looking for McGrael

Hi K,

Your request is too broad for us to perform any searches.  Can you give us all the information you have of the person who actually emigrated and we will do our best to search for them here.  I think you need to apply to local birth death and marriage registers to find out more about your grandfather .  Please get back to us when you have some definite information that we can use.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Anne Dennehy

K:

As Anne indicated, we need more information. The more common surname spelling was McGreal and the surname is found in Mayo and Roscommon. We have a volunteer on the message boards who is a McGreal, Hopefully, he will see your message.

Roger McDonnell

Hello K,

With the spelling variation of the name there are a number of possibilities. If I am on the right track with my first guess were your parents Ruth and Robert ?

Patrick McGreal

My parnets are Armile and Edward.  I do know recordkeeping was litte at best and last names were misspelled alot.  If I find anything else, I will post my findings.  

Hello K,

I am pretty certain the family group I have in mind is correct but the names I gave are possibly from another branch. To enable us to take you through the generations as I am unable to identify an Armile from any marriage record I have you will need to expand upon the information you have provided.

I will need the surname if not McGrael and year of birth of your father, the YOB and death for Edward Lawrence McGrael and the maiden name of your mother.

All that I have is a death certificate.  My grandmother, Jennie Byington was born September 13, 1902 and died September 29, 1933.  She married a Joseph Henson date unknown and became Jennie Artie Henson.  Her mother was Margaret Byington from St. Francious, Missouri and her father was Edward L. McGrael born in Pittsburg, PA.  

My father is Edward Euel Henson born 1923.  I have no information for Edward Lawrence McGraell

Hello K,

The family I was thinking of is indeed the same as the one you have pointed out in your reply. Margaret Byingtons parents were a  Samuel Byington and mother Airtle Pinkston I believe.

Your Edward was one of eight from parents Austin McGreal and Margaret McDonald. Austin was born abt 1838. The name Austin with the McGreal families is synonymous with the Westport area of Mayo and is extremely rare amoungst other McGreal families in Mayo or other counties of Ireland.

Parish records for this area will not help us as they date from about 1845. The only saving grace is that when I did research on the McGreal families some years ago I only found 1 record of a marriage with the above details, this being in Scotland with no corresponding births. The Scottish records are particularly good in detailing information and you should be able to narrow down the actual area from their records. My feeling it is the Knappagh area and more specifically Bolleybrian.

You will need to join and subscribe to http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ to get a copy of the record which should contain additional detail to assist you beyond what I have indicated below.

A transcription of the marriage details

First name(s)

Austin

Last name

Mcgreale

Marriage year

1865

Marriage date

05 Jan 1865

Marriage place

Clyde,Glasgow,Lanark,Scotland

Spouse's first name(s)

Margaret

Spouse's last name

Mcdonald

Place

Glasgow

County

Lanarkshire

Country

Scotland

Record set

Scotland Marriages 1561-1910

If it is easier to contact me by email , details are lisaculrosie@outlook.com

Hello K

This would be an uncle of yours http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=72337424

You are amazing!!!  You have helped make sense of patches information that I have been able to find.  

For years, it was understanding that my heritage was American Indian.

About seven years ago, I visited Ireland and when my feet first touched the soil I felt as if I was "home" - that somehow I belonged there.  I figured it was just that "excited visitor in a new place" feeling.  Every vacation after I returned to Ireland to soon realize this feeling has nothinig to do with the pubs, ruins, castles or shoppping but Ireland - the land itself.   I had my DNA done and found out that I am 25% Irish and the rest lands around Ireland.  No wonder when I touch my feet to Ireland's soil I feel at "home" - that the time between vacations nearly disappeasr once I am "home".

As almost all my realtives have past on and American's seem not to embrace their past, it's all about the future you know,  I encourage every one to write down who they are and where they come from - get at all the information they can from their parnets, grand parnets, aunts and uncles - so when some one like me experiences this feeling, lives with this longing, as I did and do - that person will at least know why.

Thanks for all your help.  I will follow contact the websites you have suggested.

Diana

Hello Diana,
 

1. 1. Lawrence 1876 married Maud Johnson

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XFFH-KBC

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=119072584

Maud Johson decd December 1971

1. John 1869 married Mary Shannon

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9PXZ-RZK?mode=g&i=189&wc=9FS9-K68%3A1029257101%3Fcc%3D1589502&cc=1589502

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=132004899

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=132103072

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=137870357

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=mcgrael&GSiman=1&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=45711540&df=all&

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=mcgrael&GSiman=1&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=45711573&df=all&

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=118986769&justMadeEdit=1

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=128260095

Son John P 1906- 27 June 1951

Son Joseph 2 Nov 1914 – Feb 1972 (Married twice Grace Darling Foster and Helen Vitaro)

1. 3. Michael 11 Aug 1879 – 9 Sep 1935 married a Katherine (maiden ?)

