Hello Pat,
Thank you for these results. I have previously found the baptismal record for Michael, and since posting I wondered if there is any mileage in trying to trace the witnesses, maybe there is some link, as I have no idea where the couple lived in Drogheda the witnesses may be living nearby, also possible Toner family. I have found several Toner families from the 1901 census, and also have an experimental family tree on ancestry into which I enter Toner families in the hope I'll cross reference to a potential ancestors of Catherine. Statistically there is more likely hood that Catherine came from what is now N.I. according to the break down of the 1901 census. Michael's batpism is the oldest record of location I have for this couple, the marriage would set me up in a new direction, as would the birth / Baptism details of Patrick. On the Barry side, the family have been very mobile and I have found a first marriage for Patrick in Glasgow, Scotland, but his son Laurence was born in Belfast a few months later, Patrick also moved to Dublin not many years later after his first wife died in 1898 . both wifes were born in Dublin and lived and died there, which re enforces the mobility argument. I can say wrt you English findings that I have enough evidence in Ireland and Scotland that Garrett and Catherine never lived in England, Catherine died in Belfast, 2 Jan 1879 at 30 Smithfield Court, which I beleive is in the close area to the Smithfield Market that was there in those days, which is consistant with the family being traders. However what is a puzzle is why Garrett didn't deal with the death registration, had he already gone to Glasgow? Later Army records indicate him as next of Kin to the other two sons Garrett and Laurence who joined up in Glasgow some years later.
Interesting as it is I have moved away from this investigation, so who were Patric Walsh, and Ellen O'Brien are there local families with these names or are these people in a transitent population of traders moving around between Dublin and Belfast? I may have mentioned that Garrett snr often crossed the path with the law, I have done brief searches for records as I beleive there is a Jail in Drogheda, also would there be street indexes plus or minus 5 years in Drogheda, the next location is in the centre of Belfast in 1864 when the next son was born.
Statistically the Barry's are more likely to originate from Co.Cork and area, but to date my DNA searches have not homed in on that area. The only reference I have is the drunken shouting that Garrett was 'a Tipperay man', but again nothing has been found to support this yet. I spent a lot of time trying to make sense of the 1901 and 1911 English census data on 'place of Birth' for Michael, as he had entered Droughty resident, but later found out that the 'resident' was a secondary responce to his living status in England, and there is no Droughty, I could find in Ireland, a few variations and no indication of which county in Ireland, it could of cource be a mis interpretation of Drogheda, as I assume he had a strong Irish acsent and did not record the information himself. Patrick confusingly wrote 'Limerick' as his place of birth in the 1901 Irish census, and in the 1911 he claimed 'the city of Dublin'! Michael could have been up to 5/6 years old if they remained in Drogheda long enough for him to go to school, are there any local school records available?
Does any of this give a starting point in the locality of Drogheda, for Toner or the presents of the Barry family1855/57-1862/4, your suggestions would be welcome.
BR MikeB
