Great-great grandparents from Kincrum and Mulnamina, Donegal

sfmcdevitt: Kincrum is a 404 acre townland in Inishkeel civil parish which includes the town of Glenties. There is no townland spelled Mulnamina. I suspect that the townland could be Montymeane which is 622 acres in size and also in Inishkeel civil parish. Montymeane is about 16 miles east of Kincrum. It is possible that your Mulnamina was a local place name rather than a townland. A townland is the smallest land division in Ireland. I checked the 1901 census and Kincrum only had four households and Montymeane had five households. Let me know if you have further questions. Roger McDonnell

Hi, Please see https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/. Mulnamin Beg and Mulnamin Mor are townlands in Donegal. I think Kincrum might be Kildrum. I hope this helps.

Sorry...I just saw the original record...Kincrum townland is correct.

sfmcdevitt: I think Patricia has found the correct townland(s) for Mulnamina. Mulnamin More is only 1.6 miles south of Kincrum. Mulnamin Beg is 6.5 miles south of Kincrum. 1901 census had a good number of Gallaghers in Mulnamin More. Roger

Hello sfmcdevitt, The 27 February 1865 civil registration marriage record shows that Mary Gallagher’s father was Daniel Gallagher, who was a farmer. The marriage record also shows that Teague Minelis and Mary were married in the Glenties Catholic Church, as you had mentioned. Mary’s residence at the time of the marriage was “Mullinamina.” You can view a copy of the original Civil Registration marriage record for Teague and Mary at the irishgenealogy.ie website link after following the prompts: https://tinyurl.com/45ur7tk6 The Glenties Catholic Church was located in the civil parish of Inishkeel, and was also known as the Inishkeel Catholic Church. In their replies, Ireland XO volunteers, Patricia and Castlemore Roscommon, had mentioned Mulnamin Beg and Mulnamin Mor. Mulnamin Beg means Mulnamin “Small,” in the Irish language. Mulnamin Mor means Mulnamin Big, but ironically, the IreAtlas Townland Data Base entries for both townlands shows that Mulnamin Beg was larger in acres (379), than Mulnamin Mor, (237): https://tinyurl.com/yyphec2v In the Irish language these towns are spelled Maol na Mine Beag,” meaning “Small Bare Hill,” and “Maol na Mine Mór,” for “Large Bare Hill.” I next looked for Mary’s father Daniel Gallagher in an Irish property tax record called Griffiths Valuation. I wanted to see if a Daniel Gallagher was recorded in either the townland of Mulnamin Beg or Mulnamin Mor, Civil Prish of Inishkeel. Griffiths Valuation was enumerated in the 32 counties of Ireland from 1847 and 1864. Unlike a census, Griffiths Valuation did not enumerate individual members of a family, such as husband, wife, and children in a household residence. Those named in the valuation were individuals who paid to lease property, such as land, houses, and outbuildings. Each person who paid to lease the property was called an “Occupier.” The other person listed in Griffiths Valuation was the person who owned the property, or who worked as the middleman collecting the rent for the owner. This middleman was called the “Immediate Lessor.” You can access Griffiths Valuation transcriptions and original copies for free at the Ask About Ireland website link at: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml I found a Daniel Gallagher and several other Gallaghers leasing property in Mulnamin “More.” This may be Mary Gallagher’s father, but you can’t say with 100 percent certainty that it is her father, based on just Griffiths Valuation alone. You’ll see this a more clearly, sometime later in this reply, with other records that I uncovered. The printing date of Griffiths Valuation for Mulnamin More was 1857, seven years before Mary Gallagher was married. You can access the Griffiths Valuation page for Daniel Gallagher in Mulnamin More at the following link: https://tinyurl.com/mrxxxdz4 In the left column of the valuation page are map reference numbers and letters. Daniel Gallagher is at map reference 15b. He leased a house, but also leased land in common with Sarah Gallagher at map 15a. The land that Daniel and Sarah Gallagher leased in common was 10 acres in size. The valuation of the land for both Daniel and Sarah was 1 Pound and 15 Shillings. Their individual houses were valued at 5 Shillings. The total valuation for Daniel Gallagher was 1 Pound and 10 Shillings, which was also