Follow me down a rabbit hole ~ Origins in Ireland

This is the fourth post in a series (starting here) investigating a number of DNA cousins, likely related on my 'Hynes' line. On tracing their families back in time, their ancestors, a brother and sister, were found to have left Ireland for Queensland, Australia, in the 1860s.

In 1871, at the time of his marriage, Michael Rochford Hynes helpfully advised he was born in Broadford, Co. Clare, about 1844. His sister Anne Rochford Hynes, who married in 1865, less cooperatively stated she born in Woodville, Ireland, about 1843. Their parents were named as Edmond Hynes, a farmer, and Bridget Rochford.

John Grenhams's Irish Ancestors initially helped identify the twenty-nine parishes, home to both Hynes and Rochford families c. 1850. People tended to marry from within their own parish, or the adjoining ones, so this tool is often useful in pinpointing a couple's origins. Feakle, in Co. Clare, had the highest number of Rochford families (eleven), while twelve Hynes families lived in Rahoon, Co. Galway. However, Tulla, in Co. Clare, probably provided the best bet statistically, with five families sporting each surname. The tool brought us remarkably close to Broadford, in fairness.

Catholic parishes, NLI

According to Samuel Lewis in 1837, Broadford was a post town in the civil parish of Kilseily, in Co. Clare, eight miles north of Limerick. It was part of the Roman Catholic diocese of Killaloe, where the parish was also known as Killokennedy and Kilseily. At the time of his writing, a new Roman Catholic church was being built on a hill overlooking Broadford, while the Protestant congregation was served by a church situated in the village itself.

Unfortunately, the Catholic baptism registers for Broadford begin on 19 January 1844 and the marriage registers on 10 February 1844, just a bit too late for current research goals. Seemingly, prior records have been lost. A thorough search of the baptism register (thanks Aileen) failed to locate the likely baptism of Michael Rochford Hynes in 1844. Perhaps he was older than he thought. Further, the Church of Ireland records for the period, if relevant to this family, perished in the Four Courts in 1922. This might explain why no trace of Edmund Hynes and Bridget Rochford was found in Ireland.

Lewis described the district as being of 'good arable land under an improving system of tillage', with mountain pasture and bog as well. There were also a number of slate quarries selling good quality slate to the Limerick and Ennis markets. If Edmond Hynes was a farmer in Broadford, he would undoubtedly have paid rates (property tax) and been documented in Kilseily parish, in Griffith's Valuation. Before rates were introduced, he may also have been recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books for the parish. And he featured in both.

Kilseily townlands, Edmond Hynes property

The Valuation of Kilseily parish, dated December 1851 (and not 1856, as indexed by Ancestry.com), shows Edmond Hynes lived in the townland of Woodfield, overlooking Doon lake, and farmed fifteen acres there. He farmed a further nineteen acres in the adjoining townland of Killaderry (O'Brien), where he sub-let a house to a Catherine Flanagan. He also leased an area of slate quarry in Hurdleston.

Broadford was a small village of only 383 inhabitants, according to Lewis, who probably quoted the 1831 census. So Edmond was almost certainly Michael Rochford Hynes' father. 'Woodville', where Anne Rochford Hynes said she was from, was likely a corruption of Woodfield, perhaps as a result of Anne's East Clare accent to an unaccustomed ear. Or, maybe it was a ploy on her part to sound 'posher' than she really was. Maybe she was ashamed of her 'small-farmer' background upon marrying Edward Tabuteau, the son of Irish gentry.

In 1827, Ned Hynes paid tithes on land in Woodfield, Kilseily. Ned is a common variant of Edmond. My guess is, this was Michael and Anne's father, who married in the 1820s or early 1830s, and probably had several more children. Next week, the goal is to track them down and follow their descendants forward, and maybe identify more DNA cousins.

A Timothy Hynes and a John Hynes also lived in Kilseily parish in 1851. They lived in the townland of Gortnalough, marked 18 on the above map. It seems likely John was Timothy's son. Timothy might have been Edmond's brother. So, unless Timothy was Edmond's father too, it's still possible my third-great-grandfather, also John Hynes, was Edmond's brother. My John Hynes was said to have been a carpenter, with ties to Limerick city, fourteen miles away. 

This story is continued here.

Sources
1. Marriages between 1829 and 1945 - Anne Rochford Hynes in 1865 and Michael Hynes in 1871, source images, Queensland Government, Family History Research Service.
2. Samuel Lewis, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, comprising the several counties, cities, boroughs, corporate, market, and post towns, parishes and villages, (London, 1837) v i, p. 226 and v ii, p.207-208. 
3. Catholic Parish Registers, Broadford, Diocese of Killaloe, accessed NLI.
4. Griffith's Valuation, Hynes, Kilseily, Co. Clare, accessed AskaboutIreland.
5. Map of Kilseily townlands, accessed Clare Library.
6. Tithe Applotment Books, 1823-1837, Hynes, Kilseily, Co. Clare (mis-filed under Hynes, Kilscoran, Co. Wexford) accessed The National Archives of Ireland.

Image: Sir John Tenniel's illustration of 'The White Rabbit', in Lewis Carroll's The Nursery Alice (London, 1890), accessed on Wikipedia.