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Controversy about Lynne pedigree, Kerry Evening Post, 1893

• Sources yet to be consulted:
  • Fuller's earlier letters in this correspondence.

There is a controversy about the pedigree of Martha Lynne (who married Blennerhassett) in the letters page of the Kerry Evening Post in Jan-Apr 1893.

The controversy is between genealogists James Franklin Fuller (born 1835) and Mary Agnes Hickson (born 1825).

• Fuller is defending the pedigree in Foster's Royal Descents (1880s), which would be based on Green's work of 1877, all of which is supported by John Lynne's Herald's Visitation of 1682.
• Hickson points out that it conflicts with Black Jack's family tree.

Essentially, Hickson is wrong, and Fuller, Foster and Green are right.

Page 80 of the "Nash Newspaper Cuttings Collection for Co.Kerry", vol.2.
Some of the letters are also in pp.102-104 of vol.4.

Page 81.

Page 82.

Page 83.

Page 84.

Page 85.

Notes:

• The first thing to note is that John Lynne is writing about his aunt, and writing in 1682. Black Jack is writing about his grandmother, and could be writing as late as 1737. So John Lynne's testimony is obviously more trustworthy.

• In fact, Hickson fails to notice that Black Jack's tree (which is only a rough sketch) actually fits quite cleanly into John Lynne's (much more detailed) genealogy, with only a couple of corrections to Christian names needed. The exchange of letters is fascinating because Hickson is clearly wrong, but because Fuller makes a mess of his initial statement of the descent, he is never able to convince her.

• The boy who was age 13 in 5th James I was Martha Lynne's brother not her father, as is obvious when you work out the estimated dates and ages. Much time is wasted on this "Martha as a daughter of Lynne and Kirkham" error.

• William, born 1597, is not "invented", but even if he was he couldn't be invented to serve as Martha's father! More time is wasted on this.