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Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Mayo => Topic started by: John G Haslam on Thursday 17 April 14 15:54 BST (UK)
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My G G Grandfather is William Dowdle, born around 1845 in Westport. William's father may have been called Henry Dowdle, but I'm not sure of this. William first shows on the census records in 1861, living in Chorlton on Medlock, Manchester. It says he is 19, so his birth date may be earlier. William is living with his Uncle, John Dowdle 69 and his sister Catherine Dowdle 25. He may have travelled to England with his uncle.
William later married Catherine Poland in Manchester in 1866. I am wondering if anybody has researched this family in Westport. I have lots of detail of their lives in Manchester, but I'm not sure how to progress with my search in Ireland.
Thanks for reading this. :)
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Hi
As there is some uncertainty about his fathers name - it would be best if you obtained a copy of the 1866 marriage cert to confirm it first.
www.lancashirebmd.org.uk show it as a Registrar attended/Registry Office marriage so it can't be looked up in parish records - you would have to buy a copy
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Hi CaroleW,
Thank you so much for your reply. I was told by a family member that he was called Henry, but I'm not sure where this information came from. He did call his first son William Henry, but I probably do need to buy the certificate and be sure.
Thanks again for your help :)
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John,
Dowdle, Westport and Chorlton are all quite familiar to me. I registered with this website in order to respond to you. My GGGGran was Patrick H. Dowdle, born Co. Mayo, married Ann Hughes in Westport Jan 1850, fathered 3 boys (John abt 1850 Chorlton upon Medlock, Patrick Henry 1852 Chorlton upon Medlock, William 1855 "Manchester"), appears to have passed away at an early age as he's buried back in Westport abt 1858. Ann and the boys eventually find their way to Chicago, IL and appear in city directories in early/mid 1860's. The 3 sons are fairly well mapped on this side of the pond….but the Manchester story line is completely unknown to me. I am aware of at least a few other Dowdle's in Manchester circa 1850/60 but have yet to make any connections.
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John, I registered with this website so I could respond to you. My GG Grandfather Patrick H Dowdle married my GG Grandmother, Ann Hughes, in Westport, Co. Mayo on Jan. 27, 1850. They had 3 boys - John, Patrick, and William - all born in Chorlton-upon-Medlock. I have birth records from Chorlton on the 3 boys. I have a birth record on John that lists my GG Grandparents as residing at 18 Rathbone St., Chorlton-upon-Medlock in 1851. Patrick H Dowdle died young, and is married in Westport, Co. Mayo. Ann and the boys traveled to Chicago, and I have been able to track them to some degree. I have been seeking more information on their lives in England and more information about Patrick. I don't know when he was born - he died around 1858.
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John, I have a Sarah Dowdle, daughter of Honor Dowdle and Saran Dunban (or Dunbar) baptized in Westport on 7-6-1853 and two 1851 baptisms: Henry, son of Henry Dowdle and Sarah Durbar (March 7) and Jane, daughter of Pat Dowdle and Mary Geraghty (June 27). I have a feeling Sarah Durbar might be Dunbar if Honor Dowdle died and Sarah re-married Henry. I got these on freepages.genealogy.rootsweb
Thanks for reading all this. Hope it helps.
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Hello Brian4Arsenal and James,
I think there is a good chance that Patrick H Dowdle is a relative of my William Dowdle, perhaps a brother or Uncle. They seem to pass on the name Henry as a middle name. Henry son of Henry must be William's brother. This is the first record I have seen of Henry Dowdle in Westport and is a great help for my research so thank you so much for this.
William Dowdle married Catherine Poland in 1866 in Chorlton (St Augustine Chapel, Granby Row) is the likely venue. They had 10 children:
Ellen Dowdle: 1867-1870, age 2 years.
Annie Dowdle: 1869-1937, age 67 years.
WILLIAM HENRY DOWDLE: 1872-1908, age 37 years.
Ellen Dowdle: 1874-1915, age 41 years.
Peter Dowdle: 1876-1940, age 63 years.
