Searching for information on my grandparents - MaryAnne Leydon and John Gallagher

Hi Susanne,

Thank you for your message - your information is most appreciated - you've alot of work already done!

I have forwarded your request to a volunteer in County Leitrim who may be able to offer some advice - Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and some areas may not yet be organized as others!

Wishing you a Happy Holiday Season.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Ireland Reaching Out

Hi Suzanne,

I believe my Layden ancestors also came from Glackaun, but so far I haven’t been able to find conclusive proof. My great-great-grandfather Francis Leyden was born in County Leitrim to parents Francis Layden and Mary Hart, around 1815. The Tithe Applotment Books have a Francis Layden in Glackaunadarragh, Inishmagrath parish, who could be Francis senior. The NLI only has parish registers for 1835-1839 for Inishmagrath – I found some records for Laydens, including one Francis Layden who was a sponsor at a baptism in 1838, but nothing conclusive. Francis junior married Winifred Currans from Sligo, and they left Ireland for the Dumfries/Maxwelltown area during the Great Famine.

My father told me we came from a place in Ireland where “everyone was a Layden”. Almost half the tenants listed in Glackaunadarragh in the Tithe Applotment Books were Laydens, so I think this may be the place. I assume the Laydens must all have been related, and they also seem to have inter-married with other families living there. But I understand that the Laydens have gone now and Glackaun is almost deserted.

Regards,

Iain Layden

Hi Lain - thanks so much for telling me what you know.  I'm finding it difficult to find my great grandparents siblings - but maybe Francis could be one of them.  Are you located in Ireland or in the states?  

I continue to research but want as much information I can get and then will plan my next trip to Ireland.  Have spent most time south of Shannon and into Dublin but now want to concentrate more in the north.

Is there any way on Facebook to reach any of the people in these areas with the Laden, Laydon, Leydon, etc. name?  I know most don't want to correspond to people they don't know (for security sake) but I would so appreciate communicating and searching for family members.

Again, thanks so much for your message.

Sue (Taylor) Dolan

Norwood, MA

Hi Suzanne,

I think it is quite likely that Peter Layden was related to Francis Layden, either directly or through a common ancestor.

I can see Peter Leyden and his family in the 1901 and 1911 censuses for Glackaun. If the list of baptisms you have is complete, and if they followed the Irish naming tradition, then Peter’s father could have been called Daniel. There is a Daniel in Griffiths Valuation, and if that was him this would give you the actual plot they were living on. But this is a lot of “ifs”, or course!

I am a member of a Facebook group called Leyden Genealogy, which you might want to join. So far, the Leydens on there who have made a connection are all from County Clare, but maybe in time more Leydens from Leitrim will join the group and we will work out how we are related.

There is also a Facebook group called Glen Gathering, which covers the Arigna Valley, including Glackaun. There are some old photos of Laydens from Glackaun in the 1930s.

Good luck!

I’m from the UK, by the way.

Regards,

Iain Layden