Morton Family of Ballymahon, Co Longford

[colmc]

To expand a little more on Hallmarks census list of Mortons born in Longford. The first 6 have fathers named Thomas. John Henry, Grace Jane, and Sarah are linked together through the 1884 wedding details and to Thomas Morton who died 10 July 1881 by Grace Jane. If Revolution has linked Elizabeth to the same Thomas then the assumption has to be that these first 4 are likely to be siblings - despite the massive range of birth years -  with the possibility that the next two are twins and all 6 are siblings.
   
   Elizabeth(Eliza)Morton  b  15/6/1841 Longford, Bpt 25/7/1841, mrd Robert Searight(1841-1873) NZ, mrd Moore Ellis Mawhinney.
   Sarah Morton               b  c1852, Mrd Thomas Clarke 7/3/1884 Dromcliffe Ennis, Mrd Michael Gloster 19/9/1887 Galway. D 9/5/1891 Kilchreest A:39.
   Grace Jane Morton        b  c1861/1866 Longford, Mrd Thomas Hicks 7/3/1884 Dromcliffe, CS 1901 7 Dovea Lower Kilrush A:40,                                                                                CS 1911 8 Dovea A:50,  D1931 thurles A:65.
   John Henry Morton        b  c1855 Longford, mrd Annie(? Drogheda 1878 ? Anne Cobban? ),                                                                                                                                           CS 1901 2 Dromore Ruan Clare A:46,CS 1911 5 Dromore Ruan Clare, d 11/1/1922 Dromore A:67.

   
   Edward Morton             b  c1851 Longford, mrd Ellen Ashe 27/3/1883 Wexford.
   Thomas Morton            b  c1851 Longford, mrd Johanna Arthur 18/7/1889 Baltinglass Wicklow.
   
   
   
   William Morton b1845 Longford, fathers name was John Morton, Mrd Martha Dobson - was born Cosgrave, widowed by Dobson.

   
   

[colmc]

Been doing some digging in Griffith's valuation so will share what I got for Thomas Morton c1815-1881

I noticed Revolution had posted valuation information from findmypast on the blog , askaboutireland.ie is a much better (and free) source for the valuation.

Thomas is listed at 7b in Cloonkeen townland, Parish of Shrule.
On the valuation map, it is difficult to distinguish 7b from 7a.

[colmc]

Ruins of McKinleys house listed at 6 can be seen in google earth, any remaining trace of Mortons is hidden in the woods

[colmc]

In this image to show the location, Cúirt an Chaisleáin Nua translates as Newcastle Court.

[jmorton]

Hi Colm,

Great research; I was skeptical of whether the Thomas Morton born in 1815 was the one I was looking for, but the connections you've made between the various Mortons make it almost certain. Very interesting to see that John Henry had sisters also living in Dromore. I'd really appreciate seeing the 1884 marriage documents you've found, Thomas Morton's death record, and any other interesting finds. My email address is ^(*) Thanks.

Also, I'm wondering if anyone else is researching Annie Cobban, John Henry's wife; she's proving to be a bit of an enigma, too.

Finally, for those who might not have seen them before, I've attached some photos. The first is of John Henry with his wife Annie and daughters Annie and Sarah; the second is a very pretty picture of John H's daughter Mary Elizabeth; the third is John H's son John Thomas when young, with his first wife, Clara, and the fourth is John Thomas when old, with his second wife, Hilda.

Best,
James



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[hallmark]

Newcastle is not being converted into http://www.centerparcs.co.uk/en-ie/villages/longford-forest

[colmc]

Those pictures are fantastic James! John Henry is my great great grand uncle. (assuming he is Sarah's brother)

You are still one post away from using messages here and I would gladly share any info/docs with you, but you can find the marriage record easily on irishgenealogy.ie if you search for Sarah Morton, Ennis, 1884 in the civil records. Both marriage records appear on the same page.

The death record for Thomas Morton in Ballymahon 1881 is not available on PDF but can be ordered from that site, I am hoping that Revolution will be able to provide a copy.

I had a quick look for Anne Cobban for you, The marriage record for John Henry and Anne also isn't available on PDF, but both names get the same return for a marriage record in Drogheda in the first quarter of 1878 (returns vol 2 page 607)which can be ordered and will provide an address along with her fathers name and occupation. (Edit: Revolution also has a copy of this, also the 1901 census states that she was born in Scotland)

Very disappointing that any trace of the home in Longford may be destroyed now.

CC

[jmorton]

Hi CC/everyone else,

Thanks for the link to the Irish genealogy site; managed to find the record very easily. To add some exciting new information, yesterday I found what I believe to be definitive proof that John Henry Morton, Sarah Morton and Grace Jane Morton were siblings: In the 1911 England census, John H's daughter Mary Elizabeth appears in the SAME census return as Sarah Elizabeth Gloster, who is listed as a COUSIN. Therefore, since we also know that Sarah and Grace Jane were siblings, and it is logical to believe that Grace Jane was the same Grace Jane as the one on Thomas Morton's death certificate (our Grace Jane was 20 at the time, so you would expect her to still be living at home in Newcastle with her father), I am now at least 90% sure that the Thomas Morton who was born in 1815 and died in 1881 is correct.

Yesterday I did a bit more digging and I now have a mostly clear picture of what happened to all of John Henry's children, so here's a quick summary for those interested:

1) Mary Elizabeth, born 14 October 1878 in Rockcorry, County Monaghan, married Thomas Cobbe on 8 July 1903 in County Clare, moved to England at some point prior to 1911, three children, died 2 January 1953 in Southend on Sea - age 74.

2) John Thomas (my line), born 28 October 1879 in Dromore, believed by family to have attended university, moved to England some point prior to 1907, married Clara Amelia Day on 21 April 1907, four children, married again at age 68 in March 1948 to Hilda Mary Thorogood after being widowed, died 21 March 1977 in Saltdean, Sussex - age 97.

3) Annie Grace, born 16 December 1880 in Dromore, married Albert Mansfield Fleming in 1910, four children, died 16 June 1948 in Dublin - age 67.

4) William Edward, born 2 September 1882 in Dromore, moved to New York in 1908, married fellow Irish immigrant Mary c. 1914, one child, he is present in the 1925 state census but Mary is listed as widowed in the 1930 census so William must have died sometime between 1925 and 1930 - age c. 45.

5) Charles Henry, born 15 June 1884 in Dromore, married Martha Turner in 1910, three children, at some point after 1911 moved to New Zealand, died there on 9 March 1972 - age 87.

6) Sarah Millicent, born 19 July 1886 in Dromore, married Thomas Noone in 1918, one child, died in Belfast on 6 November 1924 - age 38.

Quite an interesting bunch - they all led very varied lives.

Re. Annie Cobban, the problems I have are her exact place of birth and her birth year; there are many Cobban families dotted about in Scotland, and her year of birth varies from 1843 to 1851. I used to think that it would probably be closer to the latter date, since that's the one that appears in records first and is closer to John Henry's birth year of 1854/5, but there is a family in Banffshire that could be correct: an Ann Cobban listed as born in 1844, with a father named John, which we know was the name of our Annie's father.

I hope we're able to take the Morton line even further back; it seems as if the Thomas Morton who married Mary Fawcett in 1840 could be our Thomas, in which case his father would have been Edward Morton. Going even further, perhaps Edward's father was the Thomas who was born c. 1764 and died in 1811?

So much to think about!

Best,
James

[hallmark]

Ballymahon
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