Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 24 November 1874 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
2 items
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Charles William Francis inherited Charleville Estate on the death of his father, the 3rd earl in 1859. He was a minor on inheriting the title, being just seven years old at the time. He never married and died on Staten Island, New York in 1874 at the age of 22. His coming of age the previous year was a grand affair in Tullamore with much celebrations and festivities in the town. As the 4th earl died with no male heirs, the earldom passed to his uncle Alfred, who had been his guardian in his minority.
Repository
Archival history
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Newspaper cuttings concerning the funeral of the late Earl of Charleville, who died at Staten Island, New York, USA, aged only 22 years and 5 months, and who was buried in the family vault at Tullamore Church. The respect of the Charleville family and the grief of the inhabitants manifested itself in “a scene of mourning as is seldom witnessed”. It was observed that “without a single exception, the shops closed, and from an early hour in the morning the tenantry crowded into town”. The coffin was borne by the four principal tenants and two head gamekeepers, while the funeral “was conducted on the most unostentatious principles…[in accordance with the Earl’s wishes] …no scarfs or hatbands being worn”.