Hi all, I would be very grateful for any information on Thomas Franklin Foley Ardmore Waterford. Born circa 1850 left for Merthyr Tydfil. Married Mary Ann Maguire.
Kind regards
Andrew Foley
Can you provide further information? Did he marry in Ireland or Wales? What were his children's names, in order? When and where did he die?
Do you know anything of his siblings? his parents?
Ancestry records show they were married in Wales in 1872. The 1881 Wales census shows their first four children (there were more later) were Edward, Mary, Thomas, and Joseph; and it shows that Thomas and Mary Ann were both from Waterford.
There is a death record for Thomas Foley in Sept 1911 in Merthyr Tydil, Glamorganshire age 61, est. birth year 1850.
The 1891 Wales census shows that a nephew named Thomas Foley is living with him, born about 1872, but unfortunately, his birth place is only given as Ireland.
Regards,
Thanks Patricia and Carolyn for getting back to me. Joseph would have been my great grandfather. The other siblings were Agnes, Anne Theresa, Catherine, Cecilia and Margaret I believe.
Was anywhere more specific than Waterford mentioned, I have been led to believe it was Ardmore?
Kind regards
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
In the 1891 census of Wales (ancestry.com). Thomas Foley has a nephew of the same name living in his household. He was born in Ireland c1873.
Name Thomas Foley
Age 45
Estimated Birth Year abt 1846
Relation Head
Spouse's Name Mary Foley
Gender Male
Where born Ireland
Civil parish Merthyr Tydfil
Ecclesiastical parish Dowlais
Town Dowlais
County/Island Glamorgan
Country Wales
Registration District Merthyr Tydfil
Sub registration district Upper Merthyr Tydfil
ED, institution, or vessel 3
Neighbors View others on page
Piece 4438
Folio 46
Page number 4
Household Members (Name) Age Relationship
Thomas Foley 45 Head
Mary Foley
33
Wife
Edward Foley
18
Son
Mary Foley
16
Daughter
Joseph Foley
10
Son
Annie T Foley
6
Daughter
Maggie Foley
4
Daughter
Agnes Foley
2
Daughter
Thomas Foley
19
Nephew
Timothy Okuffo
30
Boarder
James Lane
29
Boarder
Thomas Doolan
21
Boarder
Patrick Smith
18
Boarder
Being a nephew, this Thomas would be the son of your Thomas's brother. If you can locate the younger Thomas's baptismal/birth record in Ireland, you would find out where in Waterford he was born. Good luck!
Andrew,
Regarding trying to figure out where his nephew Thomas Foley was born in Ardmore...assuming that is the correct parish, and he too was born there; I looked at Roots Ireland (paid site) for him over a 14 year period. There are five names, but really only four because one Thomas Foley was named after an elder sibling with the same name...parents are the same. These parents look interesting in that the father is Edmund (aka Edward) which is the eldest son's name of your Thomas Foley. Also, this family with the two sons named Thomas lived in the town land of Ardo which is a similar sounding name to the parish name. Anyhow, here are the records for you to see if anything fits:
Thomas Foley, 1867, Grallagh, Ardmore, parents - John Foley & Bridget Foley
Thomas Foley, 1867 ,Ardo, Ardmore, parents - Edmund Foley & Johanna Ormond *
Thomas Foley, 1868, Grange, Ardmore, parents - Thomas Foley & Margaret Callaghan
Thomas Foley, 1871, Monea, Ardmore, parents - Simon Foley & Norah Foley
Thomas Foley, 1872, Ardo, Ardmore, parents - Edmund Foley & Johanna Ormond *
Thomas Foley, 1878, Ardmore, Ardmore, parents - John Foley & Mary Quarry
I am not sure by your post if you meant the Foleys were from the town land of Ardmore as this last one OR the parish of Ardmore. The final Thomas Foley in the list would be too young as he would have been only 13 in 1891.
To answer your question about the census records, no, only Waterford was written as place of birth.
I just looked up "Ardo" town land...it is an abbreviation for Ardocheasty or Ardoginna...both in the Ardmore civil parish. Only Ardoginna has a Foley in the Griffith's records...Patrick Foley.
Regards,
Thank you both so much again, plenty for me to research here.
Kind regards
Andrew
Hi Andrew
I've just seen your message re your FOLEY ancestors from “near Ardmore,” Co Waterford.
I also have FOLEY ancestors from the Ardmore area. My gt-gt-grandmother Margaret FOLEY (1834-1895) was bapt 23 Nov 1834 at Ardmore. Her parents were Patrick FOLEY & Honor HURLEY.
