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Hello Regina,
I found information about the Markey and Castle family as well as the Devine and Kearney family at two different resources. One of these sources includes the multi CD collection called the British Isles Vital Records Index (BIVRI) produced by the Latter Day Saints (LDS). The other source is the LDS website www.familysearc.org
These records are birth indexes for the children of Joseph Markey and Julia Castles/Cassells as well as birth indexes for the children of James Devine and Catherine Kearney.
THE MARKEY CHILDREN
The records from the BIVRI show that four Markey children's births were recorded in the Castlepollard West, Westmeath district registration office.
The births themselves did not necessarily take place in Castlepollard, but may have occurred in a townland near Castlepollard.
As an aside, Castlepollard was located in the civil parish of Rathgarve, which is also spelled as Rathgraff in some records. Civil parishes were administrative divisions in Ireland but haven't existed as administrative divisions since the late 19th century.
The birth indexes include those for the children you had mentioned in your query to the GenForum-John, Kate, Patrick, and Joseph. But, as you will see in the indexes that follow, Kate's and Patrick's births were recorded on the same day, indicating they were twins.
The BIVRI entries for the Markey children follow:
MARKEY, John Birth
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 12 Aug 1867
Birthplace: 187, Castlepollard, West, Ire
Recorded in: Westmeath, Ireland
Collection: Civil Registration
Father: Joseph MARKEY
Mother: Julia CASSELLS
Source: FHL Film 101152
Dates: 1867 - 1868
_____________
MARKEY, Kate Birth
Gender: Female
Birth Date: 28 May 1870
Birthplace: 213, Castle Pollard, West, Ire
Recorded in: Westmeath, Ireland
Collection: Civil Registration
Father: Joseph MARKEY
Mother: Julia CASSELLS
Source: FHL Film 101207
Dates: 1870 - 1872
_____________
MARKEY, Patrick Birth
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 28 May 1870
Birthplace: 213, Castle Pollard, West, Ire
Recorded in: Westmeath, Ireland
Collection: Civil Registration
Father: Joseph MARKEY
Mother: Julia CASSELLS
Source: FHL Film 101207
Dates: 1870 - 1872
_____________
MARKEY, Joseph Birth
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 1 Aug 1873
Birthplace: 174, Castlepollard, West, Ire
Recorded in: Westmeath, Ireland
Collection: Civil Registration
Father: Joseph MARKEY
Mother: Julia CASTLES
Source: FHL Film 255885
Dates: 1873 - 1874
_____________
All of the indexes for the Markey children you see above come with source information in the form of LDS microfilm numbers on which you can find the full birth records of each child. For instance, John's 1867 birth record can
be found on microfilm number 101152; Kate's and Patrick's birth record will be on film number 101207; while Joseph's birth record can be found on film number 255885.
The full records should tell you where the parents Joseph and Julia were living at the time of each birth.
The indexes for the Markey children are from civil registration records.
Civil registration began in Ireland in 1845 with the recording of Protestant marriages only.
Full civil registration of births, marriages, and deaths for all religious denominations began in 1864.
The Latter Day Saints website agrees with the dates of birth for the four Markey children as found in the BIVRI, but unlike the BIVRI does not give the name of the town where the births were recorded. Nor does the LDS website provide the microfilm number where the full birth records of the children can be found. But the LDS website does list a birth index not found in the BIVRI. This is for a Mary Markey, born 18 November 1859 in "Castle Dollard, Dollardstown House, Meath" which I believe refers to Castlepollard, though the record states the birth occurred in Meath rather than in Westmeath. The index for Mary also states that she had married a Charles Henry Westcott on 26 September 1886, though it is not stated where the
marriage took place, though it may have occurred in New York. Also included in the record index for Mary is her date of death, 4 July 1932.
The record for Mary does not come with source information which means it is not possible to tell if the information about her birth, marriage and death is accurate.
