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O'Briens of Portlaw

WaterfordClonagam (Waterford)

Several years ago, I hired Waterford Heritage Services to locate birth records for my grandfather and his family. I was lucky to receive a complete report on my grandfather's 10 siblings, born between 1875 and 1881, including 4 who had died when they were only a few days old. For each child's record, the Church is named as "Portlaw & Ballyduff," which is a bit confusing to me since the only Ballyduff I can find in modern Ireland is in County Kerry.

James J. O'Brien was a tailor who plied his trade in Portlaw. He purportedly numbered among his patrons nobility and landed gentry, including Lord Waterford and members of his family, Lord and Lady Beresfords and others in the vicinity of Curraghmore. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1882.

His wife, Johanna (nee Keating) followed a year later with their children. The family took up residence in North Adams, Massachusetts in the U.S. where there was a flourishing textile trade. He set up his tailor shop there and ran it for the next 40+ years.

The last time I visited Ireland, I hadn't known the place where my O'Brien ancestors lived, other than "Waterford." Now that I'm returning to Ireland in March, 2017, I would very much like to spend time in Portlaw and the vicinity to get a sense of my ancestors' lives there.

One thing which I would like to do is to visit, if possible, the burying ground where the four O'Brien babies were laid to rest. However, as I noted above, the "Portlaw & Ballyduff" church is a mystery to me. How can I determine what church burying ground to seek out? Or does it really matter ~ was it customary to provide a headstone for an infant in the 1870s?

I'd also like to look into, if possible, any records of my grandfather's tailoring business. Perhaps there may be some written correspodence between him and his more well-known patrons? Where might I find such evidence?

Might there be a library, heritage center or other institution in the area where I might do more research on my family?

Sorry for the long post!

Herself44

13 replies

The name of the parish of 'Portlaw & Ballyduff' derives from the locations of the two chapels that were used in the 1830s - one at Ballyduff West townland , and the second at Coolfinn townland close to the town of Portlaw- see : Portlaw & Ballyduff RC Parish

The 1st Edition OSI c1840 and later maps show graveyards beside both chapels - see location maps in the link above.

shanew147IrelandXO Volunteer

The births of several of the children to James & Johanna list Brown Street (c1890 OSI map) which is in the town of Portlaw as place of birth and residence, so I'd say the chapel at Coolfinn just south of Portlaw is the most likely the one they attended. The Church was enlarged sometime in the latter half of the 19th C, and later maps show it dedicated to St. Patrick.

 

shanew147IrelandXO Volunteer

Thanks to those who responded. Very useful information!

I admit to being a bit confused by the organization of Ireland's records. Here in the States, we have city, state and federal records and I'm not used to combing through the various divisions of recordkeeping used in Ireland. Particularly if the townland/Parish no longer exists!

Ah, but the charm of Ireland makes up for it all.

 

 

Herself44

I only just remembered an article I put together a while ago about the town of Portlaw that might be of interest - see Portlaw – Cotton Factory.

I presume you have already seen James mentioned as a tailor in Portlaw in Slater's 1881 directory - might be worth checking other directories to see if he appears in other listings. Sometimes various surviving records & papers for some larger estates etc. are retained and kept in the National Archives, National Library or possibly a local or county library, but these are rarely indexed or catalogued in detail so searching these would probably be a very lengthy task.

p.s. you can see the Graveyards (one each side of the road), at St. Patrick's near Portlaw on Google Street View - view to the east ,  and to the west.  Based on the OSI maps the graveyard to the east and beside the church is the older.

 

shanew147IrelandXO Volunteer

shanew147 ~ I have located an ad placed in The Waterford News in 1880 by my ggrandfather and you are most correct: He lists Brown Street, Portlaw as he place of business. I do wish he'd mentioned a number on Brown Street so that I could visit the site!

 

Thank you SO MUCH for the additional information on the Cotton Factory and graveyards. I'll be in Ireland for so short a time that I hope to soak in as much as possible while there!

Herself44

 

You may also want to visit the Scrouty and a "--------- Pass".  Can't remember the name but it is on the way down from the Scrouty.  It is an old cemetery across a field and has electrical fence.  We were able to get over the wire and take a look.  The only sign for this cemetery is a cross on the entrance to the field.  You may want to ask the locals to lead you to the cemetery.  You may also want to vist Clonagam as there are a lot of Catholics buried there also.  It is all in the surrounding area of Portlaw.  Don't forget the 2 cemetaries of St. Patrick's (one on the side of the church and another across the road from the church.  My ancestors John Britt and Ellen Tierney lived there also and we were fortunate enough to have someone take us around Portlaw and the surroundings.  Beautiful place.  Enjoy.                     Dianne Britt                                                                                                    

 

 

dhjoanis@yahoo.ca

At least one of the birth certs for their children mentions a number, see David Brien born 11th April 1873, at 5 Brown Street. The numbering may not be the same as it was in the 1870s, but if it is then number 5 was towards to the north eastern end of the street.

shanew147IrelandXO Volunteer

Dianne ~ Thanks for that information. I'm so excited to get over there and start walking through the area!

 

shanew147 ~ The information sent by the Waterford Heritage Society hadn't included addresses, so this is great news! I also hadn't been aware of this online resource ... has never turned up in any of my familysearch.org or ancestry.com searches. Thanks so very much for directing my attention to this.

Herself44

Might I also inquire: The children's names seem to change from Brien to O'Brien with irregularity. The father's name started out as Brien in the earlier births, then changed to O'Brien.

Was/is the use of the apostrophe in an Irish name optional?

Would there have been any advantage for James to take on the O' in his last name?

Herself44

O' and Mc/Mac are just prefixes meaning 'descendant of' or 'son of', and these are optional. As with spelling of forenames and surnames this depended largely on whoever was recording a particular event - e.g. the priest or registrar. It's possible that you might see different spelling on a child's baptism and civil birth records. 

 

 

shanew147IrelandXO Volunteer

You have been most helpful, once again. Many thanks.

Herself44

no problem - enjoy your trip to Ireland!

 

Shane.

 

 

shanew147IrelandXO Volunteer

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