Farrell Family

Hi Patrick

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out

I had a look but couldn't locate a marriage record for Frances and John though you could have a look on irishgenealogy.ie just to cover the remaining Dublin records. That is a free site. 

I did find a baptism for a John in Strand Street, Skerries baptised on 03-Oct-1842 to John Farrell and Frances Coogan. Sponsrs are recorded as Michael Coffey and Ann Derham. There are no baptism for any other children. 

Best wishes

Clare Doyle

Genealogy Support 

Thank you Clare,

I am looking in Skerries because a research I commisioned gave me the following,

Date: 23rd June 2016

Client: Patrick Farrell

Search: 1 Hour Genealogical Search

Researcher: Nicola Morris MAGI

Initial Information and Research Strategy

John Farrell was born ca. 1840 in Kingstown/Kingston the son of John Farrell and Frances ______.   John Farrell married Elizabeth Furlong in 1861.  John Farrell died on 29th May 1877 in Liverpool.

The civil marriage certificate for John Farrell stated that he was 21 years of age at the time of his marriage.  His father, John Farrell, was a labourer.

You have found the following baptismal records for children named John Farrell:

Baptised on 28th July 1839 in the Roman Catolic parish of Kingstown, John Farrell, the son of John Farrell and Mary ______.  Edward Roche and Anne Murray stood as sponsors to the baptism.

Baptised on 4th February 1838 in the Roman Catholic parish of Kingstown, John Farrell, the son of John Farrell and Eliza _______ of Dalkey. Patt Maguire and Cath. Farrell stood as sponsors to the baptism.

Baptised on 3rd May 1837 in Clooncillin, Elphin, Co. Roscommon, John Farrell to John Farrell and Frances Taaffe.  John Kenny and Honor Petit stood as sponsors to the baptism.

The object of your search is to locate a birth record for John and his siblings and information on his parents.

Civil registration in Ireland only commenced in 1864, when it became compulsory to register all births, deaths and marriages.  Prior to the start of civil registration we rely on parish baptismal and marriage registers for this information.  Not all parishes have registers that survive for the period when John Farrell was born.  This may explain why you have not found a record of his birth.

Kingstown is a Town in the county of Dublin, known today as Dun Laoghaire.  The civil parish of Kingstown corresponds with the Roman Catholic parish of Kingstown.  The registers for this parish date back to 1768.  IF John Farrell was born and baptised in this parish his baptism should appear in the parish registers.

However, it is possible that the Farrell family moved to Kingstown after John’s birth or that Kingstown was his address in Ireland prior to moving to Liverpool.  It may not be his place of birth.

In consultation with the client we agreed to undertake to search for the baptism of a child named John Farrell to parents named John Farrell and Frances _______ ca. 1840 in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare.  If John Farrell lived in Kingstown prior to emigration, he most likely originated in Dublin, Wicklow or Kildare.

If we find evidence of John’s birth, we can search for the baptism of his siblings and the church marriage of his parents.

The results of our research have been quite good and we have identified one potential candidate born to parents John Farrell and Frances.  We have identified the marriage of John and Frances in Co. Wicklow and the baptism of two other children born to this couple.

All of the results of our research are detailed in the report below.

Research Results

Baptism of John Farrell

A search was made of the indexed church baptismal registers published by the Irish Family History Foundation at www.rootsireland.ie for evidence of Farrell children born to parents John Farrell and Frances.

Our search identified the following baptismal records for children named John Farrell:

Baptised on 3rd October 1842 in the Roman Catholic parish of Skerries, John, the son of John Farrell and Frances Coogan of Strand Street.  Michael Coffey and Ann Derham stood as sponsors to the baptism.

A copy of this baptismal record has been enclosed with our report but the page is very smudged and difficult to read.

This was the only other baptismal record found for a child born to parents named John and Frances other than the already identified record for the child baptized in Roscommon.

Although the parish of Skerries is located in north county Dublin, it is located much closer to Kingstown than Roscommon.

