Sunday 6 July 2014

(128) Anderson of Grace Dieu

Maj. Alexander Anderson, who came from a minor gentry family in Banffshire and served in Sir John Hill's regiment under King William III in Ireland, acquired a small estate called Grace Dieu north-west of the city of Waterford. Dying unmarried and without issue, he left this estate to his nephew and namesake, Alexander Anderson (b. 1688), a younger son of his brother John, who had remained in Scotland. The younger Alexander evidently came to Ireland and took up his inheritance, and the family were thereafter settled in the Waterford area down to the late 20th century.  Remarkably little is known about Alexander's life or that of his son and heir, James Anderson (fl. mid 18th cent.), but with the latter's children the family become more visible in the historical record.  James was succeeded by his son, James Anderson (c.1765-1838), who died unmarried and left the estate to his nephew, James Anderson (1810-67), a noted breeder of shorthorn cattle. He married a Carew from Ballinamona Park and built a new house, which he confusing also called Grace Dieu, south of Waterford, on land which he probably acquired from his wife's family. Although when first built this was quite a modest three bay house, it was greatly enlarged by James' son, Thomas William Anderson (1852-1925), in 1894. Thomas left only a daughter, Susan Alice Anderson (1881-1941), who was unmarried and without children. On her death, therefore, Grace Dieu passed to her third cousin, Col. Charles Bevan Carew Anderson (1894-1979), who seems to have lived at Grace Dieu. After his death, however, the house was sold by his three children and became a retreat centre of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, who added a large and very unlovely new accommodation block at right-angles to the original building. The retreat centre closed in 2011 and the future of the house is currently uncertain.

Grace Dieu, Waterford
The Anderson family has had two houses near Waterford City, to both of which the name Grace Dieu or Gracedieu has been applied.  
Grace Dieu I from the 1890s
Ordnance Survey 25" map
The first Grace Dieu stood north-west of the city, in a loop of the River Suir, and was apparently little more than a farmhouse, with a single gentrified front approach by a drive, but with farm buildings immediately adjoining the house to the south. The family appear to have leased it out after the second Grace Dieu was built and it declined into a simple farm; aerial photography suggests that it is still standing, but derelict.




Grace Dieu, painted by Col. Anderson in the mid 20th century. Image: Nanette Anderson



Grace Dieu II: the house as it is today


Grace Dieu II: the rear elevation
The second Grace Dieu was apparently built for James Anderson (1810-67) after he inherited the estate from his uncle in 1838. The new house stood in a completely different location, south of Waterford City and very close to the line of the modern ring road.
Grace Dieu II in the 1890s
As first built it was a two-storey three-bay villa with wide eaves and an Ionic porch; the garden front had four bays, and there were orangeries on either end of the building.  The original house is still visible, but the orangeries were removed when later 19th century additions, built by A.E. Murray in 1894 for Thomas William Anderson, expanded it into an irregular Italianate mansion.  The front is now composed of two two-storey blocks, that to the right being set further forward. The left hand (original) block has a balustraded and pilastered porch; the right-hand block a single-storey curved bow with a balustraded top. A single-storey glazed extension links the porch to the right-hand block. In the 1980s the house was acquired by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart as a retreat centre and a large and ugly new accommodation and chapel block was built at right-angles to the house. The retreat centre closed in 2011 and the future of the building is uncertain.


Descent: Maj. Alexander Anderson; to nephew, Alexander Anderson (b. 1688); to son, James Anderson (fl. mid 18th cent.); to son, James Anderson (c.1765-1838); to nephew, James Anderson (1810-67), who built the new house; to son, Thomas William Anderson (1852-1925); to daughter, Susan Alice Anderson (1881-1941); to first cousin once removed, William Alexander Anderson (1922-43); to second cousin once removed, Col. Charles Bevan Carew Anderson (1894-1979); sold after his death to Missionaries of the Sacred Heart; sold 2012.

The Anderson family of Grace Dieu

Anderson, James (fl. mid 17th cent.). Son of John Anderson of Ardbrake (Banffshire) and his wife Ann Gordon, probably born about 1620.  He married 1st, Katherine (d. 1667), daughter of Robert Leslie of Findrassie and 2nd, 1667, Isabell, daughter of Dr. Andrew Douglas, provost of Banff, and widow of Rev. Alexander Cant, and had issue:
(1.1) Patrick Anderson (b. c.1644); 
(1.1) John Anderson (b. 1647) (q.v.);
(1.3) Elizabeth Anderson (b. c.1650); married, 16 October 1675, John Gordon (d. 1701) of Carroll (Sutherland) and had issue;
(1.2) Maj. Alexander Anderson (b. c.1653); served in Sir John Hill's Regiment of Foot; acquired the original Grace Dieu estate at Waterford; died unmarried and without issue;
(1.4) Anna Anderson (b. c.1656); married, 5 August 1684, Robert Gibson of Linkwood;
(1.5) Mary Anderson (b. c.1657); married Thomas Baker of Ballytobin (Kilkenny).
He lived at Wester Ardbrake alias Westerton in Banffshire.
His date of death is unknown. His first wife died 9 March 1667.

