2021 in Review – Accentuate the Positive

So, yet another year has passed. Looking back, using fellow blogger Jill Ball's annual meme and prompts, here are some of my 'positive' genealogy experiences in 2021.

My main focus was on DNA. I've been happily analysing my DNA matches, and those of my extended family too. It is a great way to discover forgotten branches on my family tree and locate those I couldn't trace with paper records alone. It hasn't led to any 'new' ancestors YET, but I'm sure that's only a matter of time.

For example, last year, with the help of genetic genealogy, I discovered and wrote about a great-great-granduncle Thomas Carroll in New Zealand, and a great-great-granduncle James Byrne, a bottle-maker, in Dublin.

A lovely genea-surprise I received was this picture of Grandda Wynne, with some of his children. Isn't it fab?

I remember it as a tiny snap, much the worse for wear. But Aunt Bernadette had it restored and generously got copies made for everyone she thought might like one. It's of Kevin Wynne, with his daughters Frankie and baby Dympna on his knee, and Bernadette holding their hands. Colm watches from his seat on the windowsill.

They are out in the yard at the back of their home, 3 Lower Jane Place, Dublin. It must have been the summer of 1957. They're wearing their summer clothes and Dympna, who was born in April 1956, looks about a year old. The twins look about four years old.

Thank you again Bernadette, I love it.

A Facebook Group that helped me during the year was Old Malahide History, where members share their old photos of Malahide, Co. Dublin. Here I came across many previously unseen pictures of my Dad as a child and of the townland where we grew up - see Amazing family history to be found on Facebook.

My 2021 social media post journal article that I was particularly proud of was about my maternal third cousin once removed, Frank Teeling, an Irish Volunteer. It was published in The Irish Genealogist, the well-regarded journal of the Irish Genealogical Research Society.

Frank Teeling participated in the Irish War of Independence and was captured by the British on Bloody Sunday in 1920. He was imprisoned and sentenced to death by hanging, but escaped from Kilmainham Gaol, in this country's most dramatic jail-break. My article uses Frank's story as a case study demonstrating how the descendants of key players in modern Irish history, as opposed to the State, keep their memories alive, and in so doing, write the public history of Ireland and define Irish national identity.

I finally found Margaret Parsons, née Carroll six feet under. Margaret was my great-grandaunt, who I tracked to Gateshead, England, where she married Christopher Penrose, in 1923. I lost all trace of her after that. Now, her great-granddaughter has turned up in my DNA results and helped solve the mystery.

Margaret married Martin Parsons in Romford, in 1943 and moved to Yorkshire, where she lived to be some 80 years of age. She was buried beside her husband Martin, at Driffield Cemetery, East Yorkshire, in July 1974. Her great-granddaughter sent me this picture of their grave. Thanks again, Maria.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my readers for their support, for reaching out to me, for helping me research our ancestors, for leaving comments on my blog, for liking and sharing my posts and generally for taking an interest in my family-history research.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

So excited to see what discoveries next year brings!

Happy New Year!

Signature Silhouette ~ Mary Carroll

For many of my ancestors, there are no photographs, no treasured heirlooms, not even a funeral card to remember them by. But of those who could read and write, a few left their signatures behind. They often signed historical census returns, for example, copies of which still survive.

Apart from their descendants, a signature may be all that remains of them today. So, it's my intention to feature a Signature Silhouette for each of my ancestors, whenever their signature is found. Surviving copy signatures in my family are few and far between.

Here's one for my great-grandaunt Mary Carroll. Mary never married or had children of her own, but she did raise my grandfather Kevin Wynne. Kevin was her nephew, the third child of her sister Teresa (Carroll) Wynne. He stayed in Dublin with his Mary when his parents and siblings emigrated to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.

Mary Carroll (1871-1941)

Source of signature: Will of Mary Carroll signed in 1937, The National Archives of Ireland.

Carroll sisters - a tale of betrayal (cont'd)

When my mother was a little girl, she was eavesdropping on her parents and overheard them whispering about her father's Aunt Annie. Mam thought they said Annie had married her sister’s husband, with whom she’d been having an affair. Mam had got the wrong end of the stick. Annie was innocent. I told this story before - Annie Carroll – a tale of betrayal. However, back then, perhaps I told the wrong truth.

Like I unwittingly hinted then, there was more to Annie's story, and maybe it did involve her little sister, Margaret Mary Carroll.

Margaret Mary Carroll
Margaret was born on 23 September 1893, the youngest child of Maurice Carroll and Anne Radcliffe.[1] In the weeks before Margaret's first birthday, her sister Annie married William Smith Singleton, then a butcher, from Kirkham, England.[2] In 1911, Margaret was seventeen and still living at home in Dublin, while Annie and William were seemingly already living apart, with Annie in Newcastle, mysteriously calling herself 'Annie Smith' and William nowhere to be found.[3]

We know Margaret married Christopher Penrose in Gateshead, England in 1923. We know Christopher died in 1934. We now know Margaret went on to marry Martin Penrose in Essex, England in 1943.[4] And we know she didn't have any children with either Christopher or Martin. But she did have a child. We know, because we (my aunt, her first cousin, my first cousin and I) share second and third cousin DNA matches with her great-granddaughter.

Margaret's son Maurice
Margaret's son was born on 6 April 1915, in Gateshead, England. On his birth certificate, he was named Maurice Ernest Jones, the son of William Jones, a master butcher, and Margaret Jones, formerly Carroll.[5]

Maurice Ernest Jones, GRO Reference: 1915, J Quarter, Gateshead, vol. 10A, p. 2070

Who was William Jones? There is no sign of a marriage between him and Margaret Carroll between 1911 and 1915. Did Margaret fib when she registered the birth and claim her surname was Jones, to hide the fact her son was 'illegitimate'?

Maurice Singleton (1915-1998)

Margaret's great-granddaughters heard rumours growing up that their grandfather's birth surname was Jones, yet they knew he hated any association with that name. He only ever used the surname Singleton. And it is certainly true, Maurice Ernest Singleton shared the exact same birthday as Maurice Ernest Jones - 6 April 1915.[6]

Death, Maurice Ernest Singleton, 1998, GRO index, Ancesstry.com

A new theory
Was William Jones Maurice's father? Or was his father actually a man called Singleton?

Remember, Annie Carroll's husband's name was Singleton. Could William Smith Singleton have been Maurice's father? He was also a William, and a butcher, like Maurice's father on the birth register. And, there was a rumour in the Singleton family too that his father was the husband of his mother's sister. Perhaps we are finally getting to the bottom of the Carroll family scandal.

So, if our theory is correct, Margaret had an affair with her sister Annie's husband, and even had a child with him. William was 24 years older than Margaret. They never married. Legally they never could. By the time Annie died in 1926, Margaret was married to Christopher, and William died in 1932, two years before Christopher died. But maybe at some point, Margaret and William lived together as husband and wife.

Perhaps it was Margaret who placed this memorial notice in the newspaper, on the first anniversary of William's death.[7] No marriage was registered in England for William Smith Singleton after Annie's death. And Margaret was seemingly prone to the odd little white lie.

Lancashire Evening Post, 6 February 1933, p. 2

The 1921 census of England and Wales, due to be published early next year, may shed more light on this.

And we also need to see if any clues can be found in my cousins DNA results.

Sources:
[1] Birth Margaret Carroll, Dublin North, 1893, Group Registration ID: 9809957, Irishgenealogy.ie.
[2] Marriage Anne Carroll, Dublin South, 1894, Group Registration ID: 2187735, Irihgenealogy.ie.
[3] Maggie Carroll, Gloucester Place North, Mountjoy, 1911 Census of Ireland, National Archives of Ireland; Annie Smith, Ethel Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1911 Census For England & Wales, Findmypast.
[4] Marriage Margaret M. Carroll (Penrose), GRO Reference: 1923, J Quarter, Gateshead, vol. 10A, p. 1754; Death Christopher Penrose (age 55), GRO reference: 1934, M Quarter, Gateshead, vol. 10b, p. 113; Marriage Margaret Penrose (Parsons), GRO reference: 1943, J Quarter, Romford, vol. 4a, p. 1289.
[5] Maurice Ernest Jones, GRO Reference: 1915, J Quarter, Gateshead, vol. 10A, p. 2070.
[6] Death, Maurice Ernest Singleton, 1998, GRO index, Ancesstry.com.
[7] Lancashire Evening Post, 6 February 1933, p. 2.

What happened to Margaret Mary Carroll? - Answered

I do love killing off the ancestors and finding where the bodies are buried. Don't you?



A couple of years ago, I wrote about my search for Margaret Carroll, the youngest daughter of my great-great-grandparents, Maurice Carroll and Anne Radcliffe. I'd found her marriage to Christopher Penrose in Gateshead, England, in 1923, and evidence of Christopher's death in 1934. And, that’s where the trail went cold.[1]

There was a Margaret Penrose listed in the 1939 National Register of England and Wales. She was a widow, living alone in Hornchurch, Essex, where she worked as the manageress in an off-licence. She was born on 24 Sep 1893, just one day after our Margaret's registered birthday. She later married Martin Parsons in Romford, near Hornchurch, during the second quarter of 1943.[2]

Source: Findmypast, 1939 Register, Margaret M. Penrose, Hornchurch U.D.

I suspected this was my great-grandaunt, but was led astray...

A note beside Margaret's name in her baptism register supposedly contained details of her second marriage. She was said to have remarried in Hornsea, Yorkshire on 15 November 1949 - not Hornchurch, Essex in 1943. However, her new husband’s name was not given in the baptism register and no record of the likely marriage could be found.[3]

Source: IrishGenealogy.ie, baptism register, 1893, Pro-Cathedral

So, I put the research aside until something new turned up. This is a perfectly valid research strategy, I'll have you know! 😏

The note on Margaret's baptism register is still baffling, but a new DNA match on Ancestry recently showed a way forward. I share 47cM of DNA with this lady, my cousin Aileen shares a whopping 175cM, Aunty Anne shares 101cM and her cousin Larry shares 170cM. This places us squarely in the 2nd-3rd cousin bracket. She also matches descendants of great-great-granduncle Thomas O'Carroll, so must realistically be a match on the Carroll line.

Our newfound cousin knows her great-grandmother was born Margaret Carroll and recognised the name Parsons, making it a safer bet to order the Parsons-Penrose marriage certificate. It arrived in the post during the week. And eureka!

GRO reference: 1943, J Quarter, Romford, vol. 4a, p. 1289

Margaret Mary Penrose, the daughter of Maurice Carroll, a schoolmaster (pardon?) married Martin Edmund Parsons at the Registry Office in Romford, Essex, on 14 April 1943.[4] My great-great-grandfather, Maurice Carroll, was a coachman, working for a big-house, not a schoolmaster. He was a talented man, for sure. It's said he played the trombone (or some such) in the Theatre Royal in Dublin. He was good with his hands too, and made a dolls house for his daughter Teresa, out of an orange box. The dolls house still survives in the family today. But, a schoolmaster! I don't think so. Yet, I do think this was our Margaret, and maybe a little white lie.

Margaret was 80 years of age when she died, surviving Martin by 15 years. She died of cancer at East Riding General Hospital, Birdlington Road, Driffield, East Yorkshire on 3 July 1974.[5] She was buried with her husband Martin at Driffield Cemetery. Click to see a picture of their headstone, here.[6] The inscription is faded, but can still be made out as:

'In loving memory of Martin Edmund Parsons, died 22 May 1959, aged 75, And of his dear wife, Margaret Mary Parsons, died 3 July 1974, aged 82.'

Margaret's great-granddaughters, Maria and Lisa

But there is so much more to Margaret's story. It's sad. And a little shocking. And, it must once have caused a huge rift in the Carroll family. But more about this next week.

