Ireland XO
Back to Message Board

the MARKS family of Portlaw

WaterfordClonagam (Waterford)

My ancestor George Marks was born circa 1829 in Waterford.  He was imprisoned several times in the 1840's and the prison records state he was from Portlaw.  In 1851 he was sentenced to transportation to Australia.  On his convict records he makes no mention of his parents, only two brothers Henry (living in Manchester at the time) and William living in Waterford at the time.  I would dearly love to hear from anyone who knows of this family.  I am seeking information on who George's parents are and what happened to his two brothers.

We may have found marriages for these two brothers but are yet to confirm this.  Henry may have married Mary Spotwood and/or Ann Ryan in 1836 and William may have married Ellen Power/Hayes in 1850/1851.  It would be great to confirm these details.

In my search I have tried parish records both C of I and RC, NLI, RootsIreland, Convict records, Ancestry, FamilySearch, Find My Past and many other sites and forums AND have even got family members to take DNA tests all to no avail so far.

Thanks in advance.

marksaj2@bigpond.com

8 replies

 

Greetings to you from IrelandXO team 

 

Took a look at roots website [ subscription website] and found the following: 
Henry's Wedding details

Parish/District:         Portlaw Co Waterford
Religion                   Roman Catholic
Groom                     Henry Marks
Bridge                      Mary Spotwood
Date                         June4th 1836

Witnesses were       John Murray
                                Sarah Phelan

 

William's Wedding details

Parish/District:     Clonegam    [   - which is only 14 minutes from Portlaw – see map attached]
Religion                                   Church of Ireland
Groom                                     William Marks
Bridge                                      Ellen Power
Date                                        13th May 1850

Witnesses were                      Brian Connell
                                               Mary Jane Regan

 

I have attached copies of the certs for you.

 

Wishing you a Happy New Year to you and yours.

 

 

 

 

 

Clonpriest, IrelandXO VolunteerIrelandXO Volunteer

Many thanks for your swift response and the information on these marriages. 

Our other step is to work out who the parents were as I still don't know for certain if this Henry and William are the brothers of George AND who their parents are.  This has been such a huge hurdle for us to try and get over with no success so far in everything we've tried.

I note also the link to the 1901 census.

Thanks again 

marksaj2@bigpond.com

 

Hi,

Another website which may help you with your research - is National Library of Ireland - here is a link to the Portlaw / Ballyduff area 
The downside to this is you need to scroll through it     -   https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/1117 ;
It is also a free website. 

take care and stay safe

Clonpriest, IrelandXO VolunteerIrelandXO Volunteer

Thanks but I've already tried those too.

marksaj2@bigpond.com

 

Hi 

Are you on Facebook and if so  -  just checked and there is a Portlaw Heritage Centre page
It may help you with your brick walls.
Take care

Clonpriest, IrelandXO VolunteerIrelandXO Volunteer

I had looked at it but will try again.

Thanks :-)

marksaj2@bigpond.com

Thanks for the suggestion but no response from them either.  Seems my ancestors sure don't want to be found!

marksaj2@bigpond.com

Update - it seems there is now a link to Patrick Marks and his wife Catherine Foley who were married at St. Patrick's in Waterford City in 1854.  I would love to work out how Patrick and George are related.

marksaj2@bigpond.com

Reply

Reply
One image file up to 2 MB.