Barton Family History
Barton, William (Bowe Island)
1630 - 1693 (63 years)-
Name Barton, William (Bowe Island) Born 1630 Boa Island, Fermanagh, Ireland 
Gender Male _UID 34EF867709955B489C9CDA57C8FBCC85DEAA Died 22 Feb 1693 - William Barton was married to Jean Hannah Ffoster and his father was Anthony Barton, [possibly of Barton Hall Lancashire England according to one family account but unlikely in view of all the Plantation Landowners in this Barony being from Norfolk]. William Barton's estate included all of Boa Island plus the townland of Curraghmore near Pettigo and the Island of Cruninish near Boa Island. William Barton died on February 22nd 1693 and is buried in Carne Graveyard outside Pettigo along with his son Edward. William of Boa Island had two sons Edward and William the second son. Edward inherited Cruninish and Boa Island while William who inherited Curraghmore from his father married Elizabeth Dickson of Ballyshannon. Their son Tom became famous as "French Tom" because he went off to Bordeaux in France and founded the famous wine firm of B. and G. or Barton and Guestier which is today one of the most famous wine firms in France. "French Tom" claimed that he acquired his business acumen from his uncles Thomas and William Dickson who were merchants in Ballyshannon. The town of Ballyshannon was a notable port at this time and there was quite a lot of trade between the west of Ireland and the west of France. Brandy, wine and silk was imported and wool, fish and agricultural produce were exported. In times of strain between France and England trade was officially stopped but smuggling was ever present.
"French Tom" was born on the 21st of December, 1695, at his father's house at Curraghmore and sent to school in Ballyshannon. He was married on the 1st of November 1722 to Margaret Delap of Ballyshannon and his only child William was born in Anna Delap's house in Ballyshannon on the 5th of August 1723. When Thomas Barton emigrated to France he worked as a factor at Marseille and Montpelier before moving to Bordeaux and founding his wine firm when he was about thirty years old. It was not until the period of the French Revolution that the name Guestier became associated with that of Barton the wine merchants. The Reign of Terror, as it is called during the French Revolution, engulfed Bordeaux as much as it did Paris and other cities in France and many were imprisoned or sent to the guillotine where their heads were cut off. Hugh Barton who was then owner of the Barton firm was imprisoned along with many other leading merchants and like them, his offices and books were sealed with the seal of the Revolutionary Committee. He was imprisoned in Fort du Ha but escaped with the aid of his wife and before fleeing the country assisted in burning the guillotine in Bordeaux. As an alien he was no longer allowed to hold property in France or have a business there and he arranged with Daniel Guestier to manage his business in Bordeaux while he managed it's affairs in Britain. Barton placed great trust in Guestier for at any time Guestier could have seized the business as his own. Eventually when some degree of normality returned a partnership was drawn up between the two men in 1802 which continues between their descendants today. In 1830 both men brought their eldest sons into the partnership and descendants of these remarkable men still control the firm of Barton and Guestier.
Back in Ireland the Barton lands came into the possession of the descendants of "French Tom" and indeed were added to locally and in other places in Ireland. In1754 Sir James Caldwell sold the lands of Coolacha near amounting to 115 acres to Thomas Barton of Bordeaux i.e. "French Tom" and he also bought the Kilmore Estate of 15,500 acres and until this the Bartons did not really have much land in Ireland. "French Tom" and his only son William did not see eye to eye and he moved to the Grove Estate, Fethard, Co. Tipperary. He married there and left 6 sons and 3 daughters. The sons were Thomas, William, Charles, Hugh, Robert and Dunbar while the girls were Lady Palliser, Lady Massey and Lady Fitzgerald.
On the demise of their father the Grove Estate was inherited by Thomas, the Waterfoot Estate by General Charles Barton and the Clonelly Estate by William Barton. Locally therefore the Waterfoot and Clonelly Estates descended between two branches of the family and their respective estates of the Waterfoot and Clonelly owned separate shares of Boa Island. The western half of Boa Island belonged to the Bartons of the Waterfoot and the easterly half to the Bartons of Clonelly.
