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Michael Walsh & Anne Reilly

MayoBalla (Mayo)

Hello,

My great-great-grandparents, Michael Walsh & Anne Reilly, were married at the Roman Catholic Church in Balla on 30 Nov 1861. While I found the parish record, I couldn't find a civil record either on the Irish Genealogy website or on theAncestry.com website.The same is true of the four children they had before emigrating to the United States:Patrick (bap. 3 Oct 1862), Michael (bap. 21 Aug 1864), Martin (bap. 27 Dec 1866), and my great-grandmother Mary (bap. 14 May 1869). Is there an explanation for this situation? Or are there other sources I should use?

It would be a boon to take my family back another generation through discovery of Michael's parents and Anne's parents as well. Any strategies for finding out would be greatly appreciated.

Most Sincerely,

Elizabeth Byrne

elizby55@yahoo.com

8 replies

Roger,

Hello again! :) 

You're covering all of Ireland! And I'm once again grateful to you. These records are wonderful to have, most especially the birth record of Michael Walsh because it gives his grandfather's name! Finally I have the name of my grt-grt-grt-grandfather Walsh! 

I'm wondering, however, why I wasn't able to access these records when I went to the Irish Genealogy website the other day. I input the names and birthplaces, but "No Results Found" came up. What is your secret to accessing these records? You see, I tried to access them myself in order to spare you some time, but was unsuccessful. 

A couple of questions: Why would Michael Walsh Sr. be shown as a Labourer in 1864 and then a Landholder in 1867? Could this mean that his father James passed away? Why is Balla in the Castlebar Registrar's District in 1864, but the Castleton Registrar's District in 1867 and 1869?

Have a lovely day!

Most Appreciatively,

Elizabeth

elizby55@yahoo.com

P.S. Grt-grt-grt-grandfather Reilly, not Walsh, is what I found.

elizby55@yahoo.com

Elizabeth:

I usually cover any messages in the twenty-six counties in the Republic but occasionally work on a message for Northern Ireland.

The key for searching the civil records is knowing the Superintent Registrar Districts which are also the Poor Law Unions. The registration district cover a number of civil parishes.There are sixty-nine civil aprishes in Mayo but only nine registation districts.

So when you entered Balla in the Civil Registration/District Office field, the search came up with no record. There are reference books that show the civil parishes within a registration district but for your purposes, I would try John Grenham site or a site maintained by one of our volunteers, Shane Wilson. Here is a link to the page with Registration districts.

http://www.swilson.info/regdistmap.php

Regarding Michael Walsh, it is very possible that his father passed and he became the head of hosuehold/landholder.

Roger

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Elizabeth:

On your question about Castleton, the answer is bad handwriting. Castlebar is what they intended to write.

Getting back to the Superinendent Registrars Districts, within each SRS are a number of Registrar Districts also known as Dispensary Districts. You will note that each of your records shows  Balla as the Registrar Duistrict within the SRS of Castlebar.

Roger

 

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Again Roger,

Thank you very much for referring me to Roots Ireland! It's nice that they have the option of a one month subscription. I've been taking full advantage of it. 

One of my cousins (i.e. Nancy Geren), related to Michael Walsh and Anne Reilly, phoned me last weekend because she's travelling to Ireland in about three weeks time. She asked me for the genealogical information that I've found and I've sent what I could. Is there a place in Balla that she could visit to obtain further information about our family? Or just to be directed to important family-related places?

Many thanks,

Elizabeth  

elizby55@yahoo.com

Hi Elizabeth, I searched for information about your Michael Walsh and Anne Reilly because I wondered if Michael was related to any of the Walshes in my tree but he is not.  However, I did learn through Roots Ireland of a fifth child, James, born in 1871.  The address for the last three children for Michael and Anne (Martin, Mary, and James) was listed as Ballinhoe.

Good luck with your search.  If I learn of anything more I will let you know.

Barb

bskivinnc@aol.com

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