Amelia Elizabeth Jane James 1819-1906 married Henry Seabrook 1800-1889

Attached Files

Hi Evan,

I suggest that you concentrate on who Henry Seabrook was. There is a William Seabrook recorded as a Road Contractor. He had brought proceedings against some men at the the local magistrate court in Newtown Barry - now named Bunclody -  in 1838 for damaging the road.

Griffith's land valuation c1850 has just 10 of that surname and they are in Carlow, Wexford and Wicklow. There is no "Henry Seabrook" that I can find in that area. William Seabrook in the parish of Agha, Co. Carlow has a House, Offices and c211 acres of land there. 

There is a record of a William H. Seabrook in the police in 1816 who was born in Co. Wicklow. 

The surname "James" is fairly widespread and they are recorded as Protestant and Roman Catholic. 

Have you tried to make contact with descendants of the Witnesses at the marriage.

Attachments

Credit: www.findmypast.ie

www.askaboutireland.ie/Griffith's

Attached Files

Hi Evan

Correction. Road Contractor should read "Henry" not William!

A search for a Ralph James and Thomas Delany shows British Merchant Seamen. Attached: transcription for Ralph James. Thomas Delany recorded as "Ballyhack" which could be Co. Wexford.

Regards,

Attached Files

Hi Evan,

I attach a record in relation to non payment of  tithes 1831 by a "James Ralph".  Other record for a Rachel James". Both in Co. Carlow.

Credits:  www.findmypast.ie and www.askaboutireland.ie

Regards,

Evan,

I have come across the records of Clonegal Church of Ireland on Google - 1792- 1831.

The name "Ralph" is used as a First name and as "Surname" in the records. Amelia not shown. Elizabeth - Yes

Regards,

Attached Files

Hello Evan,

I found a copy of the original marriage record that you noted in your message to Ireland Reaching Out. The marriage was discovered in the Church Records collection at the free irishgenealogy.ie website.

The handwriting in the original marriage record is not as clear as it could be, but while the parish where the marriage took place does look like it is “Clougal,” the actual name of this church parish is Clonegal. This is a Church of Ireland Church. Back in the early 1800s there was also a Baptist Church in Clonegal. There was, and still is a Catholic Church there, named St. Bridget’s.

Clonegal is the English spelling of the town. The Irish spelling is “Cluain na nGall,” which means “Meadow of the Foreigners.”

The churches in Clonegal were located in the Civil Parish of Moyacomb. Portions of the Moyacomb Civil Parish crossed boundaries into County Wexford and County Wicklow.

The marriage record for Henry and Amelia show that both were of “Clonegal Parish,” and were married by “License with consent of themselves and friends this 12th day of October in the Year one Thousand eight Hundred and thirty nine.”

As you noted in your message the witnesses to the marriage were Ralph James and Thomas Delaney.

I know you already have the marriage record but for quick access to it, go to the following link: https://is.gd/9AQfsF

I also found the marriage in a FamilySearch collection called, “Ireland, Diocesan and Prerogative Marriage License Bonds Indexes, 1623-1866.” This record, which is attached to this reply, just shows that Amelia James and Henry Seabrook were married in 1839.

According to the Find My Past website, “Marriage Licence Bonds were an alternative to marriage banns. Both were designed to prevent clandestine marriages. Banns would be read in both the bride’s and groom’s parish on three consecutive Sundays to allow anyone knowing a reason that the marriage shouldn’t go ahead to come forward. Marriage licence bonds worked slightly differently. They allowed a couple to go to court and pay a sum to sign a witnessed declaration that the marriage was free to go ahead. Before 1858 marriage licence bonds were exclusively handled by the ecclesiastical courts of the establishment Church of Ireland.”

Attached to this reply is an Ordnance Survey Map of “Clonegall,” compiled between 1837 and 1842. This is how the town would have looked when Henry and Amelia were married in the church there. The map is from the GeoHive website.

