RootsChat.Com
Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Galway => Topic started by: Lianemarie on Saturday 07 June 25 20:18 BST (UK)
-
I have a marriage record that says Mary was married to John Melville on 30 Apr 1844 in Kiltullagh. I'm looking for her birth information, hoping to identify her parents.
-
Marriages were normally performed in the home parish of the bride, indicating that Mary was from there or at least resided in Kiltullagh (Attymon). But baptisms for that parish don't start until June 1844, so you won't find a baptism for her if she was indeed from there.
-
Here is the parish record.
The witnesses look to be Peter Maney and Mary - possibly the same surname.
https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000631946?locale=en#page/33/mode/1up
-
Here is the parish record.
The witnesses look to be Peter Maney and Mary - possibly the same surname.
https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000631946?locale=en#page/33/mode/1up
Parish record of the 1844 marriage.
-
OP You don't mention how you link back to this couple - what records where point to them?
Also, you did not mention the groom, so presumably you have his possible 1812 baptism?
-
The couple appear to have had a daughter in Galway City in 1846 - is this already known?
-
Liane again,
The marriage record I have is from the Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915. She married John Melville on 30 April 1844 in Kiltullagh, Ireland.
-
Liane again,
The marriage record I have is from the Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915. She married John Melville on 30 April 1844 in Kiltullagh, Ireland.
You already told us that, and a link to the marriage in question has been posted. The question was, what led you back to them? What links you to them?
-
I already mentioned, in the thread started by OP in the Kildare section, that it is unlikely that John Melville was from there - too far, how would they have met?
Instead, there is a candidate for him in an adjacent/next-door parish to Kiltullagh - Loughrea.
According to RootsIreland, John "Mullavil" was baptized there in 1812.
Of course, we can only "look under the lampposts". If John was actually from Kiltullagh then there will be no record.
-
I see three children born to the this couple in the Kiltullagh parish registers.
- Michael, born 9/10/1844, bapt. 25/10/1844, address Brusk
- John, born 16/4/1846, bapt. 20/4/1846, address Brusk
- Margaret, born 4/7/1849, bapt. 7/7/1849, address Cureagh
Note that some of these dates differ from those given by Ancestry, which are incorrect.
These dates also indicate that the birth in Galway City in 1846 must have been to a different couple, though similarly named
-
The addresses given in the parish register can be identified.
Brusk is Brusk townland
https://www.townlands.ie/galway/athenry/kiltullagh/kiltullagh/brusk/ (https://www.townlands.ie/galway/athenry/kiltullagh/kiltullagh/brusk/)
Cureagh is one or other of Curragh Beg or Curragh More
https://www.townlands.ie/galway/athenry/kiltullagh/kiltullagh/curragh-beg/ (https://www.townlands.ie/galway/athenry/kiltullagh/kiltullagh/curragh-beg/)
https://www.townlands.ie/galway/athenry/kiltullagh/kiltullagh/curragh-more/ (https://www.townlands.ie/galway/athenry/kiltullagh/kiltullagh/curragh-more/)
These three townands are adjacent, slightly to the south-east of Athenry, and to the north-west of Loughrea.
-
The names of none of the three children match with the names of the parents of the John "Mullavil" born in Loughrea in 1812. Indicating that he is probably not the same person.
-
Thank you for research on all our Melvins, who came from Ireland and immigrated to the US. Having access to Catholic Parish records is really clarifying facts. I started my John MELVIN Family Tree on Ancestry based on family records and then US sources. Several years ago I upgraded my membership to the international subscription and began getting additional information...
Since then we did find Ancestry was wrong about daughter Margaret Mary... Not born in New York City, found by my helper in the same Parish records you found.
You're also helping me with John Melvin and have posted questions for me. Would it be helpful to send you an invite to my tree in ancestry? Then you can see all my sources.
What you have also clarified son John's birthday and another first born son. Please check to see if you have dealth records for Michael. He never immigrated to the US with the family.
-
I've made our tree "public" so you can see all the information, including Family Search references.
-
OP has asked some questions here and also in a separate thread in the Kildare sub-forum. As I think it is clear that John Melville did not come from Kildare, I will post all responses here.
As regards the family tradition that the family was originally from Scotland - that could of course be true. But this tradition may have come from reference material on the family name, which would have said this. [Which did not need the internet - there were always books/articles].
A second, and in my opinion more likely, origin is that it is an Anglicization of an Irish surname. Our beloved English overlords essentially forced people to adopt Anglicizations of their original names. This was my guess, and looking at Wikiipedia, I see that they support this idea of a dual Scottish and Irish origin for the surname Melville.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melville_(name) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melville_(name))
-
I looked at the Ancestry family tree, and noticed that it includes names such as Joannis.
The Christian names in the parish register are in Latin. This did not mean that Joannis Melville was ever known as such. He was John. Similarly Margareta was never known as such, she was Margaret, etc.
(Lots of people seem to make this mistake).
-
One issue that many (most ?) of us run into with older records is that of non-standard spelling and spelling variations. Depending on who recorded the names, spelling could vary enormously, and one has to be open to that. In the case of the mother in this family, her name appears to be particularly challenging.
Her Christian name seems to appear as Mary three times, but as Margaret once in the Irish records. How about in the US? I would tend to dismiss Margaret as a typo if there are no other examples.
Her surname is more difficult. Even though I think it is the same priest writing the entries, the spelling seems to vary between Money and Maney. To me these are distinct surnames, and I can't tell which is the "correct" one. Again, can records in the US help to distinguish?
-
To summarise:
It is unlikely that OP is going to find parents for John and Mary in Irish records, as the Kiltullagh parish registers for baptisms only start in 1844. There might be baptisms with the correct children's names in other parishes - such as the one in Loughrea in 1812 that I found - but how can one tell? [Parent's names did not fit for that John Mulvill].
Actual progress made consists of:
- The identification of a third child,
- The FamilySearch listing saying that John was born in Connaught Bridge, Co. Kildare can be discounted, and
- Specific locations have been identified for where the family lived.
-
What you have also clarified son John's birthday and another first born son. Please check to see if you have death records for Michael. He never immigrated to the US with the family.
I don't believe there are any relevant death records. The parish did keep a death register, but that ended in 1841, before the time of interest, while civil registration did not start until 1864.
As regards US immigration records - have you noticed that the record you have for John is before the birth of Margaret in Ireland in 1849? Now it is perfectly possible that he went to the US first, on how own, and brought the rest of the family over later - but if so, is there an immigration record for the wife and children? Or is it possible it is the wrong John Melville?
-
Isn't the Margaret Money with the family in the US 1860 census probably Mary's mother?
-
Possibility for John in the US 1850 Census, in Virginia as John Mulvihill
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/8054/records/14966989?tid=&pid=&queryId=d17eb36b-8f2f-4c2c-b528-51a77177bbae&_phsrc=zzp114&_phstart=successSource (https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/8054/records/14966989?tid=&pid=&queryId=d17eb36b-8f2f-4c2c-b528-51a77177bbae&_phsrc=zzp114&_phstart=successSource)
Note that I am not saying that this is OP's John, just that with spelling variations and distortions, this chap is a possibility.
-
Soooooo helpful! When I found the names Joannis/Joannes/Margareta I thought perhaps my brick wall was starting to crumble. Another false path. From the sounds of things I may actually have reached the end of being able to find documentation for another generation of our Irish Melvin Clan.
You're right, all US records indicate names of John and Mary Melvin. Will do research on other kids born here. Birth records often list mother's maiden name.
I'm happy to be on this board, just in case other research/knowledge pops up. Lots of research for me to do based on new information I can look for on other Ancestry trees.