Patrick & Felix Boylan

simonw,

I can confirm that there’s a marriage between Patrick Boylan and Catherine Gerraghty in Mullabrack on 25.9.1863. Witnesses were Edward Downey & James Carrigan. You can view that on the nli site. You say that family tradition is that the Boylans came from Red Bay. I had a look at the 1803 agricultural census of north Antrim. Boylan is not a common name in that area. There were none in Red Bay (parish of Layd) in 1803. There were just 5 households in North Antrim, 4 in the parish of Derrykeighan and one in Dunluce:

James Boyland, in Ballynafeigh; Patrick Boyland in Carncullagh; John & Ezekiel Boyland both in Mostragee (all in parish of Derrykeighan); plus John Boylan in Ballyclogh in Dunluce.

http://billmacafee.com/19centurydatabases.htm

Layd RC baptism records cover 1838 – 1844 and 1858 onwards. I searched them, and all other available RC parish records, on Ancestry for any children to John Boylan and Ann Doolan but without success.

Simonw,

Tradition was to marry in the bride’s church (after which she’d attend he r husband’s). So that’s sometimes why a man from one place marries in another, but in this case you say both came from Antrim.  So perhaps there was some work reason why the family were in Armagh. If Catherine died in Scotland you should get her father’s occupation from her death certificate. Any clues there?  She looks to have died in Greenock, aged 76, in 1915. GROS ref 564/1 231. Was he in a trade that involved travelling eg a stonemason, soldier, policeman, millwright etc. That could account for the Gerraghty family moving, and Patrick following. (According to the Weir tree on Ancestry, her parents were Patrick McGarrity and Catherine Duffy).

The information on RC marriages in Ireland in the early 1860s wasn’t very detailed, so you don’t get occupations, addresses or much other information. Can be hard to assess what their circumstances were.

Save for a few fragments, all the Irish censuses pre 1901 have been lost, so no help there.