The Carney Family

When I was a child my great-aunt, Elsie BURRELL, sometimes spoke of her CARNEY ancestors, and told the intriguing tale that they were descended from the Kings of Ulster. The family crest, it was said, hung on the wall of Dublin Castle. Our ancestor was said to have been heavily involved with the process of making blue glass - the famous Bristol Blue glass which is still made today. The implication was that he invented the process and brought it from Ireland. Another branch of our family had heard a very similar tale, with minor variations.

However Elsie's grandmother, Selina CARNEY, was born (in 1834)  into a very poor family in central Bristol, and it seemed to me to be very unlikely that my aunt's stories were the whole truth.

Selina BURRELL nee CARNEY, 1834-1901

CARNEY is not a common name in England or in Bristol, so we were able to make some progress in tracing the family back a generation.  Selina's parents, George CARNEY and Elizabeth nee TOSSELL, certainly didn't live well. George was described as a smith or a labourer in census records, and they lived in various rented houses in central Bristol. One son was even born in the Poor House, but they managed to raise 6 of their 7 known children to adulthood.

George CARNEY was the son of William and Hannah nee MARTIN; although I have found baptisms for some of his siblings, George's baptism has not yet been found. He was born about 1807, probably in the Redcliffe district of Bristol. The church of St Mary Redcliffe has been described as the 'finest parish church in England' but this beautiful building served a very varied parish, with merchants and gentry living to the south, the docks and factories (and their workers) to the north.

Near to St Mary's was the Phoenix Glasshouse. One of several in the area, it seems very likely that this is where William was employed. I have not been able to find him mentioned in any of the surviving documents from this factory; he may been a glassmaker rather than burdened with management or ownership! The evidence so far is that this glassworks manufactured bottles and window glass during William's era, and that the blue colouring process actually came from Saxony, rather than Ireland.

Drawing of Phoenix Glass Works with St Mary Redcliffe in the background

So far, Elsie's stories seem to have contained a grain of truth (the link to glassmaking) but the reality has perhaps been embellished over the years.

So what of the suggested link with royalty?  Detailed tracking of a CARNEY family back to Ireland, where records are more difficult to find and often missing altogether, is all but impossible. We did, however, have a few clues - for example, William had his children baptised in Protestant churches in Bristol; and the stories suggested a link with Dublin Castle. From census and age at death, we guessed that William was born about 1779/1780. Searching the Protestant records for the nearest parish to Dublin Castle came up with a William Corny who was baptised on 4th May 1776. The address given was Abbey St and he was the son of James and Elizabeth.  Was this our ancestor?

Further research into the Irish link came up with the story of Sir Richard CARNEY. He was Ulster King of Arms from 1655-1692 (and succeeded by his son, also Richard) and credited with organising and recording the first heraldic designs for Irish counties. He was appointed by Cromwell, but he evidently made a success of it as he kept his post for many years after the restoration. Further details of the Ulster King of Arms can be found here.

We have not been able to find written evidence of the link between Sir Richard CARNEY and our ancestors, but there must surely be one. The story may have been a little mangled over the years, our CARNEYs were Heraldic officers rather than actual royalty!  But I like to think Auntie Elsie would still have been proud of the connection.