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Smith, King, Brady and Reilly families in Cavan

CavanLarah (Cavan)

I am researching my mothers Irish family for our family tree. My mother was born in Cootehill, Cavan and my grandparents lived there for their married lives. They were married in Larah and I have visited their grave in the church cemetary in Larah, St Bridgets. I have been able to find information on my grandparents and most of their children in Cavan but finding information on my great grandparents and earlier has proved a challenge. On my grandfathers side - his parents were Francis Smith (born about 1851) and died on 24th of October 1899 in Larah, Cavan from a head injury. I have been told it was due to being dragged by his horse and intimated there may have been some nepharious involvement in the accident. I have been unable to confirm this. I think his parents were Philip Smith and Mary but have been unable to confirm this. On the 3rd of May 1877 Francismarried Elizabeth (Bessie) King in Larah - he lived in Cormadumpan and she in Tonnyconnelly. Elizabethwas born on the 30th of June 1864 in Carrickaclavin, Cavan and died on the 17th of August 1928 in Tonnyconnelly, Cavan. I think her parents were Patt King and Bridget Keogh/Kough. On my grandmothers side - her grandparents were Patrick Brady, born about 1836 and died 20th February 1918 in Calffield, Cavan. I have been told his parents were John/Jack/Sean Brady and Nancy Donnelly but have been unable to confirm this. Patrickmarried Mary Reilly. I have found a record for Pat Brady and Mary Reilly in Castlerahan on 14 March 1862 but not sure if that is the correct pair. Mary was born about 1854 and died on the 26th of March 1917 in Calffield, Cavan. I have been told her parents were John Reilly and Mary Jane/Kitty Lunny but have been unable to confirm this. I located the Bradys and Elizabeth Smith families on the 1901 and 1911 Census records for Ireland. I have posted files for the four great grandparents on the ancestors section with the links to documents I have been able to find. I visited Cavan in 2016and did spend time in the Genealogy centre there but was only able to find some records for some of my grandparents siblings. The children I have been told about (or found information for) for Francis and Elizabeth Smith*are: Mary#, Patrick, Philip*#, Francis#, Charles*#, Elizabeth*#, Rose Ann*#, Francis (first one died)#, Marianne#, Susan*#, Catherine*#, Michael*# and Margaret*#. The children I have been told about (or have information for) for Patrick* and Mary Brady* are: John#, Mary#, Honorah*#, Anne#, Brigit, Patrick John*#, James#, Thomas, Hugh*#, Ellen*, Anne*#, Thomas*# and Catherine*#. The people marked with * where on either the 1901 or 1911 census or both. The people marked with # I have found baptismal certificates for. Any help with information on my great grandparents, great great grandparents or earlier would be much appreciated!

csherriff@shaw.ca

12 replies

CSheriff:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

I'm sure you are aware that the Larah RC records do not start until 1876 which restricts research for anyone from that parish. If you have not done so already, I would get a short-term subscription to Roots Ireland which will help with parishes outside of Larah.  Also, if you are not aware www.irishgenealogy.ie has copies of civil birth, marriage and death records and in the last two months additional years were added. I did find the 1877 Francis Smith/Elizabeth King marriage which shows the names of the fathers which confirms Philip Smith and Patrick King. I also found the 1899 death record for Francis Smith (which you may already have) It does show concussion of the brain. However, no inquest info is shown which implies that if there was something suspicious about the death, it was not referred to the authorities.

Roger McDonnell

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_re…

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_retu…

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Roger,

Thanks for looking those two up, yes I have both of those records.  Assuming that the records in Larah do not start until 1876, does that mean I have no other options?  I do have a subscription to Roots Ireland and have used it and multiple other sites, as well as my Cavan research to get as far as I have.  Good to know that the inquest would have been noted on the death record, I will stop looking for additional information then.  My mum often said that his bridle was interferred with while he had stopped at the local pub and he was dragged back to the farm by his horse.  It would have been a story passed down to her as her granfather was dead long before she was born.

I will rerun some of my searches again if new info has been added in the last couple of months just to make sure I don’t miss any records.  Thanks for the heads up about the new records.

I did post info on my four great grand parents in the Ancestors section, is there a chance that anyone might provide more info through that or should I stick to posting in this section?

Thanks for any assistance or information you can provide, There is about 7,000 km between where I live and Ireland so online is where I do most of my research.  Always looking for that new lead. :)

Colleen

 

csherriff@shaw.ca

Colleen:

Some people scan the Ancestor site so it is good that you shared their stories and maybe someone will see a connection. I would continue to also post on the message board.

