Bridget or Biddy Brogan is my 2x great grandmother. She married John Diver at the Gortahork Chapel on 28 Feb 1874. She was 18 years old, a spinster, residing in Killult, Donegal, Ireland and the daughter of Owen Brogan, a farmer. To date I have found 8 children of this marriage. Michael (1874), Patrick (1876), James (1879), Annie (1881), Sarah (1883), Denis (1885), Jiley or Julia (1888) were all born at Crossroads, Dunfanaghy, Donegal. The youngest child I have found is John who was born in Uddingston, Lanarkshire, Scotland. All of John and Bridget's children (except Denis who died in Crossroads and Sarah who I cannot trace) died in Scotland. They did not return to Ireland.
After she was widowed, Bridget married again. In 1903 she married another Irishman, James Maley, in the Uddingston Chapel in Scotland. Her second marriage entry records her father as John Brogan, agricultural labourer, deceased and her mother is Bridget Brogan, maiden surname Boyle. Her death record in 1930 has the same parental details.
It looks like Bridget moved with her husband John and their surviving children from Donegal to Scotland sometime between 1888 and 1894. However I have been unable to find her in the 1891 or 1901 census in Scotland or the 1901 census in Ireland. She is recorded in the 1911 and 1921 Scottish censuses.
When Patrick Diver was born in 1876, the informant was Nancy Brogan of Killult who was present at the birth. I assume this is either Bridget's sister, sister-in-law, aunt or possibly her grandmother but have not been able to confirm this in online records. I have found Jiley Brogan, daughter of Patrick Brogan and Nancy Boyle, residing in Killult. She may be a cousin to Bridget and her aunt Nancy may have been the person present at Patrick Diver's birth but this needs further research. The name Jiley or Julia does seem reasonably uncommon in the records so it may tie up.
I am a descendant of Bridget through my great grandmother, Julia Diver. As far as I can discover Julia was the only child of the John Diver and Bridget Brogan brood who produced grandchildren - 2 remained in Scotland, 1 moved to England and 1 emigrated to New Zealand which is where I am writing this today. If anyone has any information about Bridget Brogan and her parents Owen/John Brogan and Bridget Boyle, I would be very interested.
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 1st Jan 1856 (circa) | VIEW SOURCE |
| Date of Death | 1st Nov 1930 | VIEW SOURCE |