Please see below:
Mary Markey
Female
Event(s):
Birth: 18 NOV 1859 Castle Dollard, Dollardstown House, , Meath, Ireland
Christening:
Death: 04 JUL 1932
Burial:
Parents:
Father: Joseph Markey
Mother: Julia Castle
Marriages:
Spouse: Charles Henry Westcott
Marriage: 26 SEP 1886
_____________
Next are the LDS website birth indexes for the four Markey children John, Kate, Patrick, and Joseph. Notice that the indexes for Kate and Patrick show they were born on 28 May 1870:
JOHN MARKEY
Male
Event(s):
Birth: 12 AUG 1867 , Westmeath, Ireland
Christening:
Death:
Burial:
Parents:
Father: JOSEPH MARKEY
Mother: JULIA CASSELLS
______________
KATE MARKEY
Female
Event(s):
Birth: 28 MAY 1870 , Westmeath, Ireland
Christening:
Death:
Burial:
Parents:
Father: JOSEPH MARKEY
Mother: JULIA CASSELLS
Source Information:
Batch No.: C701593
Date; 1875
Film Number: 0255931
______________
PATRICK MARKEY
Male
Event(s):
Birth: 28 MAY 1870 , Westmeath, Ireland
Christening:
Death:
Burial:
Parents:
Father: JOSEPH MARKEY
Mother: JULIA CASSELLS
_______________
JOSEPH MARKEY
Male
Event(s):
Birth: 01 AUG 1873 , Westmeath, Ireland
Christening:
Death:
Burial:
Parents:
Father: JOSEPH MARKEY
Mother: JULIA CASTLES
_______________
Along with birth records, the children of Joseph and Julia should also have baptism records. A book by Brian Mitchell called "A Guide To Irish Parish Registers," shows that the Castlepollard Catholic Church has registers that
begin in the year 1763.
I am assuming that your ancestors were Roman Catholic.
Mitchell's book shows that no Protestant church records exist for Castlepollard, which means I wouldn't know where you would search for church parish registers if they belonged to the Anglican Church of Ireland or the Presbyterian Church.
A search of the Castlepollard Catholic registers (the name of the Catholic Church in Castlepollard is St. Michael's) may not only provide you with baptism records for the Markey children, but may also tell your when Joseph
and Julia were married. Their marriage record in turn may tell you the names of their parents. The registers would also let you know if a Mary Markey had been baptized in the parish and would further tell you if the names of her
parents were Joseph Markey and Julia Castles or Cassells.
The BIVRI record for Mary shows she was born in 1859. If she was the daughter of Joseph and Julia, it is possible that more children were born to the couple after Mary, and before the 1867 birth of John.
And because the Castlepollard Catholic registers go back to the late 1700s, it's also possible that the baptism records of Thomas and Julia as well as the marriage records of Thomas and Julia's parents were recorded in these registers, provided they had lived in or near Castlepollard.
Many parish priests in Ireland today will no longer search their parish registers when family genealogists request baptism, marriage, and death records. This is because the parish priests get so many requests of this type that it takes time away from their other parish duties.
If you are interested in obtaining church records concerning your ancestors in Castlepollard, I'd recommend contacting the Westmeath genealogy centre, which is called the Dun na Si Heritage Centre in the townland of Knockdanney Moate.
This is a fee based agency which means it may cost quite a bit of money to have the 19th century Castlepollard registers researched on your behalf for your ancestors.
You would have to write to the Dun na Si Heritage Centre and request more information and costs associated with research in the parish registers. It may be a while before you hear back from the centre because of a backlog of
requests. The website for the centre can be found at the GoIreland link at:
http://www.goireland.com/Genealogy/Html/counties/Westmeath.htm
Concerning other records, earlier I had mentioned that Castlepollard was located in the civil parish of Rathgarve. Knowing this, I searched an Irish property tax record called Griffiths Valuation for any Markeys and
Castles/Cassells living in the Rathgarve civil parish.
By way of explanation, Griffiths Valuation was enumerated in the 32 counties of Ireland between 1847 and 1864. The enumeration for County Westmeath took place in 1854.
Griffiths Valuation only lists the names of the heads of households or occupiers and also the names of people who owned or leased the property to the occupiers.
I found one entry for a James Markey and one entry for a John Castles living in the townland of Slieveboy, Civil Parish of Rathgarve. I can't say with 100 percent certainty that James Markey was related to Thomas Markey and that John Castles was related to Julia, but the Griffiths record does show that both men lived within close proximity to one another in the townland of Slieveboy.
These are the only Markeys or Castles found in the civil parish of Rathgarve in Griffiths Valuation.
