RootsChat.Com
Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Louth => Topic started by: Joney on Sunday 24 February 13 18:07 GMT (UK)
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Hi people,
I'm a recent recruit to Rootschat and could do with picking everyone's brains. Any suggestions gratefully received.
We have a family story re- my gt grandfather Batholomew McGuirk, sometimes abbreviated to Bartle.
We know he was born in Beltray and baptised in Termonfechin on 22nd April 1853. His parents were Thomas McGuirk and Mary Boylan. After his mother's death, he was unhappy at home and ran away. He stowed away on a ship in the harbour in Drogheda and having been found by the crew ended up in Liverpool. We don't have a definite date for this, but since his father remarried 26th July 1860, wonder if it was because he didn't get on with his stepmother.
He is supposed to have been taken in by the captain and his wife who had no children and lived in Canal Strret, Bootle. He eventually returned to Baltray and discovered he had been presumed dead as never found, but returned to Liverpool where he married.
Contact between the Baltray and Liverpool sides of the family continued into the 1920s and later.
My question is -would a missing child have been reported at the time in local papers? Which would be the most locally based newspapers at the time ? Drogheda presumably ? Are they available in the nearest records/archive centre ?
I started family history 30 years ago because my mother was full of stories and I wanted to see what I could actually prove. This has always been the one topic where no proof either way has been possible !
Good luck with your ancestor hunting, everyone.
Joney (Manx for Joan)
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Hi
The Drogheda Boro Council Library houses the 3 main newspapers of that era. The Drogheda Independent, Drogheda Advertiser and Drogheda Argus.
I would say that there is a good chance that an event like this would have been covered by the newspapers at the time.
The McGuirk and Boylan Families would be well known in the Baltray,Termonfeckin and Drogheda Area.
Regards
Terry
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The story may have been covered in the local paper at the time (although it might have depended if a more newsworthy story happened at the time) but it's unlikely to appear in an index of the paper (if there was such a project done)- usually births, deaths, marriages and perhaps majpr stories are indexed.
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Hi everyone,
Thank you for your replies.
The info about the papers being available in the Drogheda library is basically what I was after.
My next family history task is to persuade my husband that it would be a wonderful place to visit !
I know that searching newspapers is a time-consuming and frustrating task - but I will have to have a go.
I just wish I could narrow down the date !!!
Thanks again. If I ever get further with this one, I'll let you all know
Joney
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Hi Joney
I stumbled upon your post after searching for Thos McGuirk Baltray. I think he was my 5th grt grandfather and his son James was my 4th great grandfather (Bartholomew's brother).
I would love to hear your stories and learn more about my family.
Thanks in advance!
MaryBeth
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http://www.rootschat.com/links/01okt/
edited to add
http://census.nationalarchives.ie/search/cl/details.jsp?id=IRE/CREWLISTS/00390193
several other McGuirk's also on that database
http://www.irishmariners.ie/searchdatabase.php?srch_surname=McGuirk&submit=Search
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Thanks for the crew list links, dathai. I've accumulated quite a few of those now, including some for Batholomew from the Liverpool crew lists on Ancestry and it turns out I have two great grandfathers who were merchant seaman, the other one being Manx. The McGuirk men all have the same occupation as far back as it seems possible to go. When they get older they are sometimes pilots on the Boyne and eventually revert to being fisherman, which seems to be how they start out as boys.
Marybeth, you need to make at least three posts before I can send you a personal message and send you my email address. There are two Thomas McGuirks in the Griffiths Valuation for Baltray. Fortunately, the names of both Bartholomew's parents were passed down the family from Bartholmew's daughter, my grandmother, so I am sure which one is mine. How long have you been tracing your family ? I started in the 1970s, in exasperation at all the stories with no dates and the questions the stories didn't answer. I have come to realise that Bartle didn't run away in quite the way the family story suggests ! He spends a good bit of his career working on ships sailing between Drogheda and Liverpool and he's not the only man from Drogheda /Baltray doing this. I suspect now that the version of the tale we had is a lot less than accuarate.
I'm hoping you'll post again when you see this. I'm in the north-west of England - not a million miles from Liverpool. Whereabouts are you based ?
Best wishes,
Joney
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Hi Joney,
I have dabbled in my research for many years but only casually. Plus, I'm in the US.
I would love to hear more about your family.
Thanks,
MaryBeth
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Wishing you a happy new year!