Hello MarynBill,
Based on the genealogy in your hand-written share.icloud.com attachment, I was not able to find the circa 1859 Irish baptism record for Mary Leonard Riley, daughter Thomas Leonard and Mary A. Connolly. Your records show that Mary Leonard was married to Philip Riley, and that Philip and Mary had a daughter named Catherine born in Boston on 2 October 1889.
I also could not make the connection between Mary E. Fulham, born in Boston, on 18 September 1866, and Mary Leonard Riley. That doesn’t mean there is not a connection, I just was not able to find it.
I believe however that I did locate information that pertains to the Leonard, Flynn, Fulham, and Norris ancestors you had noted in your share.icloud.com attachment, though not all the records I found exactly match the information in your attachment.
For example, you show that Mary Ellen Leonard, daughter of Nicholas Leonard and Bridget Flynn, had married John Norris Fulham, though you do not give a date for the marriage. Your record shows that Mary Ellen was born in County Cork and John Norris Fulham born in Dublin.
I found the marriage record for John Fulham and “Ellen” Leonard at the free irishgenealogy.ie website. They were married in the Roman Catholic Chapel of Rush, County Dublin, on 9 May 1864. At the time of marriage John was of “full age.” He had been a bachelor and employed as a “Labourer.” Nothing is recorded in the age column for Mary. She was a “Spinster” when she married, and also recorded as a “Spinster,” in the occupation column, which means she was not employed.
The marriage also shows that John was living in Donabate (County Dublin) at the time of the marriage and that his father was James Fulham. I could not make out the full occupation for James, but he was a “Contractor.”
At the time of marriage Ellen was living in Rush, which makes sense, as Irish marriages traditionally take place in the bride’s parish. Her father is Nicholas Leonard. It’s because your records show Mary Ellen’s father is Nicholas Leonard, and that John Norris Fulham was born in Dublin, that I suspect this marriage record pertains to your ancestors, even though the bride’s first name is Ellen.
The first name of the parish priest who married John and Ellen was Patrick. His middle initials is J. His last name looks like Duffe, who was the C.C., that is, the Catholic Curate of the church.
The witnesses to the marriage were Charles Finegan and Mary Ann Leonard. Charles signed the marriage record with “his x mark,” which means he could not write. Mary Ann Leonard also signed the register with “her x mark.”
Ellen Leonard and John Fulham signed the register unassisted.
You can access the marriage record from the irishgenealogy.ie website after following the prompts at: https://tinyurl.com/2vr3zfw3
This Google Map shows that Rush and Donabate are 8.1 miles from each other and are northeast of Dublin City, near the Irish Sea: https://tinyurl.com/4r5f7j7s
For more information about Rush, Dublin, see the Wikipedia article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush,_Dublin
This Wikipedia article will provide more information about Donabate, Dublin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donabate
The old Catholic Church in Rush is Saint Maur's. According to the Wikipedia article noted earlier, the original St. Maur’s was constructed in 1776, but a new St. Maur’s was constructed next to the old St. Maur’s in 1989.
A Google Street View shows the new St Maur’s Catholic Church, built in 1989, on the left, and the old St. Maur’s Catholic Church, built in 1776, on the right: https://tinyurl.com/2p9pjynb
Here is a close-up Google Street View of the old St. Maur’s Catholic Church: https://tinyurl.com/2f5j5427
Your records show that Mary Ellen Leonard was born in County Cork on 18 July 1844 and that her parents were Nicholas Leonard and Bridget Flynn.
THE BAPTISM FOR ELEANOR LEONARD
I found the baptism transcription for an “Eleanore” Leonard at the Find My Past (FMP) website, which shows her parents are Nicholas Leonard and Bridget Flynn. This transcription however, shows that Eleanor was baptized on 21 July 1843 in the Rush, County Dublin, Catholic Church.
This would be the Ellen Leonard who married John Fulham in St. Maur’s Catholic Church, Rush, County Dublin, on 9 May 1864.
You can access the baptism transcription after establishing a free account with FMP. Go to:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F2852375
Attached to the FMP transcription is a link that takes you to a copy of the original baptism record for Eleanor Leonard. The original baptism record is held by the National Library of Ireland in Kildare Street, Dublin City. To access the baptism record go to: https://i2.paste.pics/OLR12.png
The baptism record shows that Eleanor’s godparents were Thos. (Thomas) Leonard and Ellen Flynn.
