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« on: Sunday 10 September 17 02:45 BST (UK) »
Hello Mark
It is great to meet you through this forum, and I would indeed be delighted to learn more of your findings regarding our two ancestors and the historical context that you described. The photos you mentioned would be fascinating. I understand that we are not supposed to share contact details on the open part of the forum, so I will send you a separate message with my email address.
There are quite a number of echoes of what you mentioned in what limited information I had on my father's family. For example, his father - William, one of James' brothers - also worked on the railway, as a signal man and later as a ticket inspector. As I noted on one of the early posts, he died aged 33 of TB, just three years after getting married to my grandmother, Margaret Kelly. It was left to her to raise my father. She had not worked outside the home previously, but it seems that she joined the railway company also and worked at the old Harcourt Street station in presumably an administrative role. While one should not speculate without some concrete facts, it would not be surprising if James, perhaps in combination with Edward, had sought to secure this type of role for his recently-bereaved sister-in-law.
My father must also have kept up a relationship with his uncle James. Sarah and Margaret were his cousins and I know he visited them (including with me) over the years. Given the family circumstances I described, I suspect that James would have had a significant influence on my father when my father was growing up. For one, my father was a skilled carpenter (though that was not what he worked at). There were a number of carpenters in the Murphy family, including James, and I suspect that my father would have learned some of his skills from James. My father was also a committed trade union member all of his life, again perhaps reflecting the influence of James, and indeed Edward.
You also mentioned Anastasia Doyle, James' wife. There may have been other relatives on the Doyle side that my father knew, as I have vague recollections of other references. I also note that a "Maggie Doyle" was one of the witnesses at both the weddings of James and my grandfather William.
A couple of additional questions -
1. I'm still in the early stage of researching my grandmother's line - Margaret Kelly. Have you come across other references to Kellys in Bray that may be related to either of our families?
2. At some point after William's death, Margaret moved to Dublin and raised my father in a house at 77 Bath Avenue. There was a very strong relationship with a family of Coates who lived nearby in Irishtown, and I met some of the latter when I was a child. I don't know if the relationship with the Coates was established then or whether there was some pre-existing contacts from Bray. Have you come across any Coates in Bray in your researches?
Finally I should ask where your own Murphy family name connection comes from? You said you weren't related to my side.
many thanks the help you have already given!
Anthony
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