Catherine Boyle born Belfast approximately 1814

Hello Lydia,

Do you know the years of birth for Catherine and Edward Boyle, and if they were Roman Catholic or if they had belonged to the Church of Ireland or Presbyterian Church in Belfast?

Their religious denomination in Ireland, as well as the availability of early 19th century church parish registers for that denomination, will determine if there are baptism records for them, as the Irish government didn't record births until the year 1864.

In addition to parish registers, you would also need to know the names of their father and mother. Do you know the names of Catherine and Edward's parents?

Kind Regards,

Dave Boylan

Greetings Dave

Thanks for your message. The only information I have about Catherine and Edward comes from their convict indents. Catherine was transported in 1833 (on board Caroline) aged 18 and noted to be Roman Catholic. Remarks on the indent note that her brother Edward had been transported 3 years before. The record I found for Edward Boyle states he was transported in 1831 (on board Bussorah Merchant) aged 21 but that he was Protestant. They were both noted as being from Belfast.

Apart from that, I know nothing about their lives in Ireland or their parents.

I don't know where to go from there - I haven't even been able to find any press records of their crimes or convictions.

Any advice appreciated, thanks again for your time.

Kind regards

Lydia

Hello Lydia,

Many thanks for your reply.

That’s interesting that Catherine was Catholic and Edward Protestant. What record or records do you have showing they were brother and sister?

You would really need to know the names of their parents to look for their baptism records in Belfast, whether they belonged to the Catholic Church, or one of the Protestant denominations, such as the Church of Ireland, and the Presbyterian Church.

There will not be civil registration birth records for them, or marriage records for their parents. The Irish government began civil registration in 1845, but at that time only Protestant and civil marriages, were recorded. Civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths for all religious denominations weren’t recorded in Ireland until 1864. That means you would have to search baptism records for the religious denomination the Boyle family belonged to.

If Catherine was baptized Catholic in Belfast, there will not be a baptism record for her in six of the seven Catholic Parish Churches that existed in the city for most of the 19th century.

According to a book by Brian Mitchell called, “A Guide To Irish Parish Registers,” there are seven Catholic parishes in Belfast City with registers of baptism and marriage that cover several years of the 19th century. Of these seven parishes however, only one, St. Patrick’s Belfast City, has registers that predate the circa 1815 birth of Catherine Boyle.

A list of these Belfast Catholic Churches and the start dates of the registers and baptisms found in Mitchell’s book, is below:

Greencastle, Belfast City Catholic baptisms and marriages begin in 1854

Holy Cross, Belfast City Catholic baptisms and marriages begin in 1868

St. Joseph's, Belfast City Catholic baptisms and marriages begin in 1872

St. Malachi's, Belfast City Catholic baptisms and marriages begin in 1858

St. Mary's Belfast City Catholic baptisms and marriages begin in 1867

St. Patrick's Belfast City Catholic baptisms and marriages begin in 1789

St. Peter's Belfast City Catholic baptisms and marriages begin in 1866
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Unless Catherine was baptized in St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Belfast City, with registers back to 1798, there will not be baptism records for her

I went to the Find My Past (FMP) website which has Catholic Church parish register transcriptions for all 32 counties of Ireland, free of charge, to see if Catherine may have been baptized in St. Patrick’s, Belfast, in the 18 teens or the 1820s, but did not find her baptism.

Mitchell’s book also has a reference to several Church of Ireland Belfast Parishes with registers that are still available. The names and start dates of the registers for these churches are:

Christ Church, 1835
Mariner’s Chapel, 1868
St. Anne’s Shankill, 1745
St. George, 1817
St. John Malone, 1839
St. Mark, Ballysillan, 1856
St. Mary’s, 1867
St. Mary’s Madeline, 1847
St. Matthew’s, 1846
St. Stephens, 1868
Trinity, 1844
Upper Falls, 1855
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There may have been more Belfast Church of Ireland parishes in Belfast but these would not have been recorded by Mitchell, as almost half of Church of Ireland registers for all 32 counties of Ireland were lost in a fire at the Four Courts Building in Dublin during the Irish Civil War in 1922.

As you can see from the Church of Ireland list above, only one parish, St. Anne’s Shankill has registers that predate the births of Edward and Catherine Boyle.

