Tomás O'Gorman
Tomás O'Gorman (1760-?) was an Irish merchant and doctor, who served in France as a member of the Irish brigades [1] He dedicated himself to trade in Buenos Aires, where he settled with his wife Marie Anne Périchon de Vandeuil.[2]
Thomas O'Gorman | |
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Personal details | |
Born | 1760 Ennis, Ireland |
Died | c. 1810 Spain |
Nationality | Irish |
Spouse(s) | Marie Anne Périchon de Vandeuil |
Occupation | Merchant |
Profession | Army officer |
Signature | |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Kingdom of Ireland Kingdom of France |
Branch/service | British Army French Army |
Years of service | 1778-1788 |
Unit | Irish Brigade |
Biography
O'Gorman was born in Ennis, County Clare, grandson of Thomas Gorman and Mary Baria, belonging to a traditional Irish family.[3] Being very young he moved to France to serve to the army of king Louis XVI.[4] In 1797, he arrived in Montevideo from Mauritius, accompanied by his family. Later, he settled in the city of Buenos Aires where his uncle Miguel O'Gorman, the director of the Protomedicato del Río de la Plata.[5]
Gorman had an outstanding performance as a merchant, in 1799 introduced from the United States the first stagecoach in the Argentine territory.[6] He was accused by the viceregal authorities of exercising espionage. In 1804, Gorman had arrived in the city from Europe, in the company of James Florence Burke, a secret agent in the service of the British crown.[7] He supported the English during the occupation of Buenos Aires in 1806, having to take refuge possibly in Rio de Janeiro after the reconquest of the city.[8]
Tomás O'Gorman was married in the Île Bourbon to Marie Anne Périchon, belonging to a distinguished French family. They were the founders of the Gorman and Périchon family in the Río de la Plata. Among his descendants are Camila O'Gorman and Eduardo O'Gorman, a parish priest of outstanding performance in Buenos Aires [9]
References
- Historia de las ideas políticas en la Argentina, Volume 2, Enrique de Gandía
- La colonia olvidada: tres siglos de presencia británica en la Argentina, Andrew Graham-Yooll
- Historia de la Facultad de Medicina y sus escuelas, Volume 1, Eliseo Cantón
- El puerto colonial de Montevideo, Volume 1, Arturo Ariel Bentancur
- Historia de la nación argentina:, Academia Nacional de la Historia (Argentina), Ricardo Levene
- Buenos Aires--historia de las calles y sus nombres, Vicente Osvaldo Cutolo
- Boletín del Centro naval, Volumes 89-90, Argentina. Ministerio de Marina
- Las invasiones inglesas del Río de la Plata: (1806-1807), Carlos Roberts
- Irlandeses en La Pampa gringa:, Roberto E. Landaburu