Barton of The Waterfoot

THE BARTONS OF THE WATERFOOT OWNED 1,591 ACRES OF LAND IN COUNTY FERMANAGH

This family was established in Ulster by THOMAS BARTON, of Norwich, Norfolk, who is said to have accompanied the Earl of Essex's army into Ireland. Mr Barton was one of the first burgesses of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh.

In 1610 he obtained a grant of land comprising a district called Druminshin and Necarne, County Fermanagh. Thomas Barton was an applicant for a "small proportion" of 1,000 acres, and obtained a grant of Druminshin, which included the island of Inishclare, also in Lurg, in 1610; and he parted with Lettermore in 1613 to Mr Christopher Irvine, Rossfad to Mr Lancelot Carleton in the same year.

The Manor of Bannaghmore (Bannagh Mor) , extending from the river Bannagh to beyond the Waterfoot was purchased and controlled by the Barton family. Some of these lands were exchanged by him for others in the neighbourhood still in the possession of the elder branch of the family.

Thomas Barton married Margaret Lloyd, and had a son,

ANTHONY BARTON, father of

WILLIAM BARTON (c1630-93), of Boa Island and Curraghmore, who wedded Jane Hannah Forster, and had issue,

Edward, his heir; ancestor of BARTON of Greenfort;
WILLIAM, of whom we treat.

The younger son,

WILLIAM BARTON, of Curraghmore, County Fermanagh, espoused Elizabeth, daughter of John Dickson, of Ballyshannon, and had issue,

THOMAS, his heir;
George, died unmarried;
James;
Elizabeth; Everina.

Mr Barton died in 1695, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

THOMAS BARTON (1695-1780), of Curraghmore, who established the house of business at Bordeaux, France, 1725, and acquired a considerable fortune.

He purchased the estate of Grove, County Tipperary, in 1752.

Mr Barton married, in 1722, his cousin Margaret, youngest daughter of Robert Delap, of Ballyshannon, County Donegal, and had issue, an only child,

WILLIAM BARTON (1723-92), of The Grove, County Tipperary, who wedded, in 1754, Grace, eldest daughter of the Very Rev Charles Massy, Dean of Limerick, and sister of Sir Hugh Dillon Massy, 1st Baronet, of Donass, County Clare, and had issue,

Thomas, his heir;
William, of Clonelly, County Fermanagh;
CHARLES, of whom hereafter;
Hugh, of Straffan;
Robert (Sir), KCH, Lieutenant-General in the Army;
Dunbar, of Rochestown;
Grace; Elizabeth; Margaret.

The third son,

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL CHARLES BARTON (1760-1819), espoused, in 1800, Susannah, daughter of Nathaniel Weld Johnston, of Bordeaux, France, and had issue,

HUGH WILLIAM, his heir;
Nathaniel Dunbar, Lt-Col Bengal Cavalry;
Thomas Charles, of Bonn, Germany;
Robert, of Sydney, Australia;
Albert Evelyn;
Susannah; Anna Eleanor.

His eldest son,

HUGH WILLIAM BARTON JP DL (1800-70), of The Waterfoot, County Fermanagh, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1837, Lieutenant-Colonel, 2nd Life Guards, married, in 1832, Mary Caroline, eldest daughter of Robert Johnston, of Kinlough House, County Leitrim, and had issue,

CHARLES ROBERT, his heir;
James, Captain, Royal Artillery;
Folliott;
Hugh St George, Captain, 60th Rifles;
Robert, Royal Navy;
Thomas Lloyd;
Nathaniel Albert Delap, Major, 88th Regiment;
Florence Anna; Mary Everina.

The eldest son,

CHARLES ROBERT BARTON JP DL (1832-1918), of The Waterfoot, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1863, Captain, Fermanagh Militia, wedded, in 1872, Henrietta Martha Mervyn, daughter of Henry Mervyn Richardson DL, of Rossfad, County Fermanagh, and had issue,

WILLIAM HUGH, his heir;
Henry Charles Johnston;
Charles Nathaniel;
Bertram James Richardson;
Mary Jane Florence; Everina Margaret; Caroline Angel Charlotte; Henrietta Emily Violet;
MILDRED PENELOPE MATILDA, of whom hereafter;
Susanna Cecil Grace.

Captain Barton was succeeded by his eldest son,

WILLIAM HUGH BARTON DSO JP DL (1874-1945), of The Waterfoot, High Sheriff of County Fermanagh, 1924, Lieutenant-Colonel, Royal Army Service Corps, who married, in 1917, Ardyn Marion, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Tyrwhitt Stanniforth Patteson, and had issue,

JOHN CHARLES;
Ruth Ardyn (1921-51).

The only son,

CAPTAIN JOHN CHARLES BARTON (1918-43), Royal Artillery, died in 1943, aged 25, at north Africa, from wounds received in action, unmarried.

Captain Barton's cousin,

MISS MILDRED PENELOPE MATILDA BARTON (1885-1971), married, in 1918, Simon Christopher, son of Robert Loane, of Kesh, County Fermanagh, and had issue, four sons.

Click to Enlarge

THE WATERFOOT, Letter, near Pettigo, County Fermanagh, is a late Georgian house with two simple, two-storey ranges with eaved roofs at right angles to each other.

It was built by Lieutenant-General Charles Barton and completed by his son, Hugh William Barton.

The demesne was established in the 17th century, bounded by the river Waterfoot and Lower Lough Erne.

The house dated from the late 18th century with mature parkland, shelter trees, pleasure ground and a walled garden with an orchard.

The Waterfoot subsequently passed to Mr R B Loane, whose mother, Mildred Penelope Matilda Loane, née Barton, was a daughter of Captain Charles Robert Barton, of The Waterfoot.

The River Waterfoot defines the Boundary of the UK and Ireland

Charles Robert Barton

I am particularly grateful to Patricia Barton for the images.

First published in October, 2019.