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According to his obituary, our ancestor,Michael McGillon, was born in County Tyrone. He was born 16 Dec, around 1868 -- conflicting birth years on censuses. His father was Michael Mcgillon and his mother was Annie Conway. He lived in Wilmngton, Delaware, USA since he was 19 years old. He died 4 April, 1951, in Wilmingon, De. He was Roman Catholic.   

Irish Delaware Ancestors

Wednesday 15th Jun 2022, 09:54PM

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  • He's a little younger than you believe your MIchael to be, but he was born in Dec. in Tyrone and his mother was Ann Conway. His father was Bernard, not Michael.

    Here's the birth of a Michael Gillin on 10-Dec-1874

    Address:Broughdergh, parish of POMEROY, Co. Tyrone

    Father: Bernard Gillin, farmer
    Mother: Ann Conway
    Occupation: Farmer

    Patricia

    Wednesday 15th Jun 2022, 10:46PM
  • Same family in 1901 census:

    http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Tyrone/Beaghmore/Broughderg/1730750/

    Children (that I cna identify):

    Hugh 10.10.1872

    Michael 10.12.1874 Broughderg

    John 3.12.1876

    Bernard 15.5.1879

    Bridget 2.7.1881

    Rose 16.9.1883

    Patrick 22.11.1885

    Peter 30.1.1888

    Mary 14.8.1890

    Bartley 20.12.1894

    Ann (Nancy) died 24.10.1895 aged 43:

    https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1895/05917/4680172.pdf

    1911 census tells us Bernard had 11 children of which 8 were still alive:

    http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Tyrone/Beaghmore/Broughderg/860366/

    There were Conways living nearby in the census, so I’d guess she married the girl next door.

    http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Tyrone/Beaghmore/Broughderg/860367/

    http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Tyrone/Beaghmore/Broughderg/860368/

    Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Thursday 16th Jun 2022, 09:35AM
  • Thank you both for replying to my post.  Michael McGillon's marriage record shows that he was 21 when he married on 18 Oct, 1888.  If he was born in 1874, that would make him two months shy of his 14th birthday.  This is also where I saw his father's name as Michael. As someone who goes by my middle name, I can understand the difference of names.  The birth date does make me wonder if we are both looking at the same person.  What are your thoughts?

    Irish Delaware Ancestors

    Thursday 16th Jun 2022, 10:37PM
  • Can’t say for certain that it’s the right family but on the other hand there’s no sign in the Irish birth records of a Michael McGillon born to Michael and Ann around 1868.

    Dates of birth in the 1800s need to be taken with a pinch of salt. Irish people then generally didn’t celebrate birthdays and often had no idea of precisely when they were born. If officialdom later asked for a date of birth, it was common to make one up. Likewise when parents registered a birth the date on the certificate was sometimes just a guess too, or an “adjusted” date to avoid a late registration fee. (Registering a birth was free if done within 3 weeks but after that there was a small penalty for late registration. Obvious thing therefore was simply to move the date to one that avoided the penalty).

    Saying you were 21 when you married would make you an adult and might avoid any consent difficulties over actually being a minor. It’s possible he wasn’t 21 then. Who would know?

    The Mc & O’ prefixes in Irish names are detachable and it was common to see them dropped, or re-attached, in the records according to whim. Most Irish search engines automatically look for both versions.

    There are several trees on Ancestry that list Bernard Gillen and Ann Conway eg the Haffey-Danowitz tree. They list Michael b 1874 but have no other information on him save for his birth. Might be worth comparing DNA with someone on that tree.

    Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Friday 17th Jun 2022, 10:23AM

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