The Griffiths Valuation entries for James and John were found at the subscription website called Origins.net
The text version of Griffiths Valuation for James Markey is just below:
No. and Letter of Reference to Map: 32 a
Occupier: James Markey
Lessor: Wm. P. Urquhart, M.P.
Civil Parish: Rathgarve
Townland: Slieveboy
Description of Tenement: House and Land
Area of Land: 8 Acres, 3 Roods, 20 Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 5 Pounds, 15 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 15 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 6 Pounds, 10 Shillings
The Griffiths Valuation entry for James Markey shows he had leased over 8 acres of land and a house from the owner of the property, William P. Urquhart, who was a member of the British Parliament. The land that James leased was valued at 5 pounds and 15 shillings, while the house he occupied was valued at 15 shillings. The total valuation of the land and house was 6 pounds and 10 shillings.
The map number at the top of the entry, 32 a, refers to an Ordnance Survey Map showing the location of the property James Markey leased in the townland of Slieveboy.
The next entry is for James Castle in the Griffiths Valuation record for Slieveboy:
No. and Letter of Reference to Map: 28 a
Occupier: John Castle
Lessor: Wm. P. Urquhart, M.P.
Civil Parish: Rathgarve
Townland: Slieveboy
Description of Tenement: House, Office, and Land
Area of Land: 9 Acres, 2 Roods
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 6 Pounds, 15 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 15 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 7 Pounds, 10 Shillings
It's possible that Joseph Markey and Julia Castles were born in Slieveboy, while it's also possible their children were born in Slieveboy. The birth records of these children on the LDS microfilm will tell you where their
parents were living at the time of their births.
Valuations still occur in Ireland on a yearly basis for commercial and industrial properties.
The Valuation Office in Dublin is responsible for listing the names of occupiers in the valuations. The latest valuation to be placed online by the Valuation Office are from the late 1990s.
I searched the Valuation Office's genealogy link at
http://www.valoff.ie/Genealogy.htm to see if any Markeys or Castles/Cassells had been enumerated in Slieveboy. I found two listings for a Peter Cassells in the townland, one entry for his home and one for his property. The
indexes for Peter Cassells in the valuation for Slieveboy are next:
County WESTMEATH
Local Authority WESTMEATH COUNTY COUNCIL
District DELVIN
Electoral Division KINTURK
Townland SLIEVEBOY
Occupier Name PETER CASSELLS
Immediate Lessor IN FEE
Description HOUSE
Issue Date 02/10/1998
AND
County WESTMEATH
Local Authority WESTMEATH COUNTY COUNCIL
District DELVIN
Electoral Division KINTURK
Townland SLIEVEBOY
Occupier Name PETER CASSELLS
Immediate Lessor IN FEE
Description LAND
Issue Date 02/10/1998
I didn't find anyone named Markey living in Slieveboy in the most recent valuation to be placed online. Nor did I find any Markeys or Castles/Cassells in Castlepollard in the most recent valuations submitted to an online format by the Valuation Office.
Slieveboy was and is a small townland and won't be found on most road maps of Ireland, but it is located near Castlepollard. Castlepollard is situated at the crossroads of the R195, R394 and R395 secondary roads, near two
lakes, Lough Derravarragh to the southwest of the town, and Lough Lene to the southeast.
To see a map of Castlepollard in County Westmeath, go to the MultiMap link
at:
www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=53.6571&lon=-7.3237&scale=200000&icon=x
And to view thumbnail photos of Castlepollard go to:
http://www.bestphotosireland.com/display.php?county=Westmeath&sub_county=Castlepollard&pageNo=1&PHPSESSID=125062899ab1eeb0f4ee7ea56375993a
For a description of Castlepollard from a book entitled "Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," printed in 1837, go to the following link:
http://www.libraryireland.com/topog/c2.php
There are several towns listed on the link above. You'll have to scroll about half way down the page before you reach the description for Castlepollard.
THE DEVINE CHILDREN
Concerning the Devine and Kearney surnames, I found birth indexes for the children of James Devine and Catherine Kearney at both the British Isles Vital Records Index and the LDS website. The birth indexes for James and William Devine were found at the BIVRI while the indexes for Mary, James, William, and Anne Devine were located at the LDS website. Three of the indexes show the births were recorded in the Glassan West registration district office. The townland of Glassan was located chiefly in the civil parish of Bunown, but also partly in the civil parish of Kilkenny West.