I'm afraid there are no other church record options for Larah parish.

Have you considered autosomal DNA testing?

I've been researching Irish records for twenty years or so. The last five years have seen an explosion of online records with the 1901 and 1911 censuses, parish registers and the civil records on www.irishgenealogy.ie

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Thanks again Roger! I am hopeful that more records will become available and am always on the search for new sites I have not yet discovered.  Glad to hear that posting the information about my great grandparents might help - it would be great to find out more about them and their ancestors. 

I do have an Ancestry account and recently did the Ancestry DNA.  Through it I have connected with two Brady decendant families whose ancestors immigrated to the USA, one in Wisconsin and the other in California. If you have anyone looking for Brady family there is a Brady family reunion in Cavan in July 2018.  If details are needed I could get them.  I will be unable to attend this time as only just found out about it and have other travel plans this year.  I would have loved to have been part of it! 

Hoping one day to connect with a related family member in Ireland that is interested in genealogy. It seems those of us “from away” have a keener interest in genealogy and our family histories than those still living on the Emerald isle, at least in my family.  

Per your advice I will keep a closer watch on sites to scan for new records that may have been uploaded since my last search.  

Thanks again for your assistance.  I think it is a wonderful service you and the site are providing.  Online genealogy can be an expensive enterprise but I find it like a good mystery novel - very intriguing and, at times, addictive!  Nice to see that there are options giving people an opportunity to get started on sites that are free.  Thanks again Roger for supporting those of us on the hunt!  

Colleen

csherriff@shaw.ca

Colleen:

You are very correct about descendants of emigrants having more interest than the local Irish. Although, I think that more and more folks living in Ireland are testing their DNA and getting involved with genealogy. Almost all of our volunteers for IRO live locally ( I live in the States) and are very interested in their own genealogy and also helping others to connect with their parish and townland.

DNA testing is very helpful but you need to have patience and eventually you get a breakthru. You may want to check out Gedmatch.  www.gedmatch.com ; Gedmatch is a volunteer run site where you can load your raw DNA data and see if you match someone who tested with another company and also loaded their data to Gedmatch.

Thanks for your kind comments about the IRO initiative.

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Roger,

I have a quick question.  I am wondering if you have heard when the 1921 Census might be released.  I just found the military database http://www.militaryarchives.ie/en/home/ and they have their 1921 census data loaded already.  

Thanks for any information you can provide!  

Thanks for the link to the Gedmatch - I will look into it and upload my data!  

Colleen

csherriff@shaw.ca

Roger,

I have a quick question.  I am wondering if you have heard when the 1921 Census might be released.  I just found the military database http://www.militaryarchives.ie/en/home/ and they have their 1921 census data loaded already.  

Thanks for any information you can provide!  

Thanks for the link to the Gedmatch - I will look into it and upload my data!  

Colleen

csherriff@shaw.ca

Colleen:

There was no 1921 census because of the "Troubles" The next census was 1926 after the Irish Free State government was established. Under current law, the 1926 census can not be released until 2026. 

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Roger,

That makes sense but a bummer for those of us searching for information. Interesting that the military did one though.  I was hoping for a possible new link in the future. :)  Thanks for the info!

Well, back to the drawing board!  

Colleen

csherriff@shaw.ca

Colleen:

There was a lot of pressure to have the 1926 census released in 2016 related to the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rebellion but the initiative fell thru. 

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Hi, I'm late in discovering these posts. I am both King and Reilly.  My Great Grandfather Cornelius Kennedy married Anne King.  He was from Leitrim; she was from Cavan.

My father's mother was Mary Reilly, originally from Cavan. She emigrated to NY in the 1890s.  Her parents were James and Mary Reilly from Cavan.  I'm searching birth, death and marriage records to see if I can find out anything more about James and Mary.  I don't know DOB, townlands, sibllings, or anything.  Let me know I any of this sounds familiar. I'll keep your name and records in mind, too. My name is Peter Kennedy.  My direct e-mail is petekennedy@mac.com.  Thanks. 

 

petekennedy@mac.com

P.S. There are very usefull and collegial FB page for Reilly/O'Reilly/Riley names, as well as one for Cavan researchers.  For it to be of any use, you'll have had to upload your DNA data to GEDMatch.  Once that's done, it's easy to search and compare.  I'd be happy to share my experiences if it's of any interest to anyone. 

petekennedy@mac.com

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