Looking for relatives

Hi Eryl,

Thank you for your message. I have passed it on to one of our volunteers in the area who hopefully may be able to assist or advise you.

Kind regards,

Genealogy Support

Hi Eryl,

Some of our volunteers have some spent some time working on this query and have come back with the following information:

There are Hetheringtons and Haydens buried in Abbeyleix , possibly in the Estate graveyard. Here are the details:

• Elizabeth Hetherington; 29, Masons wife, married, 7/1/1913 (b. 1840)
• John Hayden; 50, married, Tonduff 7/1/1913 (b. 1881)
• Christina Hayden; 1 year, labourer's daughter, Clonking, 3/8/1944

Also a genealogist who has transcribed a number of headstones in Laois graveyards has come back with the following information and advice:

• She has recorded all the gravestones in Abbeyleix Church of Ireland graveyard and the Roman Catholic graveyards, but she has not covered the Estate graveyard.
• She currently has 49 Laois graveyards on the internet, here is a link to the Laois graveyards: http://www.from-ireland.net/photographs/index.php?cat=5
• She has also provided an index to names found on the gravestones, as well as transcriptions that were on the back in the 1996-98 period. Here is a link to the index:http://www.from-ireland.net/grave-transcriptions/all#display
• She has already searched the index and has found one gravestone with the  Hetherington surname. This was in the Lea parish. Here is a link: http://www.from-ireland.net/grave-transcriptions/?keyword=Hetherington
• She has also advised that Church of Ireland people tend to go home to be buried (back to their parish of birth), this may be the case with this Hetherington family.
• The 1901 census only records 11 people of the surname listed in Laois. She reckons that it is a good guess that the George who was 64 in 1901 had a son also called George. She advises that you research the family of george a bit further back .

I hope that this information is helpful to your research.

Kind regards,

Genealogy Support

Hi Emma

Many thanks for your assistance, Elizabeth is my Great Grandmother, her baby son Patrick should also be buried within a few months of Elizabeth.  We are Catholic so I imagine they would be in the same graveyard as other catholic's.

I believe that George was also the name of George's father, I do have a tree set up and need to go back into that.  I will look at the links you have kindly provided.

Many thanks again

Eryl

No problem Eryl, I hope that they help you come up with some new information.

One of our volunteers also believes that there are some Hetheringtons still living in the Rathdowney area of Laois. We do not know if these are your Hertheringtons or not, but it may be an idea to try and reach out to them.

Perhaps you could try and place a message in the parish newletter in the hope that they or someone they know, sees it and makes contact with you. The Catholic church in the area is the Holy Trinity Church, and the address is:

Mooreville,

Rathdowney,

Co. Laois.

You could also try the Church of Ireland newsletter. Here are their contact details:

Ven John Murray,

The Rectory,

Rathdowney,

Co. Laois.

Phone: +353(0) 505 463 11

I would also recommend that you place a message on the Rathdowney parish page on our website.

I hope that you are able to make a connection with some living relatives in Laois! 

All the best,

Emma