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Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Donegal => Topic started by: annmck on Sunday 29 September 13 08:26 BST (UK)
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Hello RCs!
I need some fresh eyes to help with this puzzle, please
Bridget Devir/Diver (various spellings) was born/baptised 5th October 1878 in Magherablad, Donegal. Her birth was registered in Dunfanaghy. Her parents and grandparents on both sides were from Magherablad, Magheraroarty and Castle Doe.
Bridget’s parents were John Devir and Bridget O’Donnell. They emigrated to Australia within a short time after her birth, intending to send for her later. This didn’t eventuate as, within 8 years, Bridget snr and 4 of her 5 Australian born infants had died. A remaining son, John Patrick-my maternal grandfather-was raised by various extended Devir family members who had also migrated at various times. John snr seems to have vanished without trace by 1890.
On 27.2.1900 Bridget jnr married Alexander Strain jnr, (b 2.8.1878, also reg. in Dunfanaghy). His parents were Alexander Strain and Julia/Gilly/Cecilia Brogan who lived at or near Creeslough.
At the time of Bridget & “Alick”’s marriage, her address was recorded as Magherablad, his as Drumtully, though I’m not sure if this was a mis-transcription or if it refers to Drumtullagh in Antrim.
Their daughter Julia was born in Massiness on 7th April 1901 (reg. Dunfanaghy) & baptised 3rd Jun 1901. The family appear on the 1902 census at no. 7, Masiness. Alex is a general labourer.
Young Julia died in 1902. On the civil death record the address is given as Killyfad, but the district is Dunfanaghy & county is Donegal. Bridget is the informant.
Thereafter I can’t find a trace of Bridget or Alexander in any 1911 census, Irish or UK. Nor can I find a death or obvious immigration record for either of them. What am I missing?
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I see from the 1901 census that Alexander Strain was born in Donegal. I’d say that his townland is therefore likely to be in the same area as Bridget’s rather than in Co Antrim. (If he did live in a different parish, then that is often specified on the certificate. If it just says the townland name then usually it’s local).
Can’t see a Killyfad in the townland lists for Donegal. Could it be Derryfad, which is in the same parish as Masiness?
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For reference here's the 1901 census-
www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Donegal/Creeslough/Masiness/1172959
Here's Alexander's parents in 1911- wonder who the grand-daughter belongs to?
www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Donegal/Doe_Castle/Killoughcarran/483673
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This is a very,very long shot but, there is a potential death for Bridget 1911 in Glasgow.
Bridget Strain
Born: 1878
Other Name: Diver
Death Registered: Cathcart 1911
* Could not find a match with mother's maiden name of O'Donnell.
To cross check, I did search and could not identify a potential Scottish marriage for this woman.
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This is a very,very long shot but, there is a potential death for Bridget 1911 in Glasgow.
Bridget Strain
Born: 1878
Other Name: Diver
Death Registered: Cathcart 1911
* Could not find a match with mother's maiden name of O'Donnell.
To cross check, I did search and could not identify a potential Scottish marriage for this woman.
It would certainly be worth checking 1911 Scottish census for the family in general and this Bridget in particular (pay per view on Scotland's People site).
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Checking the 1911 census in Scotland.
There are 2 men called Ale* Strain of the correct age.
One lives in Kilwinning, Ayrshire and the other in Hutchesontown, Glasgow.
Referring back to the 1901 return, there were only 2 men with this name, one in Kilwinning and the other in Kinning Park.
I would guess that these are the same men at 1911,and neither are the Alexander Strain in the OP.
Edit:
I am planning to visit the Records Office at the Mitchell Library this coming Wednesday, I will look at the 1911 death cert for Bridget Strain for you
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Anne & Aghadowey, thank you both so much for the great work! I did as you suggested & checked the 1911 death entry on Scotlandspeople...this appears to be her!
Father John Diver, Mother "deceased", husband Alexander "a plasterer's labourer" and her age all match up. She died on 12th Oct. of a ruptured tubal pregnancy, anaemia & pneumonia. Poor Alexander was the informant.
Neither of them appear on the 1911 census. I don't know what month it was taken, though.
I wonder what happened to Alexander?
The other odd thing is that Bridget's father, John's, occupation is given on the DC as "police constable." Was there any truth in that, or was that something he'd embellished to impress his faraway daughter? One mystery leads to another...
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The date of the 1911 census was 2nd April.
Alexander & Bridget are in the 1911 census at 89 Camden St, Govan, Glasgow. He was a bricklayers labourer. They had had 5 children, 3 of whom were still alive.
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On the death cert, Bridget & Alexander's address is given as 147 Naburn St, Glasgow, so they evidently moved after the census date. I didn't manage to find an Alexander Strain, Elwyn, thank you indeed.. I'm impressed! ;D
I'll have another look, as I'm very curious about the children.
Nope, blessed if I can find them at Camden St in 1911....not using the SP site!!! How DID you find them, Elwyn???
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It appears that Bridget was buried at St Peters RC Cemetery, Dalbeth.
I will look at this on Wednesday, although it's more than likely that she was buried in common ground.
No record of Alexander being buried here between 1911 and 1955
If she was buried in a grave, the lair owner's name will be on the record.
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Nope, blessed if I can find them at Camden St in 1911....not using the SP site!!! How DID you find them, Elwyn???
The GROS reference is 1911 644/15 025/00 023. Alexander and Bridget are at the bottom of the page. Their children should be on the next page (which I have not looked at).
Send me a PM with your e-mail address and I can send you the first page.
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Thanks, again to everyone for your responses. As a consequence I’ve been VERY busy!
