TOUHEY and variants: Co Mayo, possibly Roundfort, 1800s

[Cerivolk]

I have a family in Birmingham, Warwickshire in the 1851 & 1861 Censuses.

James TOUHEY b. abt 1811 Ireland; a gardener;
Ann (his wife) b abt 1814-1817 Ireland;
their Children:
John TOUHEY b abt 1837 Ireland;
Michael TOUHEY b abt 1839 Ireland;
Patrick Thomas TOUHEY b abt 1841 Ireland;
Mary TOUHEY b abt 1846 Ireland;
James TOUHEY b abt 1850 Birmingham Warwickshire.

Patrick Thomas is my 2xGreat grandfather.

Records have been difficult to find after 1861, although I have a pretty clear picture for Patrick. There is a reference in one census that Patrick was born in Roundfort, Co Mayo; other records also indicate Co Mayo, but not specific location.

The name also varies: whilst Patrick favoured TOUHEY there are variants in the family including Twohey, Towey, Toohey, etc.

I would really like to find out more about the family in Ireland: specifically who Ann, wife of James, was, and James' ancestry.

Is anyone out there researching Touhey and variants in Co Mayo in the early 1800s? Or can anyone advise me of what records, if any, may be available? Particularly in respect of Roundfort.

Thanks 

Paul

[shanew147]

I would would start with searching for the birth cert for the child born in England (James c1850) as that will give you Ann's maiden surname, which will help confirm any Co. Mayo parish details you find.

I dont see a good match for James birth on FreeBMD, but you probably have a better idea of the various alternative spellings to try..

do you know what Religion the family were ?

The RC parish seems to be Kilcommon / Robeen and you can see details of the dates available on the Irish Times website at - RC Records


Shane

[Cerivolk]

Thanks Shane, yes, good advice. But I hit the same problem as you - there is no obvious BMD match - so it may be very hit and miss to find the right record!

Actually, James is a slight puzzle anyway; and there is a small possibility he was actually born in Ireland. Censuses for him seem to show:

1851: James TWOEY, age 1, born Birminham.
1861: James TOUHEY age 20, unmarried, Coach builder, born Ireland (I have no idea why this record is so erroneous!)
1871: James TOWEY age 20, unmarried, Gun barrel smoother, born Birmingham.

I guess I should start with the obvious - the 1851 Census is probably most accurate in terms of age and place of birth. So a registration in Birmingham? The only candidate would appear to be James TEWAY Jul-Sep 1849 Birmingham XVI 310. But 'Teway' does seem a stretch on the variations... 

Probably have to take a punt at that one 


And yes, they were Catholic, so thank you for the parish information!

[ballyheeragh]

Hi,

Some background info re Roundfort.  From a (Catholic) church records point of view, Roundfort is located in south Mayo near the Galway border.  If you are searching for church records, the name of the parish (and its physical scope) have changed over time.

I'm no expert about the parish records, but at some stage in history the parish has been known as Kilcommon and Robeen (which took in quite a big area, and had at least 3 churches), then as Kilcommon and Roundfort (which as far as I know covers both ROUNDFORT and CARRAS churches),  and in more recent times it seems to be labelled ROUNDFORT and CARRAS.... it may also have been known as just Kilcommon at some stage.

Its worth searching the 1901 and 1911 census of population now that they are available (www.nationalarchives.ie).    When searching, you could start by leaving all of the fields blank except the county (Mayo).   You'll probably find that there arent very many Tuohys or variants of it, so a search of Mayo wont throw up a huge number of records.

Another issue to bear in mind is that sometimes on Census records, another variation of the name is entered, so even by searching the two or three variations that you listed, you might still "miss" relevant records.

For electoral/administration purposes, you'll notice a field in the national archives search "form" for DED (District Electoral Division) and searching under just that field alone can resolve the problem of unusual spellings of a surname etc.   So, just to be sure, do a number of searches where you vary the DED from KILCOMMON to HOLLYMOUNT, KILMAINE, and GARRYMORE.  Those searches will typically yield between 500 and 1000 records, but you can sort them and view 100 at a time so its worth the effort.

Best of luck and let me know if I can help any further.

[illingworth]

Hi

I too am researching the Tuohy name in Mayo.

My Tuohys also went by the spelling of Towey as well.  Most of my Tuohys came from Castlemore parish - Castlereagh district. 

I too am finding it difficult to find out about them.

Eve

[Diski]

Hi Paul,

I have records for Crossmolina parish so I did a search for you and didn't find any matches-so I think you can cross that parish off your list!
I did do research for another Tougy researcher and his family ended up spelling it TWIGG.
Who'da guessed?! I did find his family though after he told me Tuohy is a derivative.

The microfische edition of the IGI is a handy thing to look at when trying to figure out varient spellings. I don't believe the computer version has these option though.

[cyril walsh]

hi folks
i went to school with tuohys in cregduff in the parish of hollymount.
i dont know if this is of any help.
best wishes,
cyril walsh

[JenHous2022]

I am also researching my Towey family in Mayo. I saw you had a Patrick Touhey, I believe I had a Patrick Towey born around the 1840s but have little to no information on him. Would happen to know if he had any children and if so their names and possibly a spouses name?