Griffith’s Valuation-McKenna Family

After my last posts Researching the Land of My Ancestors-County Tyronne, Ireland and Felice and Sarah McKenna of County Tyronne, Ireland  I decided to see if I could find anything about them in Griffith’s Valuation. 

First, I need to understand what these records are:
Many Irish records were lost in 1922 when the Public Records Office burned, so, surviving tax records are particularly significant to my Irish research.  A valuation of taxable property in every parish in Ireland, called Griffith's Primary Valuation, was done between 1848 and 1864.

In 1825 a man named Griffith was appointed by the British Government to carry out a boundary survey of Ireland (Ireland is about the size of the state of Indiana). He was to mark the boundaries of every county, barony, civil parish and townland in preparation for the first Ordnance Survey.  Griffith’s Valuation in County Tyrone was completed on 13 July 1860. 

The valuation records list the name of the head of the household, the name of the landowner ('immediate lessor'), the acreage of the plot, the value of the property, and the amount of tax assessed. The tax based on the property valuation was used to support the poor.  Valuations were then made throughout Ireland approximately every decade.
So, knowing the place and date of my ancestor’s residence will be extremely helpful in my Irish research.  What can I find?

I found the following 2 records for 1860 in the Parish of Clonfeacle, County Tyrone:      (click on individual images to enlarge)


In the image on the left I found a listing for Francis McKenna (I believe this is Susan’s father) living on Killyman Street in the village of Moy.  (See the red box.)  Francis was leasing a House, office and yard from Maria Martin.  Francis’ total annual Valuation of ratable property was 4 British Pounds.

In the image on the right I found a listing for Felix McKenna (I believe this is Susan’s brother) living in the nearby area of Anagasna Glebe. (See the red box.)  Felix was leasing 2 pieces of property from Rev. Joseph Stevenson.  The first listing contained a house on the property.  The size of this property with the house was 4 Acres, 1 Rood and 10 Perches.  [30 1/4 square yards = perch, 40 perches = rood and 4 roods = acre]  This land was valued at 3 British Pounds, 5 Shillings.  The building on the land was valued at 10 Shillings.  The second piece of property was probably a field of agricultural or grazing land.  This size of this land was 1 Acre, 1 Rood and 15 Perches. The value of this land was 1 British Pound.  Felix’s total annual Valuation of ratable property was 4 British Pounds, 15 Shillings.

Some thoughts to ponder:

• In the same area that Felix lived there are listings for 11 men with the surname Hughes (underlined in green) as well as other McKennas.  My ancestor Susan McKenna married Patrick Hughes.  Could these Hughes be siblings/family of Patrick?
• I believe I have found a US Federal Census record for Susan and Patrick Hughes in New York City in 1850 but I wasn’t 100% sure I had the right family.  Living with them according to the census was a Susan Quinn of about the same age as my Susan.  I see there is a Patrick Quinn living in the same area as Felix McKenna, underlined in yellow on the right above.  Could this be family of Susan Quinn?  Was Susan Quinn a close friend of Susan McKenna?  Coincidence??

Even though my ancestors Susan McKenna and Patrick Hughes left Ireland around the late 1840s this gives me information about her father Francis and her brother Felix.  Since Felix appeared to stay in Ireland perhaps I can find descendants of his in Ireland one day.  Oh, so much more research to do…

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby

Felice and Sarah McKenna of County Tyrone, Ireland

As I was researching Susan McKenna Hughes (see post The Luck ‘o The Irish…Perhaps), I found out information about Susan’s siblings and her parents’ names-Felice and Susan McKeena.  Another generation back … and in Ireland.  YEA!!  I believe my paternal fourth great-grandparents (on my grandmother Agnes’ side of the family) were from County Tyrone, Ireland.  I wanted to see what I could find out about Felice and Sarah.

I always like to have maps handy when I am researching a place that I have never been to.  Here is one I found from 1777 that shows Moy, Clonfeacle, Tyronne, Ireland:

the map is from Taylor & Skinner: Maps of the Roads of Ireland Surveyed 1777 Moy/Listamlet

Tyrone is the County, Clonfeacle is a Civil Parish, Moy is the Village.  (See previous post Researching the Land of My Ancestors-County Tyrone, Ireland for additional information).  This family is located in the same area as where Susan was married.  I believe I am on the right track with this family but am not 100% sure. 

