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Rorke Ancestors in Clontuskert

GalwayClontuskert (Galway)

Good day from sunny South Africa :-)

We are experiencing very warm days around 30 degrees at the moment.

My ancestors are from Clontuskert and I would appreciate to know if more information exists.

The following information is known of the Rorke Family of Clontuskert.

James RORKE (b.1760 d. 18 Oct 1832) married Julia in Ireland. Both were from Ballinasloe, County Galway, Ireland. They had 5 sons. James Rorke (1760 1832) was a tenant farmer to the Earl of Clancarty and this explains why most of James's sons emigrated when they did. The family did not own the farm and small as it was, it could barely support one family. There was nothing to keep them in Clontuskert as farming was a very hard life especially for tenant farmers in poor growing seasons. James Rorke (1760 1832) was buried in the grounds of St Matthew's Church, Glenloughan, near Ballinasloe, Galway. St Matthews church was a Protestant church. It is in the village of Glan - short for Glenloughaun (now shortened to Glanlahan). The grave is still there today and the inscription is readable.

The 5 sons are:

1. JOHN RORKE (b.1793 d.1868)

2. THOMAS RORKE (b.1795 d.29 Jan 1837). Came to South Africa in 1823

3. MICHAEL RORKE (b.9 Mar 1799 d. 2 April 1872). Came to South Africa in 1823

4. JAMES RORKE (b.1801 d.23 Jun 1859). Came to South Africa in 1823

5. BENJAMIN RORKE (b.1803), married Catherine GLYNN (b1801 d.1874) in Ireland. He, his wife and first son came to South Africa in 1830 - 7 years after his 3 brothers came to South Africa. He and Catherine had 3 sons. One was born in Ireland and 2 were born in South Africa.

5.1 Michael RORKE (b.12 Aug 1825 d. 29 Sep 1861) first born son to Benjamin and Catherine

My mom and I will be visiting the area of Clontuskert in May 2015 to see for ourselves where our family lived.

Kind regards and warm greetings,

Marelize Fourie

IrelandXO member

13 replies

Marelize:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out! 

You have a done a great job researching your family. I checked the Tithe listings and did not see any entries for your family. I also looked at the 1856 Griffiths Valuation head of household listings and there was a John Rouke in Glenloughan. I presume the surname was misspelled.

http://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths/galway/clontuskert.htm

Is this the oldest son who died in 1868? I was unable to find a civil death index record for John in 1868.

Enjoy your trip to Ireland. Let me know if you have any questions.

Roger McDonnell

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

These are a little difficult to read but it looks like there are two entries for the surname 'Rorke' on the Tithe Applotment records for Glenalouhane/Glenloughaun townland. Both seem have the same abbreviated first name with what could be Jhn or maybe Th.., the first entry mentions 'Police' The surname has been transcribed as 'Rooke', but I think looks more like Rorke - e.g. see the 'r' lower down the page in 'acres'. See the page image here

(The Tithe records for this parish are dated Oct 1823)

shanew147IrelandXO Volunteer

Roger, Thank you very much for the reply. 

Yes, according to the information I have, the oldest son, John, took over the farm from his father and stayed in Ireland. This information is not confirmed, but will certainly form part of discovering additional and new information.

How would I trace family members, ie. wife, children? Would I be able to research archives when in Ireland?

You have helped so much by confirming the oldest son still in the area.

Much appreciated!

Kind regards,

Marelize

IrelandXO member

Shane, thank you very much for your reply.

it is truly amazing to actually view information. The quality is very good.

Would the word 'police' after the surname mean that he was working as a policeman?

Thank you for your valuable contribution. Much appreciated!

Kind regards,

Marelize

IrelandXO member

Marelize:

I looked at the Roots Ireland indexes and found an 1833 marriage for John Rorke in Ballinasloe, however, the fathers name for this John was not James so I guess this was a different John.

I also could not find any baptismal records for children of John Rorke in Clontuskert or Ballinasloe.

Later this summer the National Library of Ireland plans to put all RC parish registers online for free searching. I would review those two parishes at that time.

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

I'm not sure what the reference to 'Police' means in this case. Tithe Payments were a form of taxes payable to the established Church and related to eligible agricultural land. I dont think a state body would have to pay these. I thought maybe there was a police barracks on the property, but there's no sign on the slightly later c1839 1st edition OSI maps, so if there was it was only for a short time.

Maybe this person was a part time police constable ?

The national police force, the R.I.C. was relatively new at this stage and there may have still been local constables still in place at the time at the time of the Tithes in this area.

You can see a little more detail on the townland at the time of Griffith's Valuation on the AskAboutIreland website. The easiest way to see this Rorke entry is to search by location - first filter by county Galway, then enter 'Glenloughaun' as the place name. Click on the 'occupants' icon on the results, and then click any of the larger 'original page' icons to see the published valuation for the townland. You can see your John Rorke listed as occupying 'house offices and land' a little over 17 acres. (offices is the term used of the Valuation for workshops, outhouses, barns, stables etc...) The immediate lessor, and probable ultimate owner for all the the properties in the townland is the Earl of Clancarty. You can also see that the CofI church you mentioned is listed as an exempt property.

p.s. early RC marriage records only include very basic details, and dont usually mention fathers names - so certainly worth keeping a note of that 1833 marriage Roger mentioned as a possible match for this John Rorke from Glenloughaun. Marriages usually took place in the bride's parish and Ballinasloe parish (sometimes listed as Creagh and Kilcloony) is right next to Clontuskert parish.

shanew147IrelandXO Volunteer

Roger and Sean,

Thank you very much!

It is such a blessing to receive feedback of this nature! I truely appreciate your time and effort to find information. 

Kind regards, Marelize

IrelandXO member

no problem - enjoy your trip to Ireland!

 

 

Shane

shanew147IrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you Shane. Apologies for the wrong spelling of your name.

Looking forward to visit your beautiful country.

IrelandXO member

Hi.  I wonder how the visits went?  My great grandfather was Thomas O'Rorke who was a teacher turned ric officer born Galway in 1845.  I don't know his fathers name.  I know he was from east galway west Roscommon where the parishes of Galway overlap the country of Roscommon and visa versa.  They lived down a long lane and survived the famine because they had a lake on the land and ate fish.  They lived two and a half miles across fields to the local church.  Anyone know anything about such people? They won lots of scholarships and were well educated.  The mother had them all studying hard. It was her mission in life to make something of them.   My great grandad qualified as a teacher first and then at 21 joined the ric and moved away.  In 1866 when he was joining the ric it was his local priest a Fr P O'Connor who recommended him.  
Thank you in advance for any information you might have.  I'll be visiting the area soon to go thru graveyards etc.  
Sheila. 

Smary2623@gmail.com

Also they were all fluent Irish speakers.  They would write their name as Ui Ruairc if given the chance.  Which only makes things more confusing.  
Thank you.

Sheila

 

Smary2623@gmail.com

Hi Sheila, 

I dont have any specific information for you but if you think there might be a Clontuskert connection, there is quite a comprehensive book compiled by the Clontuskert Heritage Group called 'The Parish of Clontuskert- Glimpses into its Past. Published in 2009. Also look up their website Clontuskert.com. If you live in Ireland, this book is available through the library system.                                                                                                 

Two other useful resources websites are Findmypast.ie and Roots ireland. Both are paid subscriptions and you can sign up for 1 month's access. I found them very helpful.

Hope this helps

Anne 

 

annefahy52@gmail.com

Thanks Anne.  I'll get that book.  Sheila

Smary2623@gmail.com

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