thePeerage.com

[kirkmansharon]

In St Bartholomew's Church, Foxton, Leicestershire is buried Henry Faunt and his wife Mabel (Sutton). Henry's father was Anthony Faunt.

The family crest above the magnificent effigy in the Church consists of a quartered shield:

Above the shield: a figure of a boy holding what looks like a banner
Top LH side: Rampant lion with 8 crosses
Top RH side: Three five-pointed stars with two pillars (or bars) beneath the stars
Bottom LH side: An angled cross to lying to the left, with a five-pointed star in the top RH crux of the cross.

The motto below reads: Conservare Me Fi.


I have just returned from Youghal, County Cork, Ireland, after discovering my ancestor Colonel Thomas Faunt's grave. next to St Mary's Collegiate Church, one of the oldest churches in Ireland, right next to Myrtle Grove, the house that Sir Walter Raleigh lived in, in 1588. (According to his will, Col. Thomas Faunt had a mortgage on that property as at 1844.)

His grave consists of a rather large tapered corinthian column, on a large plinth. The grave is placed in a very prominent position, facing the water, under one of the existing turrets of the original walls of the town.

On the front is the figure of the boy I mentioned above, together with the quartered shield; it is EXACTLY as I have described the family crest of Henry Faunt of Foxton, Leicestershire, in St Bartholomew's Church.

The Faunt shield I have found online consists of a rampant lion with 5 crosses, so the one in the church, and in the graveyard in Youghal, Cork, Ireland, is different in that there are 8 CROSSES.

Also the additional two different quarters are intriguing.

My ancestor, Charles Faunt, who was the brother of COLONEL THOMAS FAUNT mentioned above, went to Australia on the Orpheus in 1826 with his family. He was in the Royal Veterans' Company, and previously the 100th Regiment of the Foot. Colonel Thomas Faunt was in the 34th Regiment, as was his brother Henry, who migrated to Canada around the 1830s or thereabouts.

We can only go back as far as their father, Richard Faunt, born 1750 (we don't know where) and died in 1824. We have a copy of his will. They were originally from Mullingar, in County Westmeath, and owned quite a lot of property in Hanstown, Rathconrath and Taylorstown.

CAN anybody tell me please what the quarters of the crest mean, and it is absolutely intriguing that it is EXACTLY the SAME as the Faunt crest in St Bartholomew's Church in Foxton, Leicestershire.

I have read with great interest about the Faunt-Clervaux's of Leicestershire.

Incidentally, the Clarevaulx name was also carried through in Col. Thomas Faunt's line. He had a son called Augustus Clarevaulx Faunt, born around 1823. On the side of Thomas's grave there is mention of Augustus: also in memory of Augustus Clarevaulx Faunt, Lieut. 73rd Regiment, who was killed by the ..... at the Cape of good Hope on the 13th day of November 1847 in the 24th year of his age.

Above that entry there is also reference to his son Lieut. Henry Phoenix Faunt, of 87th Royal Irish Fusiliers who died at sea on the voyage home from the Mauritius on board HMS Thunderer, Sept. 10th aged 27.

There is reference to Colonal Thomas Faunt's wife Susanna on another side.

Col. Thomas Faunt's daughter, Anne Elizabeth married a Captain Ditmas and went to Australia in 1839. They had a 50,000 acre property called 'Clarevaulx' in Glen Innes, New South Wales, which I understand survives today, so this is proof that the Faunt-Clarevaulx (different spelling to Leicestershire) was carried down in Ireland!

Anyway, grateful for any information about the crest and the connection between the Leicestershire and Irish Faunts.

Sharon

[lyonsn]

Hi Sharon,
I have been carrying out research on my Lyons ancestors for a while now and have been compiling all information I come across relating to descendants of a Captain William Lyons, who settled lands in Ireland in the early 1600's, on a website. To-date I have over 10,000 descendants listed. On one of the branches, I have an Elizabeth Lyons. She was the daughter of Major John Lyons (d.1743). Ledestown House was the seat of this branch of the Lyons family (some of whom are mentioned on the peerage.com website) from 1715 until the 1960's (it was unfortunately pulled down in 1988, though all the impressive stable blocks and gardens remain) and is located just outside Mullingar in County Westmeath and neighbouring Hanstown. The Elizabeth Lyons I mention above is recorded in a family pedigree contained in 'The Grand Juries of Westmeath, 1727-1853', printed by a John Charles Lyons on his printing press at Ledestown in 1853. In this publication it mentions that she married a Glasgow Thompson, son of Rev. Edward Thompson, Rector of Mullingar. They had two sons, both of whom died without issue, as well as one daughter. It doesn't mention her name, however it does state that she married a 'Mr Faunt of Hanstown'. I have found a pedigree on ancestry.co.uk which is obviously of the same Thomas and Charles Faunt you mention, who are sons of a Richard Faunt and an unknown mother. I understand that one of these brothers also had a son with a middle name of Lyons. My hunch is that the unknown mother is in fact the Miss Thompson, daughter of Glasgow Thompson and Elizabeth Lyons, as the time period she would have been living tallys with the dates I have seen for Richard, Thomas and Charles, plus the extreme closeness of the Ledestown House to Hanstown. Do you know anything more of these Faunt's that may help confirm this Lyons/Thompson and Faunt connection?

