Margaret Byrne

[kiwi2011]

My 2nd g-grandmother was believed to have been born in Drogheda approx 1846, although I can find no record that states Drogheda. I do have her marriage record to Patrick Smith in 1867 in Dundalk.  On the wedding cert, the residence at time of marriage is shown as Dundalk.

I'd like to know if Drogheda is part of Dundalk or visa versa? TIA

[Sinann]

Two different towns about 20 miles apart.
https://goo.gl/maps/2xwhparfVKk

[mjflynn]

Margaret Byrne was a pretty common name, a quick look at the baptism records shows several possibilities in both Drogheda and Dundalk (and several places in between). If you have a marriage certificate you should have her father's name, that may help to narrow down the possibilities. Also what leads you to think she was born in Drogheda?

[kiwi2011]

Her father's name was Michael and a labourer. My aunt said she believed she was born in Drogheda and that also appears on one census when she moved to England.
I wondered about the possibility of Drogheda and Dundalk being in a similar area/borough/boundary since I saw 1837 Drogheda householders listed under the 1864 Dundalk map http://www.jbhall.freeservers.com/1864_map_of_dundalk.htm

[aghadowey]

Her father's name was Michael and a labourer. My aunt said she believed she was born in Drogheda and that also appears on one census when she moved to England.
I wondered about the possibility of Drogheda and Dundalk being in a similar area/borough/boundary since I saw 1837 Drogheda householders listed under the 1864 Dundalk map http://www.jbhall.freeservers.com/1864_map_of_dundalk.htm

That site is County Louth Ireland Genealogical Sources so it covers the whole county-
http://www.jbhall.freeservers.com/

See also LOUTH RESOURCES at top of LOUTH board-
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=391617.0

[mjflynn]

As stated by others they are two separate towns about 20 miles apart within County Louth. They do have very separate identities, so if Drogheda was put down as the place of birth on an English census that would be the place to start.

There was a Margaret Byrne born to Michael Byrne and Mary Moonan in Monasterboice which is a small village a few miles outside Drogheda town who was baptised on 7 Jul 1844. This one is the best match I found to your information. There was another baptism in St Peter's Drogheda of a Margaret daughter of Michael Byrne and Margaret Maguire on 28th Nov 1852, but it would be very unusual for a woman's age to be recorded as older than her actual age.

[kiwi2011]

Thanks aghadowey and thank you so much mjflynn for that lead. Can you tell me how you found this please? Unfortunately, I don't know who Margaret's siblings are. Can you offer any pointers on how I can go about proving that this record is indeed my relative? Thank you.

[mjflynn]

Pretty much all the Irish Catholic parish records are now available online on Ancestry, Findmypast, and Rootsireland and the transcriptions are linked to images of the original register. The transcriptions are not perfect so sometimes you might have to be a bit creative with your search. As far as I know Findmypast (and possibly Ancestry) allow access to these records without a paid subscription, Rootsireland requires a paid subscription.

As for proving whether a particular record relates to your family, that can be very difficult especially with common names. My approach is to try to find as much information about each individual and family - both the ones you know are connected and the ones you are trying to link and look at every detail on any records you can find. If you are lucky you may come across additional clues that help to establish the link. You can also try to eliminate potentials eg. look for marriages of Margaret in Monasterboice, if you find one and her father is Michael then the Margaret baptised in 1844 is probably not yours.

[kiwi2011]

Thanks so much mjflynn, the last tip is especially a good idea for me to follow-up on.