Gough/Gaugh family - Loughrea and Athenry

[suzee01]

Hello
I am researching Hugh Gough and his family who were in the Loughrea and Athenry.
According to baptismal records Hugh's occupation was listed as a policeman/peace police and his wife was listed as Ruth (maiden surname unknown).
Children include:
Thomas bapt 2 Sept 1827 - Loughrea
Julia bapt 17 Jan 1830 - Loughrea
Henry bapt 8 Sept 1833 - Athenry
There is another child William however I cannot find a baptismal record for him however he was married in 1851 in Limerick to Eliza Cox - he was a widower at the time - no first marriage has been found.
The family left Galway and went to Limerick by at least perhaps 1851.
Hugh died in Limerick in 1871 aged 96 - born 1775 place unknown. He was a widower at the time and I cannot find a death for his wife Ruth.
Did Hugh and Ruth marry in Galway as three of their know children were born there? Would Hugh and his family moved from Loughrea to Athnery due to his occupation?
Would Hugh been part of the Irish constabulary as it is noted on his death certificate that he was a pensioner of the constabulary. He seems to have left the police by at least 1851. 
Sites checked for the family include irishgenealogy.ie; rootsireland.ie and familysearch.
Any information would be greatly appreciated - I will also post in the Limerick site.
cheers
S

[rwjdgough]

Hi Suzee01
my daughter passed this link to me
my name is Robert Gough
I have traced an ancestor Thomas Gough circa 1827/28 to Loughrea County Galway through military records I was unable to trace further back as Irish records are quite difficult but I have traced him forward
is there a way we can see if it is the same person
Regards Robert

[sarah]

Hello Robert

Welcome to Rootschat

I think that you were meaning to reply to a topic, I will see if I can find the topic for you.. I have now merged your reply to the topic for you. When you find a topic that you wish to reply to you just need to click the reply button at the end of the topic

Regards

Sarah

[sarah]

Hello Robert

suzee01 has seen your reply earlier today, hopefully they will reply soon.

Regards

Sarah

[rwjdgough]

Hi
Been having a look at my research from a few years ago re Thomas Gough
his history records show he was born in Loughrea joined the army in Limerick and his sons names included Hugh William and George Henry
not saying it's the same person on your list but a lot of familiarities
or just a coincidence
would be good to see if anything matches
cheers Robert

[suzee01]

Hi Robert - I did see your first post and was checking my records to see if I had any further info on Thomas since my last post but no luck. I was able to track the Gough family's movement through baptismal and marriage records with Hugh's occupation being a guide. I am descended from Hugh's  daughter Julia who was married in Limerick on 21 Nov 1857 in the parish of St Michaels the denomination was listed as Church of Ireland. She married James Bailey who was English and a soldier with 17th Regiment of Foot and his address was given as New Barracks - Julia's address was given as Prospect Hill. He had joined the army in Jan 1855 and had also been to the Crimea, North America and Jamaica. A couple of their children were born in North America.  I have been unable to find any record for the birth/christening of James and Julia's daughter Ruth who was born in 1861 at the Curragh camp in Co Kildare. James and Julia's son Walter Scott was born in Athlone Ireland in 1875 - this was year that James was also discharged from the army. His army records indicate that he had reengaged for a further 11 years while in Halifax.
I have various records for the Gough/ Bailey family which I am happy to share.
Do you know what regiment and the year Thomas joined?
cheers
Suzanne   

[Maiden Stone]

According to baptismal records Hugh's occupation was listed as a policeman/peace police

Would Hugh and his family moved from Loughrea to Athnery due to his occupation?
Would Hugh been part of the Irish constabulary as it is noted on his death certificate that he was a pensioner of the constabulary. He seems to have left the police by at least 1851. 

