Hello Brian,
I’m not related but to add to Rua’s kind reply on 10 July 2018, I uncovered the baptism transcriptions of four children of Bernard Grennan and Catherine Callaghan at the Find My Past (FMP) website. The Find My Past website is mainly a subscription-based or Pay-As-You-Go website, but has forgone charging for Catholic baptisms, marriages, and available church burial transcriptions for all of Ireland for much of the 19th century. Some of the Catholic Parish registers even go back to the 18th century. Attached to the FMP transcriptions are links that will take you to copies of the actual baptism records for the four Grennan children that can be accessed at no charge from the National Library of Ireland (NLI) website. All four children were baptized in the Kilcorkey & Frenchpark Catholic Parish. The Catholic Parish of Kilcorkey & Frenchpark was located in the Civil Parish of Kilcorkey.
I haven’t included the FMP baptism transcriptions in this reply as transcriptions are under copyright, but have provided the links to the National Library of Ireland website where you can access the baptism records themselves.
The first baptism I found was for Margarita Grennan. You mentioned Margaret in your query. Margarita is the Latin form of Margarita. She was baptized in the Killcorkey & Frenchpark Catholic Parish on 22 September 1865. You can view a copy of her original baptism entry at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000633912#page/5/mode/1up
Once the image downloads you’ll see that baptisms span two facing pages of the register. Margarita’s baptism is on Line 15, which is the second entry up from the bottom of the register. You can enlarge the page by means of round icons in the upper center/ right of the screen. The icons are white with green backgrounds. You can also access the full-screen function by clicking on the last icon on the right with the two arrows pointing northeast and southwest.
The left-hand portion of the baptism register gives Margarita’s first and last names, the date of her birth, which was September 17, 1865, and the names of her parents. Her father’s name is in the Latin, “Bernardi.” Also on this page is the name of the town where the family were living at the time of the baptism, which the priest spelled as “Belangare.”
On the right-hand page of the register is the date of Margarita’s baptism, 22 September. To the right of the date of the baptism is the name of the priest who baptized her. His name was the Rev. Pat McDonagh. To the right of the priest’s name are the names of the godparents. Margarita’s godfather is Andrew Farrell. The first name of the godmother is Maria, but I am not sure of Maria’s last name. It could be Heffernan, but I’m not sure about that. To the right of the names of the godparents is the notation, “Subconditione.” What this term implies is that the person who delivered the baby, perhaps a midwife, or Catherine’s mother, or her sister, performed an emergency baptism, in case the child did not survive. If you go up to the baptism record on Line 9 of the register, you’ll see that the baptism of the child Thomas Kenny, was also performed, “Subconditione.”
The next baptism record is for Peter Grennan. His baptism is on Line 10 of the register, which you can access at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000633912#page/14/mode/1up
The register shows that he was born on 18 October 1867. His father is Bernardo Grennan and his mother Catherina Callaghan. The parents were living in Belangare at the time of the birth and baptism. The second page of the register shows that Peter was baptized on 26 October by the Rev. Pat McDonagh. Peter’s godfather is Michaele Roche. The first name of the godmother is Maria, but I couldn’t make out the rest of her name. You’ll also notice that Peter was baptized, “Subconditione.”
Following Peter is the birth and baptism for Elizabeth Grennan. Her record is the 6th entry up from the bottom of the page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000633912#page/25/mode/1up
Elizabeth was born on 22 May 1869. Her parents are Bernardo Grennan and Catherina Callaghan of Belangare. The second page of the register shows that Elizabeth was baptized by the Rev. Pat McDonagh on 22 May, which was the day she was born. Her godparents are Joanne (John) Grennan and Brigida Tighe. Brigida’s last name is pronounced, “Teeg.”
The fourth child whose record I found is Catherina Maria Grennan. Hers is the 3rd entry up from the bottom of the baptism register page at: https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000633912#page/49/mode/1up
Catherina Maria was born on 18 November 1872. Her parents are Bernardo Grennan and Catherina Callaghan of Belangare. The second page of the register shows that she was baptized on 30 November 1872 by the Rev. Pat McDonagh. The name of Catherine Maria’s godfather is Michaele Grennan. The first name of the godmother is Brigida, but I couldn’t decipher her last name.
The name of the Catholic Parish where the Grennan children were baptized was Kilcorkey & Frenchpark. At this point in the research I didn’t know if the children were baptized in a church located in Kilcorkey, or in Frenchpark, or even in Ballinagare.
