Seeking Information on Patrick Farrell & Bridget Lacey from Wexford, Ireland
Hello,
I’m trying to trace my maternal family history and am looking for any information about Patrick Farrell and Bridget Lacey from Wexford, Ireland.
Here’s what I know about them and their children:
- Patrick Farrell – born in Wexford, Ireland (exact date unknown)
- Bridget Lacey – born in Wexford, Ireland (exact date unknown)
They had three children:
- Mary (Molly) Farrell – born circa 1903, married Patrick Nolan on 26 Aug 1923. She later moved to America.
- Anne (Jane) Farrell – born 1907 in Dublin, Ireland, died 1985 in Ireland. Married Christopher Clarke on 12 Jul 1932.
- William (Willy/Frank) Farrell – born circa 1915, married Dora Shannon on 12 Feb 1939. He died in London, England.
I am hoping to find any records, parish registers, census data, or family connections that could provide information on Patrick and Bridget’s parents, their origins, or any other leads.
Any help, tips, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Best regards,
Jack
Comments
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It is generally recommended to start from what you know and work backwards and, sometimes, sideways. Sideways means collateral research - looking for siblings and other close relatives to find the information we seek.
What exact dates and records do you have for the 3 children?
In that time, there should be civil birth records, freely available on the Irish government website, irishgenealogy.ie. I don't see records for any of the 3, with those parent names, in a quick search. May I ask, what is your source for the name of Bridget Lacey?
Mary was Mary Bridget on her marriage to Patrick Nolan on 26 Aug 1928. Christopher Clarke and Annie Farrell were the witnesses. Patrick Farrell, her father, is not listed as deceased. Normally on Irish marriages, if the father is deceased, that will be noted. Not conclusive, but probable that he was still alive in 1928.1 -
I agree 100% with @Áine Ní Donnghaile - we need much more documented information about what is known before moving back in time.
Objectively, just looking at what you've presented, I immediately must ask:
- Echoing Áine, how do you know the names of the parents of these 3 children, particularly Bridget's maiden name? What documents have you found that have this information?
- Do you have the 1911 Irish Census listing with Patrick and Bridget with Mary Bridget and Anne living with them?
- I pulled all three marriages you've cited. Honestly, I have questions about Anne's. Consider this: As we know, in 1928, Mary Bridget Farrell married Patrick Nolan - she lists her address as 20 South Summer St, and her father is listed as Patrick, labourer. In 1932, Anne Farrell married Christopher Clarke. Her address is listed as 88 Upper Dorset St with her father listed as Patrick James, drayman. Then in 1939, William married Dora Shannon, and he lists his address as 20 South Summer St, and his father is back to being listed just as Patrick, labourer. This difference in residences can easily be explained if Anne was living outside the home as a servant just prior to getting married - but, it is a notable difference considering how Patrick is listed differently.
- On all three of these marriages, Patrick appears to be living - also important as noted by Áine.
- One of the witnesses to William's marriage is Michael Farrell - could this be a sibling that was missed?
There is much work to be done with respect to documentation. Websites like Ancestry and FamilySearch feed off of documented sources for life events. If you are careful, and you add accurate, correct sources to the profiles of these people, both sites may suggest hints that could possibly lead you to the older source information that you are seeking. I caution you to be skeptical - you are dealing with some very, very common Irish names. Be sure to connect as many dots as possible such as occupations and addresses, and siblings, to be sure the documents you're reviewing are for the correct people in your family.
Hope this helps.
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@Jack61450
Patrick Farrell, drayman, died on in 1935. The South Summer St appears again. Death record lists Patrick as married, not a widower, his spouse should still be living.And in 1942, Bridget's address was still on South Summer when she passed. Her death record.
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I have the marriage records for all three children, though I haven’t been able to find the birth records. Anne is my great-grandmother, and her son (my grandfather) told me what he could about their lives. That’s how I first learned the parents’ names, including Bridget’s maiden name, and then I confirmed details through marriage and death records.
From the records, I can see that Patrick and Bridget were living at 20 South Summer Street, which connects to William later living on Somerset Street. These address details really helped me piece things together.
I haven’t yet located the 1911 Census with Patrick, Bridget, Mary Bridget, and Anne, but that’s the next record I’ll be looking for to strengthen the family connections.
I truly am grateful for all your help and guidance — it’s been such a big help in making sense of the details I have.
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@Jack61450
You say That’s how I first learned the parents’ names, including Bridget’s maiden name, and then I confirmed details through marriage and death records.None of the records you've mentioned or that @SantaNinfa and I found mention Bridget's maiden name. In that time, Irish civil birth records are quite good - no missing/lost records - yet we've found no marriage for Patrick or birth records containing the maiden name Bridget Lacey. I think we have to consider the possibility that the name is not Bridget Lacey.
Where did Mary Bridget "Molly" Farrell Nolan settle in the USA? Have you obtained her death record for confirmation?
