William John Ryan

[SarahT]

Please can anyone help??

I have been trying to find my Irish ancestors for 6 years and I know its like looking for a needle in a haystack, but Im hoping someone somewhere may also have a William John Ryan in their tree.

I dont have alot of info to go on, but Im not going to give up just yet!

My great grandfather was William John Ryan born in Clare c1867 ( but I dont know which part of Clare)
The first record I found for him was on the 1891 census, he was married and living on St Hellier, Jersey. He was a gunner in the Royal Artillery.
I dont know if he enlisted whilst still living in Clare, or where to go to apply for his army records?

I have found a marriage, and that took place on Jersey in 1890 it states that his father was called John and he was a labourer.

They had 2 children whilst living in Jersey. John Henry born 1891 and Amelia Norah born 1892.( i have been told that in some families it was tradition to name the eldest son and daughter after the husbands parents?)

My grandmother was born in Sunderland in 1894 so I know they had left Jersey by then. But he is shown as a Gunner in Royal Artillery on her birth certificate

I cannot find them at all on any census return for 1901

By the 1911 census they were living in Southampton and William was no longer in the army. He died in 1914 before the war started.

If anyone is able to give me advice on where to start searching for my Irish ancestors or where to apply for his army records, it would be very much appreciated.

Thank you

Sarah

[shanew147]

If William was born on 1867 his birth is probably recorded in the Irish Civil BMD Index - although a few births did not get registered in the early years. There are a number of William Ryan births listed around the right time (middle names are not always listed). You might be able to narrow down the right one from the birth certs by comparing the fathers name & occupation on the marriage cert ...
 
Unfortunately there are no County Clare church records online at the moment, and Ryan is a very common surname in the Clare / Limerick area.

probably best posting on the Armed forces section about William's army records .. I believe that many of these are stored in the National Archives in London (Kew)


Shane

[aghadowey]

Just to eliminate one of the 1867 William Ryans (from I.G.I.)-
William Ryan born 1 Nov.1867 Bridgetown, Co.Clare, son of George Ryan & Margaret Goggin (page 353 in civil register)

[obbie]

from i g i .
william ryan 17 may 1867 co clare to john ryan and catherine bradshaw .

and searched by parents names
patrick ryan 15 march 1879 kimerick
bridget ryan 8 feb 1872 moroe limerick

from civil birth index
william ryan limerick reg dist (limerick and clare) born 1867 volume 5 page 447
this cert can be got from roscommon GRO for 4 euros you can order the other two siblings certs
at same time 8 euros .
i recomend you ask them to search (1) for other siblings births by parents names cost 2 euros
(2) search for parents marriage

theres a heritage center in corrofin co clare, goverment backed cost for full search average 250 euros
onthe chance that parents married in limerick , search , http:limerick.brsgenealogy.com/search.php its search free but pay for certs 5 euros each , you could search for siblings births here .

co clare and co limerick are beside each other and theres dispute over county boundrie ongoing over it

[obbie]

army records i had quick look on ancestry couldnt see a match .
i use (google) richard moles who researchs in kew for about 45 sterling
hes very good found my gt gt gr dad who was in limerick militia and retired 1895
however be warned that only 40 percent of ww1 and pre ww1 records still exist , burnt in london blitz .
so its a gamble .

[shanew147]

I'd be a little bit cautious of any match without some other evidence - there are quite a number of John Ryan's in Co. Clare around the right time who could have a son named William - e.g. there are nearly 80 listed on Griffths (1855)



Shane

[obbie]

i agree shanew , however for 4 euros this cert can be confirmed or eliminated .
when contacting roscommon GRO he can ask them to search by name date and fathers name
cost is 2 euros , search co clare first then maybe co limerick .
as co clare does not and will not have a searchable data base (because of corrofin heritage center ) what other option does he have .

i had hoped that when getting my gt gt gr dads army records there would have been next of kin -parents names on it , there wasnt only year of birth and district .

[shanew147]

It's definitely worth ordering the marriage cert to check... hopefully everything (name, location & occupation) will match up.

Given the frequency of both the Ryan surname, John as a firstname, and the number of William Ryan births registered around that time I'm just concerned that there is possibly several John Ryan's with sons named William... and it could be difficult to tell which is which...



Shane

[luimneach]

While the William referred to by another lister may indeed be yours,I can't see how ordering a cert can confirm this.You do not know the parish of origin or exact year of birth.The IFHF site at www.brsgenealogy.com lists 15 Williams with father named John in Limerick, and 22 in north Tipperary,within 5 years of 1867.Some are double counted-civil and parish records for same person-but there are still too many to confirm which one is yours.