Need help understanding addresses and area's

Hello Charlie,

there are a couple of items that I would recommend buying to give yourself an idea of how areas and parishes etc work;

one is:  A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland, by Brian Mitchell

ISBN 0-8063-1684-5

published by Genealogical Publishing Co Inc., of Baltimore, Maryland

and the other is No 88 of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland, 1:50 000, Discovery Series, which covers Durrus and surrounding areas.  If you need another for areas further north of this get no 85 as well.

The Atlas is really essential to try and grasp how the country is and was divided  - 

i.e.  Four Provences, Ulster, Connaught, Leinster, and Munster - where Cork is.  These are then subdivided into Baronies, but you needent worry about those.  The baronies were then divided into Parishes, Civil, i.e. State or Church of Ireland, and later, Catholic.  BUT these parishes usually had different bounderies!  So somewhere say in the Civil Parish of Durrus would become somewhere in the Catholic Parish of Muintervara later on ......  which is why you need the Brian Mitchell book, he lays it all out for you - different maps, different things, same area.  Clear as mud!  It wouldn't be such fun if it were simple, would it.  And we would have more hair left..... 

There are also Poor Law Unions  -  and the smallest division, the Townland - a bit like Townships in the US, which is where the Ordnance Survey Discovery Maps come in.  You can while away HOURS and HOURS poring over these.  These are where our families actually lived and are usually tiny, only a few farms, but where everbody knew each other and were probably related.

Anyway, good luck with your search, check the

irishgenealogy.ie

website for Cork parish births and marriages  -  and don't forget to look at the sponsor or witness details, they were usually reatives, then onto the National Archive Tithe Aplotment Lists ( a tax paid to the Church of Ireland ), and the the later Griffith's Valuation ( like a census but not, only the person paying the rent was listed ) on the askaboutireland.ie website.  All these are free.  And when you search, remember how the Irish usually named their children:  first son after grandfather, second son after the other grandfather, wife's father usually for second, first daughter after grandmother, second after ( husband's ) mother, then after that for brothers and sisters.  By the way, your other family, the Rogers, Jordan, and Sharp, all look as if they might not have been Catholic.

Enjoy!

Bridie

~Hi Birdie,

I appreciate the information you provided. Do to your information I just ordered on line A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland, Second Edition by Brian Mitchell. I tried to find the No 88 of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland and No. 85 but the prices got outrageous and didn't want to buy the wrong one. So for now I will wait for "A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland. If I could find the No. 85 and No. 88 at the same place for a reasonable price I would get them.

"It wouldn't be such fun if it were simple, would it.  And we would have more hair left....." As for my hair at my age it's almost gone anyway but if doing this attacks hair, I guess I have totally bald to look forward to not to far in the future.

Right now I am looking over every record I can find. Unfortunately going back before the 1830 is a nightmare especially since the records are over 4,564 miles or 7,3450 Kilometers stored in some of the Parishes. Part of the problem when I reset my goals was not realizing almost the impossibility of accomplishing it. My new goal was to try and trace my family back to the clans up in the corner of Co. Cork near Mitchelstown. I'm only using Mitchelstown as a general area. According to a book my older half brother has (to whom I will never talk to again) states that is where the Canty clans were.

"By the way, your other family, the Rogers, Jordan, and Sharp, all look as if they might not have been Catholic." Who knows what they were. I have not done any research on any of them. I guess I'm also lucky seeing how I was able to trace my great great grandfather across the big pond and back to the Bantry area. A lot of people can't get passed the 1900's.

Thank You for the askaboutireland site and all the information. I will be reading a lot of books I'm sure and seeking out information. Now all I have to do is compile and file things so this old man can find stuff. LOL
 Again thank you for taking the time to help educate me. It is truly appreciated.
Sincerely

Charlie  (Charles Thomas Canty)

~~UPDATE: Michael Canty my great, great grandfather was born between 1815 and 1820. I have since found more information regarding my Great, Great Grandfather. The townland he lived in was Killoveenoge, 5 miles West of Bantry, Co Cork. His Parrish was Durrus. I have learned that people inputing information in the record books did not know how to spell names correctly or the names of townlands.

I am still looking for information any help would be appreciated.

