Servants of Domville Households in Dublin from 1768-95

Small Sources 53: This is a list of 76 servants employed in two households of the Domville family in County Dublin in the period 1768-1795. The records are arranged by person, and almost all are in the format ‘X was hired on (date) at (salary)‘ followed by a list of dated payments ending usually with ‘discharged on (date)’. Some examples are in Figs 1 and 2 below. In some cases the details on wages, and departure dates etc are missing. The original document is a small record book among the Domville Papers in the National Library of Ireland (NLI Ms.11,844). The title (see above) reads ‘Accompt’ which is an archaic version of ‘Account’.

The author of the record is not clear, but as it was initiated in 1768, it is possible that it was Charles Pocklington Domville who in that year inherited the house and an estate of over 6,000 acres in County Dublin. Whoever it was, he seems to have been a hard task-master as almost all staff are discharged after a short period of years or even months. The roles are all generally recognisable (Butler, Cook, Footman etc) but also include Postillions, who are the persons who sat on one of the team of horses pulling a coach, to guide them. The coachman also guides the horses, but is seated on the coach. The wage rates are mainly quoted in guineas (i.e. one pound and 1 shilling) but some are in pounds. Interestingly, the highest wages were for cooks (up to 24 guineas per annum) and Gardeners (or Gardiners as spelled here), while coachmen and grooms are also well-paid at up to 12 guineas per annum. Lowest paid are kitchen maids and housemaids at 4 or 5 guineas per year.

Note that the staff worked in one of two households owned by the family: one was Templeogue House, to the West of Dublin (where most of these staff were located) and the other was Santry Court, to the north of the city. The family left the Templeogue house in 1780 and moved to the Santry residence. The staff include some with names that are uncommon in Ireland including Dennis, DeCourcy, Duffield, Codner and Askin. Locally common names such as Byrne and Doyle also occur. If you are interested in information on any of the named families, our e-book entitled ‘Sources for Irish Family History 2021‘ lists 6,500 books and articles on over 2,500 Irish families.

The images below are created by Ancestor Network and are presented by courtesy of the National Library of Ireland. Ancestor Network publish a ‘Guide to Tracing your Dublin Ancestors‘, a comprehensive aid to genealogical research in the city and county – see cover at left. Ancestor Network will also offer 1 free hour of research by a professional genealogist to conduct further research on these individuals or others in these estate papers. Click here and quote ‘Dublin SS53’ in the subject line.

The columns below show the roles and names of staff; the year(s) of employment and the wage (where stated):

Unspecified position
John Dennis 1768-; wage not stated
Richard Doyle 1768-71; wage not stated (noted as being at ‘Pucks Castle’)

Butler

Charlton Sheridan 1770-81: – 8 Guineas per year (Died in service in 1781)
William Goold 1781-83: – 14 Guineas per year
Thomas Stokes 1783- ; – 14 Guineas per year

Cook
James Dalton 1768-69: – 24 Guineas per year (see below)
Catherine Ford 1771–72: – 13 Guineas per year (see below)
Hannah Burke 1772 – : – 12 Guineas per year
Margaret Leary 1773 – : – 8 Guineas per year

Fig. 1. Accounts of two of the listed servants showing dates of hiring and discharge and wages paid.

Footman
Richard De Courcy 1768-69: – 8 Guineas per year
James Corrogan 1769-71: – £8 per year
Richard Callaghan 1772-72: – “
John Kennedy 1772-73: – “
William Magrath 1773-: – “
Robert Duffield 1775: – “
Robert Devereux 1781: – “
John Marshall 1768-9: – “
James Walsh 1769 – 70: – “
Dennis Bray 1771-73: – “
Michael Curtis 1773: – not stated
Patrick Boyd 1775: – not stated
Maurice Moore 1784-87: – £9.2.0 per year
James Martin 1787-87: – £9.2.9 per year
Michael Connolly 1785: – “
Michael Flanagan 1788: – “
John Kenny 1789-90: – £9.2.6 per year
John Gallagher 1790: – £9.2.9 per year
Laurence Russell 1790: – “
Connor Reidy? 1790: – not stated

Porter
Patrick Bourke 1768-69: – £8 per year
John Laurence 1770-76: – “

Coachman
Thomas Doyle 1768-69 : – 12 Guineas per year
Thomas Evers 1770-71: – “
Richard Williams 1781 -: – 13 Guineas per year
Arthur Hughes 1786-90: – “
John Warren 1790- : – “

Groom
William Byrne 1768 -70: – £10 per year
James Short 1771-72: – 10 Guineas per year
Lawrence Quin 1773-75: – 12 Guineas per year
Andrew Kennedy 1775: – 12 Guineas per year

Postillion
George Taaffe 1768 -71: – 6 Guineas per year
Thomas Byrne 1783: – “
Thomas Ball 1768 -73: – “
Charles Goldfinch 1786 -89: – “
Luke Ryan 1789 -90: – not stated

Helper
James Jennings 1769: – £6 per year
John Magrath 1769-79: – “

Housemaid
Peggy Morris 1768 -9: – 5 Guineas per year
Mary Askin 1769-9: – “
Mary Booth 1769-70: – “
Jane Hely (Jenny) 1770-71: – “
Catherine Cardiff 1772-: – “
Ann Coleman 1768-69: – ”
Catherine Cary 1769: – not stated
Frances Kennedy (Fanny) 1769-70: – not stated
Bridget Cahill 1770-71: – not stated
Elizabeth Cahill (Betty) 1773 -: – not stated
Eleanor Gammell at Santry 1769 : – 5 Guineas per year
Elizabeth DeRoche 1769-1770: – (see below)

Fig. 2. Accounts of Elizabeth DeRoche, housemaid, who was employed at Santry House from 1769 to 1770.

Kitchen Maid
Elizabeth Foreman (Betty) 1768 -69: – 5 Guineas per year
Bridget Cahill 1769 -70: – not stated
Jane Connor 1770-71: – not stated
Margaret Leary 1772 – : – not stated
Mary Quin 1773: – £4 per year
Bridget McDermott 1772: – “

Dairy Maid
Mary Matthews 1768-70: – £6 per year
Elizabeth Cavenagh 1771: – not stated

Gardiner (or Gardener)
James Gammell 1769: – 10 Guineas per year
Philip DeRoche (at Santry) 1769 -70: – 12 Guineas per year
James Codner ? (at Santry) 1785 -86: – £20 per year
John Flanagan (at Santry) 1786 -95: – 16 Guineas per year

Upper Housemaid
Bridget Byrne 1769: – £6 per year

Laundry Maid
Margery Walsh 1771: – 6 Guineas per year
Mary Kenny 1772-72: – £6 per year
Bridget Styles 1773: – not stated

Further Dublin and general articles in our series on Irish Family History sources include: