Hegarty/Mullan in "Boye"

[ww1614]

Hello! First post here. I have a bunch of dead ends in Ireland, so I'll be posting a little bit on a few different boards.

I have the marriage record for my great-great grandparents, Daniel Haggerty and Ellen Henvey (well, that's how the names are spelled in US records). The marriage record lists Daniel Hegarty and Ellen Hanvey as being married in Belfast on 20 Aug 1873. Daniel's parents are listed as Thomas Hegarty and Ellen Mullan. At the bottom of the record is this notation:

"Church: ST MARY'S Roman Catholic REV P POWER 1 0 0 MGR HUSBAND'S PARENT'S FROM BOYE CO DERRY."

I get that they were married in St. Mary's RC church by Rev. P. Power. I don't know what 1 0 0 MGR means. I also don't know what is meant by "Boye Co Derry." There is no "Boye" in County Derry as far as I can Google. Any ideas?

As an aside, Daniel was a clockmaker/watchmaker who left Belfast in 1880 to work in Brooklyn, NY, then Ellen and two of her children came to the US a few years later. (My great-grandmother was born in the US.) I don't know a lot about the clockmaking trade and whether that was an unusual profession that might have brought Daniel from Derry to Belfast then to Brooklyn. Insights would be appreciated.

[aghadowey]

'Boye' Co. Derry is certainly puzzling- several places here ending with 'boy' but can't think what this place could be (Hegarty and variants quite common in Co.Derry).

What's the occupation of Daniel's father Thomas?

Clocks were quite common in those days and clockmakers would have been all over Ulster so no particular reason for Daniel to have moved to Belfast. I don't see him listed in a colume of watch & clock makers that I have but perhaps he was just working for someone else whilst here.

[ww1614]

Thank you for the reply! No mention on the marriage record of Thomas Hegarty's occupation.

I do find a listing for Daniel Heggarty in the Belfast 1877 directory (working my way through PRONI right now) as a watchmaker on Divis St.

I will keep searching....

[aghadowey]

Have you checked all possible U.S. records for clues? naturalization applications, death certificate, newspaper obituary, etc.? sometimes the home place in Ireland will be mentioned.

[Elwyn Soutter]

I assume that the 1873 marriage certificate you have is the document issued by the church. (I say that because you refer to the husband’s mother’s name which would not  appear on a civil certificate). The civil certificate can contain additional information. It might be worth obtaining that to get any addresses, or clarification of the bride’s address, and fathers’ occupations etc.

The marriage was registered in Belfast 1873 Volume 11, page 446. You can order a photocopy from GRO Roscommon for €4 per certificate. Put the place, year, volume & page number on the application form (anywhere). http://www.groireland.ie/ You have to post or fax the form to them but they will e-mail the copy certificate to you if you wish. Put “please e-mail to…..” clearly on the top of the form.

[ww1614]

Thanks, I am trying to track down his death certificate in NY and have a possible one on order (not sure it's his--will know for sure when I see the nearest relative).

Elwyn, thank you for the advice on getting the civil certificate. I will do that. I'm American, and the records are all much more familiar to me than the Irish records. I still have to look at a map to find the different counties.

[aghadowey]

Back to the marriage certificate that you do have- it that notation hadwritten? and is there a postage stamp on the document?

[ww1614]

I got it from rootsireland.ie, so it's a screenshot of the page.



The civil record seems the best bet. It's what I do for US records. I just had no idea where to start in Belfast.

[gaffy]

In relation to the numbers and letters 'MGR' in RootsIreland records, I once contacted them with that very query and all I got back was the following:


"It simply indicates that this is a comment for clarification."