Using naming conventions and understanding the effects of the Great Famine on marriages
Genealogists use the Irish naming conventions as guides when working on family puzzles, especially to children born before the Great Famine--that's how reliable they can be. Nothing is 100%, which is why genealogists always try to confirm genealogies with as much documentation as possible in addition. Where there are guesses, they try to provide the reasons for those.
Understanding the culture of a particular place is also paramount. Culture norms impact when and how a person marries, and also who serves at sponsors of weddings and baptisms. There is a really in-depth look of how this worked in 19th century Ireland here: https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/news/irelandxo-insight-irish-naming-and-baptism-traditions
Looking at the two Patrick Mahers in question, we can guess that John was the father of Patrick Maher who married Bridget Mulhall. Their eldest son's name was John. The strange thing is that it isn't until their 5th son that we find the name Patrick, which should've been the honor of the 3rd son. The eldest son of Patrick Maher and Bridget Mullally is Patrick.
You will note on the land records that a Patrick Maher was a landowner in Ballinunty. And Patrick Maher was also a tenant. This is important because sons inherited land from their fathers.
Using the information found on the website above, we can guess that Patrick Maher--Mulhall, was probably born around 1825 as men, before the Great Famine, married at around 22 years of age. Looking at the spreadsheet of all baptisms in Gortnahoe, we find two Patrick's born around that time: 1822 to John and Judy Phelan, and 1825 Patrick and Jude Elvert. We can guess that John and Judy Phelan are very possible candidates for this Patrick. We can explore this further by looking at the sponsors for their wedding and the sponsors for the baptisms of their children.
What about the Patrick Maher or Bridget Mullally. They married in 1838. One very important point, is that according to baptismal records, they had no children after the Great Famine. Their eldest son's name was Patrick, born a year after their marriage. If this was Patrick's first marriage, then he would've been born around 1816. There is one Patrick baptized in Gortnahoe around that time--1817 to a John and Julia Corrigan (though the mother's name is not clearly written). While it is possible that this was in fact his baptismal record, it is also possible that he did not come from Gortnahoe, but a neighboring parish and married Bridget Mullally in her parish. It is also possible that his marriage to Bridget Mullally was his second marriage and that he was born before 1817. You will note on the spreadsheet that there was no Patrick baptized in Gortnahoe before John and Julia's.
Is it critically important to determine which Maher family Ellen is from? It may or may not be. So, in the next few posts, we'll look at the stories of other Mahers--some of her known relatives.
Understanding the culture of a particular place is also paramount. Culture norms impact when and how a person marries, and also who serves at sponsors of weddings and baptisms. There is a really in-depth look of how this worked in 19th century Ireland here: https://irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/news/irelandxo-insight-irish-naming-and-baptism-traditions
Looking at the two Patrick Mahers in question, we can guess that John was the father of Patrick Maher who married Bridget Mulhall. Their eldest son's name was John. The strange thing is that it isn't until their 5th son that we find the name Patrick, which should've been the honor of the 3rd son. The eldest son of Patrick Maher and Bridget Mullally is Patrick.
You will note on the land records that a Patrick Maher was a landowner in Ballinunty. And Patrick Maher was also a tenant. This is important because sons inherited land from their fathers.
Using the information found on the website above, we can guess that Patrick Maher--Mulhall, was probably born around 1825 as men, before the Great Famine, married at around 22 years of age. Looking at the spreadsheet of all baptisms in Gortnahoe, we find two Patrick's born around that time: 1822 to John and Judy Phelan, and 1825 Patrick and Jude Elvert. We can guess that John and Judy Phelan are very possible candidates for this Patrick. We can explore this further by looking at the sponsors for their wedding and the sponsors for the baptisms of their children.
What about the Patrick Maher or Bridget Mullally. They married in 1838. One very important point, is that according to baptismal records, they had no children after the Great Famine. Their eldest son's name was Patrick, born a year after their marriage. If this was Patrick's first marriage, then he would've been born around 1816. There is one Patrick baptized in Gortnahoe around that time--1817 to a John and Julia Corrigan (though the mother's name is not clearly written). While it is possible that this was in fact his baptismal record, it is also possible that he did not come from Gortnahoe, but a neighboring parish and married Bridget Mullally in her parish. It is also possible that his marriage to Bridget Mullally was his second marriage and that he was born before 1817. You will note on the spreadsheet that there was no Patrick baptized in Gortnahoe before John and Julia's.
Is it critically important to determine which Maher family Ellen is from? It may or may not be. So, in the next few posts, we'll look at the stories of other Mahers--some of her known relatives.
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