Tullamore McDonalds

Brenda,

I looked in the tithe applotment records (c 1820s). I did spot a John McDonnell farming 6 acres in Tullamore townland, which is in the civil parish of Kilbride, RC parish of Tullamore. McDonnell is of course a common variant of McDonald. In fact it’s more common in Ireland than the “ald” version.

http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp

In Griffiths Valuation 1854, there was Bridget McDonnell living there on plot 28b, which was a house and small garden, on Robert Devrell’s farm. There were no McDonald/ell households in the townland by the time of the 1901 census.

Tullamore RC parish’s records start in 1810 (with gaps). They are on-line free on the National Library site:

http://registers.nli.ie/parishes

Thank you Elwyn. I appreciate the effort you made! 

The problem is that my McDonalds were not Catholic, but Methodists. Afrer they arrived in Canada they went even further away to the right wing, joining the Plymouth Brethren. This has made Irish research difficult, as you may imagine. But I'll keep plugging away at this. Thanks and cheers,

Brenda Turner

Brenda,

Methodism took a lot longer to become established as a separate denomination in Ireland than was the case in England. In Ireland there was considerable resistance to separating from the Church of Ireland. It was 1816 before Methodists could conduct their own baptisms. However because of the continuing loyalty to the Church of Ireland and other factors, many Methodists continued to use the Church of Ireland for sacraments for many years after this date and it was 1871 before all Methodists routinely performed their own baptisms.

For marriages, the earliest ceremonies conducted by a Methodist Minister that I am aware of in Ireland, date from 1835 (Belfast Donegall Square). However in the mid 1800s there were only a few Methodist Ministers (Methodism relied heavily on lay preachers). So the shortage of Ministers contributed to the continuing practice of marrying in the Church of Ireland.

So to summarise, you are unlikely to find any Methodist baptisms much before 1830. Few marriages before the 1840s and only a few for many years after that. If there are no Methodist records in the location you are interested in, I would search the Church of Ireland instead, as that’s the most likely place to find the relevant event.

My guide to Church of Ireland records says that Kilbride, Tullamore baptism, marriages and burials start in 1805 and that the only copies are still held by the Rector of the parish. So you would need to contact him regarding looking for your family. Be aware that the Church of Ireland normally charges for such research.

http://ireland.anglican.org/information/dioceses/parish/15390

I knew most of that, and thank you again Elwyn. Your comments take me back into more family history about this family group. I do have records of baptisms of some of William McDonald's children in the Church of Ireland  in Tullamore, including that of my gr grandmother Maria McDonald. However, it appears that William was in the British Army for many years, and there is no conclusive evidence that he was even born in Ireland. I have obtained one record of army service for a William McDonald which could be for our William, and if it is him, he enlisted in Scotland, originally. There is no conclusive batismal record that any of my cousins, all of us searching madly, have ever been able to locate in Scottish records. The only oral history we have is of William's son John McDonald talking about having been a child in County Kildare. That came from a direct descendant of John's, who I discovered by chance through ancestry last year. So I have searched Kildare records endlessly as well hoping to find any evidence of residence there, anywhere.

There is also some evidence that one of sons, William John McDonald, also saw army service, and some that both of them de-mobbed in Ireland. I have located a record for a marriage between what my be William John's marriage to a local Irish girl in the Tullamore area, for which right now I am having one heck of a time finding the surname. I do recall, however, that her father was an army captain. That all fits together nicely as a theory. There is a record of William John passing away at an early age, however, probably long after his father and the rest of the family had left for Canada. His burial was reported, again in Tullamore.

So again I am stuck. You seem to be a brilliant and experienced researcher. While I have been doing this for over 15 years now, it was only about two years ago that I began to seriously look for Irish records. So on that I am pretty green. And it was only on discovering that distant cousin last year that we had any idea of what general area the family had lived in. Hence, stuck. Could you put your brain to any more advice for where I should look next? Many thanks Elwyn,

Brenda Turner

Brenda,

If William John spoke of being in Kildare as a child, and his father was in the army at that time, then my guess is he was stationed at the big army camp at the Curragh. I think the parish for that is Ballysax. Ballysax’s Church of Ireland baptisms start in 1830, marriages 1841 and burials 1834. According to my catalogue, there’s copies in the RCB library in Dublin and in the National Archives in Dublin. I don’t think they are on-line anywhere.