Here's a link to my family tree website. This particular link will display a family tree, a subsection of the overall tree I've pieced together, including the Thompson's and Mr Faunt connection:
http://lyons.familytreeguide.com/descend.php?personID=IND00115&tree=T1

Kind regards,
Sean

[kirkmansharon]

Hello Sean and many thanks for your very welcome message regarding the Lyons/Faunt and seemingly Thompson connection.

I am from the Australian line, that is Lt. Col Faunt's disinherited brother Charles, who left for Australia in 1826 with the Regiment of Foot, but I do live in London so am quite keen on continuing my research.

I feel very sure that your theory is correct, i.e. that that Mr Faunt of Hanstown is the very one who married Miss Thompson. I agree with you about Lyons, ie that the obvious connection is that Lt. Col Faunt called one of his sons Thomas Lyons Faunt.

The only other document I have is Thomas and Charles's father Richard Faunt's will of 1824 (Land Commission Will E.C. 1480, Box No. 2210).

It states that 'I Richad Faunt of Hanstown in the County of Westmeath ...' and down the bottom of his will it says 'Admon of the Goods and soforth with the last will and testament annexed by Richard Faunt late of Hanstown in the County of Westmeath Gentleman decd without a widow living (having and so forth) was granted by the most Revd. Father John George and soforth to Thomas Faunt Major in His Majesty's 34th Regiment of Foot ...'

I would be very happy to provide you with a copy of this if you so wish.

Basically it does not name Richard's widow unfortunately. I guess the next step is to try and find out what records exist for Mullingar, Hanstown and surrounds to see if anything relevant pops up.

The more research I do on the Faunt/Clarevaulx (or Clairvaux) I am convinced that our Faunt line is definitely connected with the Leicestershire line mentioned in the History and Antiquities of Leicestershire. There are about 3 generations missing between the Leicestershire lot and Richard's approximate birth around 1740-50. It appears all of Richard's children were born in Mullingar.

In Richard Faunt's will he made mention of being '... in possession of the towns and lands of Rathconrath as Custodee and whereas I am possessed of and intitled to the lands of Hanstown aforesaid together with twenty one acres of the Lands of Taylorstown under and by virtue of a Lease for my own life ...'

Going back to the magnificent Quartered Crest on Lt Col Faunt's grave in Youghal, Co. Cork, I can definitely say that it is exactly the same as the one in the Church of St Bartholomew's in Foston, Leicestershire. I can confirm the 1st Qtr LH is Faunt, RH two bars and 3 stars is Moyne dating back to the 12th century marriage between William Faunt and Isobel Moyne from memory; the bottom LH Qtr is very interesting indeed. It is listed in the Visitations of Leicester 1619 as being that of Clarevaulx. This is where I am really overwhelmed. There were two marriages between Faunts and Clarevaulx's in the 1200's, one brother and sister marrying another brother and sister. The other amazing connection could in fact be St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who founded a Cistercian Abbey in France, but also helped set up the Cistercian Order at the Abbey of Mellifont near Drogheda, just north of Dublin in the 1100's. It is written on the top of the family tree of Faunt/Faunte/Fawnt Visitation of Leicester 1619 that the Faunt family were descendents of the founders of Mellifont Abbey near Drogheda. After reading a lot of things available regarding St. Bernard, who apparently also formed the disciplines for the Knights of the Temple and led the drive for the 2nd Crusade, it is mentioned that he handed out crosses to all the knights which were carried on the crusade. This is the only reference I can find to substantiate it, but it is official, in terms of the Visitation 1619, that that is the Crest for Clarevaulx/Clairvaux,Clairvaulx.

