Re: WILSON'S IN EASKY, COUNTY SLIGO
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In reply to:
WILSON'S IN EASKY, COUNTY SLIGO
Joyce Gray 2/05/05
Hello Joyce,
The existence of church parish registers of baptisms, marriages,
and deaths in Easky, Sligo for your Wilson/Quinlin/Thompson ancestors
will depend upon what religious denomination they had belonged to.
For instance, a book by Brian Mitchell called "A Guide To Irish Parish
Registers," shows that the townland of Easky was located in the Civil
Parish of Easky and that the Church of Ireland parish registers for that
Civil Parish commence in the year 1822. Mitchell's book also shows that the
Catholic parish registers for the Civil Parish of Easky, which would also
include the Catholic parish of Easky, begin in 1864.
As you can see if your ancestors were Roman Catholic and had lived in the
Civil Parish of Easky, there would be no church registers available that
would note baptisms, marriages, and deaths for them.
Coincidently, Civil Registration of births, marriages, and deaths in Ireland
for all religious denominations began in 1864, the same year the Catholic
parish registers begin for Easky.
But if your ancestors were members of the Church of Ireland, please let me
know and I'll see if I can find the name and address of the parish priest so
that you can write to have the parish registers searched for your ancestors.
I also searched a record called the Tithe Applotment Books for the
Wilson/Quinlin/Thompson surnames.
The Tithe Applotment Books recorded rural occupiers of the land in all
thirty-two counties of Ireland who were required to pay a "tithe" or a tax
to help support the established Church of Ireland. Farmers of all religious
denominations had to pay the tithes, which caused great consternation in
Ireland among the majority of the population, who were Catholic.
The Tithe Applotment Books cover the years 1823 to 1837. A link from an
online database (http://www.censusfinder.com/ireland.htm) lists the Tithe
payers for the Civil Parish of Easky.
The Tithes were paid in County Sligo in the year 1833.
I didn't find a Thomas Wilson or any Thompsons or Quinlins as paying Tithes
in Easky, but did locate two Wilsons at the link from the Census Finder
website at http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlsli/tithe2.htmlhttp://www.rootsweb.com/~irlsli/tithe2.html
The Tithe Applotment Books record a "William Wilson and son," and "John
Wilson," on lines 273 and 275 respectively in the record you'll find at
the website mentioned above.
The Tithe record shows that these Wilsons were living on the estate owned by
Colonel John Irwin in the townland of "Killenduff," Civil Parish of Easky.
The actual spelling of this townland is Killeenduff.
I next checked another land record called Griffiths Valuation. This was a
property record enumerated in Ireland between 1847 and 1864, which taxed
leaseholders and owners of land in all 32 counties of Ireland to
help support the poor.
Griffiths Valuation only lists the heads of Households, not families, but
does act as a census substitute because most of the 19th century Irish
census records no longer exist.
I belong to a subscription website called Irish Origins which provides
Griffiths Valuation.
Griffiths Valuation was conducted in County Sligo in 1858. I'm not sure if
your ancestors were still in Ireland in 1858, but I did not find a Thomas
Wilson recorded in Easky, though I did find Henry, Adam, and George Wilson
living in Killeenduff, Civil Parish of Easky.
If you recall from the Tithe record mentioned above, a William Wilson and
son, and a John Wilson were living in Killeenduff in 1833, which shows the
surname was in this particular town at least from the 1830s to the 1850s.
I then expanded the search in Grffiths Valuation to see if a Thomas Wilson
was living in a nearby Civil Parish to Easky.
I found one listing. This Thomas Wilson was living in the townland of
Cuskernagh, Civil Parish of Kilmacshalgan. The Civil Parish of Kilmacshalgan
is just east of the Civil Parish of Easky.
I've extracted the Griffith's entry for Thomas Wilson from the Irish Origins
website just below:
No. and Letters of Reference to Map: 1a
Occupier: THOMAS WILSON
Lessor: PETER NIDDRIE
Townland: CUSKERNAGH
Civil Parish: KILMACSHALGAN
County: SLIGO
Description of Tenement: Land, House, and Office
Area of Land: 21 Acres, 1 Rood, 38 Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 5 Pounds
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 10 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 5 Pounds, 10 Shillings
The Griffiths entry above shows that Thomas Wilson leased a House, Office
and Land from a Peter Niddrie. Peter Niddrie may have owned the property or
may have been the middleman who leased the property for an absentee landlord.
The land was a little over 21 acres in size, and was worth 5 Pounds, while
the buildings on the property were worth 10 Shillings.
In the record above you will see, aside from a house and land, reference to
an "office." An office in this case doesn't mean a place where a person went
to work to do paper work.
An office in a Griffiths Valuation record, could have been a barn, stable,
workshop, etc.
The Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property for Thomas Wilson in
Griffiths was 5 Pounds, 10 Shillings.
The map number, "No. 1a" you see at the beginning of the record refers to an
Ordnance Survey Map from that time period, which shows the location of the
property Thomas Wilson leased within the town of Cuskernagh.
If your Thomas Wilson and family were still in Ireland in 1858, the listing
in Grififths Valuation may pertain to him. If your Thomas Wilson had
immigrated to the United States by 1858, the Thomas Wilson in the Griffiths
entry above could not pertain to your ancestor.
After finding the Griffiths entry for Thomas Wilson in the Civil Parish of
Kilmacshalgan, I went back to the Tithe Applotment Books at the Census
Finder website mentioned earlier in this email, to see if a Thomas Wilson
was listed the Civil Parish of Kilmacshalgan. He was not listed in this
Civil Parish.
I also checked the other Civil Parishes which bordered Easky and
Kilmacshalgan for a Thomas Wilson in the Tithe Applotment Books. These
included Achonry, Kilglass, Kilmactiege, and Templeboy, but with no success.
This tells me that Thomas Wilson was either missed in the Tithe record, was
not recorded because he was not a rural farmer at the time, or was not
living in the Easky area in 1833 when the Tithe payers were recorded in County
Sligo.
I then went back to Griffiths Valuation to see if I could find any Thompsons
listed as having lived in the Civil Parish of Kilmacshalgan.
I found one entry for a John Thompson living in the townland of Doonbeakan,
Civil Parish of Kilmacshalgan..
This John Thompson may have been a relative of Jane Thompson Wilson, but
again it's impossible to prove relationships just from the Griffiths record
alone.
I searched the Griffiths Valuation records for James Quinlin, not only in
Easky and the surrounding Civil Parishes, but in every location in Sligo. No
entry was found for anyone by that name.
I then narrowed the search in the Griffiths record even more by looking for
anyone with the name Quinlin/Quinlan, etc in County Sligo. Again no entries
were found. Are you sure that James Quinlin was born in County Sligo Joyce?
Also, I checked the Latter Day Saints (LDS) website (www.familysearch.org) to
see if I could find any further information about your Wilsons in Easky.
I found the entries of six birth records for the children of Thomas Wilson
and Jane Thompson at the LDS Pedigree Resource File. These birth entries
were submitted to the Pedigree Resource File by a lady named Gloria C. Darley.
Below is contact information for Gloria, plus the birth records she
submitted to the PRF:
Gloria C. DARLEY
3120 N. 3800 West
Cedar City, Utah 84720
Eliza Wilson - Pedigree Resource File
Gender: F Birth/Christening: abt 1826 Easkey, Sligo, Ireland
Mary Ann Wilson - Pedigree Resource File
Gender: F Birth/Christening: abt 1828 of Easkey, Sligo, Ireland
James Wilson - Pedigree Resource File
Gender: M Birth/Christening: abt 1829 of Easkey, Sligo, Ireland
Joseph Wilson - Pedigree Resource File
Gender: M Birth/Christening: abt 1831 of Easkey, Sligo, Ireland
Margaret Wilson - Pedigree Resource File
Gender: F Birth/Christening: abt 1833 of Easkey, Sligo, Ireland
Ellen Wilson - Pedigree Resource File
Gender: F Birth/Christening: abt 1835 of Easkey, Sligo, Ireland
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If you do not know Gloria you may want to write her as she may be related to
you and could possibly have more information about your ancestors.
In addition, I accessed an online phone directory to see if I could find the
listings for any Wilsons, Thompsons and Quinlins living in or near Easky,
Sligo.
I found one listing. This is for Andrew and Barbara Wilson, living in
Rathless, "Easkey," Sligo. You may want to consider writing to them to see
if Andrew is a long lost cousin of yours or to see if he would have any
knowledge about your ancestors.
Please see below for contact information:
Andrew & Barbara Wilson
Rathlee, Easkey, Sligo
Republic of Ireland
Tel: 011.353.96.49480
A note about Easky. This town is located on the far northwest coast of
County Sligo on the southern shore of Sligo Bay. It is on the R 297 rural
road, which follows the coast west and east of Easky.
The spelling of Easky is English. The actual Irish spelling is Iascaigh,
which in the Irish language means "fishing ground," a reference to the
town's close proximity to Sligo Bay.
To see a map of County Sligo showing "Easkey," go to:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlsli/index2.htmlhttp://www.rootsweb.com/~irlsli/index2.html
Find the "Maps Sligo" link on the left side of the page for the Sligo map.
Just to the southwest of Easkey on the map you'll see the town of Rathlee
where the Andrew and Barbara Wilson in the phone listing are living.
Another link at "Maps Sligo" also shows the Civil Parish map for
Sligo so that you can see where the various Civil Parishes mentioned in this
email were located in County Sligo, including Easky.
