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Searching Toohey/Tipperary

Greetings from the US...

On behalf of my wife, I'm trying to research her Toohey ancestry back beyond her great-grandparents, William and Margaret (Hodgins) Toohey. According to my wife, her father was told that his family was from Tipperary, but he didn't know much more. According to US Census records for 1900, William and Margaret were living in Manhattan, New York, Ward 34. William is listed as age 38, dob Aug 1862 in Ireland. The record states he immigrated in 1886. Margaret's age is given as 31, but this appears to be an error - New York state record of her death in 1933 gives her dob as 15 Aug 1863 in Ireland. The 1900 Census record states that William and Margaret had been married 8 years at the time. In addition to their 5 children (James - my wife's grandfather, William, Richard, Margaret and John) the record lists "Thomas Hogan (cousin), dob Feb 1860, Ireland".

Immigration/Natrualization records available online indicate a "William Toohy", no age given, arrived in New York aboard the "Britannic" in 1887 - not certain that this is the same William, but the time is close, i.e., he could have left Ireland in 1886 and arrived in 1887. Another recordshows "Maggie Hodgins", age 21, arriving in NY aboard the "Adriatic" in 1883.

I've looked at some online birth/death/marriage records for Tipperary, but not yet found anything trhat looks likely or conclusive. Any info relating (or even possibly relating) to William and Maggie any of you might have and be willing to share is greatly appreciated. - Best, John Lupton (Media, PA USA)

jtlupton@gmail.com

4 replies

John:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

Do you have the names of the parents of William and/or Margaret? Having those names would be the best way to confirm a possibile baptismal record. We have to rely on available church records because it appears William and Margaret were born right before civil registration of births began in 1864.

Roger McDonnell

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Roger,

Thanks very much for the quick response.

I do not have names for William's parents. Judging from the records I can find, an educated guess would be his father's name was William, John or James, but that *is* just a guess. If they followed the same practice the English often used of naming the first son after his paternal grandfather, that might suggest James as the most likely name (my wife's grandfather was the oldest child, James Toohey). Again, that's just speculation. I'm trying to see if my mother-in-law has any old papers stashed away (she's still sharp at age 92 - her people are Killorans, from Sligo, so I'll likely be asking about them before long ).

However, since posting the message earlier today, I did locate a death record for Margaret with a bit more detailed information, specifically that her parents were James and Margaret (Sullivan) Hodgins. It's possible Maggie was not from Tipperary - she and William had already emigrated to New York by the time they married, it's probable they did not know each other in Ireland.

If I can find any more pertinent information I will post again. Thanks again for your help,

John

jtlupton@gmail.com

John:

I come up empty on finding a baptismal record for Margaret with father James and mother Margaret Sullivan. I searched on two sites: the subscription site Roots Ireland and the free site www.irishgenealogy.ie ;  Also, no James Hodgins/Margaret Sullivan marriage record.

I did find an 1860 baptismal record in Loughmore parish Co. Tipperary for a Margaret Hodgins with father James and mother Margaret McGrath. Very likely another Margaret Hodgins but I thought I would share. I'm going to check one other site and if something comes up, I will let you know.

Roger

Name:Margaret HodginsDate of Birth:
Date of Baptism:07-Jan-1860Address:Not RecordedParish/District:LOUGHMOREGender:FemaleCountyCo. Tipperary
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:James HodginsMother:Margaret McgrathOccupation:Not Recorded
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:Richd RyanSponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Bgt Cashin

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Roger,

Thanks again very much.

John

jtlupton@gmail.com

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