Peare in wexford

[Wexflyer]

As regards Ballymurn, that is a small village or hamlet adjacent to where Kilmallock House is located, and the name of two townlands. It is also within the parish of Crossabeg, so again, records available online unfortunately don't start until 1856.

Locations of the townlands of Ballymurn Upper and Lower, and Kilmallock
https://www.townlands.ie/wexford/ballaghkeen-south/kilmallock/kilmallock/ballymurn-lower/
https://www.townlands.ie/wexford/ballaghkeen-south/kilmallock/kilmallock/ballymurn-upper/
https://www.townlands.ie/wexford/ballaghkeen-south/kilmallock/kilmallock/kilmallock/

Kilmallock House is in the townland of Kilmallock, just outside the village of Ballymurn.

That your great-aunt knew of Ballymurn, the area where Kilmallock House is located, lends some credence to the family tradition.

[Wexflyer]

Just a thought: Illegitimate children were often named for their fathers, by which I mean their Christian name. Not invariably of course, but often enough. So interesting to note that the owner of Kilmallock House in 1844 was a John Peare.
https://census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/vob/IRE_CENSUS_1821-51_007250638_01062.pdf
In 1833 it was Robert Peare
https://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/reels/tab//004587462/004587462_00398.pdf

So John Peare was the young master of the house in the 1830s.

[LewisR1982]

Again thanks for all the info, it has really given me something to get my teeth into.
In terms of the ballymurn connection, it is food for thought. My great aunt believed that the peares came from France and settled in ballymurn in the 16/17 hundreds and the Rosslare peares were decended from these, although how much of that is true I don’t know. The history of the peare side of the family was pretty scratchy ( until you have wonderfully dug up so much info) but what anyone can recall about them is vague. The kilmallock connection is certainly good for thought though.

[Wexflyer]

Looks like we may be able to be a little more specific about a potential origin in the Ballymurn district.
Griffith's Valuation for Wexford was published in 1853.
https://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
Looking in Griffith's, I see a James Peare listed in the townland of Ballysilla, directly adjacent to Kilmallock to the east, and to Ballymurn on the south.
https://www.townlands.ie/wexford/ballaghkeen-south/kilmallock/kilmallock/ballysilla/
James' holding is no. 18b, a 10.s house, meaning it is a low value mud-walled thatched cottage with just a few rooms. A poor laborer's cottage. At this time there is no Peare in the Rosslare area.

Now, this is just circumstantial, but your John's eldest son was named James, which is consistent with John in turn being the son of James, given Irish naming conventions. And Ballysilla is clearly within the Ballymurn/Kilmallock subdistrict where there is a family origin tradition. So, this seems a plausible origin location for your John.

I still think it likely that your Peares are an offshoot of the gentry family of the same name and same general location. Hard to avoid that conclusion given the rarity of the name. The discovery of James in Ballysilla just pushes back the possible interconnection by a generation.

[LewisR1982]

One other thing my relative told me was that the family would have been church of Ireland rather than catholic as they are now. Would church of Ireland be Protestant? (Forgive my ignorance when it comes to religion). I assume this is also something that has been passed down orally through generations.
I know records in Ireland aren’t fully complete and some were lost in fires or destroyed during the war, but how far back is it possible to trace a family?
If this James peare is indeed connected would there be any detail on him (marriage record etc) or is that unlikely given it would be in the 1820’s - 1830’s ish?

[Wexflyer]

If this James peare is indeed connected would there be any detail on him (marriage record etc) or is that unlikely given it would be in the 1820’s - 1830’s ish?

Your direct line were Catholic, as almost certainly was this James in Ballysilla. The parish registers for Crossabeg as microfilmed by the NLI don't start until January 1856, and then only for baptisms.
There appear to be earlier records dating from 1794 under local control.

The Griffith's Valuation record, and associated Valuation Office records may be the only records available online showing that James ever existed. Here is a link  for a September 1852 valuation for Ballysilla, showing James Pear with a 10.s house - a prequel to the publication of Griffith's Valuation in 1853.
https://census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/vob/IRE_CENSUS_1821-51_007246842_00351.pdf

[Wexflyer]

One other thing my relative told me was that the family would have been church of Ireland rather than catholic as they are now. Would church of Ireland be Protestant? (Forgive my ignorance when it comes to religion). I assume this is also something that has been passed down orally through generations.
I know records in Ireland aren’t fully complete and some were lost in fires or destroyed during the war, but how far back is it possible to trace a family?

There is no one answer to this question. As for anywhere, it depends.
As for the specific Peare family of Kilmannock House, the user N. Peare who posted on this thread stated that he has an extensive family tree. Have you contacted him, via personal message?
They would have been members of the Church of Ireland, which is Protestant.

[Wexflyer]

The known status of all Church of Ireland parish registers can be found in a downloadable file at the following site:
https://www.ireland.anglican.org/cmsfiles/pdf/AboutUs/library/registers/ParishRegisters/PARISHREGISTERS.pdf

The CofI parish for Kilmannock/Ballymurn is Kilmallog, diocese of Ferns. BDM records exist from 1813 to 1870/4. As with the early Catholic registers these are not online.

[martina boylan]

The earlier church records for Ballymurn/Crossabeg are available on microfilm in Wexford library. The records include marriage and baptism records.There was also a Mary Peare who married Thomas Roche in 1868 in Ballymurn. Mary may have been the daughter of James Peare and Bridget Carroll. Thomas Roche's niece Mary Roche married James Hore in Oilgate, and their granddaughter Alice married William Peare from Rosslare. N Peare should be able to provide more information on the Peare's of Kilmallock house. As a matter of interest the parish was Kilmallock prior to being Ballymurn/Crossabeg.