In 1845 just before famine struck Ireland there was a great deal of unrest in the countryside. Such was the unrest of the time that a notice of a reward of £1000 was printed in the Ballyshannon Herald for information received in regard to Ribbonmen or Molly Maguires in the local countryside. In a celebrated murder attempt of the day Folliott W Barton J.P. one of the Bartons of Clonelly was the intended victim of an attack and the entire weight of the law of the country descended on the locality in an effort to suppress what was considered the beginning of an uprising. As the newspaper reports the events Mr F.W. Barton had been on his way home to Clonelly near Pettigo when he had been shot. He had been on horseback coming from his relatives house at the Waterfoot. An immediate reward was posted for the capture of the assassin. In the same newspaper edition of November 1845 it states that a great rot has set in among the potatoes and that the crop failure earlier reported from England now seemed to be in Ireland. On January 9th of 1846 the Ballyshannon Herald reports that two brothers by the name of Fitzpatrick were now lodged in Enniskillen Jail on suspicion of the attempted assassination. One of them James Fitzpatrick was in fact now dead and the other still protesting their innocence. They just happened to be passing along the road at the time and the newspaper comments in their defence that they had always been thought to have been loyal Protestants. In those days just to be put in jail could easily be a death sentence.
Person ID I0383 Barton Family Tree Last Modified 17 Jul 2010
Father Barton, Anthony, b. Abt 1605, Fermanagh, Ireland , d. Yes, date unknown Family ID F0386 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Foster, Jane Hannah, d. Yes, date unknown Married Abt 1658 Drumkeeran, Curraghmore, Fermanagh, Ireland Children 1. Barton, Edward, b. 1663, Drumkeeran, Curraghmore, Fermanagh, Ireland , d. 10 Mar 1729 (Age 66 years)2. Barton, William Of Curraghmore, b. 1664, Drumkeeran, Curraghmore, Fermanagh, Ireland , d. 1722 (Age 58 years)Last Modified 17 Jul 2010 Family ID F0143 Group Sheet | Family Chart
- William Barton was married to Jean Hannah Ffoster and his father was Anthony Barton, [possibly of Barton Hall Lancashire England according to one family account but unlikely in view of all the Plantation Landowners in this Barony being from Norfolk]. William Barton's estate included all of Boa Island plus the townland of Curraghmore near Pettigo and the Island of Cruninish near Boa Island. William Barton died on February 22nd 1693 and is buried in Carne Graveyard outside Pettigo along with his son Edward. William of Boa Island had two sons Edward and William the second son. Edward inherited Cruninish and Boa Island while William who inherited Curraghmore from his father married Elizabeth Dickson of Ballyshannon. Their son Tom became famous as "French Tom" because he went off to Bordeaux in France and founded the famous wine firm of B. and G. or Barton and Guestier which is today one of the most famous wine firms in France. "French Tom" claimed that he acquired his business acumen from his uncles Thomas and William Dickson who were merchants in Ballyshannon. The town of Ballyshannon was a notable port at this time and there was quite a lot of trade between the west of Ireland and the west of France. Brandy, wine and silk was imported and wool, fish and agricultural produce were exported. In times of strain between France and England trade was officially stopped but smuggling was ever present.
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Event Map 
Born - 1630 - Boa Island, Fermanagh, Ireland 
= Link to Google Earth
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Notes - William Barton was married to Jean Hannah Ffoster and his father was Anthony Barton, [possibly of Barton Hall Lancashire England according to one family account but unlikely in view of all the Plantation Landowners in this Barony being from Norfolk]. William Barton's estate included all of Boa Island plus the townland of Curraghmore near Pettigo and the Island of Cruninish near Boa Island. William Barton died on February 22nd 1693 and is buried in Carne Graveyard outside Pettigo along with his son Edward. William of Boa Island had two sons Edward and William the second son. Edward inherited Cruninish and Boa Island while William who inherited Curraghmore from his father married Elizabeth Dickson of Ballyshannon. Their son Tom became famous as "French Tom" because he went off to Bordeaux in France and founded the famous wine firm of B. and G. or Barton and Guestier which is today one of the most famous wine firms in France. "French Tom" claimed that he acquired his business acumen from his uncles Thomas and William Dickson who were merchants in Ballyshannon. The town of Ballyshannon was a notable port at this time and there was quite a lot of trade between the west of Ireland and the west of France. Brandy, wine and silk was imported and wool, fish and agricultural produce were exported. In times of strain between France and England trade was officially stopped but smuggling was ever present.
