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Hello Ireland XO

My name is Justin Smith from Melbourne Australia. Family research started during Covid19 lockdown has lead me to identify several Irish families that our research had not previously identified. During the early years of colonial settlement in Victoria (1850's), a population explosion was underway with the discovery of rich gold seams in areas 60-80 miles north of Melbourne.

Two of my ancestors, originally from Co Offaly, married in St Francis Church in Melbourne in 1872. At the wedding site, much to the surprise of the assembled guests, there was a realisation that the families knew each other previously in Ireland, and where unaware of the other families presence in the colony until the time of the wedding. Over time the families lost touch with Ireland, but I would love to establish some contact if possible.

The colony of Victoria kept good records of BDM from an early time so I have some good details of the bride and groom, my ancestors. The bride was Mary Moore and the marriage certificate stated she was from Tullamore, Co Offaly. Her father, a mason, was John Moore, and mother was Elizabeth Geoghegan, presumably also from this area. From Rootsireland.ie records I can identify an large family of children, but I can't identify the parish other than Tullamore (see attachment). Mary's approximate age at the time was 28 (B. 1844), but she may have been older. Ancestry.com has not revealed any useful information.

I know Mary arrived in Victoria approximately 1860-2.

The groom was James Gallagher. The marriage certificate stated he was also from Tullamore, Co Offaly. His father, a mason, was Andrew, and mother was Elizabeth Conroy, presumably also from this area. James' approximate age at the time was 29 (B. 1843). I can't locate a baptism record on Rootsireland.ie for James, but I have found a record for Michael Gallagher and others; father - Andrew Gallagher and mother, E Conroy. Parish is Killeigh (near Tullamore). Possibly a strong connection. See attachment 2.

I can find no record of James Gallagher leaving Ireland or Arriving in Victoria.

Any assistance as to how I can sift through the details will be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Justin Smith

 

Old wombat55

Wednesday 15th Mar 2023, 03:47PM

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  • Justin:

    Regarding James Gallagher, the baptismal records for Killeigh RC parish start in 1844 so likely James was baptized right before the start of records https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0711  

    Regarding the Moores, my guess is that John Moore and family lived in the town of Tullamore. I did not find a John Moore in the Griffiths Valuation and since he was a mason, there was probably no record for him.

    Check out Roots Ireland again. I found a Lewis Moore baptism. His mother was only shown as Bess so if you searched with Geoghegan, the record would not come up.

    There would be no record of James or Mary leaving Ireland.

    Have you considered DNA testing as a way of identifying matches on the Moore and Gallagher lines?

    Roger McDonnell

    Castlemore Roscommon, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Wednesday 15th Mar 2023, 04:32PM

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