John Dowdle: 1878-1879, age 5 months.
John Joseph Dowdle: 1880-1906, age 26 years.
Catherine Dowdle: 1882-1884, age 15 months.
Catherine Mary Dowdle: 1885-1966, age 81 years.
James Dowdle: 1888-1890, age 2 years.
Peter Dowdle was a civilian casualty of the Manchester Christmas Blitz. Peter was in the Brunswick Inn, Temple Street, on the evening of the 23rd December, when the air raid took place. His death is registered in Manchester (Q4, volume 8d, page 189).
Thank you both for your help with this family.
Best Wishes,
John :)
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I feel like I have gotten closer in the last 2 days to my GG Grandfather Patrick H Dowdle. If William is a brother or uncle, that is a connection I was unaware of. I remember seeing something about Peter Dowdle in my research as well. I will keep digging and sharing; please do the same. I'm especially interested in Patrick's DOB and anything that happened in Manchester with other Dowdles.
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Hello James,
I think my William Dowdle is more likely to be a nephew of Patrick H Dowdle due to the age difference. However, I have also found a record of a William Dowdle living at Fair Green, Westport from the Griffith Valuation which was taken in 1855. William is the head of the household and, therefore, is more likely to be a suitable age to be Patrick's Brother and William's Uncle.
I plan to do some more work on this family during the winter, and I will post any findings on this thread. It would be good to link the relationships of the Dowdle family members.
Best Wishes,
John :)
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Hi, John - Yes, Henry is a favorite name down the line. I told you about Patrick Henry Dowdle from Westport. His middle son (of 3), born in Chorlton-Upon-Medlock, Manchester was named Patrick Henry (he was my great-grandfather). He had 5 boys (and 3 girls). One of the boys was named Patrick John (my grandpa) and another Henry Lawrence. Grandpa Dowdle had 3 boys - his middle son, Henry Daniel, is my father.
Keep in touch.
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Hi James,
That is very interesting. My line goes through William Dowdle through his son William Henry who ran a pub in Chorlton (possibly the Bulls Head on Granby Row) between 1901 and 1911. William Henry died quite young at 37 and the family had to move as the licence holder had to be male.
William Henry was married to Annie Birmingham and they had seven children including my Grandmother, Annie Dowdle. The family eventually moved to Bolton, Lancashire where I was born.
I checked through the available census records for Westport and there were no Dowdle names recorded so I suspect all the younger Dowdles left the area, in the aftermath of the Potato Famine, with many arriving in Manchester. The area around Chorlton was known as Little Ireland due to the high number of Irish immigrants living there.
We are probably distant relatives so its great to hear from you James and to hear your story. I will post again when something new pops up.
Best Wishes
John :)
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Hello other descendants of Dowdles from Westport, Mayo. I think I am connected to the same families (probably). My Great grandfather was Patrick Dowdle born in Sunderland, 1875. He also had a brother called Henry. Their father was called Patrick Dowdle (and his father was Henry - from marriage certificate) and he was born around 1849 in Ireland. This is from the 1881 census record from Hartlepool. I had trouble tracing Patrick but did find more on his brother (I'm assuming brother but could have been cousin - they lived next to each other in 1881 Hartlepool) Henry Dowdle, born in about 1851 in Westport. Now I know that this Henry's mother was called Sarah Dunbar (mentioned earlier) as this is on his Scottish marriage certificate. I had wondered if Henry and Patrick had different mothers. All this family seem to have had the names Henry and Patrick.
This is where it gets a bit confusing: Although I could not find Patrick Dowdle's birth I'm sure he was born in Westport (Oughaval Parish) Co. Mayo.
His brother Henry was born there in 1851.
The fact that Patrick's (my grt grt grandfather) 2 sons (Henry & Patrick) were sent to live with his cousin in Glasgow when they were children leads me to believe it is right (Scotland 1881 census). The cousins were Patrick McDonnell and Anne McDonnell. By tracing the McDonnell's oldest daughter's baptism record I have found the mother was called Anne Fox before marriage. One sponsor for Henry Dowdle's baptism, in Westport, was Catherine Fox (maybe sisters). Families obviously connected.
