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Hi! I have been researching my paternal family line for some time and have managed to locate the baptism record of my great Grandfather, Daniel Harrington, who was batised at Schull East on 15/7/1853.

Daniel's parents (my great, great grandparents) are listed as Patrick Harrington and Anne Downey and the sponsors listed as Timothy Sullivan and Rebecca Peer.

I am keen to discover more about Patrick and Anne, where they lived, other children, but although I have cords of other baptisms, the challenge is that I cannot trace a marriage record for Patrick and Anne and, in all the other promising records I have identified containing a Patrick Harrington, in roughly the right location and timeframe, Anne's name varies, i.e. I have found records of Anne Downing, Anna Downing and there could be more variations.

I also found several other promising baptisms, including Patt Hanington in Schull West (now Goleen) on 19/11/1854, with Patt Hanington as the father and Anne Downey as the mother. A 'rr' could easily be misinterpreted as an 'n', so this could easily be a sibling of Daniel's given the date/location. Other potential Harrington baptism records include:

Patrick - 13/3/1862 - Bantry - parents Pat Harrington & Anne Downing, sponsors Timothy Harrington & Mary Downing.

Timothy - 24/11/1865 - Bantry - parents Patrick Harrington & Anne Downing, sponsors John Sullivan & Cath Carroll.

Honoria - 10/5/1868 - Bantry - parents Patritius Harrington & Anna Downing, sponsors Gulielmus Sullivan & Maria Shea.

Anna - 12/11/1871 - Bantry - parents Patritius Harrington & Anna Downing, sponsors Robertus Downing & Helena Cronin.

Michael - 26/2/1877 - Bantry - parents Patrick Harrington & Anna Denney, sponsors John Ahern & Mary Cullenane.

I visited Schull and Goleen last year (2015) and while I found several Downeys in the cemetery in Goleen, I was unable to locate a single Harrington grave in either town. This may be because they weren't wealthy enough to afford a marked grave, but it did seem odd that there was nothing at all. Unfortunately I did not have time to arrange a meeting with the parish priest to explore this further, so I' d be hugely grateful if there is anyone on this site who may be able to steer me in the right direction.

Dave.

Chelseadave65

Monday 18th Apr 2016, 11:24AM

Message Board Replies

  • Dave:

    Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

    Below is the likely marriage record. Nancey and Anne are interechangeable. I also looked at baptismal records and found the same records you located. Unfortunately, none show a townland where they lived. Since civil registration started in 1864, you could get a copy of a civil birth record for one of the younger children/ The civil record would show the townland. The question I have and I'm sure you also have is why the eight year gap between 1854-1862? Let me know what questions you have.

    Roger McDonnell

    Marriage of PAT HARRINGTON of N/R and NANCEY DOWNEY of N/R on 2 September 1852

    HusbandWifeNamePAT HARRINGTONNANCEY DOWNEY

    Witness 1TIM SULLIVANWitness 3MARGARET HARRINGTON

    Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Monday 18th Apr 2016, 03:27PM
  • Hi Roger.

    Thank you so much for your reply. The Nancey element makes sense, as I'm sure somewhere I've come across her before, but would have discounted. I'm aware that there are some wierd and wonderful variations in names, so thanks for confirming this, as it really is a great help. I agree regarding the gap in the baptism record, but now I have the option to search under Nancey, I'll re-visit the baptism records to see what else comes up. I've also seen a Margaret Driscoll in a search I did for Daniel Harrington, so I'll check if there is a marriage between Margaret and a Driscoll that fits the timeline.

    I'll let you know how I get on.

    Kind regards,

    Dave.

    Chelseadave65

    Tuesday 19th Apr 2016, 02:29PM
  • Hi Roger.

    A bit more digging confirmed the Patk Harrington baptism on 19/11/1854 in Schull West, but that still leaves the big gap between then and 1862. I tried searching on irishgeanealogy.ie for all records in Schull between 1853 and 1862, but couldn't find any other baptism matches. I then searched the same period in Bantry with no luck, although, and it is a very long shot, I did find some additional baptisms in Bantry where Patrick Harrington was a sponsor that MAY suggest Patrick and Anne were in the area before 1862:

    - Pat Sullivan baptised on 2/2/1855 in Bantry, Father Timothy and Sponsor Pat (Timothy Sullivan was sponsor to Daniel Harrington in Schull East in 1853), so given there appears to be a close friendship between the Harringtons and Sullivans, it's just possible they were forced to move up to Bantry around this time, but it is a very long shot!!

    - Patrick Sullivan baptised Bantry 9/3/1860.