Thomas Lyons Faunt, son of Lt. Col Thomas and Susannah Faunt (nee Ker), also had a son called Henry Phoenix Faunt, and a daughter Jane Elizabeth Faunt from memory, who married a Captain Philip Ditmas and arrived in New South Wales in 1839, purchased a 50,000 acre property and called it 'Clarevaulx' near Glenn Innis, NSW. This is at the same time as her uncle Charles Faunt (Thomas's brother who was disinherited) was living in Cumberland, NSW, and still a 1st Regiment of Foot member. He died in 1847. He was the start of my family line in Australia. He had several children I believe, but his son Edward Faunt, who was born in Mullingar between 1808 and 1810. From there our ancestry moved up to Blackall in Queensland. I think there must still be a lot of Faunts in New South Wales, and that is something to search for as I continue my quest. My grandmother was, apart from being the most wonderful grandmother on earth, Gladys Emma Faunt, born 1902 in Blackall Queensland. I feel almost certain that the Faunt line has died out in Queensland, however I hope and pray that the NSW Faunts are thriving. One thing that is sad though, the Clarevaulx name, which appears to have been carried through from the 1200s at least, seems to have died out with the Faunts. I think it was continued in the Irish roots Faunts, up until approx. 50 years ago, but again, I am not sure exactly when, and perhaps, hopefully, it still survives.

Many thanks again Sean for all your help and information, and I honestly do believe you are right to think that Richard Faunt was the husband of Miss Thompson. Have you managed to find any records to search to dig a bit further?

With best wishes,
Sharon Kirkman

[jallenrandolph]

Hi Sean, Hi Sharon,

I am descended from Henry Faunt's side, that emigrated to Canada in 1833. Once they get to Ontario, there is another Thompson connection down the line, my great-grandfather Louis Henry Thompson (1851-1915), but that's probably coincidental.

Elinor Egan (my great-great-great-grandmother) married Henry Faunt from Mullingar in Co. Westmeath. They emigrated from Hanstown to Canada in 1833. I visited Hanstown in 1988 and saw the house there. It was derelict but still standing, with a 1950s style bungalow next door.

Best wishes,
Jody Allen Randolph (nee Thompson)

[jallenrandolph]

Here are the details in case they're of use to you:

Henry Faunt married Elinor Egan in Dublin in 1815 and had a daughter, Ellen Faunt in 1819 (they had eight other children as well). The family emigrated to Canada in 1833 where Ellen married Thomas Thompson.

[Pheonix]

Hi Sharon
I came across this site by accident and found that you were very interested in my great great grandfather Lt. Col. Thomas Faunt and the Faunt Family history. I have done a lot of research myself and the family goes back to Dublin of the twelveth century era. So if there is anything you would like to know please do ask.
Yours Faithfully
Pheonix

[Pheonix]

Hi Sharon
What you have stated about the Faunt family is correct. We the Faunt Family myself included are still in Ireland. Only the grand children and great grand children of Clarevaulx Henry Faunt still live in Ireland and Great Britain. The ones in Ireland are in Cork, Youghal, Roscrea, Donegal and Caven. The rest are in the London area.
There is only five male heirs who carry on the family name, myself included. Their are two with the name Clarevaulx myself included. The Faunt estate in Youghal still exist and the Faunt estate in WestMeath had been dismantled by the Land act of the last century. Charles Faunt had been disinherited by his Father Richard Faunt and exiled by him for a misdemeanour. The brother of Clarevaulx Henry Faunt named Ernest William Faunt died in 1911 in Montana U.S.A. and he and his wife had no children. His sisters all died in Ireland before 1960 with no surviving children. I also have a copy the old Family tree of Foston Which started in Dublin, from there to Melifont in County Louth and to Foston. The last surving male heirs of Foston were Walter, Henry and Thomas. When Foston was sold in 1669 Their whereabouts became unknown. Until the Faunt family became known in Westmeath.
There are also Faunts in the U.S.A. who belong to another branch of the Family tree but they died out in Ireland around 1940. No near relation.
If you wish to contact Please do.
Pheonix

[jwearing]

I have just recently joined this site and was very interested to find the discussion about the Faunt family. I am the great-great-grandson of Henry Faunt and Elinor Egan and am directly related to some of those who have posted messages. I was particularly struck by the information provided by Sean that is persuasive in showing a Lyons connection.

I agree with Sharon and Pheonix that the evidence for a link between the Faunts in Leicestershire and those in Ireland is convincing, but I do wish we could find a paper trail. The article on "Foston" in History and Antiquities of Leicestershire says that "The manor of Foston was purchased, about the latter end of the reign of king Henry VIII by William Faunt, esq. a very respectable lawyer, of the Inner Temple, and of Wistow, in the county of Huntingdon" (vol. IV, Part I, p. 169) His great-grandfather, John Faunt of Wistow married a Percy descendant. (p. 174) The last Faunt of Foston was Walter Faunt who died in 1695 in Kingsthorpe near Northampton. (p. 170) The article does not say anything about Faunts in Ireland.

