Bryan O’Bannon ca (1687 - 1762)

Born in Ireland in about 1687, Bryan O’Bannon immigrated to the Virginia Colony in about 1702.

when he purchased 300 acres of land in Richmond County from Linsfield Sharpe and John Sharpe. On 26 Jun 1728, Bryan O’Bannon purchased 635 acres of land on Pignut Ridge in Stafford County, Virginia.

Bryan O'Bannon was born in Ireland and immigrated to the Virginia Colony in about 1702. He settled first in Westmorland County, Virginia. Assuming that Bryan O'Bannon was born about 21 years before his oldest child, then he was born in about 1687.

On 20 Dec 1720, Bryan O'Bannon purchased 300 acres of land in Hanover Parish of Richmond County, Virginia from Linsfield Sharpe and John Sharpe. The deed refers to "Bryant Obaning of the County of Westmoreland." The land is described as "three hundred acres (300) in Hanover Parish, of Richmond County, Virginia same lying above the falls of Rappahannock River, on the north side of it being a part of a tract of twelve hundred and fifty acres taken up and Patented June 5,1704 by Thomas Knight of Northumberland. The release states that Bryan O'Bannon was of Washington Parish, Westmoreland County, Colony of Virginia. Bryan O'Bannon still owned this land at the time of his death. (Source: Richmond County, Virginia Deed Book 8; Pages 20-23)

In Dec 1727, Bryan O'Bannon acted as a bondsman for Adam Christy in the settlement of the estate of William Pattishall.

On 26 Jun 1728, Bryan O'Bannon acquired 635 acres of land in the Broad Run Valley from Thomas, Lord Fairfax and William Cage of County Kent. The land is described as "a parcel of land containing 635 acres, situate and lying and being in Stafford County on the north side of Pignut Ridge."

In 1733, Bryan O'Bannon appraised the estate of Thomas Philips in King George County, Virginia.

At the time of his will on 4 Sep 1760, Bryan O'Bannon owned a plantation of 300 acres in King George County, Virginia, which he bequeathed to his son Samuel O'Bannon.

Sources

273. Gott, John K. The O’Bannon Family, Descendants of Bryan O’Bannon of Ireland and Fauquier County, Virginia. Heritage Books, Westminster, Maryland, 2007.

Will of Bryan O’Bannon
4 Sep 1760
Fauquier County, Virginia

In the name of God, Amen, I, Bryan Boru O'Bannon of Parish of Hamilton and County of Faquier, State of Virginia, being sick and weak of body but of perfect sense and memory, thanks be to Almighty God, and calling to mind the uncertainty of this present life, and knowing that it is appointed for all men to die, do make and ordain this my last will and testement in manner and form following:

First, I commend my soul to Almighty God who gave it, nothing doubting but to recieve the same at the resurrection of the Just, my body I recommend to the earth to recieve a Christian burial at the discretion of my Executors hereinafter mentioned. And as for my wordly estate, which it has pleased Almighty God to bless me with, I give and dispose of as follows:

I give and bequeath to my beloved son, John O'Bannon the plantation of lands on which he now lives, containing two hundred and twelve acres more or less, to him and his heirs forever. I further give to my son John my negro woman Judy, and her future increase; and after the death of my son John and his wife Sarah, I give the said negro, if living, with her said increase, to my grand-daughter Sarah, daughter of said John, and her heirs forever. And my will is that the said Judy shall, after my decease, be totally exempted from laboring without of doors during her natural life. I likewise give to my aforesaid son John my still unbroken horse.

Item. I give and bequeath to my son William O'Bannon the plantation of lands whereon he now lives, containing two hundred and twelve acres more or less, to him and his heirs forever.

Item. I give and bequeath to my son Samuel O'Bannon, my plantations and lands in King George county, containing three hundred acres more orless, to him and his heirs forever. I further give to my son Samuel 100 pounds, in current money, and all my wearing apparel.

Item. I give and bequeath to my daughter, Elizabeth Ambrose, sixty pounds, current money, to her and her heirs forever.

Item. I give and bequeath to my daughter Ann Miller 100 pounds, current money.

I give to my grandson, Thomas O'Bannon, son of John the plantation whereon I now live, to include two hundred and twenty acres, this side of Broad Run to him my said grandson and his heirs forever.

I give to my grandson Willima O'Bannon, son of my son William, the remaining part of the tract I now live on, lying chiefly on the north side of Broad Run to my said grandson and his heris forever.

I give to my grandson Bryan O'Bannon, son of my son John, one negro girl called Lucy.

