John Michael Mehigan born c. 1841 in St Luke's, Middlesex

[keyboard86]

  Hi again, looks good doesn't it, can you give your opinion on my reply 8 please?!
Keyboard86

[keyboard86]

Hi again possibly the death of Ellen:-

Ellen Megan December qtr 1878 St Saviour 1d 41 aged 52
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[Billy_B]

Hi again, firstly this family rumour that the maiden name of Margaret was Bolger, as it appears you may possibly purchase the marriage certificate of Michael Mehegen to Ellen Singleton, why have you not purchased either of the boys births in Dec qtr 1871 and June qtr 1873 Elham, recorded as either Megan or Magan, to put your mind at rest once and for all?
Also that marriage I showed in 1877 with that spelling of John Mehegan with a Margaret, as I cannot believe the other two on that page did not marry each other is surely one to look into?

Indeed. I'm just wanted to make sure I'd thought this through to be able to resolve this without having to do too much fishing at the GRO (we've had to do that with another branch of the family and it has been rather tedious even before we consider the expense!). We have relied on the fact that her name was written on the back of an old photograph, presumably coming from someone who knew here when she was alive (she died in 1930). However, we should assume nothing.

If they were married in 1877, then the boys would be from an earlier marriage (which might explain the gap between them and the girls). So I'm ordering Agnes' birth certificate:
http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=mkrDOHmbUexG1l4jXSHNPg&scan=1

Auntie Aggie is the first of the girls born outside of the military so we'll get her mothers maiden name from that. Also she, like Auntie May, survived into the 1970s (1976 and 1970 respectively) and is still remembered fondly by living relatives, so it'd be a nice touch (especially as we don't think she had any children of her own or none that survived - it looks like her husband died in 1916, three years after their marriage).

[keyboard86]

  Hi again, I can see why you have made that choice, but as the first born eg John Singleton I would wish to determine if indeed he was from an earlier marriage, please come back when certificate for Agnes arrives, as this family have driven at least me nuts!!
Keyboard86

[keyboard86]

Hi again when Ellen Singleton married Michael Mahagen, she gave her address as Rosemary Lane, just wondering among other occupants if this is sister Catherine Singleton in 1841?

Mary Moore 60 b Ireland
Catherine Singleton 25 b Ireland
Residing at Rosemary Lane, St Mary, Whitechapel
Census ref HO107/716/ 13/7 / 7
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[keyboard86]

Hi again, now this is really odd as the witnesses to this marriage had me wondering about the Mahagen surname?

Bernard Morton Full age occ Shoemaker Father Felix occ Steward
Catherine Singleton Full age Father Edward occ Carpenter
Witnesses Jeremiah & Ellen Regan
4th July 1853 St Giles without Cripplegate
As in the Regan household in 1851 is an Edward Singleton aged 30 shown as Brother in Law
Census ref HO107/1522/179/46
Keyboard86

[Billy_B]

I have found this family in 1851 census - think this could be John and his parents (aforementioned Michael and Ellen):

1851 Census - 62 Kent Street, St. George the Martyr, Southwark

Have been transcribed on Ancestry as Myens, looks like Megan to me.

Michael 35      Shoemaker (Master)         born ? (looks like Yokyl) Ireland
Ellen     32                                             born Cork, Ireland
John 10                                                  born London
Mary 8                                                      ditto
Edward 7                                                   ditto
Clara 5 (or 3)                                             ditto
Catherine Singleton  Sister  40  unm.   Basketmaker
+ female assistant, 2 male lodgers, and 3 male servants (shoemakers).   

ref. HO107 - 1563 - 169 - 6

If Catherine Singleton is Ellen's sister then this would support the 1840 marriage found, and also confirms they did indeed have a son John bc.1841.

What a nightmare this surname is.

I managed to use Catherine Singleton to get the census on FindMyPast and they have Mehigan as "Mesen" (no wonder I was having such problems finding them!) and Michael Mehigan's place of birth as "Yorkshire, England"!

I think that it looks more like "Megen" (if you look at the "g" in Singleton and the "a" in "Shoemaker" and "Master", the former has no loop on the "g" and the latter has quite an open loop which that fourth letter doesn't have -looks more like the closed "e" of the second letter).

I thought Michael's place of birth looked like "Yohyl, Ireland" so I Googled it and one of Google's suggestions is Youghal ("Older anglicisations of this name include Youghall, Yoghel and Yochil") which, perhaps coincidentally, is in County Cork too (although there is another town of the same name in Tipperary) and so unusually spelled that I can't really blame the enumerator for getting it wrong:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youghal

Given the enumerator's flat "g" it could actually be "Yohigl" which is close enough for Google to offer Youghal as the right term (although this might be some wishful thinking and working backwards on my behalf):
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Yohigl+Ireland

Worth noting that Catherine Singleton is dittoed in as being from London, which might suggest the Singletons were from London originally. This might fit with the family story that some ancestors on that side of the family went back and forth between England and Ireland (possibly as part of military service).

[Billy_B]

Hi again, I can see why you have made that choice, but as the first born eg John Singleton I would wish to determine if indeed he was from an earlier marriage, please come back when certificate for Agnes arrives, as this family have driven at least me nuts!!

LOL, welcome to the club

Oh and rest assured, I'll be back with the certificate details - I've also order Michael and Ellen's wedding certificate.

I was going to wait on John Singleton's certificate because if Agnes' mother was a Margaret Bolger then that 1877 wedding isn't right. If it is right, then I'll fire off a request for John Singleton's because it'd be clear John Michael was previously married to someone else and I'll want to track that down too.

There are clues that something is up (as well as the confusion sown by his surname!!): He was born around 1841, so the first son we know about is John Singleton who was born when JM was about 31 and his last child was Annie Cecilia born in 1890 when JM was around 49. He could certainly have fitted another marriage in there and/or it might have been he was in the military in his twenties as joining the Royal Engineers in your mid-30s and leaving in your mid-40s would be a bit odd if it was his first stint in the army (and he was a Second Corporal in his first few years). It might also explain why he is missing from the 1871 census (so far, although with the variations in surnames it might just be waiting to be found).

[keyboard86]

  Any thoughts on the Edward Singleton in 1851?

A Jeremiah Regan married an Ellen Cantey 1st September 1833 St John the Evangelist Westminster?
I can see the two young girls in 1851 with a Jeremiah but no Ellen wife in 1841
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