Easkey, Sligo, Ireland
Mary first appears in genealogical records in the 1851 census living in Long Close Lane in York (near Walmgate Bar).[1] Her age was given as six months old suggesting she had been born about September/October 1850. She was listed on the census with her parents James (1784[2]-1857[3]) and Mary (1804-1865[4]), her six siblings and a visitor called Mary Carty. They had all been born in Ireland; a later census record for her sister Catherine gave her birth place as Easkey in County Sligo which provided a helpful clue to the family’s origins in Ireland. Mary had been born in York and is one of those ancestors whose birth and/or baptism records have yet been found. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church records for Easkey do not cover the period when her siblings were born and they too have been difficult to trace.
Walmgate Bar, York
What fascinated me about Mary was, that until I started researching my family, I had no idea that there was either Catholicism or Irish ancestors in it. As a child I lived very close to my great grandmother Violet Kate Richardson who was Mary and her husband Luke Richardson’s fifth child. I have already written about Luke so this blog post is focused on Mary’s immediate family. It is also linked to research I have been carrying out for my Masters dissertation into the Irish families who migrated to the civil parish of York St George (in Walmgate) in the mid-1800s.
My great grandmother, Violet, was in her nineties when she died. We used to visit her regularly and I don’t remember her ever talking about her family. What a missed opportunity to find out more about the lives of her grandparents, James and Mary Weir/Wear, and their family in Ireland. It would have been really interesting to know more about her three aunts and three uncles. The aunts have been easier to trace than the uncles which was something of a surprise. They were in order of age as follows:
Patrick (b 1824[5]) only appeared in the 1851 census with the family; his occupation was given as an agricultural labourer.[6] He also featured in the York Herald newspaper dated 15 February 1851,[7] which reported that he had been assaulted by the Kilmartin brothers in the nearby village of Dunnington. Patrick had been selling bags of chicory and received two black eyes from the brothers who were bound over to keep the peace. No further confirmed records for Patrick have been found.
Catherine (1826[8]-1913[9]) married her husband James Duffy (b 1830[10]) in the Catholic Chapel, Little Blake St, York on 14 December 1852. [11] They subsequently left York in search of work and had settled in Hartlepool by the 1871 census.[12] Their son John (1853[13]-1934[14]) became a ship riveter and continued to live in County Durham.[15] Three of their daughters married. Catherine was recorded in the Hartlepool Union Workhouse in 1911 where she was described as married; there was no sign of her husband James.[16]
John (b 1834[17]), an agricultural labourer, only appeared in the 1851 census with his family in York. No further records for him have been found.
James (b 1836[18]) stayed in York long enough to marry Bridget Connelly (1835[19]-1903[20]) in the Catholic Chapel, Little Blake Street, York on 11 February 1859.[21] By then they were both living in the Bedern in York and James was described as a labourer.[22] Their daughter Mary was born on 8 March 1860 in the York Union Workhouse.[23] James does not appear with Bridget and Mary when they are recorded in the Workhouse in the 1861 census;[24] it is possible that he had abandoned his wife and child in York.
Susannah (1841[25]-1909[26]) proved difficult to trace as she was recorded as Judy in the 1851 census.[27] An article in the Yorkshire Gazette, dated 11 June 1859, about an alleged assault mentioned both her and her siblings.[28] She probably married George ABBEY (1841[29]-1910[30]) in 1861 in York.[31] They moved away from York and both their deaths were registered in Whitby, Yorkshire.
Ann (1843[32]-1890[33]) married Charles Rafter (1835[34]-1883[35]), a labourer, in St George’s Catholic Church in 1860.[36] They remained in York and Ann was the informant when her mother Mary died of phthisis on 24 March 1865.[37] By the 1881 census Charles recorded his occupation as a “teaser woollen”.[38] Their children were mostly either unskilled workers or working in the glassworks.[39] The exception to this was their son Thomas who joined the merchant navy and by 1939 was living in Hull, Yorkshire where he was working as a trawler engineer.[40]
“Who Would Have Thought It”
Mary (1850[41]-1918[42]) married Luke Richardson (1846[43]-1891[44]), a Yorkshireman on 17 December 1868 in St George’s Catholic Church, York.[45] The family lived in “Who Would Have Thought It”, one of a row of cottages in the nearby village of Stillingfleet and Luke was a railway platelayer.[46]
I would like to discover more about Mary’s siblings and am looking forward to when county archives are able to open again. In the meantime, if you have any information about the family which you are willing to share with me, then do please contact me.