Click Here

Sources:
[1] Marriage Margaret M. Carroll (Penrose), GRO Reference: 1923, J Quarter, Gateshead, vol. 10A, p. 1754; Death Christopher Penrose (age 55), GRO reference: 1934, M Quarter, Gateshead, vol. 10b, p. 113.
[2] Margaret M. Penrose, Hornchurch U.D., Essex, England in the 1939 Register, Findmypast; Marriage Margaret Penrose (Parsons), GRO reference: 1943, J Quarter, Romford, vol. 4a, p. 1289.
[3] Baptism register, St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, 1893, Margaret Mary Carroll, Irishgenealogy.ie.
[4] Marriage Margaret Penrose (Parsons), GRO reference: 1943, J Quarter, Romford, vol. 4a, p. 1289.
[5] Death Margaret Mary Parsons, GRO reference: 1974, S Quarter, Bridlington, vol. 7, p. 225.
[6] GENUKI: Driffield Cemetery gravestones.

A to Z April Challenge: T is for Teresa (Carroll) Wynne

Genealogists always want to know where their ancestors are buried. It’s not just to see what else they might learn from their gravesites. It’s more than that. It’s a need to connect with them, to know they’re ‘at peace’. Many countless hours are spent seeking out their final resting places, so, to help ensure they're not forgotten again, I'm creating a virtual graveyard, incorporating a memorial for each one T is for Teresa - Teresa Josephine (Carroll) Wynne, my maternal great-grandmother.

Teresa Josephine (Carroll) Wynne

Birth:	11 May 1888
	7 Murphy's Cottages, Dublin, Ireland
Death:	9 July 1958 (aged 70 years)
	297 Two Ball Lonnen, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
Burial:	December 1937
	Ashburton Roman Catholic Cemetery
	Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England
Link to:	Memorial at Find A Grave

Headstone:

Rosemary and Brian, Ashburton Cemetery

'Of your charity pray for the souls of a dear father and mother Patrick James Wynne died 21 December 1937 aged 69 years. Teresa Wynne died 9th July 1958 aged 70 years'.

Links to memorials of immediate family members:

Spouse:	Patrick James Wynne (1868-1937, m. 1905)
Son:	Maurice O'Carroll Wynne (1906-1973)
Son:	Brendan Patrick Wynne (1908-1972)
Son:	Kevin Wynne (1909-1960)
Daughter:	Eileen Mary (Wynne) Johnson (1916-1993)
Son:	Brian Patrick Wynne (1918-1969)
Daughter:	Nora Teresa (Wynne) Skelton (1920-2000)
Son:	Terence McSwiney Wynne (1922-1993)
Son:	Laurence Wynne (1924-1993)

Father:	Maurice Carroll (c. 1838-1906)
Mother:	Anne (Radcliffe) Carroll (1849-1918)
Brother:	Robert Carroll (1860-1942)
Brother:	James Carroll (1865-1943)
Sister:	Mary Carroll (1871-1941)
Sister:	Anne (Carroll) Singleton (1875-1926)
Brother:	John Carroll (1878-1941)

My intention is to create a virtual graveyard with a memorial for each of my ancestors. The category 'Theme: Virtual Graveyard', seen on the right, is the graveyard gate. Clicking here, you enter my graveyard. You can visit each grave, irrespective of where in the world they are physically located.

Links for my direct ancestors above are, or will be, to their memorial in the 'virtual graveyard' at Black Raven Genealogy. Links for members of their immediate family are to a memorial at Find A Grave, if one has been created. Find A Grave is an online collection of gravesites and memorials from around the world.



The 'A to Z April Challenge' - 26 blog posts, in 26 days, with 26 letters of the alphabet, and one post dedicated to each letter.

Tracing your ancestors in the Irish Constabulary – Thomas Carroll

Thomas Carroll, or O’Carroll as he became known in Maungakaramea, New Zealand, is the first member of my family found to have served in the Irish Constabulary. The Irish Constabulary, granted the ‘Royal’ prefix in 1867, was the military-like force policing in Ireland, under British rule. Initially, I wasn’t sure how I felt about Thomas’s involvement in a police force often viewed with suspicion by the general population and disbanded as soon as the Irish Free State was established in 1922. Nonetheless, genealogically speaking, the opportunity to explore a new-to-me record set was pretty exciting. And, while the senior ranks of the force were predominantly made up of Anglo-Irish Protestants, the rank and file mirrored the Irish population in terms of religion and social class.

The entire General Register for the force is now online and includes Thomas Carroll's service record. Starting with his registered number, 21814, the Register reveals he was appointed on 18 May 1857, aged 20 years, indicating he was born between 19 May 1836 and 18 May 1837. Thomas claimed Tipperary as his native county.

This fits nicely with what we already know. My great-great-grandfather Maurice Carroll claimed he too was born in Co. Tipperary, about 1838, and the baptisms of their siblings, Mary Carroll in 1841 and David Carroll in 1847, were found in the registers of the RC church, in Fethard, Co. Tipperary.The Register confirms SI Heard, i.e. Sub-Inspector Heard, recommended Thomas for the post, meaning they knew each other personally. So, if we can trace where SI Heard was in 1857, we'd probably learn where Thomas lived too. The Register only names the county, and not the specific parish where each man was stationed.

SI Heard was appointed in 1837 and initially spent two years in Kilkenny, followed by over five years in Clare and then nearly ten years in Limerick. On 1 March 1857, he was transferred to Clare for a further five years, and on 1 March 1862, by which time Thomas was settling into his new home in New Zealand, SI Heard commenced a stint in Tipperary.

References to SI Heard in the newspapers place him in the station in Castleconnell, Co. Limerick in 1847 and in Carrick on Suir, Co. Tipperary in 1863. And, we already know Thomas Carroll's parents, David and Catherine (Cummins) Carroll, had moved to Castleconnell by 1859, so we can now be reasonably sure this was where Thomas lived when he joined the Constabulary in 1857.

