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Trying to find birth records and parents of Nicholas Griffin

DublinBalrothery (Dublin)

Greetings,

I have been stuck locating any birth record of greatx3 grand father, Nicholas Griffin. Believed to have been born about 1823Balbriggan, Dublin, Ireland. I am unsure, but believe I found his marriage record to Agnes McDaniel on 8, September 1845 inBalbriggan, Dublin, Ireland (see attached for record transcription, 4th from the bottom).

Nicholas and Agnes traveled to the US roughly around 1854. It is uncleat if there son John J. Griffin was born just prior to sailing or if he was born soon upon arrival. His birht year was 1854 also. US Census has John's birthplace as both Philadelphia, PA and Dublin also, depending on the year of the census in the US.

My questions pertain to:

1) Locating some form of certiifcate or document that shows where Nicholas was born. While it is believed that it wasBalbriggan, Dublin, Ireland-I'm not positive.

2) Knowing who his parents were and what parts; I have no clean record of his parents either. Some say his father's name was Patrick, but I cannot confirm. Knowing Nicholas' parents, the exact date of birth and location would be meaningful to me.

I also have the death certificate of John Griffin, Nichs and Agnes' son -this shows the names of Nicholas and Agnes -that helped me confirm the names of Nicholas and Agnes, both of Dublin.

Sincerely,

Steve Griffin

Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

griffin.whale@…

4 replies

You can view the original register entry for the marriage of Nicholas and Agnes at this link - see the 2nd entry for the 8th September on the right hand page.

The baptism records for the Catholic Parish of Balbriggan are available back to 1770, far earlier than those for many rural Catholic parishes, but no sign of any likely baptism for Nicholas in these that I see. A search of baptisms for the parish between 1845 and 1855 shows at least two children to Nicholas and Agnes - Stephen in 1846 and Christina in 1848.

Widening the search area to north county Dublin and nearby county Meath gives two possible matches for Nicholas - the first in Swords Catholic parish in 1817 to parents Stephen Griffin and Jane Ward - see the first entry for August on the right hand page. The town of Swords, where the parish was based, is in north county Dublin and about 20km (abt 12 miles) from the town of Balbriggan. 

The second match is in Ardcath Catholic parish in 1827 to parents Pat Griffin and Catherine English - see the entry for 7th June towards the end of the left page. Ardcarth parish is in Co. Meath and right on the border with Co. Dublin and about the same distance from the town of Balbriggan as Swords.

shanew147IrelandXO Volunteer

@shanew147 Much thanks for your discoveries. I'd say the first find would be to different Griffin family. Given he married in 1854, it would've made him too young to marry with a birth year of 1846. Stephen could have been an uncle possibly.

The other two are quite promising and require some guessing I suppose. I'm open to be told I'm off here. With Stephen and Jane, Nicholas would have been married around the age of 37 and died ~ at the age of 64. Pat and Catherine on the other hand may be closer to the truth and this is where I am quite open to being told I'm off. The birth year means he was married around the age of 27 and seems possible and with his death in 1881, he would have been 54 years old. I understand playing the odds here is quite a gamble when you are trying to determine relatives, I prefer to not guess. This is the closest that I have been to information this far back and want to thank you for finding this for me. 

I suppose both Griffins (Stephen or Pat) didn't have other children, at least none that I can tell. Given that others have mentioned Patrick as Nicholas's father, I am inclined to believe your 1827 discovery is the one. Most records here in the States of his death only report "estimated" date of birth, not exact -strange.

Thank you for finding this.

 

My best,

Steve Griffin

griffin.whale@…

The first Stephen baptised in 1846 I mentioned is Nicholas & Agnes first son - just a year after the marriage.

I think the 1817 baptism in Swords is a good match for your Nicholas, the age fits at about 28 (bapt. 1817 marr 1845) and not only is it close to Balbriggan but the father's name is Stephen, so quite likely a name that your Nicholas would have chosen for his first born.

 

shanew147IrelandXO Volunteer

Makes perfect sense. Sometimes I just need to get out of my own head and have others help me. You've been a great help and I'm quite appreciative of the work you've done to help me.

Steve

griffin.whale@…

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