Locating all the Byrnes of Jane Place

One of my genealogy goals for this year is to find all the children born to my second great-grandparents, Francis Byrne and Margaret McGrane. They got married in Dublin city in 1871. From the census, we know they had fourteen children altogether, although three of them died before 1911. 

The baptism records of St Laurence O’Tooles church in Seville Place confirmed the names of the five eldest – Myles, James (my great-grandfather), Francis, Charles and Margaret. Their younger children, Mary Anne, Jane, John, Patrick, Paul, Kate and Benjamin, were living at home when the 1901 census was enumerated. And, since I began this quest, I’ve also discovered little Michael, born in 1887, who died of Bronchitis as an infant in 1889. Sadly, though, the name of one child remains unknown still. 

The difficulty tracing some of the others started after they left home. With a surname as common as ‘Byrne’, keeping tabs on them was never going to be easy, especially as they were relatively poor and living among the labouring classes of the city. See all the blanks I’ve left to fill!

	Child’s Name	Birth date	Death date	Spouse, marriage year
1	Myles Byrne	15 Jan 1873	2 Nov 1928	Elizabeth Bethel, 1897
2	James Byrne	18 May 1874	29 Jul 1948	Christina Devine, 1897
3	Francis Byrne	21 Feb 1876		Maryanne Drennan, 1896
4	Charles Byrne	6 Mar 1878	12 Apr 1879	None
5	Margaret Byrne	15 Nov 1879	25 Jul 1932	James Fay, 1920
6	Mary Anne Byrne	about 1882	After 1959	William Vickers, 1901
7	Jane Byrne	about 1884	17 Mar 1919	James Fay, 1916
8	John Byrne	about 1885	15 Jan 1930	Margaret Burke, 1910
9	Michael Byrne	21 Oct 1887	10 Jan 1889	None
10	Patrick Byrne	about 1890	26 Jul 1923
11	Paul Byrne	18 Sep 1891	1959	Kathleen McDuff, 1916
12	Kate Byrne	about 1893
13	Ben Byrne	21 May 1896	1966	Annie Porter, 1918
14			before 1911	None

Here’s what I currently ‘know’ about those with blanks: 

Francis Byrne and Maryanne Drennan got married in St Agatha’s Church on 18 May 1896. In 1901, they lived at Common Street, Dublin, not far from Francis and Margaret. They had two young children at that point - Francis and James Joseph. The census enumerators seemingly missed them in 1911, but they remained in the area. They lived in Newfoundland Street in 1914 and 1915 when Francis registered to vote. Then, I lost them again.

Mary Anne Byrne married William Vickers, on 18 August 1901, in St Laurence O’Toole’s parish. The couple were living in Lower Oriel Street in 1911, with their son Patrick. Mary A. Vickers was still living there in December 1912 when she registered her father’s death. And, by 1930, when her mother died, she had moved out to Ellenfield in Drumcondra.

John Byrne, aged fifteen years, was living with his parents in 1901 but had left home by 1911.  Chances are he married in the intervening ten years. But, so too did forty-odd other men in the area who shared his name. I’m now fairly sure what happened to him, a story I’ll share on another day, soon. 

Update: See further information on John Byrne in the following posts:
13 Aug 2016 - Granny's Favourite Cousin 
20 Aug 2016 - More about my great-granduncle, John Byrne 

Patrick Byrne, a married man, died at 5 Upper Rutland Street on 26 July 1923. He shares a grave with his parents at Glasnevin Cemetery. On 2 April 1911, he was single and still living at home, so his marriage took place after this date. But, like John, there are too many potential marriage records in this name to ascertain the name of his bride.

In 1911, Kate Byrne was seventeen years old, single, and earning her keep as a paper bag maker. In October 1920, she witnessed the marriage of her sister Margaret to James Fay. The use of her maiden name suggests she was still single at this time. Then, she too disappeared among the many others named Kate (or Katie, Kathleen, etc.) Byrne, in Dublin city. 

So, if you descend from any of these Byrnes, or if you think you can fill in the missing details, please do let me know.  All hints, gladly accepted! 

Updated 17 Sep 2016 at:   Filling in the blanks just got way easier

Sources: Research certificates, General Register Office; 1901 and 1911 census, National Archives of Ireland;  Church registers, Irishgenealogy.ie; Burial register, Glasnevin Trust; Dublin city electoral rolls, Dublin City Library & Archive. 

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