Anderson, John (b. 1647). Elder son of James Anderson (fl. mid 17th cent.) and his first wife, Katherine, daughter of Robert Leslie of Findrassie, baptised at Boharm (Banffs), 1 August 1647. He married, 1 January 1683 at New Machar, Aberdeen, Jean, daughter of Robert Gordon of Pitlurg, and had issue:
(1) James Anderson (b. 1684), baptised at Botriphnie, 26 March 1684; surgeon;
(2) Katherine Anderson (b. 1685), baptised at Botriphnie, 19 May 1685;
(3) John Anderson (b. 1686), baptised at Botriphnie, 30 September 1686;
(4) Alexander Anderson (b. 1688) (q.v.);
(5) Jean Anderson (b. 1689), baptised at Botriphnie, 11 September 1689;
(6) Isabell Anderson (b. 1690), baptised at Botriphnie, 13 October 1690;
(7) Elizabeth Anderson (b. 1692), baptised at Botriphnie, 24 March 1692;
(8) Anna Anderson (b. 1693), baptised at Botriphnie, 29 June 1693.
He inherited Westerton (Banffs) from his father.
His date of death is unknown.

Anderson, Alexander (b. 1688) of Grace Dieu.  Third son of John Anderson (b. 1647) of Westerton (Banffs) and his wife Jean Gordon, baptised at Botriphnie, 4 July 1688. He married 1st [name unknown] and 2nd, 2 February 1721, Jane (d. 1754), daughter and heiress of William Brewster and granddaughter of Sir Francis Brewster, Lord Mayor of Dublin, and had issue:
(1.1) Jane Anderson (b. 1715); married, 1733, Robert Carew (1710-61) of Woodinstown (Tipperary), eldest son of Lynn Carew, and had issue three sons and three daughters; 
(2.1) James Anderson (fl. mid 18th cent.) (q.v.);
(2.2) A daughter.
He inherited Grace Dieu from his uncle, Maj. Alexander Anderson.
His date of death is unknown.

Anderson, James (fl. mid 18th cent.) of Grace Dieu. Only son of Alexander Anderson (b. 1688) of Grace Dieu, and his second wife, Jane, daughter of William Brewster. He married 1st, 1756, Henrietta Boyd (d. 1762), and 2nd, 27 December 1764, Susanna, youngest daughter of Christmas Paul MP of Paulville (Carlow) and sister of Sir John Paul, 1st bt., and had issue:
(2.1) James Anderson (c.1765-1838) of Grace Dieu; died unmarried and without issue in London, 1838; will proved 26 July 1838;


Gen. Paul Anderson (1767-1851), who buried
Sir John Moore at Corunna.
Image: Nanette Anderson
(2.2) Gen. Paul Anderson (1767-1851) CB*, born 29 March 1767; served in the Army (entered the army 1788; served in Corsica and the West Indies; was aide-de-camp to Sir John Moore at Corunna; wounded in the Egyptian campaign under Sir Ralph Abercromby; served in the Mediterranean, the West Indies, the Peninsula and Walcheren; Deputy Adjutant-General of the forces at Malta; Lt-Governor of Gravesend & Tilbury, 1827; Governor of Pendennis Castle (Cornwall) and Col. of 78th Highlanders, 1837-51); died unmarried and without issue at Bath, 1851;





(2.3) Capt. Alexander Anderson (d. 1833); served in the 95th regiment; died unmarried and without issue at Bath, 1833;
(2.4) Henry Anderson; served in the Royal Navy (Lieutenant, 1794); died unmarried and without issue;
(2.5) Rev. Joshua Anderson (1770-1859) (q.v.);
(2.6) Robert Anderson (d. 1801); served in 42nd Regiment and was killed at the Battle of Alexandria, 21 March 1801; was unmarried and without issue;
(2.7) Ellen Anderson (c.1776-1860); died unmarried and without issue in Bath, 30 September 1860; will proved 15 December 1860 (estate under £25,000).
He inherited Grace Dieu from his father.  At his death it passed in turn to his eldest son (d. 1838) and then to his grandson, James Anderson (1810-67), the son of Rev. Joshua Anderson.
His date of death is unknown.
*Some sources record General Anderson as Sir Paul Anderson, KCH, but newspaper obituaries at the time of his death make no reference to such an honour.

