Richard Biddulph [1809-1888] in Canada

Richard Biddulph [1809-1888] and Francis Waller Biddulph [1810-1886] were brothers, sons of Francis Biddulph of Mount Oliver and Mary Steele.  Both emigrated to Canada. A third brother, Nicholas Biddulph, who was born in 1803 and was the eldest son, inherited Fortal and remained in Ireland. Anne, and Elizabeth, their sisters, also remained in Ireland. Anne married Hugh Boyd Wray in 1823. They had one son, Jackson, who died in the Crimea. Elizabeth died unmarried aged 75.

Ciaran Joseph Reilly[1] describes the difficulties in Ireland at that time:

King’s County was no different than anywhere else on the eve of the Famine in that there was a huge dichotomy between rich and poor, landless and landlord.

Many landlords, for a variety of reasons, were on the verge of bankruptcy even before the Famine. Some estates suffered from the spendthrift nature of their owners or heirs. The Biddulph estate was broken up in 1824 following a litigation case with Robert Waller of Annaghmore which cost over £18,000 and almost bankrupt the latter. The Bernards of Kinnitty, who were much more financially astute, working from an annual rental of over £10,000, purchased the Biddulph’s house at Rathrobin during a time when it was said they “feathered their nests nicely‟. But they still ran into financial difficulty a decade later when they invested heavily in the building of Castlebernard at Kinnitty in 1833.

 The tenants of various es-tates at Ballyboy, gathered in hundreds outside the residences of Mr Biddulph of Rathrobin, Mr Dunne and other gentlemen and then went to Johnstone Stoney in Frankford seeking employment. Amongst their chief concerns was finding employment, threatening that they would “take food by force‟ if their demands were not met.

Richard Biddulph married Catherine Matilda Bates of Northumberland. They had four children, Selina Elizabeth born in 1839, Amelia Maria born in 1843, Richard also born in 1843, was most probably a twin and may have died young, and Catherine Matilda born in 1845.

Richard’s youngest daughter, Catherine Matilda, married John Labatt in St. Paul’s Cathedral. Huron, in 1866. The Labatts had come from Ireland, from Mount Mellick, in County Laois, and were a Huguenot family. They were brewers and Labatt later became the biggest brewery in Canada. Sadly, Catherine died from measles, leaving three very young daughters. John Labatt married again, Elizabeth Lynch, who was Irish and Catholic. They had nine children.

Many of the Labatt family are buried at Woodland, London Cemetery, Middlesex, Ontario including Catherine Matilda. Her grandson John Labatt Scatcherd is buried in France. He died in 1918 and was awarded the Military Cross and Bar.

Richard Biddulph died in Canada in 1888.
On 17th September, at his residence, Wortley House, London, Canada, Richard Steele Buddulph, Esq., JP, younger brother of late Nicholas Biddulph, JP, Congor House, Borrisokane. [Nenagh Guardian 1888]

---

[1] Land Agents and Estate Management  in King’s County During the  Great  Famine, 1838-53,

by Ciaran Joseph Reilly. Thesis for the degree of PhD., Department of History, NUI, Maynooth.