In 1178, he witnessed to a deed of Theobald Walter, ancestor of the Butler family Earls of Ormond. Martin probably came into Ireland either with Strongbow in 1170 or with King Henry II in 1171. Martin was the first known de Blancheville to come into Ireland. He probably either was, or was the brother of the common Norman ancestor of all the Irish Blanchfields and the first of our Blancheville ancestors that we would know by name. He probably would have been our Greatgrandfather back about twenty generations.

He eventually settled a few miles northwest of Ballygarvan (Gowran), and about four miles east of the future Kilkenny city, in Co. Kilkenny on land granted him for Knight service from William Marshal. Marshal had married Strongbow's daughter (Dermot's granddaughter) and through her inheritance of it, took possession of most of County Kilkenny in the 1190's. While he now would have had title to the land grant from his liege-lord, it would have been up to Martin de Blanceville to physically take possession of and defend the land from the local Irish. If it were a large tract of land, he probably had some Welsh foot soldiers or archers to help him.

During the daytime the Irish would have been of no threat to a trained Anglo/Norman Knight, but in the dark of the night the Knights superiority diminished. So his first order of business would have been to build a defensive wooden walled "Bailey" enclosure, with a shelter in it from the weather, and as a place of safety to sleep in at night. Plus it would be a safe haven for his family and belongings during the daytime. This stockade later on would have been enlarged and strengthened into a fair sized square four or five story stone Norman defensible castle that was still lived in by a James Blanchfield in the 17th century.

Martin in all probability took an Irish wife, which would have given him an Irish ally in her family, unless he had killed some of her family in doing so. The Normans in Ireland like most of their Norman ancestors, who on conquering a new country and not bringing Norman women with them into the unsettled land, took native wives. But when their children became adults, if of any importance, would only be married into other class conscious Norman families. Some of the Irish and Normans got along fairly well at first. But the great differences between the energetic Normans and the laid back Irish soon began causing friction between the two races. The Normans tended to consider the Irish to be lazy, dirty, liars and untrustworthy.

Martin's dexcendants stayed in the general areas of Blanchevilletown, Gowran, Thomastown and Kilkenny City, and most seldom got any further than five to ten miles from there. Two exceptions were - some that went to Dublin (60 miles to the northeast). One family, our ancestors, went west to north Co. Tipperary (c. 20 miles) probably in the 1500's. Their descendants after several generations ended up in the south-east part of Co. Tipperary by the 1700's.

The use of Fitz in a name in Ireland suggests that the man was a bastard son, who was acknowledged by his father. 1394 John was Custos Pacis of County Kilkenny, and Sheriff in 1398.

David owned land in Blanchvillestown in 1400. David of Blanchvillestown was High Sheriff of Kilkenny in 1447, 1448 and 1450.

He was buried in the Abbey of Holy Cross. (Only the important people would be buried inside the Abbey, the common Irish were buried in the grave yard outside the Church.) Edmund possessed a second-son Blanchfield coat-of-arms at the time of his death, indicating he may have been a younger son of David Blanchfield of Howlingstown, County Kilkenny in the 16th century. Edmund married Margarat the daughter of William and Joan Butler of Cloghmantagh, County Kilkenny, a Gentleman. Edmund and Margarat ( Butler) Blanchfield had eight known children, five boys and three girls.

James was not married at the time of his fathers death in 1633 nor were either of his younger brothers. This would indicate they were iether teenagers or young men in 1633. James was listed on the 1662 County Tipperary "Hearth Rolls" of Parish Kilmurr, Newtownlennan. He was listed first on the Hearth Rolls and had two hearths indicating that he was the leading citizen of the area. None of the others listed in this Parish had more than one hearth.

They left Ireland and came to Dundas, Ontario, Canada in 1827. They then moved to Eramosa Ontario Canada in 1836.

ID: I00949

Name: WALTER Blanchfield

Sex: M

Birth: 1788 in Tipperary, Ireland

Death: BET. 1871 - 1883 in Canada

Occupation: in Farmer

Event: Buried in St. Peters Cem., Oustic, Canada

Religion: in Catholic

Event: Emigration Date in From Tipperary Ireland

Event: Arrival Date 1827 in To Dundas, Ontario, Canada

_FA8: 1836 in To Eramosa, Ontario, Canada

Burial: Unknown, St. Peters Cem., Oustic, Canada

1871 Census of Ontario

BLANCHFIELD , JOHN

Sex: Male

Age: 53

Birthplace: IRELAND

Religion: Roman Catholic

Origin: IRISH

Occupation: FARMER

District: WELLINGTON CTRE. ( 034 )

Sub-district: Eramosa ( E )

Division: 2

Page: 56

Microfilm reel: C-9947

Reference: RG31 — Statistics Canada

---------------------------------------------------------------

Name: John Blanckfield

Event: Living

Year: 1871

Place: Eramosa Township

Province of record source: Ontario

County of record source: Wellington

Source: Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Wellington for 1871-2, A.O. Loomis & Co., Hamilton, ON, 1871. Volume/Page(s): 164

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From: <laura.ann.hine@juno.com>

ID: I00953

Name: John Blanchfield

Sex: M

Birth: 1818 in Tipperary, Ireland

Death: 27 MAR 1902 in Eramosa, Ontario, Canada

Event: Buried in St. Peters Cem., Oustic, Canada

Religion: in Catholic

From <laura.ann.hine@juno.com>:

ID: I00958

Name: Bridget Margo Welsh

Sex: F

Birth: 2 FEB 1835 in Ireland

Death: 24 OCT 1910 in Oustic, Ontario, Canada

Event: Buried in St. Peters Cem., Oustic, Canada

Religion: in Catholic