Best day for a wedding

“Monday for health,
Tuesday for wealth,
Wednesday the best day of all,
Thursday for losses,
Friday for crosses,
And Saturday, no day at all”

Did you ever wonder what day of the week your ancestors chose as their wedding day? A young pupil from Coolmoyne, Co. Tipperary, my newly discovered ancestral home, recited this old rhyme, as part of her contribution to the ‘Schools’ Collection’ of Irish Folklore.[1] So, I thought I’d see if it held true in practice. I hoped not as I got married on a Friday – not a very good omen, seemingly.

The Happy Couple	Wedding Day
Thomas Ratty and Mary Cullen	Tuesday, 29 June 1790
Patt Mahon and Jane Cavanagh	Sunday, 12 September 1819
Thomas Donovan and Catherine Flood	Tuesday, 20 November 1821
Peter Radcliffe and Anne Sarsfield	Sunday, 3 July 1825
Paul Doyle and Catherine O’Hara	Saturday, 23 August 1828
Andrew Byrne and Anne Clinch	Monday, 11 November 1833
Jeremiah Keogh and Jane Crosbie	Friday, 26 April 1833
Francis Byrne and Jane Daly	Sunday, 11 October 1846
John Wynne and Bridget Hynes	Sunday, 16 September 1849
Myles McGrane and Margaret Doyle	Sunday, 26 January 1851
John Donovan and Maryanne Coyle	Sunday, 9 February 1851
John Devine and Maryanne Keogh	Sunday, 18 September 1859
James Mahon and Margaret McDonnell	Sunday, 27 May 1866
John Byrne and Alicia Leahy	Sunday, 27 January 1867
Maurice Carroll and Anne Radcliffe	Sunday, 22 August 1869
Francis Byrne and Margaret McGrane	Sunday, 17 September 1871

Of the records available to me, three-quarters of my great-great-grandparents or their forefathers married on a Sunday. So, it's easy to conclude, in times past, in Ireland, Sunday was the wedding day most favoured by the betrothed. Yet, it is not even mentioned in the old rhyme.

Tying the knot – a pagan Irish wedding tradition

Sunday’s popularity as a wedding day is not surprising - it was probably the only day of the week the couple and their guests had free from work and could enjoy the celebrations.

What day of the week did your ancestors decide to tie the knot? 

[1] Kathleen Mackay, ‘Marriage Customs’, Coolmoyne, Co. Tipperary, p. 61, Schools’ Collection, Dúchas.ie.  

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© Black Raven Genealogy

Genealogy brickwall busting with Catholic parish registers

Last July, the National Library published copy images of Catholic parish registers from all across Ireland. More recently, commercial genealogy companies built an index to these registers, thus allowing the whole country, or at least all the parishes in the collection, to be searched at once.  So, if you know your ancestors’ names, even if you don’t know where exactly they came from, you might still be able to find them.

That was my plan this week anyway.

I already ‘knew’ quite a bit about Maurice Carroll, my great-great-grandfather. I traced his life in Dublin from 1857, when his first son was baptised, until 1906 when he died. He said he was born in Co. Tipperary about 1838, though I've never been able to 'prove' this.[1] 

I did know the family’s association with Tipperary was strong. Maurice’s son Robert, born to his first wife Mary Anne Frazer, also claimed Tipperary as his birthplace.[2] Yet, he was baptised in Donabate, Co. Dublin and likely born nearby at Balheary, where Maurice worked as a coachman.[3]  Mary Anne’s parents lived in Clonmel, the largest town in Tipperary, so it’s feasible Maurice originated somewhere near there.

  

At some stage, presumably after Maurice Carroll’s formative years, his parents moved to Co. Limerick. They lived there in 1859 when Maurice married Maryanne Frazer. At the time of his marriage, Maurice named his parents as David Carroll and Catherine Cummins, but they have remained elusive. Limerick was a big place.[4]

Excerpt, Marriage of Maurice Carroll & Mary Anne Frazer, 1859, St Nicholas

Sadly, there is still no sign of Maurice's baptism in the newly indexed Catholic parish registers, so I had to keep digging.

Mary Anne died young and Maurice married my great-great-grandmother, Anne Radcliffe, on 22 August 1869. This marriage helpfully narrowed down his parent’s address to Castleconnell, Co. Limerick.[5]

Excerpt, Marriage of Maurice Carroll & Anne Radclife, 1869, Swords Parish

In February 1852, a taxation survey found five men named David Carroll in Co. Limerick. Two of these were in Castleconnell. What are the chances? One leased a fairly sizable ‘house, office and garden’ on Castle Street and sublet four adjacent properties to tenants. Another, or perhaps the same man, leased over seven acres of land nearby. Our David Carroll was a carpenter and probably not quite so ‘well-to-do.’ Plus, a carpenter would hardly have needed so much land. Still, they were worthy of further investigation.[6]

Castleconnell Castle, Co. Limerick, 1833.

