RootsChat.Com

Could I give this old thread a bump and find out if mjn or anyone found whether the chapel still exists.  I thought not when I went ages ago, I seem to remember I concluded it may be under the lawn of an old peoples home now... sad as I have ancestors buried there.

Bradford Central Library does hold transcriptions of graves from the 1920s though - the Blackburn transcriptions.

Would love to at least confirm the chapel and graveyard aren't there anymore, so I could stop looking?

I've been trying to trace my 2xgreat grandfather Edward NEVILLE, born 1847-1850, and who I've only been able to trace so far via 1871-91 censuses in England. The census details vary, but a clear picture emerges of his birth in Dublin, a migration to Liverpool to work initially as a boot boy in Sandfield Park in Liverpool (I think a posh house), and later a marriage to Francis MILNER from Hanley, Staffordshire, where they moved to. His later occupations were Coachman and then Tailor.

Today I've confirmed via a marriage certificate that his father was Thomas NEVILLE, who he reports was also a Coachman. I can find no record of Edward in English/Welsh censuses in 1861 and before, so can only assume he moved to Liverpool after this date, in his teens.

Can anyone help me locate a good fit for a marriage, birth or trade record etc. for his father Thomas Neville?  Intriguingly, the LDS site locates only one good fit for a marriage of a Thomas Neville in Ireland in the 10 years around his death, and it's in Dublin - a Thomas Neville from Kilkenny who married Isabella Anne TUTHILL on 15 Oct 1846 Rathfranham, Dublin, just before Edward's birthdate. They both have illustrious ancestors, Thomas a direct line back from the Nevilles in England back to the Earl of Warwick and beyond, and Isabella herself born in Rathgar Mansion, Dublin. I've only just started Irish research and don't know Dublin well, but it doesn't sound like the kind of marriage that would include a Coachman... or does it?

The only record so far of a child to this marriage is from the IGI, and is a daughter Ann.

I'm well aware of how skeptically I should view "near hit" IGI/Ancestry records, so much as I'd like to go on a flight of fancy about this being my Thomas Neville, I don't think I can yet. Although, interestingly, in his final census before death, Edward changes his mind and says he was born in Liverpool rather than Dublin (possibly as a result of fears of racism?), so it's quite possible he was being creative with his father's profession too, naming it as his own, for his own reasons...

I should add that I'm still working my way through possible resources, but can only research online due to illness, dearly as I'd love to visit Dublin to search locally.  Any nudges, hints, suggestions or anything appreciated!

I've asked something similar on the Antrim board, but thought it might be worthwhile asking a wider audience here - hope that's ok. I'm not new to ancestry research, but a complete beginner in Ireland! Any clues or advice at all to orientate myself very appreciated.

My great-grandmother Margaret Petty was born in Belfast in 1865, father Charles Petty from Yorkshire, and mother Mary O Rorke, who from her marriage reference appears to have been born around 1844, father's name known only as Robert O Rorke. As a beginner, I have two questions to try and track this down further:

1. Doing a little reading it's clear that the O'Rourke's traditional ancestral home is from Cavan and nearby, and Mary's parents may not of course have been born in Belfast. Being embarrassingly ignorant of Irish name history myself, could anyone hazard a guess for me at the mobility of such names in the early 19th century? Would the devastating famines cause floods of people into cities like Belfast around that time or earlier? Surnames of working class families from my studies in England and Wales tend to be fairly static in the mid-19th century on the whole - might the O'Rorkes have been resident in Belfast for decades before, or is it likely that they more recently migrated from the south-east into Belfast?

2. I see Mary's surname variously listed as O Rorke, ORorke, and presumed relatives listed as O'Rorke and even O,Rorke. I also seem to see many spelling difference such as O'Rourke/Roarck, and in many cases families seem to list themselves as O'Rorke and Rorke interchangeably? Are such naming differences consistent within family groups, or merely a matter of transcription by officials in the 19th century? In other words, how much should I rely on the father of an "O'Rorke" being called O'Rorke too, or is it perfectly possible for a father to be called plain Rorke? I understand O as something akin to Scottish "Mac/Mc" - grandfather or clan of - but wonder to what degree  families would have felt free to vary such naming, adding the prefix O' to their father's name as late as the mid 19th century?

Any guesses, hints or anything appreciated!
Esse

Ah! Thanks. I can see at least one unidentified road between Crimea Street and Snugville Street on Google Maps - maybe it's that.  I'll try another mapping site...

Wow, thanks Anthony - intriguing. It was Charles Petty, Mary's wife who brought the family's shoemaking business briefly to Belfast from Yorkshire for roughly the period 1864-69, where they had two daughters, Margaret and Jane before relocating back to Yorkshire. With Audrey's information above and yours, I'm wondering if Charles Petty made a trade connection with Mary's father and thus met her.

Does anyone know if this is feasible? I always thought of a shoemaking as a small and static profession, and would be surprised, but have no explanation for how Charles met Mary.

Is this a trade directory you have and can you do address lookups? If so, would it be possible to lookup up the occupants of 27 Berry Street around 1865? And 27 Derry Street too I guess, if it exists, as the UHF records are so far ambiguous.

Thanks so much for your help!
- esse