What is this occupation

Hi Donna

My name is Doreen and I am working for the Ballyhoura area on the Ireland Reaching Out project.  Im delighted to hear that you are planning another visit to Ireland.  Hope to see you soon.

As you are aware 2013 is the year of “The Gathering” in Ireland, the aim is to connect with and encourage the Irish Diaspora to retrace their ancestors  footsteps and to perhaps make that  journey to “The Old Country”. We represent The Ballyhoura Region www.visitballyhoura.com  which is situated in the Southwest of  Ireland on the borders of Counties Tipperary, Limerick and Cork.  Ballyhoura country is an area of green pastures, woodlands, hills and mountains.   The Landscape is unspoilt, with an abundance of Heritage sites, outdoor activities and plenty “Cead Mile Failte”, which makes it the perfect place to discover Rural Ireland.  The Ireland Reaching Out Project www.irelandxo.com  was set up to provide an online landing point in Ireland for people abroad who have some detail about where their emigrant ancestors come from in Ireland.  By joining any parish community online on this website, you can seek direct genealogical research assistance from Local people in the area.  Take a look on www.irelandxo.com  at the relevant parish pages that you are connected to.  Also of interest is www.historicgraves.ie  a Community Based Heritage Project which digitally records and publishes historic graveyards, surveys and stories at a local level.  This is a great way to trace your ancestors graves and provides a lot of background info for when you visit the area.  Hopefully this is helpful, and we would love to meet up with you all at our Ballyhoura gatherings,  festivals and events throughout the year and beyond. 

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HI Donna,

I looked at the census & click on the original transcript, as I think that the census was transcribed abroad & plussed the image & I feel that it looks like Alderman JP ( alderman possible misspelled)  I then looked at the 1901 Census & it says he is a shopkeeper & JP, JP stands for Justice of the Peace, this was a position given to wealthier people of society at that time, it was an unpaid position & they judged on various committees & court cases.  

I trust that this answers your query, but this would have no bearing on your relation except that the man he worked for had a certain standing in society at the time.  His name would come up in the local paper as he took on the role of Justice of the Peace.

Regards Carmel O'Callaghan

Thank you very much Carmel, I was curious and did wonder if it had any bearing on the bakery and who/why the owner employed people. Would Mr Fitzjerald have known the Bridgman family or would it just have been my grandfathers luck to get the job at the bakery?

You can only speculate, they did not seem to have any family, did you note the 11 year old visitor, Bride Bridgman, is she a sister of your grandfather?  Labour was also cheap, so it would have been easy to employ a lot of people.  Have you looked into any of them being related, perhaps through Mrs Fitzgerald, I wonder what her maiden name was, as James was not related to the head of the family, no other notation would be made.

Did James continue to bake?

I do a timeline on some of my ancestors, which means I do a chart in date order, showing dates, where & what he did, when & where children were born, marriages & was he alive when they got married, perhaps you have done this, it helps you flesh out the person & their life.

Enjoy the journey.. Carmel

Yes Bride is indeed the sister of my grandfather. All i know of her at this stage is that she went on to marry a Mr Pasotti and had a public house in Shanagolden called Abbey Bar. I do know for a fact that James is the only one to have had a family as a letter has been found where his brother mentions that he is the only one to carry on the famiy name but i do wonder about their brother Tom as they disowned him. Although were the family at the bakery any relation to my great grandfather or his siblings. I  do not have any siblings for him or his mother's name. Plus i only have my great great grandfathers name and once again no wife or siblings names. But i keep searching and am bound to find something that has been right under my nose. It would be interesting to find out Mrs Fitzgeralds maiden name. A path i hadnt thought of venturing down at this stage. Thats why i love this site so much. I check other posts out for any ideas of other places to look.

I dont know how long James was at the bakery for but i do know he enlisted in the NZ army and was attested in 1915. I am still to find out what he did in the time frame and how he got to NZ and when. After the army he was a labourer when he had work here in New Zealand.

At this stage i have not done a timeline as such but am in the very early draft stages of writing a family history book with the information i have to date and keep adding to it as i get new information or things become clearer. I think it will take many years to complete if i ever do.....:)

I am loving this journey and only wish i had the money to come back over to IReland, but i will perservere and keep positive and the universe will provide.....hopefully

Thank u for posts. I enjoy the comments you have to share. Who knows... maybe one day we will meet