Reid Family from Cappaghcon, Loughrea

Nick,

This family resided in the area of Woodford. Michael and Katie married in Woodford Church in November 1909. Michael's father was Patrick and Katie's father was Laurence.

The 1911 census records the family at House No. 3 Cappaghcon.

Regards,

McCoy, many thanks for the additional information. Much appreciated!

Nick

Hello Nick,

To add to the information kindly provided by McCoy in his reply dated 20 July 2023, the Woodford Heritage Centre may be able to help you find any Reid family members who still live in the area of Cappaghcon, County Galway. The Heritage Centre, according to Google Maps, is only 2.1 miles south of Cappaghcon: https://tinyurl.com/4ee8usm9

The website for the Woodford Heritage Centre can be accessed at: https://galwayroots.com/

The email address of the Woodford Heritage Centre is: galwayroots@gmail.com

You can send the Heritage Centre an email explaining you are helping a friend who would like to connect with any of her Reid cousins who may still be living in the Cappaghcon and Woodford areas.

The following link will take you to a Google Street View of the Heritage Centre in Woodford: https://tinyurl.com/y66wjxvd

McCoy had also mentioned finding the Reid family in the 1911 census. The census records Laurence’s father, older brother, grandfather and aunt.

As McCoy mentioned, the 1911 census shows the family were the “Residents of a house 3 in Cappaghcon, West (Ballynagar, Galway).”

The 1911 census was taken on 2 April. The head of the household is 69 year old widower, Pat Reid, a farmer who could read and write. His son, who would be Laurence’s father, is 36 year old Michael Reid. The census shows he was a “Farmer’s son.” Michael was married to 34 year old Katie. The census line for Katie shows that she and Michael had been married for 1 year and that they had 1 child. That child is Patrick. The transcription does not give an age for Patrick, but he would have been under 1 year of age. A copy of the original census will tell you how many months old he was.

The household also includes Pat’s daughter, and Michael’s sister, 34 year old Maggie, who could read and write, and who was single. Everyone in the household was Roman Catholic and born in County Galway.

See the 1911 census transcription from the National Archives of Ireland:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Galway/Ballynagar/Capp…

Once the census downloads, make sure you tick the box, “Show all information” to view the full transcription.

A copy of the original 1911 census shows that the baby Patrick was 3 months old: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai002416299/

If you scroll down to the bottom right corner of the census, you can see the signature of the head of the household, Pat Reid. He would be your friend’s grandfather.

I next also found 60 year old widower Patrick Reid, his 26 year old son Michael, 23 year old daughter Margaret, and 22 year old son Patrick in the 1901 census, showing they were the “Residents of a house 3 in Cappaghcon West (Ballynagar, Galway).”

See the census transcription from the National Archives of Ireland:
https://tinyurl.com/bdeveryp

A copy of the original 1901 census can be found at: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000830536/

In addition to the 1912 civil registration birth record for Laurence Joseph Reid, from the irishgenealogy.ie website, McCoy provided the 1909 civil registration marriage record for Michael Reid and Katie E. Egan. They were married in the Roman Catholic Church of Woodford on November 25.

The name of the Catholic Church in Woodford is Saint John the Baptist, located on Bark Hill. According to the “Buildings Database” at Ireland Reaching Out, the church was constructed in 1857. For more information and a photo of the church, go to the Ireland Reaching Out link at:
https://www.irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/history-and-genealogy/buildings-da…

The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland website also has information about the church, as well as a slide presentation of the exterior and interior of the church. See: https://tinyurl.com/yw5pabyf

I found an Ordnance Survey Map in colour of the R.C. Chapel on Bark Hill in Woodford. The map is from the 1829 to 1841 time period, and so precedes the building of the church in 1857. The 1857 church however, looks like it was constructed on the same site as the old church on Bark Hill. The map is from the GeoHive website and is attached to this reply.

The R.C. Chapel is toward the bottom of the map. The “Church” you see in the centre of Ordnance Survey map was the site of Saint Paul’s Church of Ireland, since demolished.

An Ordnance Survey Map in colour from the same time period shows there are actually four townlands grouped together named Cappaghcon. These are Cappaghcon, Cappaghconbeg, Cappaghcon East, and Cappaghcon West.

Going back in time I found what I believe to be Michael Reidy’s baptism transcription from the Find My Past (FMP) website, only the transcription spells his name with the alternate “Reedy.”

Michael was baptized on 2 September 1872 in the Ballinakill, (East Galway) Catholic Parish. His father is Pat Reedy. His mother is Margt (Margaret) Mullen. The residence of Michael and his parents is not recorded in the baptism record. You can access the FMP baptism transcription after establishing a free account with FMP:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F0066889

Attached to the transcription is a link that takes you to a copy of the original baptism record for Michael Reedy held by the National Library of Ireland in Kildare Street, Dublin. You won’t have to look for the baptism record in the register, as I’ve already found it and have attached it to this reply.

