Hi! I'm so impressed to find your website. Thank you for offering to bring some light to the 'darkest' areas of my family tree ~ at least I hope so!
My great grandfather Patrick Callaghan hailed from Co Kilkenny and I know from his marriage record in St Helens, Merseyside, England, in 1875, that his father was named Edward Callaghan, and that he was a school master. I think he was born 1850-52.
I found out he was from Kilkenny because he was tried for the attempted murder of his wife in 1906 and was sent to Maidstone Prison, Kent!!! On the 1911 Census in prison it gives his place of birth as: Kilkenny, Kilkenny.
I'm fascinated to discover that Kilkenny was the place of origin for Catholic boys' education in Ireland, and that Edmund Rice had his own early education there. So the fact that my great great grandfather had been a school master might not be so surprising. His son was obviously the black sheep who went to England!
I see from Griffith's Valuation that an Edward Callaghan resided in The Rower at around the time of my grandfather's birth. I do hope you might be able to shed some further light for me.
I really want to come and do further research and see the places for myself, but it will be a while before I can do that.
With many, many thanks for your help.
Elaine Webster
Wednesday 6th Feb 2013, 10:06PM
Message Board Replies
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Hi Elaine,
Thank you for your message and your kind words.
It may be an idea to look at the church records in The Rower civil parish for some information Patrick and his family. Do you know their religious denomination?
Most Catholic records are held locally so it may be an idea to write to the parish priest for possible assistance. One website which you may find useful however, is the Irish Times where they give an overview of what records are available in specific parishes. For The Rower/Inistioge parish follow this link:
For Church of Ireland records check http://ireland.anglican.org/about/42 and http://www.nationalarchives.ie/. The Anglican Record Project is has created an index to their records: http://ireland.anglican.org/cmsfiles/pdf/AboutUs/library/AngRecord/bunclodyunionindex.pdf
Some Church records are also available online. Family Search have a large collection that you can search free of charge at www.familysearch.org
www.rootsireland.ie also have a large collection of Church records available online however, you have to pay to use this website.
Have you tried looking in the 1901/1911 census records to see if there were any family still in the area at the time? You can search these here:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/
Some other websites that you may find useful 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
The National Archives UK ? genealogy search: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/
The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland http://www.proni.gov.uk/index/family_history.htm
Genealogy Links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/kilkenny/index.html
Kilkenny Library, Local Studies: http://kilkennylibrary.kilkenny.ie/eng/Our_Services/Local_Studies/
You could also contact the genealogy centre in Kilkenny for assistance- a fee may apply. Here are their contact details:
Rothe House & Garden,
Rothe House,
Parliament Street,
Kilkenny.
Phone: +353 (0) 56 7722893 Email: kilkennyfamilyhistory@rothehouse.com
I hope this is helpful. Remember to post as much information as you can with regard to the people you are researching. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.
Please be patient - as our programme has only begun to rollout across the island of Ireland and volunteers in some areas may not yet be organized.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Monday 15th Apr 2013, 10:35AM