Hickey Family

[friesland]

My Hickey, g grandfather, John Hickey was born (1836) and lived in Lambeth Surrey. His parents, according to his baptism record from St George's Catholic Church, Southwark, Surrey, were John Hickey and Catherine Riley and census records show that they were both born in Ireland, both in about 1811, but gives no more detail. I cannot find a marriage in England but have found an original record on the National Library of Ireland website showing a John Hickey and what looks like Kitty Reilly married on 1st March 1835 at Hospital and Herbertstown, Limerick.

I started looking on the Surrey forum  - https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=859755.msg7287896#msg7287896  but was advised that this Irish forum was more appropriate.

Can anyone point me in any direction towards getting further back with my family?

[shanreagh]

Searching in Ireland is easier if you know
a the religion
b the townland that your people lived in
https://www.townlands.ie/

If you have found the marriage you will know
a & b as usually/often the townland is the location noted on the register
c the names of the fathers. 

The sites that I use most often
1   Family Search
2   National Archives for Census
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/help/pre1901.html
and
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp
3   Griffiths Valuation
https://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/
4  https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/

There is a paid site I some times use if I am really stuck
https://rootsireland.ie/limerick/online-sources.php
eg Hospital & Herbertstown   1810 - 1899 (Baptisms)    1812 - 1813 &
1815 - 1887 (Marriages)

Also do a Google search for
a genealogical resources in Limerick

b the actual names you have

This is a general useful guide for searching in Ireland
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/how-to-trace-your-irish-family-history-a-step-by-step-guide-1.3423973

naming patterns
https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Ireland_Personal_Names

Kitty is a short form for Catherine
Reilly is another way of spelling  Riley or  O'Reilly & O'Riley. Often Irish families dropped any O' before their names as anti Irish sentiment was not unknown. 
It is useful to find out the occupations......I have two Scottish forebears who lived at Lambeth in the same period who were stone masons working on I don't have the papers here. 

A smidgen of Irish history can be useful as can having a search page open all the time to pop townlands in to find where they are.

Also be aware that the pull of 'big' cities was then as it is now.....if you find a name in Limerick City or Dublin that may fit then do more searching before discounting it.

Also while families may have gone to London like yours they usually left families behind and searching for siblings i.e. laterally  to get clues in some cases may be more useful that trying to go straight back. 

Best of luck, searching in Ireland can be/is! the most frustrating, interesting, off on byways-inducing occupations.

[riannisuileabhain]

quick search shows two baptisms

bapt John Hickey 01 April 1812 parents John and Mary (Pallasgreen and Templebredin, Limerick/Tipperary)
https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000632760#page/10/mode/1up

bapt John Hickey 13 May 1813 parents William and Catherine (Galbally and Aherlow, Limerick/Tipperary)
https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000632715#page/37/mode/1up

I couldnt see any for Catherine/Kitty that i could say could be possibilities.
sometimes looking at children's names can give hints to parents and siblings names.

[dublin1850]

The parish entry for the marriage looks like it gives an address for Catherine.
https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000632730#page/271/mode/1up

It looks like Clonvillan. I can't find anything matching that, but maybe Cloghaviller, close to Herbertstown?
https://www.townlands.ie/limerick/smallcounty/ballinard/cahercorney/cloghaviller/

Still Reillys in Cloghaviller in the 1901 census.

[shanreagh]

The parish entry for the marriage looks like it gives an address for Catherine.
https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000632730#page/271/mode/1up

It looks like Clonvillan. I can't find anything matching that, but maybe Cloghaviller, close to Herbertstown?
https://www.townlands.ie/limerick/smallcounty/ballinard/cahercorney/cloghaviller/

Still Reillys in Cloghaviller in the 1901 census.

On the marriage register it seems to name her parents as Thos ie Thomas Reily and Mary Connors.

Looks like Clonvillar. There is a Cloghavillar Castle  in Limerick Powell Family.

[Kiltaglassan]

On the marriage register it seems to name her parents as Thos ie Thomas Reily and Mary Connors.

The names of the two witnesses were Tho^s Reily and Marg^t Connors.

[friesland]

Thanks for all the pointers, I will follow these up.

One problem is that as Hickey and Reily are fairly common names in Ireland I am not sure whether this marriage relates to my John Hickey and Catherine Reily or a totally different family. The entry shows Kitty which may be short for Catherine but in other records - the baptisms of three children and in census records - she is always Catherine.

And if it is, can I assume that the witnesses are parents?

[shanreagh]

No I made a mistake the witnesses are not the parents......they are the witnesses and as such may be friends or relations of either or of the bride or groom. Or, people the priest called on who may have lived close to the church for those who did not have their own witnesses.   It is always worth searching back and forwards for witnesses as they can provide a link to the family that may take you somewhere. 

Sometimes there were witnesses one from each side and sometimes they witnessed alongside the groom by a bride's witness and vice versa as a show of family unity for the marriage. 

[shanreagh]

On the marriage register it seems to name her parents as Thos ie Thomas Reily and Mary Connors.

The names of the two witnesses were Tho^s Reily and Marg^t Connors.

Yes I am sorry these were witnesses not parents.....doh and I noticed especially the priest's short form of 'witnesses' and still wrote parents.  Sorry again.