I couldn’t find evidence of a Catholic Church in Kilcorkey, but did find that there is a Catholic Church in Ballinagare. I went to Google Maps to see if the Catholic Church in Ballinagare is annotated on the map, but found that it isn’t. To see a Google Map of Ballinagare, go to: https://is.gd/hgtUa3
On the map you’ll notice the location of the Ballinagare Health and Leisure Centre just to the left of the N5 highway. The Catholic Church is actually just in front of the leisure centre. You can view the church at a Google Street View image at: https://is.gd/7rh0wR
A satellite image of this area shows the leisure centre is just behind the church: https://is.gd/rtS2ll
If you go back to the Google Street View of the church, you’ll see that it doesn’t look as if it had existed in the 19th century. This church may have been built sometime on the 20th century. But it may have been built on the site of an earlier Catholic Church.
To see if I could learn if there had been a church in this location in Ballinagare in the 19th century, I went to the Ordnance Survey Ireland website where I accessed an Ordnance Survey Map of Bellanagare produced between the years 1829 and 1841. The map shows the location of an “R.C. Chapel” in Bellinagare. You can view this old map at: http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,574899,787652,11,7
If you compare the modern day Google Map showing the location of the Ballinagare Health and Leisure Centre, which is just behind the church, with the Ordnance Survey Map from the 1829-1841 time period, you’ll see they are situated in the same area of town.
On the Ordnance Survey Map you’ll also notice that the R.C. Chapel is in the form of a cross. Whereas, if you go back and access the satellite view of the leisure centre and church, you’ll see that the current church architecture is not in the shape of a cross. If you go to Ballinagare in August you can stop by the church and ask the parish priest when the current church structure was built. Your Grennan and Callaghan ancestors may have worshipped in the older church in Ballinagare.
If the Grennan children were not baptized in the Ballinagare Catholic Church, they may have been baptized in the Frenchpark Catholic Church, about three miles to the north. The name of this church is St. Asicus, according to Google Maps. See: https://is.gd/gmd1gH
For a Google Street View of the St. Asicus Catholic Church go to: https://is.gd/tu1D6r
Concerning Bernard Bryan Grennan and Catherine Callahan: if they were born in the Kilcorkey/Frenchpark/Ballinagare area, there will not be baptism records for them. Information at the National Library of Ireland shows that baptism records for the Frenchpark Catholic Parish only begin in 1865, the year that Margaret Grennan was born and baptized. See the National Library of Ireland website link at: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0547
You’ll notice on the National Library of Ireland page that no marriage records for the Frenchpark Parish are listed. I don’t know if the library hasn’t digitized the Frenchpark Catholic marriage register yet, or if they even hold the original marriage records. However, information from RootsIreland website shows that Frenchpark marriage registers are available from 1865 to 1900. See: https://is.gd/Bolxfr
This means that there will probably be no marriage record for Bernard Bryan Grennan and Catherine Callaghan, unless they had married shortly before their daughter Margaret was born so that she would not be born out of wedlock. For more information about RootsIreland go to: http://www.rootsireland.ie/
IRELAND CIVIL REGISTRATION RECORDS
The government in Ireland commenced with civil registration of Protestant marriages on 1 April 1845. Catholic marriages were not recorded by the government at the request of the Catholic Church, as the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland did not want the Anglican government to have lists of its parishioners at that time.
Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths for all religious denomination in Ireland began on 1 January 1864. This means that any births, marriages, and deaths after 1863, would ostensibly have been recorded by local county registrars in their respective county Civil Registration Districts. However, because civil registration for all religious denominations was new, not all births, marriages, and deaths were recorded in 1864. Even after 1864 there were births, marriages, and deaths that were not recorded, probably because they were not reported to the local registrar.
Today, the irishgenealogy.ie website has digitized, and placed online for free, copies of original civil birth records from 1864 to 1916. Copies of original marriages are online for the years 1870 to 1941. Copies of original death records are available for the years 1878 to 1966. The irishgenealogy.ie website plans to make available online, copies of original marriage records back to 1845, and death records back to 1864. At present there are indexes of marriages from 1845 to 1869, and death indexes from 1864 to 1877. But these indexes do not give a lot of information. For example, marriage indexes include the name of one of the partners, the year of the marriage, the Superintendent Registration District where the marriage was recorded, and the volume and page number where the marriage can be found in the marriage register. Today, birth, marriage, and death registers are held by the General Register Office, with locations in Dublin and Roscommon Town, County Roscommon.