I think all these Dowdles from Westport, Mayo (also called Oughaval) must be related. The only way to know for sure would be for some male Dowdles to take a DNA test. I have more info on some of these.
Does any of this sound like it might be the same family. Sometimes it's hard to know if people you are searching are brothers/cousins/uncles - but still family.
Catherine
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Hello Catherine,
This sounds like the same family. I know of four children of Sarah Dunbar and Henry Dowdle.
Catherine, born around 1836/1840.
William, born 1845.
Henry, born 1851.
Sarah, born 1853.
I have only seen the baptism records for the last two and there are probably more including Patrick.
Catherine and William moved to Manchester with their Uncle, John Dowdle. I have discovered from William Dowdle's Wedding certificate that his father Henry Dowdle was a Hatter.
I have not been able to trace the movements of Henry and Sarah until Henry turns up in the 1911 census record as an inmate at the County Gaol and Convicts Prison in Maidstone, Kent. It states on the record that he is a Widower and a Riveter of Ship's Plate and that he was born in Westport in 1851.
Best Wishes,
John :)
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John
Just pent about 30 mins writing a huge reply to you. It disappeared when I went to preview it. :( Will try to write it again another time. Mainly wanted to mention Henry Dowdle in prison - have more info. Will repost it all another day. No time now.
Cath
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Family concerns (and holidays) kept me away from continuing my reply from earlier in the year. Re Henry Dowdle who was in prison on the 1911 census. I researched this further through the British newspaper archives. There was some sort of special deal on with the subscription so I did a search of newspaper articles for the UK. It seems that Henry Dowdle was in prison for the murder of his wife Ann. The murder took place in Barry Island, Wales, where the couple were living. It seems they moved around a lot. I know for a fact that they lived in: Glasgow, Hartlepool, Jarrow and eventually Barry Island. Neighbours reported the couple as being unhappily married and reported frequent quarrels. He was a heavy drinker/drunk.
Horrible story yet it is the one that made the connection to Westport for me. The news story was reported in various newspapers all over the country e.g. Dundee Courier, Manchester Courier in March 1906 - if you want to trace it. I have not managed to find any descendants of this family although they had several children including a son Peter. There was a Peter Dowdle in the navy during WW 1 and I wondered if it was their son Peter.
I would love to get a family tree of all the descendants of this Dowdle family from Westport. Mention is made of some of them arriving in the Manchester area. they also lived in Glasgow, Hartlepool, Sunderland and other places. These men worked in the ship building industry - as unskilled labour.
I have about 23 first cousins on my Dowdle side from my grandfather Henry Dowdle. he had seven siblings so quite a few descendants there although I believe they are mostly scattered across England and Scotland. I'm from England but now live in Canada and I have made contact with a cousin of my mum's who lives in Australia. I don't know if we are allowed to connect other than on this site. I do have a gmail email address. the first part is my first name with the addition of the letters mp and the number 16. So - if you email - just put Dowdle in the message - so I don't delete it. Would love to get a more extensive family tree of this family. Not sure why some of them are not on the baptismal records from the parish. Perhaps the older siblings were born elsewhere - especially if their father ended up having two wives which has been suggested. I think I will peruse the records again now that the National Library of Ireland has put all their catholic records online. They are not easy to search as the writing is often almost illegible and there are gaps and some entries so faded you can't read them.
Happy ancestor hunting...
Catherine
PS - just looking again at your info on the family with Catherine, William, Henry and Sarah. Do you think it could have been like this:
Catherine born 1836/1840
William born 1845
Patrick (my ancestor) born c 1849
Henry born 1851
Sarah born 1853
It's always possible that my Patrick Dowdle was a cousin and not a sibling He was certainly connected to Henry Dowdle (1851) from Westport> Think I'll try to go through the records from Westport this winter (don't usually spend much time on genealogy in the summer) and make note of every Dowdle and their connections. Maybe I'll be able to post it somewhere.
