Chideock corrigenda
Of Fermanagh, Ireland; and America
Arms: Gu. an escutcheon and orle of martlets ar.
In the Library of Thirlestain House, Cheltenham, England, there is a manuscript of Sir William Betham’s, No. 13,293 in Catalogue, and entitled English Families in Ireland, from which the following is an extract:—
“The family of Chittog are famous in the barony of Lurg, in this county (Fermanagh), for being stout, forward, liberal people, particularly the son John of Mr. Thomas, the eldest of Mr. Henry Chittog, a gentleman freeholder of good credit and respect. His freehold lies near Pettigo, in the lower end of the county, bordering on Lough Erne, a pretty, handsome seat. His grandfather, Mr. Thomas Chittog, came from England, in the reign of King James I. His wife was sister to the king in (the Isle of) Mann, and grandmother to Mr. John Chittog. The said Mr. Henry[1] Chittog is married in the family of Johnstone, daughter of Mr. Johnstone, who was a gentleman of credit and good relations in this county, and by this gentlewoman he has many children. Now the proper name of this family is Chideock. But from the time they came to Ireland they were called by every possible misnomer; and about the beginning of the last century a person named Chittock, in no way related to or connected with the Chideocks, settled in Fermanagh, after which the country people began to call the Chideocks “Chittick,” and they fell into the misnomer.”
Henry Blennerhasset’s daughter Deborah had, by her second husband Captain James Colquhoun, two daughters: Lillias, the elder,[2] married Alexander Squire of Londonderry, and had by him two sons and one daughter; the elder son James alone survived infancy. This James Squire married Catherine Chittage, alias Chideock, of Muckross, county Fermanagh, and by her had two sons, William and Leslie: Leslie died a minor and unmarried; William married Anne, daughter of Captain James Austin, who, in her marriage settlement, is designated of Sharon Rectory, county Donegal, where she resided with her uncle and guardian John Waller, Senior Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and Rector of Raymockey. William Squire died in June, 1806, and left four children, two of whom died in infancy; one son, William, and one daughter, Anne, survived: William married Harriet Chideock, and left by her one son, Archer Squire (living in 1888); and Anne married James Chideock (or Chittick), by whom she had three sons (now resident in New York, United States, America), and two daughters. The three sons: I. Squire Leslie
Hasset. II. William Gervaise, who married Eliza-Jane, daughter of Alexander Lindsay, J.P., of Lisnacrieve House, county Tyrone (Alderman of Londonderry, where he served three times as Mayor), and has surviving issue—1. William-Gervaise, a Barrister; 2. James; 3. Alice-Gertrude. III. James Johnstone Forster. The two daughters of James Chideock were: I. Erminda, wife of Alexander Rentoul,[3] M.D., D.D., of Errily House, Manorcunningham, county Donegal; 2. Harriet, a spinster. The issue (surviving) of Erminda Chideock (or Chittick) and her husband Alexander Rentoul are: 1. James Alexander, LL.D., Woolwich, and Barrister-at-Law, 1 Pump Court, Temple, London; 2. Erminda; 3. Robert John; 4. Harriet; 5. Lizzy; 6. Margaret-Augusta; 7. Anne; 8. William Gervaise, who died 9th October, 1887.
The “Chideock” family is now represented by the Messrs. Chittick, Chideock, of New York, and by the aforesaid James Alexander Rentoul, LL.D., Woolwich.
Notes
[1] Henry: It may be worthy of remark that, in keeping with the popular pronunciation of his sirname in his locality, this Henry Chittog, in his will, signs his name “Henry Chittick.” The Chittogs, or Chideocks, bought their freehold from Thomas, or Sir Leonard, Blennerhasset, who was an undertaker under the “Plantation of Ulster.”
[2] Elder: There are at present no representatives of Penuel, the younger daughter of Captain James Colquhoun. She married James Irvine, Physician to the “Pretender,” at Rome, and left by him one son, James Irvine, who died at Manorcunningham, A.D. 1756, and bequeathed the estate to his cousin, James Squire, the eldest son of Alexander Squire, of Londonderry, above mentioned.
[3] Rentoul: The family of “Rentoul” is of Huguenot origin. At the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, a gentleman named Rintoul settled in Scotland. He had three sons, the eldest of whom settled in Perthshire, where he obtained some land. In after generations the eldest son retained the homestead, while the younger sons became professional men. Previous to A.D. 1790 James Rintoul, then a Licentiate of the Church of Scotland, was sent to administer to the Presbyterian Congregation of Kay. By his Church’s orders he had to remain in Ireland for two years; during which time he married Anne, daughter of the Rev. Robert Reed, late minister of Kay, and he decided to remain in Ireland. By Anne Reed he had a family; their eldest son, Alexander, M.D., D.D., of Errily House, Manorcunningham, became the husband of Erminda, daughter of James Chideock (or Chittick), as above mentioned. Or, more fully given, the genealogy of the Rev. Alexander Rentoul, of Errily House, Manorcunningham, is as follows : Thomas Blennerhasset married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Sandys, of Dublin. Their eldest son, Sir Leonard Blennerhasset, married Deborah, daughter of Sir Henry Mervyn, of Petersfield (M.P. for Wotton Basset in 1614, Admiral of the “Narrow Seas” in 1646), by his wife Christian Audley, fourth daughter of the first Earl of Castlehaven and his wife Lucy Mervyn. (The 20th Baron Audley died 18th April, 1872, leaving no male issue and the title is now in abeyance.) Sir Leonard Blennerhasset was succeeded by his son Henry, who in 1664 was elected M.P. for Fermanagh, and who married Phoebe, daughter of Sir George Hume, of Castle Hume. By her he had only two daughters—1. Deborah; 2. Mary. Deborah was twice married : first, to Christopher, eldest son of Sir George Irvine, by whom she had no issue; her second husband was Captain James Colquhoun, the second son of Sir James Colquhoun (who was the 19th of Colquhoun, and 21st of Luss), by his wife Penuel, granddaughter of Sir James Cunningham, the 18th of Glengarnock, by his wife Lady Catherine, daughter of James, 7th Earl of Glencairne. James Colquhoun died in Flanders in 1699, leaving no male issue; his only two daughters were Lillias and Penuel, as above mentioned.