The next search involved looking for the civil birth records for the four Grennan children at the irishgenealogy.ie website. I found the birth records for three of the children. I didn’t uncover Peter’s birth record however. I’ve attached copies of the original birth records for the Grennan children to this reply.
The baptisms were all recorded in the Castlerea Civil Registration District. I looked for the 1865 birth record for Margaret first, but didn’t find her birth record under the name of Margaret. Her first name in the birth record is Maria. Her birth record is on Line 397 of the birth register attached to this reply. She was born on 17 September 1865 in “Balanagar.” This is the same date of birth for her as found in the baptism register. Her father is Bryan Grennan, of “Balinagare.” I’m not sure why the local registrar used two different spellings for the residence of the Grennan family. The birth record also shows that Maria’s mother is Catherine Grennan, formerly Callahan. The occupation of Maria’s father is “Dealer.” Bryan Grennan is shown to have been present at the birth. His residence once again is Balinagare. Maria’s birth was recorded by the local registrar on 21 September 1865. The name of the registrar is hard to decipher, but it appears to be Mo Donohoe, though I could be wrong about that.
As mentioned earlier I didn’t find the civil birth record for Peter Grennan. His baptism register entry however shows that he was born on 18 October 1867.
The Grennan child born and baptized after Peter was Elizabeth, whose birth record is also attached to this reply. Her birth record however, gives her first name as Eliza, which is a variant of Elizabeth. Eliza’s birth entry is on Line 463 of the birth register. She was born in Ballinagar on 28 May 1869. Her baptism record though, gives her date of birth as 22 May 1869.
The birth record shows Eliza’s father is Bryan Grennan of Ballinagar. His occupation is labourer. Eliza’s mother is Catherine Grennan, formerly Callaghan. Bridget Grennan was present at the birth and also reported the birth to the local registrar. Bridget could have been Bryan’s sister or some other female relative. The Deputy Registrar, whose last name was Coleman, recorded Eliza’s birth in June 1869. I couldn’t make out the day in June when he recorded the birth.
The last child whose birth record I found was Kate Maria Grennan. Her birth is on Line 468 of the birth register, which is the first entry on the register. Kate was born on 18 November 1872 in Belanagare. This is the same date of birth as recorded in the baptism register. Kate’s father is Bryan Grennan, a labourer residing in Bellanagare. Kate’s mother is Catherine Grennan, formerly Callaghan. Catherine reported the birth to the local Deputy Registrar who recorded the birth on 4 December 1872. I couldn’t make out the name of the Deputy Registrar.
GRIFFITHS VALUATION
The next search involved looking for Bernard Bryan Grennan and any Callaghans in an Irish property tax record known as Griffiths Valuation. Griffiths Valuation was enumerated in the 32 counties of Ireland between 1847 and 1864. The valuation for Bellanagare, County Roscommon, was completed by the year 1857.
Unlike a census, Griffiths Valuation did not enumerate individual members of a family, such as husband, wife, and children in a household residence. Those named in the valuation were individuals who leased property. Each person who paid to lease the property was called an “Occupier.” The other person listed in Griffiths Valuation was the person who owned the property, or who worked as the middleman for the owner. This person was called the “Immediate Lessor.”
You can access Griffiths Valuation transcriptions and original copies for free at the askaboutireland website link at: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml
I found an Occupier named Bryan “Grannan” leasing property in Bellanagare Village, in Griffiths Valuation. I believe this Occupier refers to your Bryan Bernard Grennan. Below is the Griffiths Valuation transcription of the entry for Bryan Grannan, from the askaboutireland website:
No. and Letters of Reference to Map: 19
Civil Parish: Kilcorkey
Village of Bellanagare
Occupier: Bryan Grannan
Immediate Lessor: Thomas Gormley
Description of Tenement: House and yard
Area of Land: - Acres, - Roods, - Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: - Pounds
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 1 Pound, 5 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 1 Pound, 5 Shillings
Source: Ask About Ireland: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameS…
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Griffiths Valuation shows that Bryan Grannan leased a house and yard in the Village of Bellanagare from an Immediate Lessor named Thomas Gormley, who was likely the middleman for the owner of the property. I believe the owner was Charles Owen O’Connor. The value of the house and yard was 1 Pound and 5 Shillings. The valuation further shows that Bryan did not lease any land, indicating he was not a farmer, but perhaps a tradesman. If you go back to the civil birth record for his daughter Maria, born on 17 September 1865, you’ll see that the occupation of her father Bryan is “dealer.” The birth record however, does not tell you what product or products he was dealing in.
