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Martin Walsh/ Walch / Welsh from County Mayo

Mayo

I am trying to trace the family  of Martin Walsh who was transported to Van Diemens Land (Tasmania) in 1850. He was convicted in 1849 in Ballina, although I have seen some reports saying Castlebar, of stealing a cow from a Mr Mulvaney and was sentenced to 10 years transportation. From his convict record I know that he could not read or write, hence not sure about the spelling of his name as all 3 variations occur at various times and that he only spoke Irish. From his convict record I also know the following about him in 1849/50.

His mother's name was Bridget. He had at least 3 sisters : Catherine, Ellen and Bridget. At the time all were living at their native place, but whether this means County Mayo or the district itself I do not know, the convict record just states at native place.

He was married with 2 children. It is possible he was married to a Bridget Hoban but I have not been able to confirm this. One of his children may have been a son John born about 1846 but again I have not been able to confirm this.

At the time of his conviction he stated his age as 35 but I am not sure if this is accurate. He was Roman Catholic

In 1856 he sponsored the emigration of 2 of his sister , Catherine and Ellen to Tasmania. A t this time Catherine was supposedly 48 and Ellen 28. Also by this time Ellen had been forced to migrate to England and was working in a factory there. Ellen is my great grandmother

In 1860 Martin sponsored 5 more people from County Mayo but this time the name is spelt Walch. They were a

Martin Walch, aged 25, farm labourer

John Walch , aged 23 also a farm labourer

Mary Walch 35 a general servant

Bridget Walch 30 a general servant

Margaret Walch 20 also a general servant

All were Roman Catholic and none could read or write. I suspect the Bridget may have been his wife but need a record of his marriage in Ireland to know if this is the case

I am hoping someone can help me with the following:

Who were the parents of Martin  and hence Ellen?

What district/ parish was the family from?

Who were their brothers and sisters?

Any record of the deaths of parents, brothers and sisters?

The marriage of Martin and the birth and or the death of his 2 children?

What was his relationship to the 5 people he sponsored from County Mayo in 1860?

If anyone can help with any of the above questions or assist with any knowledge of the family it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in anticipation,

Rod Ashman in Tasmania, Australia

rodashman51@gm…

2 replies

Rod:

I did a number of searches on the subscription site Roots Ireland and found only one record with a possible connection. It appears that Martin Walsh and his family were from a parish that does not have records back to the 1820s/1830s.

The earliest baptismal record I could locate for a Martin Walsh with a mother Bridget was an 1829 record in the RC parish of Crossboyne and Tagheen. Since it appears that Martin was born pre-1820, the 1829 record was for a different Martin Walsh.

I did not locate a Martin Walsh marriage record to a Hoban. I did find a baptismal record for a Patrick Walsh baptized October 10 1845 with father Martin Walsh but the mother was Mary Hoban. The parish was also Crossboyne and Tagheen.

Have you considered DNA testing? Possibly you will have matches with third cousins who have Walsh connections.

Roger McDonnell

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Hi Roger,

Thanks for that. Because Martin only spoke Irish when his details were recorded, it would had to have been done by another Irish speaking convict, so I am not sure how accurate most of the details are. It may be that in translation, wrong details were recorded or put in the wrong place.  Also research indicates that if Irish convicts didn't know their date of birth or exact age they tended to round it up or down in multiples of 5 so his stated age of 35 in 1849/ 50 is probably only approximate. The only accurate details I can confirm is that he had a sister Ellen (my great grandmother and that he was married with 2 children) I suspect the Walsh spelling may have been an anglicised version of Walch but I don't know, if in Ireland, Walsh or Walch was more likely to be Roman Catholic. Martin learnt english whilst a convict and when a child is born over here the spelling on the birth record is Walch.

Based on what you found Roger perhaps my best hope is finding a Martin Walsh/ Walch born pre 1820 who has a sister Ellen born about 1825. Once again thanks for your efforts Roger, it is much appreciated

Regards,

Rod

rodashman51@gm…

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