Gallagher family

Irene,

Earliest RC records for Clones parish are 1848 for baptisms and 1821 for marriages.  So the reason that you cannot find the baptisms you are looking for is probably simply that they don’t exist. No easy way round that I am afraid.

Few rural RC parishes have records before the 1820s so this is a common problem. Much Irish research comes to a standstill around 1800 due to the lack of records.

Thank you Elwyn. It's sad.  

Question:  Is there a book, document or anything on Clones Parish history? I try to find how was the life in Clones.  Thank you again.

Just found a James Gallagher, soldier in the 47th Regmt of Foot.  He enliisted in May 10th 1805.  He was 23 years old.  They said he was born in Clones and his age is the same that the James Gallagher who married Rose Smith.  Can I be that lucky?

Question?  Why he would enlist in Cashell county Tipperary so far from his home?

Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Co Monaghan in 1830 – 1840 will give you an overall view of life there then:

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780853896616/Ordnance-Survey-Memoirs-Ireland-Counties-0853896615/plp

Try Monaghan or Clones library too. They should have lots of local material.

You may already be aware of them, but there are records for what appears to be James and Rose's family in Clones in the FamilySearch database [https://www.familysearch.org], showing them with six children.  If you search there, you can find James under ID number GCWZ-BSW, and can access the records for the others easily through that record, as you will see.

FamilySearch is operated by the LDS church, and is free to use.  You have to create an account to use the database, but they don’t ask for much personal info, and no missionaries will contact you or anything like that.  The database does not have separate family trees, and is essentially one huge tree of linked records, in which there is a single record for each person, with a unique identification number (although sometimes people unknowingly create duplicate records for the same person, which you can merge when you spot them).

In each record, at the right hand side of the screen, you can see the screen names of those who have created or modified the record, and can send them private messages, so you might be able to get more info by contacting them (and perhaps also locate some relatives that way)..

In case you're interested, since I had a Gallagher grandfather myself, I can add some info about the Gallagher surname.  It is believed to have originated separately in two places, in County Donegal and in the Mayo/Galway area.  Since Monahan is in Ulster (though in the part located in the Republic of Ireland), your family may ultimately trace back to Donegal (looking for DNA matches may help to answer that question), perhaps ending up in Monahan during the Plantation of Ulster, when many people were forced out of the planted areas.  In Irish, Gallagher is Ó Gallchobhair (modern Irish spelling Ó Gallchúir), and it means “descendant of the foreign help”, referring to (real or legendary) mercenary warrior ancestors who were brought in from Scotland or elsewhere in Ireland to fight in local wars (known as a gallóglach, or “gallowglass”).  It may also refer to Norse ancestors, since the term “gall” was used for them as well.  Although Gallagher and Gallaher are by far the most common anglicized forms of the name, especially in Mayo and Donegal, there are more than 20 other historical anglicized forms scattered in several places in Ireland.

The surname Smyth/Smith can have various origins.  It may have been brought from Scotland or England, but in Ireland it is often derived from the Irish names Mac an Ghabhann or Mac Gabhann, which mean "son of the blacksmith".  They were often anglicized as MacGowan, but also often "translated" into Smith, particularly in County Cavan, where both names are believed to have originated.  Since Cavan and Monahan share a border, and Clones is not very far from that border, your Smith/MacGowan roots there may go way back.

Thanks a lot Elwin and Kevin

Irene,

The North of Ireland FHS has a booklet on researching ancestors in Co. Monaghan.  You might find that helpful. £6 (sterling).

https://www.nifhs.org/product-tag/co-monaghan/

Thanks a lot for these super informations. I will certainly use all of them. I am planning to visit Ireland but I need to know where I will go. These researches will help me. Thank you kindly