The one Australian record that I thought may have the names of Catherine’s parents, would be a marriage record.

I looked for her marriage record at the subscription Ancestry.com website, and believe I found it, showing that a Catherine Boyle and a James Kennedy had first filed an application to marry on 19 March 1835. This comes from a collection at Ancestry.com called, “Australia, Registers of Convicts' Applications to Marry, 1826-1851.” The application to marry was “Granted.” See the transcription below:

Australia, Registers of Convicts' Applications to Marry, 1826-1851

Name: Catherine Boyle
Age: 20
Birth Year: Abt 1815
Spouse: James Kennedy
Request Status: Granted
Date of Permission/Refusal: 19 Mar 1835

Source Citation
State Archives NSW; Series: 12212; Item: 4/4512; Page: 168

Source Information
Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, Registers of Convicts' Applications to Marry, 1826-1851 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.
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I’ve also attached a copy of the original application to marry document to this reply, which shows the applications of several other couples who requested to marry.

The applications to marry are on two facing pages. The entries for James and Catherine are the 3rd and 4th entries on the right-hand page. The application shows that James Kennedy was 24 years old and arrived in Australia on the Orpheus, and that he “Came free,” which I take to mean he was not a convict. The permission to marry is dated 19 March 1835.

The entry for Catherine Boyle shows she was 20 years old and arrived in Australia on the Caroline and had been sentenced to 7 years under a “Bond.” It appears that the name of the clergyman who married James and Catherine was the Rev. S. Marsden of Parramatta. This document does not state which church, Catholic or Protestant, that James and Catherine had been married in.

I discovered the answer to this question in a copy of the 9 April 1835 marriage record itself, but not in the transcription of the marriage which you see below, from the collection at Ancestry.com called, “New South Wales, Australia, St. John's Parramatta, Marriages, 1790-1966:”

New South Wales, Australia, St. John's Parramatta, Marriages, 1790-1966

Name: Catharine Boyle
Gender: Female
Marriage Date: 9 Apr 1835
Marriage Place: Parramatta, Cumberland, New South Wales, Australia
Spouse: Jas Kennedy

Source Citation
Reference Number: REG/COMP/3; Description: Vol 03, Baptisms, 1834-1838; Marriages, 1834-1838; Burials, 1834-1838; Parish: St. John's Anglican Church Parramatta

Source Information
Ancestry.com. New South Wales, Australia, St. John's Parramatta, Marriages, 1790-1966 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
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But with the marriage transcription, Ancestry.com provides more information about St. John’s Church, explaining that it was an “Anglican,” church, which in Ireland would be the Protestant Church of Ireland, rather than a Catholic Church. See the description of St. John’s Church below, from ancestry.com:

“About New South Wales, Australia, St. John's Parramatta, Marriages, 1790-1966

While the first Anglican church in Parramatta was dedicated on the site of St. John’s in 1796, religious services were held in the area prior to the dedication of the building, which was constructed from materials from two slab huts. This collection includes marriage records from the parish dating back to 1790.

Marriage records varied in format and in the information included, but you may find details such as the bride and groom’s names, ages (and/or possibly dates of birth), birthplaces, residences, occupations, date and location of the marriage, names of witnesses, condition (bachelor, spinster, widow, or widower), parents’ names, parents’ occupations, and the name of the officiant. The early records may contain less detail.

You may also find records of banns read, and while these will include less detail, you’ll find the date the banns were first published, names of the parties, and their residences.”
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After reading that St. John’s was an Anglican Church, I now wondered if Catherine had been baptized a Catholic in Ireland, but chose to convert to the Anglican Protestant denomination to marry in Australia, or if she was baptized Catholic, but didn’t convert at all, or is she had actually been baptized in a Belfast Church of Ireland. Then too, had she been baptized in Belfast at all?

I also found a copy of the original St. John’s Parramatta, Cumberland County marriage record for James and Catherine at Ancestry.com, which is attached to this reply. The handwriting can be difficult to read, but it looks like the witnesses to the marriage were Richard Dunn of Parramatta and Sarah Rafferty, also of Parramatta. Sarah had signed the marriage register with her “mark,” in the form of the letter x. But you’ll also see that Catherine Boyle signed the marriage register with an x. This signifies that Catherine and Sarah could not read or write.

