Margaret Ellen Parker and Patrick Henry Gilmartin

[anthonyp]

Margaret Ellen Parker, born Dundalk 27 Jan 1830, married Patrick Henry Gilmartin there on 28 Feb 1854 [many thanks to all friends who sent me this info].  I assume they emigrated, and the only 1830 Margaret Gilmartin I have found in US Census had Bridget in 1850 and Catherine in 1852 (variously in Ireland or New York depending which Census you read).  Seems unlikely, somehow, these 2 girls were born out of wedlock and later 'adopted' by a Scripture Reader!  Were Margaret and Patrick married in a conventicle back in, say, 1849, and they got the marriage properly registered at St Nicholas Parish Church, Dundalk, only in 1854? Or, perhaps, was Margaret already a widow by 1854 - can anyone tell me if the reg entry says?
   BTW, is it likely that someone called a Scripture Reader at marriage would thereafter in successive New York Censuses be merely 'laborer'?

[shanew147]

Since this marriage was Church of Ireland it's covered by civil records so you can order a research cert to check the details. A cert should show the reported status at time of marriage for the bride and groom. These are the Index references you need :

  Name: Margaret Ellen Parker
  Registration district:   Dundalk
  Event type: Marriage
  Year: 1854
  Volume: 5 / Page: 384

A similar entry appears for a Patrick Henry Gilmartin, except the page number is 387. It should match if these two names represent a couple  - but maybe one of these entries is a typo or mistranscription. Probably best to to mention both possibilities if ordering a cert...

see : Ordering Certs from GRO Roscommon
        Details included on a Marriage Cert



Shane

[jbhall]

The details of the marriage are:

   Parish Name   Dundalk
   Enty No           88
   Year                   1854
   Marriage Date   24/02/1854
   Husband Surname   Gilmartin
   Husband First    Patrick Henry
   Age                   23
   Marital Status   Bachelor
   Occupation   Scripture Reader
   Address   Bridge Street Dundalk
   Fathers Surname   Gilmartin
   Fathers First Name   Keeran
   Occupation (Fa)   Farmer
   Wife Surname   Parker
   Wife First Name   Margaret Ellen
   Age (Wf)   24
   Marital Status (Wf)   Spinster
   Occupation (Wf)   -
   Address (Wf)   Church Street Dundalk
   Fathers Surname    Parker
   Fathers First Name   Joseph
   Occupn (Wf Fa)   Shoemaker

There is no other information in the register concerning the marriage.
They had a daughter Henrietta, born 18 December 1854, baptised 04 April 1854. The address is only given as "Dundalk" and the father's occupation as "Scripture Reader".

Intriguingly there is a Margaret A. Gilmartin committed suicide at the age of 28 and was buried in St. Nicholas Churchyard in Dundalk on the 27 December 1858.

As for Henrietta Gilmartin above. There is a record of her marriage:


   Parish Name   Dundalk
   Marriage Date   03/09/1880
   Husband Surname   Hayes
   Husband First    Michael
   Age   full
   Marital Status   Bachr.
   Occupation   Medical Student
   Address   Dublin
   Fathers Surname   Hayes
   Fathers First Name   Morgan
   Occupation (Fa)   Farmer
   Wife Surname           Gilmartin
   Wife First Name   Henrietta
   Age (Wf)                   full
   Marital Status (Wf)   Spinster
   Address (Wf)           Dundalk
   Fathers Surname    Gilmartin
   Fathers First Name   Patrick Henry
   Occupn.               Scripture Reader

Hope that doesn't confuse things too much!

Brendan

[jbhall]

Sorry, I should add that the witnesses in Patrick Henry Gilmartin's Marriage were Robert Rowland & Richard Hobson and the witnesses in Henrietta Gilmartin's marriage were Joseph Parks & Janet Parks. As I say, there are no further comments.

Brendan
   

[anthonyp]

Many thanks to Shane and Brendan for all the excellent info.  I managed to follow this line on Ancestry through an Irish surgeon called Hayes who lived in Bradford W Yorks and the trail ends with his two sons who seem to have had no issue and two daughters who I've not found marriages or births for, in the 1920s essentially.  So on the one hand it's good to learn that Margaret and Patrick did NOT head to New York, etc., on the other the longed-for hit on memories, photos, diaries, unexpectedly discovered in distant relatives' attics has once more been elusive!  Ah well, maybe something will turn up in the end ...
  I also got hold of info on Scripture Readers, very important for filling out the spiritual/political background of those deeply orange old Parkers, and came across a fascinating piece about Protestant Irish speakers which was all news to me and I've put up the ref in the General section of rootschat Ireland. 
  Till the next time .....  Toby