Sarah VIZE married Elliott O'DONNELL Family Group Sheet

Sarah VIZE was probably born in late 1799 as she was baptised on 5 January 1800 at the Church of Ireland St Munchins Parish, Limerick City. Sarah was the daughter of Dr John VIZE and Sarah O'Donoghue MAUNSELL. See separate Family Group Sheet.

On 6 February 1822 Sarah married Dr Elliott O'DONNELL. Elliott was the son of John O'DONNELL and Sarah Chew ELLIOTT. John O’DONNELL (1749-1805), son of John and Deborah O’DONNELL of Ireland, came from a wealthy land-owning family from County Clare. Trough Castle was known to be n ruins in the late 1700s. The family's association with site goes back until at least 1734 but it is not known how much earlier.

John O'DONNELL (1749-1805) was a merchant and ship's captain for the British East India Company. When O’DONNELL arrived in Baltimore’s harbor in 1785, he named his land along the harbor “Canton” after the Chinese port city now called Guangzhou. Canton remains an active harbor industrial and residential neighborhood in Baltimore, with O’Donnell Square and O’Donnell Street running through its center.

John O’DONNELL married Sarah Chew ELLIOTT (1768-1855), daughter of Captain Thomas ELLIOTT of Fell’s Point, in 1785. Before John’s death in 1805, he and Sarah had seven children: Mary (b. 1790), Columbus (1792-1873), Deborah (b. 1794), John (b. 1796), Elliott (1798-1836), Eliza White (b. 1800), and Henry (b. 1791). General Columbus O’DONNELL, the eldest son, fought in the Battle of North Point during the War of 1812. He served several prominent positions throughout Baltimore, including with the B&O Railroad, Union Bank of Maryland, First National Bank of Maryland, the Baltimore Water Company, and the Baltimore Gas Light company; he was also an original partner of the Canton Company of Baltimore. John also inherited family property in Ireland but bequeathed this to his brother in his will dated 1805.


 * "I give and devise unto my brother Henry O'Donnell, now a Captain in the Service of the Honorable East India Co. on the Bengall Establishment, all my Estate and Property of every kind or nature whatever which I hold or am entitled to in Ireland especially my inheritance or lands in the County of Clare and within a short distance of the City of Limerick, to him and his heirs forever, on his paying or securing to be paid unto the Bank of Maryland, Eight Thousand Dollars in part paymnet of money due by me to the said Bank."

John O’DONNELL’s fifth child, son Elliott, returned to his father’s homeland of Ireland. His grandson, also Elliott O'DONNELL, beleived that this was to study at Trinity College Dublin. Elliott however is not listed as a graduate. From other sources it appears that he may have been groomed to inherit the Trough Estate from the O'DONNELL family. His father's brother Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Anderson O'DONNELL and his wife the Princess Domina Jai, niece of the Shah of Persia had one son Sir Charles Routledge O'DONNELL, a Colonel in the 18th Hussars. Sir Charles married Lady Catherine Anne MURRAY but the couple soon became estranged. Some sources list John Vize O'DONNELL as their son, though it appears to me that in fact John Vize O'DONNELL was the son of Sir Charles' cousin but heir to the O'DONNELL estates. Further examination of the family papers is necessary to unravel this. Elliott is noted to have an interest in the properties in the 1820s. His untimely death in 1832 seems to have resulted in the inheritance devolving to John Vize O'DONNELL.

Elliott travelled to Limerick, the nearest large town to the Trough Estate about 5 miles to the north. He met and married Sarah VIZE. Sarah's brother was a doctor in Limerick and possibly met Elliott through this profession, or may have even studied with him. This may have been the connection through which Sarah and Elliott met. Elliott established himself in a medical practice in Limerick.

Sarah and Elliott had eight children before his death in 1836. There is some mystery relating to Elliott's death but the details are not found online. Sarah remained close with several members of the O'DONNELL family in Baltimore and maintained a correspondence with Elliott's brother Columbus for the remainder of her life. Some of these are contained in the O'DONNELL papers in the Limerick Archives.

Elliott inherited properties in Baltimore in addition to his interest in the Trough Estates. His properties in Baltimore were passed on to his widow and children, though they still held some of these at the time of the American Civil War. It is not known why they were not sold earlier. The Civil War caused the American Dollar and property prices to plummet. Elliott's older brother Columbus acted on his behalf in managing and remitting the proceeds from the properties to the family in Ireland. His cousin Sir Charles meanwhile improved and extended the Trough Estates with the construction of a new residence. He also had properties in Dublin and London.

Sarah died on 3 February 1870 in Limerick.

Sarah and Elliott had the following issue (birth order not known):

1. Sarah Maria O'DONNELL. Birth unknown. The only known reference is in the O'DONNELL family papers in Limerick. She married Mr NEWSON.

2. Harriet O'DONNELL was born about 1827. She married Captian George NEWCOMEN in 1853 in Limerick. George died in 1855 and it is not known if they had children. Harriett died on 30 April 1874 in Limerick.