Bryan would not have paid a tax on the value of his house and yard as only those properties valued over 5 Pounds were subject of the tax.
At the top of the Griffiths Valuation entry you’ll see reference to map number 19. In towns, villages, and cities these numbers may refer to house numbers. I would say that Bryan Grannan lived not very far from the R.C. Chapel you saw earlier in this reply on the Ordnance Survey Map, from Ordnance Survey Ireland. For more information about Griffiths Valuation and maps, go to the Ask About Ireland link at:
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/irish-genea…
You can access the maps that accompany Griffiths Valuation entries for each Occupier from the Ask About Ireland website. Individual leaseholds on these maps can be difficult to find. For instance I didn’t find map number 19 in the Village of Bellanagare where Griffiths Valuation notes that Bryan Grannan leased his property. There is a location southeast of the center of the village with the map number 19. This is a large parcel of property that was, I believe, being leased by another Occupier named Rev. Patk McDonough.
Also, I have not been able to attach or link the Ordnance Survey Maps from Ask About Ireland to replies such as this.
Next, I found that a James Callaghan leased two different properties in the Village of Bellanagare. James could have been Catherine Callaghan Grennan’s father. Or, he may have been her brother, or perhaps an uncle.
Below is a transcription of one of the properties leased by James Callaghan from an Immediate Lessor named Charles Owen O’Connor. This property, located at house 14, consisted of an office, yard, and garden. The yard and garden were well under an acre and were valued at 5 Shillings, while the office was valued at 15 Shillings. The total valuation of the lease was 1 Pound. An office in a Griffiths Valuation record could refer to any type of outbuilding such as as a barn, stable, blacksmith shop, piggery, etc.
The transcription follows:
No. and Letters of Reference to Map: 14
Civil Parish: Kilcorkey
Village of Bellanagare
Occupier: James Callaghan
Immediate Lessor: Charles Owen O’Connor
Description of Tenement: Office, yard, & garden
Area of Land: - Acres, - Roods, 23 Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 5 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 15 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 1 Pound
Source: Ask About Ireland: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameS…
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The second piece of property that James Callaghan leased in the Village, was house number 17. The Immediate Lessor was Thomas O’Gara. The property consisted of a house, offices, a yard, and garden. The yard and garden were under an acre in size and valued at 5 Shillings, while the house and offices were valued at 4 Pounds and 5 Shillings. The total valuation of the property was 4 Pounds and 10 Shillings.
See the transcription below:
No. and Letters of Reference to Map: 17
Civil Parish: Kilcorkey
Village of Bellanagare
Occupier: James Callaghan
Immediate Lessor: Thomas O’Gara
Description of Tenement: House, offices, yard & garden
Area of Land: - Acres, - Roods, 30 Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 5 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 4 Pounds, 5 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 4 Pounds, 10 Shillings
Source: Ask About Ireland: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameS…
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Griffiths Valuation further shows that James Callaghan leased property in Bellangare at map reference 16, which I believe refers to property that was not in the center of the village, but on the outskirts of the village. He leased only land from Charles Owen O’Connor. The size of the land was over 6 acres and valued at 5 Pounds and 5 Shillings. The total valuation was 5 Pounds and 5 Shillings: See the transcription below:
No. and Letters of Reference to Map: 16
Civil Parish: Kilcorkey
Townland: Bellanagare
Occupier: James Callaghan
Immediate Lessor: Charles Owen O’Connor
Description of Tenement: Land
Area of Land: 6 Acres, 2 Roods, 20 Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 5 Pounds, 5 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: -
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 5 Pounds, 5 Shillings
Source: Ask About Ireland: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameS…
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Bryan, when you go to Ireland in August, and if you stop in Dublin, I recommend going to the Valuation Office on Abbey Street Lower and bring this reply with you noting the four Griffiths Valuation transcriptions, one transcription for Bryan Grannan, and the three transcriptions for James Callaghan. Staff at the Valuation Office should be able to show you where in the Village of Bellanagare as well as the townland of Bellanagare, that Bryan and James had leased their property. For more information about the Valuation Office go to: http://www.valoff.ie/en/Archives_Genealogy_Public_Office/
ELIZABETH GRENNAN
I found what I believe to be the New York marriage transcription for Elizabeth Grennan, showing that she and John Manning were married in Manhattan on 4 June 1904. The transcription is from the Family Search/Latter Day Saints (LDS) website.
