Fitzgerald Peter 1826 - 1894

[Garforscor]

Hi Folks, On my first ever post and would appreciate any help on trying to find out where my g,g,g grandfather came from in Kings County  ( Offaly ) In Ireland. All we know is that he was on born 26th June 1826 to a Roman Catholic family and his father was called John who was a farmer.
                                 Peter was a railway guard for many years at Camden station in London. We have been researching him for over 10 years now and have been to Kew & Dublin Library to see baptism , marriage records etc`. Have tried using genealogists and different resources available but have hit a brick wall. Any help or clues would be most appreciated. Warmest Regards Gary.

[shanew147]

Unfortunately not all areas have parish records back as far as the 1820s, so you usually need to know the location before you start your search in Irish records ...

see :  Introduction to Irish Records
         My Ancestor came from Ireland - where do I start?   

roughly when did Peter move to England - is the status of his father mentioned on his marriage cert ?

If John was still in Ireland, and farming he could appear on Griffith's valuation, which was a Property Survey used for taxation purposes. Fitzgerald is a fairly common surname in the midlands, and there are about 14 separate possibilities listed - see : J. Fitzgerald, Co. Offaly

These entries are dated 1853 and 1854.


Shane

[taramcdsmall]

Hi Gary and welcome to rootschat !

On the census' that Peter appeared on, was there ever any mention of a townland in Offaly that he was from ?

Did he have any siblings living nearby him in London ?

Tara

[Garforscor]

Hi Shane & Tara,Many thanks for taking the time to reply.My ancestor was married in London in 1857 and appears on census dates 1861 - 1891.The only clue on the 1891 census stating he came from Kings County Ireland.We have investigated Griffiths Valuation and some John Fitzgeralds appear on there around Tullamore but i don`t know how to pin him down to a specific person.Another clue which we find unusual was his last daughter was called Clara a small place north of Tullamore.
                              Ultiamately i would like to find out the Town or village so i may visit with my father in what has been a quest lasting over 10 years.

[shanew147]

Griffith's can give you locations to start a search of parish records - but it's more useful if you have also have mother's surname or less common surnames...

The parishes on Griffith's are civil, which are different to RC parishes. You can check RC parishes and the civil parishes included in each on the Irish Times website - this also shows dates available for each parish and film reference numbers. see : Co. Offaly RC Parishes

Have you located any Fitzgerald connections in England that could be related ?
e.g. living with Peter or as a neighbour, as witnesses to marriage, or godparents to his children


Shane

[taramcdsmall]

Hi Gary,

As I'm sure the genealogist's have told you, researching a surname like Fitzgerlad before 1864 when our civil registration began is the proverbial needle in a haystack story

Did you manage to get Peter's work records ? I'm just wondering might there be a townland on them !

Did Peter marry an Offaly woman by any chance ? If he did, her surname may help to narrow down a  search !

It would be funny if he named one of his daughter's after the townland he came from, but I've heard of stranger so I wouldn't rule it out just yet.

Shane asked what was the status of John on Peter's marriage cert ie was he alive or deceased - can you answer this ?

Also have you researched to see if Peter had any siblings nearby, this can always help with searches too !

Tara

[Garforscor]

Shane,Tara, Once again thank you.We found on Ancestry some of Peters railway records going back to 1852 but they did not state where he was from and we found no other family connections in England and he married when he got there to an English girl.My father and i spent a week in the research centre in Dublin looking at all the catholic baptism records for Kings County.

[taramcdsmall]

Hi Gary,

Just an example here but just say he was frm Clara - which is also classed as Horseleap
, their baptisms only go back to 1845 - so he MIGHT have been from there but the baptismal records for that parish don't go back that far

clara rc church records

You can click on each district on the attached map below and it will tell you what records are available for each area, but since you say that you've already been to see the records I'm sure you are aware of this already

offaly rc church districts and records

Sorry not to have better news for you

Tara