Hello Jim,
Many thanks for providing all that information about Edward Darcy that the researcher uncovered for you. It is very interesting to read and must satisfying for you to know there are official records showing that one of your ancestors had fought at the Battle of Trafalgar under the command of Admiral Nelson. This was a major naval engagement in the Napoleonic Wars.
When Edward was born circa 1783 the Irish government had not yet required that births, marriages, and deaths be recorded under a civil registration system. Civil registration began in Ireland in 1845 when the government recorded civil marriages and Protestant marriages. Catholic marriages were not recorded at this time. Civil registration of births, marriages and deaths for all religious denominations commenced in Ireland in 1864.
Before 1864 you have to rely on church baptism, marriage and birth records. Many Catholic and Protestant churches in Ireland do not have registers that go back to circa 1783 when Edward was born.
For instance, the Oughteragh Church of Ireland registers in County Leitrim begin in 1833. The Catholic registers for Oughteragh begin in 1869.
For the Kiltubbrid parish, only Catholic registers are available. They begin in 1841.
Unfortunately, there will not civil registration birth records or baptism records for Edward.
Jim, was Edward Catholic or Protestant?
Do you know if he married, his year of marriage, and the name of the person he married? If he had children do you know their names and the years they were born? Also, do you know the year Edward died. If he died after 1863 there could be a death record for him.
If Edward had been Catholic, there may be baptism records for his children, or more likely grandchildren online that I can access for free, that is, if these children were born in the Klitubbrid parish after 1840. By 1840 Edward would have been 57 years old, if born in 1783.
In doing a little research in Irish land records, I found an Edward, Peter, and Michael “Darcey,” in an agricultural record called the Tithe Applotment Books. The year of the record for the Tithe books is 1833, when Edward would have been 50 years old if he had lived until then.
This record may pertain to Edward and two of his sons, or Edward’s three sons. Your information shows that Edward had settled in the townland of Keshcarrigan, Leitrim. In the tithe record however, the Darceys are leasing farmland in the townland of Leitra, Civil Parish of Kiltubbrid.
The Tithe Applotment Book records were found at the National Archives of Ireland website, and are free to access. You can learn more about the Tithe Applotment Books at the following National Archives of Ireland links:
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/about.jsp
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/aboutmore.jsp
To view the Tithe Applotment Book index for the Darceys in Leitra, go to: https://is.gd/xpIfsm
A copy of the original Tithe Applotment Book entry for the Darceys in Leitra can be accessed at: https://is.gd/lHLnoD
The first townland listed in the Tithe book is Loughconway. The Leitra townland is under that. Peter, Edward, and Michael Darcey are the 4th, 5th, and 6th Occupiers listed under the townland of Leitra.
The are two facing pages of the tithe book. The entry for Edward, if I’m reading it correctly, shows he was leasing 2 perches of meadow; 3 acres of arable land; and 1.2 acres of “Moorey,” land, or moorlands, for a total of 5 acres of land.
Going to the right-facing section of the tithe book, Edward is shown to have paid 4 Shillings and 1 Pence in tithes for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland.
Peter paid 3 Shillings and 7 1/2 Pence in tithes, while Michael paid 2 Shillings and 4 Pence in tithes.
If Edward, Peter, and Michael were Roman Catholic, they would not have been very happy paying tithes to the Church of England.
Jim, do any of your records show if Edward had brothers or sons named Peter and Michael?
For a Google Street View of Leitra, go to: https://is.gd/Db101k
A Google Map shows that Leitra is only 4.3 miles west of Keshcarrigan. See the map at: https://is.gd/dnqcWS
I also accessed an Ordnance Survey Map of Keshcarrigan from the GeoHive website. This map was compiled between 1837 and 1842 and shows there is a Post Office in the town. What this means is that it is possible that Edward gave his address as Keshcarrigan, as this was where he received his mail. In other words, Keshcarrigan would be his postal address.
The Ordnance Survey Map of Keshcarrigan is attached to this reply.
Also attached to this reply is an Ordnance Survey Map of Leitra from the 1837 to 1842 time period.
For the next search I accessed the 1901 census at the National Archives of Ireland website to see if there were any Darceys/Darcys living in Keshcarrigan and in Leitra. None were in Keshcarrigan, but there is one family in Leitra in the 1901 census. This is the family of 31 year old Peter and 28 year old Maryann Darcy and their two children, Mary Ellen and Bridget. Also in the household is Peter’s 63 year old mother Bridget Darcy. The census shows they are the “Residents of a house 7 in Leitra (Moher, Leitrim).”
You can view the 1901 census transcription for the Darcy household at: https://is.gd/GkMK9I
Once the census downloads make sure to click on “Show all information” to view the full census page.
The next link shows there were seven other households counted in Leitra in the 1901 census: https://is.gd/d9A9aT
The Peter Darcy in the 1901 census may be the grandson of the Peter Darcy recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books from the year 1833, 68 years earlier.
Going to the 1911 census I found that 43 year old Peter and 41 year old Mary Anne Darcy now had six children. Also in the household is 68 year old Marget Flynn. She is shown to be Peter’s mother-in-law. She would be Mary Anne’s mother. Peter’s mother Bridget Darcy is not in the household, which is an indication she was deceased by 1911. The census shows the Darcy family were the “Residents of a house 2 in Leitra (Moher, Leitrim).”
The census transcription can be found at: https://is.gd/wcWno7
Once the transcription downloads, click on “Show all information.” On the census line for Mary Anne you’ll see that she and Peter had been married for 13 years and in that time period had six children, with all six children still alive. The six children are in the household with their parents.
What the census also shows is that Peter had married Mary Anne Flynn thirteen years earlier, which places their year of marriage circa 1898.
With this information I found a copy of their original civil registration marriage record at the irishgenealogy.ie website, which shows that 26 year old Peter Darcy and 24 year old Mary Anne Flynn were married in the Roman Catholic Chapel of Gowel (Leitrim), on April 28, 1898. At the time of the marriage Peter had been a bachelor and Mary Anne a spinster. Peter’s occupation was farmer. His residence at the time of marriage was Leitra. The marriage record also shows that his father was Patrick Darcy, a farmer who was deceased.
Mary Anne’s residence at the time of marriage was Drumgowna. Her father was Michael Flynn who was deceased. Peter and Mary Anne were married by John Brady, C.C. The initials C.C. stand for “Catholic Curate.” The witnesses to the marriage were Joseph Darcy and Maggie Cullen. Joseph Darcy may have been Peter’s brother. The marriage is Number 112 in the marriage register which you can access at: https://is.gd/JyA6NU
A Google Map shows the locations of Leitra, Keshcarrigan, Drumgowna, and Gowel, where the marriage took place: https://is.gd/gtBI9q
An Ordnance Survey Map from 1907 shows the R.C. Chapel in Gowel is called St. Patrick’s. The map is attached to this reply.
For a Google Street View of St. Patrick’s Church in Gowel, go to: https://is.gd/AozFBs
Jim, in your Darcy research have you come across Pater and Mary Anne Darcy or any of their children? Or have you traced any of your Darcy ancestors to Leitra, Leitrim, just a little over 4 miles west of Keshcarrigan?
Kind Regards,
Dave
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