Just west of the center of Clonegall on the map, is the location of the R.C. Chapel and graveyard. Just to the north of the center of Clonegall is the Methodist Chapel, while north of the Methodist Chapel is the “Church,” and graveyard. The Church is the Clonegal Church of England Parish Church. The name of the church is St. Fiaac’s. You can see the location of St. Fiaac’s Church of England on a Google Map at: https://is.gd/FUlCpr

For Google Street Views of the church, go to the following links:
https://is.gd/GnDHa8 and https://is.gd/K7RGyo

For a Google Street View of Clonegal, see: https://is.gd/bEdKwN

The history of St. Fiaac’s Church of Ireland at ireland.anglican.org, shows that the present church was constructed in 1819, 20 years before Henry and Amelia were married. See the history below:

“ST FIAAC'S CHURCH, CLONEGAL alias MOYACOMB HISTORY OF THE PARISH AND CHURCH

Clonegal or Moyacomb is an ancient parish which straddles the Cos Carlow, Wexford and Wicklow. The parish covers some 17,400 acres, contains the town of Clonegal and the village of Johnstown and consists of the following townlands: Co Carlow - Ballyredmond, Clonegal, Clonogan, Coolroe, Laney, Monoughran and Kilcarry, Orchard (5,900 a). Co Wexford - Abbeydown, Ballynastraw, Ballyshonogue, Carhill, Coolmeela, Corrow/Corragh, Drumderry, Garryhasten (5,800 a). Co Wicklow - Ballisland, Coolruss, Drummin, Militia and Ballinavortha, Minmore, Park, Rahingraney, Urelands (5,700 a).

“The original church was founded at the time of St Patrick by St Fiaac, who is supposed to have been ordained by St Patrick himself. The church was built on a mound, which formed the base of a fortress, surrounded by a fosse (ditch) and a rath (curtain wall), in the picturesque valley of the River Derry. This structure was in use until the early years of the 19th century, when it was agreed, after several years of discussion (1815-1818), to build a new church in the village. The size of the proposed site being insufficient, it was then decided to build the new church in the existing churchyard.

The building was erected in 1819 at a cost of £1300, loaned by the Board of First Fruits and repayable over seventeen years. In the 1830s divine service was celebrated twice on Sundays in summer and once on Sundays during the rest of the year. The Sacrament was administered monthly and on the festivals.”
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With information from Henry and Amelia’s marriage record, and marriage bond, I next wanted to see if I could locate Henry, Amelia, Ralph James, and Thomas Delaney in an Irish land record known as the Tithe Applotment Books.

The marriage record notes that Henry and Amelia were “of Clonegal parish,” and not actually revealing if they had actually been living in the townland of Clonegal itself.

The Tithe Applotment Books give the name of the townland where “Occupiers,” that is, leaseholders, were residing

The Tithe Applotment Books were compiled in Ireland between 1823 and 1837, and can be accessed for free at the National Archives of Ireland website at:
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/index.jsp

For more information about the Tithe Applotment Books, go to the National Archives of Ireland links at the following:

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/about.jsp
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/aboutmore.jsp
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I found Henry “Seybrook” and Ralph James recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books for the year 1837, leasing property in the townland of Clonegal, Civil Parish of Moyacomb. Also leasing property in Clonegal were Antony Seybrook and Joseph Seybrook, who likely would have been related to Henry.

Only the leaseholders are recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books. Members of the leaseholders’ families are not recorded, like they are in a census.

A copy of the original Tithe Applotment Books page for Clonegal, can be found at: https://is.gd/4jfrhC

In the Tithe record Ralph James is Occupier Number 41, toward the top of the page. Antony Seybrook is Number 46; Henry Seybrook and another man named Charles Tottenham Esq., are Number 52, while Joseph Seybrook is Number 53.

Occupier Number 68 is James Nowland. Just below him, 16 Occupiers and 1 Police Office are recorded under the heading, “Cabbins.” Henry Seybrook is one of the 16 recorded under Cabbins, which I take to mean a building or a residence.

Knowing that Henry Seabrook and Ralph James had leased property in the townland of Conegal, I wanted to see if I could find their individual baptism records, as well as the baptism record for Amelia James.

