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Hello every one.I have joined your group as I have made a discovery about Margaret.

She emigrated to Australia in 1841.The ship's record says she was from Kilkenny.Last week I was going over my research (lockdown under COVID19 in Melbourne) and found something on her death record I hadn't seen before.

It says  she was born in Killarney.

Now perhaps the family made a mistake and got Killarney and Kilkenny mixed up.But Margaret's  house in Melbourne was named Kilburn and that is the name of a townland in County Kerry - it's near Milltown,which is not far from Killarney.

The record also says her father was Thomas Reid and that he was a Bootmaker.Mother unknown.

I have not been able to find Margaret's baptism on Ancestry and FMP.

Can some-one help out?Cheers

Jim

Friday 11th Sep 2020, 08:38AM

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  • Hi Jim,

    I've been searching through the Milltown/Killarney records and haven't been able to find anything definitive as yet. I wonder if you have any further relevant information? Could the surname have been Reed or Reidy? Reidy is quite a common surname in some parts of Co. Kerry. I found records of a Reed family in the area who were Church of Ireland. Do you know if she was Roman Catholic or Church of Ireland? Apart from her father's name, do you have names of any other members of Margaret's family eg. siblings? Also, her children's names and their order might provide clues, as Irish families often followed a traditional naming system. Do you know her age at the time of emigration to Australia and the Irish port of departure? Did she travel alone or with others from her area?

    I have found some possibilities but need more information for confirmation. If you can find anything else, let me know and I will do some further research into it. 

    Kind Regards,

    Joan Holland

    Joan Holland, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Monday 2nd Nov 2020, 10:00PM
  • Hello Joan,thanks for responding to my query.

    In answer to your questions Margaret was a Catholic and was age 22 on departure from Plymouth .( UK )

    Her kids were named - in order of birth - Margaret , Thomas , Ellen , Michael , Denis , Mary , John , Bernard , William.

    I do not know anything about her siblings.

    All the best

    Jim

    Jim

    Wednesday 4th Nov 2020, 03:46AM
  • Hi Jim,

    I'm afraid I've been unable to find any definite record of your Margaret Reid in that part of Co. Kerry at that time. Kilburn is in the parish of Kilcolman, Milltown, Killarney. The earliest records for the area go back to the early 1800s. The only likely relative I could find was a Thomas Reidy, born 1802 to David Reidy and Margaret Donnell of Milltown. If he married young, he could have had a daughter, Margaret (called after his mother, as was family tradition), born around 1820 - 1822. The only other possible record I found was a Death Record for a Thomas Ready, Shoemaker, of Twohills Lane, Killarney, who died in 1872 at the age of 52. If Margaret's father Thomas was a Bootmaker, it is likely that this could be her brother, also called Thomas, carrying on the family business.

    I'm sorry I haven't been able to find anything else about her or her family.

    Best wishes,

    Joan

    Joan Holland, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Friday 6th Nov 2020, 10:44PM
  • Thanks Joan - I will make a note of this.

    By the way where did you find this information.

    Regards

    Jim

    Jim

    Sunday 8th Nov 2020, 06:33AM

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