The copy of the original baptism record shows that Michael’s godfather is Patritus (Patrick) Fahy. His godmother is Brid (Bridget) Reedy. Bridget may have been Patrick Reedy’s sister.

Using the information from the baptism record I looked for Michael’s civil registration birth record at the irishgenealogy.ie website, but did not originally find it. It took a while to uncover the birth record because Michael’s surname is recorded as “Mulready” and his father’s first name is erroneously recorded as “Michael,” rather than Patrick. The occupation of Michael’s father is “Farmer.”

But, the date of Michael’s birth is the same date as his baptism, 2 September 1872. His place of birth was “Cappycon,” which of course would be Cappaghcon”

His mother is Margt Mulready, formerly “Mullin.” Michael’s father reported the birth to the registrar, William H. Blackton, who recorded the birth in the Loughrea Registration District on 5 September 1872. Michael’s birth is number 121 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/2x3ndta4

Knowing that Patrick Reidy’s wife, and Michael Reidy’s mother, was Margaret, I looked for the Ballinakill, (East Galway) Catholic Parish marriage record for Patrick and Margaret, but didn’t find it.

Going to the National Library of Ireland parish registers for the Ballinakill, (East Galway) Catholic Parish, I found the library has not filmed the parish marriage registers, only the baptism registers. The baptism registers cover the time period from 15 April 1839 to 26 December 1859. There are gaps in the baptism registers though.

To see the availability of the Ballinakill, (East Galway) Catholic Parish registers, and for a map of the parish and surrounding Catholic parishes, go to the National Library of Ireland link at: https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0321

I next looked for the civil registration marriage record for Patrick Reidy and Margaret Mullen, but didn’t find it initially. I then looked for the marriage record under the alternate spellings of the Reidy surname. These are Reedy, Ready, Mulreidy, Mulready, Mulreedy, etc. This search proved to be successful, showing that Patrick “Mulreedy” and Margaret Mullen were married in the Roman Catholic Church of Ballinakill, on February 20, 1871. At the time of the marriage Patrick had been a bachelor and Margaret a spinster. Patrick’s occupation was “Farmer.” His residence at the time of marriage was “Cappycon.” His father is Michael Mulreedy, (alive) also a “farmer.”

No occupation is recorded for Margaret. Her reisidence at the time of marriage was also “Cappycon.” Her father was John Mullen (dead), who had been a “Farmer.”

The priest who married Patrick and Margaret was John Callagy. The witnesses to the marriage were Pat Mooran and Mary Fallon. Their signatures were witnessed by Father Callagy. The marriage record can be accessed at: https://tinyurl.com/4szua9mn

Patrick and Margaret’s son Michael was born on 2 September 1872, which likely means he was their first-born child.

To find out, I looked for the baptism transcriptions for any more of Patrick and Margaret’s children at the FMP website, and uncovered three more. The names and years of baptisms for these children are:

Maria Reed, 1874
Margaret Reidy, 1877
Patritius, 1879
----

Patritius is the Latin spelling for Patrick.

THE BAPTISM OF MARIA REED

The FMP transcription shows that Maria was baptized in the Ballinakill, (East Galway) Catholic Parish on 30 November 1874. The baptism also includes her birth date of 29 November 1874. See the transcription:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F0067068

A copy of the original baptism record shows that Maria’s godparents were Patritius and Elleenora Roonan.

THE BAPTISM OF MARGARET REIDY

Margaret was baptized on 31 May 1877, and born on 29 May 1877, according to the FMP transcription:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F0067277

A copy of Margaret’s original baptism record shows her godparents were Thomas and Winifred Mullen

THE BAPTISM OF PATRITIUS REIDY

The FMP transcription shows that Patrick was baptized on 4 March 1879 and born on 2 March 1879:
https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=IRE%2FPRS%2FBAP%2F0067415

The handwriting in a copy of the original baptism record for Patrick is a challenge to read. The first name of the godfather looks like “Albertus.” His last name looks like Stacy, but I’m not sure of that. The name of the godmother looks like it could be Margaret Fahy.

Using the baptism records as indexes, I next looked for the civil registration birth records for Mary, Margaret, and Patrick Reidy, and variant spelling of the Reidy surname.

