Marriage in Tullamore, 1856

[LoesLamb]

I found the marriage in 1856 between William Bennett and Mary Caffry on the Rootsireland website.
All the transcript shows are both names, the date, Tullamore, Offaly.
It doesn't tell me which church. That it was a Catholic marriage I only know by choosing Tullamore RC in the search fields.

Is this all there would be on the original registers? No occupation, no witnesses, no age, no parents?

His name was actually William John, according to the births and marriages of some of his children, and his death certificate. Other births, military records and censuses it's just William. I know this is the right marriage, I've got two baptisms with Mary Caffrey being the mother.

Is there is a chance there could be more on the original record, and if so, how could I find it if the church isn't mentioned?

He was a soldier in the 14th regiment (that is actually mentioned on the transcribed baptism record of a daughter, in Fermoy, but not on that of a baptism in Tullamore).

One general question, if he wasn't a Roman Catholic himself, would he have had to be baptized before marrying in a Catholic Church? In that case, shouldn't I have found a baptism in Tullamore a little before the marriage?

Loes
Amsterdam

[shanew147]

Records are kept by parish - the church where the event you mentioned took place in would have been the parish church at the time. If the parish was Tullamore then it's likely this church was located in, or near the town. Churches were often just known by the name of the parish, or the name of the town they were located, and were usually dedicated to a saint - although this could change from time to time if the church was renovated, rebuilt or relocated.

The level of detail included in parish records varies, with earlier records showing less information. The items you mentioned would be normal for an 1850s RC marriage, although these would often show the names of witnesses. RC records do not usually include ages or occupations, although Church of Ireland details often do.

You can view a microfilm of the historic register for Tullamore parish in the National Library in Dublin - the reference number is : Pos. 4174


Shane

[LoesLamb]

Thank you,
I was hoping beyond hope that the original might show more. When I was going through microfilms in Manchester earlier this year to find his baptism (he was born there) it struck me how much more detailed the RC records around 1835 were compared to most other ones.

Not finding any William John, and after being able to eliminate all Williams baptized in Manchester (except one). I'm afraid he might have been baptized somewhere else later, maybe his father a military man too.
The only hope of confirming his age and finding the name of at least his father was his marriage.

Details, including witnesses might have shed a light on Mary Caffrey, allthough she was born in Castlecomer, Kilkenny (1911 Census), 1838-1841.

Loes

[shanew147]

Most of the RC marriage records I've seen from that time did include witnesses - so that Tullamore register appears to be a little less detailed than average. The problem is that there was no standard format and the details recorded varied by parish, and even when the parish priest changed.

Castlecomer RC baptism records go back to 1812, marriages to 1831


Shane

[LoesLamb]

If there were witnesses, they don't show on the transcript. So maybe not recorded or illegible.

No Mary Caffrey baptism in Kilkenny, I'll keep checking, just in case.
I just heard from the Salford Diocese that in the 18th Century that mixed marriages in RC churches weren't allowed, a non-catholic bride would have had to be baptized first.
I assume the same would apply to grooms in Ireland, but with English soldiers it would be impossible to say where.
When searching on rootsireland, there are a few Williams (not in Tullamore), but no William John before 1857.

Maybe the only solution is a vacation in Dublin, to be spent at a microfilm viewer

Loes

[shanew147]

Any of the mixed RC / Church of Ireland marriages that I've seen records for first hand have taken place in a Church of Ireland church.. In most cases the children were baptised RC, but sometimes a mix of some RC and some CofI. In one case I have, I cant find a marriage, but I did find one of their children baptised twice - once RC, and later the same day CofI.

I seem to remember hearing something about mixed marriages sometimes being allowed in an RC church were as long as the RC bride made a pledge to bring the children up Catholic... cant remember what timeframe this applied to though..




Shane

[LoesLamb]

I remember the same, that was the 1950's in Holland.

It wouldn't surprise me though, if there were different standards for men and women. The most important of course were the souls of the future children, and that would have been mainly up to the mother. In this case she did well, even if two sons married in a CoE church in later years, and a daughter, after a RC marriage that lasted a few years, lived in sin with a RC man who was already married too. Until death did them part ...

Loes