Joseph Dodds And Violet McKee

Janet,

You say that you assume Joseph and Violet?s marriage will be in Boardmills 1^st church because that?s where their children were baptised. Not necessarily so. Tradition was to marry in the bride?s church, so unless they both happened to attend the same church, the marriage could well be at another church. But if they did marry in Boardmills 1^st, there is unfortunately a gap in that church?s marriage records between 1814 and 1823, which might be crucial in your case.

Do any of their childrens baptisms contain a townland (address)? If so, how does that compare with the address on the marriage you have found for Martin on the marriage cert? Also what was Joseph?s occupation given as on the marriage certificate? That may help find him. (His occupation should also appear on son James? death certificate if he died in Scotland. Does that tie in?).

Looking at the statutory marriage records for the years 1845 to 1865, I can see 3 marriages for Martin Dodds whose father was Joseph. One in 1859 in Co Down and 2 others in Co Antrim in 1856 & 1863. I see a marriage for a David in Co Down in 1854 and Andrew in 1865, and 2 Roberts in 1856 & 1864 (Antrim & Armagh). Father?s name Joseph in all cases. Can?t see anything for Margaret. Nor can I see a marriage between James Dodds and Jane McGrory.

You can view transcripts on the UHF site: http://www.ancestryireland.com

Or you can view the originals on the GRONI site for ?2 each: https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk

Elwyn

Elwyn

Hi Elwyn

All I have on the children's births are transcripts from the Ancestry.co.uk.  ie: James Dodds details as follows:-
James Dodds

Birth Date:
30 Jul 1824

Birth Place:
Presbyterian, Boardmills, Down, Ireland

Father's Name:
Joseph Dodds

Mother's name:
Violet Mc Kee

FHL Film Number:
823750  

Not sure how to obtain the info from the file numbers - will try the genii.nidirect site that you have suggested above.

His Father Joseph was a weaver in Ireland (As stated on James' Death certificate).  When James came to Scotland he went into the coalmines.

Re Martin Dodds, I have assumed, probably incorrectly again that he married Agnes Oswald in Downpatrick in 1863 my reasoning behind this assumption is that they had a Daughter named Violet so again not sure of this info.Violet was born on 24Mar 1870 in Annahilt, Down, Ireland.  FHL Film Number 101200

Not sure where to go from here.

Janet

From the dates you have, the baptism records seem likely to relate to Boardmills 1^st Presbyterian church. It might be worth going through those records to see if there is any additional information re the family eg a townland, or occupation. They don?t appear to be on-lien anywhere, so you may need to get someone to look them up in PRONI for you. Either that or order the copy from LDS, to your nearest LDS library.

I?d be inclined to look at the various Martin Dodds marriages to see if the groom?s townland was anywhere near Boardmills, and also whether the father?s occupation was weaver. That way you may be able to decide which is the right one. It might also give some more information about the family.

I have to say that tracing weavers is notoriously difficult. They often moved about, to follow the work (weaving was generally a part-time occupation, supplemented by a bit of labouring work) and weren?t always listed in Griffiths Valuation etc. (I have searched Griffiths for Joseph Dodds in Killaney parish but none is listed).