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Henry Southwell (1782–1866), Solicitor of Dublin: A Timeline

1782/3 Henry Southwell was born in Dublin, son of William Southwell and Ann Doland.1
1799 He was apprenticed to the Dublin Attorney Sobieski Kildahl in this year, with supporting papers signed by his father, William Southwell (1736/7–1825).2
1804 Henry completed his apprenticeship and was admitted to full membership of the Kings Inns, Dublin, supported by a Bond sponsored by his brother John Southwell and James Laprelle, a merchant of Abbey-street.
1807 In 1807, the Broadwood Out-letter book records correspondence with Henry Southwell, who was representing the firm’s interests in Dublin regarding a debt owed to them by William Ware of Belfast.3
1818 The London Gazette of 8 August 1818 makes reference to Mr Southwell, a solicitor of Dublin, in a notice relating to the bankruptcy of Thomas Cooke and Michael Brennan, music sellers of Dublin and Strand in London, raising the question of whether their Assignee should be permitted:
‘paying to Mr Southwell, of Dublin, the late Solicitor of the said Bankrupts, the full amount of his claim upon them, for professional business performed by him for them, or either of them, or upon their account, in consideration of and as an inducement to his giving the said Assignee any information in his power regarding the estate of the said Bankrupts, or either of them’.
[Explanatory note: Thomas Cooke and Michael Brennan, music and musical instrument sellers and publishers, are listed in business at 45 Dame-street, Dublin ca. 1806–12; the firm of ‘Thomas Cooke & Co.’ is listed at the same address from 1812–17.5 Thomas (Tom) Cooke came to London to join the Theatre Royal at Drury lane in [year]. His father, Bartlett Cooke, was in business at 4, Sackville Street, Dublin from 1794–98.6 Bartlett is known to have published a song ’Twas Yes Kind Sir. A Favorite New Song written by F W Southwell (Francis, son of William Southwell Senior).]
1824 Henry Southwell (solicitor) is listed in Pigots Dublin Directory 1824 as an Attorney at 10, Digges-street in Dublin, with a residential address at 9, Digges-street.
1842 Pettigrew & Oulton's Dublin Directory, 1842,7 lists Henry Southwell, solicitor, at 36 Cuffe-street, Dublin.
1851 The 1851 census return for the Isle of Man census lists Henry Southwell, retired solicitor, born in Dublin, living in Ballafour House, [Douglas] Isle of Man, aged ‘59’. Living with him is Isabella Southwell, sister aged ‘38’ (therefore born ca. 1811) also born in Dublin.8 It becomes clear that the enumerator has misread his age when one reads his death notice in 1866. He was sixty nine and not fifty nine in 1851.
1861 The 1861 census return lists Henry Southwell, retired solicitor, aged seventy eight living at 8, Woodborn Road, Douglas Isle of Man. Isabella Southwell aged forty two [‘42’, probably a transcription error for ‘48’] is listed at the same address.
1866 A death notice of Henry Southwell, aged eighty four, who died at his residence, Westview-terrace, Douglas, Isle of Man on 29 September 1866 appeared in The Liverpool Mercury on 4th October of this year.9

1Supported by three sources:
(i) his age at date of death given in death notice in The Liverpool Mercury in 1866
(ii) census records
(iii) see note 2.
2 His father signed a sworn statement in Dublin that Henry was ‘of full age of sixteen years’ when he [Henry] became apprenticed to the Dublin Attorney Sobieski Kildahl in 1799. (Edward Keane, P Beryl Phair, and Thomas Ulick Sadleir, King's Inns Admission Papers, 1607–1867 (Dublin: Stationery Office for the Irish Manuscripts Commission, 1982), 458; original documents extant in the King’s Inn Library.)
3 Broadwood Out Letter Book. Broadwood Archives, Surrey History Centre, Woking. 2185/JB/6/1/1.
4 The London Gazette (17386), 8 August 1818, 1427. My thanks to Robert Southwell for drawing this notice to my attention.
5 Ita Margaret Hogan (196?) Anglo-Irish Music 1780–1830. Cork: Cork University Press p101.
6 Ita Margaret Hogan (196?) Anglo-Irish Music 1780–1830. Cork: Cork University Press p101.
7 Pettigrew & Oulton Dublin Directory 1842, 524. http://www.failteromhat.com/dublindir1842.htm accessed 19 June 2008.
8 Possibly a much younger half-sister informally adopted as a child.
9 The Liverpool Mercury (5829), 4 October 1866.
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