    Also, I checked the actual online records for Honoria (1868), Anna (1871) and Michael (1877) and they had residential locations of Baunageeragh (or Barnageeragh?), Lisheens and Rendesert respectively. While Lisheens seems a bit too far away (just SW of Cork City), Barnageeragh appears to be located near Bantry and there is a Rendesert House in Bantry, so not sure if this all adds up?

    Regards,

    Dave.

    Chelseadave65

    Tuesday 19th Apr 2016, 05:23PM
  • Dave:

    There is a Lisheen townland in Kildacommoge parish which is the same parish as Barnagearagh.

    Roger

    Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Wednesday 20th Apr 2016, 07:05PM
  • Roger,

    apologies in the delay in responding, but thanks for the last response. Knowing that these locations are in the right area is a big help. The Nancey link has really helped as it has led me to what I believe is Nancey and Patrick's wedding on 2/9/1852 at Schull West (Goleen), witness Tim Sullivan & Margaret Harrington, so the right place and right timeframe.

    I then checked for Anne/Nancey's baptism and found 2 in Schull West, but they are for the same date, 4/7/1833 and have the same father (William Downey) and witnesses, but different mother (Catherine Driscoll/Butler).

    I also found potential parents for Patrick - John Harrington & Mary Mahony.- Married 12/2/1825 Roscarbery & Lissevard (Rossalettiri & Kilkeraunmor). I found 10 baptisms for this couple, 3 in Roscarbery & Lissevard (John 1/1/1826, Joan 24/4/1827 & Mary 10/5/1829) and 7 in Schull East (Norry 2/1/1827, Ellen 31/8/1828, Mary 9/5/1830, Patrick 18/3/1832, James 10/6/1834, Timothy 1/5/1836 & Ellen 15/12/1839). Norry & Ellen are suspicious due to dates being wrong and their baptisms show the father as "JNO Harrington" whereas all the others are clearly John.

    Although the distance between Roscarbery & Lissevard and Schull East isn't great in modern terms, is there a strong likelihood that they could have moved from one area to the other at this period? I checked the Tithe Allotment records and found a John Harrington at Direenaclogh in Skull in 1827, which could tie into a move to Schull in this year?

    Finally, I found 3 potential death records for John snr in Schull (all shown as age 70, but that is likely to be an estimate) – 1867, 1868 & 1871. I couldn't access the actual records, but would they state a witness name or something that could identify whether one of these is related to Patrick and his siblings?

    Regards,

    Dave.

    Chelseadave65

    Wednesday 4th May 2016, 01:00PM
  • Dave:

    Civil death records show the name of the informant and sometimes the relationship of the informant to the deceased.

    Schull and Roscarbery are 40 kilometers (24 miles) apart. Not a great distance. I've been using DNA data a lot on my own family and I've been very surprised at how far some of my family migrated around 1800. My McDonnell ancestors moved from the west coast of Mayo to East Mayo and another maternal line moved about 50 miles north from Leitrim to Donegal around 1820. 

    Roger

    Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Thursday 5th May 2016, 06:11PM
  • Hi Roger. I visited both Schull and Goleen (formerley Schull East and Schull West respectively) a couple of years ago and although I have numerous records of Harrington's baptised and married in both locations, strangely I couldn't find a single Harrington grave in either of the towns' cemeteries. I realise that many people would have been buried in unmarked or pauper's graves, particularly during the famine, but it seems really odd that I couldn't find a single grave, given how relatively common the surname is in County Cork. Is there any potential explanation for this, or anywhere else I could check for butial records in these towns?

    Regards,

    Dave.

    Chelseadave65

    Tuesday 9th Aug 2016, 04:38PM
  • Dave:

    Not familiar with the area. You may want to contact the Schull library for information on local cemeteries. I agree that it seems unusual to not find any Harrington grave markers.

    Roger

     http://www.corkcoco.ie/co/web/Cork%20County%20Council/Departments/Libra…  

    Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Tuesday 9th Aug 2016, 09:20PM
  • Thanks Roger. I'll give that a try.

    Chelseadave65

    Wednesday 10th Aug 2016, 07:22PM
  • hi david, i have just checked your request regarding the Harrington family, which happens to be the same as mine. My name is John.We are planning to come to ireland in july 2017 to see what else we can find out. I have a lot of information which should help you but i would prefer to talk on the phone, we are in Plymouth Devon. hope to hear from you soon John Malone.

    john malone

    Thursday 24th Nov 2016, 11:44PM
  • Hello. I am researching about the Harrington's too. We are the Harringtons from Sheep's Head (nearby the next peninsula along) where Harringtons Point is. We have a Daniel Harrington born in 1800 (died in the 1873, USA) and then his grandson Daniel Harrington in 1855 (died 1947, Bantry). Perhaps relations? 

    Happy to share further information if you're still interested. 

    Best wishes,

    Lily

    Lily

    Wednesday 12th Jul 2023, 02:14PM

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