3. Henry O'DONNELL was born about 1828. He married Elizabeth (known as Sarah) MOUSLEY nee HARRISON on 3 July 1861 in Leamington Priors, Warwickshire. Sarah was a young widow with a daughter Elizabeth Sarah Morris MOUSLEY (known as Lucy). Henry studied at Trinity College Dublin and became a clergyman. Henry and Sarah had four children. Soon after the birth of the fourth child the Rev Henry travelled to Abyssinia whilst awaiting preferment to a new parish. The Rev was reputedly set upon by a gang and robbed and murdered. He died there on 1 April 1873. Henry was widely travelled (America, Australia and Africa) and kept up a correspondence with the O'DONNELL family in the USA. It appears that part of the correspondence related to inheritance.


 * a. Henry O'DONNELL was born about 1863 in Ashby, Northamptonshire.


 * b. Petronella O'DONNELL was born about 1864 in Lymington, Hampshire.


 * c. Helena O'DONNELL was born about 1868 in Whittington, Worcestershire.


 * d. Elliott O'DONNELL was born 27 February 1872 in Clifton, Bristol. He married Ada. He died 8 May 1965. Elliott was a writer and in later life became a ghost hunter. In addition to his more than 50 books, he wrote scores of articles and stories for national newspapers and magazines. His works are considered fiction.  In addition to writing and ghost hunting he  worked on a range in Oregon  and became a policeman during the  Chicago Railway Strike of 1894. Returning to England, he worked as a schoolmaster and trained for the theater. He served in the British Army  in World War 1 , and later acted on stage and in movies.

4. John Vize O'DONNELL was born about 1828. John has been somewhat difficult to trace due to the possible existence of two individuals called John Vize O'DONNELL as explained above. All sources so far point to one individual, the son of Elliott O'DONNELL. John Vize O'DONNELL married Elizabeth Laura O'BRIEN on 20 September 1854 in Limerick. John was a Colonel in the Hussars. He was in the East Indies in 1855 and 1860 as noted by the birth of a son, death of his wife and new marriage. Lizzie died in India in 1859 and John then married Georgina Mackenzie MIDDLETON in 1860, daughter of another army officer from Australia. They divorced in 1883. It appears that John lived in England for a while after his retirement but then returned to Ireland some time after his divorce. He married thirdly Rachel STOKES nee SPARLING in Ireland, sometime after 1885. Three children have been identified, two from baptisms and the other only as an adult. It appears that two sons were born to John and Lizzie, whilst a daughter was born to John with Rachel. There may be other children but it is difficult to trace and none appear to have survived until adulthood. John had financial difficulties maintaining the Irish estates and these were probably sold to pay off debts when he was bankrupt around 1885. He died in 1902 in Limerick.


 * a. Elliott Charles O'DONNELL born 1885 in Bengal, East Indies. Nothing further known.


 * b. Daughter probably born between 1855 and 1859 in India or Ireland. Mentioned in correspondence with the O'BRIEN family.


 * c. Charles Vize O'DONNELL was born about 1859 in Buttevant, County Cork. Charles was also a career officer. He married Mary Jane MASSY of Fermoy, County Cork. They had several children. They appear to have lived in England following Charles' retirement from the Army. There is some mention in correpondence with his father that there was some difficulty preventing him from returning to Ireland. He died in Scarborough, Yorkshire on 17 May 1919. Mary Jane died in 1923.


 * i     Frederick Sydney O'DONNELL was born in 1884. He was a clerk in London. It appears he did not marry. His effects were left to Henry Wilfred on his death in 1983.


 * ii    George Massy O'DONNELL was born late in 1882 and died in January 1884.


 * iii   Mabel Elizabeth O'DONNELL was born in 1890. She married Thomas EVANS.


 * iv   Charles Massy O'DONNELL


 * v    Leslie Vize O'DONNELL


 * vi   Henry Wilfred O'DONNELL
 * d. Deborah O'DONNELL was born about June 1889. She died in Limerick on 19 December 1889.

5. Elliott O'DONNELL was born about 1830. He died 17 January 1865 in Limerick.

6. Elizabeth O'DONNELL was born about 1834. She married Mr WARREN. She may be the Elizabeth WARREN who died in Limerick 17 January 1864.

7. Robert Edmund O'DONNELL was born 3 March 1836 in Limerick. He was baptised on 14 March the same year. Robert married Nita (full name unknown) in about 1871 in Limerick. They had at least two children in Irleand and later moved to England where they are tracked on the census. Robert died on 18 August 1897 in Aldenburgh, Suffolk.


 * a. George Newcomen O'DONNELL was born 30 November 1873 in Limerick and died in February the following year.


 * b. Harriet O'DONNELL was born about 1876.

8. Eleanora O'DONNELL was born about 1840 in Limerick. She married Lieutenant Edward Jackson FITZSIMONS in 1864 in Limerick. Edward was the son of Edward Jackson FITZSIMONS and Mary FOOTTE of Cork. He was born about 1833 in County Cork. Edward sold his commission in 1863 but purchased a new commission in the 78th Foot and South Lincolnshire Militia in 1870. Eleanora and Edward had four known children, though this is somewhat unclear. Most genealogies attribute the children to Edward's second wife, but all were born before their marriage. Also use of the name Vize lends credit to my theory that they are children of Eleanora O'DONNELL.


 * a. Harriette FITZSIMONS was born 29 October 1865 in Limerick.


 * b. Edward John Vize FITZSIMONS was born 29 October 1866 in Galway.


 * c. Laurence Ernest Knox Moore FITZSIMONS was born 5 December 1869 in Limerick and died 1876 in Dublin.


 * d. Florence FITZSIMONS was born about 1878 in Limerick.

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