A promising avenue - the Berrill's

For the moment I'd like to turn my attention to my mother's side of the family. Tomorrow or tuesday I shall be heading to the National Library of Ireland where most parish records are kept on microfilm. Hopefully I will have found out more by then, but let this post suffice as an introduction to the Berrill family.

My mother's name is Marie Whelan (née McKenna) and her family is predominantly from Co. Louth, north of Dublin. Her mother's name is Bridget Berrill and 'Berrill' is a name which is primarily located in Co. Louth. It is quite rare outside of that county, but frequently found in England along with variants such as Burrell/Berrell/Borel etc. Indeed, it is traditional seen as an old Anglo-Norman name, and that lineage immediately sparks my interest (i'm a medieval historian!). But let's not jump too far ahead!

My mother's grandparents were Thomas Berrill and Margaret Donagh, seen here in this photo:

I'll stick with the Berrill's for the moment. Thomas and Margaret were married in the Church of St, Mary's, Drogheda on June 5th, 1912. Thomas was a law-clerk residing in Dyer Street, Drogheda, while his father was John Berrill, a baker.

John Berrill was married to Alice Byrne (resident in Dromiskin at the time) on 8th November, 1877. John was over 20 years older than Alice at the time of the marriage, although both were of full age (i.e. over 21). According to the 1911 census records they had six children in total. Still resident with them in 1911 were Thomas and George and they were both Solicitors General Clerks. The other brother John, who appeared in the 1901 census, had married by 1911 to a women named Ellen. By 1911 John Sr. was a retired baker and John Jr. seems to have taken over the profession from his father. As to the other three brothers, they are still a mystery. I am assuming that they were older and probably already married and moved out by 1901. However, Berrill is an unusual enough name that I ought to be able to find them easily enough if I so wish.

Next is to go back one more generation. John Berrill's father was also called John, and Alice's father was Thomas Byrne and I know little about them. That is evidently the next part of my search, but I am fully aware that the further back I go the more difficult my task becomes. I'll post family tree's, charts, and maps soon so that all this becomes clearer!

Let's start with the Whelan's!

Let's start!

Since it is my surname, the Whelan branch of the family seems like an apt place to start. Whelan is a fairly common name in Ireland which makes my genealogical hunt even more of a challenge. Especially when you consider miss-spelling, illiteracy, and variants of names which appear in records and through a family tree. It's frequently pointed out that people with the surname such as O'Brien ought to be aware that the prefix O' can easily be dropped and added throughout the records. And don't even get me started on the different variations of a christian name - Catherine, Cath, Kate, etc. I went searching for a woman called Cissy - turns out her name was Mary Ann. So an open mind and a willingness to put in extra effort at the archives is essential. When it comes to the name Whelan is variants are superfluous:

• Phelan
• Whalen (frequently Whelan changed to Whalen when emmigrants moved to America)
• O' Faolain
• Felan, etc.

My father's name is Brendan Whelan, and his father is Harry (Henry) Whelan. Harry married Catherine Walsh in Dublin in 1949.


I love this picture. Harry looks especially dashing, almost reminiscent of 40's movie star (indeed, he 'met' Clark Gable once!) For this post I'm going to stick to Harry's side of the family. My nana's side of the family is proving really interesting so I'm going to keep digging there for a while before posting my findings.

Harry's father was Christopher Whelan, born c.1882. Christopher married Elizabeth Gavin in 1908. According to their marriage certificate Elizabeth was a minor at the time of their wedding. She was born c.1889 and therefore 19 when she married Christopher who was 26 at the time. Christoper's profession on the marriage certificate is labourer, while Elizabeth was a house-keeper. They were both resident at 22 Chancery St. at the time of the marriage, which is right beside the Church of St. Michan (Roman Catholic - on Halston St) where the service took place.
From the marriage certificate I can also glean both father's names and also their professions. Christopher Whelan's father was Thomas Whelan who was a salesman. Elizabeth Gavin's father is called Henry Gavin, a labourer. Since they were married in 1908, they turn up on the 1911 census records. Here we find Christopher and Elizabeth living in house 10.2 in Greek St. (Inns Quay) with their first child, also called Christopher! He would be my grandfather's eldest brother.

I'll leave it there for the moment. Next post re. the Whelan's will hopefully contain more about Thomas Whelan, my great-great-grandfather!

An Introduction

Hi!

So, I'm totally new to the world of blogging but really looking forward to getting started. I've been waiting to have a concrete subject to muse upon because I figure nobody wants to listen to my gripes and complaints! But having spent a very fruitful morning-afternoon in the General Register Office in Dublin (more on that to come!) I realised that genealogy was the answer, lame as it may sound!

I have always loved the BBC series 'Who Do You Think You Are,' which has been long-running in the UK and recently arrived on screens both in Ireland and the US. It's fascinating to look back and discover your family history, but it is time-consuming and often incredibly frustrating. It can also be dull too! In my head I've wanted to become mildly famous, for the sole purpose of the BBC doing all the genealogical research for me. Alas, that hasn't happened, nor does it seem ever likely to. Thus, my 4-5hr stint in the General Register Office in Dublin today!

Before I start blogging on my family and discovery's I make, I'm going to use this initial blog to introduce the difficulties facing many people looking to find their ancestors in Ireland:

1. The commonality of Irish names: From my own experience I understand how frustrating this can be. I am currently dealing with surnames such as Whelan/Walsh/Moore along with forenames like Catherine/Mary/Margaret/John/Patrick etc. Not only does this mean wading through indexes and eternal cross-referencing, but more often than not you find yourself being led up the wrong tree and all your hard work has been put to tracing someone else's family history!
2. Census records: currently there are two major census records available online for the public to search and view original copies for free - 1901 and 1911. http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/ A brief bit of history will help to illuminate this paucity of public records. In 1810, the creation of the Commission of Public Records. A Public Record Office was opened in 1867 and from then on there was the collection of national records. These were stored in the Custom House, Dublin. During the Civil War in 1922, the building sustained devastating damage and a fire destroyed most of the records. If you look at a picture of the building today you can see how the large drum that supports the dome is a darker colour stone to the rest of the building. The main building building was restored, but the dome was built new, such was the destruction that occurred. Thus, the lack of census records for the 19th century. Although we ought to be thankful for the work done by the National Archive in the wake of the civil war in compiling the surviving records and more recently, for making them readily available for inspection online for free.

I'll leave it there for the moment. From now on I'll be updating on my family tree, and sharing information I discover, and links and resources which I feel will be worthwhile to whomever is reading this, or wants to research their own Irish family history.