I found the FMP baptism transcription for Eleanor’s younger sister Julia Leonard, who was baptized in the Rush Catholic Church on 5 July 1845. See the transcription at:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F2852572
This next link takes you to a copy of the original baptism record for Julia Leonard, from the National Library of Ireland: https://i2.paste.pics/OLR4K.png
Julia’s godfather is Pat Leonard. The first name of her godmother is Alice. Alice’s last name is a little difficult to decipher. It could be Keary or Keany.
MARRIAGE OF NICHOLAS LEONARD AND BRIDGET FLYNN
The FMP website shows that Nicholas and Bridget were married in the Rush Catholic Church on 7 September 1840:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FMAR%2F0619545%2F1
A copy of the original marriage record from the National Library of Ireland shows the witnesses to the marriage were Thos. Flynn and Anne Russell: https://i2.paste.pics/OLW86.png
THE JOHN FULHAM BAPTISM
The 1864 marriage record for John Fulham shows he was living in Donabate, County Dublin at the time of the marriage, and that his father was James Fulham. Your records show that John’s middle name was “Norris.”
I uncovered John’s baptism transcription at the FMP website. He was baptized in the Donabate Catholic Church, County Dublin, on 19 August 1839. Your records show he was born on 17 August 1840.
John’s parents are James Fulham and Ellen Norris. We now know that John Fulham’s middle name was his mother’s maiden name. The FMP transcription shows the alternate name of the Donabate Catholic Parish is “Portrane.” See the transcription at: https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F2855872
A copy of the original baptism record for John Fulham from the National Library of Ireland shows that his godparents are Patrick Smart and Mary Cunningham: https://i2.paste.pics/OLVJ9.png
I also located the Donabate baptisms for John’s brothers, Joseph and Patrick Fulham at the FMP website.
Joseph was baptized on 27 March 1838: https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F2855817
A copy of the original baptism record for Joseph shows his godparents were William Nowlan and Mary Lynders: https://i2.paste.pics/OLVOO.png
Patrick Fulham was baptized on 23 November 1842:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F2855982
Patrick’s original baptism record shows his godparents were John Norris and Bridget Martin: https://i2.paste.pics/OLVT1.png
According to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland website, the Donabate Catholic Church is called St. Patrick’s, and is located in Main Street, in a section of Donabate called, “Ballalease West.” The church was constructed circa 1860, which means that John Fulham and his brothers would not have been baptized in this church, but in an earlier church located in Donabate. See the Buildings of Ireland link for St. Patrick’s Church, Donabate: https://tinyurl.com/ywtnfby3
This Google Map shows the location of St. Patrick’s Church in Main Street, Donabate: https://tinyurl.com/ycx935xx
Here is a Google Street View of St. Patrick’s Church: https://tinyurl.com/5n8b2tyw
An Ordnance Survey Map of Ballalease West, Donabate from the 1829 to 1842 time period, shows the location of the “R.C. Chapel,” and “Grave Yard.” This is the church where John Fulham and his brothers would have been baptized. The map is from the GeoHive website: https://i2.paste.pics/OLWKR.png
I believe St. Patrick’s Church was constructed on the same spot as the older church in Donabate.
I next looked for, didn’t find the FMP marriage record transcription for James Fulham and Ellen Norris in Donabate or in County Dublin.
There will not be civil registration birth records for Ellen/Elleanor Leonard and John Fulham, as the Irish government did not begin to record birth, marriage, and death records for all religious denominations until the year 1864.
As noted earlier I didn’t find a County Cork connection for your Leonard ancestors. Records point to County Dublin as the ancestral county for your Leonard, Flynn, Fulham, and Norris ancestors.
I don’t know the exact dates you’ll be Ireland, but if you plan to visit Rush and Donabate north of Dublin City, you can fill out a “Meet and Greet” form at the Ireland Reaching Out website. On the Meet and Greet form you can specify what dates you plan to be visit Rush and Donanbate, and if a volunteer is available for those dates, they’ll be able to show you around Rush and Donabate.
To access the Ireland Reaching Out Meet and Greet form, go to: https://www.irelandxo.com/meet-and-greet
With Best wishes for a fantastic trip to Ireland,
Dave Boylan
SOURCES
MarynBill's share.icloud.com attachment at Ireland Reaching Out, 20 June 2023
irishgenealogy.ie
Google Maps
Google Street Views
Wikipedia
Find My Past
National Library of Ireland
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland
GeoHive: Ordnance Survey Map
Ireland Reaching Out: Meet and Greet Form