Here’s what I was able to find out:
Francis McKenna was baptized on 8 September 1799 in Armagh, Ireland.  Father-Francis  and Mother-Cate Hollyday.

Felice and Sarah McKenna had 3 children, that I know of.

• Fel McKenna was baptized on 9 January 1817 in Clonfeacle, County Tyrone, Ireland.  Parents- Fel and Sar McKenna
• Married Sarah Coleman on 9 September 1858 in Clonfeacle, County Tyrone, Ireland.  Perhaps a second marriage?

              Francisco and Sarah had:

• a daughter Maria McKenna baptized in the Parish of Moy, County Tyrone, Ireland
• a son Joannis (John) McKenna baptized in the Parish of Moy, County Tyrone, Ireland
• a son Patrick McKenna
• a son Thomas McKenna
• Susan Helen McKenna was baptized on 2 January 1820 in Clonfeacle, County Tyrone, Ireland.  Parents- Felix and Sarah McKenna.  Susan is my 3rd great-grandmother who immigrated to America (New York City) with her husband Patrick Hughes after their wedding in Clonfeacle, County Tyrone, Ireland on 8 November 1846.
• Ellen McKenna was baptized on 3 April 1822 in Clonfeacle, County Tyrone, Ireland.  Parents- Felice and Sarah McKenna

Francis McKenna died in 1864 at the age of 67 in Tyrone, Ireland in the Registration District of Dungannon.  This is the right area and age so I am hoping this is the same man.  I need to see if I can get a copy of his death registration to see if there is any additional information to prove this is the right man.
      When researching ‘Felix, Felice and Francis’ I found them all to be variations of the same name.


Many of the Irish used ‘Naming Patterns’ when naming their children during the 1700 and 1800s.  These might help me go back yet another generation.
     1st son named after Paternal Grandfather                                     1st daughter named after Maternal Grandmother
      2nd son                    Maternal Grandfather                                    2nd daughter                    Paternal Grandmother
      3rd son                     Father                                                            3rd daughter                     Mother
      4th son                     Father’s oldest brother

If naming patterns were used by this family then I would guess that Fel, is the oldest son and his paternal grandfather would also be named Felice/Fel/Francis. That fits with the Baptismal Record for Francis.  If Susan is the oldest daughter then I would believe that her maternal grandmother would have also been named Susan.  If Ellen is the 2nd daughter then I would believe that her paternal Grandmother was also named Ellen.  Hmm.. that doesn’t fit with Francis’ mother being Cate on the Baptismal Record.  There could have been other children that died at a young age that would throw this theory out the window as well.  Well, guess I have to do more research.


I found a wonderful song about Moy that can be listened to on YouTube called The Village That They Call ‘The Moy’.  (Click on the title to listen on YouTube.)  Or the lyrics and the song can be found at https://listamlet.com/the-village-that-they-call-the-moy/.  Happy listening!

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby

Researching the Land of My Ancestors-County Tyrone, Ireland

I believe I have correctly traced back my paternal 3rd great grandparents Patrick Hughes and Susan McKeena Hughes to County Tyrone, Ireland in the mid-1800s.  Specifically their Roman Catholic marriage record is from Moy, Confeacle, Tyrone, Ireland (see post The Luck ‘O the Irish…Perhaps…).  I started gathering some information on Susan’s family and realized there were some terms I needed to understand first.  So I started researching about the history and land of Ireland in this time period so I can try and determine what life might have been like for my ancestors. 

New land and area terms to understand:

Province- largest land areas. There are 4 provinces in Ireland.  County Tyrone is in the Province of Ulster.
County- large areas of land divided into civil parishes and parishes are then divided into townlands.  There are 32 counties in Ireland.  26 are in the Irish Republic and 6 are in the North of Ireland and are part of the United Kingdom. Tyrone was established in 1585 and has an area of about 1200 square miles.  Tyrone is the largest county in Northern Ireland and it connects to the counties of Fermanagh, Monaghan, Armagh, Londonderry, Donegal Antrim.
Barony- area of land that contained a larger number of townlands than a parish.  Was used for collection of taxes but is a term no longer used.  (Baronies are in red on the following map)
Parish- a smaller area of land with origins in old Gaelic territorial divisions.  A Parish could refer to Catholic Church parishes, Protestant Church parishes or Civil parishes.  (Parishes are in black on the following map)


Diocese-  comprised of several parishes.  These are church administrative areas under the control of a Bishop.  Different parts of County Tyrone fall under the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Armagh, Clogher, and Derry.
Townland or Village- one of the smallest land divisions in Ireland.  They can range in size from 1-2 acres to thousands of acres but most are hundreds of acres.

