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I am looking for Edward McFadden possible birth year about 1804. He married Alice Collum who may have been born about 1804 as well.  They likely lived in Falcarragh, Donegal and were Roman Catholic.

They had three children born in Ireland:

Margaret birth date unknown. She married a Manus Ferry possibly in Ireland or Ohio, USA.

John born about 1842.

Dennis born about 1844. He may have been born in Cloughaneely, Co. Donegal.

At some point they all immigrated to the US and settled in Ohio just before Ireland began keeping many records. It is believed Margaret came first then the others arrived after but I have no evidence of this. Edward, Alice, John and Dennis first appearance in the historical record is the 1860 US Census in Ohio.

One family story suggests that during the potato famine John and Dennis left Ireland together as part of program by Donegal called "Free Emigration" where children between the ages of 12 and 13 were able to go to America if someone there was able to sign for them. I've not found anything that verifies such a program ever existed.

I am planning on visiting Ireland October 4-17. I will be in Dublin the 6-12 visiting the National Library, Valuation Office etc. On the 13 I plan to drive, at first I planned to take a bus but a few people who have been in Ireland recommended driving, to Tullaghobegly civil parish in northwest Donegal which is where I believe my McFaddins and Collums were from.

I plan to sightsee and hopefully find a cousin or two and am open to any other suggestions.

dmsbr549

Tuesday 11th Jun 2019, 04:12PM

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  • Hello again,
    I was doing a small bit of research into McFadden and Collum families that can be found in Tullaghobegley back in the 
    early 1800s using the Tithe Applotment Books. It is a fairly short but complete list sourced from ancestry(dot)com, and 
    should narrow the search down for anyone interested (attached below).
    If there is a particular Mcfadden or Collum family that you would an interest in you can simply copy and paste the 
    information from the list and search for them within the links provided, either by surname or by location 
    (recommended) to see the actual record available. 
    The reason I am showing you this list regarding land ownership is because unfortunatly there are no records available 
    such as Births, Marriages etc. within County Donegal for Catholic families when looking to get back beyond the 1840’s. 
    A list of Records that are available can be referenced here: www.johngrenham.com - Births, Marriage & Death Records 
    available for Donegal
    Here is the links to aid searching for your family
    1820s to 1840s Tithe Applotment Books - Search by Surname
    1820s to 1840s Tithe Applotment Books - Search by Parish Location

    I hope this helps narrow down the search. Have you by any chance done DNA testing with ancestry or others sites.
    When you have to get back beyond the 1840’s and their being no family records available, DNA is the only option that 
    can help, and sometimes it is a scenario it is a fingers crossed that the results can show a link to someone living in 
    ireland or strong family connections in any of these locations shown.
    I came across a Family tree researching your Edward McFadden and I have attached it below along with lists etc.
    I can recommend various Donegal Tourism websites also because there is loads to see and do but googling what is 
    available closer to the time will be far the best to suit the time of your visit.
    Kind regards 
    Seamus Callaghan

    Clondavaddog Donegal, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Thursday 13th Jun 2019, 08:56PM

  • Sorry the links did not post properly, i will just add them below

    A list of Records that are available can be referenced here: www.johngrenham.com - Births, Marriage & Death Records 
    available for Donegal

    https://www.johngrenham.com/browse/county_church.php?cat=Donegal

     

    1820s to 1840s Tithe Applotment Books - Search by Surname

    http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/index.jsp

     

    1820s to 1840s Tithe Applotment Books - Search by Parish Location

    http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/pagestab/Donegal/

    Clondavaddog Donegal, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Thursday 13th Jun 2019, 09:09PM

  • Thanks for the info. I have checked some of the sites you mentioned a while back and plan to ge through them again in case I missed something.

    I have taken a DNA test through Ancestry.com and 23 and Me, but so far have not matched with any Irish cousins as far as I can tell. I'm still learning about matching and hope to learn something before my trip.

     

    dmsbr549

    Tuesday 18th Jun 2019, 01:00AM

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