r/IrishAncestry

Throwaway account as I’m uncomfortable with the amount of detail I must go into for this, and associating that detail with my main.

So I am being driven up the wall by the very brick masonry that represents the troubles I am having with one particular branch of my family tree. However, I am determined not to give up, and I thought that perhaps doing a call-out for some experts/amateur historians or specialists, or even just passing comments from genealogical enthusiasts might land on something that turns out to be important later. So I’d appreciate all thoughts and advice.

My great-great grandmother Sarah Elizabeth Perry (nee Grogan) (c. 1816-1871) lived in Clerkenwell in central London, her husband James Perry (also a Londoner) was a Japanner, and so was her dad Martin Grogan (c.1775-1849) and four out of her five brothers (the Grogans were based in south London in and around Walworth and Camberwell).

Based on the census record of one of the brothers, John Grogan (c. 1801-1872), it appears that the family came from County Mayo, and in an ideal world I would like to pinpoint where these Grogans' hometown was.

I have looked into what catalogues are available within Irish archives and what the family history “landscape”, if you will, looks like over there to try to make the leap "over the water". My understanding is that because the 1821 census was largely lost in the Irish Civil War, for most people going this far back into Irish records, one has to strike lucky that the relevant parish records go that far back.

Is this really the case? A cursory glance at digitised microfilm reels of parish records available online for various Mayo parishes only go back, at best, to the mid-1820s which is too late for me.

One idea I had was to attempt a scatter gun approach with Griffith’s Valuations from the 1840s and 1850s, and try searching the Grogan surname in that to see if there might have been any cousins who stayed in Ireland. That returned a few Grogans in the surrounds of Ballyhaunis, Knock, Bekan etc. and also up around Ballina and Killala. But again, nothing concrete that I could use.

Are there alternative record sets that I'm not aware of that might be of use?

I assume they were Catholic, as I got the impression that the Church of Ireland records have survived better, and I couldn't find anything in those record sets. But I can't be 100% sure.

By chance, the BBC released Paddy McGuinness’s Who Do You Think You Are? episode a couple of years ago (he’s a comedian, presenter and TV personality) who coincidentally also has ancestors from Ballina. And that episode taught me that there was a big economic downturn in Ireland in the early 19^(th) century, and that a lot of Irish emigrated to the UK pre-famine for better job opportunities (also in the aftermath of the United Irishmen Rebellion of 1798 which was heavily concentrated in Mayo).

So it seems probable to me that my Grogans followed suit there. It must be why they all came to London.

But I still have a few questions about that. For example, were they likely in the Japanning trade while they were living in Ireland? Or was it something that they picked up to be able to emigrate to/live in the UK? Might they have been doing something else prior to their arrival?

Having done an exchange year myself while I was a student, I’m aware of the costs of moving countries and how much you have to spend to be able to do that, so is there a chance that they actually were relatively comfortable back in Ireland before the move, and post-move their circumstances were actually quite reduced?

And also Japanning – how widespread was that industry in Ireland in the early 19^(th) century? Was it the industry to be in? Or actually, because Mayo isn’t that urban relative to say, Cork or Dublin, is it actually quite unusual that a family of Japanners came from Mayo? Should I prioritise searching in Mayo's large towns for that reason?

All thoughts, comments, replies etc. much appreciated.

Hi all, background here: I’m american living in america, but I have relatively recent (only a few generations removed) Irish ancestors. I’ve lately begun to really deconstruct how whiteness as a concept is a part of the racist construct of colonialism, and how this has also robbed me and my family of my identity since my ancestors settled in america on stolen land.

I really want to reconnect with this heritage and learn more about it, especially since I strongly identify with the Irish struggle against imperialism. I would like to learn Gaelic and visit Ireland at some point, but where else do I start? Any book or podcast recommendations for learning more about Ireland and Irish history would be welcomed! Tiocfaidh ár lá.

The 1926 census sprung a new twist in the family, fun times!

My dad’s father was born in Dublin in 1922, and the census has confirmed he was adopted and both parents were dead.

We had always thought his mother had him out of wedlock, and she then married and had other kids. But this looks like he was taken in by an aunt or family member after both parents died.

We have some parish records that show a birth that lines up with him, but can we be really sure. Maybe he didn’t have the same family name as her, or she just took him in from outside the family.

Is there likely to be any reliable source for his adoption between 1922 and 1926?