Patrick O'Brien: daughter Martha emigrated to England probably c1841

[Lught-thie]

Hi,

I'm looking for information about my ancestor Catherine O'Brien, born Co. Down c.1814-1816. I don't have that much to go off, and I keep coming to dead ends. Any details will be very gratefully received, thanks!

This is what I know:

According to the censuses, Catherine was born in Down sometime between 1814 and 1816.

She moved to England before 1841, where she married John Birkett (baptised 1813, Broughton-in-Furness, Lancashire). I don't have a marriage record. They had children (Jane, Martha, William, Thomas, Hannah, John, Timothy and James Moffitt). The older children were baptised in St Andrew's Anglican church, Coniston (possibly out of convenience, as it was the only church in Coniston at the time).

I believe Catherine had a sister (or possibly a cousin) called Martha, born in Down sometime between 1824 and 1826. Martha also moved to England and married first Englishman William Birkett and then Irishman John McMullan. On the 1851 census, she was living nextdoor to Catherine at Pope's Dale (possibly named after Irish miners?), Coniston, after William's death.

I don't have a record of Martha's marriage to William Birkett. They had children (Thomas, Timothy and William), the youngest baptised in St Andrew's.

I have the record from Martha's marriage to John McMullan (St Mary's, Ulverston, 5 May 1856). It names her father as Patrick O'Brien, a farmer, and his as Patrick McMullan. Jane Birkett (possibly Catherine's daughter) and Samuel Birkett (possibly John Birkett's brother) were witnesses. Martha and John had children (John, Martha, Hugh, Agnes Jane and Catherine).

And that's it. The English records don't even give Catherine's surname; however, it's recorded on the death record of her son James Moffitt Birkett, who emigrated to Jefferson, Alabama.

[rathmore]

find my past

http://www.findmypast.co.uk

John Birkett baptisms District Ulverston 1813

William born 1841
Thomas Born 1843
Hannah Born 1845
Timothy born 1846

so i guess they must have married 1840/41 I cannot find marriage.

[Jon_ni]

The chances of progressing Catherine further back in time in Co. Down are slim without a known civil parish of origin.
If she was Church of England/Ireland as you say then baptism registers may or may not exist (63% lost 1922) and of the ones that survive they may or may not be indexed on RootsIreland; others that survive are offline only on microfilm

If alternatively Roman Catholic the situation is no better as very few R.C parishes recorded baptisms in a register c.1814 - was several decades later when most started. What exists is indexed online on Ancestry and a free to access collection on Findmypast where searching is easier. See the date ranges via the link to the list on https://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/ireland-roman-catholic-parish-baptisms

so i guess they must have married 1840/41

Earlier:
If use https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp inputting Volume 25
[the spelling 'Ulverstone Union' appearing on the GRO results]

Martha Birkett (O Brien) Q1 1939 Ulverstone
John Birkett (Bryan) Q1 1840 Whitehaven
William Birkett (OBrien) Q1 1841 Ulverstone
Thomas Birkett (OBrien) Q1 1843 Ulverstone
Thomas Birkett (O Brien) Q3 1844 Ulverstone
Hannah Birkett (O Brien) Q1 1845 Ulverstone
Timothy Birkett (OBrien) Q1 1846 Ulverstone
John Birkett (O'Brien) Q2 1847 Kendal
Timothy Birkett (O Brine) Q2 1850 Ulverstone 25 250
William Birkett (OBrien) Q2 1850 Ulverstone 25 247

[Lught-thie]

Thank you! Yes, I'd feared it might be nigh impossible to find them without more information.

I've had a superficial dig into later land records to see whether there are any O'Briens, but there's no guarantee that Patrick O'Brien necessarily owned the land he farmed, or that the family remained in the area into the later part of the century.

Yes, it appears Catherine came to Furness in the late 1830s. Curiously, she arrived before the big influx of Irish immigrants (mainly miners) between 1841 and 1851. (According to the Lake District National Park website, only 4 Irish people are recorded in Coniston in 1841.)

[amondg]

GRO Index

James Moffett Birkett reg. 1855 Ulverston mother's maiden name O Brian

John and Catherine also had Housby Birkett 1853  mmn OBrien   died 1853
------------

Any relation
Houseby Birkett born circa 1836 Coniston married Ellen/Eleanor Burns of Wexford Ireland  they are living in Dalton in Furness 1861
They had
John, William, Jane Willett, Housby, Eleanor, and Thomas possibly more
Note Thomas was bap RC

[ShaunJ]

On the 1851 census, she was living nextdoor to Catherine at Pope's Dale (possibly named after Irish miners?), Coniston

Not Pope's Dale. It's Piper Hall, Church Coniston.

[rathmore]

James death is on Find my past(1928) I came across a Byrne H Birkett born 1893 Alabama was in the first world war.  Do you now if this person is a relative of yours,  Irish name were spelt as you said them.

Is the church still standing in Broughton in Furness and have to talk to them about there records or the local council.

[Lught-thie]

Thank you all!

I somehow hadn't spotted Housby Birkett (probably because he was born and died between censuses). The other Housby Birkett in the Coniston parish records is this Housby's uncle (John Birkett's brother).

Ah, yes, you're right, it is Piper Hall/Hole! That matches the baptism records. I'd misread the handwriting on the census.

[Lught-thie]

James death is on Find my past(1928) I came across a Byrne H Birkett born 1893 Alabama was in the first world war.  Do you now if this person is a relative of yours,  Irish name were spelt as you said them.

Is the church still standing in Broughton in Furness and have to talk to them about there records or the local council.

I'm afraid I don't know anything of the Birketts in Alabama, sorry. (I'm too stingy to maintain a worldwide Ancestry account and simply paid to view James Moffitt Birkett's records.)

James' surname, Birkett, comes from his English father. It's a fairly common name here in Furness (now in Cumbria, but formerly in Lancashire).

Broughton's church is still standing. A vast quantity of Lancashire parish records (including both Broughton and Coniston) have been transcribed by volunteers and are available (for free) online: you could try having a dig there (it's called the Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerk Project), but I'm afraid you'll need a bit more to go off, as there's loads of Birketts and many different parishes.