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« on: Friday 08 December 23 02:17 GMT (UK) »
Hi
I'm researching my 3rd great grandfather Thomas Scahill and 3rd great grandmother Ann Cannon.
Got the 1921 census of her daughter Annie Scahill (married John Grady) and it's noted her birth place is County Mayo Boffin Island. Because Mayo and Galway are beside each other, I'm understanding that this is Inishboffin Island. I looked at the Griffith's Valuation and the only Scahill seems to be Thomas Schahell. Additionally, Ann Cannon in many of her children's birth, death, marriage certificates has a variation of surnames. Cannon, Cancanning, Concannon. Also there are different occupations that Thomas had; farmer, labourer, fisherman. He died before 1874 because one of his daughters marriage cert in 1874 says he's deceased. In our family, my great aunt says that rumours were he sailed to America but I found another relative on ancestry who said he drowned in Galway bay. That would fit the fisherman occupation. When using Griffith's refs with the maps it seems that his plot is at the coast/beach near where the Galley Kitchen is now so that would also fit the occupation of fisherman. On the grid it is Knock gridref 7. This is as far as I've got, I don't know if he was from Boffin himself.
With Ann, her death certificate states John Cannon as her father who is a tailor but in her second marriage cert she lists him as Michael Cannon tailor. Could they have been John Michael Cannon or did she just not know who her father was. In Griffith's there are a couple of people that could be her father, John concannon, Michael Cunnane. Michael Cunnane gridref Knock 11. So not far from the area were the Schahell rented. I suppose the brick wall is the fact I don't have confirmation of who the father and mother is of either of them. And I've been trying to get a book written by an islander about the island and families but no luck in finding a copy. Because he's the only name with Scahill I'm wondering if he was actually born on the island and might have been born on the mainland. Some of the old families still live there so there's a possibility I may have relatives there. Any help would be appreciated.