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New to searching Irish roots // Foley

RoscommonKilglass (Roscommon)

Hello all,

I have been doing famly research for some years now, but mostly from the American side after my ancestors immigrated. What I have been very curious about is any information from before they left Ireland. I was directed to this site from conversation I had with someone from the Irish Genealogical Research Society on Facebook, so here I am. I have some information from my main irish ancestor but don't know where to look now. Here is the information I have on him:

Thomas Foley (1837 - 1906): (From 1906 obituary from local newspaper in Janesvile, Minnesota, US)

"The deceased was born November, 1837 in county Roscommon Parish, Kilglass, Ireland. At the age of 11 years he crosed the ocean to Albany N.Y. where he resided for 7 years at the end of which time he moved to Montell, Marquette Co., Wisconsin."

I can trace his life through sources starting once he got to Wisconsin (census records, civil war sources, etc) through his move with his new bride and her family to Minnesota. What I really want to discover is his life pre-1855. Trying to find one particular irishman in N.Y census in mid-1800s is a bit difficult :) I am currently awaiting the arrival of what could be his naturalization documents (no guarantee its my Thomas Foley but good shot) which I hope reveal some useful information.

So right now all I have to go on is the small blurb from his obituary. My assumption is a 11 year old would not have been travelling from Ireland to America by himself, so I am hoping he came with family. I know there a lot more records from Ireland available now but I have no idea where to start looking. So I guess I am looking for some general information about Kilglass, Roscommon during the late 1830's early 1840's. Maybe from there I can find good place to start.

Thanks ahead of time to any and all who reply and assist.

djfoley67@outl…

5 replies

DJ:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

Unfortunately, the RC records for Kilglass parish do not begin until 1865 so we will not find a baptismal record.

That area of Co. Roscommon was hit very hard by the effects of the famine and landlords clearing out tenants. Many from that parish went to Vermont and other areas in America. Likely your Foleys were part of the group that left. There is at least one book written about those times called "Ballykilcline Rising" https://www.amazon.com/Ballykilcline-Rising-Ireland-Immigrant-America/d…;  Ballykilcline was a townland in Kilglass civil parish.

I checked the 1855 Griffiths Valuation head of household listing for Kilglass parish and there were no Folesy but two Fowleys in Culleenaghamore townland.

https://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths/roscommon/kilglass.htm

I also looked at the 1833 Tithe listings for the parish and there were ten Foley records which shows the name was very common in the parish prior to the Famine.

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

I would add Thomas' story to our XO Chronicles site and possibly someone will see a connection. https://www.irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/history-and-genealogy/ancestor-dat…

Have you considered DNA testing?

Roger McDonnell

 

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

According to MacLysaght's Surnames of Ireland, Fowley was a common variant of the Foley surname in that area, so those Fowley records may be for your ancestors.

Irish names were often Anglicized in different ways, even from one generation to another in the same family.  Most Foley's have their origin in the southwest of Ireland, where the Irish form of the name was Ó Foghladha, meaning "descendant of the plunderer", but don't feel bad about your ancestors' behavior, because in the area of Leitrim and Roscommon there was another surname, Mac Searraigh, which was Anglicized as Foley or Fowley, perhaps because of confusion with the Irish word searrach, meaning "foal" or colt (i.e., a young horse), or perhaps intentionally meaning "son of the foal/colt" (maybe someone who acted like a colt?).  MacLysaght says that the word searrach could also mean "flighty"  (though it's not normally used for that nowadays), so the name might have meant "son of the flighty one".

Most irish names of Gaelic origin are based on the name, nickname, or some characteristic of a real or legendary ancestor, and the nicknames were not always complimentary (or seem not to be, to our modern sensibilities).  For example, the Scottish surname Cameron means "crooked/bent nose" .   The Mac Searraigh surname in the Leitrim/Roscommon area was also sometimes Anglicized as McSherry, based on its pronunciaiton.

kevin45sf@yahoo.com

Wow! just wow! Thank you both for all the interesting information. It definitely gives me a lot to digest.

Roger:

Thank you for the book recommendation. I am very interested in finding and reading that book. I have come across references to the 1855 Griffiths Valuation before, what exactly is/was that and how is that importnt for us researchers? I followed your link to it and see there is 2 Foleys (John and Peter) and 2 Fowleys (Michael and Owen). Assuming that all of my Foley's did not leave Ireland any of these 4 could be family related. (My Thomas left Ireland in 18470 What is the other column? With names like Culleenaghamore and Slattagh More?

What is that second link? Applotment books? That seems to be a lot closer to possibilities since the year there is 1833, Thomas was born 1837. Maybe I should compare the two, see which names are gone and which remain.

I like the idea of adding ancestor, but all the information I have deals with his life here in States.

I have contemplated the DNA thing but undecided. Is it really that revealing? What exactly does it reveal? Which are the best tests, I know there are a lot of them out there.

Kevin:

Thank you greatly for the historical background on the name Foley. I knew about Ó Foghladha and the plunderer part. I never knew that the region would have that much influence on the surname. Puts a whole new light on things, especially the Mac Searraigh info.

Once more thank you both again for all help (now and future). I believe i have found the right web site. :)

Also right now I am awaiting receipt of a copy of what I hope is my Thomas' naturalization documents. I do not what information is usually found on those but hopefully it is another piece of this ever growing puzzle of mine.

djfoley67@outl…

DJ:

I missed the two Foleys on the Griffiths for Kilglass. Nice catch! Culleenaghmore and Slattagh More are townlands which are the smallest land divisons in Ireland. Usually 200-400 acres but some townlands are smaller and others are larger than 400 acres.

The Tithe Applotment books and the Griffiths Valuation were both tax related surveys conducted in Ireland. They allow you to see if your surname of interest was in the civil parish and although not in your case but many times your direct ancestor will be listed. All of my paternal great-great grandfather's are listed in the Griffiths. You can also find out more details about the Griffiths by going to www.askaboutireland.ie  ;

DNA testing will provide you with a series of people who have also tested and match you to some degree. Once you get your matches (which will be on botht your paternal and maternal lines) you look at your closest matches and contact them trying to see if you can find a connection with a common ancestor. Possibly you will match someone with Foley connections in Roscommon and maybe that person will have more info on the family in Ireland than you currently have.

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

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