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Hello people interested in helping those wanting to find family from Grean! Although I'm not certain of the connection, I'm very interested in James Walsh and family, listed in the 1911 census of Ireland as being from Grean.

But let me work back from what I know:

Stephen Walsh, who states he's living at 12 Ashton Street, Salford, Manchester, England on his marriage certificate from December 16, 1939, lists his age as 26 (therefore he's likely born in 1913) and his father as James Walsh. James Walsh is listed as deceased on the marriage certificate.

We do not find Stephen living at that address as of the September 1939 English census, but we do find Patrick Walsh and family. Patrick gives his birthdate as June 9, 1909. Patrick is married as of Spring 1938 and I have a copy of his marriage certificate on the way to verify his age, father's name, and to see if his father is also listed a deceased.

We do, however, find a Stephen Walsh living at a boarding house in nearby York at that time and he gives his birthdate as February 10, 1913. This is the only Stephen Walsh on the 1939 English census with that birth year.

Meanwhile, my dad, Michael Snr. (born in 1941), insists that his father was born in Ireland, though the county seems to shift between Cork and Tipperary depending on the day you ask, and that the Patrick from Ashton Street is "Uncle Pat". He says that Stephen was always a restless sprit and never spent much time at home, even after he was married and had children. Dad does get a bit confused now he's older, so we kind of have to take what he says with a grain of salt.

So in my research, I find a Stephen Walsh born in Tipperary "March" 1913. The assumption is that means sometime during the first quarter of the year, as it does with the listings in English BMD databases. I am reasonably certain this might be "my" Stephen Walsh, but have not ordered a birth certificate yet.

Further, in the 1911 census of Ireland we find a Patrick Walsh with an age of 1 year old, meaning his was not yet 2 as of April, 1911, with father James Walsh, and living in Grean. Although most of the databases I search for him in list his birth year as 1910, I'm willing to bet that the software is not sophisticated enough to parse 22 months.

At this point you may be starting to see what I might be interested in this particular family? However, the one significant wild card at the moment, because I haven't found a record yet, is that James Walsh will need to have died sometime between 1913 and 1938/1939. The James Walsh from Grean on the 1911 census is listed as being 24, which makes his year of birth either 1876 or 1877, which gives me a dozen possibles, six of which are strong ones.

So while it might be premature to start asking for help, I am fairly certain that I'm on the right track here and any assistance offered would be very welcomed.

 

Michael Walsh

Friday 22nd Nov 2019, 06:19PM

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    Hi Miriam!

    I like all those people for being the correct ones, except for the birthdates of Patrick and Stephen not matching what they told the census takers in 1939. I am something of a novice when it comes to genealogy. Is there any set of circumstances you can think of where that might be explained? The English census actually lists birth dates rather than age.

    BTW, Ellen McCarthy, next door at number 10 Ashton Street, is who Stephen marries in 1939, making her my grandmother. Unfortunately for me she was born in Salford.

    I was hesitant to mention it in my first post, but I'm hoping to get my Irish passport based on what I find, making Stephen my only avenue. My US passport is not a whole lot of good in Europe and my British one is about to get much less useful. Of course I'm intrested in my heritage too - finding my wife's Norwegian roots over the last couple of years has been a complete doddle compared to my experience with Ireland!

    Michael Walsh

    Friday 22nd Nov 2019, 07:59PM
  • Thank you very much for your help, Miriam. I think we are in accord that this is the correct family.

    Michael Walsh

    Friday 22nd Nov 2019, 09:23PM
  • I am 100% now on this being the correct family after getting Patrick Walsh's marriage certificate from the Salford Registrar and seeing a Thomas Walsh witness the ceremony, along with my grandmother Ellen. Yes, Thomas Walsh is a previously unknown (to me) son of James and Bridget, born in September, 1915.

     

    Michael Walsh

    Thursday 5th Dec 2019, 04:37PM

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