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I have a few questions about my ancestors who were from Schull East in West Cork.Its been a long road to wade through misinformation on birth and death certificates of my Great Grand Mother but here I am now with who I believe are my GGGGrandparents. My first question is was it common for couples to have children before they married? Ive traced Timothy and Cate's wedding back to 1832 in West Schull, however this was after I found my GGGgrandmother Jane Driscoll who was born in 1827, Ive also found Mary 1825 and John 1830. 

Second question is which graveyards would be most likely for family members to be buried in if they still lived in the area when they died? I have looked in a few records, Find a Grave. I've found the same names in a few but not them. They were RC so if anyone could point me in the right direction I would really appreciate it.

Thanking you in advance Susan Richardson, Australia.

Suzyrich

Friday 21st Apr 2023, 02:36AM

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  • Susan,

    When I've encountered a child born before the parents' marriage in Irish records, it seems I usually find that the parents married not too long after the birth.  So I haven't seen 7 years as in the case you propose.

    Also, when a couple were not married, the priest usually recorded that the child was "illegitimate."  Not saying that this happened in all cases, but this is what I have seen.

    I hope this is helpful.

    Patricia

    Friday 21st Apr 2023, 07:12PM

  • Thank you Patricia, the Irish have been quite difficult to trace back as even my Great Grandmothers death certificate doesn't match the information thats on her marriage certificate.

    Once they left Ireland they moved to Wales and then she married at 17 and moved to Australia at 20 with 2 kids . never to set eyes on her parents again. 

    I thought it may have been a no no to baptise babies without being married back in the day. The weird thing is those 3 children definitely have Cate and Tim listed as their parents.

    Maybe I should search again for their marriage at an earlier date .

    Cheers 

    Sue

    Suzyrich

    Saturday 22nd Apr 2023, 06:50AM

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