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Rafter and Hammon

DonegalRaphoe (Donegal)

I could use help in finding my Donegal ancestors. My great great grandmother is Susan Rafter. Her parents are Michael Rafter and Bridget Hammon.

Susan was born about 1837 in County Donegal. She immigrated to the USA and arrived in New york In 1853. She married James Dunnigan/Donegan from Louth and they had at least 11 children, including my great grandmother Mary Elizabeth Dunnigan.

They lived in Senaca Falls, NY then Auburn, NY and finally Rochester, NY. I have lots of information on Susan in the USA. I am searching for information on Susan and her parents, including their townland. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

kscheg@hotmail.com

8 replies

Not sure why this posted to Raphoe.  All I know is Donegal.  

kscheg@hotmail.com

Kathleen:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

Unfortunately, finding RC records in Co. Donegal pre-1840 is very difficult. Most parishes have records starting 1850 or later. I did search the subscription site and did not find a record for Susan or any Rafter children in the 1830s.

I looked at the 1820s/1830s Tithe records and did not see any Rafter records in Co. Donegal.

I also looked at the 1857 Griffiths Valuation head of household: Killultan and  listings for Co. Donegal. I found two John Rafter records in Killaghtee civil parish in southwest Donegal: Killultan and Ballycroy. I also found a Bridget Rafter in Drumbeagh townland in Killybegs Upper civil parish near Killaghtee. We don't know if Michael Rafter and Bridget Hammon emigrated with Susan. If they stayed in Ireland and Michael died then Bridget would have been the lease holder on Griffiths. We would need more confirming information. 

I would recommend that you post Susan's story to our XO Chronicles site and possibly someone will recognize the connectio n. https://www.irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/history-and-genealogy/ancestor-dat…

Have you considered DNA testing?

Roger McDonnell

 

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Roger, thank you so much for your promt and thourough reply.   I am hoping to come to Donegal this summer or next and would like to visit where my ancestors lived so this is great.   Your information is very encouraging.

I went back and reviewed my research.  It looks like a Michael Rafter, 2 years older than Susan, came over on the same ship on 20 Jul 1853.  I am guessing he is Susan's sister. I don't think Susan's parents Michael and Bridget came to the USA.  Her husband James Dunnigan's parents did along with his siblings.  

I found my copy of James and Susan's marriage certificate from St. Francis de Sales Church in Geneva, Seneca, New York, USA in March 1858. It looks like it says John Rafter before Michael Rafter and Bridget Hammon.  I'll call the church and see if they can explain the extra name for parents.

I also found a Widow Roughter in Drumbeigh, Killbeggs, around 1834 in the Tithe.  If Bridget is widowed in 1834 that would be right after Michael and Susan were born.  Not sure about this.

Are there any cemetary records for this area.  I found a lot of good information there for my Clare ancestors.  It may tell us when Micheal died and/or Bridget.

I haven't done DNA but a nephew did and I am hoping to piggy back off his. I am open to posting on the site you mentioned.

Gratefully,

Kathleen Scheg

 

 

kscheg@hotmail.com

Kathleen:

It is up to you but I would suggest that you also test your DNA with the same company. Your nephew data will help but your are a generation further back.

If a headstone was put up for Michael or Bridget, it is unlikely that the headstone would be readable unless the headstone was added by a later generation.

This site is always helpful in researching in Donegal  http://donegalgenealogy.com/

FYI There were no Rafter records in the 1901 census for Donegal.

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Hi Roger,

Thanks for checking the 1901 census for Rafter.  So I guess that would mean John Rafter was gone as well.  Are there any Hammon there?

Do you think the widow Roughter I found in the Tithe in Drumbeigh in Killybegs is the same as the Bridget Rafter you found in Killybegs in Griffeths? I can't tell if it is the same plot of land.  I know spelling of names changed.  My Howard was Hure in County Clare and I probably never would have found him without help from someone like yourself.

Kathy

 

 

kscheg@hotmail.com

Kathy:

Possibly the same person but there is a 25-30 year gap between the two surveys.

No Hammon in the 1901 census for Donegal.

Also, could not find any Rafter civil death records up to 1900 in Donegal--strange!

Roger

 

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Hi Rger,

I haven't been able to get on this site the last couple of nights. It said the site/my account had been comprimised/hacked.  It is ok today though thankfully.

Yes, it is strange about the lack of Rafter civil death records. What would be the Roman Catholic parish for this area? They might have records or an old cemetery.

I have difficulty understanding the various Irish labels. Could you please help me clarify them for the Rafter family?

Province? = Ulster

Baronies = Bannagn and Boylagh

Diocese = Raphoe.  Is that Roman Catholic diocese or a civil label?

Civil Parish? = Killightee for John Rafter

Civil Parish? = Killybegs Upper for widow Bridget Rafter

What are Killutan and Ballycroy?

What is the DED?

What is the relevant Catholic parish/church?

Thanks again,

Kathleen

 

 

kscheg@hotmail.com

Kathleen:

Yes, our site was hacked for about 16 hours mid-week and everyone who logged in got a strange message.

There were four ancient provinces in Ireland and Ulster was in the north and includes Donegal, Cavan Monaghan and the six counties in the current Northern Ireland.

Barony is an ancient term that has no real meaning now but you see the term on records and you can ignore.

Raphoe is the Roman Catholic diocese which covers most of Donegal except for the parishes on the east side of the county. This site http://www.raphoediocese.ie/parishes/details ; shows the parishes. 31 and 29 are the ones you want. Just click on the number and the church will pop-up.

There are 52 civil parishes in Co. Donegal of various sizes. Roughly equivalent to a county in the States.Killaghtee is just to the east of Killybegs Upper.

Killultan and Ballycroy are townlands which is the smallest land division in Ireland. Each civil parish has between 20-100 townlands and most townlands are 300-400 acres in size.

DED stands for District Electoral Division and is a used for reporting births/marriages/deaths and census information. Donegal had 144 DEDs in the 1911 census and likely has a similar number now unless they did a lot of consolidations.

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

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