Hello Parish of Clonmore,
My name is Peter Doyle of Melbourne Australia and I am trying to locate the birthplace of my Great Grandfather - Michael Lawrence Doyle. There is conflicting information available to me here in Australia which has made the search very difficult and I am to visit Ireland in September and was hoping to solve some of the mysteries/missing pieces before my arrival so I could visit where he was born. A very helpful Family History Centre here in Australia has put me on to Ireland XO so I'm hoping you can help.
What is known about Michael Lawrence Doyle:
- Born 1854;
- Documented that he was born in Country Wicklow but no parish confirmed;
I have found on Rootsireland a Baptismal Record of the birth of a Michael Doyle of Ballykeenan baptised on 23 July 1854 in the "Parish of Clonegal, County Wicklow". The sponsors recorded were Edward Murphy and Joney Doyle.
I have tried via the Parish of Clonegall in Co. Carlow but haven't had any response. So could these County and Parish boundaries have changed since 1854?
Other known details:
- Religion: Roman Cathloic
- Parents:Michael and Mary (but I have a suspicion his father's name might have been Lawrence, not Michael)
- Siblings: Unknown
- Sent to Australia in 1864 (so about 10 years old) to live with his Grandmother (name unknown and no passenger details of when exact he went and on what ship).
- He married in Australia on 9th July 1879 to Emma Lydia Smith in Cowwarr, Victoria, Australia
- He had 9 children (all born in Australia) with the names: Grace Josephine, Owen Lawrence, Sylvester George, Christopher Francis (my Grandfather), Mary Kathleeen, Aloysius Robert, Donald Charles, Ursula Lydia and Maisie Emma
The confusion is that his Death Certificate records his father's name as Michael and I have not been able to locate a Marriage Certificate here in Australia (it was destroyed/lost) to better confirm/deny that. The only Michael Doyle that I've been able to find born in 1854 (in Co. Wicklow at least) are:
- the one mentioned above, but his father's name was Lawrence (which is clearly a family name that was used by my Great Grandfather for his family, hence my suspicion that maybe his father was Lawrence, not Michael?);
- one that the Wicklow Family History Centre found in the Parish of Glendalough, born 10/3/1854, Father Michael, Mother Madge, Mother's suname of Kennedy.
So, any assistance you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Kind regards,
Peter Doyle
Peter J Doyle
Sunday 17th Apr 2016, 10:59PMMessage Board Replies
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Dear Peter
Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out and apologies for the delay in getting back to you.
It may well be the case that the baptism in Clonegal is the correct record but we have no real way of confirming this unless there is additional info elsewhere that you have yet to locate your side.
The RC parish of Clonegal corresponds to the Civil Parish of Moyacomb and that is the relevant parish page on our site for Co. Wicklow (we are structured around the civil not the RC parish). The RC parish crosses into Co. Carlow.
http://www.countywicklowheritage.org/page/2_administrative_divisions_in…
Unfortunately it may be the case that you will have to consider an information gathering exercise to see +/- 5 years of 1854 what other children were born to a Michael and Mary/Madge/Marie etc or what children in that timeframe were born to a father Lawrence. I would stick to the Michael given the death cert info you have.
There are supplementary records like the Griffith's Valuation and earlier Tithe records that can give extra colour to family history but they are better used once you know for sure that you have the correct ancestor and place of origin. Perhaps, for example the witnesses on any available Michael and Madge marriage will be relevant and worth recording alongside the names of any other children that you can locate on rootsireland or familysearch.
Do let us know if you learn more and we would love to hear what you think of Ireland during your visit!
Best wishes
Clare Doyle
Genealogy Support