Tithe (taxation) records dating to the 1820s and 1830s show David Carroll had property in Castleconnell village, as well as in the wider townland, as far back as then. So, the man, or men, I’ve found in Castleconnell probably lived there before Maurice Carroll was even born and likely earlier than our family arrived in the area.[7]

Yet another doubt crept in when an 1846 trade directory, covering the town of Castleconnell, revealed the David Carroll in Castle Street was a baker. The daily car to Limerick picked up passengers outside his shop each morning at nine, and returned there each evening at six. My third great-grandfather was not a baker. He worked as a carpenter, supposedly.[8]

And, I ruled out the second candidate too. According to the town's Protestant church registers, a lady named Mary Carroll married Stephen Hall, in 1852. Her father was David Carroll of Castleconnell. Theirs was presumably a mixed marriage as they baptised their first son in the Roman Catholic faith. However, her father turned out to have been a farmer, and maybe the man leasing the seven acres.[9]

So, it seems our David Carroll arrived in Castleconnell after 1852 and did not appear in the Limerick taxation survey.

I'm not finished yet though. Thanks to the newly released index of Catholic parish records, I may have just found our man, and in Co. Tipperary too. Seeking all Carroll baptisms, with Catherine Cummins as the named mother, two entries caught my attention. On 21 November 1841, Mary Carroll from the townland of Coolmoyne was christened in Fethard parish, in South Tipperary. Mary’s parents, David Carroll and Cath Cummins, shared the same names as my third great-grandparents. Mary had a little brother named David, baptised in Fethard, five years later. 

Chances are this was my family. Maurice is still AWOL, but I’m off to see what else I can find out.[10]

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[1] Census of Ireland, 1901, Maurice Carroll, Mountjoy, Dublin, National Archives.

[2] Census of Ireland, 1901, Robert Carroll, Royal Exchange, Dublin, same.
[3] Robert Carroll, baptism, 1860, Swords parish register, National Library.

[4] Carroll-Frazer marriage, 1859, St Nicholas parish register, IrishGenealogy.ie.

[5] Carroll-Radcliffe marriage, 1869, Swords parish register, National Library.

[6] David Carroll, Limerick, Griffith's Valuation, Ask about Ireland.

[7] David Carroll, Limerick, Tithe Applotment Books, National Archives.

[8] David Carroll, Munster, Slater's Commercial Directory of Ireland, 1846, Failte Romhat.

[9] Hall-Carroll marriage, 1852, Stradbally parish register, RootsIreland.ie (subscription site); Copy marriage register, General Register Office.

[10] Ireland Roman Catholic Parish Baptisms, Fethard parish, FindMyPast, courtesy of the National Library. 

Image credits: Except from marriage registers courtesy of the National Library of Ireland; Castleconnell Castle, The Irish Penny Magazine, no. 24, v. 1, 15 June 1833, p. 1, JSTOR.

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© Black Raven Genealogy

Sepia Saturday: Hats off to James Carroll

Sepia Saturday prompts bloggers to share their family history through old photographs. 

Their suggestion this week shows a British Grenadier Guard kissing a woman during a visit to Sydney in 1934, but the Guard’s towering bearskin cap hides most of the action. Indeed, hats of all kinds feature most prominently in this picture - nearly everyone is wearing one.

So today, as part of our family history, I thought I'd tell the story of James Carroll and share with you some of his photos. They feature a variety of great hats. James Carroll was Teresa (Carroll) Wynne’s older brother. Actually, he was her half-brother, the son of Maurice Carroll and his first wife, Mary Anne Frazer. That makes him my half-great-granduncle.  

James Carroll was born in Balheary, in Swords, Co. Dublin, 150 years ago, on 4 November 1865. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was only two years old, but, by the time he was four, his father had remarried. Anne Radcliffe was twenty years of age when she married Maurice and became mother to his surviving children. Although, five children have been identified in baptism records – David, Robert, Catherine, Thomas and James – some may have died prior to Maurice and Anne’s marriage. James probably had no memories of Mary Anne for he named Anne Radcliffe as his mother later in life.

