Johnson and Corbally in Drogheda, Louth

Hello Jen, you appear to have done a lot of research, it appears that the family may be catholic, this is important as the records pre 1864 the start of civil registration for every one, Protestant marriages commenced in 1845 for registration.

There are two St Peters in Drogheda an RC and a Church of Ireland, the latter have their records on line free.

To start I think the Rose Walk is Rope Walk, in St Peters Parish. There are various Rose names, as in Rose Cottage etc but most in St Mary's Parish. Drogheda is divided by the Boyne river and the north side is St Peters in the diocese of Armagh, your interest and south of the River is St Mary's in the diocese of Meath.

St Peters baptisms start in 1744 with gaps to 1804 and then the killer gap for you is btween 1804 and 1815 so your required baptism may be missing. See https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0211 

There is a site here that records things for County Louth and Corbally is a big hit so assume Corbally it is. Corballis is a place name in various places and the two nearest Drogheda are in County Meath, around 10 Km away. There is also a Corbollis in Louth, north east of Ardee. See https://www.townlands.ie/louth/ and about Louth is here. http://www.jbhall.freeservers.com/index.html 

I see the two baptisms you found but no others on Roots Ireland but no suitable marriage, two Rose Corbally marriages but none Johnston and both in Meath, one to a Meade after 1840 and one to a McDaniel in 1829. 

Other than Corbally the other names you mention are still about to my knowledge, Corbally may be too, just I do not know any. There is a public house near what was Rope Walk now Bothar Bruagh at the juncition of Georges Street, North Road and Windmill road if you want to look at Google Streetview. There may be some grave inscriptions for Cord Cemetery which I will look up later. St Peters and St Marys cemeteries only opened in the early 1900s, you may see on the Louth site that the correct Johnstons are buried in a particular graveyard. I also see there is a Johnson in the Louth Militia if for any reason you think they are your one I have some info on them but cannot post it as I assume it is copyright of the author. I also see there is a Johnson in Termonfeckin and there is a website for there too http://www.termonfeckinhistory.ie/index.html 

There were two Ropewalks so we still have one can post info on them if you wish, have the book Towns and Lanes of Drogheda by Jim McGarry.

Pat

Jen, as I could not locate a marriage it occurs to me it may have been in St Mary's where marriage records only commence in 1870. How ever I could find no Corbally's living there circa 1854 assuming Rose's parents were still alive. Griffiths valuation shows a James Johnson in Yellowbatter in St Peter when you search under St Peter's parish, oddly if you search under County rather than Louth you get some Corbally living in St Peters near enough Rope Walk area but these are leaps of faith.http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=nameS…;

I could not find a death certificate for Rose but there is one for a James Johnson age 84 in 1874 in Drogheda but I am unable ot view the certificate, it may become available in the next year free to view online but you can purchase a ledger copy for €4 and they will mail it so if he died at home you would see who was present but if in the workhouse or elsewhere you would only get who was there unless it was a family member. See https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/ The church records for the area are not there but click on civil and sign in, there is no charge.

The Louth website I sent you lists a number of headstones for James Johnson but no year only the graveyard, I will check to see if I have any relevant records. 

Pat

Hi Pat,

Thanks so much for your reply and for the information and links, it's greatly appreciated.

I can confirm that Mary Johnson/Johnston was a Catholic and her parents lived in Rope Walk...sorry for the typo.

The James Johnson who died in Drogheda in 1874 could be my 3 x great grandfather and I'll order the ledger copy.

In 2017 I ordered the death certificate for a Rose Johnston who died on 11 Jul 1871 aged 57 in Knockbawn, Termonfeckin and the informant was Patrick Johnston, same address.  Her age at death gives an approx. birth year of 1814 which doesn't match the baptismal entry for Rose Corbally in 1817 so I don't think this is the right Rose.

I also saw a death entry for a Patrick Johnston who died 16 Dec 1906 aged 67 in Garvala, Termonfeckin, which gives him an approx. birth year of 1839 which fits nicely between Mary in 1837 and James in 1843 but I have nothing to confirm if these Termonfeckin Johnstons were mine or not.

I found this entry in the Griffith's Valuations in St. Peter's Parish, Drogheda in 1851 -

MONEYMORE; Magdalene Street; No. 71; James Johnston Occupier; Elizabeth Warren Immediate Lessor; Tenement Description - house and small garden (in rere).

I had a look at Google maps and there was a Rope Walk between Bolton and Magdalene Streets so could this be where my James and Rose Johnson were living in 1866?

Once again thank you for your help and advice and I'll explore the links today.

Kind regards,

Jen.

Hi Jen, there are a surprising number of Johnson and Corbally names around back then. Cannot figure why the sibling baprtism is not showing up but will try later again, it may be the mother went to her parents for the childbirth and baptism took place there and that parish has no records but in Louth they were fairly good at it. 

The current Rope Walk you are looking at is I think not the original, according to the book if you look at the 1854 map it is shown where Bothar Brugha is now, this was developed in the 1930s for housing. The current one is mentioned from about that time. By hte way Bothar is gaelic for road. Brugha is the surname of a patriot.

