Hello,
I'm throwing this out back into the world in the hope that someone might be able to help me with this brick wall. I'm sorry if I'm not quite posting this in the right place but this story jumps around a lot!
In my family tree is a women called Gertrude Connolly. She was born in Down in approximately 1901 although I'm unclear on the exact details of this, partly because it was an illegitimate birth.
What I do know is that her mother was a woman called Harriett Jane Connolly.
I believe that Harriett was born on 8th December 1865 in Belfast and that her parents were William John Connolly and a women named Harriett Gracey.
I know nothing about what happens to her from the date of her birth until the 1901 census. According to the National Archives of Ireland, in 1901 she is living in House 61 in Ballylough, (Dundrum, Down) with her aunts, Margaret Gracey and Catherine Gracey who are both in their 60s. According to the original image provide she was working as a milliner, her aunts were farmers.
At some point in 1901/2 she has a baby, Gertrude Connolly.
On the 1911 census she is still living with her Aunt Margaret. She also has Gertrude Connolly with her, aged 10 according to the census form. She is listed as single so it's clear she didn't marry, at least not by this point. The form claims that Gertrude is Margaret's Granddaughter but Margaret is listed as single too (I'm assuming single means never married). Neither of them have filled in the bit which says 'children born alive', so there is some mental gymnastics happening on this form.
Somewhat more confusingly, I've just noticed the National Archive of Ireland provides a second page for this census return and under the section 'Name of Head of Family' it says Catherine Gracey, but Catherine isn't listed as a household resident on the form?
I'd love to know more about the circumstances of Gertrude Connolly's birth. I appreciate it is unlikely but I'm hoping there is a clue lurking somewhere!
