This article is about the descendants and relations of Harriet Elizabeth Evans (later Egerton-Warburton), especially those who lived in and around Monkstown, Co Cork from 1890 to 1940.
Harriet Elizabeth Evans was the eldest daughter of Major General Thomas Evans and was born in Canada on 31 Mar 1811. She together with all her siblings moved to Ireland in 1827 with her father’s promotion to full commanding officer of the 70th regiment of Foot based in Templemore Barracks, Tipperary..
Her youngest sister and brother were born in Ireland in 1828 and 1830 respectively. In the years from 1832 to 1838 it is clear her father continued to travel with the regiment, but it would seem that the family made Ireland as their home. Her next oldest sister Mary Ogden Evans married Major John Sutton, son of Admiral Samuel Sutton in Parsonstown, co Offaly on 9 Mar 1842. The military milieu in which they must have circulated is evident. Both her brothers Thomas Owen Evans and Charles Richard Ogden Evans went into the army, the latter serving mainly in Ireland, the former being killed in Afghanistan in 1842.
Harriet too married a military man, Major Henry William Egerton-Warburton on 27 May 1835. He was the younger brother of Rowland Egerton-Warburton and is recorded as being Barrack Master for the 47th Regiment of Infantry at Mullinger, Co West Meath and he died in Northumberland Road, Co Dublin on 27 Feb 1868, leaving three surviving daughters. The one son, Rowland Egerton Warburton, died aged 20 in 1861.
Two of these daughters – Harriet Sophia and Charlotte Edith – were also to die young in childbirth in India, both married to military men. The youngest daughter Emma Isabel was the one who continued to live on in Ireland. She had no children.
Harriet Elizabeth Egerton Warburton therefore only had four grandchildren. By her daughter Harriet Sophia Bennett, she had three grand-daughters all of whom went to live in New Zealand with their father Thomas Bennet, surgeon, who did not die until 1926. The orphaned daughter of Charlotte Edith was Mary Isabel Edith Ogden, known on these pages as Aunt Og.
Harriet’s youngest daughter, Emma Isabel (known as Zie) married Charles Saul Bruce in Dublin on 12 Sep 1877. His education was at Trinity College Dublin and after his ordination held a number of parochial posts, before becoming Rector of Monkstown, Co Cork (1881-1891).
It was undoubtedly this posting that drew a number of strands of the Evans family to Cork. Harriet Elizabeth herself died in Monkstown, co Cork on 14 Mar 1895. But Aunt Zie remained close to her niece Edith Ogden. Edith eventually married Thomas Royse, Rector of Blarney and moved to Cork. Her stepmother was Sarah Evans, wife of Charles Richard Ogden Evans. Although Sarah never lived in Cork her death is recorded in Monkstown on 28 Sep 1890. We can presume she was visiting Edith and Zie in the period immediately after the death of her husband Charles Richard Ogden Evans in Eastbourne on 13 Apr 1890.
When much later, Molly Evans, niece of Sarah Evans recalled her happy summers on holiday with the Irish family, probably around 1900, it was undoubtedly spent with Aunt Zie and her husband, together with Aunt Og, who had been a presence in the young family of Henry Evans at the Lawn, Hagley in the 1890’s.
This Irish line of the Evans family died out as each died in turn. The Very Rev Charles Saul Bruce died on 28 Dec 1913. His wife, Aunt Zie died on 27 Aug 1940. Thomas Royse, Rector of Blarney died on 21 Jul 1957 and finally Edith Royse (nee Ogden) died in Cork aged 91 on 11 Mar 1965.