Thom's Irish Almanac, 1857

After four months training, Thomas was allocated to a barracks in Co. Clare. On joining, he would have held the lowest rank in the force, that of Second Sub-Constable. No mention of him was found in the newspapers, nor in the Petty Session court records, where he might have been named, had he charged someone with an offence. So we don't know where exactly in Co. Clare Thomas was stationed. We do know SI Heard also served in Clare at this time, and in 1858, trade directories place him in Ennis. Perhaps Thomas served with him in Ennis too. We'll probably never know for sure.

Thomas stood 5 feet, 8¾ inches tall when he joined the Irish Constabulary, a ¼ inch short of the standard height requirement. This condition was sometimes relaxed when the force was under-staffed. Thomas worked as a labourer before his appointment, although we know he was literate, as this was a condition of joining.

Thomas resigned his position on 8 January 1861, with a gratuity of £6 15 shillings and 5 pence. This fits with him settling in New Zealand in 1862, having first 'travelled a great deal'. And, it clarifies how he funded his trip. Unusually, the reason for his resignation was not documented, although the record clearly shows the man joining immediately after him left 'to emigrate' and the man who joined immediately before him left 'to join the Pope's army'.

Sources:

1. Thomas O'Carroll, Obituary, 1918, Northern Advocate, 21 October 1918, p. 2, Past Papers.
2. Ireland, Royal Irish Constabulary Service Records 1816-1922, $ FindmyPast.
3. Kerry Examiner, 5 November 1847, p. 3; Freemans Journal, 10 January 1863, p. 1.
4. Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, Mary Carroll 21 November 1841, David Carroll 6 January 1847, Fethard, Baptisms 1 March 1836 - 30 January 1847, Microfilm 02504 / 06.
5. Thom's Irish Almanac 1857 and 1858, Government Departments of Ireland, Thom's Directory, 1844-1900, $ FindmyPast.

Spelling is irrelevant, in Irish genealogy!

It drives me mad when, having undertaken some 'free' research for someone, they respond with something like, "Oh, that can't be my 'Hynes' ancestor. It looks like them, but our family always spells the surname 'Hines', with an i". 😖

I get it. I do. When you were born, your birth was registered. You needed a copy of your birth certificate to get a passport, to get a driving licence, and/or to obtain a national identity card. You’re pretty much stuck with the surname your parents gave you, probably spelled the same way it was given to them by their parents. You’d have to jump through hoops to change the spelling of your surname now.

But this was not true in the past!

Your earlier ancestor's name may have been spelled differently. They may have used several different variants during their lifetime. You might even see different spellings within the same document. Why did your ancestors vary the spelling? The simple answer is  Because. They. Could.

Remember, they didn’t have a birth certificate to keep things on track.

If your ancestor was illiterate (or perhaps an Irish speaker), they may not have been aware of the changes in spelling. Someone else wrote their name for them, and spelled it according to their own experience, or transcribed it phonetically based on their best interpretation of your ancestor’s accent.

Or, maybe your ancestors deliberately chose a different spelling. Several of my mid-nineteenth-century Byrne relatives changed their name to Burns in the US. Maybe they were illiterate and this was the more common variant where they were, or maybe they wanted to appear Scottish, to avoid the discrimination often shown towards the Irish at the time. Who knows!

Or, perhaps they were proud of their origins and wanted to highlight their Irishness. As in, they may have reinserted the traditional ‘O’ or 'Mc' prefix in their surname, a prefix probably dropped by their family many generations previously when their name was anglicized.

For example, my great-great-granduncle, Thomas Carroll, became Thomas O’Carroll soon after his marriage in New Zealand. He wasn’t illiterate. He signed his ‘Carroll’ surname perfectly on the register of his marriage to Ann Sloane in 1864, but then fairly consistently used the O’Carroll variant for the rest of his life. His brother back in Ireland never reinserted the ‘O’ prefix in his surname. It was during a Gaelic revival in Ireland when some of the next generation took back the O' prefix.

1864, Carroll-Sloan, marriage register

Such a surname change could cause many researchers to hit a genealogy brick wall. Even with the New Zealand death register that provided the full names of both of his parents, if subsequent researchers specifically searched for only the O'Carroll name, and discounted all other variants, their search of Irish records would fail. Thomas's roots in Ireland might never be found. His parents were recorded in Ireland as Carroll.

The O’Carroll-Sloane marriage in New Zealand may have been missed if researchers concentrated solely on the later spelling variant, as the marriage record shows Thomas Carroll (with no ‘O’ prefix) marrying Ann Sloan (without a silent ‘e’ at the end). Some researchers may have been fooled into suspecting the couple married elsewhere, throwing them off track.

Worse still, his obituary confirms Thomas was a policeman in Ireland before he emigrated, but the only Thomas O’Carroll of the right age, found in the records of the Royal Irish Constabulary, was born in 1838, in Co. Kerry. Our Thomas was named in these records as Thomas Carroll, born in 1837, in Co. Tipperary. This clue might well have been missed, and set many researchers down the wrong path entirely, had their search not included surname variants.

So what if you have a silent ‘e’ at the end of your surname? So what if you spell your name with an ‘O’ prefix, or use 'i' instead of 'y'? Your ancestors at some point probably did not.

So, I’ll say it again, when it comes to researching your ancestors, the spelling of your surname is quite literally irrelevant! Don’t restrict your research by seeking only the exact spelling of your family name now. Be very flexible. Search with every variant. And, if your search initially fails, actively seek out more variants. Check out John Grenham's surnames' website at Irish Ancestors.

Don’t build an unnecessary genealogy brick wall. Irish genealogy is hard enough without creating your own obstacles.

Traditional genealogy verifies genetic genealogy find

It is perhaps one of the great ironies of traditional genealogy that we often learn more about a man's life in the records created upon his death. This is certainly true for my newly discovered great-great-granduncle Thomas O'Carroll, a father of four, whose descendants were recently linked to my extended Carroll family through genetic genealogy.

