it seems that this ancestor of my husband, began his life in 1896 in New York as a young man of 22 (or there abouts). I've searched St. Peter's, St. Mary's, surrounding parishes in Meath. Recently I was given a hint that his father Michael may have been born in Galway. How? we don't know since as far as we know they were from Drogheda. Can anyone give me an idea of where to go next?
thank you
Addys Reilly
Addys, sorry for the slight delay as I had missed your query and I actuall live in Drogheda so up my street so to speak. There is a free site for civil egistrations in Ireland post 1864, church registrations are not yet there for everywhere. Between 1872 and 1876 there are 207 Thomas Reillys registered including 1 in Drogheda for 1874, without knowing the parents names we are at a loss as to the correct one, mothers name is Garland I think but if it is the correct person we can verify later. Were his parents names recorded on the marriage certificate or his death certificate as without his parents names or at least one of them we are at a loss.
The site is here and you sign in but it is free.https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/ click on civil records. Here is the one I mentioned uploaded below.
Regards
Pat
hi everyone, I'm sorry, I shoud have posted more information. this is what we know. Thomas was born either 1868 or 1874 depending on which record you read. I have his citizenship certificate, July 10th, 1896 in New York. he arrived in New York, we believe in 1890. Thomas married Catherine Tobin (Julianstown) in 1892, also in New York. Thomas' parents were Michael Reilly and Bridget Rice. Don't know anything about them, however, recently a DNA match contacted us. She matches my husband at 4.2, so we figured on a great grand ancestor. She did tell us that her great grandmother was Margaret Reilly. We are assuming that Margaret was a sister to Michael. She also gave me a link to a family with a Margaret and a Michael Reilly but they were from Galway. The parents of this family are Peter Reilly and Anne Plunkett, it also showed a few other siblings. Anything else that I can provide? Thank you so much
Hi Miriam, I did not attach a file, it was there. do you have a picture of what you found on Family Search? Catherine and John Hart is not my family. You could be right in that their marriage could be outside of Ireland, Michael was a well known horse trainer that went everywhere. My husband even thought outloud that maybe in one of those trips, Bridget gave birth to Thomas and perhaps another sibling, somewhere else, maybe Scotland, England or even Wales since supposedly he worked for the Prince of Wales. I'm enclosing Catherine Tobin and Thomas Reilly's marriage record in New York City. It shows the parents name. Where could I search for possible marriages between Michael and Bridget in other parts of the United Kingdom? BTW me and my family were in Drogheda in May 2018. We liked the area
Addys
no worries about the attachment, I did look at that one but I don't think that was my Thomas. the Catharine that you just sent could very well be Thomas' sister, it does fit. I have someone that can pull that certificate for me from the archives. hopefully there's a city or county mentioned and then I can go searching in the parish website. thanks!
but of course there is no write ups in the newspaper! the story of my life with these people. oh well more digging to be done. thanks so much for searching for me and if you come across anything else, please let me know.
you did mention that you have Reillys, would you like to share what you know? who knows we could be related!
Addys
Hi Miriam, after I sent the previous message, hubby said to tell you that that Catherine could be very well be his great aunt Kate. will wait for the certificate and see what it says. The Galway people that we found are interesting because we know that Reilly and Plunkett are common to Louth, Meath and Cavan and are not tradionally Galway. Also the names of those people in Galway do align with names and timeline that we are aware. We were thrown off about Galway because we never knew of a Galway connection
talk soon
Addys
Hi Addys & Miriam, firstly I am not really any further ahead than Miriam, while you did not ask I located Catherine Tobins birth copy attached below but it is on the site I previously posted. I had hoped they might be neighbours. Catherine's mothers name is Meade living in Meath. Birth registered in Drogheda.
The only marriage that comes close is the one Miriam found, I had hoped your Thomas's father was christened one name but used his 2nd name to avoid confusion with others in the family, but the only likely Philip did not have a father Peter, born Drogheda in 1840, I am using the site Roots Ireland which is good for BMD pre 1864, I have been told that it is possible to join for a day which might assist you, it is not like other subscription sites where you join and search, if you join to look at records you can pay per record but this is expensive as you will open a lot of incorrect ones especially if you are looking for Reilly, however if you join for a period you can mess around at your ease, the marriage of 1866 also attached has only two children born after it, I have also attached those births for you to look at.
I had a look at migration records and this is a long shot and there does not appear to be children traveling would expect more. A Bridget Reilly travelled to NY age 21 in 1869 but from Hamburg, Germany.
Staying with this family and Miriams, Catherine I see a death of a Philip Reilly in the mid 1880s in Drogheda and a Kate Reilly present at death, again on this I see in the history of the St Peters RC church that a carpenter names Philip Reilly worked on it in 1881 at 5 Shillings a week. (About 35 US Cents in todays money).
I tried Ancestry for a Thomas Reilly mother Rice and got no matches but a lot of Thomas Reillys, tried the US and got some around the right year in the US but no mothers name, however he would not need naturalization if born in the US.
