Thread: Edward McEwan

Hi

I am trying to locate my g grandfather Irish roots.

From census details I have found out that he was born in Monaghan in about 1825 and at some time married an Ann Hymes (hynes) exact spelling of her name not known. Ann was born in about 1827 in Louth.

I guess that they were married in either Monaghan or Louth because on the 1851 census for Durham England they were married and had a daughter called Catherine born in Ireland about 1846.

Hope anyone can help me?

Thanks

If the couple married in Ireland, tradition would have been to marry in the wife’s church. They probably married around 1845 which is the start of civil recording of marriages for Protestants and Non Conformists (but not RC which didn't start till 1864). I had a look on the LDS pilot site for a possible marriage McEwan-Hynes or Hymes in the statutory records. There was no trace, which means they may have been RC, or they married prior to 1845.

Prior to the start of civil registration of marriages, you are heavily dependant on church records, where they exist. In general, there are few records prior to 1800. To use church records effectively, there’s no central index and so ideally you need to know the ancestor’s religion, townland and parish in Ireland. To find that information if the person died overseas, the usual sources are Poor Law applications, gravestones, family bibles, wills and obituaries. In some jurisdictions death and marriage certificates will also contain parents names which may aid the search.

For the Republic of Ireland some parish records have been copied and are held by the National Library National Library of Ireland - Homepage


Elwyn