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Hello Catherine,
Thank you for your post. Henry Dowdle's story is very interesting, it seems we have a black sheep!
Patrick Dowdle, born c 1849 does fit in neatly with the other family members and It is very possible that Sarah Dunbar was Henry Dowdle's second wife and the mother of the last two children only (Henry and Sarah).
From my research, it is clear the Dowdle family were devout Catholics and, therefore, the other children would have been baptised, probably in the Westport area. I have searched through many sources for baptism records without success. I will try again this winter as I feel these missing records are the key for further progress..
I do not have any other information beyond what has been discussed on this thread. If we continue to document our findings here, then perhaps we may attract the attention of other contributors from the wider Dowdle family.
Best Wishes,
John :)
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Hi, John (& Cath P) - I have been absent for a while because I haven't done much. I have started putting this all down on paper now. All of these blogs are so amazing, because I am convinced that we are all related. John, I was wondering if you've looked any further into the relationship into the Williams you know and my GG Grandfather, Patrick Henry (b. around 1825 in/near Westport, Co. Mayo, married 1/27/1850 in Westport, to Ann Hughes, and died circa 1858, buried in Aughavall Cemetery in Westport). I am convinced your Williams were uncle and/or brother. Patrick and Ann left Ireland right after getting married and had 3 boys in Manchester - you already know this. I don't know where their eldest John's name came from. But middle son was Patrick Henry (dad's namesake) and the 3rd and youngest child was William! The names John - Patrick - Henry all stayed in my family (my own middle name is Henry). Cath P - FYI after Patrick died, Ann buried him in Westport. She and the boys traveled to the U.S., and settled in Chicago in the house where I was eventually born. They are all buried at Calvary Cemetery in Evanston IL. I have all the information on that Dowdle grouping from Westport. Also FYI for you and other interested Dowdles, I have submitted a DNA sample and am waiting for the results. Not sure if that will shed light or not. Please stay in touch.
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http://registers.nli.ie/parishes/1043
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Just wanted to add to my previous posts re Dowdles from Mayo. Has anyone else done an Ancestry DNA test? I have just sent off my sample so should have the results in 6 - 8 weeks. There was a special offer here (in Canada $99) so I decided to do it. I am really hoping that it will shed some light on to my various branches of my family tree but especially the Dowdles.
I had previously been under the assumption that it had to be a male (that testing probably would help) but this one should link me to any cousins who have also taken the test. This includes 4th, 5th, 6th cousins, cousins three times removed, aunts and uncles etc.
Hoping someone else might have taken the same test.
On another note; I have rechecked the National Library of Ireland, Westport parish register again. Although I can not find my Patrick Dowdle I looked at the pages where he should be. This register is an awful mess. Some of it is just illegible but some of it seems to have half pages ripped out. It is no wonder I can't find him.
Cath
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Hi Cath
Yes, I did do the DNA test through Ancestry.com
I'm disappointed about the NLI Westport results. I have a copy of Patrick H and Ann Hughes Dowdle's wedding certificate, performed there 1-27-1850. Nancy and I renewed our vows in the church last July.
Let me know what you find out
Jim
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Hopefully I am doing this right. My grandmother was Annie Dowdle. Her son John Henry was my father. I have lots of information regarding this branch of the family
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Catherine P, I live in Ontario and just did my DNA. Turns out 43% northern Scandinavian and 39% Irish. I know Dublin was a viking settlement, so there is probably the connection
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Jim:
I will let you know when I get my results. Did you and Nancy renew your vows in the same church that your ancestors did? That is lovely.
Just looking at your info again. Your Patrick H Dowdle married in 1850. My grt, grt grandfather Patrick Dowdle (son of Henry Dowdle) was born c 1849 - so he was born just as your ancestor was getting married. I wonder if this is likely to mean they are more likely uncle and nephew or cousins.
pbuxton: did your family originate in Westport (Aughaval), Co. Mayo? I would be interested to know more.
For all Dowdle descendants on here - I have a tree on Ancestry. It is private but if I receive a request (stating what they are looking for) I will make my tree available. You have to register with Ancestry to do this.
