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My ggrandfather was Joseph Welch born c1848 to Thomas Welch and Ellen Bright.

Joseph emigrated to the US and landed in Connecticut then removed to Springfield, Massachusetts.

He married Bridget Millerick who was born in Ballynona, which is near Cork. Have no idea of the marriage date or whether they married in IRE or met in the US after each emigrated here.

Have no information on any siblings or date of emigration.

Any help is appreciated!

Herself44

Tuesday 8th Apr 2014, 07:24PM

Message Board Replies

  • Good Afternoon

    Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out and apologies for the delay in replying to your message.

    Unfortunately, it may be difficult to find information without a more specific place of origin. Most Irish record sources- church records, land records, census records- are based on specific locations. Until you know a specific location within Ireland, preferably a parish or placename, it may be difficult to do anything more with these records.

    Do you have any documentation pertaining to the family that mentions any place names at all? This can include wills, marriage/death records, census records, letters, diary entries etc. Have you tried searching Ancestry.com for any mention of your ancestor?s name in member family trees or messages? Ancestry is also hosting ?webinars? on their site. The latest focuses on how to use Irish records when you do not know where your ancestor is from.

    There are some places where you can search online, however these websites do not have complete collections and many do not cover the period after 1900:

    www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.

    http://churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/ have begun a project to upload Irish church records to their site free of charge. However, so far only Counties Dublin, Kerry, Carlow and parts of Cork have been covered.

    If it turns out that your ancestor(s) is not from Cork, you could also search: www.rootsireland.ie who have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.

    Other important sources include the Tithe Applotment Books and Griffith?s Valuation. Even though these sources only record the head of the household, the information is very important and can be valuable:

    Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1837): http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/index.jsp

    Griffith?s Valuation (1847-1864): http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/

    The National Archives of Ireland: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/  you can search the 1901/1911 Census on the National Archives page too, for instances of the family name at that time

    Remember to post any new information that you find here. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.

    Best of luck with your search

    Clare Doyle

    Genealogy Support  

    Monday 14th Apr 2014, 01:32PM
  • Thank you, Clare for the advice and information. It may take a while, but I will certainly post an update when I have new information.

    Until then, be well.

    Herself44

    Monday 14th Apr 2014, 11:23PM
  • It's been some time since I posted my last message. Alas, I've not advanced much in learning about Joseph Welch.

    However, I have found information on his bride, Bridget Millerick. She was baptised 13 January 1850 in Ballynona, County Cork. Sponsors were James Fitzgibbon and Ellen Callahan. Her parents were Michael Millerick (b1820) and Margaret Fitzgibbon (1825-1900).

    Now, where Bridget and Joseph were married, I do not know. However, by 1868, they were married and had their first child, Ellen Jane Welch, born in the USA at Cromwell, Middlesex County, Connecticut.

    So, if anyone has a suggestion as to where to check next (have already looked at Griffith, the Tithe and in the National Archives), I'd much appreciate hearing from you.

    Thanks!

    Herself44

    Friday 24th Feb 2017, 12:36AM
  • Hi,

    Ballynona is part of the parish of Imogeela and Bridgets baptism is on page 87 of the baptismal register for Imogeela available to view at Catholic Parish Registers@nli. There is a William baptised to the same parents on 21-12-1847 on page 74. There may be others but i did not look very much.

    The wedding if it took place in Ireland you would expect it to take place in the ladys parish but i could not find it in the marriage register for Imogeela on the same site but some are very hard to read.

    It could be in Midleton parish as Ballynona would be very close to the border of bot parishes.

    Have you checked the different census in the States as they usually give a lot of information. 

    Another good source is the graveyard and headstone readings. Also check Joseph under Walsh as well as Welch as that would be the usual spelling for the name here.

    Let me know if you find out anything more.

    Regards for now. Anne.

    Anne O'Neill, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Saturday 25th Feb 2017, 10:24PM

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