EARLS FAMILY CHRONICLES

© Christopher Earls Brennen

CHAPTER ELEVEN

THE PICKERING FAMILY

There is some belief that the Pickering family originated in the village of Tichmarsh in Northamptonshire, England. It is certainly the case that a Thomas Pickering took part in the Tudor plantation of Ireland for the following are excerpts from the State Papers (Calendar), Ireland, Vol.XXIII, page 360 :

Cork, Jan.14, 1568: ``.....McSweeney [the local chieftain] is at large. Apsley is drowned. Pickering is taken with all their ships and furniture.''

Limerick, Feb. 1, 1568: ``.....Pickering and Apsley are alive and cruelly kept by McSweeney.''

Dublin, Feb. 7, 1568: ``.....McSweeney may have pardon on giving up Apsley and Pickering''
``Thereafter Apsley was sent into Kerry to lay waste what he can. He is later captured by the Earl of Thomond who executes some of those with him and took many of the horses''

Elizabeth, Vol.LIX, page 121, 1577: ``Sir Nicholas Malbie Lord Deputy sends Thomas Pickering to declare his just claim to the cess oats, his former suit recommended.''

The first record of a definite ancestor is as follows:

Thomas Pickering of Ballycairn was born in 1663 and married Jane Everett in 1709 in Dublin. Ballycairn is about three miles from Ballymagin. Thomas appears in the Hearth Money Rolls(?) for County Antrim in 1663. Their son:

Thomas Pickering lived in Gornamoney and married Mary Swain of Magheralin in 1750.

CHILDREN OF THOMAS PICKERING AND MARY SWAIN:

Ruth Pickering was born in 1751.

William Pickering, our ancestor, was born in 1760 and lived in Ballymagin, Magheralin. He was probably married twice, first to Martha (?Wilson?) and second to Charity Bell (1761-1837) of Lurgan in 1795. Charity died in 1837 and William in 1843.

John Pickering of Ballymagin.

James Pickering.

CHILDREN OF WILLIAM PICKERING AND CHARITY BELL:

Eleanor Pickering, our ancestor, was born in 1798. She married Stothard Mercer and their story is told in chapter 9. Eleanor, who was also known as Ellen, died in 1854.

James Pickering was born in 1799. He married Selina Spence in Soldier's Town Church in 1833 and they lived in Newforge House, Magheralin. James had a small linen mill whose remains can still be seen at the back of the house. He also owned a lime kiln and had farming interests. A branch of the family still lives in Newforge House. James died on May 27, 1846, aged 47 and Selina died on Feb.9, 1892. They are both buried in the Old Graveyard at Magheralin where their gravestone reads:
``In loving memory of James Pickering who died 27th May 1846 aged 47 years. Selina Pickering his wife who died 9th February 1892. And their children, William James, Charlotte Emma and Selina Jane''
The children:

  1. William James Pickering was christened in the church of Magheralin on Jun.15, 1834 and died in 1836.
  2. Joseph Pickering was born in 1836. He emigrated to the United States, had a son James and died in 1917.
  3. Charity Pickering, also known as Cherrie, was born in 1838. On May 12, 1858, she was married in the Parish Church of Magheralin to John Coote, a commercial traveller from Magheralin whose father was James Coote, a farmer. They emigrated to Australia. Charity died in 1918.
  4. Elizabeth Anne Pickering was born in 1841 and married Henry Mathers who was born in Lurgan on Oct.26, 1833. Henry became a very prominent citizen of the Lurgan and Magheralin area of County Down. He was a linen manufacturer specializing in linen table damask and linen cambric hankerchiefs. He was a J.P. for County Down and chairman of Moira Rural Council and of the Lurgan Poor Law Board of Guardians. He was a local preacher in the Methodist Church and a Good Templar. Elizabeth and Henry lived at Newforge House, Magheralin, and had a number of children listed below. Elizabeth died in 1916.
    1. John Edward Mathers was born in 1862 and died in 1868.
    2. Cherry Mathers was born in 1864 and died in 1868.
    3. James Pickering Mathers was born in 1866 and followed in his father's footsteps as a linen manufacturer and a local preacher. He married Hester Rosanna Gaynor and they had issue:
      1. Henry Mathers was born in 1898, married Althea Stafford-Badge and died in 1934.
      2. John Mathers was born in 1901 and died in 1920.
      3. Elizabeth Wright Mathers was born in 1903 and died in 1987.
      4. James Pickering Mathers was born in 1906.
      5. Robert Ulrich Mathers was born in 1908 and married Emily Waddell. They had two sons John Waddell Mathers (1944-1963) and Robert Henry Mathers (1947-). Robert died in 1987 and Emily in 1968.
    4. Anne Jane Mathers was born July 8, 1868, and married James Mercer (see chapter 9).
    5. Henry Leslie Mathers was born 1871 and farmed in the Magheralin area. He married May McRobert and died in 1941. They had a daughter:
      1. Audrey Mathers.
    6. Joseph Mathers was born 1873 and became a Methodist minister. He married Lily Decourcey and they had a daughter:
      1. Sheila Mathers.
    7. Selina Mathers was born in 1878 and married the Robert M. Kerr, a Methodist minister.
    8. William Mathers was born 1882 and worked as a government employee and a local preacher. He married Ben(?) Kerr and died in 1947.
  5. Charlotte Emma Pickering, mentioned on the above gravestone, probably died young.
  6. Selina Jane Pickering, mentioned on the above gravestone, probably died young.
  7. Selina Pickering was born in 1845. She married Robert McDade and they had a son, James, who emigrated to the United States. James McDade had a son, Fred.

William Pickering was christened in the church in Magheralin on Jan.15, 1804. He married Elizabeth Ruddell in 1836 and they lived in Tullyloob, Moira, and at Kilminioge. William died in 1847. They had three children:

  1. James Pickering (1838- ).
  2. William Pickering (1841-1929) married Charlotte McDade, the daughter of Rev. John Scott McDade who was probably the closest friend of his fellow Methodist minister, Rev. John Northridge (see Chapter 11). When McDade died in 1910, Northridge wrote a long and interesting obituary for the press. This is probably the William Pickering of Monbrief listed as a resident of Lurgan in the 1886 County Down Directory. Jill Watson of Oxford is the granddaughter of William and Charlotte Pickering.
  3. Samuel Pickering (1843- ).

Charity Pickering was christened in the church in Magheralin on Mar.23, 1806.

Maria Pickering was christened in the church in Magheralin on May 28, 1809. She married Robert Brown on Aug.20, 1830.

Robert Pickering was christened in the church in Magheralin on Sep.22, 1811.

Ann Pickering was christened in the church in Magheralin in 1813 and married John McCann on Dec.5, 1839.

Isabella Pickering was christened in the church in Magheralin on June 9, 1816.

Much of the above information on the Pickering family was obtained from a Pickering/Mathers bible in the custody of the Robin Mathers family who currently (1989) live in Newforge House, Magheralin. It was given to the author by Jill Watson.

Last updated 7/30/99.

Christopher E. Brennen