References
| Ireland |
Brigid Farrell was born on 15 May 1846 in the Roman Catholic parish of Killaveny to labourer Peter Farrell and his wife Ellen Byrne. She was baptised two days later and godparented by Michael Doyle and Ann Byrne. She was just a baby during the height of the famine in 1847. Her siblings included Mary, Catherine, Margaret and Peter.
Sometime after the Famine, the Farrells moved into the townland of Rathdrum. Brigid worked there as a dairymaid.
On 26 Nov 1874, she married a newcomer to the village, Roscommon born blacksmith Thomas Maxwell, witnessed by James Maher and Mary Matthews. They lived in a house rented from Thomas Berrigam and Sarah O'Brien.
Children of Thomas and Brigid
Mary Jane B. 4 Nov 1875 Godparents- Patrick O'Finn and Emily Cody
Ellen B. 25 Jun 1877 Godparents- Catherine Whelan and John McKeon
Timothy B. 8 May 1879 Godparents- Fergal O'Brien and Anne Whelan
Catherine B. 14 Nov 1880
Thomas B. 3 Nov 1881 Godparents- Catherine Kenny and Andrew Belton
On 1 Nov 1881, three days away from giving birth to her fifth child, Brigid and her family were ordered out of their house by Thomas Berrigam. Her husband refused to leave and kept her there while she had baby Thomas. On 19 Nov 1881, Thomas was brought to court and ordered out of the house and to pay a fine for the trouble he'd caused. They had a two week old baby, four children under six, and nowhere to live.
Sometime between 1881 and 1884, Brigid was sent to the Richmond Lunatic Asylum on North Brunswick Street, Dublin, possibly for post natal depression. She most likely never saw her family again.
Baby Thomas died in Rathdrum Workhouse on 8 Jan 1883. Mary Jane and Ellen were taken by the Sisters of Mercy to St Michaels Industrial School, Wexford, after it was decided Thomas could not care properly for them. It is unknown where Catherine and Thomas were sent.
Brigid's belongings would have been taken from her immediately after arriving at the asylum. She would have led a bleak, miserable and lonely life, far away from her family, friends and home.
On 28 Apr 1888, after suffering from dysentery for 21 days, Brigid was found dead by her fellow inmate Ellen Bourke. She was forty two years old.
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 15th May 1846 | |
| Date of Death | 2nd Apr 1888 | |
| Father (First Name/s and Surname) | Peter Farrell | |
| Mother (First Name/s and Maiden) | Ellen Byrne | |
| Spouse (First Name/s and Maiden/Surname) | Thomas Maxwell | |
| Place & Date of Marriage | 26 Nov 1874, Rathdrum | |
| Occupation | Dairymaid | |
| Names of Children | Mary Jane Flanagan, Ellen Tracey, Timothy Maxwell, Catherine Maxwell, Thomas Maxwell | |
| Place of Death | Richmond Lunatic Asylum, North Brunswick Street, Dublin | |
