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Joining from Pittsburgh in the U.S.

MeathAthboy (Meath)

My great-great-grandparents emigrated to Pittsburgh in the U.S. in the late 1840s. Their names are Thomas Rourke and Catherine Salts, and they were married in Pittsburgh, 27 Jul 1849.

I think that I have Thomas' baptism record from Athboy on 3 Jan 1819. Parents' names are John Rourke and Mary Flood.

Catherine may have been baptized about 1823-1825 in Clonalvy parish. Longwood (townland?) is mentioned in some Ancestry records for the Salts surname. Her parents may be Thomas and Catherine (based on siblings' names and traditional naming patterns), but I am not sure of that.

In case it's relevant, I will also mention that their witnesses at their wedding were Patrick Gunning and Joanna Quinn. On thatsame day, Patrick and Joanna were also married, and Thomas and Catherine were their witnesses. This might have been a matter of convenience, or maybe they were all from County Meath. I don't know.

I also think that I have identified Catherine's brother Richard as having emigrated to Pittsburgh, and having served in the U.S. Civil War in the early 1860s.

My hopes are to find out more about Thomas and Catherine and theirfamilies from the early 1800s, and to connect with any cousins who share this heritage. Any ideas about how best to pursue this research are most welcome.

Jay Shock

2 replies

Jay:

Hello again!

I'm having trouble finding the baptismal record for Catherine Salts on Roots Ireland. Even though the records for that parish go back to 1795  http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0901  the record did not show up on Roots. The closest record in Meath is the one below for a Catherine Saul.

I searched on Roots for siblings of Thomas by searching in Athboy for father John and mother with a surname of Flood. I got five records: Bridget 1815 Frances 1822 John 1827 Patrick1828 and another John in 1829 so presumably the 1827 John died young. Here is the link to the Athboy register http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0902  Lookds like John and Mary were married in 1812 in Athboy. See below.

Roger McDonnell

Date of Marriage:03-Feb-1812
Parish / District:ATHBOY
County:Co. Meath
Husband JohnRourke
Wife MaryFlood

Name:Catherine SaulDate of Birth:
Date of Baptism:27-Aug-1824Address:Not RecordedParish/District:DRUMCONRATHGender:FemaleCountyCo. Meath
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:Denis SaulMother:Frances OwensOccupation:
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:William Saul Sponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Bridget Galogly 

Castlemore RoscommonIrelandXO Volunteer

Thanks once again, Roger, for the research help.  I had not found the Rourke-Flood marriage, although in retrospect I should have.  Also, you and I got the same hits for baptisms in Athboy, although I had recorded the first name of the 1827 birth as "illegible" rather than as John.  Based on that insight, I just searched unsuccessfully for the death of a John in 1827-1829.

I wasn't sufficiently precise in my original post, so let me clarify what I think I know about Catherine Salts.  She and Thomas Rourke married in Pittsburgh, not in Athboy.  In fact, I have several Salts baptisms in Killine/Killyon&Longwood for the Salts family, including one where Catherine is a sponsor.  Besides Catherine, several others of the Salts family ended up in Pittsburgh by the mid-1800s:  her brother Richard b. ca. 1828 (who served in the U. S. Civil War in the 1860s but died of alcohol problems) and nieces Anne and Rose, who were daughters of her brother Thomas Salts.  So far, it seems that the brother Thomas Salts and his wife Ellen McCabe stayed in Ireland.

Salts, like so many surnames, endures a variety of spellings: Salts, Salt, Saul, Sault, Saults, Saultz, and who knows what else.  But as Drumconrath and Killine are pretty far apart (northern and southern ends of the County, respectively), I'm inclined to think that you have found a different person's baptism.  Although, having said that, I have no direct evidence to support my theory.

Again, my thanks for your help on this journey.  If you get any other insights, I'd love to see them.

Best,

Jay

 

Jay Shock

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