My ancestors were Bridget REYNOLDS who was born about 1834 at Ennystimon, Clare. She was a potato famine orphan at age 16 and set sail for Australia aboard the "Thomas Arbuthnot" which arrived in Sydney 3rd Feb 1850. Father Magennis was in charge of the young girls onboard and they were taken south to the areas of Yass and in Bridget's case to the area of the Murrumbidgee River where she was assigned as a servant and later married John DOWNEY a shepherd/ labourer from Dublin born 1823.
Bridget and John settled in Wagga Wagga, NSW where they had 11 children including my great grandmother Mary Downey, born 1852 (she later married Joseph Marks).
Bridget died in 1915. I don't know anything more about where she lived in Ennystimon and under what sort of conditions. Her parents were supposedly Michael and Ann Reynolds - both deceased by 1849.
thewendys2010
Thursday 3rd Jan 2013, 10:50PMMessage Board Replies
-
Hi,
Thank you for your message.
Have you tried looking for the family in Ennistymon church records? Church records can be useful as sometimes in addition to names and dates they may also give occupations and residences.
Most Catholic records are held locally. One website which may be helpful however, is the irishtimes. Here, they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. For Ennistymon/Kilmanaheen parish follow this link:
If the family followed the Church of Ireland check these websites: http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/.
You could also check in the Tithe Applotment Books to see if Michael and Ann had any land. The Tithe Applotment Books were were compiled between 1823 and 1837 in order to determine the amount which occupiers of agricultural holdings should pay in tithes to the Church of Ireland. You can do a search here:
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
The Clare County Library is also has some information which you may find helpful/interesting. Here are some links:
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/history/famineclare.htm
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/library/local-studies/locstudi1.htm
http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/history/kr_et_workhouses/ennistymon.htm
Some other websites which you may find helpful are:
The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/
The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
Family Search: https://familysearch.org/
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/clare/index.html
The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm
You could also try contacting the Clare Heritage Centre, however a fee may apply for their services. Here are their contact details:
Clare Heritage Centre,
Corofin,
Co. Clare.
Phone: (065) 683 7955 EMail: clareheritage@eircom.net
I hope that this helps.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Friday 1st Mar 2013, 11:29AM -
Many thanks Emma Carty,
I will look into all the sites that you have advised, many thanks....the wendys
thewendys2010
Thursday 14th Mar 2013, 04:37AM