Ireland XO
Back to Message Board

Elizabeth Jane O'Connor Question

TyroneArdstraw (Tyrone)

I would appreciate any advice on where to go from here. My great grandmother was Elizabeth Jane O'Connor who was born in County Tyrone on 1 May 1854 or possibly 1855. She emigrated to the U.S. in 1867 and her father was Hugh. I know that through family records, obituaries, death records, etc. There was no record of her mother which bothers me. I found a record in Emigrant Savings Bank showing a record in 1867 for an Elizabeth Jane O'Connor who emigrated in 1867 from Tyrone and whose parents were Hugh O'Connor and Anne Devlin. There is a family from Newtownstewart where the parents are Hugh O'Connor and Anne Devlin. Hugh died in 1895 but Anne didn't die until 1913 which is what bothers me. The reporter on Elizabeth Jane's death record was my grandfather's sister who was born in 1878 so it would seem like she should have known Anne's name. The children’s names fit the the naming order for the Irish The first born daughter was named Anna and the 3rd son was Hugh who was my grandfather. The names also fit  on my great grandfather’s side. The sixth out of 7 living children was Arthur which was the name of one of the siblings if she belongs in the family in Tyrone. There were two children who died and I don’t know their names or birth order although there was a 10 year gap bewtween the 2nd and 3rd children. One person in that family from Newtownstewart believes we are relatives. Another still has doubts. The one with doubts has said that there a belief that there was a missing sibling. My great grandmother would have been the eldest.

There is only one Hugh O’Connor (or similar name) in Tyrone in Griffith’s Valuation. I have contacted the church but they have no baptismal records before 1860 and don’t know where there might be records. They also don’t have burial records for Hugh and Anne although other records show their place of death as Newtownstewart.

Where can I go from here? Should I continue with my assumption that this Hugh O’Connor was my great mother’s father and that I am related to this family? I’ll add that we are going to Ireland soon. I will also post this in other groups.

drmorris

4 replies

Difficult to know what advice to offer. The problem you have encountered with church records is not unusual.  There are no earlier church records for the RC parish of Ardstraw East, than 1860. They either didn?t keep any before that or they have been lost over the years. Only the Church of Ireland routinely kept burial records so again the lack of burial records is the norm. You could try looking for gravestones but only a tiny percentage of the population in the 1860s could afford one. The majority were buried without a gravestone. The family would know where the grave was, should it need to be re-opened for a further burial, but when they had moved away or died out, the information was lost. If there?s no gravestone it?ll be almost impossible to find out now.

Regarding Griffiths, it didn?t list every household. It just listed people with property and land worth more than a certain amount. So a farmer would be listed but a labourer might not be. Someone who ran a shop or a pub probably would be listed.  Do you know what Hugh?s occupation was, in order to judge? The house occupied by the one in Griffiths was in Main St, Newtownstewart and was vacated by him in 1869, according to the revaluation records:

http://applications.proni.gov.uk/DCAL_PRONI_Val12b/RelatedVolume.aspx?3642

Did you notice that the house next door to Hugh?s was occupied by a Michael O?Connor. A relative perhaps? Michael?s name remained against it through till 1907. I suspect it passed from father to son in the intervening period. This looks like the son in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Tyrone/Newtown_Stewart/Main_Street/1751973/

It appears to have been a pub. I think this might be Michael senior?s probate file (he died intestate):

Full Abstract :

Letters of Administration of the personal estate of Michael O'Connor late of Newtownstewart County Tyrone Merchant who died 7 July 1888 at same place were granted at Londonderry to Catherine O'Connor of Newtownstewart the Widow.             Effects ?150

Catherine O?Connor appears to have died in Oct ? Dec 1896, aged 62. (Strabane Oct ? Dec 1896 Volume 2, page 210).

And her son, Michael junior, seems to have died in 1903, aged 33:

Full Abstract :

Probate of the Will of Michael O'Connor late of Newtownstewart County Tyrone Farmer who died 1 May 1903 granted at Londonderry to John Gallagher Butcher.             Effects ?77 10s.

There?s a death that fits registered in Strabane Jan ? Mar 1903, Vol 2, page 234.

For the 1888 death, the probate file has been destroyed (in the 1922 fire in Dublin). However the file for what appears to be the son?s death should exist. It will be held in PRONI, Belfast. It is not on-line yet. You either need to go in person or pay them to send you a copy.

You say that your Hugh died in 1895. There appears to have been another Hugh in Strabane at the time, again a publican, who again died intestate:

Full Abstract :

Letters of Administration of the personal estate of Hugh O'Connor late of Strabane County Tyrone Publican deceased who died 2 January 1874 at same place were granted at Londonderry to Catherine O'Connor of Strabane aforesaid the Widow of said deceased.             Effects under ?300.

Ahoghill AntrimIrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you very much for your help.

Would the probate records also be at PRONI? What is meant by a full abstract? Is that all that would be available or is it an abstract of a record that would have more information?

drmorris

According to the family tree of the descendant of one of the siblings, Hugh had a brother named Michael and both men had sons named Michael.

I don't remember what occupation he had. he was listed as a laborer on his death record but I have been in contact with a descendant and I think he said something about a shop. It's been a while and it might have been someone else he was referring to. I have the communication somewhere.

I hadn't included this since I didn't want it to be too long but her surviving children were born in 1875, 1878, 1888, 1889, 1892 (my grandfather), 1894 and 1896. I suppose it's possible but if she had been born much earlier, she would have had 5 kids while in her 40's.  Also, she died in 1940. All of the children were born in the U.S.

drmorris

The abstract is simply a brief summary of when the person died, when and where probate was granted, whether there was a will and who the executors were. Plus the value of the estate,

Many pre 1900 probate files were destroyed in the 1922 fire, so all that exists now are the abstracts which were in separate books kept elsewhere. So for those files there are no other records you can access. The post 1900 files were not damaged (presumably stored somewhere else at the time of the fire). PRONI are in the process of putting them on-line (2014) but in the meantime you need to go in and order them up, which takes about 20 minutes. (Or you can e-mail them and pay for a copy).

If you go in person, wills are free to access. Photocopying is 30/40p a page. If you ask PRONI to send you a copy, there will be a fee. Contact them for details.

 

http://www.proni.gov.uk/

Ahoghill AntrimIrelandXO Volunteer

Reply

Reply
One image file up to 2 MB.