First, the entries from the BIVRI:
DEVINE, James Birth
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 11 Nov 1868
Birthplace: 14, Glassan, West, Ire
Recorded in: Westmeath, Ireland
Collection: Civil Registration
Father: James DEVINE
Mother: Catharine KEARNEY
Source: FHL Film 101177
Dates: 1868 - 1869
_____________
DEVINE, William Birth
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 9 May 1871
Birthplace: 18, Glasson, West, Ire
Recorded in: Westmeath, Ireland
Collection: Civil Registration
Father: James DEVINE
Mother: Catherine KEARNEY
Source: FHL Film 255821
Dates: 1871 - 1872
______________
The full birth records for the birth of James in 1868 and the birth of William in 1871 can be found on LDS microfilms 101177 and 255821 respectively, which can be ordered at the Family History Center.
The birth indexes for James and William were also found at the LDS website. But in addition to their birth, the LDS site also provides the indexes of births for Mary Devine and Anne Devine. Fortunately the records for Mary and Anne come with LDS microfilm numbers.
Please see below:
MARY DEVINE
Female
Event(s):
Birth: 24 JUL 1866 0849, Glassan, Westmeath, Ireland
Christening:
Death:
Burial:
Parents:
Father: JAMES DEVINE
Mother: CATHERINE KEARNEY
Messages:
Extracted birth or christening record for the locality listed in the
record. The source records are usually arranged chronologically by the birth
or christening date.
Source Information:
Batch No.: C701303
Date: 1866
Film Number: 0101222
______________
JAMES DEVINE
Male
Event(s):
Birth: 11 NOV 1868 , Westmeath, Ireland
Christening:
Death:
Burial:
Parents:
Father: JAMES DEVINE
Mother: CATHARINE KEARNEY
______________
WILLIAM DEVINE
Male
Event(s):
Birth: 09 MAY 1871 , Westmeath, Ireland
Christening:
Death:
Burial:
Parents:
Father: JAMES DEVINE
Mother: CATHERINE KEARNEY
______________
Anne Devine
Female
Event(s):
Birth: 15 DEC 1873 , Westmeath, Ireland
Christening:
Death:
Burial:
Parents:
Father: James Devine
Mother: Catherine Kearney
Source Information:
Batch No.: C701546
Date: 1873
Film Number: 0255890
_______________
The full 1866 birth record for Mary can be found on microfilm number 0101222 while the full 1873 birth record for Anne can be found on film number 0255890.
As mentioned earlier the townland of Glassan was located in two different civil parishes, including Bunown and Kilkenny West. Bunown was the larger of the two civil parishes. The LDS have filmed the parish registers for the civil parish of Bunown, but not for the civil parish of Kilkenny West.
The Bunown parish registers go back to the year 1834, and may include the baptisms of the Devine children, the marriage record for their parents, and possibly the baptism records of their parents James Devine and Mary Kearney, if they had attended this parish church.
The Catholic Church parish for this portion of County Westmeath is called the Immaculate Conception, and is located in the town of Drumraney.
Information and microfilm number for these parish registers is next:
Parochial registers of Drumraney, 1834-1881
Authors Catholic Church. Parish of Drumraney (Westmeath) (Main Author)
Notes Microfilm of original manuscripts.
Poor filming quality; some text may be illegible.
The Catholic parish of Drumraney includes the civil parishes of Drumraney and Bunown in county Westmeath, and Noughaval, which is partly in county Longford, but chiefly in Westmeath.
Baptisms, 1834-1880; and marriages, 1834-1881. FHL BRITISH Film 926167 Items 3 - 4
The registers for the Drumraney Catholic Church on film number 926167 Items 3 - 4 may be difficult to read because of poor film quality. If you cannot read the entries in the parish registers, you would then have to contact the Dun na Si Heritage Centre and commission a research project in the parish registers for the baptisms of the Devine children and the church marriage record of James Devine and Catherine Kearney. If you do write to the heritage centre also request a search in the Kilkenny West Catholic registers for your Devines and Kearneys, as these registers may have been combined with Drumraney, being as the two Catholic parishes were in relative close proximity to one another.
