Colonel Caeser

Caesar, known as Colonel Caesar, who also subsequently succeeded to the Tintern
Estates under the settlement made by Margaret Pigott Colclough, on his marriage
with his first wife, thus again uniting both estates, or as much as remained of them,
in his own person, and becoming the head of the whole family. He was always
regarded with great affection by Madam Pigott, and treated by her as her heir and
successor, and certainly he did not fail in maintaining the honour and dignity of his
family, and reviving the old saying “As grand as Colclough”, though it must be
confessed that it was done at a fearful expenditure of money and a sad diminution
of the Estates.

Below a contempary quote from 'Richard Gill' contained in Beauchamp Colclough's family legends...
“Colonel Caesar was educated in Dublin by his godmother Madam Pigott,
at the age of 14 or 15, he and a comrade had a falling out one morning.
They fought on the lobby with small swords, and Caesar run him through.
He was tried for his life in the Courts, and his godmother gave directions to
his Counsel to send a special message of his liberation to the Abbey, and
she would well reward him; so three men set off with the news of his
acquittal, the first man that reached, got 5 guineas, the second 3, and the
last 1 1⁄2; and they were kept for three days to refresh themselves, as they
travelled bare foot, such was the mode of travelling at that time.”
The Colonel was only 23 years of age when he entered Parliament, which
place he kept for 40 years without opposition, though he was often
opposed in the House. It was on his account that the chairs were chained,
swords were prohibited to be worn, slippers to replace boots, he was
terrible in a passion, he carried all before him on the liberal, or in those
days the Whig side. He was a man of 6 feet 4 inches in height, and all his
sons were not much less except one, Richard the youngest, who was not
more than 5 feet 8 inches, but as supple as a kid, he would leap over three
of his father's Coach Horses side by side. His income in all of the property
was £4,500
He also kept up four houses, Duffry Hall, Tintern, one in Wexford and
another in Dublin, and spent three months of the year in each of them. He
used to come to Tintern in June, and three weeks before his coming he had
the village all whitewashed and cleaned out, and the week after his arrival,
he and his lady with 5 sons and 3 daughters, visited every house and family,
himself and sons all dressed alike in sky blue or scarlet, with swords by
their sides, and the Ladies in black silk, so stiff that the dresses would stand
of an end and rattle as they walked. The Colonel would ask each family how they were getting on, and did they require anything that he could do
for them. At that time it was a great place for all kinds of trades. In a small
way and to humiliate his sons, he would turn about to them, and tell them
it was those poor people who were keeping the fine clothes on them, and
not to forget them when they came in their way.
My father was born in the village in the year 1744 and remembers all these
things going on for many years. When the Colonel used to leave the Abbey
in September he would get all the ripe fruit taken down, and divide it all
amongst the people in the village according to family, himself being
present with a list in his hand, and in November there was two casks of
Cider made with the rest”.