There are two Facebook pages that might interest you, Drogheda Down Memory Lane which is old stuff on Drogheda, old to some people is pre 2000 but there are very old pictures if you look far enough. There is also a lost family version DDDML Lost Family and there is also a Louth Genealogy Facebook page. On FB genealogy queries go down the page very quick so unless you get a quick answer some has to search the name but no harm in trying.

The Griffiths Valuation comes with map icons so you can see the plot number and find it but not an easy project to manipulate, the bar at the top right brings the map to the present day. It works well in rural areas as there is not much change but not so much in urban areas. Maps can be viewed here also https://www.osi.ie/ and some digital photos of Drogheda here at the National Library site. http://catalogue.nli.ie/Search/Results?lookfor=&type=AllFields&submit=F… Any photos with the viaduct are post 1854, Drogheda was a very busy port at this point and the likely starting point if they sailed to Australia from Liverpool. The train service commenced in 1844 so could easily get to Dublin. There is a good picture of the docks on the page of DDML. 

Regards

Pat

Hi Pat,

Thanks for all the information and help and I've been going through all the links yesterday and today and learning more about Drogheda.  I joined Louth Genealogy and Drogheda Down Memory Lane Facebook pages and exploring them today.  I can't find the DDML Lost Family page though.  

Which sibling baptism is not showing up for you?

I've also been exploring the Griffith Valuation maps and trying to get my head around all the streets and locations etc in Drogheda.

I ordered the ledger copy of James Johnson's 1874 death and also for a Patrick Corbally who died in Drogheda in 1873 aged 62 (approx. 1811 birth year).  I also found a marriage for a Patrick Corbally to a Mary Miller in St. Peter's, Drogheda in May 1839.  They had at least two daughters born in St. Peter's - Anne 1840 and Rose Mary in 1841 and I wonder if he was an older brother of Anne Hughes nee Corbally and Rose Johnson nee Corbally. There were two Patrick Corbally's in Griffith's Valuation in 1851 living in Moneymore, one in Bolton Street and the other in Patrick Street.

I was looking at Mary Johnson's depost journal entry record again and there is a column for the name and address of some person of note, to whom reference can be made respecting the emigrants and the person listed for Mary was a Mr. J. Maguire, Bullring, Drogheda.  Mary's age on 09 Aug 1865 was 25 and her age at death on 16 Aug 1923 was 83 - both giving an approx. birth year of 1840 however I can only find the 1837 baptism.  I've attached the deposit journal and immigration record for your info.

Regards,

Jen.

Hi Jen, interesting attachments, hte area around the Bullring has been developed about 30 years ago so is not the same now but beside St Marys Church RC and the St Marys Bridge Crossing.

Moneymore is now better know as a housing area but in reality it is a large townland from the Boyne north and west of Drogheda including the main street,  West Street so if posting just say Rope Walk of Patrick Street etc as most people will think you are referring to small area of Moneymore now referred to as Moneymore.

I was being lazy about the Facebook page it is Drogheda Down Memory Lane - Lost Family, just had a quick look and it is gone a bit quiet, searched for Corbally within the group and got one hit but could not find the reference to Corbally, did not find any referenc to Johnson on it at all.

Hvave been looking at the history of St Peters Church and some little info of a historical note if that interests you the current church dates from 1879 but the previous one on the site whicch your ancestors were attached to was first started in 1186. There is a list of those who worked on the church and while no indication they are relatives there were 4 people 2 Hughes and 2 Johnsons. In 1883 and 1884 James and John Hughes worked as labourers for 2 shillings and 4 pence a day, This would be about €0-15cent now so you work out in your cash. George and Henry Johnson were stone cutters at 4 shillings and 4 pence a day or about €0-25 cent a day. This was 1884. 

I mis read the baptisms and saw the two mentioned. 

I am using Roots Ireland and only see a marriage in 1837 on 21 September of a Patrick Corbally to a Mary Mullen (name local) but cand find no baptism to those parents but the two you refer to as Miller.

To discover if they are all related we would require to see if their fathers name was recorded at the wedding (unlikely) or find the births to see if the same mother  was recorded as well as the same father. Have you an idea of hteir marrriage date or birth dates and I will run a search to see if the parents are the same. 

Regards
pat

Hi Pat,

Thanks for the interesting history re. St. Peter's Church.  Where do you find this type of information?

I think the marriage you found on 21 Sep 1837 for Patrick Corbally and Mary Mullen may be the same one I found trawling through St. Peter's marriage entries at www.registers.nli.ie (see attachment).  My year in 1839 is most likely wrong as the entries are really hard to read and I thought it looked like a 9 but maybe it's a 7?  I've also attached Ann Corbally's 1841 baptism which I think was in March and Rose Mary or Margt Corballys baptism on 29 May 1841.

