Charles Rodgers

Wendi,

Birth registration didn’t start in Ireland till 1864. Prior to that you need to rely on church baptism records. Not all have survived and of those that do exist, not all are on-line.

The most complete collection for Northern Ireland is in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast.  Their records are not on-line and so you need to go in person to search them (or get a researcher to do that for you).  There are about 200 churches in Belfast so if you know his precise denomination that should narrow the search a little.

Looking at the 1901 census of Ireland there were 20 people named Charles Rodgers. They were a mix of Catholic, Church of Ireland, Methodist and Presbyterian. Those are perhaps the likely options for your Charles.

Can you not get his parents names from his second marriage certificate or his death certificate? Several trees on Ancestry say that Charles’ parents were Bernard 1792 - 1866 (died 15.3.1866 in PA) and Isabella 1824 – 1882 (died 5th March 1882 PA). Another tree has his father as Hugh 1825 – 1881 (died 24.7.1881 PA).

You mention the parish of Shankill as a possible place of birth. Be aware there are 2 such parishes in Northern Ireland. One in Belfast and the other near Lurgan, Co Armagh.

The best sets of passenger lists are on Ancestry and Findmypast. Have you searched them? Be aware that the biggest port of departure for North America was Liverpool. Far more Irish emigrants left from Liverpool than directly from Ireland.  It acted as a clearing house for migrants from all over Europe and had daily departures whereas the numbers of sailings directly from Ireland were much smaller.

Hello Wendi,

I saw Charles in the 1900 census, which says he emigrated in 1863 and was born in Sept. 1849. This is not necessarily the gospel truth. Census information is only as reliable as the knowledge of the person giving the information (not necessarily Charles himself; could even be a neighbor). Also, the census taker could have made a mistake. I have seen emigration dates for the same person vary greatly among censuses. I've even seen the date of naturalization given as the date of emigration. As for birth year, these can also vary widely among the various records. So I would say look at every record for Michael that you can find. Also look at his children's records--birth, baptismal, etc.--and see what they say about his age and birthplace. If any of them was living in 1930, the census would have asked if their father was from N. Ireland or the Irish Free State.

About his parents' names...most Irish people of that time followed Irish naming patterns, with the first son named after the paternal grandfather, the second after the maternal grandfather. The first daughter after one of the grandmothers, the second after the other.

I hope something here is helpful.

Wow.  You've really given me a lot to think about! Thank you so much for your advice and information.  I have searched everywhere I can think of.  The information I have was given to me by my mother and she is not sure of all of that information. I know tyat he died in 1901 in Philadelphia, PA.  I have his death certificate, which does not show his parents' names. It shows that he was born in "Ireland."  I have not been able to get his marriage license from New Jersey because of COVID and the office being closed. I know he was definitely Catholic. I have searched every immigration paasenger list to America from everywhere for 1863. I also have the Irish naming patterns list but his children don't seem to line up with anything.  

Patricia, you said you saw him in a 1901 census showing he immigrated in 1863 and was born in 1849.  Is that a Pennsylvania census or an Ireland one?  If Ireland, can I find that online.  

I've seen the ancestry and Findmypast trees showing Bernard and/or Hugh as his father.  I don't think Hugh is a good fit and I didn't trust the Bernard one because someone in that line was 5 years old when their child was born!  I will go over them again.

I did not know that there were two Shankill parishes.  Thank you so much for that, Elwyn.

I will just have to wait until New Jersey's prothonotary office opens later this year (hopefully) to get a copy of his marriage license.  Meanwhile, I'll check back in to the trees showing Hugh Rodgers and Bernard Rodgers.  Again,  thank you for your input.  If you think of something else, please let me know.

Wendi,

The census I mentioned was the 1900 US federal census. You can see it on Ancestry or FamilySearch.

Good luck!