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Looking for the next clue to my Motherline

GalwayLoughrea (Galway)

Hello Everyone,

My name is Kristen, and I live in the state of Maine in the USA. My great-grandmother was born in Loughrea and immigrated to Boston in the early 1900's. I know quite a few details about her immediate family, but have been unable to move forward in my research.

Here is the family's information, from the 1911 Ireland Census:

Residents of a house, 36 Galway Road, Loughrea Urban, Galway

Thomas Farrell, Age 53, Head of Family, Roman Catholic (all are listed as Roman Catholic)

Bridget Farrell, Age 48, Wife

Bridget Farrell, Age 18, Daughter

James Farrell, Age 17, Son

Margaret Farrell, Age 13, Daughter

Katie Farrell, Age 12, Daughter

Christina Farrell, Age 11, Daughter

Gertrude Farrell, Age 8, Daughter

Teresa Farrell, Age 6, Daughter

Patrick Farrell, Age 3, Son

My great-grandmother, Gertrude Bernadette Farrell, was born in Loughrea on July 16, 1902. She left Ireland with her sister and immigrated to the USA, sponsored by an older sister and her husband. She and her sister left from Southampton, and arrived at Ellis Island on June 26, 1920, and continued on to Massachusetts.

As far as family story goes, a brother and a sister stayed in Ireland, as well as the parents. I have been unable to find any further information about Thomas and Bridget, or their parents. My great-great grandmother's maiden name was Bridget Egan (or Eagan). She was born around 1863 and died around 1958. My great-great grandfather, Thomas Farrell, was born around 1858.

I would love to connect with anyone in Loughrea, to have a connection to one of my Motherlands. It would be absolutely wonderful to find out info. about my Farrell and Egan/Eagan families. Bridget is the farthest I can go on my direct mother line of ancestry. DNA testing has shown that I am part of haplogroup H1 (mitochondrial DNA), which I descend from through Bridget.

Thank you to all who read this, and I hope you are well!

All the Best,

Kristen

IrelandXO member

7 replies

Hi Kristen

www.rootsireland.ie/ has the marriage record but it has little info - neither groom or bride's father's name!:

Date of Marriage:05-Jul-1883
Parish / District:LOUGHREA
County:Co. Galway
Husband
WifeName:ThomasFarrell
BridgetEgan

Witness 1MartinNilan
Witness 2 MaryO Loughlin

Assuming Bridget was born in Loughrea, here's the only baptism clos to 1863:

Name:Bridget EganDate of Birth:17-Apr-1865

Date of Baptism:18-Apr-1865Address:Not RecordedParish/District:LOUGHREAGender:
CountyCo. Galway
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:Egan JamesMother:Geoghegan BridgetOccupation:Not Recorded
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:Minetor EdwardSponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Kelly Mary

Same for Thomas:

Name:Thomas FarrellDate of Birth:11-Dec-1854
Date of Baptism:19-Dec-1854Address:Not RecordedParish/District:LOUGHREAGender:
CountyCo. Galway
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:Farrell MichaelMother:Gilligan MaryOccupation:Not Recorded
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:Ryan JamesSponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Holland Mary

Col

ColCaffIrelandXO Volunteer

Dear Col,

Wow, this is so amazing to have heard a response so quickly! Thank you so much for looking this up for me.

Would there be cemetary or church records that we could check, to see if a gravestone has any additional information? It would be wonderful if I could confirm that the Bridget and Thomas on the baptism records you sent me are indeed "my" Bridget and Thomas.

All the Best,

Kristen

IrelandXO member

Hi Kristen

I have a cd Memorials of the Dead Galway & Mayo. It has only 1 Farrell inscription from Galway; graveyard is Lettermullen - not near Loughrea

Lord have mercy on the
soul of Ellen Farrell
who depd this life
on the 6 of Aug 1881 aged 30 years
Erected by
Pat Farrell

This graveyard is on the eastern end of Lettermullen island close to the bridge from Gorumna island. The old graveyard site near the church is no longer in existence nor is there any local memory of it.

www.rootsireland.ie/ has 4 Farrell death/burial records of Farrells in Loughrea R C parish: Marie 1820; 1st name not recorded 1821 & John 1822 (twice)

Loughrea Civil Parish has 38 Farrells starting in 1864 to 1902 but there are no Thomas or Bridgets whose ages match the baptism years above. I also tried Galway county in case they were buried in another parish but no luck there either.

Col

Col

ColCaffIrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Col, and other friends who may be reading this,

Happy New Year from Maine!

