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Tracing Friel ancestry trail has gone cold

Hey all,

I am interested in tracing my ancestors and trying to expand the Friel branch of my family tree. My family tree currently ends at my great -great-great-great grandfather. 

What I know about him is his name was John Friel and he was born in 1850 North Ireland. He married Mary Bridget Friel Maiden name Erskine (DOB 1849, Scotland) in Londonderry, May 12th 1870. They apparently moved to Scotland shortly after the marriage. John died before 1899. 

One of their children was my great-great-great grandfather James Friel (Freill). He was born on Jan 26th 1879 in Scotland. He married Elizabeth Freill (Smith) on June 9th 1899 in Paisley Scotland. Elizabeth was born Sep. 3rd 1867 in Kilmarnock Scotland. James Freill died on October 28th 1927 in San Joaquin California. His  son, my great great grandfather George Freill, was born in Dumbarton Scotland on June 1st 1906 and immigrated to Montreal Canada. 

Does anyone have any information on John Friel 1850 and Mary Bridget Friel (Erskine) 1849, marriage May 12 1870 in Londonderry?

Would really appreciate if someone was able to help me figure this out

Thank you

freil1

4 replies

I suspect this is the marriage you are looking for, in May 1869. In the RC parish of Iskaheen which is in Co Donegal just a mile or two from Derry City. Groom lived in the townland of Ture and bride nearby in Gorticross in Co. Derry.

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1869/11420/8194510.pdf

Your ancestor James was born in Largs, Ayrshire in 1878. The family were in Largs in the 1881 census. 6 children, Helen (Ellen), Michael, Maggie, James, Anne & Eliza. All born in Largs save for Helen who was born in Greenock. John was a mason’s labourer.

Family are still in Largs in 1891 but Bridget looks to be head of household. So John must have died between 1884 and 1891.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Elwyn,

Thank you so much for finding that info. That lines up with the other children in what we have for a family tree. Only name we didn't have was Eliza so that is super interesting. Great great great grandfather George was born in Dumbarton Scotland 1906 and married in Montreal 1929. His aunt Anne we have showing born 1881 in Scotland but married in Montreal 1909. So it appears the family would have came over sometime in between 1906 and 1909 maybe George travelled over with them as a baby? The only thing that confuses me is the Mary/Bridget name, is it plausible Mary changed her name to Bridget? I see lots of Mary's and Bridget's from back then. That marriage certificate is the closest one that fits, nothing else comes close. If that's the case than the family tree would start with John's dad John Friel. I wonder if there is anyway to figure out who John's mom and siblings were 

freil1

The easiest way of checking whether that is the correct marriage is to look at the children's birth certificates. Births in Scotland record the date and place where the parents married. It’s not unknown for couples to get the date wrong though. I note that the 1869 marriage is almost exactly a year earlier than the date you gave. Makes me think it’s probably your couple.

You said you were not aware of Eliza. She’s registered as Eliza Freil mmn Erskine in Largs 1884 GROS ref: 602/32. You can view that on the Scotlandspeople site for about £1.50 (around $Can 2.50).

There’s a likely death for Eliza in Skelmorlie in 1898. Elizabeth Boyd Freil aged 13, mmn Erskin GROS ref: 602/2/2.

https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/

Can’t really help with the Mary/Brigid question. We do have plenty of interchangeable names in Ireland (and Scotland) like Sarah/Sally & Agnes/Nancy but Brigid and Mary are not interchangeable, in my experience anyway. Maybe Mary was a middle name, and she decided to use it instead?

Re finding John’s mother’s name, the first place to start is his death certificate. Scottish death certificates record both parents’ names, plus whether they were alive or dead at that date. I see a likely death registered in Largs in 1883. John Freil aged 36. GROS ref: 602/51. Mother’s maiden name Haggard. Suggest you view it to get the full details.

Births of what I assume are the first 2 children in Ireland in 1870 & 1871:

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/birth_returns/births_1870/03347/2227209.pdf

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/birth_returns/births_1871/03285/2204006.pdf

John was born in Ireland in June 1871 and Helen (Ellen) was born in Greenock in 1873 so you know the family moved to Scotland around 1872.

Bridget Friel death in Largs in 1902 aged 58. Mother’s maiden name unknown. GROS ref: 602/1/43.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

You asked about possible siblings for John Friel. Here are some marriages in that area where the father was John Friel, labourer. I can’t say whether they are related to your family because we don’t know the mother's names. But they might be.

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1872/11306/8148482.pdf

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1878/11117/8069604.pdf

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1874/11244/8123491.pdf

Above says that John Friel was dead in 1874.

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1876/11185/8098374.pdf

Fathers names transposed on the above marriage certificate. (Error by the priest).

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1879/11056/8044869.pdf

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1864/11617/8276897.pdf

Your John Friel was living in Ture when he married. Here’s a Bernard Friel farming in Ture who may be connected in some way. His daughter was Hannah (surname Acheson on this certificate but I wonder if that’s a mistake.) Bernard may be an uncle or similar to your John.

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1878/11101/8062931.pdf

Bernard may have died in 1870 aged 54, but that year’s death certificates are not viewable free yet.

You probably want to investigate who Bridget Frill was living with in Largs in 1901. There’s a John & Catherine Frill aged 40 & 38 in the same household in the census indexes. He is too old to be Bridget’s son John born in 1871. So who is he? Looks like he married a Catherine Martin in Greenock in 1883. Is he a relative from Ireland? Worth checking his marriage certificate to see who his parents were.

The RC parish records for Iskaheen (the parish Ture is in) only start in 1858, so you may struggle to get back very far with the Friel family.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

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