If we had a year of migration we could find if they all travelled together. If they went to New York they may be on Ellis Island site or there is a Castle Garden previous to that.
As an aside the the Reilly / Rice marriage found in Dundalk, Rice is a name there and I see one witness is a Finigan, your former Vice President Joe Biden (tree online free if you Google) is from the Cooley area about 5 or so miles from Dundalk. Also have been in touch with another man in NY who tells me a lot of people from this area settled in the Ovid area and are buried there.
You may be interested in a You Tube film of still photos called Ghosts of Drogheda, it is about 9 minutes and I find it enjoyable. The grave yard here in Drogheda in use at the time is Cord Road, it is closed to the public at the moment.
Is it possible to find out where your Reilly's died, that is Thomas's parents.
Regards
Pat
Hi Addys & Miriam, was mooching around on Irish Genealogy looking for deaths of a Michael Reilly and found one where the person present at death is a Bridget Reilly, unforutnately the relationship is not mentioned and there are many other Michael Reilly's dead in Drogheda to suit. However I am of the view totally unscientific of course that Thomas possibly knew Catherine Tobin before he left Ireland, and this death has an address of Smithstown is about 3 to 4 miles from Drogheda going south on what was then the main Dublin road and it is maybe 2 miles from Julianstown so just an indicator but if they got married in St Marys church pre 1864 there would be no marriage record as there is a huge gap is St Marys marriage records which only begin in 1870, civil are available from 1864 so pre 1864 marriage in St Marys not available. However if the marriage took place in the brides parish as per custom it would be in Stamullen, this of course does not locate Thomas's baptism for us as there is no Thomas Reilly mother Rice to be found in Ireland, St Mary's baptisms start much earlier.
Regards
Pat
Hello Pat and Miriam:
sorry it has taken me a couple of days to write back but here is some more information. Thomas Reilly moved to New York in 1890 or 1891, Catherine Tobin came shortly after that since they were married in 1892, I have the marriage certificate. they knew each other while he was living in Drogheda and she in Julianstown. Sorry don't have specifics on Michael Reilly's death nor his marriage to Bridget Rice.
My husband told me that his father (William) had said to him that his father (Thomas) had mentioned that his parish was St. Peter's not St. Mary's. my husband also remembers his father saying that Michael and his family lived in the Lowlanes area of Drogheda
is funny, as soon as I read to my husband the part about Smithtown been about 3 to 4 miles from Drogheda, he started googling the name and came across the fact that this seems to be horse country and there's a stud farm of which the manager is Brian Reilly!
please let me know where else I can search here in New York. I have a paid membership to My Heritage, thinking of doing Ancestry at some point and even thought of doing Roots Ireland for a short time
Addys
Hello Addys, no worries about the delay, I will be offline a bit in the next forthnight myself but checking in. Your husbands memory set me off on a bit of research, I knew we had a Highlanes (local art gallery etc) but had never heard of Lowlanes, luckily a Historic Atlas of Drogheda was published about a month ago and believe it or not lowlanes is under highlanes, obviously a lot of thought went into naming the lanes. Actually it has had a few names from the Atlas (historic maps etc Drogheda plus placenames, cost about $35) anyway it is now Batchelors Lane beside the Augustinian church, founded circa 1300 I think, can photo the plaques if you want, may have already put them under St Peters.
While the parish of your ancestors may be St Peters, the marriage would usually be in the wifes parish as possibly the baptisms if she went to her mothers to give birth. No maternity wards then. Another thought I have is what if they were married / baptised in a church of a religious order such as the one above or the Franciscan which is now the Highlanes Gallery, were are their records now if any, I have asked on the Ireland XO FB private page but no answers yet but only about an hour up.
Lowlanes was also called Bessexwell Lane, an army officer called Bessex apparently lived at tthe end of the lane and there was a well used by locals. It amy be visible on Google streetview, it is beside the church off Shop Street, as Drogheda was a walled town a lot of the streets are narrow and buildings joined.
The area of Smithstown is also close to Bellewstown Racecourse, about 4 or 5 miles I think at most. It is on the go a couple of hundred years, still there were a lot of blacksmiths about and it is only ccircumstantial unless we find more to substantiate it.
I have used Roots Ireland which has an excellent selection of Irish BMDs etc I am still puzzled by the lack of a civil record on Irish Genealogy, it cost money register a birth but the fine for failure was high. I see Ellis Island only opened in 1892 so if they entered via NY then Castle Garden may the place, did he travel or she travel with relatives. If they settled in NY they mostly likely entered via NY so a perusual of the immigration records might give us some one to link or find a birth record for.
Still think it odd that we have a suitable Bridget Rice thats not correct, also do not think Lowlanes was the most upmarket spot around that time, there would have been a fair amount of work around Drogheda then and it is likely the went from Drogheda to Liverpool and on to the US.
