Could you be part of the Bronte Family History? The surnames BRONTE or BRUNTY, MCCLORY, BRANWELL, and CARNE, may all have links to the Bronte family of Yorkshire, particularly if you can trace ancestry back to Ireland or Cornwall.
The Bronte sisters of Haworth in Yorkshire, along with their brother Branwell, are well known in literature for their intense, dramatic novels and poetry. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is one of the great classics of English literature, along with Charlotte’s Jane Eyre.
Of the three sisters, Emily, Anne and Charlotte, only Charlotte married, but none of them had children, all of them dying tragically young. Charlotte had been pregnant when she died. Branwell also did not marry, and became an alcoholic after a possible affair with a married woman, dying of tuberculosis at the age of 31. Tuberculosis was the given cause of death for all of the siblings, and the description of Helen Burns’ death in Jane Eyre shows Charlotte’s familiarity with the disease.
Two elder sisters, Elizabeth and Maria, both died before reaching adulthood at the ages of 12 and 10.
For anyone living to be connected with this family, we must therefore look at lines descending from the siblings of the parents.
BRONTE/BRUNTY
Their father, Patrick Bronte outlived all of his children. He was Irish, and was born in Drumballeyroney in County Down in 1777, the eldest of ten children. The family name was in fact BRUNTY or PRUNTY, though various spellings are possible.
His nine siblings were: William, James, Jane, Hugh, Mary, Rose, Walsh, Sarah and Alice.
His parents were Hugh BRUNTY and Elinor Alice MCCLORY, but I have no information about Hugh’s parentage, except that they may be traced to the Irish clan O Pronntaigh.
The ability to trace the marriages and descendants of Patrick’s many siblings in Ireland is beyond the scope of my searches. However, if you have the name BRUNTY, BRONTE or PRUNTY and are of Irish descent, then it may be worth while searching for a link to this family from County Down. The same goes for the name of McClory.
BRANWELL
Patrick Bronte married Maria BRANWELL in 1812. Maria was born in 1783 in Penzance, Cornwall, the daughter of Thomas BRANWELL and Anne CARNE. She was one of 12 children, though only six of these survived childhood.
Her siblings were Anne (1769-1792), Margaret (1770), Thomas (1771-?), Elisabeth (1772-1772), Jane (1773-1855), Benjamin Carne (1775-1818), Elisabeth (1776-1842), Thomas (1778-1779), Alice (1780-1780s), Margaret (1789) and Charlotte (1791-1848).
The only surviving male, Benjamin Carne BRANWELL, married Mary BATTEN in 1799 in Penzance. They had eight children: Thomas (1801), Mary Batten (1803), Emma (1805), Benjamin Batten (1806), Lydia (1811), Amelia Josepha (1816), Elizabeth and John.
I think Thomas may the Thomas B BRANWELL living in Brixton, London with wife Sarah in 1851. He has three sons at this point, George W. B, Charles H. J. and Ernest W. So there may be a line of descent through this family, though this needs double-checking to make sure he is the right Thomas.
Mary seems to have died in 1874 without having married, and Emma also seems to have died a spinster in 1891. Benjamin does not appear to have married and is living with his mother and sister Lydia (also unmarried) in 1851. He died in 1893 and Lydia in 1878. Amelia Josepha also remained unmarried and died in 1892.
There is a possible marriage for Elizabeth in 1852 in Bodmin, to Henry Rowe, but I think it may be more likely that she is the Elizabeth who died in 1856 in Falmouth.
I am not sure about John. It looks as though he also married (Lucy) and went to live in London, in Islington. He has a daughter, Emily, but further research needs to be done to make sure this is the right family.
It is possible therefore, that BRANWELL living descendants may trace their line via London back to Cornwall.
CARNE
Anne CARNE was the wife of Thomas BRANWELL and the maternal grandmother of the Bronte sisters. The CARNE name is quite numerous in Cornwall, but it seems likely that she is the Anne CARNE who was baptized in Penzance on 27th April 1744, the daughter of John Carne. However, I cannot find any definite siblings for her, so any connection to this family would probably be further back.
There seems to be a distinct lack of marriages within the extended families of the Brontes, and this may mean that there are few living people who can claim a link to the famous sisters. However, if you have Irish or Cornish ancestors with any of the names above, it may be worth looking into.
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My mother in law was Sylvia maud Bronte,born Ireland,her mother was Anna stevenson
My ancestor is the uncle of the bronte sisters., William bronte.his granddaughter Martha Ratcliffe married my grandmother ‘s grandfather, Robert newell. I have a pdf image if you are interested.
Anne CARNE was the wife of Thomas BRANWELL.
Thanks – I believe I have that information in the above post.
rosbot, The surname given for Thomas is Cranwell rather than Branwell.
Ha – I’ve just seen where the spelling error is. Sorry – I was looking at another paragraph where it was correct. It’s corrected now – thanks for pointing it out.
Ros
My mother was O’Neill from Ballyshiel which is near the town lands of Ballinaskeagh, Glascar and Ballyroney where Hugh Prunty was from. According to my mother, Alice McClorey, who is the mother of Patrick Bronte, the father of the Brontes, is a sister of my mothers great great grandmother. That would mean Alice McClorey and my mother’s ancestor share a mother which creates a direct link to the Brontes.
Hi Gus. I think I’m right in saying that makes you 2nd cousin 3 x removed to the Bronte sisters!
Cheers
Ros
My grandfather Edward McClory and his siblings were born in Ballylough, County Down which is about 5 miles from Ballyroney. Since they are close to where Hugh Pronty was from, I cannot trace back to Alice McClory. who may be an ancestor. Any suggestions on how to establish a possible relationship?
Hi Ray. It can be very difficult trying to connect two families, but what is usually the case is that you have research beyond the dates of the person you are trying to connect to in order to find the common ancestor. I don’t know how much access you have to Irish records, but if you are not already in Ireland, it would be a good idea to hire a local genealogist there who may have better access to the records and more knowledge of the area. Also, check for records other than BMD, such as court, probate or land records (depending on how wealthy, or not, they were).
Good luck with your research
Ros
I am a Bronte/Brunty. Much of my lineage is from ancestry.com
Hi Barbara – that’s great. Be careful with any published trees on Ancestry, though – they are often inaccurate. You research should be through original documentation, some of which can be accessed via Ancestry, and other sites.
Ros
My great great grandfather’s sister, Anne Courtenay Harry, married (1831) Walter Edmonds of Penzance. His mother, Catherine Branwell, was the daughter of Richard Branwell and Honour Matthews, and the cousin of Maria Bronte nee Branwell.
My great grandfather’s cousin, Mary Ann Harry, married (1868) Charles Branwell, great grandson of Richard Branwell and Honour Matthews.
Nice! Thanks Susan.
Ros
I descend from their mother Maria’s grandfather Richard Branwell’s sister Marjory
My 5x great grandmother is Sarah Bronte/Brunty, brother of Patrick Bronte