The consent to marry was granted by the “Governor,” whose first name initial is H, but whose last name I couldn’t decipher with any accuracy.

I next looked for, but did not find the marriage for an Edward Boyle in the “New South Wales, Australia, St. John's Parramatta, Marriages,” at Ancestry.com.

I don’t know what other Australian records would give you the names of Catherine and Edward’s parents.

The other option you have is to see on the off-chance, if the St. Anne’s Shankill Church of Ireland in Belfast have the circa 1810 baptism for Edward Boyle, and the circa 1815 baptism for Catherine Boyle.

St. Anne’s is called the Cathedral Church of St. Anne.

Some of the St. Anne’s parish baptisms, marriages, and funerals are online at the Ulsterancestry.com website, but these only cover the years 1764 and 1767 to 1771. See: http://www.ulsterancestry.com/free/ShowFreePage-47.html#gsc.tab=0

St. Anne’s Cathedral will also search for baptism records, but the fees to search one record are high. See the Search Request Form at: https://is.gd/4HukLS

The subscription website RootsIreland has transcribed Shankill St. Anne’s (Cathedral) Church of Ireland registers for the years 1761 to 1899. The homepage for RootsIreland can be found at: https://www.rootsireland.ie/

RootsIreland has four subscription packages you can purchase, including 1 day, 1 month, 6 months, and 1year subscriptions. If you are in Australia I’m not sure how much these subscriptions will cost in Australian dollars, but your credit card would do the conversion. For more information about RootsIreland subscription packages, go to: https://rootsireland.ie/ifhf/subscribe.php

If you tie into any of the RootsIreland subscriptions you’ll be taking a chance, as there is that possibility that Catherine and Edward Boyle were not baptized in St. Anne’s Belfast. But on the other hand, if you have other ancestors or collateral lines born in Ireland, you may be able to find records for them at RootsIreland.

Also Lydia, the familyhistorydata.com website recommends several resources you can access to further your research in Australian records. See: “12 Free Genealogy Research Sites for Australia and New Zealand,” at: https://is.gd/WBwrfw

I wish I could have found more information for you.

With Best Wishes,

Dave

SOURCES

Mitchell, Brian, A Guide To Irish Parish Registers
Find My Past
Ancestry.com
Cathedral Church of St. Anne
RootsIreland
familyhistorydata.com: 12 Free Genealogy Research Sites for Australia and New Zealand

Greetings again Dave

Thanks so much for your detailed reply, I really appreciate the effort you put into researching an answer for me.

I have the Application for Permission to Marry which was required for convicts, as well as the St John's marriage register record (unfortunately no mention of parents). Interesting that Catherine's convict indent indicated she could read and write but it appears this is not the case. I'm unaware of any other Australian records that might indicate Catherine and Edward's parents which is why I was wondering about what records might be held in Ireland. I can't remember what evidence I used to substantiate that the Edward Boyle on the Bussorah Merchant in 1831 is the brother of my forebear so it may be that I have the wrong person. I'll redo my due diligence in relation to that.

As you stated, the marriage between James and Catherine was officiated by Rev Samuel Marsden who was well known in the Colony as the Hanging Parson - both magistrate and church leader. He controlled activities at the Female Factory in Parramatta where Catherine was imprisoned. He was a big believer in marrying off the women of the factory so that the number of illegitimate children being born there would be reduced and the Anglican flock therefore increased. This is why I believe Catherine and James were married in the Anglican church, regardless of their religion.

Thank you for the detailed information about the Belfast church registers that still exist. It certainly explains why there is so little information on any Ancestry family trees about possible parents for Catherine and Edward. Catherine and James had 6 children who all had many children, so many descendants have trees on Ancestry.

If you would indulge me with one last question, can you advise whether/where I can obtain any records about Catherine's trial and conviction which led to her transportation in 1833? I've looked at a couple of newspaper datasets but been unable to find anything and I'm not sure if I've even been looking in the correct place. A point in the right direction would be really appreciated if you have the time.