Good ancestor hunting.
Cath
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I was looking for a different Henry Dowdle on Ancestry and found a link to a Henry Dowdle from Westport. He was applying for a loan in 1846. His loan security was John Dowdle. It was from the Ireland sustainability loan fund. He borrowed One pound and ten shillings.
Cath
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I was looking for a different Henry Dowdle on Ancestry and found a link to a Henry Dowdle from Westport. He was applying for a loan in 1846. His loan security was John Dowdle. It was from the Ireland sustainability loan fund. He borrowed One pound and ten shillings.
Cath
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Yes, Nancy and I renewed our vows (with our entire family there) in June, 2017. It was done at the 10:00 AM Mass, and we had company (regular Westport parishioners). The priest gave us a little tour before hand and renewed the vows in front of the entire church - everyone applauded! Very moving. We received a certificate of the renewal which I can put in a frame with Patrick and Ann's original wedding license. Ann was a Hughes. When we traveled to Galway years ago, my daughters ran into some kids from Westport, who said "the Hughes family owns Westport." I came to find out that Ann's family went into the hotel business and did very well. Right after their wedding, Pat and Ann moved to Manchester, England, where their 3 boys were born. She shipped the 2 oldest to America when they were 12 and 10 and stayed until Pat died very young. He is buried in Aughavall Cemetery. After that, she brought the youngest, William, to Chicago, and settled there. Ann Hughes Dowdle died in 1889 at the age of around 62 which made her born in 1827 and 23 when married. She is buried with other Dowdle's in Calvary Cemetery in Evanston, IL. Her middle son, Patrick Henry (named after his dad) bought a house in Chicago where I was born and many Dowdle's lived for many years.
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This all gets very confusing because there are so many Patricks, Henrys, Johns, etc.
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y grandmother was Annie Dowdle from Westport, Ireland. She married Alfred John Buxton. In Manchester. They lived on Russell Street in Ardwick Green. He worked under the arched by London Road Railway station as a gas meter maker.
Their children were: Alfred, 1893-1980, Ellen (known as Nelly) 1895-1978, Catherine 1896-1911, Henry 1899- 1903, William 1901- 1970, Annie 1903- 1998, Elizabeth (Betty) 1907-1985, Blanche 1909-1995, John Henry (Harry) my dad, 1911-2006.
I knew them all. There spouses and their children. my sister and her family emigrated to Canada in 1966. My mum and dad followed in 1972. Me and my family also emigrated in 1974.
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Hi,
Not sure where this reply will end up on the page. I received my Ancestry DNA results today. It wasn't exactly as I expected. I'm a lot more Irish than I expected. 99% apparently - I expected 75% but this reflects which bits you happen to inherit from parents/grandparents etc. Actually it says 99% Irish and Scottish (and I do have a little bit of Scots) but the areas they show are all in Ireland in the areas my family came from. It's pretty neat how it all works.
Anyway, James Dowdle (USA) I don't see a match with you. My Ancestry tree is private. Not sure if yours is. I have not looked through every page of course as there are probably thousands. I am willing to share my tree with people on this site but not quite sure how. If you search for James Dowdle born in Hartlepool, 1904, on Ancestry that would get you to my tree (or a tree of one of my cousins). If you contacted me then I can share it. I am not sure if I am recorded as Catherine Payne (my married name) or Catherine T M Mannion (maiden name) on my tree. ...or should I put my email address on here? Is that a daft thing to do?
By the way, when I first replied to this board I made a mistake with my grandfather's name. Can't believe I did that ::). Think I got confused with all the Henrys and Patricks. Anyway he is James Henry Dowdle and I put just Henry.
Cath
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Hi,
I am willing to share my tree with people on this site but not quite sure how. If you search for James Dowdle born in Hartlepool, 1904, on Ancestry that would get you to my tree (or a tree of one of my cousins). If you contacted me then I can share it. I am not sure if I am recorded as Catherine Payne (my married name) or Catherine T M Mannion (maiden name) on my tree. ...or should I put my email address on here? Is that a daft thing to do?