Anderson, Rev. Joshua (1770-1859). Fifth son of James Anderson (fl. mid 18th cent.) and his second wife, Susanna, youngest daughter of Christmas Paul MP of Paulville (Carlow), born 8 December 1770. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin (admitted, 1790; MA); rector of Corclone and Killany (Leix) to 1834 and later of Myshall (Carlow), 1834-59.  He married, 1 October 1807, Anne (1785-1854), eldest daughter of Capt. William Perceval of Temple House, Ballymote (Sligo) and had issue:
(1) James Anderson (1810-67) (q.v.);
(2) William Anderson (1812-1904), born August 1812; married, 24 August 1859, Elizabeth Paul (d. 1910), daughter of Samuel Wallis Adams of Kilbree (Cork) and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 20 November 1904;
(3) Robert Carew Anderson (1815-85) (q.v.);
(4) Paul Christmas Anderson (1817-1907) of Prospect (Kilkenny); died unmarried and without issue, 24 February 1907;
(5) Alexander Anderson (c.1818-1854); served in Royal Navy (entered navy 1832; Lieutenant, 1838); commanded HMS Cressy but died unmarried on board, August 1854 and was buried on island of Nargen in Baltic;
(6) Anne Anderson (c.1820-84); married, 4 February 1845, Charles Newport Bolton (1816-84) of Mount Bolton (Waterford), a talented amateur artist, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died September 1884;
(7) Jane Ellen Anderson (c.1822-1906) of Prospect (Kilkenny); died unmarried, 14 March 1906;
(8) Catherine Anderson (c.1826-55); died unmarried, 18 February 1855;
(9) Ellen Anderson (c.1827-1902); married, 13 December 1859, George Bevan Russell MD of Fermoy (Cork) and had issue a daughter; died 9 February 1902;
(10) Henrietta Anderson (c.1828-1927) of Prospect (Kilkenny); died unmarried, 22 January 1927, aged 99;
(11) Susanna Anderson (d. 1911) of Prospect (Kilkenny); died unmarried, 14 September 1911; will proved in Kilkenny, 1911 (estate in England £2,948).
He died 6 April 1859 and a grant of administration of his goods was made at Dublin, 12 May 1859. His wife died 24 March 1854.

Anderson, James (1810-67) of Grace Dieu. Eldest son of Rev. Joshua Anderson (1770-1859) and his wife Anne, daughter of Capt. William Perceval of Temple House, Ballymote (Sligo), born 4 August 1810. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin. JP for Co. Waterford. A noted breeder of shorthorn cattle; he won first prize at the Waterford Show in 1863. He married, 25 April 1842, Margaret (c.1818-64), youngest daughter of Thomas Carew of Ballinamona Park (Waterford) and had issue:
(1) Jane Margaret Anderson (1844-1936); married, 15 December 1868, Lt-Col. Michael Clare Garsia CB (1838-1903), Inspector-General of Military Prisons, son of Dr. Aaron Garsia, and had issue three sons; died 9 October 1936 aged 93; will proved 22 December 1936 (estate £261);
(2) James Paul Anderson (1850-60), born 21 January 1850; died young of scarletina, 26 September 1860;
(3) Thomas William Anderson (1852-1925) (q.v.);
(4) Alexander Carew Anderson (1856-1918) (q.v.).
He inherited Grace Dieu from his uncle in 1838 and built a new house with the same name in a completely different place.
He died of anthrax, 22 October 1867; his will was proved 30 March 1868 (estate under £25,000). His wife died 29 February 1864.

Anderson, Thomas William (1852-1925) of Grace Dieu. Elder surviving son of James Anderson (1810-67) of Grace Dieu and his wife Margaret, daughter of Thomas Carew of Ballinamona Park (Waterford), born 26 June 1852. Educated at Cheltenham and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1871; BA 1875). JP for Co. Waterford and Kilkenny; DL for Co. Waterford; High Sheriff of Co. Waterford, 1885. He married 1st, 10 November 1879, Constance Agnes Jane (c.1858-81), daughter of Very Rev. Anthony Latouche Kirwan, Dean of Limerick, and 2nd, 2 October 1907, Ellen Blanche Carew Blacker Kirwan (c.1850-1944), sister of his first wife, and had issue:
(1.1) Susan Alice Anderson (1881-1941) (q.v.).
He inherited Grace Dieu from his father in 1867 and remodelled the house in 1894. The estate was sold to the tenants in the early 20th century except for the house and demesne.
He died 5 September 1925; his will was proved in London, 19 July 1926 (estate £23,182). His first wife died 9/19 August 1881. His widow died without issue, 6 April 1944, aged 94; her will was proved 9 February 1945 (estate £2,123).

