Boyd/Field

Anne:

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out!

I think the 1841 marriage is for the parents of Mary Boyd--Thomas Boyd and Mary Field. The subscription site Roots Ireland has the following baptismal records for siblings to Mary in the Bray RC church records: John 1842 Catherine 1845 Ellen 1851 Robert 1857 William 1859 Sarah 1863. The record for Sarah shows Windgates as there townland which is likely Windgate in Delgany civil parish. The 1854 Griffiths Valuation head of household listing shows a Thomas Boyd in Templecarrig Lower townland in Delgany civil parish which possibly is for your ancestor.

https://www.failteromhat.com/griffiths/wicklow/delgany.htm

Roger McDonnell

Thanks, Roger, for your speedy response!

Windgates is certainly a place I recall my mother talking about, I just wish I had listened more. She also talked about Greystones and having an uncle there, and I see that's fairly close on the map. My only hesitation is the ages of the Mary Field and Thomas Boyd. When their youngest two children were born, Mary would have been 49 and 53, and Thomas 55 and 59.

Is there any information about the parents of Thomas Boyd and Mary Field?

Anne:

Here are some leads on baptismal records for Thomas Boyd and Mary Field(2).

Roger

Name:Thomas BoydDate of Birth:
Date of Baptism:15-Aug-1804Address:
Parish/District:BRAYGender:MaleCountyCo. Wicklow
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:Pat BoydMother:AnnaOccupation:
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:Dan Gaven Sponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Mary Byrne 

Name:Mary FieldDate of Birth:
Date of Baptism:26-Jan-1810Address:
Parish/District:BRAYGender:
CountyCo. Wicklow
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:Mick FieldMother:CatherineOccupation:
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:Tom Martin Sponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Catherine Donegan 

Name:Mary FieldDate of Birth:
Date of Baptism:31-Dec-1815Address:
Parish/District:BRAYGender:
CountyCo. Wicklow
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:Tom FieldMother:MaryOccupation:
Sponsor 1 /
Informant 1:Jacob Byrne Sponsor 2 /
Informant 2:Mary Kerns 

I'd agree that the 1841 marriage that Roger mentioned is very likely 'your' Thomas & Mary. While the first names might not be unusual, the surnames were not that common in the area, and the combination of the names especially in the same parish you already know at least one of their children was baptised, I think makes the positive match even more definite. The sequence of children baptised to the couple mentioned shows that they were in the same parish from 1842 right through to 1863.

What source are you basing the years of birth of Thomas and Mary on ?
Most people at that time did not know their exact date of birth or age, so any most ages given will be estimates at best.

Some of my own family lived in another part of the same parish around the same time and the couple married in 1849 when they were both about 19 or 20, and had their last child when they were both in their early 50s.

The marriage records for that time dont include much detail - generally no residences or father's names,so can be difficult working back further with 100% proof. There is a possible clue in the name of one of the witnesses to the marriage - a Maria Anna Boyde... could be a sister or other relation to the groom. The names of the couple are shown in the register as Thomas Boyde & Maria Fields, the other witness is a Guielmus (William) Carton. Marriages usually took place in the bride's parish, so it's likely she lived in the parish at the time of the marriage, and possibly was also born there.

The baptism sponsors (godparents) of the children of Thomas & and Mary are also worth checking for clues to help working back further with Thomas & Mary - the godparents can be a sibling or cousin to one of the couple.
 

Thanks very much. It looks like the next step will be for me to get copies of the certificates.

How can I find out what it was like living in that area at the time? What sort of work would people have done?

Roger, how did you find that list of names from Griffith's? I have ancestors in various other parts of Wicklow, and would like to search for a similar list with their names on.

Thanks.

Anne

Anne:

There are a couple of options regarding the Griffiths. You can go to this free site  http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/  and search or if you know the civil parish you can go to this site https://www.failteromhat.com/wicklow.htm    The Ask About Ireland site will give you a lot more info and access to viewing the area of interest.

Roger

You can see some details of the areas in the entries in Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of 1836 for Bray town and parish, and that for Delgany town and parish, the civil parish which contains the townland of Windgates and Templecarrig Lower. Many of the general population would have been involved in farming either as general labourers, or leasing their own land.

In the case of the Thomas Boyd listed on Griffith's Valuation at Templecarrig Lower townland in 1852 that Roger mentioned, he is shown is just leasing a house, no land, so most likely some kind of labourer.