Son James 09 November 1920    25 May 1994

1. 4. Martin  1866 – No further information
2. 5. Edward 1868 married Margaret Byington

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK9L-Q37V

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=43034647

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=43035095

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=mcgrael&GSiman=1&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=91740534&df=all&

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=80257517

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=123531602

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=52217922

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=52218632

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=123530645

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=mcgrael&GSiman=1&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=43034530&df=all&

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=mcgrael&GSiman=1&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=52222353&df=all&

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=mcgrael&GSiman=1&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=48397921&df=all&

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=mcgrael&GSiman=1&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=43034765&df=all&

1. Daughter Margaret 1871– No further information
2. 7. Son Austin 1873– No further information
3. 8. Daughter Mary 1880– No further information

 I would appreciate it if you could share the information from the Scottish people site as I may be able to identify additional connections in Ireland and the US related to the Austin who left Ireland back in the 1860’s.

I am not connected to this family and only identified the bones of the tree and you may want to add further details and flesh out your connection to the McGreal family in the coming years.From my own records some information I retained are detailed below. I have attached the 1880 census with the family complete and the census from 1900 with the Bynington and McGrael family identified in Missouri.

Where I show ‘’ No further information’’, this merely means I may have a partial tree for these individuals but have not definitively identified them as connected to Austin and Margaret (McDonald) McGrael so have not included them.

The Find a Grave memorials I have included are extended family connected to the child of Austin and Margaret.

Hope this fires up your enthusiasm to continue your research.

This is what I can piece togeher for now and futher research will have to wait until much later for now.

Austin and Magaret McGrael were both from Ireland.  They settled in Pittsburg, PA where he was a  laborer. Pittsburg at that time had a lot of steel mills, mines  and railroads which hired many Irish.  They had at least six children.  One was Edward McGrael ( my great grandfather) who married married Margaret Byington (my great grandmother) in Missouri.  People, average not rich people, did not freely travel back then. PIttsburg to Missouri are thousands of miles. Edward McGrael  may have been a railroad worker accounting for his travel to Missouri. Or maybe he was a miner as Bonne Terre, Missouri had a lot of lead mines. Or possibly he was caught up in part of the military service.  Regardles, he must have been a real handsome charmer as Missouri people are a stubborn people and do not take to srangers easily. But, he did marry Margaret and they had a girl, Jennie McGrael (my grandmother ) who married Joseph Henson (my grandfather)  They had a child, Edward Henson (my father).   I never met Jennie as she died young.

I first starting looking into this because I was trying to establish Irish duo citzenship.  I have been told a mother/father or a grandparent with a well documented Irish history is what the Irish government would accept.  I will keep lookinig but a well documented history I think may not be possible.

If my father was 25% Irish as his mother was 50% Irish then how can I be 25% Irish?  As DNA is an indvidual thing - maybe whatever Irish there was on my fathers side and possibly my mothers side just decided to stay with me.  Or maybe there are family secrets I will never know.  Either way, what I feel and long for will never change 

Thanks for your help.  I'll keep you posted if I find anything Scotish site.

Diana

If Patrick McGreal is out there.... I am related to the "other" Edward Joseph  Mc Grael, born 11/23/97 in Pittsburgh (my parents are Robert and Ruth).  I am doing some history on the family.  I am aware of Austin and Margaret marriage you referenced above.  One question....can anyone tell me where Knappagh or Bolleybrian are located?  I will be in Scotland later this month and would like to visit.  Second, my family records show Austin's parents as Julia Lyden and Lawrence McGrail.  I do not have any birth dates or history on these people.  Any suggestions on getting information on them?  Third, my Grandfather's ( Edward Joseph McGrael) Mother was Mary Magelein Shannon McGrael.  She was born in Pittsburgh, but both her parents were born in Ireland and I would love to trace their history.  Her Mother's name was Julia Kennedy Shannon, born 1842 in Ireland, died 1882 in Pittsburgh.  Her Father's name was Patrick (middle name was either Joseph or initial A), born in Ireland  in 1840.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  

Thank you very much

5377:

Patrick McGreal has not been on our message boards for about a year.

Roger

Thank you 5377 for you added information.  You said you are aware of Austin and Margaret do you know more than what has been posted?  Such a puzzle indeed.  Hope your trip was a good one.  Diana