John McCaffrey

McCaffrey is a common name in Fermanagh and you will need to try and find some parents names (from a marriage or death certificate perhaps) to be sure of finding the right family. For example, in the 1901 census of Fermanagh there were 462 people named McCaffrey (and variant spellings) of whom 43 were named John. There are no earlier complete censuses in Ireland but the numbers named John in the 1820s would probably have been higher, as the population was considerably higher (The population of Ireland was 8 million in 1841. It’s only 6 million today. The decrease is due to emigration and famine related deaths).

Part of the 1821 census for Derryvullan has survived and as I suspect you have already found out, there is this John McCaffrey in it who is of the right age, but as I say without some other identifying information there’s no way of knowing whether it’s the right family.

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1821/Fermanagh/Derryvullan/Boyaghan/8/

I assume John was Catholic. If so, then unfortunately the Derryvullan parish records don’t start till 1846 meaning you won’t be able to search them for his baptism. There are no other comprehensive records for Derryvullan for the early 1800s that you might usefully search.

There was a James McCaffry farming in Boyaghan in the tithe applotment records in 1835, but the records don’t tell us who else lived there.

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/fermanagh/tithe-applotment-books/paris…

There were no McCaffrey households listed in Boyaghan in Griffiths Valuation for 1857, so it looks as though the family had moved away from the area or died out. There was this family there in 1901, but the head of household was an agricultural labourer. Labourers often moved around to follow available work and you couldn’t be sure it was the same McCaffrey family that lived there in the 1820s. (They were living in Lettermoney in 1897 when daughter Sarah Jane was born, so they probably weren’t long term residents of Boyaghan).

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Fermanagh/Irvinestown/…

Possibly DNA testing may be a way of matching with others who have additional information about where the family originate. Family Tree DNA reportedly has more people with Ulster roots than any other company. That obviously increases the chances of finding a match. You might want to try them or, if you have already tested, you can transfer your results to them for no fee.

The North of Ireland Family History Society is running an Ulster DNA project and can offer FTDNA testing kits at a reduced price.  http://www.nifhs.org (Go to DNA project on the website).

Thanks Elwyn. John McCaffrey married Mary Gorman (date and location not yet known). Interesting the James McCaffrey family listed in the census not only included a John McCaffrey of the right age, but it also listed a home servant by the name of Elizabeth Gorman. I am now looking for records of John McCaffrey's marriage to Mary Gorman. Perhaps it will list the parents names.