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Time and ship William and Johannah Collopy used to leave Ireland

Limerick

Hi, I'm trying to locate the time and ship my gr gr grandparents used to leave Ireland. They were William and  Johannah Collopy. Their first and only child born in Ireland was Michael in 1846 in Mungret parish, Limerick. Their second child, John(my gr grandfather) was baptized in St Vincent in Niagara On The Lake, Ontario, Canada. Based on these dates, they left Ireland between late 1846 and mid 1849. Are there any records available online that would help me?? If I had to guess, they probably left from Limerick on a ship that hauled lumber from Canada to Limerick. Any thoughts or suggestion on where to look?????  A second question??  Michael's baptism records in Mungret parish in 1846 has his name spelled Colopy and his sponsor was probably his sister in law with the last name spelled Collopy. I was curious if maybe the spelling of their children's last name was due to the fact that Johannah faith was Church of Ireland whereas William was Catholic. All census records in Canada and the USA lists Johannah as Church of England as well. Would a inter denominational marriage in 1843 in Manister explain why the spelling changed????    Thanks for any help or suggestions anyone can offer!  Wishing all a wonderful and blessed Christmas!  Randy Colopy

randycolopy

5 replies

Randall,

The spelling of the surname will have nothing to do with religious denominations. The idea of a single “correct” spelling is a modern concept, suited to modern officialdom. In Ireland in the 1800s (and earlier) few folk were all that literate but even when they were, they were mostly supremely indifferent as to how their name was spelled. Often it was down to the whim of the official recording the information, and so a change of official could mean a change of spelling. But the underlying issue was also that nobody cared. It wasn’t seen as important.

There are about 6 extant examples of the playwright William Shakespeare’s signature and he spelled his name differently in each one (and none of those spellings was Shakespeare).

Expect names to be spelled differently in early genealogical records. That was the norm.

 

 

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Randall,

Please see attached records re marriage of William Colopy and Anna-Johanna Chamberlain. The Witnesses to the marriage were Patrick Buckly and Catherine Griffin.

In relation to the spelling of "Colopy" Griffith's Valuation c1850 County Limerick has a record of 14. "Collopy" is the more common spelling with c100.

No record found for a William Colopy emigrating to Canada 1846 - 1849 on Subscription Site www.findmypast.ie

Regards,

 

 

McCoy

Elwyn, thanks for your insights on the different spellings of the surnames. I do have one additional question??? The surname for Anna as listed on the Catholic marriage records was Chrisler. I checked the Latin form of that word and it's not anything close to the name Chamberlain. Insights as to why it's so different???

McCoy, thanks for the record files you sent, the marriage file is most helpful. Do you happen to know if there are any boat passenger lists records in Canada as to ships that left Limerick between 46-49'???  Any online sites that I might check?

I just wanted to say I'm sorry that it took so long for me to respond to you both, it's been a little busy with Christmas. I hope you both had a wonderful Christmas! I was actually doing some genealogy on Christmas Eve and found where the Irish is coming in from my mother's side. Her grandmother was a McCarter and they came to America in 1803 if the Find A grave entry is correct. I just don't have any more info as of know. It looks as if my mother's gr gr grandfather was born on the ship as they sailed to America from Ireland. I look forward to doing more research on them in the near future!  Thanks again for all your help, Randy

randycolopy

Randall,

Regarding the surname Chrisler in the Findmypast record, it simply looks to be a transcription mistake. Here’s the original on the nli site:

https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000634982#page/166/mode/1up

I can read “Chamber” quite clearly. I assume “lain” is out of sight in the binding.

Given your interest in emigration in the late 1840s I have attached a transcript of a letter sent from Quebec in May 1847, which mentions Limerick. (Original is in PRONI – the public record office – in Belfast, ref D3000/104/12.)

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hi, I was just reading your story and although I have found many of the Collopy family that emigrated to the USA in the middle years of 1800, I did not see any for Canada.

However two things to think about:- many people started in the USA and then moved on from their to Canada and then bear in mind that many people went from Cork to Canada direct; One such line of ships was the Attridge line, they took passengers to the Canads and brought timber back to the landlords in Kerry and Cork.

Canada has now managed a newish site recording all immigrants from before the 1900's so look for these sites too:-       https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/ENG/DISCOVER/IMMIGRATION/IMMIGRATION-RECORDS/PASSENGER-LISTS/...

Also Please do look at https://www.info.co.uk/serp?qc=web&q=free+canadian+immigration+records+…

Jennifer Jean   Volunteer for IrelandXo  :- killeedy1@irelandxo.com-Ireland17

Killeedy1 LimerickIrelandXO Volunteer

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