The ones I am currently interested in from the marriage of Patrick and Susan are:

• Moy (from Irish: an Maigh, meaning "the plain") is a large village and townland about 5 miles southeast of Dungannon and beside the smaller village of Charlemont.  Charlemont is on the east bank of the River Blackwater and Moy on the west; the two are joined by Charlemont Bridge. The river is also the boundary between County Tyrone and County Armagh.
• Clonfeacle is a Civil Parish and a Town.  Clonfeacle is split across the baronies of Dungannon Lower and Dungammon Middle in County Tyrone

Some additional information:

The Great Famine or Great Hunger was a period of mass starvation, disease, and emigration in Ireland from 1845 and 1849 due to the potato blight.  In Ireland there were over a million deaths.  Population fell by 20–25% due to mortality during this time period and emigration.  There had been an Irish Famine in 1740-1 and there would be another Famine in 1879.  This is when Patrick and Susan left for America.
I also recently read the book Tipperary: A Novel by Frank Delaney.  Frank Delaney has written several great books about Ireland.  This one really gave me a feel for the political climate in Ireland in the late 1800s and early 1900s.  I always like to read non-fiction or historical fiction about an area to get a feel for what was happening at the time of the lives of my ancestors.

I still have so much to learn but this is a good start.  Donna Moughty, who I have listened to several times at conferences and have consulted with, speaks frequently on Irish research and has a blog entitled Donna’s Irish Genealogy Resources.  Donna also has a set of 3 Guides that are also very helpful and constantly at my side when I am researching my Irish Ancestors.  Donna and her information has been a great help!  It can be overwhelming researching in another country with so many new terms and resources that you are unfamiliar with.  Don’t forget to do your research on the area as you research your ancestors!

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.
Enjoy the journey,
Debby

The Luck ‘O the Irish….Perhaps…

Finding Susan McKenna Hughes

 

I decided, like many other people, to take advantage of Ancestry’s free Irish records this weekend in honor of St. Patrick’s day.  I thought I’d see what I could find on my Irish 3x Great-Grandparents Patrick and Susan McKenna Hughes since I know they came from Ireland.

Frequently when we do genealogy we make a ‘guess’ as we start on our research journey because that is all we have at the time…a guess.  That is how I started this research, with a guess.  Hopefully, a good guess.

I use my guesses but always look for information to confirm or refute my guesses.  The more information I can find the more likely my guess is true.  Here are my guesses for this research:

I know from Sarah’s marriage license that her parents were listed as Patrick and Susan Hughes from Ireland.  (see post- Finding my Irish Roots-First Steps). 

I knew from a post I did several weeks ago about a family legend that my great-great-grandmother Sarah Hughes Rowan was believed to be a ‘cousin’ of Arch Bishop John Hughes (see post entitled-Hughes-Researching a Family Story, Part 1) that the Arch Bishop’s family was from Annalogham, Tyrone, Ireland so I took a guess that my Hughes side of the family probably came from County Tyrone also. 

I was able to find a marriage record for a Patrick and Susan Hughes in Clonfeacle Parish, County Tyrone, Ireland in 1846.  In that marriage record I noticed that one of their witnesses was an Ellen McKenna.  I decided to take a guess that she was probably Susan’s sister or relative at least.  (I also noticed that the male witness is not a Hughes.  Perhaps he was a friend of Patrick’s?  Is this where Patrick grew up or was this just Susan’s home town?  Research for another time.)

I knew the family was reported to be staunchly Roman Catholic.  (There is a family story that when Susan’s daughter Sarah married an Episcopalian/Protestant she was disowned by her mother.  Something I struggle to try and understand based on the religious beliefs of the times.  The family story is that when Sarah took her first child to see her mother Susan said through the door that she no longer had a daughter and wouldn’t even see her grandchild.)