THE BIRTH RECORD OF MARY READ

Mary was born in “Cappycon” on 29 November 1874. Her father is Pat Read, a “Farmer” living in Cappycon. Her mother is Margt Read, formerly Mullin. Pat reported the birth to the registrar, William H. Blackton, who recorded the birth in the Loughrea Registration District on 1 December 1874. Mary’s birth is number 47 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/6ux6ptx4

THE BIRTH RECORD OF MARGARET REED

Margaret Reed was born in “Cappycon” on 29 May 1877. Her father Patt is a “Farmer” living in Cappycon. Her mother is Margaret Reed, formerly Mullin. Patt reported the birth to the registrar, Willima H. Blackton, who recorded the birth in the Loughrea Registration District on 29 June 1877. Margaret’s birth is the first birth in the register at number 30: https://tinyurl.com/2wettta4

THE BIRTH OF PAT REED

Pat was born in “Cappycon” on 2 March 1879 to “Farmer” Pat Reed of Cappycon, and Margaret Reed, formerly Mullin. Pat reported the birth to the registrar, William H. Blackton, who recorded the death in the Loughrea Registration District on 11 March 1879. Pat’s birth is the first entry in the register, number 33: https://tinyurl.com/mtp4yjx3

The 1911 and 1901 census enumerations shows that Patrick Reid was a widower, which means that his wife Margaret would have died between the birth of Patrick in 1879 and the 1901 census.

THE DEATH OF MARGARET RIEDY

I looked for Margaret’s death record at the irishgenealogy.ie website and found it. Her last name is spelled, “Riedy.” She died in “Cappacun” on 13 September 1898 at the age of 55. At the time of death she was married and the “Wife of a Farmer.” The cause of death was “Abdominal tumor two years,” and “acute vomiting two days.” The person who was present at the death and who reported the death to the registrar was Margaret’s husband Patrick of Cappacun. The registrar, P.R. Keary, recorded the death in the Loughrea Registration District on 17 September 1898. Margaret’s death is the last entry in the register at number 16: https://tinyurl.com/yc6s2dnd

THE DEATH OF PATRICK REID

Margaret’s husband Patrick would have died sometime after the 1911 census was taken, and so I looked for his death record as well, and found it. Patrick Reid died in “Cappacon” on 5 July 1921 at the age of 76. At the time of death he was a “widower” and a “farmer.” The cause of death was “Senile decay.” The person who was present at the death and who reported the death to the registrar was Patrick’s son Michael, of Cappacon. The registrar, P.R. Keary, recorded Patrick’s death in the Loughrea Registration District on 22 August 1921. Patrick’s death is number 224 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/yckhds55

The informant Michael Reid would be Laurence’s father and your friend’s grandfather.

This prompted me to look for Michael’s death record. I found that Michael Reid died in Cappacon on 7 November 1964 at the age of 92. At the time of death he was married. He had been a “Farmer.” The cause of death was, “Cerebral Thrombosis 17 days.” The person who was present at the death and who reported the death to the registrar was Michael’s son John of “Cappocon.” The registrar, P.B. Keary recorded the death in the Loughrea Registration District on 9 November 1964. Michael’s death is number 199 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/22sfamcw

Death records at irishgenealogy.ie are available to the year 1972. I looked for the death record of Michael’s wife Katie, but didn’t find it.

At least we now know that Reids were living in Cappaghcon as late as 1964.

Nick, I hope the Woodford Heritage Centre will be able to provide you information about any Reids who are still living in the area of Cappaghcon and Woodford.

With Best Wishes,

Dave Boylan

SOURCES

McCoy's reply to Ireland Reaching Out, 20 July 2023
Google Maps
Google Street Views
Woodford Heritage Centre: https://galwayroots.com/
National Archives of Ireland: 1901 and 1911 census
irishgenealogy.ie
Ireland Reaching Out Buildings Database
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland
GeoHive Ordnance Survey maps
Find My Past
National Library of Ireland Catholic Parish Registers

Dave, I am a little overwhelmed but extremely grateful for all of this information. It is so kind of you. I will endeavour to make contact with the Heritage centre asap. I am sure that my friend will also be so very grateful. Thank you once again. Nick

You're welcome Nick, and many thanks for your reply.

Dave

Dave, I thought I would post a brief update following our earlier exchange. The lady whose Loughrea roots I was researching is now hopefully on the way to making contact with first /second cousins in the Woodford area. Following your advice, I made contact with the Heritage centre and explained what I was doing. They suggested an intermediary and I handed everything over to the lady in question. If things work out, this will be an amazing 80th birthday present for her. 

On behalf of Maggie and myself, thank you so much for your help. Best wishes. Nick

You're welcome Nick, and thank you very much for writing with the update. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Maggie will experience the thrill of communicating with an Irish cousin for the first time. Please write with any news. It will be very much appreciated.

Thank you again Nick.

Dave