My Grandmother: Mary McMahon
Birth date: 6/Apr/1872
Birth place: Newmarket, Cork
Father name: James McMahon
Mothers name: Debora Ryan
Baptism: Gooseberryhill, Meelin 14/Apr/1872
Sponsor: Patrick Curran and Mary Murphy
This is my grandmother whom I never had a chance to meet. She was never spoken about and I did not know that I had Irish family. I am drawn to her and wish to know who she was, what family she had to leave when coming to New York. Did she travel alone or were there siblings with here? The gift she gave to me is my chance to obtain Irish citizenship. I hope to obtain her birth certificate and apply for my passport. I have been working on this for a few years and am so close. I will be in Cork for 10 days in October and hope to feel her presence there.
Any help will be apppreciated.
Friday 23rd Aug 2013, 02:09AM
Message Board Replies
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Kathleen:
I'm was not able to find a civil birth index record for Mary in the Kanturk registration district (which includes Gooseberryhill and Newmarket). Did she have another first name possibly? I'm wondering if her parents emigrated to New York also. I can only find one baptism record (Mary) for children of James McMahon and Debora Ryan and I don't see either of them in the 1901 census.
Roger McDonnell
Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
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Hi Roger,
Thank you for your reply. The information I posted is from rootsireland.ie. and it is the Church Baptism Record, the birth record info is from ancestry.com of Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1911. It is a database extracted from a variety of Irish birth records. It is from Family Search, Salt Lake City, Utah. Well that is where I got the info.
I have done a through search of the census records here and yes she did come to New York. Not sure of the exact year as the dates on the census vary from year to year. I do have Mary's death certificate and marriage certificate and also her mother's death certificate. Of course, they say from Ireland and that is all. She arrived sometime between 1882 and 1886. Her mother was in the US for 12 years which would make her arrival 1887 at age 44.
Her mother was
Deborah McMahon Born: 1843 Her parents were William and Ellen Ryan. This info is from Deborah's death certificate. Died: 1899
I am on a mission to find and get her birth certificate. I am not sure if I need her parents marriage cetificate for dual citizenship.
Slan,
Kathleen
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kathleen:
I went back and forth between www.familysearch.org and www.findmypast.ie with no success in locating the birth record for Mary or the marriage record for James and Debora. Is it possible that they were married in England or Scotland and Mary was born there but brought to Ireland for the baptism and settling in Ireland? Just a thought. it just seems strange that only the baptismal record can be found.
I don't think you need your great-grandparents marriage record when applying for Irish citizenship. Only Mary's marriage record. All the best!
Roger
Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