Trying to locate Maguire's of Mountjoy Forrest West

Dear Jack

Welcome to Ireland Reaching Out and apologies for the delay in replying to your message. 

You have already managed to find out quite a bit about your Maguire ancestors, congratulations! If Catherine was from Omagh they would have married in that parish. Records for the corresponding Roman Catholic Parish of Drumragh begin in 1846. If they were from Omagh and were born prior to 1846 there will not be any parish records for their baptism. I assume that you have already checked the usual online sites listed below?

www.familysearch.org has a huge database of genealogical records including some church records for Ireland.

www.rootsireland.ie have a large collection of Irish Church records, however you have to pay to use this site.

You could also supplement what you have by looking at the Tithes and Griffith?s Valuation. Even though these sources only record the head of the household, the information is very important and can be valuable:

Tithe Applotment Books (1823-1837): http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/index.jsp

Griffith?s Valuation (1847-1864): http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/

Have you tried searching Ancestry.com for any mention of your ancestor?s name in member family trees or messages? There is a post on Ancestry about looking at those church records (but it refers to a different family): http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.mc-20-laughlin/108/mb.ashx 

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.

Best of luck with your search

Clare Doyle

Genealogy Support  

Clare,

Thank you for the reply. I've searched Griffiths & the Tithe Applotment books with some success. My g2grand father appears on the 1827 Applotment roles -  Name:Owen McGuire County: Tyrone Parish: Donacavey Townland: Lisnacrieve.

And on Griffiths (1860) Owen Maguire's located at:  County TYRONE Barony CLOGHER Union OMAGH Parish DONACAVEY Townland LEGAMAGHERY Place Name LEGAMAGHERY.

There are lots of Maguires listed in Griffiths for Tyrone & the same parish. I guess there could be a relation but I'm not sure how to check or make certain. Any suggestions? I will also have a look to see if I can locate any other parish records from Drumragh.

Also, I will look at the ancestry.com page you suggested & see what I can learn and discover. I've also looked extensively on the familysearch site but haven't used rootsireland.ie too much.

Do you have any suggestions on how I may go about locating living relatives? I've given thought to writing a letter and mailing it to any & all Maguire's in the area that I've located in the telephone directory.

Thank you for your help.

Jack

Mornig Jack

That part of Ireland was historically a Maguire/McGuire stronghold, so today you will find a lot of that family name living in Tyrone, Fermanagh and Monaghan. Unfortunately, the only way to make a definitive decision as to which, if any you located are you ancestors, is to gather as much information as possible in the hope that at some stage the details can perhaps be cross-referenced with a sponsor from a baptism or a witness at a wedding.

In terms of locating living relatives, you could write to those you found in the phone book or perhaps write to the editor of the local newspaper or parish newsletter:

http://ulsterherald.com/

http://www.drumraghparish.com/contact.asp

Let us know how you get on

Clare Doyle

Genealogy Support

Hi Jack,

They're pretty hard to track down, these McGuire people. I recognise, and share, your frustration. However, we may be getting closer, as I notice significant 'recyled' names in your earlier post.

The sequence starting with my 3G-gf is: Patrick, John, James.

Currently, I am working with a lead for another McGuire descended from a carpenter from Omagh, whose father was also a carpenter. I'm not suggesting any of your ancestors were carpenters, but the more data we have, the finer the mesh of the background information to come to a probable decision.

Omagh Carpenters in 1846

http://www.cotyroneireland.com/slatersomagh.html

Carpenters were likely well educated folk in 1846 with numerous skills: draw, design, count, measure, cut, assemble, nail and calculate the value of the bill.

Look forward to hearing from you,

Regards, Eire2Go

Hi Jack,

Another bit of enlightenment. According to some reputable sources including:

http://www.lyberty.com/encyc/articles/irish_names.html

EOGHAN (Owen) Eugene, Owen are the same name.  

This means you could consider searches on "Eugene" too.

Regards, Eire2Go

Eugene features in my family.

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