Over 300 years after the last member of the Rothe family lived in this ancient mansion, descendants of their relatives recently returned to visit.

Jennifer Magers-York, her husband, Ethan, and sons, Elliot and Oliver, flew from Chicago to Ireland at the start of July to delve further into their Irish heritage.

Having done quite a bit of research into her roots, Jennifer reached out to Rothe House Genealogist, Mary Flood, for help in finding out whether or not there was a link between her Rothe ancestors and the powerful family who built and lived in this Tudor mansion on Parliament Street in Kilkenny.

Rothe House was constructed between 1594 and 1610 by John Rothe Fitz Piers and his wife, Rose Archer, who were from two of the most influential and high-powered families in Kilkenny throughout the medieval and early-modern periods.

Their eldest son, Peter Rothe, who inherited the home, married Lettice Lawless, and it is through Lettice that we find the closest link between Jennifer’s family and ours.

Lettice’s first cousin was a man named Richard Fitzgerald, who married Alice Percival.

This Richard and Alice are Jennifer’s 11-times great-grandparents!

Therefore, we were able to inform Jennifer that not only is she descended from the first cousin of Lettice Rothe (neé Lawless) who lived in our historic building, but that she was now walking on ground her 11-times great-grandparents would certainly have walked on 400 years ago.

The family also viewed the ‘Pedigree of the Family of Rothe of Kilkenny’, which is kept in the library of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society here.

It was a privilege to welcome Jennifer, Ethan, Oliver, and Elliot to Rothe House & Garden and to provide them with a fuller picture of where they came from.

If you would like to avail of our genealogy service to trace your Kilkenny ancestors, send an email to kilkennyfamilyhistory@rothehouse.com or find out more information here.