Lost ancestor - John "Jack" Blake

George,

Did your John die 20 Jul 1999? On Find a Grave website, his BD is given as 24 Jun 1912. Looking on the free site irishgenealogy.ie under the civil records tab, there are two John Blakes born in 1912 in Offaly. Coincidentally, one of the mothers is named Wynne and the other Reynolds as you mention in your post. Here are the details:

John Blake, 24 Jun 1912, residence - Banagher, Birr, Offaly, parents - William Blake & Margaret Wynne

John James Blake, 5 Sep 1912, residence - Feighs, Birr, Offaly, parents - John Blake & Annie Reynolds

IF he used the Irish naming tradition, then his eldest son would be William or John, and that might give you a clue to which one is correct. I haven't found his sister named Agnus or Agnes to confirm which of the two is the correct one.

BTW, the town lands of Banagher (aka Kylebeg) and Feeghs (Feighs) border one another.

Another thing to consider...the John Blake with a mother named Wynne had these siblings: William (1913), Richard (1916), and Mary Margaret(1919); whereas the other John Blake was an only child it looks like. I'd bet the correct one is the one with the mother named Wynne.

Regards,

Hi Carolyn!

Thanks for your reply and for the information you have given me. That is his grave back in Mitcham, apparently John always kept on getting his birthday mixed up and even he was never sure if that was the correct date but since it matches with the civil records you found it has to be him. Agnes might've been a nickname I'm not too sure...I'll have to find out. You've done more in 30 minutes than I've done in 2 years, thank you so much!

George

You are quite welcome, George. Yes, Agnes could have been a nickname, one never knows. I was hoping that Mary Margaret was Mary Agnes. You might look for Mary in the census records for England if you believe her to be the sister of John.

In case you are going with the William Blake & Margaret Wynne as his parents, I have attached their 1911 marriage record for you. I also attached another marriage record in 1910 between a Reynolds and a Wynne - I believe that Margaret Wynne and Mary Wynne were sisters - same father's name.

Regards,

This birth may be of interest to you 27/02/1916 Richard, son of William Blake and Margaret Wynne

Birth of John 24/06/1912

Birth of William 21/12/1913

Birth of Mary Margaret 27/06/1919

Death of Richard 2years 6 months 1918

Birth of Thomas 1/07/1921

Birth of Kate 25/01/1923

Marriage cert

Death of William Blake 1960

Death of a Rose Wynne 1924, wife of John Wynne, Cushcallow.

Perhaps this is the Wynns in 1911 census, names seem to match, ages were never correct as most people were unable to read/write. This census was taken in April 1911, note daughter Margaret is 22 years, the same as wedding cert.

Birth of Patrick 1909, he is the son of Margaret. Note his grandmother Rose is present at the birth.

Marriage of Denis Wynne to Mary Reilly, note Denis is a widower. 20/01/1937

Hi Eileen,

Thank you so much for these!

I have been trying to find Margarets death certificate, as my grandad said he remembers her death roughly in the 70s, but I’ve had no luck so far.

Death of Denis Wynne 1968

Death of Mary Wynne (wife of Denis)?

I am unable to find a death cert for Margaret, do you know if she married ? I think she may have moved away from the family home, if I find any information I will post it on.

Margaret was William Blake's wife, I have information on him just not her sadly.

Death of a Bridget Wynne, death notified by her brother Denis Wynne 1958

Could this be your Kate Wynne daughter of John

Birth of Patrick McCormack son of Kate Wynne

Birth of Rose

Birth of Mary

Birth of Bridget (the same family names as Kate's siblings)

Patrick, son of Margaret born in 1909, on his birth cert the father isn't listed and it should be William Blake correct?, but on the census of 1911 his name is Patrick Wynne. I wonder why that is

I think the Patrick in question may be born out of wedlock as the father is not named on the birth cert and this baby was born in 1909. I am not sure that William Blake is the father of this child. Usually a child born to a single mother takes the family name ie Wynne. It is a credit to the family that they kept this child in the family fold given the cruel times that single mothers lived in and the pressures of the times.