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SARA DAWSON

Hello.

I have attached a marriage record that I obtained personally from St Malachy's Church in Belfast.  I have been unable to locate this marriage record on GRONI, Irish Genealogy or anywhere else.

I was wondering if you are able to assist me in identifying the bride, Sara Dawson.  As you can see, the only information provided about her is (1) her name (2) her parents' names and the fact they were both RIP in 1917  (3) her mother's maiden name was Monaghan (4) a witness, Teresa Dawson, may be related and (4) her address was given as Victoria Barracks.

I cannot locate any Sara/Sarah Dawson who fits this criteria.

I did locate a Sarah Dawson, born in County Sligo, DOB 23 August 1878, whose father was called Michael.  Her mother's maiden name was Monaghan however her first name was  Bridget, not Elizabeth.  Also, I know that Frederick's DOB was 6 March 1888, so this would make this Sarah 10 years older than him.  Not impossible, of course.

Anyway, as I say, I cannot locate a Sara Dawson fitting the above known criteria via GRONI, Irish Genealogy, Ancestry.com, census records etc.

I was wondering whether you would have any other ideas how I may be able to identify her better.

Regards,

David

davidhutchinso…

5 replies

David,

I looked for a marriage between Michael Dawson & Elizabeth Monaghan but did not find one. There are  too many deaths of people with those names to be able to identify the right ones easily at this stage. (Do you know where Sarah was born? She might not necessarily be from Belfast and may have come to Belfast from a rural area, for work.) I looked for births of children to parents named Dawson &  Monaghan anywhere in Northern  Ireland 1880 – 1900 but did not find any. That makes me think that either the parents lived in another part of Ireland, or that perhaps they weren’t married.

You will note that the groom lived in Eliza Street. I think therefore there must be some connection to this household of Dougans and Dawsons living together in Eliza St in the 1911 census. There a Sarah and a Teresa. Bit of a coincidence if that is not the Sarah who married in 1917. Aged 30, I note.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Cromac/Eliza_Street/159608/

Interestingly Bridget & Sarah were both born in Sligo. Here’s Thomas Dougan’s marriage to Bridget Dawson in 1909. You’ll see that Bridget’s father was Michael Dawson, mechanic. So it looks as though brothers Thomas & Frederick Dougan  married sisters Bridget & Sarah Dawson.

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1909/10005/5639004.pdf

I see a Miss Dawson living at 10 Woodstock Place in 1910 (Bridget’s address in 1909). 

https://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/wyzcomplete1910.htm

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hi David,  
With you mentioning the birth of Sara in Sligo, there is a Sara aged 20 in 1901 in County Antrim. She has a neice called Teresa, she was only One year old. 
Looks like they all came to County Antrim, not the different Counties.
National Archives: Census of Ireland 1911

Using the census age years above .......
You need to look in....see the link below, match up the years.........Letterkenny, County Donegal, Michael died in 1897. 
Welcome to Irish Genealogy - Irish Genealogy

Oh...wow...This is the 1911 Census.  Sarah is with Teresa (note Teresa Agnes same as her birth record)  So Sarah's sister Bridget also married a Dougan.
National Archives: Census of Ireland 1911
Hope this has helped.

Margot

Margot Secrette

Thank you Elwyn and Margot.

I agree that it is probably too much of a coincidence that the Sarah and Teresa Dawson mentioned in that 1911 census, is not the Sarah & Teresa mentioned on the marriage record.

The Eliza Street address though relates to Frederick's parents.  His brother Thomas and wife Bridget lived at No 78 Eliza but I believe his parents were at another house in the street (not confirmed).  I cannot find a firm address for Frederick in 1917. 

 

Although I initially could not confirm that Bridget (married to Thomas) was a part of the family from County Sligo, since I wrote to you I have come across some more info.  Bridget from the Sligo family (father Michael & mother Bridget nee Monaghan) had a brother called Charles.  Charles had daughters called Sarah (born 1892) and Teresa.  I had considered whether this could have been the Sarah who married Frederick, as closer to his age, but I have now discovered she went to the USA in 1910.  Further, Bridget (who married Thomas) had a sister called Josephine.  This morning, I located a document showing that Josephine went to the USA in 1912.  On the passenger list, she gave her address as 78 Eliza Street!!   So, this confirms that the Bridget who married Thomas was from the County Sligo family.  This Bridget had a sister called Sarah who was living with her and Thomas (Frederick's brother) in 1911 and a sister called Josephine who also was living at that address in 1912.  All these sisters, Bridget, Sarah and Josephine had a brother called Charles who had a daughter called Teresa, who was living with Bridget and Sarah in 1901 and Thomas and Bridget in 1911.

The only hiccups are (1) that marriage record of Frederick and Sara which gives her parents as Michael and ELIZABETH, nee Monaghan as we know that Michael's wife and the mother of the girls was in fact BRIDGET, nee Monaghan.  I am guessing this must just be a mistake and (2) on Thomas and Bridget's marriage record, Bridget's father is listed as a mechanic.  This is inconsisent with all other records which show he was a stonecutter/mason and had been a building foreman on the Letterkenny Cathedral.

I hope I have not confused you with all the detail.  I find it difficult at times keeping things straight but I expect it will be even harder for you, not knowing the various characters.

Let me know if you have any thoughts but, on the face of things, I believe it is a fair bet that Frederick married Bridget's sister Sarah, even if she was 10 years older than him.

Many thanks for your assistance,

David

 

davidhutchinso…

David,

2 brothers marrying 2 sisters was surprisingly common. I have come across that many times, often in farming communities where it was sometimes a neat way of keeping land in the same families.

Regarding the missing 1917 civil marriage, I have a contact who is a senior manager in GRONI and have sent her the details. She’ll get one of her staff to have a special look through the original records to say definitively whether they were ever notified of it.

 

 

Elwyn

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Thanks for getting back to me Elwyn.

That would be great if GRONI could check their records.  It looks like a genuine marriage at a genuine church so you would expect GRONI should have it but, then again, mistakes are made as we well know.

Look forward to hearing whether they can find it.

Many thanks again,

David

davidhutchinso…

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