Bryan O'Bryan (O'Brien) and Ann (Ellen) Hughes- Coal Miners in 1830s - Wolfhill

Local volunteer alerted.

Hello Mike,

A transcription of church marriage records on RootsIreland shows that Bryan O’Brien and Ellen Hughes were married in Ballyadams Catholic parish in Laois on 7 Jan. 1824. They both lived in Wolfhill. Witnesses: Murtha Dowling, Patt Murphy.

You might also be interested in this: https://www.facebook.com/wolfhillcoalmine/

Hi Mike!

I exchanged e-mail messages with Paddy Lacey our volunteer in Ballyadams and we located another baptismal record for a Mary O'Brien baptized October 5 1824 in Ballyadams so nine months after the marriage. Sponsors were William Hughes and Anne McGrath. Below is the link to the record on the parish register. They lived in Kellystown at that time.

Roger McDonnell

https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000634387#page/19/mode/1up

Hello Mike, 

Glad to see you have got replies with the information you were looking for. 

I wish to add further comments as follows:

in connection with baptism of Michael O'Brien the townland name is spelt officialy at present as Kylenabehy. This would be important if you are looking for it on a map.

All three townlands mentioned-Wolfhill, Kylenabehy, and Kellystown are all adjacent to each other.

Coal mining has been taking place in the area surrounding Wolfhill for centuries up to the 1960's. 

If I can be of further assistance  let me know.

Best Wishes,

 Paddy,

IrelandX0 Volunteer for Ballyadams Parish.

Dear Roger and Paddy, I am humbled by your genority in providing this additional useful information.  Can you suggest any resources in tracking down the marriages of Michael, Mary and other children of Bryan O'Bryan and Anne Hughes?   What would naming conventions suggest about the names of the parents of Bryan and Anne?

Sincerely, Mike MacPhail

Mike:

If the normal naming conventions were strictly followed the parents of Bryan would be John and Anne. The parents of Anne Hughes would be Patrick and Mary. However, there is no way to know for sure.

I looked at all the marriages in Ballyadams RC parish on the subscription site Roots Ireland and I don't see any possible church marriage records for Mary, Anne, John and Michael.  Now John and Michael could have been married outside of Ballyadams since normally the marriage was in the bride's parish. Also, we don't lnow who died young or emigrated.

Roger

It is possible they moved to England.  Son Patrick was married in Gateshead, Durham in May 1859.  

Thank you again for your kind research on my behalf.    I have lots of DNA matches with descendants of Jeremiah Darby O'Brien 1770-31/10/1826, born in Shandrum, Mullagh, County Clare which is nowhere near Wolfhill.   This is very mysterious.

Sincerely, Mike

Hello, Mike,

Unfortunately I don't think that I can assist you with your search, although my great-grandfather (William Corcoran - born around 1828), his five siblings and his parents were all from the townland of Crissard (Crossard/Cropard) in County Laois, during the same time period as the ancestors you mentioned.  Crissard abuts Wolfhill to the north and northwest.  I'm almost certain that my Corcoran ancestors were all parishoners of St. Mary's in Wolfhill and/or the forerunner to St. Mary's.  The current graveyard right next to present day St. Mary's is where the initial RC chapel was located.  One can still find obvious ruins of the original church in the graveyard.  

What initially caught my eye about your post was the name Patrick O'Brien (O'Bryan).  One of William's sisters, Frances Corcoran, emigrated to New York City in 1849 where she married another Irish immigrant named Patrick O'Brien.  I have no idea where Patrick came from, but obviously "my" Patrick O'Brien was not the same as yours.

My Corcoran ancestors were intertwined with the Knowles' family of Crissard/Wolfhill at that time, with an apparent connection to the Roach family as well.  Do any Knowles or Roaches (or Corcorans, for that matter) show up in your Wolfhill ancestry, as godparents, wedding witnesses, etc.? 

I hope you've made some progress in the nine months that have passed since your post.

Kevin Corcoran 

Hi Kevin, thanks for the posting.  Unfortunately, I haven't found any Knowles, Roaches or Corcorans in my O'Brien research, but is your family tree or DNA posted on any of the genealogy websites?  Best regards, Mike

Hello, Mike,

Thanks for checking for Corcorans, Knowles and Roaches.  Yes, I have a family tree on Ancestry.com and my DNA results are posted on several sites.  DNA analysis helped me trace and confirm one of the four sisters of my Irish immigrant great-grandfather, but there have been no significant findings in my direct paternal line, even after having done a Y-DNA test.  Still, traditional genealogy research has given me a reasonably clear picture of my great-grandfather's origin and his parents and siblings.  Still, there's always that craving for more info.!

Regards,

Kevin Corcoran