I went back to the Church Records collection at irishgenealogy.ie, which has digitized existing County Carlow Church of Ireland records. That the Carlow Church of Ireland records exist is by chance, as a little over half of Ireland’s Church of Ireland registers of baptism, marriage, and death were destroyed in the Public Records Office/Four Courts fire in Dublin during the Irish Civil War in 1922, as were most of the census returns for the years 1821 through 1851. The fire also destroyed other records as well. You can read about what was lost in the fire at the Irish Genealogy Toolkit link at:
https://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/irish-records-burned.html

According to the ireland.anglican.org website’s, “THE LIST of CHURCH OF IRELAND PARISH REGISTERS,” the Clonegal Church of Ireland registers of baptism are available from 1792 to 1993, marriages from 1792 to 1906, and deaths from 1792 to 1993. Anglican.org has also indexed the Clonegal Church of Ireland baptisms, marriages, and deaths for the years 1792 to 1831. See: https://is.gd/Lbyuqd

I utilized both the irishgenealogy.ie Church Records collection website, and the indexes at ireland.anglican.org to look for the baptisms of Henry Seabrook, Ameila James, and Ralph James. I didn’t find the baptism records for them. This may mean they were not baptized in the Clonegal Church of Ireland Parish, but may have been baptized in another Church of Ireland parish, or in the church of another denomination. It is also possible they could have been born and baptized in nearby County Wexford or County Wicklow, in an as yet unknown parish.

There will not be civil registration birth records for Henry Seabrook, Amelia James, or Ralph James either. Civil registration began in Ireland in 1845 when the government recorded civil marriages as well as Protestant marriages. Catholic marriages were not recorded at this time. Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths for all religious denominations commenced in Ireland in 1864.

I also looked for any baptism record for children of Henry Seabrook and Amelia James, but without success.

I then expanded the search for Henry and Amelia, and found they had left Ireland for Canada. The next record I found them in was the 1851 census of Canada, showing they were living in Grenville, Canada West (Ontario). The census was found at Ancestry.com, and is attached to this reply.

In the census Henry Seabrook is shown to be a weaver, and that his age at his next birthday would be 52 years old. The census also shows he was born in Ireland and that his religion was “C.E.,” meaning Church of England. I can see why he would say Church of England as Canada was ruled by England, and the Church of England and Church of Ireland are both Anglican and Episcopalian in nature.

Henry’s wife in the census is Jane Seabrook. Your information shows that her full name was Amelia Elizabeth Jane James, and so she went by one of her middle names in the 1851 census. The census also shows her age at next birthday would be 30, that she was born in Ireland and that her religious affiliation was also C.E. No occupation is recorded for Jane.

If Henry’s age of 51 when the census was taken is correct, he would have been born 1800. Jane would have been born circa 1820-1821.

The census also shows that Henry and Jane have 5 children in the household with them, all born in Ireland. The children are 12 year old William; 10 year old Henry; 8 year old daughter, Whitey; 6 year old Samuel; and 4 year old John. These would be the ages of the children at their next birthday. John’s age of 4 means he and his family would have left Ireland for Canada around 1847, which was one of the worst years of the Great Famine, or the Great Hunger, known in Ireland as, “an Gorta Mór.” For more information about the Great Famine in Ireland, go to the Wikipedia article at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)

I went back to the irishgenealogy.ie website to see if I could locate the baptism records in County Carlow for the six Seabrook children, but did not find them, which is an indication they may not have been baptized in the Clonegal Church of Ireland.

I next located the Seabrook family in the 1861 census of Canada in Belmont, Peterborough, Canada West. The 1861 census is attached to this reply, and shows that Henry Seabrook is a 60 year old farmer born in Ireland and that his religious affiliation was “C of E.” Henry’s wife is 40 year old Jane Seabrook, whose birthplace was Ireland and who was also C. of E. In the household with Henry and Jane are 9 of their children. Two of the children, 18 year old Wm. Seabrook and 17 year old H. Seabrook were employed as “Labourers.” They were born in Ireland. The other children born in Ireland were 15 year old White Seabrook; 12 year old Samuel Seabrook; and 10 year old John Seabrook. The children born in “Upper Canada” were 8 year old Bart Seabrook; 6 year old Elizabeth Seabrook; 3 year old Anthony Seabrook; and 1 year old Frances Seabrook.