Anderson, Susan Alice (1881-1941) of Grace Dieu. Only child of Thomas William Anderson (1852-1925) of Grace Dieu and his first wife, Constance Agnes Jane, daughter of Very Rev. Anthony Latouche Kirwan, born 1881. She was unmarried and without issue.
She inherited Grace Dieu from her father in 1925. At her death it passed first to her first cousin once removed, William Alexander Anderson (1922-43) and then to her second cousin, Col. Charles Bevan Carew Anderson (1894-1979).
She died 19 December 1941 after some years as an invalid; her will was proved 9 October 1942 (estate £50,692).

Anderson, Alexander Carew (1856-1918) of Ballymountain (Kilkenny). Younger surviving son of James Anderson (1810-67) of Grace Dieu and his wife Margaret, daughter of Thomas Carew of Ballinamona Park (Waterford), born 6 May 1856. JP for Kilkenny. He married, 24 August 1880, Margaret Winifred Alicia (c.1855-1920), daughter of Nicholas Power of Belle Vue (Kilkenny) and had issue:
(1) Paul Alexander Anderson (1883-1942) (q.v.);

(2) Muriel Louise Anderson (1894-1923), born 31 March 1894; died unmarried, 18 January 1923.
He died 5 April 1918 and his will was proved 31 August 1918 (in Ireland) and 7 October 1918 (in England, estate £5,408).

Anderson, Paul Alexander (1883-1942). Only son of Alexander Carew Anderson (1856-1918) and his wife Margaret Winifred Alicia, daughter of Nicholas Power of Belle Vue (Kilkenny), born 1883. He married, 14 June 1921, Aileen Anne Bourke (d. 1944) and had issue:
(1) Lt. William Alexander Anderson (1922-43) of Grace Dieu, born 22 September 1922; a Lt. in Royal Navy; inherited Grace Dieu from his first cousin once removed, Susan Alice Anderson, 1941; killed in action in the submarine 'Trooper', 17 August 1943.
He lived at Mount Prospect near Waterford (but in Co. Kilkenny).
He died 10 October 1942; his will was proved in England, 6 July 1943 (estate in England £23,684). His widow died 13 January 1944.

Anderson, Robert Carew (1815-85). Third son of Rev. Joshua Anderson (1770-1859) and his wife Anne, daughter of Capt. William Perceval of Temple House, Ballymote (Sligo), born 1815. Educated at Glasgow University (MD 1838). Served in the army (Ensign, 1840; Asst. Surgeon, Army Medical Dept., 1840; Assistant Surgeon, 82nd Foot, 1841; Surgeon, 90th Foot, 1849; Surgeon-Major, 13th Light Dragoons, 1858; retired as Deputy Inspector-General of Hospitals, 1865). He married, 13 October 1853, Jane Wallis (d. 1904), only daughter of Rev. Henry Bolton, vicar of Dysart, Enos and Kinteale (Leix), and had issue:
(1) Robert Henry Anderson (1854-96), born 17 August 1854; died unmarried, 31 December 1896;
(2) Lt-Gen. Sir Charles Alexander Anderson KCB (1857-1940) (q.v.);
(3) Maj. William Paul Anderson (1858-1935), born 16 June 1858; served in the Indian Army; died unmarried, 27 November 1935;
(4) Brig-Gen. Sir Francis James Anderson KBE CB (1860-1920), born 17 February 1860; educated privately and at Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; member of Executive & Legislative Councils of Straits Settlements, 1897-98; Commandant of Queen Victoria's Sappers and Miners, 1905-09; Asst. Director of Fortifications and Works, War Office, 1909-12; Chief Engineer, Eastern Command, 1913-14; Chairman of Army Sanitary Committee in WW1; married, 3 November 1886, Frances Alice (1855-1947), elder daughter of Maj. Purcell O'Gorman MP of Springfield (Waterford) and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 6 March 1920;
(5) Frances Ann Grace Anderson (1861-1941), born 3 December 1861; died unmarried, 1941;
(6) Joshua Perceval Anderson (1863-1905), born 4 May 1863; died unmarried, 9 October 1905;
(7) Katherine Jane Henrietta Anderson (1864-1948), born 1 August 1864; married, 28 January 1902, Vice-Adm. Harry Mervyn Kemmis-Betty RN (d. 1940), son of Col. Joshua F. Kemmis-Betty, but died without issue, 18 August 1948.
He died 2 February 1885; his will was proved 21 February 1885 (estate in England £4,330 and in Ireland £5,379). His widow died 6 April 1904; administration of her goods was granted 25 May 1904 (estate in England £194).