As yet, my FOLEY research is still in its preliminary stages, but I believe ‘my’ FOLEYs were from the Ballylane townland. Margaret married Patrick CONNORS from the nearby Listeige townland and went to live with him in Listeige. Together they had seven children. After Patrick died in 1877, Margaret and the children came to New Zealand in two different groups, the three older daughters coming first and then Margaret with three of her remaining children. At this stage, I’m not sure about the oldest son but I suspect he also came to NZ. The rest, as the saying goes, ‘is history’.
Both Ballylane and Listeige townlands are in the ‘Lisgenan, or Grange’ civil parish. In fact, Ballylane abuts and is to the north-west of Monea townland in the Ardmore civil parish. Listeige is on the other side of the R673 and very close to Ballylane.
Although in ‘Lisgenan, or Grange’ civil parish, both Ballylane and Listeige are close to Ardmore. Google Maps shows they are both only 3.2kms (about 30 mins walk) from St Declan’s Catholic Church, Ardmore. No wonder that many of my ancestors were baptised, married, and buried in Ardmore, the closest town to where they lived.
The microfilm of the Ardmore Catholic Parish registers can be browsed online at the National Archives of Ireland. Interestingly, the first page of each reel of those registers, refers to this parish as ‘Ardmore and Grange’ parish. This suggests some townlands in the Lisgenan & Grange civil parish were part of the Ardmore & Grange Catholic parish. In other words, it is important to remember the boundaries of civil and catholic parishes often differed and the result can be confusing.
The following link is useful for visually locating individual townlands (and their neighbouring townlands) in civil parishes
<https://www.townlands.ie/waterford/>
For instance, you’ll see 90 townlands in the Ardmore civil parish and from the parish map it appears some of them are not in easy distance of Ardmore itself. By contrast, the parish map for ‘Lisgenan, and Grange’ civil parish shows that some townlands in that parish (eg Ballylane) are actually much closer to the town of Ardmore than many of the townlands in the Ardmore civil parish. Also, by clicking on the townlands, you’ll find the location of individual townlands and their neighbouring townlands. For example, you’ll see that Ballylane is right next to Monea. In effect, it seems like we should do our Irish research with the parish/townland maps in one hand and the parish registers in the other!
Another lister, Carolyn, has kindly given you FOLEY information for the Ardmore civil parish. I suggest you also look at the townlands in the ‘Lisgenan, or Grange’ civil parish and any adjacent townlands you think might be within reasonable walking distance of Ardmore because I think you’ll find many of these people might have considered themselves ‘near Ardmore’ as did ‘your’ Thomas FOLEY. Indeed, the Griffiths Valuation lists FOLEYs in six townlands in the ‘Lisgenan, or Grange’ civil parish:
In summary, there were many FOLEYs in Co Waterford, many of whom would have considered themselves living ‘near Ardmore’. It’d help for you to get the registration of the 1872 marriage of Thomas FOLEY & Mary Ann MAGUIRE. This will give the father’s name of both bride & groom and should say if the fathers were already deceased. These details plus Thomas’ age at marriage plus the marriage witness names, should all help pin down the baptism of ‘your’ Thomas. Age alone can be confusing when looking for a common name such as Thomas – but knowing the father’s name as well as Thomas’ likely age should reduce the number of possibilities. It’d also help to get the father’s name of the younger Thomas (the nephew), as the nephew’s father would be a brother of your direct ancestor, Thomas. Again, this will help confirm you have found the right family.
Andrew, if your FOLEY relations came from the Ardmore area, it’s possible that you and I are related. But I don’t immediately see a connection as I don’t appear to have a Thomas FOLEY of the right age. However, if we extend out a generation or so, then it’s likely there’ll be a connection somehow.
One last thing, I’ve attached a scan of pages 210-215 from the book, ‘Ardmore – Memory & Story : the history, traditions & stories of an Irish village’ by Siobhán Lincoln, published 2021. This extract refers to the time of ‘The Troubles’ and mentions a Thomas FOLEY of Ballylane and a Sonny (John Francie) FOLEY both of whom would have been adults during ‘The Troubles’ in the 1920s. The extract also refers to a Micheál Ó Foghlú (old Irish version of FOLEY) whose family had been evicted many years before. Sadly, this book does not have an index and the dates of some events are not given. Still for all that, I’ve found it a useful book to have.
Sorry for the long read, but I hope it helps with your research.
Irish research is certainly not for the faint-hearted!
Good luck, and let us know what you find!!
Angela
New Zealand
Hi Angela,
Thanks very much for getting back to me sharing this information. It's very much appreciated, the longer the better. I've shared with my father and uncle and Myriam from Uruguay who contacted me on the My heritage website. Our DNA matches and if indeed you are a relative, you would be a relative of both of us. Myriam has traced her relation Anne Foley back to Ardmore.
Kind regards
Andrew