Elwyn: Your explanation of the employment situation in Donegal and its impetus for worker migration to Scotland was very helpful. A sizeable no. of Irish names appear in Lanarkshire records , but I didn’t think to try that path. Without your (much appreciated) help I’d still be struggling to find Alexander & Bridget and their 3 surviving children, Mary*, Alexander and Bridget, in 1911.
Happily, the census details made it much easier to find the birth and death records of their other son, James. (*I’m now wondering if Mary may well be Bridget’s or Alex’s grandmother’s name, neither of which I’ve found mention of on their respective parent’s marriage records though James is recorded as the name of each of their maternal grandfathers).
Sadly, war records detail Alexander Strain’s death on 28th August 1915 at Gallipoli...“son of Alex. and Julia Brogan Strain, husband of the late Bridget Diver Strain”.
Daughter Bridget was 7, her brother Alexander, 9, and sister, Mary, 11, when he died. I’m now looking forward to discovering who looked after them after their father’s death.
I came across a 1999 post on another site’s forum about a “Bridgett (sic) Strain, born 1908 in Donegal. Her father was Alexander Strain, and died in WW1...she went to Scotland.....”
This turned out to be a great lead. Cross checking showed that this woman was young Bridget (actually born not in Donegal, but in Mathieson St, Glasgow at 6.30am (!) on the 18th March, 1908.) She did emigrate to the US, married Irishman Thomas Sheehan and had a large family in the Bronx.
Anne: I found Bridget’s burial record at St Peter’s. She was buried in common ground, as you suspected.
Regarding John Devir...I found a reference to a John Devir’s 1889 appointment as a constable in the NSW Police Gazette. If police employment records for that period are extant I’ll be checking them’ He was a mystery man to his Australian descendants...
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Sadly, war records detail Alexander Strain’s death on 28th August 1915 at Gallipoli...“son of Alex. and Julia Brogan Strain, husband of the late Bridget Diver Strain”.
Daughter Bridget was 7, her brother Alexander, 9, and sister, Mary, 11, when he died. I’m now looking forward to discovering who looked after them after their father’s death.
Their father would have struggled to look after the children from the time of Bridget’s death in 1911 onwards, because he could not work and look after them simultaneously. And if he had joined up in 1914, then he wouldn’t have been around then either. Unless Alexander had other close family in Glasgow, I suspect they were packed off to one or other of the grandparents, soon after Bridget’s death, rather than after Alexander’s own death.
If you can find Bridget’s passenger records, when she emigrated to the US, you could look to see whether she gave an address in Ireland or Scotland. That might be a clue as to where she had been living. And the place she sailed from might help (though many of the ships from Glasgow called at Derry on the way to the US, so you can’t always draw any conclusions as it’s not always clear where a passenger joined).
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Bridget Strain married 17 Feb.1931 in Manhattan, N.Y. to Thomas Sheehan.
http://www.italiangen.org/records-search/brides.php
1930 Census- Manhattan, N.Y.- Bridget Strain, servant, single, 20, born Ireland, to US 1928.
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/X4KP-JPS
2 Mar.1928 "Cameronia" arrived N.Y, from Londonderry, Northern Ireland: Bridget Strain, 19, born Glasgow Scotland, domestic, last residence Cresslough Co. Donegal, brother Mr Alex Strain Cresslough Co. Donegal, uncle Mr. James Strain 229 East 69th St. N.Y., 5' tall. fresh complexion. black hair, grey eyes.
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Brilliant information, Aghadowey & Elwyn. That was quick!
Yes, apart from the paternal grandparents, extended family of both parents were in Creeslough and surrounding townlands.
I'm struck by the parallels between the 2 generations. Bridget O'Donnell Devir, having parted from her child and native country to make a better life, dies at 27 following dreadful postnatal complications, with only 2 of her 6 children surviving infancy. Her husband vanishes within 4 years.
Her only daughter, Bridget Devir Strain, leaves her birthplace, and a dead daughter, for similar reasons, loses another infant, dies a similar death, and her husband is dead 4 years later.
I'm glad the youngest Bridget broke the pattern! She and my grandfather, her mother's only remaining sibling, both had very large families. Lovely to have a description of her. Her cousins (2 of them are still living!) were all, er, on the petite side, too.
But her grandmother Bridget, and quite a few of her descendants had/have red, red, red hair!
So much to be going on with, much more than expected. Thanks again :D
Out at State Archives today, chasing details on John Devir/Diver's possible police career, and it seems he was appointed a constable, about 4 months after arriving in Australia, but was discharged (as opposed to dismissed) after 3 months. There was a good description of him. He then became a railway porter, country town then Sydney, and continued in that occupation until he disappeared from the records in about 1889. Legend has it he went to the goldfields, possibly Western Australia...
Cheers, Ann
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Hello
Alexander and Bridget Diver Strain are my great great grandparents. Can we chat?
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Oh my goodness!
Hello Liniagel!
We certainly can chat...if you make two more posts, eg, by replying to this thread twice more, you'll qualify to use the private reply system, if that's your preference, or we can continue this thread.
Sorry I was late to reply, but very pleased to hear from you ;D
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here i am! Holly, cousin to Megan, and actually, you have had correspondence to my sister Leslie in the past. I am going to post again for the free postablitiy! ;D
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Regarding Alexander Strain's residence as per his 1900 marriage to Bridget Diver.
'Drumtully' would be Duntally in Ummerafad, a neighbouring townland to Magherablad.
Regarding their daughter Julia's death place in 1902.
'Killyfad' would be Kilfad, a settlement in Grogagh townland near Creeslough.
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http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~donegal
then come down the page and click on Clondahorkey
devir/Diver, Strain listed under this, this site might be able to help you.