Many years ago, I asked a work colleague what prompted his interest in the Great War. He said that he had become aware of how much the world had changed in those four years. The map of Europe had been redrawn. The social changes were even more dramatic. Things could never return to the old…
All posts tagged Irish
Both ends to the middle – Part 2
Part 1 was really an extended preamble. How do the principles apply to ‘the man in the street’? We have to move from the known to the unknown. What information do we have with which to start? We might have locations. Ideally these are Townlands, because they are the smallest unit of area, often with…
Both ends to the middle – Part 1
In April 2019 I posted a blog on my family history website entitled “DNA: the magic bullet?”. (https://www.roscommonstanley.me.uk/direct-line/dna-the-magic-bullet/ ) In the intervening period, the number of DNA matches that appear on my list from Ancestry has expanded. In the 4th-6th cousin group (above 20 cM of DNA in common) there are 294 names. I refer…
Boston Pilot
I am conscious that many of those emigrating from Roscommon ended up in America. For 90 years (from 1831 to 1921) a newspaper called the Boston Pilot published a ‘Missing Friends’ column. Photo: Boston Harbour in the mid 1800s Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_harbor_and_East_Boston_from_State_St._block,_by_Soule,_John_P.,_1827-1904.jpg (cropped) The database has over 40,000 records. (https://infowanted.bc.edu/search/ ) (now behind a paywall) Advertisements…
The Great Famine
In almost every country in the world, there are events that are central to the collective memory. Examples include the release from prison of Nelson Mandela (1990), the death of Diana, Princess of Wales (1997), the attack on Pearl Harbour (1941) and the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989). These events act as a pivot…
More about Mary’s brother John
The first born child of the Stanley/Ormsby marriage was John (born 1866 in Roscommon). The 1891 census has him born in 1867. At that time, he was single and lodging with his married (half) sister Catherine (or Kate) Senior. So what happened to him subsequently? In 1901 he is still working as a Mason’s Labourer.…
Another Kenny
John Stanley (b 1857/1861, in Dewsbury) married Ellen Kenny in 1884. According to the 1881 census, Ellen’s parents were William, born 1840 in Ireland, and Ann, born 1841 in Dewsbury. In 1871, their dates of birth are 1844 and 1845 respectively. Ann is now stated to have been born in Ireland. Staying with them was…
Yorkshire born Stanley
Having discovered a locally born Stanley family with a strong geographical connection (New St) to my Irish ancestors, it was an obvious line of enquiry to follow. The same family appears in 1891. John’s date of birth is now shown as 1855. Their address is Carlisle St. This is another address that does not seem…
Looking for one relative – finding another
Patrick and Mary Muldoon (nee Stanley) were living in Dewsbury in 1891. (See Mary Muldoon) Was she the first of the family to go to Yorkshire? It appears not. Another 1891 record for Dewsbury seems to show two more family members in the town. Address 13 Back New Street Parish Dewsbury Forename Surname Age…
Stanley – sporting superstar
One of my unfulfilled dreams is to deliver a sporting performance that would merit a headline like the one above. I may be past my peak (whenever that was!) but I remain hopeful. As Alexander Pope wrote, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” My research has discovered that there was a Stanley for whom…