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Searching for Arthur Shuel/Shewel

MonaghanDrumsnat (Monaghan)

Hello everyone,

I am new to this board, but I've hit many brick walls so I thought I would take a shot in the dark...

I am looking for an ancestor of mine; the first of his name to come to Canada. His name was Arthur Sewell (though it was originally Shuel and/or Shewel). He was a native of County Monaghan and the man I believe was his father, Robert Shuel, is on the Tithe Books for Coolsillagh, Drumsnat, Monaghan in 1825, along with another, presumably relative, George Shuel.

I know Arthur was a native of Monaghan for he had it engraved on his tombstone, however, he moved to Cavan, Kildallan parish, where he married and where all of his children were born.

Arthur was born sometime about 1804- 1806, though I am not certain since his age varies on later Canadian Census records anywhere from 1803 to 1809! Again, I believe his father to be Robert and his mother was likely Sarah. Arthur had at least two younger brothers, George (c.1810) and James (c.1812).

Upon arrival in Canada (he and his family left in Black '47), the family listed themselves as Primitive Methodists. Since the religion was very new at the time, only taking hold in Ireland in the mid-1780s, I have no clue what religion they adhered to back then.

Interestingly, the largest group of "Shuels" can be found in and around Killarney, Kerry, and they are for the most part RC, marrying into the O'Neill family quite frequently. It is possible, though maybe unlikely that one of my ancestors became a Methodist, and fearing family reprisals, moved from Kerry to Monaghan (though it is a long way to go). There are very few Sewells, Shuels or Shewels in Monaghan.

At some time before 1826, Arthur moved to Carn, Kildallan, Tullyhunco, Cavan, where he can be found on the Tithe Applotment Books for 1833 (though it is incorrectly filed under Meath on the National Archives site). Here, he is listed as Arthur Shewel.

If this is not him, then he is likely to have been Arthur Sheals of Shantemon, Castleterra, Cavan in the Tithe Books for 1826.

ANY help would be of extreme importance for me and my family. My Grandfather Sewell is not well, and I would like to help solve some family mysteries for him before he passes.

With all kind regards from Canada.

Please EMAIL me if you have anything! Many thanks!

IrelandXO member

4 replies

Methodism is an offshoot of the Church of Ireland and, as I mentioned in a separate post, took much longer to become established as a separate denomination in Ireland than in other countries. There were no Methodist baptisms in Ireland in the early 1800s and you should therefore focus on Church of Ireland records for Arthur?s baptism.

If you think that Arthur may have come from Drumsnat parish, then the good news is that their baptism records start in 1796. Drumsnat COI records don?t appear to be on-line anywhere. There is a copy in PRONI, Belfast and there?s probably also a copy in the RCB library in Dublin but in both cases a personal visit is normally required to access them. The originals may still be held by the local church but, as I mentioned separately, if you contact the local Rector/Vicar there may be a fee for searching the records (usually ?20 an hour).

Be aware that the tithe applotment records are not a full census. They only record people with land worth taxing (the tithes were a tax to support the Church of Ireland). Consequently agricultural labourers, weavers, servants, people sharing houses and anyone with no land are not listed. So, if Arthur was a farmer in Ireland, then he should be in the tithes but if he was some other occupation or wasn't head of the household then he probably wasn?t.

Regarding the frequency of the surname in Co Kerry, I?d say that a move from Kerry to Cavan was pretty unlikely. Cavan was a county with poor quality land, and much poverty, where most people were leaving in droves, all through the 1800s. To move into the county at that time would be quite surprising. Likewise a switch from RC to Methodism, whilst perfectly possible, would be unusual.

The idea of a single or correct spelling for a surname or a place name is very much a recent phenomenon and before that, especially in Ireland, there was no consistency. Names were spelled phonetically and each variation was down to the whim of the particular person recording the information. You will often see the spelling change as the records go back. This rarely indicates a particular deliberate decision to alter the name nor even a mistake. Not everyone was literate, but even when they were, exact spelling simply wasn?t something they bothered about.

Ahoghill AntrimIrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you for all your insight thus far! It is all of great help.

I will post if I find anything new. Cheers!

IrelandXO member

Hi! I just joined and am searching for information on the parents & grandparents of John Shuel born 13 Feb.1820 in Drumsnat Parish. I believe his father was Cormac Arthur Shuel (or just Arthur) born c.1807. His mother was Alice McNally, born c.1819. Cormac Arthur's father was Arthur Anthony Shuel, c.1780-1881 and married Ann O'Neill c.1786-1809. John (1820) arrived in New York in 1846, married Catherine Cullen in 1851 and eventually settled in Credit River, MN. To my knowledge, Cormac Arthur and Alice came to the US also, but I can hardly find any information on them in the US. I am looking for any info on them and on the grandparents in Drumsnat. I would like to make a trip to the parish someday, but would like to have as much info as possible before I do. Any assistance you could give me in this endeavor would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a bunch!

 

 

 

jillmcneil@com…

colorpolice,

Some of the years of birth don’t tie up very well here. If John was born c 1820, he’s unlikely to have parents aged 13 and 1 respectively. So some of those must be wrong. You might want to review that information.

Research in the 1700s and early 1800s is very hard going. There are very few records to consult.

You haven’t said what denomination the family was but if they were Church of Ireland then Drumsnat has baptisms and burials from 1796 onwards and marriages from 1825 onwards. The Catholic records for the parish don’t start till long after that - 1875 for baptisms & burials and 1836 for marriages. There’s a copy of the Church of Ireland records in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. Also rootsireland (subscription) has records for some years though my guide does not tell me which.

I searched the tithes for Drumsnat (1825) and there were only 2 Shuel/Sewell farms listed. George & Robert Shuel were both farming in Coolsillagh. It clearly wasn’t a common name in Drumsnat. The tithes only list those with land so if your ancestors were labourers, tradesmen or others without land they would not be listed.

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp

All the Shuells in the 1901 census for Monaghan were RC. All the Sewells were Church of Ireland.

 

 

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

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