Three days after his twenty-first birthday, James married Anne Molyneux in the Pro-Cathedral in Dublin. His bride was originally from Ballymore Eustace in Co. Kildare. The young couple had three boys born in Dublin city, Maurice in 1887, William in 1889 and James in 1891. Sadly, William died.  

James and Anne (Molyneux) Carroll in later life

About 1901, the family migrated to Newcastle upon Tyne, in England. During the census that year, James, Anne and their son James were living in a lodging house in Elswick, seemingly having just arrived in the town. James had found work as a general labourer. Their eldest son Maurice was temporarily left behind with friends in Ireland.

James Carroll in his fire officer’s uniform 

By 1911, James was well established  in Newcastle, where he worked for Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., Ltd, then the largest manufacturing company in Britain.  James was a fireman in their fire department. Both his sons also worked for the company, Maurice as a ship joiner and young James as an apprentice electrician in their gun department.

The Armstrong Whitworth fire-engine

After James retired, he moved out of Newcastle with his wife Anne and they spent some years living in the Northumbrian countryside, first in a place called Twice Brewed and later at Tow House, near Bardon Mill. During the war years they moved back to Newcastle to live with their son James, who was known as Jimmy. James died on 22 December 1943. His wife did not survive him by very long and within six months, on 18 June 1944, she too passed away.

Anne (Molyneux) Carroll in later life

To see what stories other Sepians have under their hats this week, head over to Sepia Saturday.

Sources: Copy birth, marriage and death registers, General Register Officer; Church records on RootsIreland.ie and IrishGenealogy.ie; 1901 and 1911 Census of England and Wales, accessed on Ancestry; information after 1911 and Carroll family photographs received, with much appreciation, from the great-grandchildren of James Carroll in Newcastle. Thank you Rosalie, Brian and Rosemary. 

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© Black Raven Genealogy

The way they were

One night this week ‘Storm Jake’ battered Ireland, bringing with it gale force winds and freezing temperatures. But with all the comforts of modern living – central heating, double glazing, a warm duvet, and even an electric blanket – it didn’t cost me a moment’s sleep. My nineteenth-century ancestors would not have been so lucky.

Andrew and Anne (Clinch) Byrne, my third great-grandparents, had two boys christened with the name Gareth, two christened Andrew and two girls christened Anne.  Such repeating names are testament to a high rate of infant mortality, more than likely caused by the wretched conditions in which they lived. 

Even, compared to my forefathers in Malahide, it seems those in Co. Kildare were poor. The little cottage where the Byrne family once lived, seen last week on a mid-nineteenth century map in Athgarvan, Co. Kildare, was probably built with clay and thatched with straw. Such dwellings survived in large numbers in this village until the very end of that century and well into the twentieth.[1]

Interior of a mud cabin at Kildare, c. 1870

A government inquiry conducted in the early 1830s makes for sobering reading. Labourers’ cottages in Leinster often had only two rooms, a kitchen and a bedroom, though the poorest only had one. The cottage floor usually comprised the unprepared soil on which the dwelling stood and the roof was often thatched so poorly it leaked in heavy rain.  The tiny windows were rarely glazed, being boarded-up in winter with straw or maybe a piece of old bagging. These homes were dark and gloomy.[2]

One redeeming feature might have been the fireplace, used for heating and cooking. Kildare boasts a large area of bog, so turf fuel was probably readily available. You can imagine the little cottage being cosy on a good night, when the neighbours gathered for the music and the craic… but in winter?  How did they endure the cold, and the damp and the drafts?

And, it’s not as if they had comfortable furniture and bedding.  There were probably a few stools, a rough table and possibly a dresser. Often, there was only one bed, shared by the parents and all their younger children. As the children reached about eight or nine years old, they typically moved to separate beds of straw on the floor, one bed for the boys and one for the girls. In poorer cottages there was no bedstead at all and everyone slept on the floor.  Can you imagine?  It’s hard to believe. This is how ‘our’ ancestors lived. It probably wasn’t even fit for my ponies.

Blankets were also scarce, seemingly. Many were comprised of a patchwork quilt of old coats or other coarse unwanted materials, stitched together. In some cases, the only blanket was the man’s ‘great-coat’ and the whole family huddled beneath it for warmth at night. On a wet day, you can imagine the kids thinking, ‘Dad, get in out of the rain’ as they contemplated another long damp night shivering in the dark.[3]

William Henry Carter, Esq, a gentleman from Kilcullen, just two miles from Athgarvan, described living conditions in his area in the early 1830s as: 

‘Generally miserable: mud houses, thatched with straw; badly furnished. Bedsteads not general; bedding would be wretched were it not for the blankets given from ladies’ associations, and private charity’.[4]   

I find myself seeking evidence that ‘my’ ancestors had a better life than this, but it’s doubtful. A taxation survey in 1853 placed a rateable valuation of only fifteen shillings a year on Andrew Byrne’s house and potato garden. There were worse hovels houses than this in the area, but only just.[5]

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[1] House and Building Return (Form B), Blackrath and Athgarvan, Co. Kildare, 1901 Census, National Archives of Ireland.