the total valuation for Sarah Gallagher. They leased their land and houses from an Immediate Lessor named the Marquis of Conyngham. They would not have been required to pay a tax on their houses and land as only those leases valued over 5 Pounds were subject to the tax. You’ll see on this page there are Gallaghers recorded both before and after Daniel and Sarah. You’ll actually find Daniel and Sarah Gallagher once again at map reference 16, leasing land in common with 11 other occupiers. Most of these occupiers are Gallaghers, as you can see. The land was over 70 acres in size, and valued at 1 Pound. This low value of 70 acres of land may be an indication it was not the best land for growing crops. One of the Gallagher occupiers at map reference 16 is recorded as “John Gallagher (Esther).” This recording of Esther is what’s called an “agnomen,” which is Latin for “other name,” or additional name.” In this instance Esther may refer to John Gallagher’s mother. Accompanying Griffiths Valuation is a map showing the map reference number locations of the occupiers leasing property in Mulnamin More. See the map at: https://tinyurl.com/2p9xr352 Toward the left of the map you’ll see a large letter R in black. Just to the right of the letter R is map reference 15. Just below and to the right of the number 15 is subdivision 15a. This is where Sarah Gallagher’s house was. To the lower left of the R you’ll see subdivision 15b. This is where Daniel Gallaher’s house was. The rest of map number 15 represents the 10 acres of land that Daniel and Sarah had leased. To the right of map reference 15 you’ll see map reference 16. This is the over 70 acres of land that Daniel and Sarah leased in common with the other occupiers in Mulnamin More. A Google Map shows that Mulnamin More is just northwest of Mulnamin Beg. To the north is the townland of Kincrum. These towns are south of the Gweebara River: https://tinyurl.com/ycy7kvnx Mulnamina Beg and Mulnamin Moore may have been known as “Mulnamina.” With further research at the irishgenealogy.ie website, I uncovered the death records of three men named Daniel Gallagher who had died in “Mulnamina” prior to the 1901 census enumeration. The census took place on 31 March of 1901. I don’t know which, if any of the three men was the Daniel Gallagher recorded in Griffiths Valuation, or which may have been Mary Gallagher’s father. A Daniel Gallagher died Mulnamina on 27 August 1877 at the age 80 years. At the time of death he was married. He had been a farmer. The cause of death was “Debility.” The person who was present at Daniel’s death and who reported the death to the registrar was John Gallagher of Mulnamina. John signed the death register with “his x mark,” signifying he could not write. The registrar, John Kelly, recorded the death in the Glenties Registration District on 30 August 1877. Daniel’s death is number 169 in the register, which you can access after following the prompts at: https://tinyurl.com/y8udkwaj The next Daniel Gallagher died in Mulnamina on 3 December 1900 at the age of 80 years. At the time of death he was a widower and had been a farmer. The cause of death was “Chronic Bronchitis.” The person who was present at his death and who reported his death to the registrar was his daughter, Mary Gallagher, who signed the death register with “her x mark.” The registrar, John Kelly, recorded the death in the Glenties Registration District on 13 December 1900. Daniel’s death is number 326 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/4ebwv4uf The third Daniel Gallagher died in Mulnamina on 29 March 1901. He was a 79 year old married labourer at the time of death. The cause of death appears to be “Cancer on ear 1 yr.” The person who was present at his death and who reported the death to the registrar was Daniel’s widow, Catherine Gallagher, who signed the death register with “her x mark.” The registrar, John Kelly, recorded the death in the Glenties Registration District on 11 April 1901. His death is number 343 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/4x8bmcmw I found the person I believe to be Daniel’s widowed wife Catherine in the 1901 census of Ireland, where she is shown to be a 72 year old farmer who was Roman Catholic and who could not read. She was born in County Donegal, and the head of the household. Catherine, her 40 year old son Bernard, and 28 year old daughter Mary are shown to be the “Residents of a house 15 in Mulnaminmore (Glenties, Donegal).” In this case house 15 would not refer to a street address but the 15th house visited by the enumerator to collect the census. The 1901 census shows that Bernard is a Carpenter who can read and write and who is not married. His sister Mary is a “Farmers Daughter” who can read and write and who is not married. Bernard and Mary were born in County Donegal. You can access the 1901 census transcription of the Gallagher household at the National Archives of Ireland link at: https://tinyurl.com/4mae6s9t Once the census transcription downloads you’ll have to check the box, “Show all information,” to view the full census page. Notice the 1901 census shows that Catherine speaks only Irish, but that Bernard and Mary speak Irish and English. For a copy of the original 1901 census of the Gallagher household, go to: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000665368/ The 1901 census index for Mulnaminmore shows 16 different households recorded in town. Of these 16, 12 households are for Gallaghers: https://tinyurl.com/mu4wxv9z Click on “occupants” to view the 1901 census transcriptions, and click on “original census form” to view copies of the original 1901census for Mulnaminmore. All the Gallaghers in the 1901 census were probably related to Mary Gallagher McNelis/Manelis. The 1865 marriage for 25 year old Teague “Minelis” and 20 year old Mary Gallagher, shows that Teague’s father Patt is “deceased,” and had been a farmer before he died. Teague’s residence at the time of marriage looks like “Kilerin,” but because the handwriting can be a challenge to read, it may actually be “Kilcrim,” or some such variant. This may be the way the registrar who recorded the marriage heard the name of the town, and so wrote Kilcrim rather than Kincrum. I went back to Griffiths Valuation for Kincrum, Civil Parish of Inishkeel, to see if Teague’s father Patrick was recorded there is 1857. I found a Patrick “Menelis” recorded there, with six other occupiers. Two of the occupiers are named Gallagher. This Patrick Menelis could very well be Teague’s father. See a copy of the original Griffiths Valuation for Patrick Menalis and the other occupiers in Kincrm at: https://tinyurl.com/mcj46fjf Griffiths Valuation shows that Patrick Menelis leased a house and over 20 acres of land at map reference 5 from the Marquis of Conyngham. The land was valued at 2 Pounds and 15 Shillings. The house was valued at 10 Shillings. The total valuation was 3 Pounds and 15 Shillings for Patrick’s lease. The two occupiers before him are Cornelius and Timothy Gallagher at map reference 4. They leased only land in common, no houses. The land was over 33 acres in size. The value of the land for Cornelius was 1 Pound and 10 Shillings, which was also the value of Timothy’s share. Each had a total valuation of 1 Pound and 10 Shillings. I accessed the Griffiths Valuation map for Kincrum and found Patrick’s lease at map reference 5 and the Gallagher lease at map reference 4. See the map at: https://tinyurl.com/yr7r2uu7 Map reference 4 and 5 are toward the bottom/center of the map. Patrick was deceased by the year 1865, but the Irish government didn’t begin to record births, marriages, and deaths for all religious denomination until the year 1864. The exception was Protestant and civil marriages were recorded by the government beginning in 1845. The irishgenealogy.ie website has copies for original birth records from 1864 to 1920; copies of Protestant and civil marriages from 1845, and all other marriages from 1864 to 1945; and death records from 1871 to 1970. Death indexes are available from 1864 to 1870, but not copies of originals. Original copies of death records from 1864 to 1870 will be released to the public sometime in the future. Death indexes provide very little detail about a person’s death. In any case I looked for the death index for a Patrick McNelis (and variations of the surname), in 1864 and early 1865, to see if a death had been recorded in the Glenties Civil Registration District. I didn’t find a death index. This is an indication that Patrick had died before 1864, or that his death was not reported to the Glenties registrar. FURTHER RESEARCH Because Teague McNelis and Mary Gallagher were born before civil registration began in 1864, I wanted to see if there may possibly be baptism records for them in the Glenties/Inishkeel Catholic Parish. But, information from the National Library of Ireland, which holds copies of original