I am looking for any information on James Musgrave (1852-1931)and Catherine, aka Susan McAuliffe Musgrave (1852-1916) of Drumshanbo. My grandfather George Musgrave born Derrinasoo Drumshanbo on 2/8/1880, was their son and emigrated to New York in 1899. James & Catherine Susan had 6 other children - William Robert, May Jane, Eliza Ann, Susan, James and John Edward. Any information would be helpful & so appreciated!
Hello Maureen
we may have been in touch a few years ago. It's coincidental that we are searching the same origins now. We go back to William Musgrave/Mosgrove ho was born about 1820 and was a farmer/schoolteacher in the Derrenasoo area. This parish now seems to straddle the corners of Leitrim, Roscommoon and Sligo so it's hard to define where exactly the house was.
earlier this year I commissioned a professional team to try and trace beyond William but there are so few records remaining that they have drawn a blank. You probably know that many of the Protestant parish records were destroyed in the Irish civil was in 1922. They were stored next to the Four Courts in Dublin and this was a focal point of the actions then
Our William born about 1820 married Anne Crawford and had eight children. The eldest Catherine married Joshua Crawford. Was joshua a cousin? John and Stuart came to Cork in 1876 and started our family business. George born in 1850s was a doctor and is supposed to have ended up in Winnipeg. Ithave few records of the other younger siblings.
My youngest daughter, Louise, was in touch with you today too. Charles Crawford, a cousin of ours has assembled a comprehensive family tree and when you send me your email I'll forward it to you. My email is stuartmus@gmail.com.
Part of the problem is whether we are Musgraves, Mosgraves, Mosgroves or Musgroves! If you look at the census returns its hard to make out who they are. This could have a significant bearing on research. I also have no idea how many Musgrave families lived in Derrenasoo. There could have been more than one. My grandfather always claimed Willm had who families. Anne may have been his second wife. Did he have more children?
Do you ever come this way? We could do a trip up to the area as my som did a few years go.
All the best
Stuart
Hello Maureen & Stuart,
The farm you refer to is my father, George Crawford's farm, which is at the very north end of Derreenasoo. It had a school on it once and was Musgrove's. I have posted an old map below that shows the house, it was known as Shannon View.
There were lots of Crawfords in Derreenasoo, not all related.
Hope this is useful.
Regards,
Robert Crawford
Thank you for your post, Robert - I will be looking carefully over that map! I know there was a Musgrave-Crawford marriage way back when...are you currently in this area? I would appreciate any other info you might share!
Maureen Musgrave Armentrout
Hi Maureen,
The link at the bottom gives a lot of Musgrave information for Derreenasoo. In the footnotes at the bottom, it mentions the Crawfords of house number 2 in Derreenasoo, which is my grandfather's 'home place'. I believe your family married into the Crawfords that lived at house number 3, also noted. The Church of Ireland graveyard at Tumna is where our family was buried. It is not far from Derreenasoo and, presumably, there will be Musgraves there too.
My father bought the farm in the early 1980s from William Taylor of Boyle. William had bought it from the last Musgraves that lived there (I’m not sure of the date).
I now work in London, but commute back at weekends to my own farm near Boyle, Co. Roscommon,. If you were planning a visit, we would be happy to show you the old Musgrave farm and introduced you to my father, who would most likely know more. I should warn you in advance that the house was converted to a cattle shed many years ago and the farm is now planted with conifers, as my father is retired.
However, he kept the meadows and a donkey named Jenny lives a very happy life there. The house was on top of a hill and had great views of the surrounding mountains. The hill runs down to border the point where the Fiorish River joins the River Shannon and, on the other side, runs into wild turf bog with an old forest beyond. It is the scene of my childhood and has a lot of happy memories tied to it.
I hope this information is of some use.
Robert
http://www.turtlebunbury.com/history/history_family/hist_family_musgrave.html
Thanks Robert - that's very neat information!! I am hoping to come to Ireland this year, certainly by 2020. I have long been working on documenting and applying for an Irish passport. I would certainly enjoy meeting you, and taking you up on the very kind offer to show us the area - from pictures I've seen, it looks to be the most beautiful place in Ireland! I'm very pleased to be in touch with you, and look forward to someday meeting with you in person. My direct email is mearmentrout@gmail.com. Again, thank you so much for your information!
Maureen