A post-chaise was a four-wheeled, enclosed, horse-drawn carriage that was popular in the eighteenth century. The driver did not have a seat; he travelled on one of the horses. The necessary detail for the purpose of this account lies in the fact that there were windows to the front.
On a day in early December 1757, Denis Kelly of Lisduff, County Galway, was taking the air with his daughter Elizabeth in his post-chaise. Elizabeth was born in Jamaica in 1733 to Kelly's wife, Priscilla Halstead. On 16 April 1752, she married Peter Browne of Westport. Denis Kelly had no male heir; he required Browne to change his name to Browne-Kelly. Browne-Kelly became 2nd Baron Mount Eagle of Westport and 2nd Earl of Altamont on 4 July 1776.
Denis Kelly was a lawyer, planter, slaveholder, and politician. In 1742, he was appointed Chief Justice of Jamaica. He was one of five brothers active in Jamaica in the early 1700s. Denis inherited his brother's estates, including Lisduff. He also had land at Spring Garden in Galway. In 1754 he owned over 4,000 acres of land in Jamaica, including Kelly's Walk (later Cocoa Walk ) and Kelly's Pen (Image: Sugar Works, Kelly's Estate, Belisario, National Gallery Jamaica ). The economic success of these plantations was entirely dependent on an abundant supply of enslaved labour. Thousands of enslaved Africans and their descendants worked these plantations for the Kellys and their successors.
In the late 1740s, Denis Kelly retired to Lisduff. Elizabeth was not his only child. There is evidence of other children, most notably an illegitimate daughter, Priscilla, born in 1738. This 'illegitimate' Kelly line evolved in parallel with the Elizabeth Kelly line. Priscilla was recorded as a 'quadroon' or person of colour. Her story is the subject of Anne M. Powers' excellent book 'A Parcel of Letters' (2012 ). If Denis Kelly had qualms about bringing Priscilla to Europe with Elizabeth, slaveholder and crown solicitor of Jamaica, Robert Cooper Lee did not. Priscilla and Lee had several illegitimate children in Jamaica. This was not unusual. What was unusual was that Lee, a white man, chose to marry someone who was not white. They were married in London in 1771. Their grandson Robert Cooper Lee Bevan (1809-1890 ) was a senior partner in the business that became Barclays Bank. The latter's daughter, writer Nesta Helen Bevan (1876-1960 ), was a leading promoter of antisemitic conspiracy theories and theories about the Illuminati in the 20th century.
At some point in the journey that December day, a great eagle suddenly appeared and darted at one of the horses, sinking his talons into the animal's flesh. The bird pecked at the horse's back and made loud noises with the fluttering of its wings. The horses took flight. Elizabeth and her father watched the terrible spectacle unfold before them. The driver was thrown from his horse. The carriage flipped over and was dragged before breaking up. Denis Kelly was thrown out and badly bruised. He died shortly after. Elizabeth suffered minor injuries. Kelly's last will included a bequest for a daughter Margaret Wright. Power suggests Wright and Priscilla Kelly may have been the same person. The bulk of the estate was, however, left for Elizabeth.
The symbolic importance of the eagle for the Browne family is evident from its repeated use across the family's history and estate. An eagle appears on the family crest. It is unclear why an eagle attacked the horse drawing Denis Kelly's carriage. The attack, however, precipitated Kelly's demise and left his daughter and her Browne in-laws in an enviable financial position. When Elizabeth died in 1765 at thirty-two, the Westport Eagle sunk its talons into the immense Kelly inheritance. It changed the world of the Brownes and brought them power, titles, property, and privileges.
In 1834, eighty-two years after the Kelly-Browne marriage, when an act of parliament abolished slavery, Denis Kelly's great-grandson, Howe Peter Browne, received over £5,000 compensation for the loss of 286 enslaved persons on his Jamaican estates. The end of the annual stipend from Jamaica and factors at home, including challenges to their power, influence, and immense landholdings by the repeal and land movements, saw a gradual decline in the family's fortunes.