While at Ancestry.com looking for the Seabrook family in the Canada census enumerations, I came across more information about them that I had been looking for earlier, when I was researching the Seabrook and James families in Irish records.

For example, I found information about Henry Seabrook was submitted to the Find A Grave website, showing that he was born in Ferns, County Wexford, on 12 April 1800, and died on 27 June 1889. He died in Belmont and Methuen, Peterborough County, Ontario, Canada, and was buried in the Maple Grove Cemetery. His burial or cremation place was Havelock, Peterborough County, Ontario, Canada. Go to the Find A Grave link to also view a photograph of Henry Seabrook:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/198797332/henry-seabrook

At the Find A Grave site you will also be able to access a photo and information about his wife Elizabeth Jane James, along with photos for 10 of their children. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/198797332/henry-seabrook

From the Find A Grave submission you will also be able to access a slide presentation which shows the Henry Seabrook Farm in Ballyboy, Wexford, near Ferns. I’ve also attached a picture of the farm house to this reply.

In going through the individual birth records for the Seabrook children, the Find A Grave site notes that William, Henry, White Martha, Samuel and John were all born in Ferns, County Wexford. Bartholomew was born on 14 Jun 1852 in Wolford, Leeds and Grenville United Counties, Ontario, Canada.

Also at Ancestry.com I found the death record for Henry Seabrook, showing he died on 27 June 1889 at 89 years, 2 months, and 15 days old. His occupation was “Farmer,” and his birthplace was Bally Boy, Ireland. The cause of death was, “Old age.” The attending physician was Dr. Jeffs. The person who reported Henry’s death was John Seabrook of Belmont. Henry’s death was recorded on 30 December 1889. His religious affiliation was, “Episcopalian.” The registrar who recorded Henry’s death was Porter Preston. Henry’s death record is attached to this reply.

The Find A Grave submission for Henry shows he was born in Ferns, County Wexford. Find A Grave also has a photo of his house in Ballyboy, Wexford, while his death record shows he was born in Bally Boy. A Google Map shows that Ballyboy, is located only 4.3 miles northwest of Ferns: https://is.gd/IWZ9X5

For a Google Street View of rural Ballyboy, Wexford, go to: https://is.gd/NoGUts

Ballyboy is the English spelling of the town. In Irish it is “Baile Átha Buí,” meaning, “Town of the Yellow Ford.”

This reply was started on June 22, 2021. I found Henry’s death record on Friday, June 25, 2021. Sunday, June 27 will be the 132 year anniversary of his death.

After locating the Find A Grave submission for Henry Seabrook, I went back to the National Archives of Ireland website to see if he was recorded in Ballyboy, Ferns, County Wexford. I found a Henry Seabrook was recorded twice leasing property in Ballyboy, along with Thomas, Richard, and James Seabrook. The date of the Tithe record is 1824. This Tithe record could pertain to your Henry Seabrook, or perhaps his father, or perhaps both. You can view the Tithe Applotment Book records for Henry, Thomas, Richard, and James Seabrook at the following National Archives of Ireland link: https://is.gd/idBR68

There are two facing pages of the tithe book. The left page is for Occupiers of the townland of Ballybeg.

The right page includes Occupiers in Ballyboy. The Seabrooks are toward the bottom of the page, beginning with Henry at Numbers 25 and 26; Thomas at Number 27; Richard at Number 28; and James at Number 29.

According to the Ireland.anglican.org website, the Ferns Church of Ireland parish registers of baptisms are available from 1775 to 1925. Marriages are available from 1775 to 1893, and deaths from 1775 to 1949.

The Church of Ireland in Ferns is the Cathedral Church of St. Edan. I could not find the St. Edan Church of England parish registers online.

You can write to the Rev. Paul Mooney at the cathedral, and ask if a search could be made for the baptism of Henry Seabrook, who was born circa 12 April 1800, and also a search for the marriage of his parents. There may be a small charge for this search.

