I am looking for the birth and death info for a Elizabeth Rooney who married her cousin Bernard Rooney 7 May 1861 in Clonallan Warrenpoint Co. Down at St Peters. I am also looking for the burial place of Bernard Rooney who died 4 Feb 1883 in Armagh Keady.
Thank you in advance for any and all help and guidance,
Ann Rooney Murray
Ann,
You haven’t said when Elizabeth Rooney was born or what you know of her background. Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church, so she may have been baptised in it. The Clonallan RC records start in 1826 but Rooney is a common name in that area and there's no easy way of being sure you have found the right baptism if you don’t know something about her parents.
Bernard’s death certificate in 1883 says he was a widower, so presumably Elizabeth died between 1861 and 1883. I searched for a death 1864 to 1883 in the Armagh registration area, but did not see one that fits. If she died before 1864 there won’t be a death record.
I see from Bernard’s death certificate that he was a farmer and lived in Mullyard. There was a Bernard listed there in Griffiths Valuation in 1864 (farming plot 28) and so presumably he had lived in the area a fair length of time. So was probably buried locally. According to the Ulster Historical Foundation’s site, there are 3 graveyards in Derrynoose civil parish that he could be in. Madden RC, Maghery (mixed) and Derrynoose Old. I would suggest you search the gravestones in those 3.
Hello Elwyn, thank you for your help. Unfortunately the only info I have for Elizabeth is the marriage (Bernard was her 4th cousin) and the birth/baptisms of her children.Bernard remarried in 16 Nov 1881 to Anne Barry. His death cert lists Anne as his daughter in law but I have the marriage cert. She was so much younger than Bernard the person filling out the death cert made an assuption I guess.
Do I contact each church to ask for a gravestone search or do I contact the Ulster Historicl Foundation?
Ann
Ann,
Regarding searching for gravestones, you could certainly try the Ulster Historical Foundation website but I don’t know if they have any records for the graveyards I have mentioned.
http://www.ancestryireland.com
The graveyards may not be attached to any church, or if they are, I don’t know which that would be. Derrynoose Old graveyard, I am sure will not be attached to any church. Unless someone has transcribed the gravestones and put them on one of the pay to view sites, often the only way to find a gravestone is to go in person (or pay a a researcher to do it for you).
There are very unlikely to be burial records for someone buried in the 1880s and so if there’s no legible gravestone, then locating the grave may prove pretty difficult.
If Bernard was a farmer, then that increases the chances of there being a gravestone. The vast majority of the population couldn’t afford a gravestone and were buried in unmarked graves. However your chances with a farmer are a bit better, as they were usually a bit better off than the average labourer. Occasionally a relative overseas paid for a gravestone, so that can be a possibility too. (You will frequently see stones with inscriptions saying things like “Erected by son William in Ohio” etc).