More from Beauchamp family legends...
Colonel Caesar’s lavish expenditure and as a consequence., numerous debts, drove
him to the expedient of breaking the entail, and we find him in 1725 petitioning the
Irish Parliament for an Act to do so. This first attempt was unsuccessful, but in the
following year he obtained an Act of the Imperial Parliament under which large
portions of the Estates were sold, and again, some years afterwards, 1746, he
obtained a similar Act from the Irish Parliament, by which he was enabled to dispose
of great deal more. Notwithstanding all which, he was never out of monetary
troubles, even with the members of his own immediate family, as may be seen by a
letter addressed to him by his brother Henry, which I found with other papers in the
Abbey after the first trial,) and by the Will of the youngest brother Dudley, of
Balecormuck. One of his favourite devices, was the assignment of his life interest in a
Townsland, instance Rossard to his brother Henry. It is said that an open rupture
about money took place between him and his next brother Francis, and which was
perhaps the cause of the latters joining the ranks of the Irish Brigade in the service of
France, and his consequent outlawry. And here I cannot resist the temptation of
introducing a Jacobite distich of that period 1745 attributed to John Byrone and
which shows the lamentable state of uncertainty in those days, as to whom their
allegiance was due.
“God bless the King, I mean the faiths defender;
God bless, no harm in blessing the Pretender;
Who that Pretender is, and who that King;
God bless us all, is quite another thing;
There is strong grounds for the belief that Colonel Caesar himself was a Jacobite in
his heart, but fortunately he never took an active part in the cause, else there would
probably have been a third confiscation of the Estates, and he might have fared as
badly, if not worse, than those who went before him. I have not been able to
ascertain when the last of the English Estates were disposed of, but some of them at
least remained with Sir Caesar, the second baronet, for he alludes to them in his
Will.
One of the Colonel daughters was a deaf mute, and there are many strange stories
told in connection with her, such as that she invariably became restless, and walked
at night previous to the death of any member of the family.
In another, Richard Gill (see above ... JC) tells us that, “In the Christmas of 1758 or 9, Col. Caesar, as
was customary, invited many of his relatives and friends to Tintern Abbey for the
holidays for a month. 23 of his own name principally of the male sex, were present,
the woods and groves were very extensive at that time, in the party there were 2
Caesar’s, 2 Adams, 2 Johns, 2 Toms, 2 Patricks and 2 Henrys. There was an old
servant named James Moloney in the family at that time, who spent his lifetime with
them, and he often spent a day afterwards with my father talking over many things,
and the foregoing in particularly, as it was his first time in the Abbey. The Leighs,
Loftus’, and Tottenhams often dined there after the day’s sport, and it was at this
time, that Lord Loftus remarked “Colclough your glasses are small”, to which the
Colonel replied, “fill them often and they will turn a mill”. The last time he was at
Tintern for the Christmas, he had the Duffry Hall Stag Hounds and there were 24
Colcloughs mounted, and along with them the Hattons, Hores, Harvey, Bunburys,
Leighs and many others that I can not think of. He was 3 years in Dublin under
Doctors, for a scorbutic Dropsy. He was buried on Easter Monday night at 12 o clock
and the funeral cortege was most impressive and grand with torchlight, and
flambeaux on the horses heads”.
Colonel Caesar commanded I believe the Wexford Regiment of Militia, and it is
certain that he raised a Regiment of Dragoons in the County by authority of the
Government. He left by his Will (which was too long for me to copy in extenso) all
that he had the disposal of, to his eldest surviving son Adam, who held Duffry Hall
under lease and resided there. Adam was a wonderful favourite with all, and
especially with the country people. I have extracted from “Irish Folk Lore” published
many years ago in Dublin.
“The district of the Duffry in the north west of Wexford, has its pool and its
legendary peist as the traveller proceeds from Bunclody (Newtownbarry) towards
the ancient seat of the Colcloughs at Mochurry, with the imposing mass of Mount
Leinster on his right hand, he will see an insignificant looking pool in a rushy field as
he approaches the little bridge of Thuar”; this is Lough na Peisthe, or the lake of the
Serpent or Dragon, and the legend there goes on to relate how a brave Munster man
overcame the serpent and relieved the country side of the destroying monster. The
legend then continues, “The whole country side soon had the welcome news from
all the fires on the hills, and the brave Munster man was made much of by the King
and Queen at Ferns. Ever so much money was given to him, and he thought the best
thing he could do with it was to build a church. He had a curious dream one night,
and the first thing he saw next morning, when he went out was a wild duck and
mallard flying up the Duffrey. He followed them over the bridge of Thuae, and the
ford on the Glasha, and across the little hill, and when they came over
Templeshambo, down they lighted, the drake on one side of the stream, the duck on
the other. So he built a Monastery where the drake rested, and a nunnery where
the duck rested, and till our own days no man has ever been buried in the nunnery
grave yard, nor woman in the monastery grave yard.
In the time of Adam Colclough, an old Palentine woman that they called Blue Cap
was put in the wrong place, and the boys ruz her three times and put her coffin up
against the church door till her relations buried her at last on the women’s side”,
The following, relating also in fact to the foregoing circumstances is extracted from
Kennedy’s ‘Legends of Mount Leinster” and ‘Evenings in the Duffry”.
‘The master of the Hall (Duffry) is taking his ease in a rustic chair in the morning
dress of the gentleman of the period xxx His three-cornered hat hangs on a side
projection of this seat, and the curls of his wig fall on his shoulders. The noble
features are expressive of good nature, with an alloy of testiness. Two or three
neighbouring Squires, and some farmers stand or sit around, and the conversation
embraces hurling matches, hunting and farming”, for all which I must refer my
readers to the books in question. The evening was enlivened however by the
entrance upon the scene of Peter, the Duffry Poet Laureate, who amongst other
things recited for the company his latest effusion, which however I cannot find room
for in full6, and shall omit in part his uncomplimentary remarks upon a neighbouring
squire, who had only lately acquired property in those parts, and who had not
succeeded in gaining his good will.