Elizabeth Dowdall

Elizabeth Dowdall ( Southwell); – after 1642) was a member of the Irish gentry, famed for having defended Kilfinny Castle, County Limerick, against the insurgents during the Irish Rebellion of 1641. Birth and background Elizabeth was born about 1600 in England, probably in Cornworthy, Devon, the only child of Sir Thomas Southwell and his wife, Anne Harris. Her father's family was from Spixworth in Norfolk. Elizabeth's mother was an English Calvinist poet. Her father was Thomas Harris (Serjeant-at-Law). Her father's family was from Cornworthy, Devon. Elizabeth's parents had married at St Clement Danes in London on 24 June 1594. Early life It is quite well accepted that Elizabeth's father was knighted. However, the person knighted in July 1603 as part of the coronation honours of James I seems to have been her maternal grandfather, Thomas Harris (Serjeant-at-Law), not her father as has been said.