Hi HelenGreen37,

Thanks for sharing your family story—what a fascinating (and tricky!) puzzle.

A few thoughts that might help as you dig deeper into Catherine Quigly, her son John, and the surname changes:

🔹 John's Birth Before Marriage (1857)

It’s not unusual for children to be born before a couple married, especially in 19th-century Ireland or England. However, civil registration in Ireland only started in 1864 for births, so if John was born in Ireland in 1857, you’ll need to rely on church baptism records, not civil ones.

Try searching Catholic baptism records for Athlone (in County Westmeath/Roscommon). These are free to browse here:

• 📖 https://registers.nli.ie – National Library of Ireland Catholic Parish Registers

Also try:

• 🔍 RootsIreland.ie – a paid site with indexed parish records. They may have early baptisms for Athlone.

If he was born in England instead, use:

• 🆓 FreeBMD
• 🆓 FamilySearch.org (good for indexed baptisms and censuses)

Try variations of the surname: Quigly, Quigley, Galpin, and even no surname. Sometimes illegitimate children were simply recorded under the mother’s name or not at all.

🔹 The Bolston Surname

The sudden appearance of the name Bolston after Joseph Galpin’s death is really intriguing. A few possibilities:

• It could have been a stepfather’s name (maybe Catherine remarried informally or under a different spelling).
• It might have been invented or assumed to start fresh—a common practice if someone wanted to separate themselves from a past or avoid stigma (e.g., illegitimacy or poverty).
• Try looking for marriage records for Catherine Galpin (or Quigly) to a Bolston—perhaps in England.
• Also check the 1850s–1870s censuses for any Bolston males living near Catherine and John who could be connected.

Keep in mind that names were often misspelled or mistranscribed, so try:

• Bolston
• Ballston
• Boulston
• Boston
• Balston

Search in Ancestry and FindMyPast with wildcards (e.g., olston or Blston).

🔹 Other Tips

• Look at witnesses on marriage records or godparents on baptism records—they often hint at extended family or connections.
• Wills or probate records for Joseph Galpin (if he had any) could offer clues.

I hope some of this helps spark new ideas. If you want, I’d be happy to help search specific records or try to dig a bit further.

All the best in solving this family mystery—these stories are always worth the effort!

Warm regards,
Jack

P.S. I came across this memorial on Find a Grave—it's possibly for John’s father, Joseph Galpin. Might be worth a look in case it leads to more clues:
👉

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/148738927/john-galpin