Contact information for the Rev. Mooney is below:

Very Rev Paul Mooney - Incumbent
The Deanery
Ferns
Enniscorthy
Co Wexford
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For a slide presentation of the Cathedral Church of St. Edan, go to: https://is.gd/pE7XHJ

According to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland website, St. Edan’s Cathedral in Ferns Upper was constructed in 1817. But it looks like it was constructed on the footprint of an even older church where Henry Seabrook may have been baptized.

For more information about the architectural details of the cathedral, and a Buildings of Ireland slide presentation of the Cathedral, go to: https://is.gd/GLA0Wa

Going back to the Find A Grave website for the Maple Grove Cemetery, you may by this time already have read about the submission for Elizabeth Jane Seabrook, who died on 5 March 1906 in Belmont and Methuen, Peterborough County, Ontario, Canada. Further information about her shows that she was born in Clonegall, County Carlow, Ireland, on 7 December 1817.

I also found a copy of Jane’s original Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, death record at Ancstry.com, which is attached to this reply. Her death record shows she died on 5 March 1906. Her age at death was 87 years and 2 months. Her “Residence, Street No., or Concession & Lot,” is Lot 7 Con: 5 Belmont.” Her occupation was “Farmer.” There is a question on the death record that asks if the deceased was: “Single or Married. If Single give name of Father. If Married give name of Husband.”

The death record notes that Jane was married, even though she was a widow, as there was no category for being a widow on the death record. Her birthplace was Ireland and the cause of death was, “Old age.” Her length of illness was “about 8 months.” The name of the attending physician was Dr. Holdcraft. Her religious denomination is just recorded as, “English.” The informant who reported Jane’s death was John Seabrook. The death was registered on June 19th 1906. The “Remarks” section of the death record notes that, “Husband dead about 18 years.”

I went back to the Clonegal, Carlow Church of Ireland indexes from ireland.angican.org, as well as the baptism records for County Carlow at irishgenealogy.ie, to once again look for Jane’s baptism but did not find it.

Unfortunately, Jane’s death record or Find A Grave submission does not include the names of her father and mother.

I next went to Google Maps to see how far Clonegal, Carlow was from Ballyboy, Ferns, and found the distance, by the shortest route is 8.2 miles: https://is.gd/97zBTU

Going back to the Canada census returns, I found Henry and Jane Seabrook and 9 of their children in the 1871 census living in East Petersborough.

In the 1881 census, Henry, Jane, and 8 of their children are living in Petersborough East.

Jane’s husband Henry is not in the 1891 census of Canada as he had died in 1889. Jane, age 72, is in the household of her son John and four of her other children in the 1891 census.

In the 1901 census 83 year old Jane is still residing with her son John in Petersborough East. This enumeration shows that Jane arrived in Ireland in 1847, as was surmised earlier.

I didn’t go into great detail about the 1871 to 1901 census enumerations for the Seabrook family as this reply is getting lengthy, but I can send you copies of the original census returns if you request them.

This reply includes 8 attachments:

Seabrook and James 1839 marriage
James and Seabrook 1839 License Bond
Ordnance Survey Map of Clonegal
1851 Canada Census
1861 Canada Census
Henry Seabrook Farm, Ballyboy
Henry Seabrook 1889 death record
Jane Seabrook 1906 death record
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Kind Regards,

Dave Boylan

Sources:

irishgenealogy.ie
FamilySearch
Ireland, Diocesan and Prerogative Marriage License Bonds Indexes, 1623-1866
GeoHive
Google Maps
Google Street Views
ireland.anglican.org
National Archives of Ireland
Tithe Applotment Books
www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/irish-records-burned.html
Ancestry.com
Wikipedia
Find A Grave
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland

Dave Boylan,

Thanks very much for your generosity and perseverance, in locating the data you have given me.  I started this project many years ago and it is never ending.  Having exhausted most of my online resources I am now at the point of filling in details that require going further afield.  I certainly never anticipated the quality of research that you have provided.  Further research of the James family is now my highest priority.

Sincerely,

Evan Seabrook

You're welcome Evan, and many thanks for writing back.

Good Luck with your research.

Dave