Concerning American records, I found 72 year old Jane Wilson in the 1870
census for Franklin, Houghton County, Michigan. The 1870 census return
was found at the HeritageQuest subscription website available at many
public libraries.
In the household was 24 year old John Wilson. Both are shown to have been born
in Ireland. The census doesn't tell what the relationship was between Jane and
John. The census shows both were born in Ireland.
The occupation given for John is "Laborer." I would say that by 1870 Jane's
husband Thomas was deceased by the time the census was enumerated in June of
that year.
Living next to Jane and John were 38 year old James Wilson, 26 year old
Margaret, 3 year old James, and 2 year old John. I am assuming that James Wilson
and Margaret were husband and wife. Both were born in Ireland, but the children
were born in Michigan. James's occupation is listed as a "Miner." The census also
shows that James was a naturalized citizen.
Both of these enumerations are found on census page 645.
I also found a 40 year old Mary A. Wilson, born in Ireland, and several
children in the 1870 census on census page 655. No husband appears to be living
with Mary. Her occupation is listed as "Keeping House." Her children include 21 year
old William, who worked as a "Laborer;" 20 year old James, whose occupation was
"Runs an Engine;" 18 year old George, who was a "Laborer;" a 15 year old daughter
whose name appears to be Janet; 14 year old Margaret; 12 year old Joseph;
10 year old Thomas; 8 year old Mary A.; and 6 year old Ellen. All the children
are shown to have been born in New York.
The questions I would ask about the 1870 census return include:
Was this Mary A. actually Mary Ann Wilson, daughter the of Thomas and Jane
Wilson?
Were the children in the census hers? If so Mary A. would have had to be in
the U.S. by 1849 as 21 year old William is shown to have been born in New York,
circa 1849.
And if these were her natural children, was the father's last name also
Wilson?
Or, if not Wilson, did Mary revert back to her maiden name after her husband
died or left the family? And did she also give the children the name Wilson?
Or, did Mary adopt these children?
Or could these children have belonged to one of Mary's brothers?
It's also possible that Mary A. was not related to Thomas and Jane Wilson.
But it does seem coincidental that your records show the Wilsons had lived in New
York, while the census shows the children living with Mary A. Wilson were also
born in New York. Perhaps you know the answers to these questions as you are more
familiar with the genealogy of the Wilson family.
I also found Mary A.; James, Margaret, Mary, and Helen/Ellen) Wilson in the
1880 census in Franklin, Houghton County, Michigan.
The ages of the children are exactly 10 years older in the 1880 census than
in the 1870 census. Mary A. was born in Ireland, while the children were born in
New York, in this census.
But, the 1880 census shows that Mary A. was now married to 40 year old Henry
Gordon, born in Ireland. The census, as you will see, lists Mary as
Mary A. W. Gordon. The children are listed as Henry Gordon's step-children.
This census return was found at the Latter Day Saints website at
www.familysearch.org
Please see below:
Name, Relation, Marital Status, Gender, Race, Age, Birthplace, Occupation,
Father's Birthplace, Mother's Birthplace,
Henry GORDONSelfMMaleW40ENGStamp Mill Laborer SCOTLANDENG
Mary A. W. GORDONWifeMFemaleW47IRELANDKeeping House IRELAND IRELAND
James W. WILSONSSonSMaleW30NYMachinistIRELAND IRELAND
Margaret WILSONSDauSFemaleW24NYAt HomeIRELAND IRELAND
Mary WILSONSDauSFemaleW18NYAt SchoolIRELAND IRELAND
Helen WILSONSDauSFemaleW16NYAt SchoolIRELAND IRELAND
Source Information:
Census Place Franklin, Houghton, Michigan
Family History Library Film1254581
NA Film NumberT9-0581
Page Number361D
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This census can be found on LDS microfilm number 1254581.
The 1890 census for most of the United States doesn't exist because this census
was burned in a fire at the Commerce Building in Washington, D.C. in the 1920s.
I checked the 1900 census to see if I could find Henry and Mary A. Gordon living in
Franklin, Houghton County, Michigan. They are not listed. I also checked for them
anywhere in Michigan, but again, no census returns for them were found.
To recap, if your ancestors belonged to the Church of Ireland, please let me
know and I'll search for the name and address of the parish priest so that
you can write a letter to him asking to search the Easky Church of Ireland
parish registers.
If your ancestors were Roman Catholic there will not be any parish baptism,
marriage or death records for them. These are the vital records that would
likely give you the most comprehensive information about your ancestors.
Nor will there be Civil Registration records of births, marriages, and
deaths for them in Ireland, as your records show your ancestors had left Ireland
by 1864 when the government began recording vital records.
Don't hesitate to write if you have any questions.
Best Wishes,
Dave Boylan