Reidy

[clubhistorian]

Thanks so much.  Yes, James Reidy & Elizabeth Lawlor are the couple in question.  Michael provided the marriage info and the birth of their oldest son, John.  The birth of a second son James fits in perfectly.

James Reidy is proving to be an elusive character.  In my thinking, he should be in the area of Wallsend in April 1911 when the census was taken.  His son John was born January 1912, exactly 9 months after the census.  But I can't find anything on him, even with alternate spellings of the name.

When people moved to new locations and became members of the local Catholic Church, did they need to fill out information with the church that may have said where they came from?  Do you know if the coal yards had any work records that may give employee information?  I'd appreciate any help.

Thanks again

[sillgen]

Have you got their marriage certificate?   I ask because that will give the name of both fathers and that may help find the families in 1911.   An address might be useful too.   Assuming Michael was correct with his 1901 info have you looked for that Reidy family in 1911?
Andrea

[clubhistorian]

No, unfortunately, neither of the suggestions that Michael provided in 1901 panned out.  James Reidy's father's name was John.  James was a coal miner.  James' son John was born in Wallsend January 1912.  James married Elizabeth Lawlor around October 1911.  Elizabeth is listed in the 1911 census as single & 18 years old in Wallsend.  James HAD to be close by when the census was taken, but I just can't find him!

Thanks for any help

[Michael Dixon]

 From Film of original registers of the RC Church, " Our Lady and St Columba", Wallsend. Source: Tyne & Wear Archives.


 Marriage 14 Oct 1911.
James Reidy of 15 Jubilee St, son of John. and,
Elizabeth Lawlor of 16 Diamond St, daughter of John

Witnesses
 Thomas Digby of Wallsend
Margaret Ann Knight of South Shields
Wilfred Downey Miss. Ap

Baptism
John Reidy born 27 Jan 1912, baptised 18 Feb 1912, son of James and Elizabeth Reidy, nee Lawlor

----------------------------------------------

The Baptism Register included  indexes in surname alpha-order.
One index covered 1898-1913. This included one Reidy, the bapt above.
The next index covered 1913-1920. This included no Reidy !

 I have seen a document which held the name and signature of John Lawlor, the father of bride Elizabeth. He clearly signed his name Lawlor.

~~~~~~~~--

 Michael

[clubhistorian]

Thanks so much!  I did some detective work and discovered that James Reidy was identified as James Knight in the 1911 census in Wallsend. 

The marriage certificate was the tip-off.  Margaret Ann Knight of South Shields was one of the witnesses.  I looked up all the Knights in South Shields and found a Margaret Ann that seemed to fit.  Then I looked up the Jubilee Street address that was listed in 1911 census.  This was the home of a known relative of my friend...the Mullens lived there.  There was a James Knight listed that fit everything that I knew about James Reidy. 

I wondered if the Mullens identified him as James Knight because they knew his mother & step-father.  I looked up prior censuses and found James Reidy listed as a step-son.

Now that that's been solved, I want to find out more about James Reidy's parents.  I know his mother was Margaret Toker from Durham County.  His father was John Reidy.  It appears that James was born in about 1886, but that his father was somehow out of the picture by 1889 because Margaret Toker Reidy was married to Richard Knight by that time.

Can you help me with any research on Durham county? 

Again, I'm very grateful for your help!

[Morganllan]

Hello 

You can find Margaret Toker with her family on the 1881 census, using Familysearch:

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/frameset_search.asp?PAGE=census/search_census.asp

Found the marriage of Margaret Toker and John Reedy in 1884 (June quarter)
Easington volume 10a page 579

Kind Regards
Morgan

[clubhistorian]

I can't tell you how helpful this message board is.  I so appreciate it.

I'm trying to figure out the marriages of Margaret Toker.  Her first marriage was to John Reidy in 1884 in Easington, Durham, England.  Son James Reidy was born about 1886.  Father John Reidy was out of the picture within a couple of years because in the 1891 census Mother Margaret is the wife of Richard Knight living in Westoe, South Shields, Durham, England.

Richard Knight & Margaret have several more children and can be found in all of the censuses through 1911.

Now my question.....the marriage of Richard Knight and Margaret Ready is listed in the FreeBMD Marriage Index in January 1908 in Tynemouth, Northumberland (vol 10b)...about 20 years after they're first listed in the census.

Assuming this is the same Richard Knight and Margaret Reidy, are the marriage indexes civil registrations in England as opposed to a Catholic Church record of marriage?  What would be the reason their marriage would be listed so many years after they were together?  Did something special happen around 1908 that would have been beneficial for them to register their marriage?

Also, if anyone could possible give me more information on the details of that marriage, I'd greatly appreciate it!

[Morganllan]

Hello 

If that is the correct marriage, it would have taken place in 1908. You could try to purchase the certificate giving their names, ages, Richard's occupation, and 1901/1911 addresses as criteria for the marriage.

Perhaps John Reidy was still alive somewhere so they couldn't marry sooner. Have you checked freebmd for possible deaths? Also a birth certificate for one of the younger children may give Margaret's name, but not definitely because she probably gave Knight as her surname.

Kindest regards
Morgan