"French Tom" was born on the 21st of December, 1695, at his father's house at Curraghmore and sent to school in Ballyshannon. He was married on the 1st of November 1722 to Margaret Delap of Ballyshannon and his only child William was born in Anna Delap's house in Ballyshannon on the 5th of August 1723. When Thomas Barton emigrated to France he worked as a factor at Marseille and Montpelier before moving to Bordeaux and founding his wine firm when he was about thirty years old. It was not until the period of the French Revolution that the name Guestier became associated with that of Barton the wine merchants. The Reign of Terror, as it is called during the French Revolution, engulfed Bordeaux as much as it did Paris and other cities in France and many were imprisoned or sent to the guillotine where their heads were cut off. Hugh Barton who was then owner of the Barton firm was imprisoned along with many other leading merchants and like them, his offices and books were sealed with the seal of the Revolutionary Committee. He was imprisoned in Fort du Ha but escaped with the aid of his wife and before fleeing the country assisted in burning the guillotine in Bordeaux. As an alien he was no longer allowed to hold property in France or have a business there and he arranged with Daniel Guestier to manage his business in Bordeaux while he managed it's affairs in Britain. Barton placed great trust in Guestier for at any time Guestier could have seized the business as his own. Eventually when some degree of normality returned a partnership was drawn up between the two men in 1802 which continues between their descendants today. In 1830 both men brought their eldest sons into the partnership and descendants of these remarkable men still control the firm of Barton and Guestier.
Back in Ireland the Barton lands came into the possession of the descendants of "French Tom" and indeed were added to locally and in other places in Ireland. In1754 Sir James Caldwell sold the lands of Coolacha near amounting to 115 acres to Thomas Barton of Bordeaux i.e. "French Tom" and he also bought the Kilmore Estate of 15,500 acres and until this the Bartons did not really have much land in Ireland. "French Tom" and his only son William did not see eye to eye and he moved to the Grove Estate, Fethard, Co. Tipperary. He married there and left 6 sons and 3 daughters. The sons were Thomas, William, Charles, Hugh, Robert and Dunbar while the girls were Lady Palliser, Lady Massey and Lady Fitzgerald.
On the demise of their father the Grove Estate was inherited by Thomas, the Waterfoot Estate by General Charles Barton and the Clonelly Estate by William Barton. Locally therefore the Waterfoot and Clonelly Estates descended between two branches of the family and their respective estates of the Waterfoot and Clonelly owned separate shares of Boa Island. The western half of Boa Island belonged to the Bartons of the Waterfoot and the easterly half to the Bartons of Clonelly.
- William Barton was married to Jean Hannah Ffoster and his father was Anthony Barton, [possibly of Barton Hall Lancashire England according to one family account but unlikely in view of all the Plantation Landowners in this Barony being from Norfolk]. William Barton's estate included all of Boa Island plus the townland of Curraghmore near Pettigo and the Island of Cruninish near Boa Island. William Barton died on February 22nd 1693 and is buried in Carne Graveyard outside Pettigo along with his son Edward. William of Boa Island had two sons Edward and William the second son. Edward inherited Cruninish and Boa Island while William who inherited Curraghmore from his father married Elizabeth Dickson of Ballyshannon. Their son Tom became famous as "French Tom" because he went off to Bordeaux in France and founded the famous wine firm of B. and G. or Barton and Guestier which is today one of the most famous wine firms in France. "French Tom" claimed that he acquired his business acumen from his uncles Thomas and William Dickson who were merchants in Ballyshannon. The town of Ballyshannon was a notable port at this time and there was quite a lot of trade between the west of Ireland and the west of France. Brandy, wine and silk was imported and wool, fish and agricultural produce were exported. In times of strain between France and England trade was officially stopped but smuggling was ever present.