James Horseman : Short Biography

In the 1911 census James Horseman is listed as living in Carrickahilla with his wife Kate (70) and grand daughter Lena Waggner (6).

Tracing him back in the 1901 national census, we find that he and his wife were living in Carrickahilla then as well, with their three daughters, Ellen (19), Mary (16) and Johanna (12). Also living in the house in 1901 were two boarders, Georges Cripps (9) and Margaret Cripps (7). His children and the boarders could read and write, his wife could read, but James himself could not do either. The entire household could speak both English and Irish though.

In both the 1901 and 1911 census, he is recorded as being an agricultural labourer. It seems highly likely that the Horseman family were linked to a well-known shipwreck in the area, since there are no other families in Stradbally with that name. When the Spanish ship, the Cirilo Amoros, was shipwrecked in Ballyvooney cove in 1926, a Tom Horseman was the only local man who could speak Spanish, because he had been a sailor himself and had spent time in South America. Although no son named Thomas is recorded on the census, the 1911 census does inform us that James' wife Kate gave birth to 10 children, 6 of whom were still alive in 1911.

Some members of the Horseman family had clearly travelled, for the 1911 census tells us that James' granddaughter Lena was born in America.