The details concerning Thomas's life in Ireland, before his emigration to New Zealand, are of primary interest at this stage, given the goal is to first confirm Thomas O'Carroll was the brother of my great-great-grandfather, Maurice Carroll. With that in mind, let's examine his probate file, his obituary, and the civil register of his death:-

THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ONE THOMAS O'CARROLL
This is the last will and testament of Thomas O'Carroll, the elder, of Maungakaramea in the Provincial District of Auckland in New Zealand, settler, made the twenty-ninth day of June, one thousand nine hundred and nine. I revoke all wills and other testamentary dispositions by me hitherto made and declare this to be my last will. To my son Thomas O'Carroll, the younger, I leave and devise the whole of the real property, which I may own at the time of my decease, for his use during his life and after his decease, to his son David James O'Carroll absolutely, provided however in case my grandson David James O'Carroll should die without leaving issue him surviving, then I wish all my real property to go to his brother, my grandson Thomas Emmet O'Carroll absolutely. All my personal property, after the payment of my just debts and my funeral and testamentary expenses, I wish to have divided equally amongst my daughter-in-law, Anastatia O'Carroll, wife of my son Thomas O'Carroll, Mary O'Shea, my daughter, the wife of Michael O'Shea, and my daughter-in-law Nellie O'Carroll, the wife of my son Francis O'Carroll. And I appoint my son Thomas O'Carroll and my friend Francis Henry Sloane executors and trustees under this my will. In witness whereof I have hereto subscribed my name, the day and year above mentioned.

Signed by Thomas O'Carroll, the elder, as and for his last will in our presence, who at his request, in his presence and in the presence of each other, all of us being present at the same time, have hereto subscribed our names as witnesses.

[Signature of] Thomas O'Carroll,
J. M. Killen, Solicitor, Whangarei,
Jas. I. Wilson, Solicitor, Whangarei.

Signature Silhouette: Thomas O'Carroll, 1909

Excerpt from the Oath of the executors to the will, filed in the Supreme court of New Zealand, in 1919:-

OBITUARY: MR THOMAS O'CARROLL
Many old residents of this district will sincerely regret to learn of the death of Mr. Thomas O'Carroll, Maungakaramea, at the age of 81 years. The deceased gentleman, though not suffering seriously, felt that a change in town might do him good and he therefore paid a visit to Whangarei on Sunday 13th, inst. On the following Tuesday he went up to the hospital and consulted Dr. Frazerhurst, who advised him to stay in the institution, and this course Mr. O'Carroll followed. Unfortunately, however, the old gentleman did not rally and passed away during the early hours of yesterday morning. Mr. O'Carroll had been in rather indifferent health for the last three years, and had recently lost weight considerably, therefore his demise did not come as a surprise to his relatives and friends.

During his early days Mr. O'Carroll travelled a great deal, but 56 years ago he decided to stay in New Zealand and finally, four years later, he became a farmer at Maungakaramea, where he lived continuously until the time of his death. Before coming to New Zealand the deceased was a member of the Irish Constabulary and on arrival in Auckland he sought the old calling and became a policeman. The early training and discipline is held to be, in no small measure, responsible for the excellent health he enjoyed throughout his life. He took a keen interest in local affairs and was a prominent member of the Catholic Church. His wife predeceased him four years ago at the age of 84. He leaves three sons and one daughter (Mrs O'Shea) and no fewer than 25 grandchildren. The internment is to take place at Maungakaramea on Wednesday.

Northern Advocate, 21 October 1918.

So, what do these documents tell us about Thomas's life in Ireland?

• Thomas was born about 1837, in Co. Limerick, Ireland.
• His parents were Irish.
• Thomas was literate.
• Thomas was a member of the Irish Constabulary, in Ireland. (Update 31 January 2021: Thomas Carroll's service in the Irish Constabulary - here.)
• Thomas left Ireland in or before 1862 (1918-56 years), when he settled in New Zealand.
• Thomas spent some time travelling, before settling in New Zealand.
  
  

Thomas O'Carroll's last will does not tell us anything of his origins, but it confirms we are looking at the right man. The Oath of his executors however confirms Thomas's birthplace as Co. Limerick. But remember last week, we read a newspaper announcement of his daughter's marriage to Michael O'Shea, published during Thomas's lifetime in 1889, which states he was born in Co. Tipperary. This was where my great-great-grandfather, Maurice Carroll, claimed to have been born. But, even this apparent contradiction provides helpful evidence.

Obviously, his executors were not witnesses at Thomas's birth, so their belief stands some chance of being inaccurate. But, if Thomas and Maurice were brothers, his son would have had good reason to suspect Thomas was from Co. Limerick. We know my third-great-grandparents moved from their home near Fethard in Co. Tipperary to Castleconnell, Co. Limerick, before 1859. This was probably before Thomas went to New Zealand, so his son may have remembered that his father and/or his grandparents lived in Co. Limerick.

These documents help pin-point Thomas's death in the civil death registrations of New Zealand. Death registrations there, at this time, include place of birth, as well as parental details. A printout of Thomas O'Carroll's register was obtained to confirm, one way or the other, if Thomas and Maurice were brothers. And it seems they were.

Excerpts, death register, Thomas O'Carroll, 1918

The death register shows Thomas was born in Limerick, Ireland, to parents David O'Carroll, a house carpenter, and Katherine Cummins.

Eureka!

My third-great-grandparents were known in Ireland as David Carroll (without the 'O' prefix), a carpenter, and Catherine Cummins.

It's a match!

Sources:
1. Thomas O'Carroll, Probate, 1919, Archives New Zealand Probate Records (1843-1998), FamilySearch.
2. Thomas O'Carroll, Obituary, 1918, Northern Advocate, 21 October 1918, p. 2, Past Papers.
3. 1859. Maurice Carroll and Mary Anne Frazer, Marriage register, Parish of St Nicholas, IrishGenealogy.ie.
4. Death, Thomas O'Carroll, 1918, Printout from death register, $ Births, Deaths & Marriages Online.

DNA cultivates a new branch of the family tree

I love autosomal DNA! Last year, just to humour me, my Aunt Anne took a DNA test. Her DNA match list includes descendants of her 64 GGGG-grandparents, i.e. my maternal GGGGG-grandparents, and maybe even earlier generations too. So far, I know the names of only two of my GGGGG-grandparents, creating soo much potential for discovery.