If you know which regiment William was in, you could check the regimental diaries to see if they were based in Ireland at the times you expect. It will normally tell you where too.

You could try GRO in Southport (in England) to see if they have any birth records for the children. Though statutory birth registration in England & Wales started in 1837, they do have army birth and marriage records prior to that back to the 1700s, for births overseas. I think they need to know the regiment to search that for you. Log on, and search for overseas and military births. It gives more information there:

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/

Also if you have been searching Scottish records, bear in mind the following: Birth registration there started in 1855. Prior to that, as with Ireland, you need to rely on church records. You say the family were Methodists. The Scotlandspeople site only has Church of Scotland (ie Presbyterian) and RC records. No Episcopalian (ie Anglican) or Methodist records. So if the MacDonalds were of either of those denominations, the records are not on-line. (And without a place of birth, I am not sure how you would go about searching for them).

Fantastic! I thought an experienced researcher like yourself could come up with some ideas I had not thought of!

I can check the service records I found for William's regiment, and search for diaries. I had not thought of that!

I also had not thought of GRO records for army births! Though I have mined all the pre-1855 marriage and birth records in Scotland I could find! But you are quite right, no other denominations are online in Scotlands People. Hell's bells, I should buy shares in Brightsolid. Now where to hunt for those .... thank you so much Elwyn.

Incidentally, that is a forename I have not come across often, but my Scottish Peterkin cousin in Canada's father was another Elwyn, usually called Pete, though. I hope to travel up to Scotland this summer and visit the birthplace of my Peterkin cousin's 4 X gr grandfather in Nairn. On I go .....! Many thanks again,

Brenda

Hello Brenda

My name is Geraldine Smith and I am originally from near Tullamore.  The good news is that Tullamore is full of McDonalds - business people and residential peoplle.  But I did come across this piece below about Methodists in Tullamore.  My one suggestion to you would be to cantact Offaly History which is based in Tullamore and they are very good for helping out with research.  Also when you visit Tullamore go to the County Library in Tullamore and they have extensive collections on Local History (complete section).  

The first Methodist Church in Tullamore was built in 1788 and Methodists have been in Tullamore since 1747 (I believe)

Link below to some information on Churches in Tullamore.

https://www.offalyhistory.com/reading-resources/history/tullamore-histor

Contact details fro Tullamore

Minister(s): Rev Clodagh Yambasu: 057 9120200

Address: 

Church Street

Tullamore

Co. Offaly

Services: 

Sunday worship at 12noon

This is some information on a book launched a few years ago in Tullamore

So civil a people
So civil a people – Methodists in the Midlands is the title of a book written by Rev Dudley Levistone Cooney inspired by the journals of John Wesley describing his many visits to the Midlands in the 18th century, particularly Offaly towns and villages. These are important chronicles from a period in our history for which there is limited source material available. The book was published by the Society. It retails at €15 and is available at the Research Centre and bookshops.
The launch was performed by Minister of State, Mr Tom Parlon T.D. in the Methodist church hall, Church Street, Tullamore. There was a particularly large attendance. Our thanks to the Methodist community for providing such a fine facility and for the refreshments afterwards.

Geraldine

www.offalyhistory.com

is the link for the Historical Society.

Geraldine

That is terrific advice Geraldine. I have been to the Tullamore Offaly History people and they were terrific. I did not think of the County LIbrary, DUH!!! but will go the next time I visit.

I spent a few days in the National Library and the National Archives in Dublin, and did go through most of the book you recommended. And just about anything else which mentioned either Tullamore, Scots, or Methodists.

I am hoping to get back in the next few weeks. No matter how long I spent in Ireland, it did not feel like enough. Many thanks.

Brenda