In Ireland, there are a number of Faunts who are listed as mayors and bailiffs in the town of Galway in the early to mid 1500s - Adam, Bartholome (sic), Richard, Stephen, Givane (James Hardiman, The History of the Town and County of the Town of Galway, 1820, pp. 200-205) So was there a Faunt who went from England to Ireland or vice versa? There are also variants in the spelling, especially Fant.

I am sure if we all keep digging, we will make the connection eventually!

Joe Wearing

[kirkmansharon]

Hi Phoenix and Joe,

I don't know why but I have only just stumbled upon both your messages. I have been tired up with a lot of other things recently.

I hope to be going to St Bartholomew's Church in Foston for a jazz festival on 7th August if we can get organised. I have not yet seen the Faunt family tomb yet and am quite excited about the visit. As you all know about the fabulous family crest on the side of Lt. Col Thomas Faunt's grave in Youghal, Cork, and agree that it is identical to the family crest in the Foston church.

Phoenix, you mentioned that you live in Ireland and that you have a lot of family tree data going back to the 12th century. I would really be very grateful if it is possible to obtain a copy of what you have, or even sight it if possible. I am still on the trail of trying to make the connection between Leicestershire and Westmeath and agree with you that the last line in Leicestershire is Thomas, Richard and Walter Faunt around 1690s.

Has anybody done any research in Westmeath yet? All of Richard Faunt's children were born in Westmeath. From another great message we received above about the Lyons connection, it iseems very plausible that it was indeed Richard Faunt, gent. Hanstown who married the Miss Thompson of Lederstown.

Has anybody done any research on Clairvaulx/Clervaux/Clervaulx? As you know my ancestor was the Charles Faunt who was disinherited and died in Sydney, NSW, Austrralia in 1847. His neice (Col. Thomas Faunt's dauther, married a Captain Philip Ditmas and they arrived in Sydney around 1839. They bought a 50,000 acre property and called it Clairvaulx. I have just discovered that they also had a child, in 1861, and called it Clarevaulx Philip Ditmas, but sadly mother and daughter both died the same year.

My grandmother's direct ancestor was Charles's son Edward Faunt who was also born in Westmeath. Edward had a sister Anne Faunt, also born in 1808 in Westmeath, and she married a Mr Sheppard in NSW.

Anyway, just a few small points, but if anybody has done any further research, or can send me anything by e-mail, I would be very grateful.

After the Foston visit, I hope to get to Westmeath at some stage this year. Luckily I live in London also, so it is easy to travel.

Phoenix, you mentioned some Faunt's living in London. Would they be by any chance the sisters of William Patrick Faunt of Cork?

That's it fow now, all the very best to you, and happy hunting.

Sharon Kirkman

[kirkmansharon]

Sorry ... a slight error, Clarevaulx Philip Ditmas was the son!

Also, my e-mail address is: kirkmansharon@yahoo.co.uk

Many thanks again,
Sharon

[kirkmansharon]

FOR PHOENIX - It would be fabulous if you could make contact with me. As a result of my last posting with my e-mail address, I have been contacted by another Faunt who is related to Thomas Lyons Faunt and Sarah Ann Bull. My e-mail address again is: kirkmansharon@yahoo.co.uk. Thanks so much. Sharon PS: We are going to Foston to the jazz concert this Saturday 7th August and will take as many pictures as I can if you are interested.

[freda]

Their are two with the name Clarevaulx myself included. The Faunt estate in Youghal still exist and the Faunt estate in WestMeath had been dismantled by the Land act of the last century. Charles Faunt had been disinherited by his Father Richard Faunt and exiled by him for a misdemeanour. The brother of Clarevaulx Henry Faunt named Ernest William Faunt died in 1911 in Montana U.S.A. and he and his wife had no children. His sisters all died in Ireland before 1960 with no surviving children. I also have a copy the old Family tree of Foston Which started in Dublin, from there to Melifont in County Louth and to Foston.

[jwearing]

I am very interested to read that you have a family tree that shows how the Faunt family in Ireland is connected with the Faunts in Leicestershire. Would it be possible for me to obtain a copy of this tree? My great-grandmother was Ellen Faunt, born in Dublin or Mullingar. Her father was Henry Faunt, an officer in the 34th Regiment.

