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Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Meath => Topic started by: bolton on Wednesday 06 August 14 12:16 BST (UK)
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Hi I wonder if anyone can help
We have a Bridgett Jette Smyth born 1849 Meath Ireland
Sister Rose Smyth born 1849 Meath Irealnd they both imigrated to New York in 1867 Bridgett Jette Smyth married 1871 St Louis Missouri to William Steele who was from Edmondsham Dorset my great Uncle.
We think that Bridget and Rose Smyth were the children of Redmond Smyth and Mary Foy or Fay.
We have found a death for Redmond Smyth in 1878 at Kells workhouse Meath Ireland but have never been able to find his birth or Marriage.
We think they also had a son James Smyth.
Any help would be wonderful.
Kind regards Chris
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As civil registration only began in 1864 any birth or marriage records before that will be church based. Do you know what religion they were ? What parish tthey were connected with ?
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Hi I am not sure if my last message arrived.
I was told by one of my family that their was also five sons who went to St Louis Missouri a little while before they then sent for their two sister Bridget Jette Smyth and Rose Smyth.
So we now know the Mary and Redmond Smyth had at least 7 children.
Which I feel sure were Catholic because they all went to St Theresa and St Bridget Church St Louis Missouri USA
Any help would be wonderful.
Regards Chris
Ps is there such a place as Moybolgue Meath Ireland??? Or Losset Meath
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Ps is there such a place as Moybolgue Meath Ireland??? Or Losset Meath
Losset is a townland in the civil parish of Moybolgue.
Griffiths Valuation for the area (print date 1854) show a Rose Fay and a Thomas Fay among the few occupants.
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Hi
Just to say thank you for your help
I just cannot understand why with seven children and a name like Redmond Smyth I cannot find anything about this family.
Just wonder if Redmond was a Smith not Smyth.
Is any one related to this family?
We think one of the sons may have been James.
Redmond Smyth's great great Grand daughter is come to Ireland this year from USA
I would love to find out more to add to our tree before she arrives.
Kind regards to all who have taken the time to help us.
Chris
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Hi,
I got your PM but you are better to keep the conversation on this thread so all can see and perhaps add their insights. You did not mention Moybologue or Losset in your first post so I wonder where the names came up ? Moybologue is located across the Meath / Cavan border , within the Meath part is the townland of Losset. There are Catholic Parish records listed for this Parish in the National Library in Dublin, on Microfilm as follows
- Baptisms from FEb 1867 to Dec 1880
- Marriages from May 1868 to Oct 1880
- No Burial records.
As to spellings, you have to be aware that you are back in a period from 1800 to 1860 where many people were Gaelic speakers in Rural areas, and the spelling of their names and the place where they lived was being rendered in a foreign language ie. English, so the Gaelic place name "Moy Bolg" will be written as "Moybolg", or "Moybolgue" or"Moybolgoue" etc depending on the whim of the English speaking administrator writing it down. Similarly, someone with the Gaelic name McGowan, will have it written as "Smith" or "Smyth" in similar fashion.
Also be aware , in North Meath and Cavan there were, and still are very many Smith/Smyth families.
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Hi
Thank you for your message.
From what you say it looks like I have no chance of finding out any more about my Smyth/ Smith
Children. I found out that Redmond Smyth or Smith died 20 May 1878 Kells workhouse and from his age given at time of death made his birth 1793 we think Moybolgue
The two daughters we know of left Ireland for USA
I found their ships passage they ages given Bridget Jette Smyth born 1 April 1847 Meath Ireland Rose Smyth born 1849 Meath Ireland they arrived in 1867 in New York USA.
My cousin said that she knows that they had five brothers who went to the USA about two years before them and that they opened a Saloon in St Louis Missouri they then sent for their sisters.
My cousin does not know the names of their brothers but we think out of them maybe called James.
I only have the girls birth records from their ships passage and as it says Meath I think maybe they were born the same place as their father I have not been able to find out what happened to their mother.I only know what happened to Bridget Jette Smyth because she married my great uncle in St Louis Missouri and I am in touch with my family in St Louis Missouri.
It's so sad that Redmond should end his days in the workhouse in Kells.
But I guess their was no family left to look after him.
Thank you again for your help.
Kind regards. Chris
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Hi Bolton,
If your folks came from Losset in Maybolgue in Meath .... you have a perfect example in that small area of what the Famine years and subsequent population loss through starvation/disease and/or emigration brought about. When you look at the Census returns for that small townland from 1841 to 1911 you see the following:
Year No of Households No of Persons
1841 30 162
1851 12 48
1901 7 23
1911 6 17
So in that one small area, 24 out of 30 households vanished (died or emigrated)
and the population was reduced to 10% of what it was. Obviously whole families emigrated when they could, first one or two then once a base was established sent for the rest.
As of today we only have the detailed returns for the 1901 and 1911 censuses, all we have for the earlier ones are the statistical summaries, but the family names etc all went up in smoke .
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Hi
Thank you so much for your message.
Now I understand why there is no records I did know about the potato famine also that some of the records were destroyed by fire.
But just thought maybe there just might be something about the Smyth family.
We are so lucky to have found out what we have.
Thank you so much for being so kind to explain to me.
Kind regards Chris
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Hi Meath 999
Thank you for your message, that would be wonderful.
I do not know if Redmond Smyth or Smith died alone sorry.
I just want to say thank you so much for your help it is greatly appreciated.
I have tried to send you a message which I wrote out twice but I seem to be doing something wrong
So I have answered here.
Thank you so much you have been very helpful.
Kind regards Christine
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Hi Bolton,
Apologies , but it took me much longer than I expected to get up to the area where you believe Raymond Smyth/Smith lived in. What I found was that the records in the Meath County Library in Navan for the Kells Workhouse consisted of Minute Books, which listed in great detail the finances of the workhouse but unfortunately only listed the number of people entering and leaving it each week, including of course deaths. But people were not identified by name. So poor old Raymond .
However I found Moybolgue graveyard and it is a beautiful old place with ruins of a medieval or earlier church and very well looked after. I found 8 or 9 headstones with Smith names on them.
Some are very easy to read, others can barely be made out.
Some may well be related to Raymond but without any church records it will be difficult to see which. I will test my technology skills to the limit and try and put up one picture in a following post, but if you send me a PM giving an email address, I will give you access to a folder on Dropbox, where you can see (and download if you wish) all the photos of Moybolgue Graveyard.
Good luck with your continued hunt.
Kevin (meath999)
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Hi Bolton hopefully below will be a sample of the "Smith" headstones in Moybolgue