Family History

Broken News Patrick Mortimer traced to Birr The missing years between 1908 and 1916 may be on the way to being filled. Patrick was a Grocery and Provisions manager in Birr in 1911. Progress on the Joseph and Mary front Joseph and Mary Anne Mortimer (neé Connely) can now be placed in Glasnevin as early as 1861. Their marriage has been traced to the ProCathedral in that year. Finding out where their parents came from will require forensic examination of the marriage register. Father Gerry may be riding to the rescue on access to the hardcopy records. Joseph's relationship to Corporal Thomas still remains a mystery. Paddy Dwyer - when did he drown? Death indexes and Mayo coroner's inquest reports have drawn a blank. I am setting Cousin Colette on the proprietors of the Mayo News, for which Paddy was reputed to have been a reporter. Results will be posted, but information extracted under torture may not be reliable. Christopher Burgess - the early years. When did he come to town? It now looks like he was already living with his family in Thomas St. in 1866. How did he meet Sarah? How did he start his own business in 1873? Sergeant John Burgess on the Somme Did he fight at Leuze Wood, within 3 miles of where John P Dwyer lost his life at High Wood?

Pól's Ancestors This is a useful version of the tree which shows only direct ancestors. It is a good starting point to understanding who is who in this section. Family Trees Burgess   Mortimer   Dwyer   Fleming   Duffy   Medlar Burgess family in 1901/11 Censuses    No. 45 James's Street Dwyer family in 1901/11 Censuses    Barrack Street Birth, marriage & death certs A selection of birth, marriage and death certs gives the flavour of the information which can be gleaned from this source. The current selection is a fairly broad representation of the material I have in hardcopy but it is not comprehensive. Cemeteries Material here so far relates only to Prospect Cemetery in Glasnevin and to some of the families of Christopher and John Burgess and Patrick Mortimer. Further material in Glasnevin will be covered in due course and Deans Grange is due a visit to record my parents and uncle Pat. Cameos The intention is to flesh these cameos out over time. They are a good vehicle for bringing together disparate pieces of information and they may give some idea of life as seen from the perspective of the subject. I have been working on some more extended and detailed cameos which I have put up in the area reserved to family members. As these are perfected they will be brought over into this area. Meanwhile they provide the vehicle for more provocative and unrestrained speculation within the family. Where they lived This has proved a very interesting journey. So far it concentrates mainly on Dublin city. The idea is to show a current view of where people lived. Not only does it cover the geography of the city but it raises issues of urban planning and has resonances of social and economic history. RIC An RIC man in the family can be a mixed blessing. It can draw down upon you the odium of nationalists and of the lumpen proletariat. On the other hand it is a godsend to the genealogist as RIC records are very good. They can prove useful cross references and give you added insights. Parish Records The civil records, covered above, have the advantage of being indexed on a national basis. This makes it much easier to trace people. Unfortunately they only go back to the mid 19th century and going further back means dipping into (in my case Roman Catholic) parish records. This is a much more challenging and labour intensive task. You have to know the precise parish to follow up. While many records are available on film in the National Library, some bishops and parish priests, for their own good reasons no doubt, have declined to have their records filmed. This means visiting individual churches - when they let you in - or possibly paying heritage centres for the privilege. Many of the original records were badly kept in the first place and/or are in appaling condition. Needless to say, this is reflected in the filmed copies. In fairness, I should record that my own experience at parish level in Clontarf (St. John's) and Stephen's Green (University Church) has been fantastic - I got full and enthusiastic cooperation in both places. Pól's Birthplace I knew from my mother that I had been born in a nursing home rather than at home or in a maternity hospital. I never thought to ask where or why. Research revealed 40 Upper Fitzwilliam Street within sight of the National Maternity Hospital in Holles St. Sara's Sendoffs Mam worked in the Labour Exchange in Beresford Place and, when she was leaving the office to get married, she was presented with two valedictory poems. Somme 1916 When I started following up the family history I was aware that my uncle, my father's brother - John P Dwyer, had died on the Somme in the First World War (or the Great War for Civilisation as it was then known). I have since learned that my granduncle, my mother's uncle - John Burgess, also fought there and was invalided home. And, his grand-daughter Marie subsequently married Wolfgang, whose own grandfather had fought there - but on the opposing side. Stille Nacht! The Yorkshire Connection This is still a serious mystery. Corporal Thomas Mortimer died in Ranikhet, India, in 1992 while in service with the Prices's Own West Yorkshire Regiment. I haven't yet determined how he was related to the family. Griffiths Valuation The Griffiths Valuation records individual property owners from 1848 onwards. It can be a useful substitute for individual pre 1901 census returns, virtually all of which were destroyed. The 1821-51 returns were lost in the PRO fire in 1922 and the 1861-91 returns had already been destroyed by the authorities pre 1922. I have not yet looked closely at this source. I extracted relevant data from John Hayes's excellent site and arranged it by surname and county. Sources This section does not pretend to be a comprehensive guide to sources. Rather it is a record of my own use of particular sources so far. It does not, as yet, include online sources, of which I have made very little use so far. Back to Póló's home page

Related Blog Posts The links below are to posts which relate specifically to family history on my blog. Dublin in the rare oul times Changing Dublin through family eyes. My Tachondria and other trivia Background, gene pool and trades in the family. From small acorns ... Starting out researching the family tree. Traitors all! Family involvement with the (British) authorities. Family Members Area This area is restricted to family members only. It will give me a chance to post speculative, and occasionally offensive, material and have it tested for accuracy before releasing it on an unsuspecting world. Contact Feel free to leave a comment in the guestbook or to mail me if you don't want to go public. .   Design input from Nóra