Anderson, Gen. Sir Charles Alexander (1857-1940). Second son of Robert Carew Anderson (1815-85) and his wife Jane Wallis, daughter of Rev. Henry Bolton, rector of Dysart, Enos and Kinteale (Leix), born 10 February 1857. Served in the Army (Jowaki Afreedee Expedition, 1877-78; Afghan War, 1878-80; Burmese Expedition, 1885-86; NW Frontier of India, 1897-98; expeditions against Zakka Khel and Mohmanda, 1908; commanded troops in South China, 1910-13; General Officer Commanding, Southern Command, India, 1917-19; appointed CB 1904; KCB 1915 and KCIE 1919. He married, 11 January 1893, his cousin Ellen Katherine (d. 1956), younger daughter of George Bevan Russell MD of Fermoy (Cork) and had issue:
(1) Col. Charles Bevan Carew Anderson (1894-1979) (q.v.);
(2) William Perceval Anderson (1895-1912), born 9 July 1895; killed in an accident on the railway at Hesdigneul station, near Boulogne (France), 11 August 1912;
(3) Maj. Noel Maurice Anderson (1896-1940), born 30 November 1896; educated at Bedford School; served Leicestershire Regiment and as Major in 2nd/5th Maharatta Light Infantry, Indian Army; married, 22 August 1922, Sheila Lisle (1900-93), daughter of Lt-Col. Duncan Simpson of Elgin (Moray) and had issue two daughters; died 28 March 1940.
He lived at Moor Cross House, Cornwood (Devon).
He died 20 February 1940; his will was proved 31 May 1940 (estate £17,892). His widow died 2 January 1956, aged 93; her will was proved 16 March 1956 (estate in England £1,420).

Anderson, Col. Charles Bevan Carew (1894-1979) of Grace Dieu. Eldest son of Gen. Sir Charles Alexander Anderson (1857-1940) and his wife Ellen Katherine, daughter of George Bevan Russell MD of Fermoy (Cork), born 12 April 1894. Educated at Bedford School and Edinburgh University (MB, ChB 1916); Fellow of Royal College of Surgeons. Served in WW1, Afghan War of 1919 and WW2 as Colonel, Royal Army Medical Corps. He married, 26 April 1924 (div. 1945), Alice Grace Mary (1900-76) (who later changed her name by deed poll to Shaw when she subsequently lived with Arthur Purvis Shaw), daughter of John Ralph Barkley, and had issue:
(1) (Charles William) Michael Anderson (1925-2013), born 30 June 1925; educated at Wellington College; employed by Plessey Co. in Pretoria (South Africa); married, 6 February 1960, Daphne Holt, daughter of H. Benson of Salisbury (Rhodesia); died 26 April 2013;
(2) (John) Peter Jocelyn Anderson (1926-2005) of Grace Dieu; educated privately; worked in the oil industry; married, 31 December 1953, Nanette, daughter of Walter Perceval Knight of Rhodesia and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 22 December 2005;
(3) (Ellen) Patricia Anderson (b. 1931), born 27 May 1931; married, 18 September 1954, George Gray Robins, only son of Brig. Christopher Gray Robins CBE of Holme Grange, Bakewell (Derbys) and had issue three sons and one daughter; now living.
He inherited Grace Dieu with about 175 acres from his distant cousin, William Alexander Anderson, in 1943 and moved to Ireland in 1945. In 1967 he transferred the majority of the estate to his elder son while the house and other assets were vested in trustees. At his death his intention was that the house should pass to his second son, but without a sufficient capital endowment this was not tenable and the Trustees sold the house to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
He died 17 July 1979. His ex-wife died in London in 1976.

Sources
Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, pp. 20-22; Decies: Journal of the Old Waterford Society, vol. 49, Spring 1994http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie/LandedEstates/jsp/estate-show.jsp?id=3174

Location of archives
Anderson family of Grace Dieu: deeds and papers, 1704-19th cent. [Private collection: enquiries to National Library of Ireland]

Coat of arms
Quarterly: 1st and 4th, argent a saltire engrailed between two mullets gules one in chief and the other in base and in the flanks two boars' heads erased azure; 2nd and 3rd, gules a chevron ermine between three estoiles argent (for Brewster).

Revision and acknowledgements
This post was first published on 6 July 2014 and was updated 10 and 11 August 2015. I am most grateful for the assistance of Nanette Anderson with this family.

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