Prey family of Tullyree, Bryansford

[mattjreid]

I'm attempting to trace downwards the Prey family from Tullyree, Bryansford in the 1850s. They are the family referenced by this page: https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~rosdavies/genealogy/SURNAMES/O/Oprey+.htm:

"of Tullyree; husband of Margaret Smith/ Smyth ; father of William bpt. 7 Jul 1849 & Patrick bpt. 9 Apr 1851 & John bpt. 9 Nov 1856 & Hugh bpt. 8 May 1859 & William bpt. 15 Aug 1861 & Margaret bpt. 20 Mar 1864 at Kilcoo Catholic Church"

I was successful in similar exercise with a couple of families from Mayo, however, I can't find anything for the Preys except for my 2nd great grandaunt Catherine Prey - missing from the citation above.

It looks like John Prey and wife Margaret Smith die within a year of each other in the early 1870s; and I found a marriage between Elizabeth Prey (daughter of John) and Patrick Morgan - it looks like she died soon after the birth of her first child Patrick (who also died).

I thought this would be easy because of the distinctive surname, but I am really struggling. There are a couple of other Prey families from Bryansford in the 1901 census but none of their dates seem to match this one.

Does anybody have any suggestions how I might improve my searching?

[Kiltaglassan]

Presumably you have used https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/ to aid your searching?

This gives the deaths of John & Margaret Prey in 1872 and 1873 respectively.

John Prey 17 March 1872 at Tullyree
https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/deaths_returns/deaths_1872/020751/7279993.pdf

Margaret Prey 18 September 1873 at Tullyree
https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/deaths_returns/deaths_1873/020691/7259840.pdf

Indicating the location of Tullyree townland.
https://www.townlands.ie/down/iveagh-upper-lower-half/kilcoo/bryansford/tullyree/

A Prey family in Tullyree - 1901 census - Richard, Ellen and 8 children
https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Bryansford/Tullyree/1233608/

[mattjreid]

Thanks for the links - and, yes I have been using the resources you suggest.

There are a few Prey families in and around Tullyree in 1901 but I can't find any that match the birth years for the children in this family; and I have DNA matches - but only for the next generation up.

My ancestor married in Downpatrick:

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1890/10690/5896081.pdf

and then went to Cumberland, then St Helens - and I can't see any Preys in those locations either.

Even if it is the case that they all died childless - except for my ancestor - I'd like to see the records.

[Elwyn Soutter]

There’s mention of 2 William Preys. One born 1849 and the other in 1861. Re-use of the same name in the same family normally indicates the first one died. It was common to keep the name alive. I’d work on the basis that the 1849 William died before 1861. Since death registration didn’t start till 1864 you won’t find a statutory death record for him.

[mattjreid]

That was my hunch, too - I appreciate your suggestion.

It looks like the second William also died young:

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/view/?record_id=ea0ad8543e-1294933

[Elwyn Soutter]

I assume you know the O’ & Mc prefixes on many Irish names are detachable. Many people used them and then dropped them, then used them again.  So it’s always worth searching under both. There were 5 Prey households in Tullyree in 1901. 4 O’Prey and 1 Prey. So check records under both. (Good search engines will do that anyway but not always successfully).

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Bryansford/Tullyree/

There was a John O’Prey senior and a John junior in Tullyree in the Valuation Revision records (PRONI website), so your family were evidently in that set as O’Prey.

5 Pray farms in Tullaree (Tullyree) in the 1829 tithes:

https://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/down/tithe-applotment-books/kilcoo-parish.php

[mattjreid]

I think I may have a match: Hugh and Annie Prey arrive on the State of Pennsylvania in New York in 15 Feb 1882; there is a Hugh and Annie Prey on Iowa census but I think that may be Hugh's cousin because he arrived in 1870 and married in the US in the 1870s.

There is also a Hugh from Tullyree who dies in 1891:

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/deaths_returns/deaths_1891/06084/4735670.pdf

I'm assuming this is the husband of Anne Sawey, married in 1881. This Hugh is the son of Peter Prey:

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1881/11016/8028015.pdf

I'm sceptical that there are three couples of Hugh and Annie Prey from Ireland in the 1880s; there is a possibility that the couple arriving in NY in 1882 are the couple from Iowa, but I can't think why they would be visiting Scotland - given that his wife was from Indiana.

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

[Elwyn Soutter]

I'm sceptical that there are three couples of Hugh and Annie Prey from Ireland in the 1880s; there is a possibility that the couple arriving in NY in 1882 are the couple from Iowa, but I can't think why they would be visiting Scotland - given that his wife was from Indiana.

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

Were they actually visiting Scotland or did they just sail  to/ from there?  It was very cheap and easy to get from Belfast to Glasgow and many people went there to join a sailing. And, in addition, some ships called at Moville on Lough Foyle en route from Glasgow to USA/Canada, to pick up. Such a sailing may appear on Ancestry as having sailed from Glasgow and the stop in Ireland isn’t shown.

[mattjreid]

Yes, that sounds most likely.

There is a very well-documented Hugh and Annie Prey in Iowa - but that can't be the Hugh I'm looking for because his parents are Patrick and Margaret. I assume the Hugh and Annie arriving at NY are this couple - and the wife is mistakenly recorded as coming from Ireland; this Hugh is in family trees from DNA matches, and indicates a common ancestor at least one generation higher.

There are no records that show another couple with this name in the US.

I will make a spreadsheet of Preys from Tullyree, with the aim of identifying any children from John and Margaret.