Hi,
My great grandparents James McGinley and Ann McFadyen were I believe married in Co.Donegal on 28th February 1858.
I have no other information about them in Donegal and would be very grateful if anyone could help me with this.
Kind regards,
John Dougan.
John:
Finding church records in Co. Donegal is very difficult pre-1860 and civil registration of RC marriages started in 1864. I did search on the subscription site Roots Ireland but was not able to locate a marriage record. Did James and Anne stay in Ireland and have children? I did find two civil birth records for an Edward McGinley (1866) and a Kate McGinley (1869). In both records, the mother was shown as Hannah McFadden. Please let me know.
Roger McDonnell
Hi Roger,
Thanks again for your prompt reply.
The only information I have for James and Ann beyond their marriage is that they appear to have moved to Dumbarton, Scotland probably a short time later. Their daughter (my grandmother) Sarah McGinlay was born on 24th August 1868, baptised on 9th September 1868 at St Patrick's RC church, Dumbarton. She married my grandfather, Mark Reilly at St Patrick's, Dumbarton on 31st December 1901. She died on 19th May 1924 at Dumbarton.
At the moment I don't have info re Sarah's siblings, if any, however I am hopefully going to check that very soon and I'll let you know the result.
Kind regards,
John Dougan.
Hi Roger,
I've just searched 1871 Scotland Census and the info is as follows:-
James McGinlay (Head) 36 Born Ireland
Ann " (Wife) 30 " "
Ann " (Daughter) 11 " "
Helen " " 9 " "
Patrick " (Son) 7 " "
Mary " (Daughter) 4 " "
Sarah " (Daughter) 2 " Dumbarton
James " (Son) 2 months "
From this info I'm surmising that the family moved from Ireland to Scotland about 1867.
Kind regards,
John.
John,
Have you checked both Sarah & James birth certificates in Scotland? They should record not only the date of the parents marriage but also the location (ie parish). Statutory birth registration started in Ireland in 1864, so Patrick c 1864 and Mary c 1867 ought to be listed but I can't find either. Did James or Ann die in Scotland? If so, you should get their parents names from those certificates. (Ann looks to have died in Dumbarton in 1905 aged 63. GROS ref 496/305).
Hi John
james and Ann are my great great grandparents. I have the same wedding date but have a town name or parish name that looks like clondahorky - this is visable on John Mcginlay birth entry in Dumbarton 1877.
james and Ann had the following children
ann 1861, Ellen 1864, patrick(my gr grandfather) Mary 1867, sarah1868, susan1873 John 1877 and James 1871.
Bernadette Mcginlay
Clondahorky is a parish in Co. Donegal. Unfortunately its RC parish records don’t start till1877 making research in the 1850s and 1860s very difficult. Some information about the parish here:
http://donegalgenealogy.com/Clondahorkyproj.htm
Dozens of McGinleys in the parish.
Hi Bernadette,
Many thanks for replying to my enquiry.
It was great to find the name of the wedding township / village. I now hope to find out more about Clondahorky.
It's interesting to see that my grandmother Sarah McGinlay (24.08.1868) and your great grandfather Patrick were brother and sister. Do you know where Patrick was born or have any other information on the siblings?
Are you aware that James McGinlay (1835? / 1841? to 09.041901) was tragically killed while working on the railway near Dumbarton?
Any other information would be much appreciated and likewise I will pass on any new information I discover.
Kind Regards,
John Dougan.
Hi John,
I'm away at the moment but when I am home I will send you some information I have.
I believe the family moved to Dumbarton in 1867-68 and interestingly I have found a Francis Mcginlay ( James' father was Francis) from a town named Gortnaleck -clondahorky parish-who died in 1867. The same town had four families living there in 1851 and one was McGinlay's and the other mcfadyen so I'm hoping that it's them.
Anyway im in Donegal in a weeks time and will have a look to see if I can find anything out.
Whereabouts are you?
Berni
Here is a link to the death details
for Francis Mcginlay
Gortnaleck is a townland, rather than a town. A townland is an Irish administrative unit, and doesn’t necessarily have a town in it. Gortnaleck is 1586 acres and in 1901 had 23 houses and a population of 119, including 4 McGinley households. All were engaged in farming one way or another:
https://www.parksandgardens.org/places/thornhill-house
Hi Elwyn thank you for that information. If you can identify 4 McGinlay households do you have a rough area/address I could visit, or any old RC churches in the area.
thanks
berni
Berni,
Map showing Gortnaleck here:
https://www.logainm.ie/en/14334
Griffiths lists 4 McGinley farms (plots 4, 6 , 14 & 15) in the townland. You can see where they are located using the maps on the Griffiths site. Use the slider bar in the top right hand corner to switch between a contemporary map and a modern one.
There is basically just 1 road that runs through the middle of the townland. (Access off the L1003, minor road). The road through Gortnaleck doesn’t have a road number or name. The address today is probably still just Gortnaleck. Nothing more is required to get a letter delivered anywhere in the townland.
You can see all 4 properties using the satellite image on Griffiths. All 4 farms have houses on them today, whether or not they are original is hard to say from the satellite images. Modern custom is to knock the old farmhouses down and replace them with warmer and more comfortable homes.
If you are planning to visit, it is possible to work out the 4 McGinley farms from the Griffiths map and the satellite images or you could just visit the townland and knock on a few doors and ask.
John Grenham lists 5 graveyards in the parish:
Ask locally which are likely to have bene used by your family Nearest church looks to be St Michael’s in Creeslough. It’s a modern building dating to the 1970s and replaces another St Michael’s founded in 1784 which was nearby. See:
http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/40813001/st-…
Aww thank you for all of this information. I really appreciate your help.
Hi John,
Please can you send me your email address so I can share some information on the family.
thejames1 At virgin media com
Kind regards
Bernadette McGinlay
Hi Bernadette,
Sorry for the delay in replying.
My email address is dougan52@btinternet.com. Any information on the family would be much appreciated.
Kind regards,
John Dougan