[2] Poor Inquiry (Ireland), Appendix E, First Report of the Commissioners, 1836, pp 42-43, accessed Google Books.

[3] Same, pp 71-73.

[4] Same, Supplement to Appendix E, p. 60.

[5] Griffith’s Valuation, 1853, Blackrath and Athgarvan, Greatconnell, Co. Kildare, accessed Ask About Ireland.

Image credit: Print collection of Maggie Land Blanck, citing the Illustrated London News, 9 April 1870. 

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(c) Black Raven Genealogy

Escape to the Country

I’m from Dublin, and even though I now live in ‘lilywhite’ Kildare, I consider myself a ‘true blue’ Dub. As far back as I’ve managed to trace, all my direct ancestors lived in Dublin, either the city or the county. It’s not that they didn’t like to travel. Many of them did. They headed to the four corners of the globe, but they always left us, their descendants, behind in Dublin.

Oh, some of them hinted at being from ‘down the country’, as we say. On Mam’s side, the Hynes family have reported connections to Co. Limerick and the Carrolls to Co. Tipperary. Dad’s great-grandmother, Elizabeth Mahon’s mother, was said to have been born in Co. Meath. And, my DNA matches show a distinct bias towards Co. Clare. But, it’s not been possible to find any actual documentary proof of anyone, anywhere, prior to their arrival in Dublin.

Until now, that is.

When my Dad’s great-grandfather John Byrne married his first wife, Mary Markey, in Dublin city, in 1860, his parents were named as Andrew Byrne and Anne Clinch, from Newbridge. Then, when he married my second great-grandmother, Alicia Leahy, in 1867, his parent’s address was further defined as Athgarvan, in Kildare.[1]

Athgarvan today is a small village on the River Liffey, about two miles from the town of Newbridge, and coincidently not five miles from where I now live.  In the nineteenth century, it was a tiny settlement near an extensive flour mill. It’s hard to imagine why anyone would live there, unless employed at the mill, and Andrew Byrne was said to have been a gardiner [sic].[2]

But, Athgarvan is exactly where I found them. John Byrne was baptised in the Catholic parish of Newbridge, in the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, on 14 February 1841. His parents were Andrew (Andy) Byrne and Anne Clinch/Clynch from Athgarvan. They married, not far away in the parish of Suncroft, on 11 November 1833. The Newbridge parish register confirms the family made Athgarvan their home.[3]

Children’s baptisms                        Baptism Sponsors [4]

Garrett, Sep 1834, Athgarvan            Michael Burne and Anne Burne

Garreth, Jun 1835, Athgarvan            Michael Burne and Ann Burne

Thomas, Aug 1838, Athgarvan            Edward Clynch and Mary Byrne

John, Feb 1841, Athgarvan                 Laurence Byrne and Anne Salmon

Andrew, Nov 1843 , Athgarvan           John Clynch and Mary Clynch

Mary, Oct 1846, Athgarvan                 Charles Neile and Julia Bernes

Anne, Oct 1846, Athgarvan                 James Darcy and Ann Byrne

Edward, Nov 1850, Athgarvan            Thomas Bernes and Ellen Kealy

Anne, May 1853, Athgarvan                James Byrne and Rose Darcy

Andrew, Mar 1855 , Athgarvan           David Bruce and Bridget Kelly

In September 1853, when Griffith published his property tax survey for the area, Andrew Byrne was found living at Athgarvan Cross. He leased a house and a small garden at 2e on the map below.

Excerpt Griffith’s Valuation, Athgarvan, Co. Kildare, 1853

It’s quite likely this Andrew Byrne was my third great-grandfather. Many of his neighbours sharing the eight little cottages at plot 2 on the map were present at his children’s baptisms: Laurence Byrne of 2g was John’s Godfather; Charles Neill of 2h was Mary’s and the Darcy family lived at 2d. Patrick Clynch, also likely a relative of Andrew’s wife, lived at 2a.[5]

So finally, I’ve found my roots outside of Dublin. Maybe that’s why the Kildare countryside always felt so much like ‘home’.

