I am trying to locate a record of my great-great grandmother, and her parents. Her name was Bridget Carr (or Corr, depending on the source). She was born about 1818 at Rice's Cross, also called Rice's Bridge, approximately 5 km west of Dundalk on R178. Her parents were Patrick Carr (Corr) and Catherine Quinn. Her mother died when Bridget was young and she lived with her aunts. She tended sheep near Slieve Gullion mountain. She left for Canada with another family, probably in the 1830's. I have looked through the online parish records for Dundalk but have not found a record, but some of the pages are hard to read, so I may have missed it. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
Go raibh maith agat
Thursday 8th Dec 2016, 05:12PM
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Based on the c1890 OSI map, Ricescross (Railway) Bridge is primarily in Carnroe townland, which is part of Dunbin civil parish. The corresponding Catholic Parish was known as Kilcurley, Haggardstown or "Union of Kilcurley, or Haggardstown/Hagerstown", after the locations of the two chapels for the parish. A number of other civil parishes were also included in this Catholic Parish i.e. Ballybarrack, Barronstown, Haggardstown, Haynestown and Philipstown (Upper Dundalk).
Baptism and marriage records for the parish go back to the 1750s, although there are probably gaps see : NLI Film 5594
Shane Wilson, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘
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Thank you very much for the information about the parishes. I will check those records to see if I can find any trace of the family.
Go raibh maith agat.
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Peadar
I searched on a subscription site and found a Bridgit Corr born June 1818 but the parents are John Corr and Margaret Byrne and it is in Kilsaran, near where the previous volunteer found the place but the next parish, Kilsaran is about 10 kms south of Dundalk.
If you enter here http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0224 and select baptisms and 1818 then June and apply it is the first on top of the left hand page. Parents do not match your query though.
Corr is not actually that common a name in Louth, there is an interesting site here about Louth http://www.jbhall.freeservers.com/ The Wild Goose Lodge Murders (recently a film for Netflix) occurred circa 1815 near where you are searching and there is a bit about it on this site if you are interested.
You mention Slieve Gullion, this is in neighbouring County Down and now in Northern Ireland, do you know the name of the family there she went to, there are good sites for County Down on the genealogical front.
There is a Corr family in Dromiskin in Griffiths in 1854 which is close to your search area also, this site only gives 3 Corr hits but 42 Carr. A few in your area also. http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
Regards
PatSt Peters Louth, IrelandXO Volunteer
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Hello Pat. Thank you very much for all the research you did. I certainly appreciate it. What I know of my great great grandmother's family in Ireland comes from a one page history written by her granddaughter (Margaret) who lived with her grandmother when she was a young girl. She wrote the story in her later life, remembering the stories her grandmother had told her. The history was written about 80 or 90 years ago and I have no way to verify its accuracy. According to her history, her grandmother's surname was Corr, which is contradicted by Ontario, Canada church records which record it as Carr. Her father's name was Patrick, and her mother's name was Catherine Quinn. Catherine's father's name was Michael Quinn, and there were 2 sisters, Sally and Annie. Sally and Annie raised Bridget after her mother died. They lived 7 miles from Newry, County Armagh, near Slieve Gullion. At age 12 she started hearing sheep for a family named McDemott, and when the family moved to Canada, she came with them.
I spent last evening checking the church records in Kilcurley and Haggardstown, but with no luck. I did find the Corr surname, but not with a matching given name.
I visited Ricesbridge (Ricescross) on one of my trips to Ireland. On my next trip I hope to visit more locations where my ancestors lived.
Thank you for your suggestions and I will follow up on them. I'll also check out the movie you mentioned.
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Peadar
as you were here you probably know Newry is in County Down with County Armagh to the west, however Slieve Gullion is to the east of Newry (there is a restored steam engine train called Slieve Gullion, humour me I like trains).
I looked up Griffiths above for McDermott in Down and got 11 hits I think with 4 in Kilkeel which I think is Slieve Gullion territory, also I Corr here. I know a Corr from this area but do not htink any of them have done genealogy.
Changing the Corr to Carr is understandable but I have Carr ancestry and they often use Kerr, sometimes in the same generation in different years. A friend of mine from college years runs a website on Carrs, again no relation but he has gathered lists of Carrs here http://www.reunitedfamily.com/ Also for County Down http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rosdavies/ Check out Carr and McDermott here too.
Regards
PatSt Peters Louth, IrelandXO Volunteer
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Dia duit Pat. Once again, thank you for taking the time to look up information for me. I truly appreciate it. I have been searching church records for the parishes near Slieve Gullion. Looking through the records from Creggan Upper parish, starting in 1796, I have found quite a few records for Quin(n), a number for Carr, and even a few for Corr. That gives me some encouragement that I may be looking in the right area. Thank you for the links to websites in your last reply, which may be of help. I will certainly check them out. I hope the weather were you are is nicer than where I am. I have had snow 9 out of the last 10 days and the temperatures are heading to -20 C later this week.
Slan, Peadar
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After hours of searching NLI Catholic Church records, I finally located the family. They were in the parish of Creggan Upper, which straddles the County Louth - County Armagh border. I will post further queries for this family in that parish. Thank you Pat for taking the time to respond to my posts.
Peadar