McCarthy family, Ireland-Birkenhead, 1850s

[Tom McCarthy]

Thanks to all of you for your amazing contributions – and an extra-special thanks to Dundee10.

The marriage in Dublin in July 1853 could well be the breakthrough I’ve been looking for. It looks very much like it is 'my' John and Anne McCarthy.

And the baptism of Michael in Dublin 1854 would seem to tie in perfectly.

What has been throwing me in all this is that it was a strong tradition in our family that our ancestors came over from Cork.

I assume John McCarthy was born there, because, as you will know, McCarthy is among the commonest names in Cork. I’ve no idea where Anne might have been born.

But I’ve been concentrating on the couple meeting, getting married and having their child, Michael, in Cork. That’s obviously been too narrow a focus.

I did notice that in the 1901 and 1911 censuses, Michael McCarthy described himself as being born in Dublin.

However, in the 1881 census, there is a Michael McCarthy in Birkenhead who described himself as being born in County Cork. Even though this person’s age did not quite tally with ‘our’ Michael, I took it to be him.

I just wondered if, by putting Dublin as his birthplace later in life, Michael may have been using it as a synonym for Ireland – because everyone would know where Dublin was. A bit of illogical thinking on my part!

As for Michael and Bilhah, it’s a tangled tale. They did marry in 1899, when they had already had three children out of wedlock. Bilhah described herself as a widow, although her first husband was alive and well. I’m not sure if she and George ever divorced.

Just one more request, perhaps to Dundee10. Do you have any further info about Anne’s birth or birthplace? And can you tell me what the rest of the line in the 1853 marriage entry says? It looks like ‘WW ….Anne McGarrey’.

Thanks once again for some swift and brilliant research.

[Dundee10]

I would be inclined to believe the information a person gives on the census when they are the head of the household rather than that given by a person they are boarding with.

The WW notation is before the witness names and they appear to be Patrick DOUGH and Anne McGARREY.

Looking to see if there are any other McGARREYs marrying in the same church, there is a Michael on 27 May 1849 whose bride is Anne but I cannot make out her surname. She might be one possibility as the witness in 1853.

https://registers.nli.ie/registers/v...ge/52/mode/1up

Many of the Irish registers are very difficult to read and poorly transcribed in the available indexes. As the images are freely available I suggest just looking through the images one by one as you are more likely to spot the names you are looking for even if they are badly written.

[Tom McCarthy]

Thanks once again - very helpful information. I'd never have found this otherwise.