Looking for any information on my ancestor William Clarke, born between 1823 and 1828 in County Mayo. Emigrated around 1846 to Pennsylvania. Later moved to Maysville, Kentucky, where he died on 05 June 1900. Buried in Washington Cemetery, Maysville, Kentucky (name of cemetery later changed to St. Patrick's Cemetery. Would like to find his parish of birth. Thank you for any help.
Julie:
Without having William's parents names, we can't confirm any baptismal record that we can locate in Co. Mayo. I checked the subscription site Roots Ireland and there are William Clarke baptismal records in 1823 1827 and 1828.The first of the three was a Presbyterian record and the latter two are Church of Ireland. So if your William was Roman Catholic then know RC baptismal records exist in the 1820s.
Complicating the search is that many RC parishes in Co. Mayo do not have records back to the 1820s.
Have you tested your DNA?
Roger McDonnell
Thank you, Roger. I am assuming that William was RC because his descendants were and I am as well. His birth year is not definite. His obituary in 1900 stated that he was 'about 74'. The church record for his death had him down as 76.. The Kentucky Census of 1900, which was taken just before he died, states his birth year as 1823, yet states that he was 79 years old, which doesn't calculate correctly. Census records always seem to have errors. This same census states that he had been in the US for 54 years.
If he did emigrate in 1846 and was from Co. Mayo, I am assuming that perhaps this was related to the Great Famine. I'm not sure if there is a website where one can search famine records.
Additional information--William married Ellen Swift, who according to the Kentucky Census of 1900 had been in the US for 50 years at the time. They lived in Pennsylvania for a while before moving to Kentucky. Their first child, Mary A., was born in Pennsylvania, and 10 months old at the time of the1850 Census. However, this would have to mean that Ellen Swift Clarke must have emigrated at least by 1849. The couple had two more children born in Pennsylvania before moving to Kentucky sometime between 1852 and 1854 when their fourth child was born.
Yes, I have had my DNA tested.
Julie:
There are no records of emigrants leaving Ireland in the mid-19th century.
I think we have to assume that a baptismal record is not available.
Clarke was a very common surname in Ireland in the mid-19th century. There were eleven counties including Mayo that had over 150 Clarke households.
Don't know which DNA testing company you used but contacting your closest matches might help identify Distant Clarke relations who may have more info on the origins of the family in Mayo.
Roger
Thanks again, Roger, for your response. I had my DNA tested through Ancestry DNA. My closest relatives on this site don’t have any more information on William, as far as I know. I just happened to find William’s obituary through newspapers.com. I’ll keep digging. I live in Ireland and plan to visit EPIC and the Irish Family History Centre at some point. Hopefully I’ll be able to discover more.
Hi Julie!
I live in the States but I did visit EPIC in 2017. I don't think they will have any records going back to the 1820s.
Roger
Hi Roger,
Maybe not, but it’s worth a visit.
Julie
Julie:
I agree that you should visit but I wanted to alert you that they don't have 19th century baptismal records.
Roger
Yes, of course, Roger, and thank you very much for alerting me to that.
Julie