I give to my grandson Bryan O'Bannon, son of my son William, one negro girl called Cate.

I give to each of my grandchildren, male and female, being twenty-seven in number, the sum of ten pounds, current money, each to be paid by my Executors at the day of their marraige or as they come of age.

I give to Aaron Johnston and Francis Johnston, children of Margaret Johnston, my plantation and lands in Frederick County, containing two hundred and fifty seven acres, to be equally divided between them. And if either of them die before they come of age or marry, I give the part of his or her so dying to the survivor and their heirs forever, and my will is that the rents or profits from the said lands be yearly laid out for education and maintenance of the said children. And further I direct and appoint my son-in-law, Jacob Hite and my granddaughter Elizabeth Hite, to have the care and management of the said children until they come of age, and in case they should die without issue, then I give the aforementioned land to my grandson, Bryan O'Bannon, son of my son John O'Bannon and his heirs forever.

I likewise give to the said Aaron Johnston one negro girl named Hannah, with her furture increase to him and his heirs forever and in case he should die without issue, then the said mentioned negro to go or decend according to the aforementioned land.

I give to the forementioned Francis Johnston five hundred pounds of Tobacco to be yearly paid to Margaret Johnston, mother of the foresaid Francis, for the support and maintenance of the said Francis during the space of four years.

It is my will and desire that my negros and all of my personal estate (except those negroes formerly given to my children and those herein bequeathed and after appraised) may be sold and the money arising therefrom be divided equally between my sons and grandsons.

I hereby nominate and appoint my loving sons, John and William O'Bannon and my son-in-law Jacob Hite, my whole and sole Executors of this my last will and testament. And I do hereby Revoke, Disannul and make void all former wills by me made.

In witness whereof, I have here unto set my hand and affixed my seal this 4th day of September, 1760.

Signed: his, In presence of: Bryan X O'Bannon, Elias Edmonds mark. Samuel Earle and James Rogers

(Source: Fauquier County, Virginia Will Book 1; 1759-1783; Page 41)

The O'Bannon's are said to be part of the O'Carrol clan and to have occupied Leap Castle, considered to be the most haunted castle in all of Ireland. Built in the late 14th Century, the first owners were the O'Bannon’s who were under-chiefs of the O'Carroll Clan. Castle Leap (actually a Keep) guarded the pass from Slieve Bloom into Munster and was once known as Leim ui Bhanain. On 30 Jul 1922, most of the Keep was destroyed during the Liberation of Ireland, the Irish Revolution, 1919-1922.

Leap Castle

Leap Castle is built on a rock about four miles north of Roscrea in County Offaly. It was originally built to guard a strategic pass through the Slieve Bloom mountains.

The castle was originally a tower house, and has been extended with the later addition of wings on either side. The main hall was in the tower, and above this was a chapel, which became known as the 'Bloody Chapel' after one of the residents, Teige O'Carroll, murdered his brother, who was a priest, while he was at the chapel altar.

In a corner of the Bloody Chapel is the entrance to the secret dungeon or oubliette where prisoners were thrown down through a trap door and left to die. At the bottom were a series of spikes designed to impale the prisoners as they hurtled down. The spikes have now been covered over.

Leap Castle was built around 1250 by the O'Bannon family who were subjects of the ruling O'Carroll clan. The Earl of Kildare, Gerald FitzGerald, attacked the castle in 1526 partially demolished it. The O'Carrolls regained possession by 1557. The castle passed to the Darby family through marriage in 1659.

The castle was burned down during the Irish Civil War in 1922. After the fire, workers cleaning up the castle discovered the oubliette, and to their horror found many skeletons in the dungeon; some reports say three cart loads of human bones were recovered from the dungeon.

There is rumoured to be a network of tunnels and secret chambers hewn out of the rock below the keep where human remains have been discovered. The castle is now owned by Sean and Anne Ryan who bought the property in 1991 and have undertaken restoration work to turn the building into a family home.

Leap Castle was featured on the cover of the novel "The Riders" by Australian author Tim Winton.

This castle is reputed to be one of the most haunted in Ireland. There are numerous stories of murders and massacres associated with the castle. The most startling ghost story is the terrifying creature known as the "It" or the "Elemental" - a small hunched creature that appears with the foul stench of a rotting corpse. Mildred Darby may have been the first to encounter the Elemental, which she wrote about in an occult publication in 1909.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_Castle; http://www.thestandingstone.ie/2009/08/leap-castle-co-offaly.html)

Sources

Ames, Mildred S. The O'Bannon Genealogist. Clearfield, Utah, 1976. (Library of Virginia)

Leap Castle, Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_Castle .