Elizabeth McDermott: who was she and where did she go?

The relative dearth of information about my grandfather Patrick has forced me to examine leads that I would not normally pursue. Recently, I re-visited some of my earliest records. In November 2007, I received a report from the Roscommon Heritage and Genealogy Company. The baptismal sponsors for my Grandfather Patrick in March 1883 were Elizabeth…

Missing from the records

In my quest for more information on Thomas Stanly (1807-1887) (http://www.roscommonstanley.me.uk/possible-relations/thomas-stanly-1807-1887/) I looked at the census return for Edward Naughton. He reported the death of Thomas. The document has a reference to a missing record. Edward, his daughter, son-in-law and family are listed at house number 13 on the sequence. On viewing a list of…

Thomas Stanly 1807 -1887

DNA evidence suggests that I am not related to the Ballyglass Lower branch of the Stanley family. (James Stanley and Oliver Stanley are shown as living almost next door to each other on the Griffiths valuation records.) When I published the blog “Ballyglass Stanley”, https://www.roscommonstanley.me.uk/possible-relations/ballyglass-stanley/, I was contacted by another researcher. He was able to…

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…

McCormack & Stanley

There were already nine (9) different people called John Stanley on this website when I started writing this post. I now introduce number ten! On 30th November 1882 John Stanley married Ellenor McCormack. John was a bachelor from Ballyglass. Ellenor was a spinster, also from Ballyglass. The wedding took place in Cloverhill Church. This church…

Boer War Concentration Camps

It is easy to identify ways in which the British authorities could have done a better job in the Boer War. Well it is with the wisdom of hindsight. Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, military leaders were slow to adapt to new tactics. The Boers knew that they could…