DEVLIN of Londonderry (Possibly Kilcronaghan Civil Parish)

Unfortunately the RC church records for KIlcronaghan (parish of Desertmartin & Kilcronaghan) only start in 1848, so if that’s where John & Bridget came from, you won’t find a record of their baptisms or of their parents marriage.

The 1831 census for Co. Londonderry has 18 Patrick Devlins & 2 widow Devlins. None in Kilcronaghan though).  http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie

The Patrick Devlin in the 1841 Scottish census might be a possible source of further information. If he remained in Scotland it’d be worth checking later censuses in case he gave a more specific place of birth than Ireland. And Scottish death certificates contain both parents names, occupations and indicate whether they were still alive, all of which might help you. If Patrick died in Scotland that might help you.

Death registration started in Ireland in 1864. You could try searching the post 1864 deaths for Patrick or Bridget in Co. Londonderry in case you can find one that fits. There’s about 10 Bridget deaths in the county, in the period 1864 – 1890. Only those after 1878 are on-line free at the moment. For the others you would need to buy a copy of the certificate.

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/

Elwyn,   thanks for your reply and for checking the records.   I will revisit your suggested resources.   The Patrick listed in teh Scottish census could be a brother, not old enough to be father.  Thank you for clarifying if and where records may be located.  

Thanks again

Kathy

Yes I took the Patrick in Scotland to be a brother, not the father.  If the father was a farmer, he likely remained on the family farm till his death. That's what most farmers did. And the farm would then go to the eldest son.

PRONI have 9 Patrick Devlin probate files for Patricks who were farmers, lived in Co. Londonderry and died 1858-1900. You might want to look at them in case any contains clues.

OK great! Thanks.   Since both John and Bridget referred to their father as "Patrick"  do you think that and of themany derivations of the name would have been used for him?  Also, Would the naming pattern usually be first born son named after paternal grandfather? 

Kathy

Kathy,

Patrick would be referred in official records as Patrick but in earlier records such as the 1831 census and the tithe applotment records, I would also try Pat and Patk. With the 1831 census I just search under Pat* which allows for all the permutations.

There was a tradition of naming children according to the following rules:

The 1st son was usually named after the father's father

  The 2nd son was usually named after the mother's father

   The 3rd son was usually named after the father

    The 4th son was usually named after the father's eldest brother

     The 5th son was usually named after the mother's eldest brother

 The 1st daughter was usually named after the mother's mother

  The 2nd daughter was usually named after the father's mother

   The 3rd daughter was usually named after the mother

    The 4th daughter was usually named after the mother's eldest sister

     The 5th daughter was usually named after the father's eldest sister

The problem with relying too heavily on naming patterns is that, apart from the fact that not all families followed it, there are lots of things that can upset it. Common ones that I have encountered are:

when the father and either of the grandparents have the same name. So you obviously can’t really have two or even three sons all with the same name, so a different name is needed though some families did actually use the same name again on the birth certificate, but differentiated with another more informal name for day to day use. So if you had two Georges (as per birth certs) you just called one of them something else eg Simon;

if a child dies young, then it was common practice to re-use the name for the next birth. And if you don’t know about the death, your analysis of who they were named after could be completely wrong;

Or if a close relative had just died and their name was used out of respect.

I have also noticed that many families liked to name the odd child after the local Minister/Priest, schoolteacher or a relative with no children of their own.

Sometimes people were christened with one name, but went by a different one (and would appear in censuses and other records by that alternative name), eg Henry & Harry or Ann & Nancy.

So for all these reasons, whilst tradition says, for example, that the 4th son was named after the father's eldest brother, it isn’t always so.

Elwyn - thanks. I agree about not counting on the pattern, but I think it's been helpful in separating whole family groups of Devlins.... there's a bunch with Bernard and other names completely unlike our bunch, which has used the same names over and over again.  Wish it was the Bernard bunch - easier to identify!

Kathy