Looking for a few needles in a haystack
Looking for connections to my great grandfathers' fathers' siblings
While it is known John Salmon married Margaret "Bowen" in 1836 in Southwark RC Cathedral in south London, England.
The record appeared in the marriage register index but couldn't find any online copies of the actual marriage details. I'm told civil registration of marriages was introduced in England in 1837 & If John & Margaret had married a few months later, we could have viewed their civil marriage certificate which would include the paternal details of the bride & groom... this would have helped me immensely, I would then know who John's father was !!.
In the 1841 Census of England covering the St Olave civil parish in Southwark, John, a Laborer, & his wife Margaret, both stated born in a foreign land. Their first two children, Peter and Elizabeth were born in the county of Surrey, Southwark. Elizabeth's and Peters birth was registered in Southwark in 1837,39 with her mother's name declared to be "Bone" They left England before 1841 as Christopher (my great Grandfather) was born in Kilpatrick in 1841 followed by John in 1845 and Thomas in 1855. This makes a conventional fertility span of 17 years for Margaret during her marriage. The gap between John and Thomas's births could indicate a series of infant deaths or miscarriages as Margaret got older and the enduring years the Salmons encountered with the Great Famine years.
In 1841 Southwark was a popular residential area for Irish Catholic immigrants who were generally quite poor after fleeing Ireland. My hypothesis is that young John Salmon relocated to London after seeing no future on his small family farm in Kilpatrick. He found a wife and started a family in Southwark, then something prompted his return to Ireland. Possibly it was the death of a parent, permitting John to take over the lease of the farm as a marital home.
It is feasible that the wealthier Protestant Salmons of Kilpatrick were descendants of an English Cromwellian soldier who was rewarded after the Conquest of Ireland with ownership of some land in Westmeath. One branch of the family flourished by intermarrying with other wealthy Anglo-Irish settlers while John progenitor married a local catholic bride. As a consequence, John's ancestors were forced to survive on a modest- sized leased farm alongside their Protestant cousins who thrived on much larger estates. This is theoretical but based upon information supplied to me.
I seemed to have sorted out John & Margaret family and children - Peter and Christopher (my grandfather's father) migrated to Australia in 1863, John migrated to America, Thomas stayed in Kipatrick/Collinstown and Married Rose Hannon and had a large family. Elizabeth is the stumbling block, I'm still working on her, I don't know if she married or where she ended up.
Based on DNA connected to me i have Salmon links to descendants that come from County Mayo and County Westmeath so it seems feasible John's siblings may have resided or originated from Mayo. I suspect any of his siblings to be named Thomas, Peter, William, Patrick & Christopher as a slight guess. I will appreciate any help on this
Cheers
Barry
