Ireland XO
Back to Message Board

McManus of Mohill

Leitrim

My ancestor Catherine McManus gives her place and date of birth as 1828 in Mohill in the English census returns. I can't find her baptism or marriage. She married an English soldier in 41st Foot in 1846 I think, because her husband arrived in Ireland in 1845 and their first child was baptised in Mohill in 1847. Her husband's name was James Hadfield. The children in order of birth were: James, Jane, Ann, John, Mary, William, Joseph and Catherine. Does anyone know if this might give me a clue as to her parent's names? I know James's parents were James and Anne; would it be possible that Catherine's might be John (or James!) and Jane?? It seems likely she had a brother called James, as the godfather of the eldest son was a James McManus. As they moved around Ireland with the regiment after this, I don't think there were any more family members acting as godparents unfortunately (certainly no more McManus).

Thanks for reading this,

Anne.

annelockyer@bt…

9 replies

Anne:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

I assume Anne was RC. The RC records for Mohill do not begin until 1836.  https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0175 ; So likely her baptismal record is not available. I also looked on the subscription site Roots Ireland and did not find the marriage record anywhere in Co. Leitrim even though Mohill RC has records for 1845. You could check the register in case it was missed by Roots Ireland.

The 1834 Tithe listings for Mohill parish show a James, Michael and Peter McManus in the parish in different townlands. Also there may have been multiple James and Michaels.

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/results.jsp?…

You may want to consider DNA testing.

Roger McDonnell

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Hi Anne & Roger, as Roger knows I follow Mohill posts as my mothers family are from the area, there is a very good Facebook Page you apply to join, Old Mohill by Llyod Donnelly, I had a look for McManus and there are photos and mention of McManus, not significant as there are no actual records but the name is still there so you may enjoy a look.

Regards

Pat

St Peters LouthIrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Roger and Pat, Thank you for responding!

Pat, I didn't know about the Old Mohill  Facebook page, so thank you for that, and very exciting to think there are McManus still there. I am visiting beginning of July, my first visit to the place, so I must look at the page before I go.

Roger, Thank you for looking for the baptism and marriage. I haven't given up hope of finding the marriage just yet, so will  keep browsing the registers. I have had a DNA test done, and put it on Gedmatch as I thought that might be my best bet for finding more information on my Irish side. It worked for my Scullys of Kildare, so I live in hope of more break throughs. My Gedmatch number is T987235, and I have put it on the Irish DNA Register, but most of the matches seem quite distant (except for the Scullys). A lot are in America, not surprisingly, and I hope their records might shed more light on the family one day as more get tested.

Best wishes

Anne

 

 

annelockyer@bt…

Hello Roger,

I've just been looking at the tithe applotment books you mentioned, and realise I had underestimated the extent of 'Mohill' my ancestor could have come from! I obviously need to acquaint myself better with the area of Mohill.

Thanks again,

Anne

annelockyer@bt…

Hi Anne

just had a look at some Leitrim books, the Biography of Lord Leitrim, 3rd Earl and a synopis of his papers to see if any McManus mentioned, there is only one McManus mentioned in his biography and twice in his papers. This is a bit of a curve ball for you but this McManus, no christian name given, he was the Head Constable of the local Royal Irish Constabulary or Irish Constabulary the royal was added in the 1860s. He assisted in putting out a fire at Lough Rynn along with a sub constable, h was mentioned in letters and received £25 pounds from said Lord for his efforts, also demoted following this to the chagrin of the Lord who has his boss shifted from the area following this demotion, appears to have been an ongoing dispute between two Lords.

Anyway if you think this may be him there are good records and an excellent FB page on them, if it is him he will not have been born in Leitrim as they were not posted where they were born but his place of origin should be available. What makes me think it could be relevent is she married a soldier and may have been in contact with army personnel, a long shot but is there any reason to think her father was in the police other than my conjecture. 

If you are interested I will give you the Facebook page name and a little more of what is in his biography but you have the bulk of it. Lough Rynn is now a hotel with lovely gardens and worth at least a cup of coffee and a walk, a little of its history here, http://www.loughrynn.net/ ;

regards

Pat

St Peters LouthIrelandXO Volunteer

Anne,

me again, I omitted to say the year of the fire in Lough Rynn was 1851.

Regards

Pat

St Peters LouthIrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Pat,

Oooh, that sounds exciting! I'm definitely interested in any books, papers or Facebook details you can give me. Catherine McManus might have been born elsewhere, but thought it was Mohill if that is where she grew up if her father (?) was posted there. I am very grateful to you for this, thank you very much. And I will be trying out Loch Rynn for sure!

 

Best wishes

Anne

annelockyer@bt…

Hello Pat,

Could the Head Constable of police be RC, do you know? Catherine's children were baptised in catholic churches. I realise we have no concrete evidence that this is 'my' ancestor, but I can't help feeling very excited and hopeful. Also, would he be likely to appear in Griffiths Evaluation? Excuse me if I don't reply promptly to any responses, but we are going away for a few days.

Thank you so much for your help.

Anne

annelockyer@bt…

Hi Anne, the head constable would I think be just above sub constable so not too senior, yes there were catholics in the police at the time, she got married during or towards the end of the famine.

As I understand it, the police were recommended to join by a local dignitry, landlord or parish priest etc and the letter should exist, place of birth was recorded, possibly only county, time of resignation and were pension was paid, there was a book printed a few years ago on the history of the Royal Irish Constabulary by Jim Herlihy, he is also found on the private Facebook page 1816 to 1922 - Royal Irish Constabulary  A Forgotten Irish Police Force,  they appear to be very helpful, I have not posted on it but enjoy the information, often they will post pictures of the barracks and what it is now if still standing. The notebooks may stll exist also but are held in Kew in London I think. Jim Herlihy also produced a book on the Irish Revenue Police, disbanded in 1852 and incorporated into the Irish Constabulary, a number of McManus names in it, but if your man was in the constabulary in 1851 he was not in the Revenue Police (raiding illegal alcohol stills appears to have been their main job).

Do not worry about the delays but if you wish to speed up queries my site email is stpeters@irelandxo.com I notice your Old Mohill posting did not garner much response, I am the Paddy who gave it a like but it appears to have gone down the line quickly, a lot of posts appear very quickly. However if you were to ask about the location of the former RIC barracks it will push the query back to the top and you may find where they lived for awhile. 

I can photograph the tiny bits from the books for you if you mail me too. Said Lord Leitrim was assassinated in 1876 in Donegal, it is on the site I sent you previously.

Not sure how we can determine if it is your McManus but it is an option, I live about 70 miles from Mohill on the east coast.

Happy Hunting,

Pat

St Peters LouthIrelandXO Volunteer

Reply

Reply
One image file up to 2 MB.