Looking for info on Margaret Crowley, born Monsfieldtown 1861

[wscroley]

I cannot find any definite info on this great aunt, parents William Crowley and Jane Hosford. She was born in Monsfieldtown in September 1861 and baptised at St Luke's Church, Douglas (Church of Ireland) on 21 September. The irishgenealogy.ie website now shows the exact spouse, but by comparing the 58 results to the 1901/11 censuses there is only one entry for a CofI family.  I have just received the certificate and the family is Catholic after all.  The 1901/11 censuses do not show an unmarried Margaret Crowley - she may of course have died or emigrated but the name is too common to be certain that any entries relate to her.  Has anyone any info. or any suggestions for overcoming this brick wall without spending a fortune on certificates!  Many thanks

[Maggsie]

Hi,
Did Margaret have a sister called Elizabeth / Eliza.
If she did was Eliza married to Thomas Barry?
This family live in Gogganstown  in 1901 and have Margaret Crowley the heads sister-in-law living with them.
There is another in Knockaghaduff, brothers and sisters all single with a Margaret.
There are a few.
Monsfieldtown is this in County Cork?
google results =  a Mansfieldtown in County Louth.
Can't find Margaret's birth, sorry.
Is it COFL the name you mentioned ?
Maggsie

[Sinann]

It should read Monfieldstown, it's on the edge of Cork city not too far from Douglas.


What Certificate was just received?

[wscroley]

Thank you both.  Margaret's birth info was supplied by the Rector at St Luke's Church, Douglas, as her birth was pre-registration.  She had seven siblings but not a sister Eliza, as far as I know.  I copied all the entries from the irishgenealogy.ie website giving a marriage in Cork between 1882 and 1902 as the actual spouses' name is now given, not all the entries on the same page.  I then checked all the names against the 1901 and 1911 censuses and the only family which was on the census as being Church of Ireland, not RC was Michael Collins (not the Michael Collins!) marrying Margaret Crowley in the Clonakilty area.  However when I received the photocopy from the GRO the couple were RC and Margaret's father's name was John Crowley not William.....  I think that Margaret did marry as I have two photos showing a lady I think is Margaret (by a process of elimination) with the same gentleman in both photos.  When I was at the GRO in Cork I checked the marriages over a period of years in several local churches including St Luke's and could find no relevant entries.  So it looks like I am back to square 1, but thanks for the hints.

[Sinann]

I have just received the certificate and the family is Catholic after all.

I thought by this line you were saying she or her family converted.

So to sum up
You are looking for a Margaret Crowley, born 1861, Church of Ireland, from Monfieldstown Cork, parents William Crowley and Jane Hosford.

Do you know if she appears as a marriage witness for any of her siblings or as a sponsor for any niece or nephew?

[Sinann]

Also is there a photographer mark on the photos, this could tell what country they were taken in. Clothes can also be a pointer for date and place.

[wscroley]

Margaret was Church of Ireland like the rest of the family and did not convert to Catholicism as far as I know.  She does not appear as the witness on any of her siblings' marriages.  One of the photos I referred to is of my grandfather (Margaret's younger sibling), grandmother and my grandmother's siblings.  There is a couple in the background who I think are Margaret and her husband.  There is no date or identifying information on the photo, it is just a snapshot which I think was taken about 1898 as three of my grandmother's siblings emigrated to New Zealand, but they are in this photo. There is no obvious scenery in the photo either.  The other photo is of my father sitting in a garden in an unidentified house, presumably in Cork, but not the one in which he lived, together with the same couple. This would have been taken in the 1920s.  How I wish the details were written on the back!
Regards

[Sinann]

Tried something but no joy.
First made a few assumptions
She married
Stayed in Cork
Didn't shorten her name to Maggie or such
Married a man also COI (if he was say Methodist she would more than likely attend his church)
She would be 50 in 1911
She is not widowed in 1911
So search census using the above and you get
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01hml/
19 results
pick out the ones married 29+ years
search for their husband on IrishGenealogy to see if they may have married a Crowley (matching page number etc.)
Margaret Jones husband is missing in both 1901 and 1911 so couldn't check her.

but no matches, most didn't give a result at all.
worth a try.

[wscroley]

Thanks for the suggestion.  I have tried matching from the cenus to irishgenealogy.ie and in reverse and all the other combinations you can think of but as you say, no matches.  I think I am going to have to admit defeat until I can go to Dublin and look up anyone on a shortlist which I can prepare in advance.  Thanks anyway!