Before Christmas, I started examining Anne’s highest unknown match (56 cM/5 segments), labelled below as P. P has no online family tree, but she shares several matches in common with Anne, including those labelled T, S, L, M, and C below. Many of them appear to live in New Zealand. Some had partial trees attached to their DNA results, including T who traced his ancestry back to Thomas O’Carroll.

Over Christmas, I extended the family trees of these genetic cousins and found they all descended from one or other of Thomas O’Carroll’s four children.

As seen above, Larry, Anne’s first cousin, shares several of these matches too. Their grandmother was born Teresa Carroll (without an 'O' prefix). Also Michael, not included above, but a descendant of Teresa’s father Maurice Carroll and his first wife Mary Anne Frazer, also shares over 20 cM DNA with P and L (and thus appears in the Shared Matches lists at Ancestry.com). So, it seems we may be all related via my GG-Grandfather Maurice Carroll, or his forefathers.

Some of the online family trees show Thomas O’Carroll was born in Tralee, Co. Kerry, about 1837-38, and was buried in Northland, New Zealand in 1918. Our branch of the Carroll family did not include the ’O’ prefix in their surname, at least not before the Gaelic revival in Ireland around the turn of the twentieth century. Maurice Carroll also claimed to have been born in the late 1830s, but in Co. Tipperary, not Co. Kerry. 

So, were Maurice and Thomas related? The amount of shared DNA suggests they could possibly have been brothers, though maybe it's a tad on the low side for that. But, further research shows some consistencies with what might be expected in a family relationship.

While the online family trees suggest Thomas and his wife must have married in Ireland, Thomas Carroll (without the ‘O’ prefix) can be seen marrying Anne Sloan in New Zealand, in 1864. This couple then had four children, David James O’Carroll born in New Zealand in 1865, Francis O’Carroll born in 1866, Thomas O’Carroll born in 1869 and Mary Ann O’Carroll born in 1872. So he started off as a Carroll (without an 'O').

David Carroll was the name of my GGG-grandfather, Maurice’s father. Maybe Thomas O’Carroll was following traditional Irish naming practices whereby the eldest son was named after his paternal grandfather – i.e., Thomas O'Carroll's eldest son was called David. David wasn’t that common a given name in Ireland then, so this might mean something.

O'Shea-O'Carroll marriage, New Zealand Herald, 25 February 1889

Also, the above announcement of Thomas's daughter Mary Ann O’Carroll’s marriage to Michael O’Shea, in 1889, confirms Thomas WAS from Co. Tipperary, NOT Co. Kerry, after all.

BEWARE the information found in online family trees! It could lead you astray if you let it.


Updated 17 January 2021, see here: Traditional genealogy verifies genetic genealogy find.

2020 in Review – Accentuate the Positive

As 2021 begins, it offers an ideal opportunity to reflect on the year just gone. 2020 was a bizarre year, to say the least. It presented us all with so many new challenges. But, as Jill Ball of GeniAus always says, we should focus on the positives, and for 2020 that means the positives that arose in spite of Covid19, or maybe even because of it. And surprisingly, there were quite a few positives in 2020. Here are some of mine... with Jill's prompts highlighted in bold.

An elusive ancestor I found was Mary, the wife of John Radcliffe, and the mother of my maternal GG-grandmother, Anne (Radcliffe) Carroll from Malahide, Co. Dublin. At least, I suspect I found Mary - her maiden name being Mary Leonard. She was living with the Slattery family in Liverpool in 1841, quite probably with her mother Mary (Riley) Slattery, which gave me two new ancestors for the price of one!

A DNA discovery I made was a previously unknown GG-grandaunt, Mary Anne Hynes, in Western Australia. Mary Anne married Jerome Rodoreda in Perth in 1856. The register of their marriage included her parents’ names, confirming the maiden name of my GGG-grandmother as Margaret Hayes. Her maiden surname had not been recorded in any of the marriage records relating to Mary Anne’s siblings in Ireland, emphasising once again the importance of tracing ALL collateral lines.

My 2020 New-Year’s resolution was to attend more genealogy events, in person, and meet other like-minded folk. The year started well with a very enjoyable weekend in Belfast in February, where I attended the Back to Our Past/Genetic Genealogy Ireland Conference. We had so much fun, my cousin Aileen and friend Claire decided to overnight in a hotel and attend the equivalent event scheduled for September 2020, in Dublin. Sadly, Covid19 put paid to that.

But I joined Twitter (@DaraMcgivern) and met up with many other genealogists online, and especially enjoyed participating in #Ancestryhour and #ANZAncestryTime. Virtual conferences became the norm, and Zoom gave me an opportunity to catch up with Aileen and Claire throughout the year and talk all-things-genealogy, among other topics.

A genea-surprise I received was a batch of digital photographs from my half third cousin Rose, a descendant of my GG-Grandfather Maurice Carroll and his first wife Mary Anne Frazer. Rose requested assistance identifying some of the people pictured in the photos. So far, I have been unsuccessful in naming any of the unknowns. Perhaps someone reading this blog may be able to help.

James Carroll (1865-1943), Bardon Mill,
my half-great-granduncle

Maurice Joseph Carroll (1887-1964),
my half first cousin, twice removed

Maurice’s son, James Carroll and his wife Anne Molyneux emigrated to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, about 1901, bringing their children Maurice Joseph Carroll and John Joseph Carroll with them. Maurice Joseph Carroll married Mary Agnes Leckey in St Joseph’s Church, in Benwell, Newcastle in 1915. These photographs have been passed down through their family, in England.

Mary Agnes (Leckey) Carroll in white hat (1889-1946),
Others unknown

Two striking ladies (identity unknown), at Bardon Mill,
home to James and Anne Carroll, later 1930s, maybe

I am excited for 2021 to share with you some stories about a newly discovered branch of our Carroll family. A previously unknown GG-Granduncle, Thomas O’Carroll, suspected as being a brother of Maurice Carroll senior, has come to light. Thomas emigrated to New Zealand in the early 1860s, where he soon reinserted the 'O' in his surname. My Aunt Anne, her cousin Larry, Aileen and I share varying amounts of DNA with descendants of each of his four children. It's so exciting! Thank you for doing the DNA test, Anne, we have so many more connections concealed in your DNA.

And finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my readers for their support, for reaching out to me, for leaving comments on my blog, for liking and sharing my posts and generally for taking an interest in my family-history research. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

So, out with the old, and in with the new. Here's to a safer, joyful and more successful 2021 for all!

Signature Silhouette #5 ~ Anne (Radcliffe) Carroll

For many of my ancestors, we have no photographs, no treasured heirlooms, not even a funeral card to remember them by. But of those who could read and write, a few left their signatures behind. They often signed historical census returns, etc, copies of which still survive. Their signature may be all that remains of them today. So, it's my intention to feature a Signature Silhouette, for each ancestor, where ever possible, until all are preserved.

Here's one for my maternal great-great-grandmother, Anne (Radcliffe) Carroll:-

Anne (Radcliffe) Carroll (1849-1918)

Anne's parents were named as John and Mary Ratcliffe when she married Maurice Carroll in Co. Dublin, in 1869. I know quite a lot about John Radcliffe, where he came from and where he ended up, but practically nothing is known about Mary. John and Mary may have married in Liverpool, England and Anne may have been born there, even though the Irish census records of 1901 and 1911 give no indication she was born outside of Ireland. Still...

During this pandemic 'lock-down', I intend to follow up on my theory that the family spent time in Liverpool, and see what else I can find out about them there. Maybe I'll unearth something else confirming them, beyond all doubt, as MY ancestors.  It may be a short experiment.😄

Signature Silhouette sources:
Idea courtesy of Cathy Meder-Dempsey at Opening Doors in Brick Walls.

Source of signature: 1911 Census of Ireland, Carroll household, Gloucester Place North, Mountjoy, Dublin, The National Archives of Ireland.

Other sources:
Marriage register for Swords Parish, Maurice Carroll and Anne Radcliffe, 22 August 1869, accessed Catholic Parish Registers, accessed National Library of Ireland.

Church of England marriage register, John Radcliffe & Mary Leonard marriage, 1848, St Nicholas Church, Liverpool, Lancashire, England, accessed $ Ancestry.co.uk.

Baptism register, Ann Radcliffe, 28 October 1849, St Anthony's RC Church, Liverpool, 'Liverpool, England, Catholic Baptisms, 1802-1906', accessed $ Ancestry.co.uk.

Signature Silhouette #4 ~ Maurice Carroll

For many of my ancestors, we have no photographs, no treasured heirlooms, not even a funeral card to remember them by. But of those who could read and write, a few left their signatures behind. They often signed historical census returns etc., copies of which still survive. This signature may be all that remains of them today. So, this year, it's my intention to feature a Signature Silhouette for at least one ancestor a month, until they are all are preserved.

Here's one for my maternal great-great-grandfather, Maurice Carroll:-

Maurice Carroll (c.1838-1906)

Sources:
Idea courtesy of Cathy Meder-Dempsey at Opening Doors in Brick Walls.

Source of signature: 1901 Census of Ireland, Carroll household, North Gloucester Place, Mountjoy, Dublin, The National Archives of Ireland.

*******

Please follow my recently activated Twitter account
@DaraMcgivern

Signature Silhouette #2 ~Teresa (Carroll) Wynne

For many of my ancestors, we have no photographs, no treasured heirlooms, not even a funeral card to remember them by. But of those who could read and write, a few left their signatures behind. They often signed historical census returns, for example, copies of which still survive. Apart from descendants, their signature may be all that remains of them today. So, it's my intention to feature a Signature Silhouette for one ancestor, each week, until they are all are preserved.

Here's one for my maternal great-grandmother, Teresa (Carroll) Wynne:-

Teresa Carroll Wynne (1888-1958)

Sadly, I've no document containing the signature of Teresa's husband, my great-grandfather, Patrick James Wynne (1868-1937). He died intestate, so did not leave a signature on a will. He still lived with his father in 1901 and was a lodger in Cork in 1911, so didn't sign either census as head of a household. I can't think where else I may find his signature now.

If any of my cousins have a document with his signature, I'd be truly grateful to see a copy of it. 🙏

Sources:
Idea courtesy of Cathy Meder-Dempsey at Opening Doors in Brick Walls.

Source of signature: Last will and testament, Teresa Wynne, Newcastle Upon Tyne, dated 1 May 1958.

*******

Please follow my recently activated Twitter account
@DaraMcgivern

What happened to Maurice Carroll?

This post continues the series tracing the children of my great-great-grandfather, Maurice Carroll. He had five children with his first wife, Mary Anne Frazer, and ten children with my great-great-grandmother, Anne Radcliffe. Many of his children seemingly vanished in adulthood, but of them all, Maurice Carroll junior remains the most puzzling.

Maurice was probably the youngest surviving son of my great-great-grandparents. He was born at the Baskin, near Malahide, in north county Dublin. According to his father, he was born on 20 June 1882, but his birth wasn't registered until 13 July, so the date may not be completely accurate. His baptism record is not available online. Maurice and Anne had an earlier son called Maurice, born in May 1877, but that child died shortly after his birth, and they used the name again.

In the 1901 census, Maurice Carroll, stated age seventeen years (actual age nineteen years), was living with his parents and some of his siblings at 20 North Gloucester Place, in Dublin city. He was unmarried and working as a solicitor's general clerk. By the time of the 1911 census, or on census night at least, he wasn't living at home with his mother and siblings. His father had passed away in 1906.

So where was he?

The Dublin electoral registers, online for the years 1908 to 1915, show Maurice Carroll as the 'rated occupier' at 20 North Gloucester Place, in 1909. His mother Anne replaced him as the 'occupier' at the address from 1911 to 1913. And, Thoms Directory shows Maurice lived at 20 North Gloucester Place in 1910, but not in 1911. So, Maurice may have left home about 1910.

