I have during that time, which would be late 1850s and early 1860s.  I also have not been able to find any records about William Asher's death or the circumstances.

Ellen remarried into a very prominent Long Island family, the Sammis family, but it didn't last more than a year before Benjamin J. Sammis abandoned Ellen and lost everything due to unpaid debts.  My contacts with the Sammis family historian confirm that Benjamin was known at the time as a lazy and useless person.  So it is truly sad that Ellen should have been in a happy family life with a successful apothecary/perhaps doctor, only to be widowed and then abandoned and in poverty later in life.  

I'd be interested in staying in touch with you, if that would be of interest?  I have a lot of information about the family in the US, from the National Archives file on William Jr. when Ellen applied to receive his military pension.  Unfortunately, it was only recently that I learned of William Asher on MyHeritage.com and then after doing a Google search of his name.  I found a very interesting article by Laurence M. Geary entitled, "The Great Famine and Fethard Temporary Fever Hospital" through this search.  William Archer appears prominently in that article, as he was chosen by the town counsellors to lead the local fever hospital, due to his medical training.  It appears from this article that the fevers that were rampant and killing many during the Famine overwhelmed the little hospital, and I suspect William Archer and Ellen decided they needed to leave Ireland in order to save their children from this fate.  Unfortunately, the trip to America would lead to its own tragedies and sorrows with the death of at least two of their sons, a husband, and then a very poor existence in Long Island.

 

Thank you so much again for your reply and I look forward to sharing more with you in the future!

 

Best, Robert W. Byrne

RWBYRNE

Wednesday 24th May 2023 03:54AM