MAGEE/COULTER

[SfromI]

Hope I am doing this right. My father was born in Ireland, we think. He was baptised in St. Peter's R.C. Drogheda in 1922 but as far as we know never registered. His parents were put down on baptismal certificate as Harold S. Murray and Evelyn C. Magee but no addresses. Sponsor was a Mary Logan.  He was brought up by a lady in Drogheda who was not related.  He had a 'sister' brought up by the same lady but she was not related to them either.  Thus my father's side of my family history stops with him.  Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

[Sonas]

Have you tried contacting the church to check if the addresses or other information might be recorded in the baptism register? He might have been what was called a 'boarded out' child in which case teh place to start to see if there are records is Louth Co. Archive. http://www.louthcoco.ie/en/Services/Archives/

[SfromI]

I entered this message on another site a week or two ago and someone suggested the same thing.  Thanks.  I think I will give it a try.  I will try everything.  Here's hoping.

[mmcpadden1]

As previously suggested it is likely your father was boarded out.
This could well have been organised by the County Home in Louth where they may have been for some time previously.
Records from there should still be available.

The local Co.Council were in charge of Health then.
For 40+ years it has been under Health Board / Health Service Executive.

Contact the following address & request info. under the Freedom of Information Act.
Louth Local Health Office,Community Care,Dublin Rd.,Dundalk,Co.Louth.

Tel. 00353 42933 1194

[SfromI]

Thanks a lot.  I will try them.

[Sonas]

Do you know if someone has had to go the FOI / HSE route to get access to the Board of Health records, mmcapdden?

I suggested Louth Co Archive because the Board of Health records are held there -
http://www.louthcoco.ie/en/Services/Archives/Archive_Collections/Archives_of_Louth_Local_Authorities/Boards_of_Health_and_Public_Assistance/

I didn't read this very thoroughly but don't see a reference to having to go the FOI route. As well, SFromI's father was born slightly before the dates of the earliest minute book (1924) of the Board of Health so the case might initially have been handled through the Poor Law boarded out children systems, and again Louth Co Archive has these records.

[mmcpadden1]

In the area,with which Iam familiar that is the procedure.
Actually the records of children who were born in or spent time in the County Home are kept in that institution back to early 1920s.
I understand that is the situation throughout the country.

What I found in the archives of some counties related to meetings,day to day running of the institution,no records of clients.

However there may be  records in  some Archives relating to boarding out payments.
As I notice in the Louth Archives it states that access is restricted to avoid embarassement to any individual or family.
So it would appear there is reference to individuals there.
At least some form of ID would be required,if not F.O.I. APPLICATION

[Sonas]

I checked the websites of a half dozen or so county archives and they are all listing Board of Health records among their collections. I would have thought the opposite to you to be honest; that  most of this material is in local authority rather than HSE hands.

I think that in very many cases the surviving records are the minute books of meetings of the Boards of Health, one of the sub-committees of which dealt with boarded out children. I've seen this material in a couple of counties and the minutes name children, people they lived with and sometimes parents.

In the case of Louth, if it were me, I would be contacting the archive when they hold the records.

[SfromI]

I contacted Louth County Council and they say they hold very little records for boarded out children.  They did have the minute books of Louth County Board of Health & Public Assistance but could not find the names - it started from 1924.  They also went through financial records dating to the 1920's but could find no reference to Mary Finegan who brought up my father.  They suggested the Sisters of Mercy and I have written to them.  They also suggested contacting local schools.  I don't suppose anyone would know which would be the local school to Green Lanes, Drogheda?