Bleakney SMITH

Dear Maxine

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out. There won't be a birth record for anyone in Ireland prior to 1864 when civil birth registration was introduced. I haven't been able to locate the baptism record on a search of transcriptions of parish records. Can you tell us where you got your info?

Even after 1864 there are gaps as parents were slow to register births with the State. If your ancestor was Roman Catholic you can see if the baptism has been digitised here: http://registers.nli.ie

If you ancestors was Church of Ireland you may find the original baptism record by contacting the parish church at the link below:

http://ireland.anglican.org/information/dioceses/parish/16890

Best wishes

Clare Doyle

Genealogy Support  

Bleakney smith died in township Culross, Bruce county, Ontario, Canada. Im assuming that the family fled due to the potato famine? 

It appears to me, from looking at records for Bleakney Smith in Ancestry.com, that he was a Methodist when he was living in Canada.

There were very definitely Methodists living in the Rathkeale area. I'm under the impression that some of the German Palatines became Wesleyan Methodists.

Unfortunately, I have no idea where to find birth records for Methodists living in the Rathkeale area. Does anyone else know?

I found this in the Family Search Rathkeale Civil Parish page online:

"Embury & Heck Memorial Methodist Church, Ballingrane.
Built in 1766, it is the last remaining Methodist place of worship in the Rathkeale area. Originally one of three churches built to serve the needs of the local Palatines after many of them became involved with the Methodist movement. It was later extensively renovated and dedicated to the memories of Philip Embury and Barbara Heck, two Palatines responsible for the beginning of the Methodist Church in America. Today this church at Ballingrane serves the local Methodist community which is almost exclusively Palatine."

By my reckoning, the Embury & Heck Memorial Methodist Church is about two miles from Rathkeale.

You might try contacting Limerick Genealogy. However, according to this page on genealogical resources, the Methodist records they hold only go back to 1824. https://www.limerickgenealogy.eu/genealogical-sources/ You can contact Limerick Genealogy at their email address: research@limerickgenealogy.com

Elizabeth Neill