Researching the Clarke family

Joyce:

Welcome to Ireland Reachin Out!

We have a very knowledgeable volunteer about 25 miles further south from Dundalk in Co. Louth. I will alert him regarding your query to see if he can assist.

Roger

Hi Joyce

I will come back to your query later in more detail, the Irish Catholic Registers are now online but without an exact date are a difficult read, see http://registers.nli.ie/ I wll look up a subscription site later for you.

Also an interesting site about Louth but with no certificates is http://www.jbhall.freeservers.com/ 

As the full census is not available for those years we should try to find the certs for herself and her brother Henry. Clarke is one of those names that occurs in most counties so difficult, my mother in law was a Clark (no "e") born in Dundalk but about 20 miles in another direction on the opposite side of Dundalk.

Why she left is anybodys guess but this was just 3 years after the famine ended in which 1 million died and another 3 million left so leaving was and indeed still is an option taken up.

I live in Drogheda about 15 miles south of Kilsaran and it was a major port for emigration at the time, mainly to Liverpool, there would be no travel records as it was all one country at the time.

On this site in 1854 there was a Clarke in Kilsaran, also gives a little map of the area http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameS… As we are undure if these are your Clarkes we cannot take it this is a relation.

Will search a bit later for you.

Regards

Pat

Joyce

I found a Margaret Clarke baptised 28th April 1838 with a farther Jas Clarke and mother Mary Cassidy (spelled Cassedy) in Darver Parish which is beside Kilsaran, check NLI registers, I can see two baptisms on that date in the Darver ledger but I cannot read them and doubt you could either but you can apply the filters to get the corrrect page.

I also found a Henry Clarke died Ardee in 1882 aged 50 so born circa 1832, could your man have returned to Ireland, there is a major hospital in Ardee, very old but still used as a psychiatric hospital, you can obtain a copy of a civil death certificate for hom and it might be interesting to see where he lived and who identified him if he died at home, if in hospital he would be identified by the hospital staff. The short certificate, just a photo copy of the ledger entry costs €4 which is less than $5, you have to apply by post but they will email you the cert if you wish, let me know and I will give you the address.

Also here in 1829 there is a Patrick Clarke in Kilsaran but really you need to be sure they are your Clarke's before searching definitely. There are also a number of Clarkes in Drumcar which is the next parish to Kilsaran to the south.

I will see if I can find a William Clarke also and let you know.

Regards

Pat