During the course of our research we also located the baptism of a child to parents John and F. Farrell in the parish of Valleymount, Co. Wicklow.  Valleymount is located close to the border with south Dublin.

Baptised on 6th May 1835 in the Roman Catholic parish of Valleymount, Mary, the daughter of John Farrell and F. John Carvy and Anne Lynch stood as sponsors to the baptism.

On inspection of the original parish register, it would appear that Mary was born to parents John and Fany Farrell.  This has identified another couple with the correct names having children close to Kingstown.

No other children were identified in the Valleymount parish registers or the surviving records for Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare, born to John and Fanny or Frances Farrell.  However, a search of the Valleymount marriage register has located a record of their marriage:

Married on 11th February 1830 in the Roman Catholic parish of Valleymount Joannis [John] Farrell and Francesca [Frances] Keogan.  Patk. Smith, Milesues Quin and Cath. Myly stood as witnesses to the marriage.

It is most likely that this is the same couple that had a daughter, Mary, in 1835.

The Roman Catholic parish of Valleymount is also known as BOystown and Blackditches and is located in northwest Wicklow.  The maps below illustrate the close proximity between Boystown and the border with Co. Dublin as well as the location of the parish of Kingstown, in the southern part of C. Dublin.

There is no evidence that other children were born and baptized to John Farrell and Frances Keogan in the parish of Valleymount and it is entirely possible that this family left the parish after 1835.

The surname of the mother given on the baptismal record for John Farrell in Skerries in 1842 was Coogan.  Coogan could very well be another variant of the surname Keogan, as both would have been phonetically similar.  It is possible that John Farrell and Frances Coogan/Keogan left Valleymount after 1835 and settled in Skerries for a short period.  They may have moved south to Kingstown after a period in Skerries.

Further research has also found the baptism of a child born to what appears to be the same couple in Co. Cork in 1850:

Baptised on 13th September 1850 in the Roman Catholic parish of Mallow, Frances, the daughter of John Farrell and Frances Cogan.  Patrick Flanagan and Catherine Walsh stood as sponsors to the baptism.

At this point we have identified the baptism of a child named John Farrell in county Dublin in 1842.   This year of birth makes John slightly younger than the age given on his civil marriage certificate.  However, as the legal age of marriage was 21, it is quite possible that John Farrell made himself older at the time of his marriages.  Given ages and dates of birth in the 19th century were not always accurate.

John Farrell was born to parents John Farrell and Frances Coogan/Keogan.  It would appear that this couple originated in the Roman Catholic parish of Valleymount Co. Wicklow where they had a daughter, Mary in 1835.  They then moved to Skerries where their son John was born in 1842, before moving to the parish of Mallow, Co. Cork by 1850 where a daughter, Frances was born to what would appear to be the same couple.

It is highly likely that other children were also born to this couple but they may have been baptized in parishes for which the records no longer survive.

This is the only family with the correct parents names, who had a son, John, born ca. 1840 in the vicinity of Dublin and it quite likely the correct Farrell family.

At this point we concluded our research.

Hi again

It seems that both Nicola and I have come to the same conclusion though there doesn't seem to be anything further in terms of baptisms for other children of the family. It is probably the case that the records do not survive. Claire Santry has a very good blog HERE that will keep you updated about any potentially useful new releases and we will also keep our News section updated with such information too.

Best wishes

Clare

Genealogy Support 

Thank you Clare,

I would be interested to know if you could find anything on  John Farrell and Frances Coogan/Keogan.  It would appear that this couple originated in the Roman Catholic parish of Valleymount Co. Wicklow

Regards

Patrick

Hi Patrick

There is a marriage record for a John Farrell and Francesca Kiogan in Valleymount, Co. Wicklow on 11th Feb 1830. Neither set of parts is recorded. Witnesses were Pat Ginin and Miles Quinn. The only baptism I can find is that John Farrell one listed in Dublin for that couple. 

Best wishes

Clare Doyle

Genealogy Support