Joseph Wearing

[Francis Edward Faunt]

I would love to see a connection between Mellifont and Foston. I have read about the connection for years but could never find anything to confirm.

[kirkmansharon]

Hello there Francis,

Just a short response as it is late - the connection between Mellifont in Ireland and Foston in Leicestershire is clearly connected by the Pedigree of Faunt, alias Fawnt, of Wistow, co. Huntingdon; and of Foston, co. Leicestershire.

What we are all trying to do (I think) is find the connection between this Pedigree and our Irish Faunts. From what I have so far, Richard Faunt is at the top of this Irish tree. He married a Miss Thompson, in Hanstown, Westmeath, and had 5 sons and one daughter.

I honestly do believe that we have already found the connection through the quartered crest on Lt. Col. Thomas Faunt's grave in Youghal, Co. Cork, right next to the church of St. Mary's Collegiate, and Myrtle Grove, where Thomas and Susanna Faunt lived prior to his death in 1845.

The crest is identical to that on the top centre of the Faunt tomb in St Bartholomew's Church in Foston. I was there very recently on 7th August for a Brass Band Concert which was held in the grounds of the church, and I can say that the church is very very special indeed, inside and out, and has a certain spiritual feel to it.

The only difference between this crest in Foston and the one on Thomas's grave in Youghal is the bottom LH quartered crest (Clervaux/Clarevaulx) has one star (or in heraldic terms 'mullet') above the cross. Through research I have ascertained that this means 'heir' or 'third son' both of which Thomas Faunt was.

All 3 crests on the quartered crest (the Rampant Lion with 9 crosslets is repeated top LH and bottom RH sides) are identical, and if you have a close look at the Pedigree of Faunt ... Leicestershire, it is clear that all of these three crests go back to marriages between Faunt/Moyne 1394 (Moyne crest two bars with 3 mullets above); Faunt/Clarevaulx (two marriages around the same period, one Alice Faunt marrying John Clarevaulx, co. Huntingdon probably around 1420s, and a John Faunt marrying an Alice Clarevaulx (daughter of Thomas Clarevaulx, lineally descended from a daughter of Sir Alexander Percy) - all extracted from the Pedigree of Faunt. Clarevaulx crest is the angled cross; and the Faunt crest a rampant lion with 9 crosslets. So these marriages/crests were drawn up by the early to mid 1400s it would seem from the above Pedigree I have quoted.

The mere fact that Thomas Faunt's grave has the same quartered crests with 3 different crests contained therein, I would say, is definitely no coincidence. It is just going to be hard to find any other evidence to support it.

No-body seems to know what happened to the Leicestershire Faunts after the latter part of the 1600s, around 1695 or thereabouts.

I find it also quite interesting that the Seige of Athlone in Ireland was 1691 - and also Athlone is very close to Mullingar, where Richard Faunt's 5 sons and daughter were born.

The other very interesting fact is that the name Clarevaulx/Clervaux has been passed down through the Richard Faunt family's lines - to me this is not simply a coincidence either.

I have done a bit of digging and found that Sir Hamon Clarevaulx/Clervaux is recorded as having arrived with William the Conqueror in 1066 - there is supposed to be an illumination in the 'coll. MSS. Faustina B.7' which 'represents the Earl receiving from the Conqueror his grant of His Honour of Richmond' - in this illumination I have read on the internet that it is supposed to have a banner at the back depicting a golden saltire of Clervaux. I haven't worked out yet how to find out where this illumination is. If anybody can help I would be very grateful.

I have seen a family tree on the internet of this Sir Hamon Clervaux, and it is extremely interesting that at the bottom of this family tree, there is a section which overlaps with the Pedigree of Faunt of Leicestershire, ie the two marriages between Faunts/Clarevaulx's I have mentioned above in the early to mid 1400s. If these are both correct, that would therefore get the Clervaux/Clarevaulx arrival in England back to 1066.

Francis, if you have any Irish information you can share with us, relating to Richard Faunt, or any other Faunt/Fant/Font line you are aware of, we would all be very grateful if you could share them with us.

'Freda' has mentioned being able to go back to the 12th century, and 'Phoenix' has said the same thing or thereabouts. If anybody has any information, please post it on this website for us all to see.

I have taken photos of Foston St Bartholomew's Church, the Faunt tomb in Foston, Thomas Faunt's grave in Youghal, including close-ups of the quartered crest I mentioned above, the Red House where Susanna Faunt lived, I understand, some time after Thomas Faunt's death, if anybody is interested.

Thank you again for writing. Hoping to hear from you all soon,
Sharon