[1] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, Mary. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[2] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, James [head]. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[3] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 1st Q., 1857. WEIR, James. Vol. 9D. p. 20. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[4] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. York, Yorkshire. 24 March 1875. WEIR, Mary. Vol. 9D. p. 37. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[5] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, Patrick. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020
[6] Ibid.
[7] York Herald. (1851) An Irish Row. York Herald. 15 February 1851. p. 6. Collection: 19th Century British Newspapers. http://www.findmypast.co.uk : accessed 14 March 2020.
[8] Census records. England. Middlesbrough, Yorkshire. 07 April 1861. DUFFY, Catherine. PN 3687. FL 16 SN 174. ED 8. p. 30. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[9] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Hartlepool, Durham. 2nd Q., 1913. DUFFY, Catherine. Vol. 10A. p. 125. https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/Login.asp: accessed 14 March 2020.
[10] Census records. England. Hartlepool, Durham. 02 April 1871. DUFFY, James [head]. PN 4916. FL 92. SN 129. ED 19. p. 30. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[11] Marriages (PR) England. York, Yorkshire. 14 December 1852. DUFFY, James and WARE, Catherine. Certificate no: MXH752302.
[12] Census records. England. Hartlepool, Durham. 02 April 1871. DUFFY, James [head]. PN 4916. FL 92. SN 129. ED 19. p. 30. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[13] Births index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Wakefield, Yorkshire. 4th Q., 1853. DUFFY, John. Vol. 9C. p. 21. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[14] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Houghton, Durham. 1st Q., 1934. DUFFY, John. Vol. 10A. p. 592. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[15] Census records. England. Hartlepool, Durham. 02 April 1911. DUFFY, John [head]. RD 545. PN 29644. ED 44. SN 03. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[16] Census records. England. Throston, Durham. 02 April 1911. DUFFY, Catherine. RD 545. PN 29665. ED 65. SN 07. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[17] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, John. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[18] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, James. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[19] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 4th Q., 1903. WEAR, Bridget. Vol. 9D. p. 16. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Marriages (PR) England. York, Yorkshire. 11 February 1859. WARE, James and CONNELLY, Bridget. Certificate no: MXH822008.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Births index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 08 March 1860. WARE, Mary. Vol. 9D. p. 13. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[24] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 07 April 1861. WIER, Bridget. PN 3544. FL 111. SN 01. ED Workhouse. p. 04. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[25] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, Judy. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[26] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Whitby, Yorkshire. 1st Q., 1909. ABBEY, Susannah. Vol. 9D. p. 321. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[27] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, Judy. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[28] Yorkshire Gazette. (1859) An Alleged Assault. Yorkshire Gazette. 11 June 1859. p. 4. Collection: 19th Century British Newspapers. http://www.findmypast.co.uk : accessed 14 March 2020.
[29] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Whitby, Yorkshire. 2nd Q., 1910. ABBEY, George. Vol. 9D. p. 271. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Marriages index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 3rd Q., 1861. ABBEY, George and WEAR, Susannah. Vol. 9D. p. 55. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[32] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, Ann. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[33] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 1st Q., 1890. RAFTER, Ann. Vol. 9D. p. 37. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[34] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 4th Q., 1882. RAFTER, Charles. Vol. 9D. p. 25. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[35] Ibid.
[36] Marriages index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 3rd Q., 1860. RAFTER, Charles and WEIR, Ann. Vol. 9D. p. 87. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[37] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. York, Yorkshire. 24 March 1875. WEIR, Mary. Vol. 9D. p. 37. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[38] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 03 April 1881. RAFTER, Charles [head]. PN 4724. FL. 34. ED 15. p. 22. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[39] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 31 March 1901. RAFTER, William [head]. PN 4447. FL. 15. SN 141. ED 17. p. 22. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[40] 1939 Register. England. Hull, Yorkshire. 31 March 1901. RAFTER, Thomas [head]. 29 September 1939. Schedule 133. RG101/522-1/JAAT/131/1. National Archives (Great Britain), Kew, England. Collection: 1939 England & Wales Register. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[41] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, Mary. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[42] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 2nd Q., 1918. RICHARDSON, Mary. Vol. 9D. p. 74. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[43] Births index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 2nd Q., 1846. RICHARDSON, Luke. Vol. 23. p. 756. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[44] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 2nd Q., 1891. RICHARDSON, Luke. Vol. 9D. p. 65. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[45] Marriages index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 4th Q., 1868. RICHARDSON, Luke and WEAR, Mary. Vol. 9D. p. 99. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
[46] Census records (CR) England. Stillingfleet05 April 1891. RICHARDSON, Luke [head]. PN 3896. FL 21. ED 2. p. 5. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.
Joan Reid Genealogy 