If James and Catherine were married after 1863 there should be a civil record of marriage for them. The church registers for Drumraney may provide you with their marriage date. If so, you would then be able to send away for their civil record of marriage from the General Register Office (GRO) in Roscommon Town, County Roscommon. The website for the GRO can be found at: http://www.groireland.ie/
After finding the birth record indexes for the children of James Devine and Catherine Kearney, I next searched Griffiths Valuation for any Devines and Kearneys in the civil parishes of Bunown and Kilkenny West. I did not find any Devines living in the civil parish of Bunown, but did find a John Kearney residing in the townland of Portlick, in the Bunown civil parish.
That Griffiths entry for John Kearney follows:
No. and Letter of Reference to Map: 1 m
Occupier: John Kearney
Lessor: Lord Castlemaine
Civil Parish: Bunown
Townland: Portlick
Description of Tenement: House and Office
Area of Land: 0
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 0
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 1 Pound, 5 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 1 Pound, 5 Shillings
The entry shows that John Kearney leased a house and outbuildings from Lord Castlemaine in the the townland of Portlick. In the reference to Description of Tenement you'll notice the term "Office." An office in a Griffiths Valuation record could be an outbuilding such as a barn, stable, blacksmith shop etc.
The absence of land in the valuation indicates that John did not farm any longer, or could mean he had an occupation other than farming that would not require land to make a living.
But, I did find a William Devine and a Thomas Kearney living in the townland of Ballaghkeeran Big, civil parish of Kilkenny West. This townland is near the townland of Glasson, where the births of the Devine children were recorded.
The valuation entries for William Devine and Thomas Kearney are below:
No. and Letter of Reference to Map: 8 a
Occupier: William Devine
Lessor: Representatives of the Honorable William Bligh
Civil Parish: Kilkenny West
Townland: Ballaghkeeran
Description of Tenement: House and Land
Area of Land: 2 Acres, 2 Roods, 22 perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 10 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 10 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 1 Pound
No. and Letter of Reference to Map: 12 a
Occupier: Thomas Kearney
Lessor: Representatives of the Honorable William Bligh
Civil Parish: Kilkenny West
Townland: Ballaghkeeran
Description of Tenement: House, Offices, and Land
Area of Land: 5 Acres, 1 Rood, 10 Perches
Rateable Annual Valuation of Land: 3 Pounds, 15 Shillings
Rateable Annual Valuation of Buildings: 15 Shillings
Total Annual Valuation of Rateable Property: 4 Pounds, 10 Shillings
Because Griffiths Valuation shows that William Devine and Thomas Kearney leased land, it is likely they made their living by farming. The "Lessor" or owner of the property is listed as the Representatives of the Honorable William Bligh. This is an indication that William Bligh was deceased and that other people, possibly his children, or executors of his will, were in charge of the property.
I searched the modern day valuation lists for the townlands of Glassan and Ballykeeran for any Devines and Kearneys, but did not find any listed.
On modern road maps of Ireland, Ballaghkeeran is spelled "Ballykeeran," and is located only a mile or two south of Glassan, where the births of the Devine children were recorded in the district registration office. Glassan and Ballykeeran are located on the N55 dual carriageway (divided highway) on the southeastern shore of Lough Ree. Both townlands are just northeast of Athlone, Westmeath.
To see a map showing Glassan, Ballykeeran and Athlone, go to the MultiMap link at:
www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?lat=53.4556&lon=-7.9024&scale=200000&icon=x
To read more about Ballykeeran and to see a photo of Lough Ree from Ballykeeran, go to the AskAboutIreland link at:
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/show_narrative_page.do?page_id=3800
I found a brief description about the townland of Glassan in the afore mentioned Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. Please see below:
GLASSON, a village, partly in the parish of BENOWEN, but chiefly in that of
KILKENNY WEST, barony of KILKENNY WEST, county of WESTMEATH, and province of
LEINSTER, 4 miles (N. E.) from Athlone, on the road to Ballymahon;
containing 33 houses and 154 inhabitants. Here are two corn-mills, one of
which is also used for thickening frieze. It is a constabulary police
station, and petty sessions for the barony are held on alternate Wednesdays.
A patent for a market and fair exists, but they are not held. There is a
dispensary, and a penny post to Athlone and Ballymahon has been
established.--See BENOWEN.
__________
After confirming the birthplaces of the Markey and Devine children from their LDS birth records, I hope that you and your family can go to Westmeath someday and see the places where your ancestors had lived in the 19th century.
Best of luck with your research Regina,
Dave Boylan
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