Catholic parish registers, shows that the “Inniskeel/Glenties/Fintown,” Donegal baptisms are available from 11 October 1866 to 2 January 1881. See: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/1014 Marriages are available from 30 November 1866 to 23 February 1881: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/1015 These registers begin too late to have recorded the baptisms of Teague McNelis and Mary Gallagher and the marriage of their parents. THE TITHE APPLOTMENT BOOKS Before Griffiths Valuation, Ireland conducted an agricultural land survey between 1823 and 1837 called the Tithe Applotment Books. Under this survey farmers holding over an acre of land were required to pay a portion of their farming income to the established Church of Ireland. At this time period in Ireland’s history, the majority of the population were not only farmers, but also Roman Catholics. Roman Catholics as well as other dissenting religious denominations…Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Quakers, etc., were not happy that a portion of their hard-earned labor went toward a religious denomination they didn’t belong to, and which had persecuted them in the past. The National Archives of Ireland have placed the Tithe Applotment Books online, which can be searched at no cost. For more information, and to search the Tithe Applotment Books, go to the following National Archives of Ireland links: http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/about.jsp http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/aboutmore.jsp I wanted to see if Patrick McNelis and Daniel Gallagher were recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books in the townlands of Kincrum and Mulnamin Beg or Mulnamin More, Civil Parish of Inishkeel. First, Patrick McNelis. Patrick “Mcnelis” is recorded in the Tithe Applotment Books in the townland of Kincrum, Civil Parish of Inishkeel. The year was 1833. See the index at: https://tinyurl.com/26uuenyb You can also access a copy of the handwritten Tithe Applotment Book entry for the residence of Kincrum at: https://tinyurl.com/33dr5bwb As you can see in the original Tithe Applotments, the name of the town is spelled “Kincrim.” The Tithe Applotment Books of 1833 show there are 22 farmers in Kincrum leasing over an acre of land. By contrast, Griffiths Valuation shows 7 occupiers in Kincrum. This may be due to the devastating effects of the Great Irish Famine. The worst years of the famine were from 1845 to 1851. Historians estimate that during that time period, 1 million people died of starvation and disease, and another 1 million left the country for England, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The Tithe Applotment Books show that Patrick Mcnelis had leased over 7 acres of 2nd quality land. The best land was rated as 1st quality. The rents Patrick paid on the land per year amounted to 1 Pound, 6 shillings, and 3 Pence. The “Real Acreable Value” of the land was 3 Shillings and 6 Pence. The amount of the Tithe Composition he was required to pay toward the Church of Ireland was 2 Shillings and 6 Pence. The Tithe Applotment Books also show that a Hugh “Galaher” was recorded in Kincrum, though there’s no way to tell if he was related to Mary Gallagher’s people from the Tithe Applotment book entry alone. On another note, the townland of Kincrum has a very interesting origin. It comes from the Irish, “Cionn Cruinne,” which means “Headland of the Universe.” I don’t know how the townland would have gotten this name. I next looked for Daniel Gallagher in the Tithe Applotment Books to see if he was farming property anywhere within the Civil Parish of Inishkeel, but didn’t find him. In fact I couldn’t find the townlands of Mulnamin More, Mulnamin Beg, or Mulnamina recorded in the Civil Parish of Inisheel, or any other parish in County Donegal. I looked for Mulnamin More and Mulnamin Beg in the Tithe Applotment Books townland index for the Civil Parish of Inishkeel, which you can access at: http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/pagestab/Donegal/Inishk… With Kind Regards, Dave Boylan SOURCES irishgenealogy.ie Ireland XO Volunteer Patricia's reply of 8 January 2023 Ireland XO Volunteer Castlemore Rosocommon's reply of 8 January 2023 IreAtlas Townland Data Base Ask About Ireland: Griffiths Valuation Google Maps National Archives of Ireland 1901 Census National Library of Ireland National Archives of Ireland: Tithe Applotment Books