I've also attached the marriage entry in St. Peter's, Drogheda for Patrick Hughes and Anne Corbally.  On their immigration record on 11 Mar 1841 per ship 'Glenswilly', Patrick's mother Bridget Herrington and Anne's father Patrick Corbally were still living in St. Peters.  Patrick Hughes occupation was listed as a 'Baker'.

Regards,

Jen.

Hi Jen, you are on to my little odd ball hobbies, I collect local history books if I see them, haunt rare and unusual bookshops and charity shops for stuff on areas I am interested it, I am a member of the Old Drogheda Society who publish some books on Drogheda etc as do others locally, so I have a copy of the book St Peters Church -  A Quasi History by Patrick Carr, there a number of books about the town and some old and new histories, think the earliest is Daltons but you would be surprised at what you might find on Google Books. There is a current one also by Ted Greene. 

I think the Herrington lady is probably Harrington, that name is I think actually from Bere Island off coast of Cork about 200 miles away. The 1837 or 1839 could be a mistranscription by the site either as some of those things are frustrating. 

There were a lot of bakeries in Drogheda, in summer local historians do what is termed Walks and Talks in the evening and we were told that there were 5 bakeries on the road into Drogheda from the west and those fleeing the famine came in that road on there way to the docks, Drogheda was the 2nd busiest port for migration during the famine years, regular service to Liverpool but no records as it was internal traffic at the time, all under the Crown. Drogheda was a hive of industry back then and basically not affected by the famine, your ancestors left around the time the railway arrived too, 1844.

If you see any burials in the Cord cemetery I can look up the entries too, other cemetries are opened too late, into the 1900s. 

You should enter your family information in our Chonicles and St Peters and I understand that it is proving popular. 

Regards

Pat

Hi Pat,

I like collecting family history books too and will have a look on Google Books :)

Thanks for the offer to look up burials in Cord Cemetery and if I see any of interest, I'll let you know.

I tried adding Mary Johnson to Ireland XO People under Louth and St. Peter's Louth a few days ago but she's not showing up so I'm not sure what I did wrong. I definitely clicked on "Save this person" at the bottom of the page...maybe someone has to approve it before it's published?

Regards,

Jen.

Hi Jen, was in the library on Wednesday and took a photo of the Johnson burials except did not look up the one on the next page where a Johnson is buried with someone else, there were no Corbally or similiar listed, not sure the Johnsons mean anything to you but appears to be a military connection, hope you can enlarge the photo to read.

Did not want to post it on FB in case in drew more queries on FB do not mind here as I am committed as they say about the pig and the hen. 

Regards

Pat

Thank you for posting some amazing details in this post and providing some great leads.
My paternal branch is Callaghan (Dublin), coming from Johnson and Lamb (both Drogheda).
They lived in the St Peter's Parish, mainly in Magdalene Street and Fair Street.
At the moment, I'm focusing on the Johnson/Clinton line.

After reading yur comments, I've joined the Louth fb group and already seen relevant names.
Names in my tree so far are: Johnson, Lamb, Clinton, Carroll, McLoughlin.
No doubt, with all the fascinating leads opening up to me, I shall add many more soon.

Thank you again for such diligence.

P.S I have Rope Walk for the Death address of both John Clinton and his wife, Ellen Carroll.

Hello She-DNA, thank you for the nice comments, I have some matches to those names too and here locally that are a complete mystery to me, however you mention Callaghan and while my great grandmother was Callaghan from Cavan it is not beyond reason that some went to Dublin, if you have done DNA as it appears you may have, would you mail me at my site email of stpetersirelandxo.com and I will give you details and gedmatch if you have one, my great grandmother had a brother Thomas Callaghan born 1864 who has disappeared from all records subsequently, father John, mother Ellen Gilshinnon or more likely now Gilsenan.

Regards

Pat

Hello Pat... and thanks for your reply.
I have made great strides this weekend after subscribing to RootsIreland, and have confirmed Mary Clinton (Teacher) as my x2 GGM who was married to Eugene Johnson and then to Daniel Johnson (Baker).
I haven't worked out if the two Johnson's are related yet, but I do have all ten children from both of Mary's marriages.
In the second marriage two of the children were named Johnson, and the next four were Johnston, but I'm finding that a lot.

Daniel, I think, remarried after Mary and had another 4 with another lady,

I also found some Military docs for the Royal Irish Rifles... which I'm thrilled to learn that John Christopher Johnson/Johnston (my GGF) had blue eyes!

I'll email you now.

Kind regards.
Sheila.

Hi Sheila, in case you mailed I did not receive one so not ignoring you, stpeters@irelandxo.com

Glad you found so much.

Pat

Since this post, I've visited Drogheda and spent many (many!) hours in Calvary cemetry and walking around all the street-names that I've gathered, like Duleek and Rope Walk. 
I also went to Magdelene Street and knocked on a door!  The lady offered me in to her house where my Johnston ancestors lived.  I was thrilled.
Needless to say, I have hundreds of photos of headstones and would like to share them.  Do you have any idea what would be my best option?
Thanks in advance.
The photo I've added is for John Johnston of Magdelene Street and his wife Catherine, and his daughter Kathleen (Hickey).