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[1] Church records on Irishgenealogy.ie. 

[2] Copy Marriage Register, Byrne-Leahy, 1867, General Register Office.

[3] Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, Newbridge, Baptisms, Jan 1834 – Oct 1846, p. 76; Suncroft, Marriages, May 1805 – Aug 1881, p. p. 81. 

[4] Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI, Newbridge, Baptisms, various.

[5] Griffith’s Valuation, 1853, Blackrath and Athgarvan, Greatconnell, Co. Kildare.

Image Credit: Griffith’s Valuation, Athgarvan, Ask about Ireland.

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© Black Raven Genealogy

Update: See here for 'further reflections' on where Andrew Byrne was really living in 1853.

All about John Byrne

Carrickbrennan Graveyard, Monkstown, c.1835.

Sometimes, when seeking out our elusive ancestors, all that remains of them are documents recording their births, marriages and deaths.  Don’t get me wrong, I count myself VERY lucky to locate these vital records. But, once I have them, usually I want more. I want to know an ancestor’s true character. I want to know their life-story.

Yet, as we go further back in time, memories of past lives fade into oblivion. After a century or more has passed, there’s often no other option but to read between the lines of these fragmented BMD documents, to get a sense of the person they once were. And, that’s how it was with my paternal second great-grandfather, John Byrne. Nothing at all was remembered about him.

So, I set about piecing together an account of his life:-

He was barely eighteen years old when he left behind the tiny village of Athgarvan, Co. Kildare, where he had spent his childhood.  This was in the immediate aftermath of the Great Famine. Perhaps John was too poor to afford the boat fare to America, because, like so many of his poorer countrymen, he moved to Dublin city instead.  There, he lived at 29 Upper Mercer Street with his friend John Darcy, and presumably he found work as a domestic servant.

Once in Dublin, he met a girl named Mary Markey. Mary also lived in the city, away from her parents. Perhaps she too was a domestic servant and met up with John at work. It wasn’t long before the young couple found themselves in a spot of trouble.

Unmarried, on 10 December 1859, Mary Markey had a baby daughter who she christened Mary. John Byrne was named as the father. His friend, John Darcy and Catherine Byrne, maybe his sister, were the child’s Godparents. Can you imagine how difficult this time must have been for them? 

The young parents were probably barely able to support themselves, let alone raise a family. They waited until after the child was born alive and healthy before they agreed to get married. Or, maybe that decision was made for them by someone else.  Either way, the following month, on 8 January 1860, John Byrne and Mary Markey wed in the Church of St Nicholas, Dublin. Their witnesses were John Darcy and Catherine Byrne.

And that was the last record so far found relating to Mary (Markey) Byrne and her daughter. Seven years later, on 27 January 1867, John married my second great-grandmother, Alicia Leahy, in Dublin. Strangely, at the time of this marriage, John said he was a bachelor, i.e. not married previously. His friend John Darcy witnessed his second marriage too and 'overlooked' his claim.  Presumably, John’s first wife had died.

By 1867, John was a servant living at Yapton, in Monkstown, Co. Dublin. This must have been his employer's address. John still resided at Yapton later in 1867 and in also 1868, when he registered the births of his sons Michael and Thomas. The boys were born nearby at Mounttown, in Kingstown. Perhaps John lived with his employer and only saw his family on his time off.

Sadly, shortly after Thomas was born, tragedy struck again and John was widowed a second time. Alicia Byrne died at Mounttown, on 9 January 1869. She was only about twenty nine years of age. She suffered from heart disease and acute rheumatism for ‘some weeks’ before the illness finally took her life. John did not register her death and may not even have been present at her hour of passing.

What became of the boys?  It seems the family could not live with John when Alicia was alive. So, presumably, it was even less feasible after her death. My guess - this is how my great-grandfather ended up in Malahide, being raised by his aunt, Alicia’s sister, Mary (Leahy, Radcliffe) Power.

What became of Mary Byrne, John's eldest child, born to his first wife Mary Markey?  I wonder if she survived. Perhaps she was raised by her mother’s family too. Coincidentally, or maybe not, Mary Markey’s parents were from Malahide. My great-grandfather may even have known his half-sister growing up.

What became of John Byrne himself?  Well, maybe time (and a whole lot more research) will tell.

Source: Church records on IrishGenealogy.ie; Copy birth, marriage and death registers, General Register Office; The Dublin Penny Journal, 31 January 1835, JSTOR. 

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© Black Raven Genealogy

See more about John Byrne's first family here at His first family. 

See more about where John Byrne came from at: Escape to the country.