The transcription shows Elizabeth’s father is Bernard, while her mother is Catherine “Callahan.” The marriage record also shows that Elizabeth was from Ireland.
At the time of marriage John Manning was 25 years old with an estimated birth year of 1879. He was born in England. His father is John and his mother Mary Hanly.
You probably already have this information about Elizabeth, but in case you don’t, the transcription follows:
New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940
Name John Manning
Event Type Marriage
Event Date 04 Jun 1904
Event Place Manhattan, New York, New York, United States
Event Place (Original) Manhattan, New York
Gender Male
Age 25
Marital Status Single
Race White
Birth Year (Estimated) 1879
Birthplace England
Father's Name John
Mother's Name Mary Hanly
Spouse's Name Elizabeth Grennan
Spouse's Gender Female
Spouse's Marital Status Single
Spouse's Race White
Spouse's Birthplace Ireland
Spouse's Father's Name Bernard
Spouse's Mother's Name Catharine Callahan
Citing this Record
"New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24MK-X65 : 10 February 2018), John Manning and Elizabeth Grennan, 04 Jun 1904; citing Marriage, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York City Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 1,556,692.
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With the information from the above marriage record, I believe I uncovered the marriage index for John Manning and Mary Hanly, whose middle name is Ann. The index was found at the Ancestry.com website, and shows the couple’s marriage was recorded in the West Derby (pronounced Darby) Registration District in the December quarter of 1874. The West Derby district is located in Lancashire. The December quarter is inclusive of the months of October, November, and December. The index also shows that another couple, William Thomas and Annie Jones were also married in the West Derby district in the December quarter of 1874.
See the index below:
England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915
Name: John Manning
Registration Year: 1874
Registration Quarter: Oct-Nov-Dec
Registration district: West Derby
Inferred County: Lancashire
Volume: 8b
Page: 861
Names in Index
Mary Ann Hanly Annie Jones John Manning William Thomas
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If you would like the full marriage record for John Manning and Mary Hanly you can order it from the General Register Office (GRO), in Southport, England. The marriage will be recorded in Volume 8b, Page 861 of the GRO register.
To order birth, marriage, and death records from the GRO, and for more information about prices for certificates, and to establish a free account, go to the GRO website at: https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/default.asp
Costs for certificates are £9.25. You can pay by credit card.
To see what information may be found in GRO birth, marriage, and death records, go to the following link:
https://www.freebmd.org.uk/Certificates.html
The marriage record for John and Mary will include the names and occupations of their fathers, but not their mothers.
While at the GRO website I found the birth index for the younger John Manning, showing his birth was recorded in the West Derby and Toxteth Park Registration District in the March quarter of 1879. The index shows that John’s mother’s maiden surname was Hanly. John Manning’s birth record can be found in Volume 8B, Page 611 of the GRO registers.
Name: MANNING, JOHN
Mother's Maiden Surname: HANLY
GRO Reference: 1879 March Quarter in WEST DERBY AND TOXTETH PARK
Volume 08B
Page 611
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You can order the birth record by going to the GRO website link shown earlier.
I then found the GRO birth indexes for four more children that I believe belong to John Manning and Mary Hanly. These children are Mary (1875); Catherine (1877); Thomas (1880); and Michael (1882). The indexes for Catherine, Thomas, and Michael spell the mother’s maiden name as Hanley, rather than Hanly.
The indexes follow:
Name: MANNING, MARY
Mother's Maiden Surname: HANLY
GRO Reference: 1875 December Quarter in WEST DERBY AND TOXTETH PARK
Volume 08B
Page 569
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Name: MANNING, CATHERINE
Mother's Maiden Surname: HANLEY
GRO Reference: 1877 June Quarter in WEST DERBY AND TOXTETH PARK
Volume 08B
Page 603
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Name: MANNING, THOMAS
Mother's Maiden Surname: HANLEY
GRO Reference: 1880 September Quarter in WEST DERBY AND TOXTETH PARK
Volume 08B Page 536
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Name: MANNING, MICHAEL
Mother's Maiden Surname: HANLEY
GRO Reference: 1882 June Quarter in WEST DERBY
Volume 08B
Page 628
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Best Wishes Brian,
Dave Boylan
