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Looking for information on my gr-gr grandfather Thomas Blair

Castletownroche (Cork)

My name is Michael Blair and my great-great grandfather, Thomas Blair (1806-1852) lived in Casteltownroche. I don't know where he was born, but he was married to Mary Murphy 1/18/1829 at Casteltownroche (Catholic parish registers, diocese of Cloyne). They had 3 children while living at Casteltownroche and emigrated to either the USA or Canada about 1846 (records on this are very scant). Thomas died in Toronto, Canada in 1852.

I have been unable to get any information about where Thomas was born, what he did for a living or who his parents were. I would be very grateful to receive any any information about Thomas Blair's life in Casteltownroche. Also I would like to learn about the nature of the town in the early 1800s.

I thank you in advance for any attention you may give to this request.

Best regards,

Mike Blair

blairms8@aol.com

6 replies

Mike:

The baptismal start in 1810 and when I searched the subscription site Roots Ireland, I did not find a record for a Thomas Blair around 1806. Very likely he was baptized in Castletownroche and the records for that period were lost.

When I searched for children of Thomas Blair and Mary Murphy, I found five baptismal records for their children as follows:

Elizabeth January 3 1830

John January 30 1831

Thomas December 3 1832

Honora January 4 1835

James January 18 1836

If Thomas followed the naming pattern for children, his father was likely John Blair and mother Honora Blair.

Here is a link to the writeup in the Lewis Topographical Dictionary about Castletownroche.  https://www.failteromhat.com/lewis/castletownroche.htm

Roger McDonnell

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Roger,

Thank you very much for your quick reply. John Blair (1831) was my great grandfather. He passed away in Pennsylvania, USA (1904). His life was some adventure, leaving Ireland as a teenager during the great hunger, somehow ending up in Toronto, Canada with his brother Thomas and both parents dead. Both John and Thomas moved to Pennsylvania, USA  just after the American civil war and then to the frontier in Kansas and finally back to Pennsylvania. John had a big family and made a very good life for himself.

It may be possible that Thomas Blair (1806-1852) had siblings that remained in Ireland but I could not find anything on Roots Ireland or John Grenham's website. Is there any way I could find out if any of the Blair family is still around in the Castletownroche region?

Best wishes,

Mike Blair

blairms8@aol.com

Mike:

The 1911 census for Co. Cork has 21 people with surname Blair comprising of four families and one older man. Three of the four families were near or in Cork city. I don't see a definite connection but you can do a search.

It is possible that Elizabeth or Honora married in Ireland and they remained in the area.

Roger

 

 

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Roger,

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

 

Mike

blairms8@aol.com

Mike,

I have a book on Castletownroche GAA that gives some information on earlier history of the town. I can photocopy a few pages and send them to you, if you are interested. I am meeting some people from IrelandXO today and will ask about the best way for you to send me your address, if you are interested.

Best wishes, Kieran

Kieran Jordan, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Kieran,

Thanks for your offer and I am definitely interested. I am particularly interested in getting information about Castletownroche in the period 1800-1850. Please let me know how we can communicate.

Thanks,

Mike

blairms8@aol.com

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