I'm looking for my Lawless and Lawlor family. My great grandmother, Helena Lawless, was born in Tipperary in 1892. Through my research I found that her parents were John Lawless and Mary Lawlor. They married in Tipperary in 1887. I have their marriage certificate and their Marriage Record. In 1887 John Lawless was 33 and a Tailor, as well as a Widower. Mary Lawless was 25. John Lawless' father was Patrick Lawess (a Tailor and deceased). Mary Lawlor's father was Walter Lawlor (a farmer) also deceased.
John's first wife was Anne Hayden. They married in Co. Wicklow in 1875 and they had 6 children, 4 of which were born in Dublin. They had Arthur William, John Matthew, Michael Anthony (died as an infant, Anthony Matthew (died as an infant) , Elizabeth Mary (became a Blessed Virgin Mary), Patrick Joseph (moved to England). Anne died in 1886, and then John married Mary Lawlor in 1887.
They had 7 children. Mary Margaret, Anne, Helena, Walter, George, Fred and Josephine. Helena, Walter and Fred all came over and moved to Chicago. I dont know if any of the other siblings moved here. Josephine came to Chicago for a bit and returned back to Ireland. When Walter had a stroke in 1971, she came back to get him and brought him back to Ireland where he eventually died.
My dad remembers his mom (my grandmother) saying that they would ship stuff back from Chicago to Ireland to Helena's family.
I can't go back any further on her parents. Was hoping I could get more information or if anyone else is related? I understand that John Lawless' brother was also a tailor.
Thursday 20th Jun 2013, 02:31PM
Message Board Replies
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Hi,
Thank you for your message.
One of the main pieces of information that you need when researching your family history is a specific location in Ireland, preferably a parish name. Do you know which parish they came from?
Civil registration began in Ireland in 1864 so you should be able to find Helena?s birth record in these records. This will tell you where her birth was registered so you will know where in Tipperary you need to be looking for more information.
Civil records are available from the General Register?s Office in Dublin. Here is their website:
http://www.groireland.ie/research.htm
You can search the indexes to these records up to 1958 online at:
https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1408347
Once you have a parish name you can then look in church records and land records i that parish for more information.
Have you tried looking for the family in the 1901/1911 census records? These can offer lots of useful information, you can search these here:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/
Some other websites that you may find useful are:
The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/
The National Library of Ireland http://www.nli.ie/en/family-history-introduction.aspx
Genealogy links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/tipperary/index.html
Ireland Gen Projects: www.igp-web.com/tipperary/index.htm
Tipperary Archives: http://www.southtipparchives.ie/
Family Search: www.familysearch.org
Irish Newspaper Archives: http://www.irishnewsarchive.com/
Remember to post any new information that you find here. The more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Monday 8th Jul 2013, 11:19AM