Cath
Hello, Cath. You are not allowed to put email addresses on here. If you do you'll get a message from a moderator asking you to remove it. You're not supposed to post information about living people, or people who may be alive. Whatever you post here will come up in a google search so be very careful. I wouldn't put my full name if I were you. You can edit your post to remove anything you have reservations about. (Paper & pencil icon at lower right-hand corner.)
The secure way to communicate with other posters on RootsChat is through private message. You can use this after you've made 3 posts.
If James has email notification switched on he'll know there's a new post on this thread. If not and if he doesn't return to the thread in a few days you could send him a PM.
Hope this explains how things work. :)
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Thank you for the advice. You are right.
Must admit I can not find the pencil and paper icon you mentioned.
Cath
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Thank you for the advice. You are right.
Must admit I can not find the pencil and paper icon you mentioned.
Cath
I think the icon is only there for a short time after you post a reply. You can edit your post within a set period after posting; it might be 24 or 48 hours, I'm not sure.
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Update on Dowdles:
I have found a DNA match that appears to connect with me via the Dowdles. She is descended from Sarah (Dunbar) and Henry Dowdle from Westport who lived in Govan Scotland. I would recommend taking a DNA test with Ancestry to see if we are all connected to the same Dowdles. I am surprised that I really have only found one good match. There are a few more that suggest we may be connected - very distantly. They seem to have Dowdles who arrived in the U.S. in the 1700s so I can't see that it would be a connection that way. It IS difficult to figure out exactly HOW you are connected to all the matches.
All the best for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Cath
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I am not sure if anyone is on this forum anymore. Just wanted to post an update:
I have traced my Dowdle family to Westport also have a DNA match with descendant of Sarah Dunbar and Henry Dowdle. So that is my family. They went to Govan in Scotland first. Even though I have not found the baptism of my Patrick Dowdle (c 1849) I have him in the house of his parents (Sarah and Patrick Dowdle, in Govan) at the time of his wife's death (Scottish records are so good). Unfortunately she died in the poorhouse there. That is why he left his children there (actually found he had 3 children not 2) after his wife died. His parents were there, his sister was there and his cousins were there.
Anyway this family does not seem to be directly connected to all those people in Manchester who were Dowdles. It does not mean they were definitely NOT related but I have no DNA matches that seem to match. Also why would Henry and Sarah not go to Manchester if they had other children there and Henry had a brother there? It doesn't make a lot of sense.
There is another Dowdle family in the area of Westport that I have come across. You need to look in the Irish Loan and Sustainability fund books (Ancestry has links). I think this is your family. It even mentions a hatter if I remember correctly. There are three entries with Henry Dowdle named. he seems to be from Castlebar. I would definitely recommend doing further research into him. You can even find his death certificate there. I think he is a more likely candidate for your Henry Dowdle.
I definitely recommend doing a DNA test through Ancestry - or you could take part in a one name study using Dowdle Y DNA if you have Dowdle males in the family. I am sure I could get one of my cousins to take part.
I will probably not check into this site again as I am inundated with other Irish lines I am searching. Best of luck with your search.
Cath
My tree on Ancestry is called Payne Family Tree (Catherine Mannion) but my name on there is Catherine Payne - you may be able to find me. My tree is private but if you find a DNA match you'll be able to contact me.
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In case it might be of interest: I have evidence of Dowdles in Westport in the late-18th century. I'm working on a book, an illustrated history of Westport, to be published by the local historical society, possibly towards the end of this year. I have come across the Dowdle name in old property records, which will be discussed in the book.
James Kelly
Westport Historical Society
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Hi
I would be very interested in the book. My 2nd gt grandfather was Henry Dowdle Who was listed as a hatter 1797 -1867
regards
Cath Leach
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I would also be interested in this book. Could you tell us where it will be sold?
Cath P
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Very fond memories of this house growing up. My Grandparents owned Cherry Cottage in late 70’s to 90’s.
Best summers of my youth spent there exploring.