Help needed - Donnaghue/Small Family

[coffieqween]

Hi

I have just found that my 2x Gt Grandmothers family come from Fermanagh and was hoping that some one may be able to help locating the rest of the family.

My 2x Gt Grandmothers name was Mary Jane Small, born about 1850, she left Ireland between 1858-1861 with her mother and other siblings and move to Scotland. I have found them listed in the 1861 Scotland Census (under surname Smull), her father is not with them. Names listed below:

1861 Scotland Census:

Mary Small - age 40 - Head - Ireland
James Small- age 20 - Son - Ireland
Mary Jane Small - age 17 - Daughter - Ireland
William Small - age 9 - Son - Ireland
Ann Small - age 7 - Daughter - Ireland
Catherine Small - age 5 - Daughter - Ireland

Her mother Mary Small remarried in Scotland in 1864 to a Bright Miller, she is listed as a widow and her parents are Patrick Donnaghue (Deceased) and Ann Kelly.

I then found her mother with her new husband on the 1871 Scotland Census, this is were I found they were from Fermanagh.

Mary Jane Small married Hugh Gamble in 1868 and on this marriage record her father is listed as being Fleming Small, however on the death record of her younger sister Ann who died in 1865 the father is listed as being James Small.

I am registered with Rootsireland but so far have been unable to find a birth record for Mary Jane Small or any of her siblings or a marriage record for her parents Mary Donnaghue and James (fleming) Small, I have also looked for a birth record for Mary Donnaghue with no luck.

If any one is able to give me some help/advice on where I can look now I would be very grateful

Marie

[Elwyn Soutter]

Statutory birth registration only started in Ireland in 1864 so you won’t find a birth certificate for Mary Jane. Registration of non RC marriages started in April 1845, RC in 1864. Since Mary evidently married around 1840, there won’t be a statutory certificate for the marriage either.

You need to rely on church records for births and marriages in the period 1820 – 1840. Not all of these are on-line. And you generally need to know which parish and which denomination. Otherwise it’s the proverbial needle in a haystack. Copies of most of the surviving church records for Co Fermanagh are held in PRONI, Belfast, but a personal visit is generally required to go through them. (And there are a lot of churches in Fermanagh).

The Rootsireland site doesn’t say what parishes and what denominations they have for Fermanagh, but going by other counties where that information is given, they won’t have all the possible records.

You also should know that not all church records for this period have survived and so that may also be an explanation.

[kingskerswell]

Hi,
   This site looks interesting. https://familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3Afleming~%20%2Bsurname%3Asmall~&offset=20 See first name.

Regards

[coffieqween]

Thanks Elwyn, I knew it would be difficult to get the information online, maybe a trip to Ireland at some point will be the answer.

Thank you kingskerswell, I had found this on Ancestry but dismissed this as the marriage year didn't fit with Mary Jane's birth, however it did not list the fathers names on it, will have to re-look at this and see if I can get a copy of the Certificate.

Again Thank you.

Marie