I'm a little embarrassed that it's been almost a year since I checked in on this board. I've been busy with my Master's degree program, which has taken me away from genealogy work. Hopefully I can dive in more after I graduate in August!

Col, I very much appreciate your time looking through those records to try to find Thomas and Bridget. Thank you! I have a few questions/musings:

- I'm wondering if maybe the family moved away from Loughrea (and Galway altogether), before they died. Is there a way to search for the names in all counties?

- I recently found a copy of my great-grandmother Gertrude's birth certificate (in family papers). Her mother's maiden was written as "Egan." The address of the house she was born in is on it too; I'm at work now, but I can check it when I get home. There were no birth places for Bridget or Thomas listed on the certificate.

- When you looked up the marriage record on rootsireland.ie, was there only one record for a Bridget Egan and Thomas Farrell? I'm assuming it's my ancestors, but I guess I shouldn't assume...

 

Thank you for any additional insights you may have, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

 

Yours Truly,

Kristen

IrelandXO member

Welcome back Kristen & well done on the master's degree; is a Ph.D next?

Answers to your queries:

it's possible to search the counties (for which there are records); rootsireland, irishgenealogy (free) & Family Search (free) should cover the available records. If you can manage it you might try a short subscription to rootsireland so that you're not reliant upon some old eejit who might miss something!

some good news!:
​in response to your question re other marriage records I re-checked and found this one that I'd missed previously; it seems there was both a civil & church record for them & this civil one has a lot more info!

Date of Marriage:05-Jul-1883
Parish / District:LOUGHREA
County:Co. Galway
Husband
WifeName:ThomasFarrell
BridgetEganAddress:Loughrea
LoughreaDenomination:Civil Parish / District
Civil Parish / DistrictOccupation:LABOURER
LABOURERAge:23
18Status:Bachelor
Spinster
Husband's Father
Wife's FatherName:MichaelFarrell
MichaelEganAddress:
Denomination:
Occupation:LABOURER
LABOURER
Husband's Mother
Wife's MotherName:
Address:
Denomination:
Occupation:
Witness 1
Witness 2Name:MartinNiland
MaryOloughlinAddress:

Married By: CUNNINGHAM JOHN C.A.

Here's the family in the 1911 Irish Census (free)

Residents of a house 36 in Galway Road (Loughrea Urban, Galway)

Show all information

SurnameForenameAgeSexRelation to headReligionBirthplaceOccupationLiteracyIrish LanguageMarital StatusSpecified IllnessesYears MarriedChildren BornChildren Living

FarrellThomas53MaleHead of FamilyRoman CatholicCo GalwayGeneral LabourerRead and write-Married-27--FarrellBridget48FemaleWifeRoman CatholicCo Galway-Read and write-Married-

FarrellBridget18FemaleDaughterRoman CatholicCo Galway-Read and write-Single----

FarrellJames17MaleSonRoman CatholicCo GalwayFarm LabourerRead and write-Single----FarrellMargaret13FemaleDaughterRoman CatholicCo GalwayScholarRead and write-Single----FarrellKatie12FemaleDaughterRoman CatholicCo GalwayScholarRead and write-Single----FarrellChristina11FemaleDaughterRoman CatholicCo GalwayScholarRead and write-Single----FarrellGertrude8FemaleDaughterRoman CatholicCo GalwayScholarRead-Single----

FarrellTeresa6FemaleDaughterRoman CatholicCo Galway-Cannot read-Single----

FarrellPatrick3MaleSonRoman Catholic

Col

ColCaffIrelandXO Volunteer

Hello, Col! Nice to talk with you again! Thank you for the congratulations about my studies. At this time, I don't have any plans to do a PhD, but I guess you never know! I'm studying the link between Roots, Land, and Self in my thesis, which I'll be finishing this spring.

I am very excited about this extra information you found! I notice that Bridget's father in the marriage records doesn't match the father's name for the baptism record. Maybe she wasn't born in Loughrea, and it's two different people?

Thank you for the research advice - I will definitely look into Rootsireland, irishgenealogy & Family Search.

Do you live in Loughrea? I was wondering if there is still a house at 36 Galway Rd.?

I hope you have a wonderful week!

All the Best,

Kristen

IrelandXO member

Hi Kirsten,

Well done picking up the father discrepancy. There are no birth/baptisms for Bridget with father Michael in Galway or in any other county in 1863; closest are 1861 Wateford, 1861, 67 & 68 all Roscommon.

I have been to Loughrea but live in Safety Beach, NSW, Australia.

Suggest you try google maps for the address.

Your thesis sound interesting & related to genealogy.

Cheers

Col

ColCaffIrelandXO Volunteer

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