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@Jack61450 Of course, I agree with Áine. None of the records we have found, or that you mentioned, have a maiden name for Bridget.
So, I am assuming that the maiden name you think is hers - Lacey - is information that came from your grandfather, in other words, word of mouth.
Imagine for a moment, that Bridget's birth father died when she was very young. Then, her mother remarries. Many years later, someone like your grandfather may only remember Bridget's stepfather's surname - but not her actual birth name. This is just one of many possibilities why this information may be suspect.
The reason I'm saying this is because Áine and I have found many records which support a different surname, including a marriage and several birth records, all of which line up with all of the information you believe to be true - just not Lacey.
Just as Áine suggests, finding Mary's death certificate or information may help.
We'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
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@Jack61450 UPDATE
The reason it was so hard to find this family in the 1911 Irish Census is because the surname and forenames were transposed when the census form was filled out - of course, it is indexed this way. This happened more often than you would expect.
Based on research Áine did with respect to additional children that were born, and died, I was able to search by the address where the family was living in both 1909 and 1912: 4 St. John's Terrace (Merchant's Quay, Dublin). So, thanks @Áine Ní Donnghaile !
This helped me find them right where they should be.
Here is link to the Census on the original National Archives site: https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Dublin/Merchant_s_Quay/St__John_s_Terrace/70264/
And, since that site will soon be retired, here it is on the new site: https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/census-record/?id=299021&c20_year=1911
Hope this helps.
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As @SantaNinfa mentioned, I've been digging through early 20th-century births and deaths for the family. There were at least 6 children born, with 3 who sadly died young.
The 1911 census confirms the birth of your Patrick in County Wexford. Bridget is listed as born in County Wicklow, which is adjacent to Wexford.
I've attached the records we've found to the respective profiles in the FS tree.
Hope this helps!1 -
I noticed you have a tree on Ancestry so you may want a link to the 1911 Irish census there.
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/70564/records/14086029And the share link, in case you don't have a current subscription
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And, Patrick was already working as a drayman in the brewery in the 1901 census.
https://nationalarchives.ie/collections/search-the-census/census-record/?census_year=1901&surname__icontains=Farrell&firstname__icontains=Patrick&county=Dublin&age__gte=20&age__lte=30&sex=M&religion_updated=Roman+Catholic&id=52003970 -
Thanks so much for all the detailed work you ’ve both put into this—it really helps clarify things. You make a very good point about the possibility that “Lacey” may have come down through family memory rather than the actual records.
Just to correct myself from earlier: Mary Bridget “Molly” Farrell Nolan didn’t actually pass away in the U.S. It was her son Joseph (Joe) who emigrated, retired, and later died there—I had the two mixed up.
The census discovery at St. John’s Terrace is a huge help, too—thank you both for catching the transcription error. That explains a lot about why the family was so difficult to track down. I’ll also review the birth and death records you’ve attached to the FS tree and see how everything lines up.
By the way, have you been able to identify the names of the three children who sadly died young? I’d be really interested to know more about them if records exist.
Really appreciate your collaboration on this!
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@Jack61450 Yes, I identified the names and dates for the three children who died young. They are listed in the FS tree, and their birth and death records are attached on the FS tree.
I'm confused by your question since I see you have already copied the names and dates for those three children into your Ancestry tree.
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Unfortunately, the full marriage record for Patrick and Bridget is one of the very few not available on irishgenealogy.ie. You can request a copy; the price is only €5.00. With that copy, you'll have the names of both their fathers. Names of the witnesses may also be useful - perhaps other family members.
Instructions for ordering are here. Simply email asking them to find the image. The GRO will respond with a link to pay and then they will email you the image. Include this link in your request to make it easy for the GRO: https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/view/?record%5Fid=5543b8dbea-3092
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@Jack61450
Have you requested the marriage record from the GRO at Roscommon? With the names of both fathers, we may be able to take both Patrick Farrell and Bridget Keogh's families back another generation.1 -
Hi,
I’ve seen the record and have gathered the following information. I’ve since found some details on Patrick Keogh’s family, but haven’t been able to get anywhere with Bridget’s side.
- Bridget’s father: Patrick Keogh
- Patrick’s father: Hugh Farrell
Any suggestions or leads regarding Bridget’s mother would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
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Does the marriage record show any specifics about the age of Patrick or Bridget? Or whether their fathers were deceased or living?
Often, a marriage will only list "of full age" or "minor," but sometimes we get lucky and there is more precise info. I've even seen Irish marriages with exact dates of birth for the groom and bride.
Every little piece of information has to be examined to connect the dots.
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Here's The Marriage record it says for both of them full age The witnesses i cant read fully but it looks like Patrick Kehoe and Mary Anne Kehoe (different spelling but there's a chance their relatives of the bride)
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Hi @Jack61450
Your image didn't post. Please try again or you can DM it to me.
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Hope this worked!!
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