McDONALD family of Longford

[TonyRolfe]

This is my first attempt at Irish research and I would appreciate any help.

Ellen McDONALD married William CAREY in Wigan in 1856 and the certificate shows her father as Archibald, a tin plate worker.

The 1871 census shows Ellen as having been born in Co Longford, Ireland about 1839.

I cannot find any trace of her or her father in the 1851 or 1841 censuses in Lancashire. There are a few Ellens of about the right age, but all lodgers and no trace of an Archibald who looks even remotely likely.  I can't find any likely death of an Archibald in England either.  It is possible that Ellen came to England after 1851 and that Archibald didn't ever come to England.

How likely is it that a young girl - she was 19 when she married and would have been about 13 in 1851 - would travel to England from Ireland without her parents?

Is there any way to trace such a thing?

I've checked the Longford resources thread at the head of this board, but I can't find anything there.

Any advice on how to proceed would be gratefully received

Thanks in advance

Tony

[saddles]

There is the following baptism on the... http://longford.brsgenealogy.com/ ....website, but
unfortunately it is a pay to view details site, you can search the index for free.

County Longford
Church Baptism
McDonald Ellen 1837

However the same website does not show any Archibald McDonald marriage in Longford.

Mike.

[aghadowey]

I can't see any death registered for an Archibald McDonald in Co. Longford (registration started 1864) so perhaps he died before 1864, in another county or not in Ireland.

[agho]

Before you rush off and pay to view the birth record that saddles mentioned above the father's name on that record is Michael. Oddly there is only the one Ellen McDonald listed in Longford for the 10 years 1834 - 1844, could she have been giving the wrong father's name for any reason? This record is for a birth in the parish of Killashee. In Griffith's Valuation, taken around 1850, there is only one McDonald in Killashee and his name is Alexander.

[TonyRolfe]

Thanks to everyone for the help so far

could she have been giving the wrong father's name for any reason?

Anything is possible, agho, my grandmother being a case in point.  On the marriage certificate to my grandfather she described herself as Cecil Maud ROLFE, Widow and her father's name as Edward John CASE.  It's only when you find them on the 1911 census that you see she was his stepdaughter and her name is given as GASCOYNE.   We were lucky she hadn't taken his name or she would have been very hard to find.

Unless we get lucky with Ellen, I'm going to have to assume she was telling the biological truth, at least until events show otherwise.

Thanks again to all for the advice so far

Tony