Baptism conundrum – James Mahon

Patrick Mahon and Jane Cavanagh/Kavanagh were my third great-grandparents. They married in the parish of Swords, Co. Dublin, on 12 September 1819 and baptised seven of their children there.[1] My direct ancestor was their son James. I’d always believed James was one of the twin boys, born in July 1823. Now, I’m not so sure.

Infant mortality was high back then. And, when a child died, it was customary for their name to be given to the next child born with the same gender. So, it’s always prudent to examine the register for subsequent baptisms. And, I did. 

Name	Baptism date	Godfather	Godmother
Elizabeth Mahon	2 Aug 1821	-	Catherine Fagan
James Mahon	10 Jul 1823	James Mahon	Eleanor Mahon
John Mahon	10 Jul 1823	Peter Ratcliffe	Catherine Owens

Gap 6½ years

Mary Mahon	21 Jan 1830	Pat Cavanagh	Catherine Donnelly
Christopher Mahon	30 Dec 1832	James Dennis	Mary Dunne
Michael Mahon	04 Oct 1835	John Casey	Margaret Mahon
Patrick Mahon	24 Oct 1841	Jack Cave	Catherine Murphy

Another baby James Mahon was baptised in the parish, on 8 June 1827. His parents were James Mahon – not Patrick – and Jane Kavanagh. John McGlew and Jane Owens sponsored his baptism. My first thought was wrong father, wrong family! 

Baptism of James Mahon, 8 Jun 1827, Register of Swords Parish

But, the more I think about it now, the more I suspect this James was my ancestor, with his father’s name incorrectly recorded. Such mistakes did happen, sometimes. And, if my hypothesis is correct, it would help explain the otherwise large gap between the birth of the twins in 1823, and the birth of Mary in 1830.

Neither Mahon nor Cavanagh were particularly common surnames in Dublin, not that that would rule out the possibility of a so-called couple marrying, twice – but it would constitute a small coincidence, especially if the bride’s name was Jane, in both instances. Plus, no other mention of the couple James Mahon and Jane Kavanagh was found in the area, or elsewhere.

If this was my second great-grandfather’s baptism, it might also shed some light on why he claimed he was seventy years old in the 1901 census, when John, his supposed twin, was listed as seventy-eight.[2] James, born in 1827, would have been seventy-three at the time of the census, and people often rounded their age to the nearest ten years.

However, when James died, two years later, on 2 December 1903, his son-in-law, Michael Byrne, reported he was seventy-eight years old.[3] This is a better 'fit' for James, the twin born in 1823, who would have been seventy-nine. Stated ages were notoriously unreliable, so it’s near impossible to draw a final conclusion.  

I don’t suppose there’s any way to ever know, for sure, which is the correct baptism record for my ancestor.  What do you think?

[1] Swords parish marriage register, microfilm 06616/06, National Library; Swords parish baptism register, microfilm 06616/07 and 06616/07, same.
[2] James Mahon, Yellowwalls, Malahide, Dublin, Census of Ireland, 1901, National Archives; John Mahon, same.
[3] Death of James Mahon, Balrothery, 1903, Irishgenealogy.ie.

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