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I am trying to locate the family origin of my great grandmother Margaret Melody.  She was born about 1840 in either Sligo or Mayo.  She and her elder sister Ellen (b. c1833) were daughters of Patrick Melody, a farmer, and emigrated to York in the early 1850s.  When Margaret married in 1859 Patrick was listed as decased.  Margaret and Ellen initially lived in buildings with other Irish who were mainly from Sligo and Mayo, and I believe people from the same counties tended to stay together.  This, in addition to my Ancestry DNA results, is what makes me think that she originated from those areas.   Any information or ideas gratefully received.

Pam

Thursday 26th Mar 2020, 12:58AM

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  • Pam:

    Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

    I checked the subscription site Roots Ireland and there were no Ellen or Margaret Melady/Melody baptismal records with father Patrick in Sligo or Mayo during the 1830s. There were records in other counties (Westmeath, Meath, Kildare) but we would need to know the mothers name in order to confirm any of these records. Many of the Sligo and Mayo RC parishes do not have records back to the 1830s.

    Roger McDonnell

    Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Thursday 26th Mar 2020, 01:36PM
  • Hello Pam and again Roger, it is me Pat, I have noticed the name Melody turning up in my DNA matches from I think Galway and it always stuck in my mind as there is a TV person by that name. I have Galway ancestry and am on a few Galway Facebook pages, private pages that you apply to join, some of the Galway pages are area specific and there is one for a village there where apparently everyone of the Melody name originates as some point. I applied to join myself but was refused or not refused but not allowed in as I could not identify the actual Melody in my line.

    If Pam wants to mail me at the site address stpeters@irelandxo.com I can give her the chaps name but not in an open forum like here, if you look up Galway Genealogy on Facebook he is active on some of them or just search Melody. Such an unusual name. According to McLysaghts Irish Surnames it is from Kennedy, will omit the meaning given in the interests of politeness. The main sept or clan of  the name was located in North Clare on the Galway border, there was another in the Westmeath / Offaly area of which Mulleady; Malody and Melody are variants. 

    Hope you at least find it interesting but it appears he is saying it is derived from the Gaelic form of Kennedy at some point.

    Good Luck

    Pat

    St Peters Louth, IrelandXO Volunteer

    Thursday 26th Mar 2020, 03:32PM
  • Hello Roger and Pat,

    Thanks to both you gentlemen for the replies.  I will certainly follow up on those leads.

    Regards,

    Pam

    Pam

    Friday 27th Mar 2020, 08:30AM

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