I have the Historic Towns Atlas and if you wish as it is also supplied on a DVD or CD I can email you some of the relevant maps via my site email at stpeters@irelandxo.com assume it is copyright so do not wish to publically post. Some of the maps have been on the Drogheda Down Memory Lane Face Book page though and you can view old maps of Ireland here. https://www.osi.ie/
I also looked here for Tobin in Meath and see a Nicholas Tobin in Stamullen or their Stamullin in 1854, this is next door to Julianstown, he was also a landlord, did she have some money and was there a Nicholas. http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameSearch
Good Luck for now,
Pat
Hi Pat!
interesting regarding Highlanes and Lowlanes. the book sounds interesting. if you have not done so, yes please photo the plaques and send.
so regarding the parish, I would have to know Bridget's home parish in order to try and locate the marriage and any subsequent bapstism. not sure how I would do that, hubby only speaks of St. Peter's.
I was able to find the siblings of Catherine Tobin in Julianstown or Stamullen and there was no Nicholas. around what age is this Nicholas in the Griffith's valuation? could he be a sibling to Catherine's father?
I do know that Thomas came in to New York through Castle Gardens and I have found a couple of possibilites for him. I have to take a trip to Ellis Island and research them. Thomas and Catherine lived in a few places in Manhattan until they settled in Yonkers (Westchester County, above New York County aka the city) I was just working on the census this weekend and if I remember correctly they moved up there by the 1930 census
we have city directories for New York, is there anything like that for Ireland that we might be able to tie down the clues of horse training with the possible are of living?
thanks for your continous help, looking forward to the photos
Addys
Hi Addys, as regards Tobin, Nicholas is either a father / grandfather or Uncle I would think but there is only 1 Tobin listed so assume it is some relation of Catherines.
If we know Catherines Tobins father and if possibly mother we can search for siblings, I will look later as it is unlikely there were too many Tobins.
Also did Michael and Bridget emigrate, I looked at deaths for a Bridget Reilly to about 1910 and got 11 registered in Drogheda, at least 3 were far too you, one had an older Bridget from Julianstown, widow dying in the Workhouse. Unfortunately this does not add to the sum of our knowledge, hoping he person listed as present at death would be son or daughter etc, there are two other possible ones, one where the pesron present is the son, Daniel, you can look at these yourself on the Irish Genealogy site, registration area Drogheda.
Also are you aware if Thomas had siblings, did not find any with a Reilly / Rice combination, what record gaave you the information that it was a Michael Reilly and Bridget Rice, the death certificate of Thomas maybe, also it appears to me that the Reilly's or your Reillys came to Drogheda post 1850 or after Griffiths Valuation. There would have been a lot of work in Drogheda at this time, it was an industrial area.
There is a directory of Drogehda circa 1888, have lent my copy out, only business people and those in responsible positions recorded, ie Post Master; School Teacher etc
A local told me that when he was growing up, low lanes meant the Augustian church and high lanes the Franciscan one. This leaves me to think that the lane off Batchelors Lane near the Augustian church may be the one, this is me and not local maps etc. There are no houses on it that I can see though, the area is near the river which was busy but not the kind of place you would expect a horse trainer to live or anyone with a trade, again my view not based on anything solid.
I attach some photos I took today for your perusal, nothing special in them, hope they up load ok.
Regards
Pat
Addys a quick look and see there are 8 Tobins born between 1865 and 1875 to a mother Meade, 5 boys and 3 girls including Catherine, I attach one from Roots Ireland but they should be all on the free site previous, there may be more outside these parameters.
Regards
Pat
Anne Margaret Tobin Date of Birth:15-Feb-1873
Date of Baptism:16-Feb-1873
Address:Julianstown Parish/District: STAMULLIN, CountyCo. Meath
Father:William Tobin Mother: Catherine Meade:
Informant 1:James Lynch
Informant 2:Catherine Maguinness
Hello all!! is been over 5 years since I last read or asked questions. I have a re-read all the messages and would love to tell you that in all these years I have been able to find more about Thomas Reilly and his wife Catherine Tobin. Found Catherine's siblings and have been able to find most of the spouses and children. Connected to a cousin in Wicklow that has pointed out the link between Reilly and Larkin. Through another cousin I connected with, found that in actuality Margaret Reilly's parents were indeed Peter Reilly and Anne Plunkett but was not a sister to my husband's ancestor Michael. Rather her father had a brother named John (married Jane Connelly) who was the father of said Michael (married Bridget Rice) and get this a new mystery, Bridget's father Patrick Rice (married Anne McCoy) is found in some records as Patrick Conlon!
If I didn't say it before, thanks so much to Pat (volunteer for St. Peter's Louth) I hope this message is read by Miriam, who may well be related since I did find Catherine was married to John Hart.
of course, Michael Reilly and his wife Bridget are still much a mystery. I'm sure one day they will appear to me just like Thomas and Catherine's family were revealed,
Thank you all and please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or ideas as to where to go next.
Addys