Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1914 edition. Excerpt: ... APPENDIX G Avondale is not, as is commonly believed, an old possession of the Parnell family. The ancestral estate is that of Colure in Armagh. The house at Avondale was built by Colonel Hayes, its original proprietor, in 1777, this date being inscribed inside the hall door. Colonel Hayes was a Colonel in the Irish Volunteers during the Irish Rebellion, and the flags of his regiment used to hang up in the hall at Avondale, until, on the death of my brother Charley, they were taken down and placed on his coffin. Colonel Hayes planted a great deal of timber on the estate, and it was through a common interest in forestry that he formed a friendship with Sir John Parnell, the last member of the old Irish House of Commons. This friendship lasted until his death, and was so warm that by his will Colonel Hayes provided that Avondale should pass to his widow if she desired to live there; but in the case of her not wishing to do so, it was to become the property of his friend, Sir John Parnell, and his heirs. Mrs. Hayes refused to live at Avondale, and so the estate passed to the Parnell family. The will of Colonel Hayes contained a curious provision that the estate of Avondale should always pass to a younger member of the family (it being considered, no doubt, that the older members would be sufficiently provided for out of the Parnell ancestral estates in the counties of Armagh and Queens); and it also stipulated that the owners of Avondale should take the name of Hayes, or Parnell-Hayes. My grandfather was known as William Parnell-Hayes, but the name Hayes has for some reason been dropped by the subsequent heirs of the property. I came across this will of Colonel Hayes's in my father's desk, by accident, after Charley's death, and it explained...
