27 Feb NewsLetter, February 28, 2018.
Creaghe Family Historical Society
News Letter
February 28, 2018
Welcome to the first newsletter of 2018. Our primary article this time looks into the lives of John W.W. Creaghe and his wife, Julia. This subject was chosen because it looked to be a rather simple, quickly done under taking in that not much information was available in the Genealogy book and family lore. They had no descendants to preserve stories and family heirlooms.
However, as these things go, the information began to multiply, and the article expanded. Check out “John William Wentworth Creaghe and Julia Rea Creaghe” in the Ancestors section. There are related articles under the Sites and Artifacts tabs. creaghefamilyhistoricalsociety.com
As usual research brings up even more unanswered questions:
Where is John buried?
How did the couple amass a quite significant nest egg?
What are the details of his work history? The back of one photo states that he was the skipper of two ships of the Cunard Line – Empress of Australia and Empress of South Africa. I was unable to verify that.
Why was he seen as a person of some importance to South Africa?
Perhaps these answers will be forthcoming someday.
Every now and then, an interesting note comes to the editorcfhs@gmail email address. What follows is from an antiques dealer in Scotland.
September 3, 2017.
Dear sir,
I hope you don’t mind my direct contact but we came across your web site while doing research on a Creagh Family Sealed Rickets Patent Wine Bottle which dates to 1820.
Scottish Antiques are the largest online period glass seller in Europe with 14 years’ experience.
As part of a larger collection we recently received the wine bottle and we felt it may be of interest to your Society.
The item link is below.
https://scottishantiques.com/oenophilia-antique-silver/tableware?product_id=9716
If you have any questions or we can help in any way, our full contact details are below
Kind Regards from Scotland
Alex Smillie
September 8, 2017.
Alex,
Thank you for your note. I enjoy getting communications like the one you sent.
I did know about this particular branch of the family. The Creaghes with an “e” and the Creagh’s without the “e” separated sometime in the last one thousand years and the connection is murky at best. There are many more Creaghs than Creaghes.
My branch is from the southern part of Co Tipperary, not that far from Doneraile. The Crest is certainly the same.
This is a wine bottle? Was this an imported wine that Mr. Creagh then bottled himself? Was it for private use or was it to be sold? There was not a wine industry in Ireland in the early 19th century, or was there?
Thank you for contacting me. This will certainly be of interest to our members. May I provide a link to your site and copy your note in the next newsletter.? You indicated that there would be further information in a future blog publication; how do I access that site?
Steve Creaghe
September 8. 2017.
Hello Steve and thanks for getting back to me.
These wine bottles were used storage and would have belonged to the family for private use, being sent to the wine merchant (which would have imported the wine) to be filled and then returned to the family…their seal proving who owned the bottle and who to return it to. From storage in the cellar, the wine would have been decanted into a decanter or carafe (using a wine funnel with a strainer) and from there to the glass…for toasting. If you have a look at the 18th cen wine glasses you will notice that the bowls are very small…designed to be ‘one gulp’ glasses filled each time by the butler or table attendant who would stand in the background…all very polite in upper society.
By all means, include the link in your newsletter.
The blogs are published on our web site and can be accessed through the tab at the top…Ive provided a link to where they are stored. Any future blogs will be placed in this section. Colin is in charge of editorial and Im not 100% sure when he intends to publish but I will let you know when he does.
I hope the above helps and if anyone is interested in the bottle and wishes to purchase I would be happy to give a 20% discount.
Kind Regards from Scotland
Alex Smillie
Check out their Blog article “Bottles and Battles, A Corking Tale from County Cork.” https://www.scottishantiques.com/ Their research on the origin of our name is a new of looking at it and makes good sense.
Enjoy the new articles and the usual requests for new articles as well as suggestions, comments, and corrections still stand.
Steve Creaghe, February 26, 2018.
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