Kind Regards
 

UP Date

What I have learned since my first post. My Canty family came from a townland called Killoveenoge. My ggg grandfather was Thomas Canty who died in 1841. He married Johanna Houlahan. They had ten Children, Ellen who married a Jeremiah Regan, Timothy, Judith, Thomas, Mary, Daniel, Julia, Patrick, Bridget and Michael. They started leaving Ireland about 1843.

I have found records for Timothy, Thomas, Daniel, Michael, Julia, Ellen Regan and Johanna Houlahan living in the United States. All the Canty's then left New York by 1857 and moved West to San Francisco California where they lived.

I am now searching for Patrick Canty which I found in someone else's tree but trying to verify it's the same Patrick. I have no idea where Judith, Mary, and Bridget went after the family left the area.

In 2017 we spent one week at a B&B close to Killoveenoge about 2miles South of Bantry looking for information about my great, great grandfather Michael Canty. Turns out 176 years is a long time to remember someone only someone's great greant parent would remember and it seems they are all gone. The place we stayed at Dromlochouse.Com (the B&B) the owners and I have been communicated five months before we started our trip. They have been researching for me with the locals from where we came from back then. The area we came from is called Killoveenoge and most of the people in Bantry have never heard of it and it's only 5 miles away. The Crowley's, the people who own the B&B, have lived in the area for the last 80 years and their relatives back to the 1780's and beyond. So they know everyone that lives in the Sheepshead peninsula from Bantry to Durrus and all parts in between. Killoveenoge is a very small area, a townland, not to be mistaken for a Townland. LOL  Killoveenoge means church of the young women. It gets it's name from the 8th century priory that once stood on the ancient site.

For those that don't know, Killoveenoge sits in between three townlands, Rooska West towards the North and Gartalassa to the South. To the West is Bantry Bay and to the East is Clashadoo. By the way there are no signs indicating where any of these places are. You can only find them through the locals or Google Earth. When Bev (my wife) and I went looking for Killoveenoge we only had an approximation of where it was by mileage. When we thought we were close we were lucky to have some locals putting their cattle in a field. I stopped and asked the older lady if she knew where Killoveenoge was and she muttered something I have no idea what it meant. Then I asked the young man helping her with the cattle the same question and his answer was "Well here ye are".

The information the Crowley's have shared is priceless and after we arrived they had people lined up for us to talk to about where my gg grandfather's place could have been. Bev and I went exploring and found some old rock homes that Johnny Crowley says could have been it. Besides seeing some beautiful country, seeing the area they lived in was well worth the trip. Mrs. Crowley set up a meeting for Bev and I at the Old school which serves as a community meeting place and church on the week-ends. I met this older lady that talked to us for over an hour explaining what has gone on there for the last 100 years and what has happened to the people who had once lived there. She also tried to explain where the Canty's probably lived but there was nothing there now seeing how the site had been cleared for a new house. She did say that there was a house close to the road that also could have housed the Canty's but there was hardly anything left but a rock shell. There is a small Chapel still in Killoveenoge but it was purchased by an English couple who use it as a house. And Bantry was a bonus. Johnny also took us to a small rock circle way in the hills we had to Hike to and told us of the history as he knew it. But the walk in was tough for me but my little Bev was like a teenager flying up the hill not waiting for anyone. Johnny even climbed up using a cane, he's 80.

I have written multiple times to the local priest in Durrus to see if he could shed any light on the subject, stated he would check but never got back to us. Being a priest and all he's a very busy man. We didn't even ask him about grave sites. So no help there at all. I wanted to visit grave sites to see what there was but after visiting Bantry's grave yard and seeing the condition of head stones there's no reason at this time to pursue an even poorer site.

As for the trip of my lifetime I would do it all over again in a heart beat. The people were friendly and would go out of their way to try and help. Well with the exception of the priest but he's a busy person. If we ever get the chance to go back I will go to the grave yards in the Durrus area. I thank the Irish people for their kindness, helpful nature and hospitality. 

Seeing how my family records in Ireland don't go back far enough, I have no way to find relatives that live close by. Maybe the way people were named back then would help but that's above my pay grade.

Thanks to all

Charles T canty