Individual Details
Richard HUDSON (caution: relationship to parents and siblings not verified)
(ABOUT THE 1780S - Bef 1853)
We do not know where exactly Richard was born but we are presuming that it was in north Kerry. We do know he was baptised into the Protestant faith although he converted to Catholicism and his children were raised as Catholics owing to his marriage to a Catholic. We also know Richard was related to (possibly a nephew of) Edward Hudson, the prosperous landowner of Strand St. in Tralee, Co. Kerry.
We are not certain at all that Richard's father was the Richard Hudson who married Elizabeth Hands. The findings of Bill Hudson of Maryland and later Florida, who did extensive work into his Hudson family history, tell us Bill's father thought Richard's father's name was William, but no evidence has been found to support this. I have been DNA-matched by Ancestry to a great-great-grandson of a Mary Hands who was born in 1801 in Co. Kerry and married a Thomas Shea in Tralee on 1 November 1829. They and their family later emigrated to the United States. There are no known Hudsons in this descendant's family tree but most of our shared matches are related to me through the Hudsons. This, to me, makes it seem likely that we are all descended from the Hands family, a member of whom married a Hudson. However, I have no proof of this. I am therefore positioning Richard above as a child of Richard Hudson and Elizabeth Hands, but with a caution.
Based on birth and baptism dates for his children, it appears Richard and his wife, Margaret, moved several times while the children were young. Why did they move so often? Hudson researcher Tom Moloney has suggested the following very plausible explanation:
"What we have is:
Edmond, born in Bunagara, Listowel, Co. Kerry, baptised in Listowel in 1816
Johanna, born in Trieneragh, Duagh, Co. Kerry, baptised in Duagh in 1820
Patrick, born in Droumcunnig, Abbeydorney, Co. Kerry, baptised in Abbeydorney in 1838
Now Duagh baptisms records begin in 1819 while those in Abbeydorney only survive from 1835 forward. Listowel records look complete from 1800 to 1826.
The Hudsons were ejected from Bunagara sometime around 1820, probably before. My feeling is that they moved temporarily to Trieneragh. It should be noted that Trieneragh is adjacent to Bunagara - only the river Feale separates the two townlands. It's believable that the Hudsons may have had some friends in Trieneragh who gave them shelter for a short while. William may have been born there in say 1818 and baptised in Duagh but no record of that survives.
Sometime after 1820 but before 1827, the family might have moved to Droumcunig. This townland was of course held by the Hudson family of Tralee. And it may be the case that Edward Hudson, out of sympathy for his cousin, set up Richard with a farm plot there. Further children (Richard, Jeremiah, Frank and John) were born there and baptised in Abbeydorney but, of course, there's no record of them due to the fact that records there only begin in 1835."
By 1850 it appears Richard and Margaret had settled in Kilbaha, Newtownsandes (Moyvane), Co. Kerry. The aforementioned Tralee landowner Edward Hudson, who was a relative of Richard's, owned over 400 acres of land in Kilbaha and it is likely Richard and Margaret lived on a plot belonging to Edward. Descendants of Richard and Margaret's still live in Kilbaha.
Although we do not have an exact date of death for Richard we do know he had died before his youngest child, Patrick, emigrated to the United States in 1853.
We are not certain at all that Richard's father was the Richard Hudson who married Elizabeth Hands. The findings of Bill Hudson of Maryland and later Florida, who did extensive work into his Hudson family history, tell us Bill's father thought Richard's father's name was William, but no evidence has been found to support this. I have been DNA-matched by Ancestry to a great-great-grandson of a Mary Hands who was born in 1801 in Co. Kerry and married a Thomas Shea in Tralee on 1 November 1829. They and their family later emigrated to the United States. There are no known Hudsons in this descendant's family tree but most of our shared matches are related to me through the Hudsons. This, to me, makes it seem likely that we are all descended from the Hands family, a member of whom married a Hudson. However, I have no proof of this. I am therefore positioning Richard above as a child of Richard Hudson and Elizabeth Hands, but with a caution.
Based on birth and baptism dates for his children, it appears Richard and his wife, Margaret, moved several times while the children were young. Why did they move so often? Hudson researcher Tom Moloney has suggested the following very plausible explanation:
"What we have is:
Edmond, born in Bunagara, Listowel, Co. Kerry, baptised in Listowel in 1816
Johanna, born in Trieneragh, Duagh, Co. Kerry, baptised in Duagh in 1820
Patrick, born in Droumcunnig, Abbeydorney, Co. Kerry, baptised in Abbeydorney in 1838
Now Duagh baptisms records begin in 1819 while those in Abbeydorney only survive from 1835 forward. Listowel records look complete from 1800 to 1826.
The Hudsons were ejected from Bunagara sometime around 1820, probably before. My feeling is that they moved temporarily to Trieneragh. It should be noted that Trieneragh is adjacent to Bunagara - only the river Feale separates the two townlands. It's believable that the Hudsons may have had some friends in Trieneragh who gave them shelter for a short while. William may have been born there in say 1818 and baptised in Duagh but no record of that survives.
Sometime after 1820 but before 1827, the family might have moved to Droumcunig. This townland was of course held by the Hudson family of Tralee. And it may be the case that Edward Hudson, out of sympathy for his cousin, set up Richard with a farm plot there. Further children (Richard, Jeremiah, Frank and John) were born there and baptised in Abbeydorney but, of course, there's no record of them due to the fact that records there only begin in 1835."
By 1850 it appears Richard and Margaret had settled in Kilbaha, Newtownsandes (Moyvane), Co. Kerry. The aforementioned Tralee landowner Edward Hudson, who was a relative of Richard's, owned over 400 acres of land in Kilbaha and it is likely Richard and Margaret lived on a plot belonging to Edward. Descendants of Richard and Margaret's still live in Kilbaha.
Although we do not have an exact date of death for Richard we do know he had died before his youngest child, Patrick, emigrated to the United States in 1853.
Events
| Birth | ABOUT THE 1780S | north Kerry | |||
| Marriage | Abt 1815 | north Kerry - Margaret FINUCANE | |||
| Death | Bef 1853 | probably Kilbaha, Moyvane, Co. Kerry | |||
| Burial | probably Murhur Cemetery, Moyvane, Co. Kerry |
Families
| Spouse | Margaret FINUCANE (1793 - 1877) |
| Child | Edward (Edmond) HUDSON (1816 - 1883) |
| Child | William HUDSON (1818 - 1893) |
| Child | Johanna HUDSON (1820 - 1897) |
| Child | Richard HUDSON (1827 - 1902) |
| Child | Jeremiah HUDSON (1830 - 1905) |
| Child | Francis (Frank) John HUDSON (1831 - 1898) |
| Child | John HUDSON (1832 - 1907) |
| Child | Patrick Robert HUDSON (1838 - 1914) |
| Child | 'unknown' HUDSON (female) ( - ) |
| Father | Richard HUDSON (caution: not verified) ( - ) |
| Mother | Elizabeth HANDS (caution: marriage not verified) ( - ) |
| Sibling | Edmund/Edward HUDSON (caution: not verified) (1790 - 1851) |
| Sibling | Mary HUDSON (1797 - ) |
| Sibling | Elizabeth HUDSON (caution: not verified) (1815 - 1834) |