Thanks once again for your assistance, warm regards

Lydia

Hi Lydia,

In the last reply I had mentioned that the Four Courts Fire in Dublin during the Irish Civil War, 1922, had destroyed nearly half of Church of Ireland Records. The fire also destroyed a lot of convict transportation records before 1836, and from what I understand, petitions filed by relatives of convicts to commute sentences before 1836, were also destroyed.

The National Archives of Ireland has a resource guide about transportation records to Australia, which you can access at: https://is.gd/OkTGGz

I did find something interesting about Edward Boyle however, at the Peter Mayberry website called, “Irish Convicts to New South Wales 1788-1849.”

The record for Edward shows he was tried in Carrickfergus and not in Belfast. Carrickfergus, County Antrim, is 12 miles north of Belfast. The entry for Edward is transcribed below:

Irish Convicts to New South Wales 1788-1849 Provided by Peter Mayberry

Surname: Boyle
First Name: Edward
Age: 21
Reb: (Rebel) -
Ship: Bussorah Merchant (3) [1831
Tried: 1831
Trial Place: Carrickfergus Antrim Co
Term: Life
DOB: 1810
Native Place: Belfast Antrim Co
Crime: Burglary
Marital Status: Single
Trade or Calling: Weaver dealer stable boy

Source: http://members.pcug.org.au/~ppmay/cgi-bin/irish/irish.cgi
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There is also an entry for Catherine, but I believe you already have most of this information about her:

Irish Convicts to New South Wales 1788-1849 Provided by Peter Mayberry

Surname: Boyle
First Name: Catherine
Age: 18
Reb: (Rebel) -
Ship: Caroline (1833)
Tried: 1832
Trial Place: Antrim
Term: 7 (years)
DOB: 1815
Native Place: Belfast Antrim Co
Crime: Robbery House
Marital Status: Single
Trade or Calling: Laundry maid house maid

Remarks
Died
Death Place

Source: http://members.pcug.org.au/~ppmay/cgi-bin/irish/irish.cgi
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You can search the Peter Mayberry site at: http://members.pcug.org.au/~ppmay/cgi-bin/irish/irish.cgi

It’s possible the Belfast newspapers for 1831 and 1832 would have information about the trials of Edward and Catherine. I don’t have access to subscription newspaper databases, but perhaps someone at Ireland Reaching Out does, and can search the Belfast newspapers for any information about Edward’s trial in 1831 and Catherine’s trial in 1832.

The Irish Archives website contains a lot of links pertaining to transportation and Irish convicts to Australia. See: http://www.theirisharchives.com/categories/view/41/Criminality-Law

The subscription Irish Newspaper Archives does have Belfast papers back to the 1700s, one of which may mention the trials of Edward and Catherine Boyle. The homepage for the Irish Newspaper Archives is https://is.gd/WMlP3E

Before subscribing to anything however, I still recommend posting another query to the Ireland Reaching Out to see if anyone has access to newspapers that go back to the early 1800s. In the case for Edward, you can say that he was tried at the Carrickfergus Assizes in 1831 and transported to Australia on board the Bussorah Merchant in 1831.

You can also mention that Catherine Boyle was tried in County Antrim in 1832 and transported on the Caroline in 1833.

Someone at Ireland Reaching Out more knowledgeable about convict records may also have other information to pass on.

I found an interesting website which gives a lot of details about the ship Caroline that Catherine Boyle sailed to Australia on. The website is the “Free Settler or Felon,” and can be accessed at: https://www.freesettlerorfelon.com/convict_ship_caroline_1833.htm

The Free Settler or Felon website also has information about the Bussorah Merchant: https://www.freesettlerorfelon.com/convict_ship_bussorah_merchant_1831…

Also see: https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Green-11306

Please let me know if you make any progress Lydia.

Dave

Thanks so much Dave

I'll follow up the leads you've provided and let you know how I go.

I recently heard a podcast about a project to rebuild the lost records from the 1922 fire, including using the Australian held convict records (among others of course). I look forward to the outcome of that project in due course and keep my fingers crossed.

Warm regards and thanks again for your work.

Lydia

You're welcome Lydia, and many thanks for writing back.

When the results of the rebuild are complete, I hope you don't mind sharing the information with me and the other Ireland Reaching Out Volunteers. The more information we have the more we can help other researchers looking for ancestors who went to Australia.

Best Wishes,

Dave