A Maurice Carroll, born in Dublin on 22 June 1882 (two days after our Maurice's recorded birthday), declared the intention to apply for US citizenship, in Philadelphia, in May 1911. He had arrived in New York, via Calcutta, India, on 7 May 1911. Was this my great-granduncle?

It's hard to be sure. But it could offer one explanation why he wasn't at home on census night that year. The timing seems right, although what he was doing in Calcutta is anyone's guess. Still, there was only one child with his name registered as born in all Ireland, in 1882 - my great-granduncle. So, it may well have been him.

This chap worked as a groom, not a law clerk, but that's not necessarily a show-stopper. Our Maurice's father was a coachman and his elder half-brother Robert worked as both a coachman and a groom. Our Maurice grew up around horses. The guy in Philly had brown hair, and brown eyes, and was 5 foot, nine inches tall, and my family were typically a few inches shorter, with blue eyes, but who knows. His father was from Co. Tipperary and countrymen tended to be taller than Dubs.

If this was my great-granduncle in Philadelphia in 1911, he came home to Ireland shortly thereafter. I'm fairly certain it was our man who joined Guinness Brewery in Dublin, in 1912, where he worked as a labourer in the cooperage department. The Guinness Archives show Maurice Carroll, born on 20 June 1882, joined the company on 2 October 1912. The Archives suggest he was unmarried at this time. He left their employment, having served just short of seven years, aged thirty-seven years, on 27 August 1919. To go where... I don't know.

If you have any idea, or know anything else about him, I'd love to hear from you:- Blackraven.genealogy[at]gmail[dot]com.

Annie Carroll – a tale of betrayal

When my mother was young, she was eavesdropping on adult conversation and overheard her parents discussing a truly scandalous story. She believed they were talking about her Dad’s grandmother, Anne Carroll. Supposedly, Anne had married her sister’s husband, with whom she’d been having an affair, before her sister died. Shocking, right?

Except further research revealed my great-great grandmother, Anne (Ratcliffe) Carroll, was an only child. Her mother died when she was an infant and her father emigrated to Australia, without her. It’s true, when they married, Maurice Carroll was a widower. But Anne was not related to his first wife. She was only eighteen years old when the lady died. No sister! No ongoing affair!

So, I wondered, what exactly my mother might have overheard?

Sometime later, I met another family researcher online. She was attempting to prove her relationship to the Singleton family, of Kirkham, England. Her great-grandmother Annie Whittle, aged five years, was ‘boarding’ with the Singletons, in 1881.

Poor Annie Whittle was born out of wedlock in 1875. At the time, the Singletons had two boys, Thomas, aged ten years, and William aged six. It’s not clear why Annie ended up with them, but it seems she was raised as one of their own. Often, people described as 'boarders' in a census return were related somehow to someone in the household. Annie's maternal grandfather was a policeman, same as Mr. Singleton, and they may have worked together, so perhaps that was the long and the short of it.

Roll on 1894, and the Singleton's son, William Smith Singleton, converted to Catholicism and married Anne Carroll’s daughter, my great-grandaunt, Annie Carroll.

In 1897, Annie Whittle had a baby boy. She wasn’t married. She named her son William Smith Singleton Whittle. Why would she do that? Whatever about naming her son after a favourite ‘brother’, why would she include his surname as well? Unless she thought he was entitled to it!

There is no sign of William Smith Singleton, his wife Annie (Carroll) Singleton, or indeed Annie Whittle, in the 1901 census, but little William Whittle, aged three years, was ‘boarding’ with the Singletons.

Late in 1901, Annie Whittle had a second son, Robert Singleton Whittle.

Tragically, by 1907, the ill-fated Annie Whittle had had enough. She was found drowned in a pond near where she worked. The newspaper cryptically reported her employer as stating, Annie ‘had never threatened suicide owing to her condition’. But sadly, seemingly it was a suicide, poor woman.

Source: Lancashire Evening Post, 03 July 1907

In 1911, my great-grandaunt, Annie (Carroll) Singleton, was the head of her household, at 3 Ethel Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, 150 miles from her home in Kirkham. There was no sign of her husband, and Annie was mysteriously using the name ‘Annie Smith’ - as if she wanted nothing to do with the Singleton name.

Meanwhile, back in Kirkham, little William and Robert Whittle had ditched their birth surname, in favour of Singleton, and the Singletons claimed both of them as their grandsons. My great-grandaunt had dropped the Singleton surname, and the boys had taken it as their own.

And, then there was my great-grandaunt’s curious last will and testament. Annie (Carroll) Singleton had no children. When she died in 1926, she left the bulk of her estate to her sister Mary, with a proviso that her husband be paid £2 a week, until he died. It was as if Annie didn’t want someone getting their unentitled hands on her life savings!

Singleton family lore suggests William Smith Singleton fathered William and Robert Whittle. Maybe there was an issue with William Smith Singleton and Annie Whittle being together, given they were raised as siblings. But, perhaps William loved Annie Whittle. Perhaps he betrayed his wife, my great-grandaunt Annie Carroll, and continued an affair with her, his ‘sister’, even after he was married.

Annie Carroll - an affair - the sister! This could have been the scenario my mother overheard her parents discussing. Except, William obviously did not marry Annie Whittle after his wife died.

There was certainly enough heartbreak to go around in this family. My poor great-grandaunt seemingly had a sham marriage, Annie Whittle killed herself, and the two boys undoubtedly experienced quite an amount of undeserved shame regarding their circumstance of birth. As for William Smith Singleton, it seems he may have found love in the end. His ‘wife and son’, who as yet have not been identified, published a newspaper notice in his memory, on the first anniversary of his death.

Source: Lancashire Evening Post, 6 February 1933, p.2

Of course, I still need to find out what became of Annie (Carroll) Singleton's youngest sister, Margaret (Carroll) Penrose, to make sure she didn't play a part in this story. Unlike Annie's sisters Mary and Teresa, Annie did not mention her sister Margaret in her will.

5 September 2021: More on Annie and Margaret's story here.