I was able to look in Ancestry under Select Catholic Birth and Baptism Registers, 1763-1912.  I guessed that Susan was about 20 years old when she was married in 1846 making her birth about 1826 roughly.  I was able to find a Susan Helen McKenna (YEA) that was baptized on 2 January 1820 in the Parish of Moy/Clonfeacle, County Tyrone in Ireland.  This listed Susan’s father as Felix and her mother as Sarah (interesting the name of my great-great grandmother, Susan’s daughter.  That would make sense although Sarah is also a popular Irish name.)

(you can click on images to enlarge)

Then I looked for an Ellen McKenna of a similar age.  I was able to find an Ellen McKenna baptized in Moy/Clonfeacle, Tyrone Ireland on 3 April 1822, 2 years younger than Sarah.  Ellen’s parents were also Felice (Felice appears to be the Latin form of Felix) and Sarah.  Well, that helps my case that I have found the right Sarah since Sarah and Ellen were sisters.)

I continued to look and also found a Fel McKenna, parents Fel and Sar McKenna baptized 9 January 1817 (3 years older than Sarah).  In the register it looks like the names were all written as partial names.

In Summary:

I am still not certain I have found the ‘right’ Susan McKenna.  I think I have connected the dots in a reasonable way.  If my thinking is correct then I have found Susan’s siblings (at least 2 of them) and an entire new generation by locating the names of her parents-Felice and Sarah McKenna.  I still don’t know Sarah’s maiden name and was unable to find a marriage record for Felice and Sarah…yet.  I have a lot more then I did before this weekend.  I will continue to search Susan and her family to find additional information which will increase my certainty that I have found the right Susan McKenna or refute and send me on a different path.  I am happy I found this information and feel like I am on the right path. 

Enjoying looking for your pot of gold!

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

Finding my Irish Roots-First Steps

I have had a major brick wall on my paternal great-great grandmother’s side.  I am trying to find out where in Ireland they came from so one day I can go and visit.

What I know about my great-great grandmother, Sarah Hughes Rowan;

• Sarah was born in NY about 1850.  (NYC birth records are spotty for this time period and I could find nothing for Sarah)
• I know Sarah married John W. Rowan and they had 8 children.  Only 4 of their children (Joseph Valentine Rowan, William Rowan, Mary Rowan White and my great grandmother Sarah Rowan King) lived to adulthood, married and had their own families.
• Sarah’s family was Roman Catholic. 
• There is a family story that Sarah was a 2nd cousin to Arch Bishop John Hughes who founded St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.
• According to Sarah and John’s marriage certificate she lists her parents as Patrick Hughes and Susan McKenna.

One of my additional dilemmas is that there are many, many ‘Patrick Hughes’ during this time period.

Several months ago I found a DNA match on Family Tree DNA and one of her Surnames was 'Hughes'.  We corresponded and I talked about not having been able to find anything beyond maybe one census record for Patrick and Susan in 1950 in NYC.  Within 24 hours my new DNA cousin was able to find a record on Ancestry that I had searched and searched for (ugh).  Thanks to Susan’s generosity I believe I have a great record to help me in my search for my Irish roots.

Register of Marriages in the year 1840

If this is the correct family record then I now know;

Patrick and Susan were married on 8 November 1840.  They were married in the Parish of Clonfeacle, in County Tyronne, Northern Ireland.  One of their witnesses was Ellen McKenna.  (was she Susan’s sister perhaps?)

Considering the information I know about Arch Bishop John Hughes:

• The names in the Roman Catholic Marriage Susan McKenna and Patrick Hughes match Sarah Hughes Rowan’s marriage certificate for her parents.
• Patrick and Susan getting married in Ireland in 1940 and daughter Sarah’s birth in 1850-1851 in New York City would fit.
• I know from research I have done on Arch Bishop John Hughes family;
• John’s mother was Margaret McKenna.  Could Susan McKenna and Margaret McKenna be sisters or relatives?
• Patrick Hughes and son Patrick were born in Ulster, Tyronne, Ireland.  John and sisters Mary & Margaret were believed born in Annaloghan, Tyronne, Ireland.

I believe the record I found for the marriage of Patrick and Susan is probably the one I was looking for.  Now I have a county and possibly a parish in Ireland to begin searching for more information.  I will also continue to search for more US records.

A VERY special thank-you to my DNA cousin Susan for helping me break this brick wall by finding a record I wasn’t able to find.  I hope we can figure out our paper connection soon!
 

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share I look forward to hearing them.

 

Enjoy the journey,

Debby