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Welch and O'Melia

Mayo

Hello, My 3rd great-grandparents were John Hughes (b1830) and Ann Welch (b 1832). I've confirmed that John came from Meath but there are no records for Ann Welch in that location. Our family story says they came from Meath and Co Mayo. So I'm wondering if there might be any information on Ann in Co Mayo. Her father is Patrick Welch and her mother is Honora (possibly O'Melia) Welch. 

John and Ann lived in Liverpool from about 1856 until 1864 where they had 3 children, and then came to the U.S. I don't know if they married before leaving Ireland, or later in Liverpool. 

I know very little about them and any assistance you can offer is greatly appreciated.

Thank you and Best Regards,

Tim

satman2012

4 replies

Tim:

I searched the subscription site Roots Ireland but did not find a baptismal record for Ann Welch with the parents names you provided. Many Co. Mayo RC parishes do not have records back to 1830. The surname was likely Walsh in Ireland.
 

Since John was from Co. Meath and Ann from Mayo, they were likely married in Liverpool.

Have you considered DNA testing?

Roger McDonnell

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you for your checking into this and for your reply Mr. McDonnell.  I didn't really know where to start and I'll follow your suggestion to see if there's a Catholic Church collection for the UK available. Maybe something will show up.

I have 5 different sets of Irish 3rd great grandparents who came to the US between 1846 and 1864. There was very little information collected from arrivals during that time period and researching them has been challenging.  

Yes I've done DNA testing with Family Tree DNA and also Ancestry. The yDNA testing with FTDNA has been interesting. Paternal great-grandfather's line going back to north Clare.

Thanks again.

Tim

  

 

 

satman2012

Tim:

Unfortunate that all your Irish lines go back that far. I'm lucky to have three grandparents born in Ireland.

A couple DNA suggestions. There is a site called Gedmatch www.gedmatch.com where you can upload DNA data from either FTDNA or Ancestry. There are 1.4 million records on the site and possibly you will get some additional matches. The site is free if you stay at the basic level. You also should be able to upload your data to MyHeritage for free and again you will get additional matches.

If you start getting into DNA in a more detailed way, there is a site called DNA Painter dnapainter.com  operated by Jonny Perl from England. It allows you to "paint" your DNA data to see family trenda. There is an annual fee for this site. You would only be able to use your FTDNA data to "Paint" since up to now Ancestry refuses to provide a chromosome browser. All the best!

Roger

 

 

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Thanks for the tips Roger. Very much appreciated!

Tim

satman2012

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