Seeking info on Grace Caroline Violet French. Born in County Cork Ireland in aprox 1896. Her parents were Richard French and Grace Caroline(not sure maiden name), both born in Sligo Ireland unsure of their birth dates and really need them. She Married Amos John Blackall Jan 16, 1920 in County Cork. If anyone could share any information regarding this family tree it would be very helpful. Thank you.
How certain are you on Grace's parents names, have you tried ordering a birth cert for her ?
The references are Oct-Dec 1896/ Skibbereen district/ Volume 5 / page 463
The best possibility I see is a French Family on the 1901 census is west Co. Cork near the village of Leap. Parents are Philip and Charlotte, although she later appears as a widow in Cork city in 1911 as Caroline. If that's the correct family, your Grace is listed on both census returns as Violet, as Caroline Violet Grace on her birth, and Grace C. V. on her marriage.
There is a likely marriage in West Cork for a Philip French and Caroline Charlotte Smithwick. Philip, Charlotte/Caroline and all the children are listed as born Co. Cork on the census returns.
see : 1901 census, 1911 census
following on from the details above...
Index References for the possible marriage of Philip and Caroline/Charlotte :
Name: Philip French
Quarter/Year : Jan-Mar 1888
Registration district: Skibbereen
Volume: 5 / Page : 399
One of the names listed with the same references , i.e. possible cross-match, is a Caroline Charlotte Smithwick.
A research cert from the GRO would show residences fo the bride and groom, occupations, father's names etc
Philip seems to have died in 1905 - these are the references :
Name : Philip French
Event Type Death
Quarter and Year Jul - Sep 1905
Registration District Skibbereen
Age 70 (estimated year of birth 1835)
Volume 5 / Page 329
The probate Calender entry for Philip gives his date of death as 12 Aug 1905, and was granted to his widow Caroline Charlotte French the following year as his executrix. Residence for Philip is given as 'late of Comities, Glandore, Co. Cork' See : Philip French - 1906.
That sounds like it could very well be the family. The most certain piece of information I have is that Grace Caroline Violet (Violet) Married Amos John Blackall Jan 16, 1920 in County Cork. He was born Oct 25, 1894 in Ruscombe England. 1st world War Archives 1914-1917 show that Amos was in France, Belgium, Flanders and had star trios: Mons Star in 1914, Underfire Star in 1917, and possibly a Victory Metal. These happen to be my great grandparents on my mothers fathers side. That is all the information I have on them. Thak you I think that by the sounds of it this might be what I was looking for.
Maybe a marriage cert for Grace and Amos would be a good place to start, as that's your confirmed connection. A cert should show father's names and occupations, although sometimes occupations are not mentioned for a deceased father, the cert should at least still include his name. Places of residence and names of witnesses are also included on civil records, which can also help with connections..
the likely references for the marriage are as follows :
Name: Grace C V French
Quarter & Year : Jan-Mar 1920
Registration district: Bandon
Volume: 5 / Page : 3
Bandon town and the registration district is located between Cork city and Skibbereen.
One of the possible matches is Amos John Blackall. To order research certs for any of the items mentioned, you can download the order from from the HSE website here Print this out and fill in your details, and then make sure to include the references, as above for the marriage, and then post or fax to the GRO. (Dont worry about leaving some sections of the form blank, it's designed to be used for more recent certs for passports etc)
Edit : make sure to select 'photocopy' option on the order form (section 3) for the cheaper research certs - these cost just 4 Euro.
My grandmother was able to confirm the siblings names on the 1901 census. She remembers my grandfathers uncles and aunts and was also able to confirm that Grace went by Vi, or Violet. This is all very exciting for me. Thank you once again as this is the right family! Now not sure what next to do with all this info :)
I dont know if you've already looked at the FamilySearch/LDS website - a quick search showed some connections that look to be your line, all in Ontario. One of them, the marriage of John Hewett French shows his parents as Philip George French & Caroline Charlotte Smithwick. This John Hewitt is shown as just Hewitt French on the 1901 census return with his family in Cork, but year of birth matches up, and according to the Irish BMD Index his birth was registered John Hewitt French. All the family seem to have a tendency to switch around their names, just to be awkward...
see : Here FamilySearch French/Smithwick records - Canada
and BMD Index Ireland French surname births, registered Skibereen district 1888 to 1901
Yes that is all my Grandfathers uncles and aunts. You are very tallented at this. I am just starting to look into all the info and sites as I was not sure where to look to begin with. All I had was a few scraps of papers from my Granmother with a few names/dates on them. I do sincerely thank you for all your help with this matter. I have more info here than I know what to do with at the moment. Thank you.
no problem - good luck with your search
from Google maps/streetview, a view from the townland of Clounties Co. Cork, where your French family lived in 1901 - see here