As a policeman he would have gone where he was sent unless he applied for a promotion or a vacancy elsewhere.
There were 99 constabulary police stations in County Galway in 1830s. Personnel was 12 chief constables, 122 constables and 540 sub constables + 15 horses. There was also a peace preservation police: 1 magistrate, 1 chief constable, 13 constables, 42 sub constables, 4 horses. There were several bridewells (lock-ups) including at Loughrea. Source "Topographical Dictionary of Ireland" published by Samuel Lewis 1837  More about County Galway in 1830s on Ireland Reaching Out website under Timeline https://irelandxo.com/.../timeline/county-galway-1830s


If Hugh was a member of the peace preservation police force he may have been dealing with "Whiteboys" or "Ribbonmen" activities and the Tithe War. A search for those topics and also for Special Commission Galway City June 1831 will give an idea of what was happening. The Special Commission was set up to investigate and try "certain offences" committed in counties Limerick, Clare, Galway and Roscommon. "Terry Alts" and Whiteboys of County Galway 1830s" is a long article with maps. The Terry Alt movement was an agrarian agitation organisation which originated in County Clare and operated in Co. Galway.
Newspapers are a valuable source. A policeman might be named if he gave evidence in a court case.

The Irish police force was known as the Irish Constabulary between 1836 and 1867. It was formed in 1822  although a Peace Preservation Force existed 1814-1822. Peace Preservation Act 1814. Robert Peel was Secretary of State for Ireland. When he returned to England and became Home Secretary he founded a police force there.
There were also police forces for Dublin and Belfast cities and for Londonderry.
www.royalirishconstabulary.com

List of RIC barracks in East Riding of County Galway in 1911 with pics & maps. There's another list for the West Riding.
Athenry barracks was district HQ for Athenry District. Loughrea barracks was district HQ for Athenry District.
https://irishconstabulary.com/galway-east-riding-t2282.html

Have you considered that Hugh may have been in the army before he joined the police? If he was born in 1770s or 1780s he would have been right age for the long wars against France. The Peace Preservation Force was brand-new when the wars finally ended. Ex-soldiers would have been the type of recruit needed.  There's correspondence from former servicemen asking for government jobs in Ireland in the years after the war. There were bad harvests, a depression, high unemployment (made worse by returned soldiers and sailors), cuts to artisans and labourers' wages.

[suzee01]

Hello again Maiden Stone  - you are a wealth of information - thank you for posting all this new info and links  - there are topics that you have highlighted that I was totally unaware of e.g. the Whiteboys or the Terry Alt movement and am looking forward to reading more about this. I had not considered that Hugh may have been in the army but anohter avenue I will explore further.
cheers
S

[Maiden Stone]

More sources for police in Ireland in 19thC..

National Archives Ireland Content of the Registered Papers 1818-33 pdf
https://csorp.nationalarchives.ie/context/Content of the Registered... PDF file
First topic is Law and Order.
The Peace Preservation Force could be sent to any district which was proclaimed by the Lord Lieutenant as disturbed. The PPF was fully amalgamated into the Irish Constabulary by 1836. PPF began to be reduced from mid 1820s. Some former PPF policemen sought appointments in the Irish Constabulary.
Need to search for this by title as I can't do a link.

Chief Secretary's Office Registered Papers collection contains masses of correspondence. Index searchable by keyword and year. Descriptive title + summary of content of each item. Chief Secretary was the effective governor of Ireland.
https://csorp.nationalarchives.ie
Chief Magistrate for County Cork was Gough so a search for surname Gough has 100s of results.
I did a search for my surname. 4 pages of results including an alleged murderer, a few other prisoners, a parish clerk creating mayhem while supposedly keeping the peace + others complaining about more mundane matters. Noticed an "incident" at Tynagh, Galway, March-April 1820. Tynagh is on the road to Loughrea. Heading "Altercation at Tynagh". Mention of Ribbonmen and Anthony MCDermot, magistrate of Loughrea. May have been reported in a local newspaper.   

Irish Constabulary records are in National Archives, England.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9048
RIC service records 1816-1922 are on FindMyPast and Anc. I found only 1 entry for Hugh Gough. His full forename may not be on all records. Filtering by place on FindMyPast, selecting Counties Galway, Limerick and adjacent counties and towns in Galway and Limerick got around a dozen results.

Another Police Preservation force existed pre- 1800. Chief Secretary's correspondence collection included a pension petition (1828) from a former member, Thomas Brin, who served 1797-1820.
https://anpoitin.weebly.com/poitiacuten-and-the-police.html
This has information about both Police Preservation Forces. A duty was assisting revenue police in detecting illicit whiskey stills. A lot of recruits to the new PPF in 1814 were recently demobbed soldiers.

An internet search for police preservation force brief history should find a list of police organisations in Ireland with a short description for each.

There is/was a forum for descendents of RIC members. Saw it in an article. Some old links don't work.