Reconstructing Families from the Records by Michael F
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Reconstructing Families From the Records By Michael F. McGraw, Ph.D. [email protected] January 20, 2019 Introduction In this document the available records were used to reconstruct McGrath and Long families in the Thurles and Cashel Poor Law Unions. The goal was to go beyond just parents and children and push as far back as possible to construct multi-generational families. The records involved in this reconstruction activity are the parish records from the NLI site, the civil records from the Irish Genealogy site, Griffith’s Valuation, and the 1901 and 1911 census records on the Irish National Archives site. The civil marriage records are very useful in this family reconstruction exercise since they contain the fathers’ names of the couple being married. This provides a linkage back to the previous generation. In addition there seems to be a strong adherence to the Irish naming tradition during this time period, at least as far as the 1st and 2nd sons and daughters. In most cases this tradition gives the names of the children’s paternal and maternal grandparents, if there are enough children. Another necessary element in this reconstruction is geography in the form of the family residences which many times are found in the various records. This piece of information can be challenging, beginning with the sometimes appalling spelling and penmanship found in the hand written records. The IreAtlas Townland Database (http://www.thecore.com/seanruad/) is very useful in comparing the handwritten townland name with the various townlands in the database. The site allows searching that isn’t limited to only an exact match. It allows searches with only a portion of the name located at various positions within the townland name. Once a correct spelling of the residence, usually a townland, has been found then the Townland web site can be used to find a map of the townland location (https://www.townlands.ie ) which also shows the townland’s boundaries. Gravestone inscriptions and old family genealogies can be very helpful but these are more difficult to obtain and require a good deal of luck. In preparation for this reconstruction exercise two separate transcription projects were conducted to build up families from the parish registers (baptism records) and separately from Reconstructing Families From the - 1 - Copyright © 2019 Michael F. McGraw, Ph.D. Records 01-20-19 the civil birth registration records. These family groupings were sometimes complimented with marriage and death records. The results of these transcription projects furnished individual family trees which were the raw material that fed this larger family reconstruction process. The assembly of families from the baptism and birth records is governed primarily by the names of the parents but it is also guided by the family residence and gaps between the children’s birth dates. The automatic construction of family trees and tables from the parish baptism records is a strictly parish by parish process. A certain amount of ambiguity is contained in this family assembly process in that parents of identical names, residing in the same townland, cannot be easily distinguished from one another. An additional source of ambiguity in working with the baptism records arises when a family moves from one townland or parish to another. It is only when the individual families are connected together that some of these ambiguities can be discovered and resolved. The vehicles used for assembling and organizing the family records are a combination of family trees and pedigree charts which allow a concentration of the information. The pedigree charts are used to extend the family back in time and display a reduced amount of information (years of births/baptisms, deaths and marriages). This minimizes the space required to represent an individual couple so that more generations and families can be accommodated in a structure that will fit on a single page. This format was chosen because it allows a concentration of the information, which improves the ability to spot inconsistencies and increases the probability of finding new family connections. This reconstruction process has an intuitive element which is guided by the minimization of inconsistencies among the various records. However, the results are not always perfect and more research is needed to ensure the accuracy of the proposed family connections. It is hoped that this minimization approach will lead to the most accurate reconstruction of these families possible, based on the currently available information. These structures also provide a useful summary of the best estimates of the ancestral names and serve as guides for future research. The diagram following the table of contents shows how the original records were first combined into two sets of family records (church and civil) and were then used in the creation of this paper. These family record documents are available on the mcgrathsearch.com web site: Reconstructing Families From the - 2 - Copyright © 2019 Michael F. McGraw, Ph.D. Records 01-20-19 http://mcgrathsearch.com/FamiliesInIreland/FamiliesInIreland.htm#Introduction Several papers that had already been started benefitted from the multi-generation family connections developed in this paper. These papers are listed on the right hand side of the diagram. Any of the families in this document which can be connected to the McGrath and Long families in the Moyaliff-Holycross area will be integrated into the larger document currently under development: “Reaching Across The Penal Times.” Reconstructing Families From the - 3 - Copyright © 2019 Michael F. McGraw, Ph.D. Records 01-20-19 Table of Contents Reconstructing Families From the Records ............................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 1 Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ 4 Record Flow Diagram ................................................................................................................. 9 The “Pre-Birth Baptisms” ......................................................................................................... 10 The McGraths of Thurles ........................................................................................................... 11 ★ Dennis McGrath and Bridget Ryan - Thurles ...................................................................... 11 Church Records - Thurles RC ............................................................................................... 11 Civil Records - Dennis McGrath - Bridget Ryan - Thurles .................................................. 12 Church Baptism Records - Thurles ....................................................................................... 12 Civil Records - Patrick Shea - Winifred McGrath - Moyneard ............................................ 13 Census Records ..................................................................................................................... 14 The McGraths of Pallashill, Inch .............................................................................................. 15 ✽Michael McGrath Pedigree✽ ............................................................................................... 15 ★ Michael McGrath - Mary Fanning - Pallashill ..................................................................... 16 Church Records - Drom and Inch RC ................................................................................... 16 Civil Records - Michael McGrath - Mary Fanning - Pallashill ............................................ 16 Church Records - Michael McGrath - Mary Fanning - Pallashill ........................................ 18 Census Records ..................................................................................................................... 18 Michael McGrath - Bridget Ryan - Pallashill ........................................................................... 21 Civil Records - Michael McGrath - Bridget Ryan - Pallashill .............................................. 21 Census Records ..................................................................................................................... 22 ✽Thomas Ryan and Ellen McGrath Pedigree ✽ .................................................................... 23 Civil Records - Thomas Ryan - Ellen McGrath - Coolbawn ................................................ 24 Census Records ..................................................................................................................... 24 ★ William Ryan and Catherine Long ...................................................................................... 25 Church Records - Ballycahill and Holycross RC.................................................................. 25 ★ Catherine Long’s Parents? ............................................................................................... 26 ✽Matthew McGrath and Johanna McGrath Pedigree✽ ......................................................... 27 Civil Records - Mathew McGrath - Johanna McGrath - Pallashill ...................................... 27 ★ Matthew McGrath - Margaret Costello - Pallashill ............................................................. 28 Civil Records - Matthew McGrath - Margaret Costello - Pallashill ....................................