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Edward Slevin and Margaret McBride - Armagh

ArmaghArmagh (Armagh)

I am descended from Edward Slevin & Margaret McBride who married in St Patricks Roman Catholic Cathedralon 28th January 1857 and emigrated to Victoria Australia on the ship ECHUNGA arriving on the 19th August 1857. Edward was listed as age 26 in immigration shipping record and Margaret age 23. Edward worked a farm at Woodside in Gippsland (eastern Vicroria) (occupation for Edward is listed as Gardenerin birth certificate of daughter Rosanna).Edward Slevin died 27th Sept 1879 at Woodside with his parents listed as Edward Patrick Slevin and Margaret ???? Margaret McBride died on 5th June 1866 at Woodside with her parents listed as Francis McBride and Margaret ???? They are both buried in the Woodside old cemetry.

I am planning a trip to Northern Ireland this year and am keen to extend any additional details and explore any known family locations, in this case Armagh. I have other branches of the family tree in Northern Ireland that I will also be exploring.

Regards

Peter

plhodder16@gmail.com

2 replies

Peter,

I had a look at the 1857 marriage record. It doesn’t tell us much about the couple. The witnesses were Thomas Sherry and Margaret Donnelly, but there are no addresses or occupations. Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church so presumably Margaret came from the parish of Armagh. Probably Edward did too but we can’t be absolutely certain about that.

Do you have any occupations for Edward or Margaret’s fathers?

Death registration started in Ireland in 1864. I searched the post 1864 records for an Edward Slevin of roughly the right age to be the father of Edward born c 1831. He died 7.10.1873, aged 58. So born c 1815. That death certificate isn’t on-line free yet. You can view the original certificate on-line on the GRONI website, using the “search registrations” option:

https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

You will need to open an account and buy some credits. It costs £2.50 (sterling) to a view a certificate.

I also looked for death for Margaret Slavin, 1864 onwards, again in the Armagh registration area. I only found 1:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1880/06491/4868082.pdf

She died 11.2.1880 aged 60 and was the widow of a shoemaker. The informant was Joseph Slevin. Both lived in Castle St, Armagh.

I also found this death of a Margaret Slavin, in 1899, wife of James a clothes dealer. I wonder if that was the same James who informed on the 1880 death?

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1899/05799/4640670.pdf

James in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Armagh/South_Ward/Thomas_Street/1011218/

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the ages on the death certificates. They were usually just a guess and could often be out by 100 years or more, for someone in their 60s or older. Most people in Ireland in the 1800s didn't celebrate birthdays and often had little idea of how old they were.

I searched the street directory for Armagh up to the mid 1870s, but did not find any reference to Edward Slevin. (Not everyone was listed though).

I had a look for Edward & Margret’s baptisms but did not find either. Nor could I find their parents marriages. I couldn’t see a death for any Francis McBride around the Armagh area 1864 to 1901. The only possible Margaret McBride died in 1876 aged 50. Again slightly too young but the age could be wrong. You might want to look it up to see if you get any clues.

That apart, I am afraid I have drawn a blank. I can’t find any reference to either family. 

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Elwyn,

Thank you for your research efforts. I registered with the GRO and viewed the certificate for Edward Slevin died 7/10/1873 , see attached JPG. It shows he was a shoemaker that matches the Margaret Slevin death certificate (widow of shoemaker), meaning they were married. They were both in Castle Street and informant was James Slevin, I would think this is their son, a brother of my Edward Slevin? It shows that Edward was Roman Catholic. 

I did some further research on FindMyPast and found the following references for Edward Slevin (Search criteria Edward Slevin born 1810 +/- 10 years  ----->):

1  Land Rates records 1837 at Derrydrew, which I determined rightly or wrongly was around Loughall, not far from Armagh. Could Edward have moved off the land to the city during the 1840s?

2  Griffiths Valuation 1847-64 for year 1864 City of Armagh Castle Stret between Chapel Lane (found in Googl Maps) and Ross Lane (unmarked lane in Google Maps), House and Yard Annual Value 4 pounds Map Reference S3 No 46 (seems to refer to a map of township?). This matches the place of residence for the death certificates. Also I noticed that a Donnelley family lived a few houses down in Castle Street, so the witness on the marriage certificate of Margaret McBride and Edward Slevin could be the neighbour friend. It appears strange that Edward Slevin (father) was not a witness on the mariage certificate if still alive as indicated by 1873 death certificate, is this normal for Irish marriages? Or could we be looking at another Slevin family? How popular is Slevin in this part of Ireland. My research has not brought up high numbers. Is there a way to determine this from baptisms in the Armagh county?

As there are no baptisms for  Margaret McBride and Edward Slevin, could the Derrydrew reference be a source of looking for baptisms for Slevin in particular?

This process has been helpful to date, I now have the church to visit and possibly Castle Street with some idea of location on street. would be good to explore if there is a Derrydrew connection.

Regards

Peter

plhodder16@gmail.com

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