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Friel family in Donegal

Donegal

raI am looking into my Friel line. My great grandmother was Margaret Friel (married an Irish Amaerican, Raymond Griffin). Margaret was born in Donegal in 1890 in Ballybotemple, Kilteevoge. I am unsure of her father, but believe it to be Michael Friel, born 1852 and possibly his father was Patrick O'Friel. 

Margaret's siblings left for Canada, while she left for the US (Pennsylvania).

I would like to get help with thefollowing:

  1. confirming Margaret's father as Michael Friel
  2. confirming Margaret's grandfather as Patrick O'Friel
  3. Passenger list with Margaret Friel. Oral histroy says the Friel family were friends with a Boyle/Doyle family and this is how the children were sent to North America. Any reason why the children were split up? They never saw each again with her brothers going to Canada in 1906.

Thanks,

Steve Griffin

griffin.whale@…

3 replies

Steve:

From the subscription site Roots Ireland, it appears that like Margaret was born November 6 1887 and baptized November 7 1887 in the Cloghan RC parish. Father was Michael O'Friel and mother Mary McNamee.The actual civil birth record shows born January 23 1888. However, I think the parents were late in registering the birth and to avoid a fine, they provided a later birth date. We frequently see this situation.

See sixth record  https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_retur…

Margaret had the following siblings" Mary Anne 1881 Michael 1882 Patrick 1884 James 1886 Ellen/Eleanor 1889 Catherine 1891 John 1893 Bridget Teresa 1895 Agnes 1896 Peter Paul Joseph 1898

Here is the 1901 census record and you will see that Michael Sr. had died and Margaret was not in the household

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Donegal/Cloghan/Ballyb…

Michael Sr. had died in November 1900 from pneumonia. See third record

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_retu…

So where was Margaret in 1901?  I did not find her in another household within the Cloghan area.

I looked for a death record for Mary Friel but did not find a record but presumably she died resulting in her children being sent to Canada. There were no Friels in Ballybotemple in 1911.

I will keep looking. Let me know if you have questions.

Roger McDonnell

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you Roger, this has been quite helpful. Glad you were able to verify this Friel line the best you could. The only thing I can find before 1855 is a piece of information on an Owen Freel (spelled different, but name variants aren't uncommon. The record shows his residence as Clondavaddog, Donegal, Ireland in 1834. But I cannot make a real connection and its possible they are unrelated. Ireland, Tithe Applotment Books, 1805-1837 [database on-line]

griffin.whale@…

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