Breakthrough
A few years ago I discovered the 1841/1851 Census extracts for Ireland. These extracts were created for the purpose of verifying the ages of applicants for a state sponsored pension. In order to receive a pension a person had to prove they were 70 or older.
I learned the names of my 3rd great-grandparents which I found on 1851 extracts. Actually, in the case of Michael Mullen, he was not born yet and couldn't be found on the 1851 Census. But even when the person was found to be ineligible for a pension the documents are still very useful. There was another Michael born previously who died in 1848. My 3rd great-grandparents decided to name this later son, who applied for a pension, Michael. Perhaps Michael thought he could get away with posing as the brother born earlier or he was visiting another family on census day?
The 1851 census asked for the year of marriage for couples.
Using that information I tried to find the marriage records for the ancestors named on these extracts. I assumed my 3rd great-grandparents were married in the parish my Mullen family lived in. I was not able to find a marriage record in that parish and didn't pursue it again until recently.
When I brought this up in the Facebook group "East Galway Genealogy & DNA", someone suggested I try the Tuam marriage records. Tuam is the nearest larger town near the townland Pollaturick where my Mullen family lived. Since I had the year from the census I started with the year 1837. I quickly found a marriage record for Patrick Mullen and Eleanor Qualter in 1837.
The name of the bride on the 1837 marriage record was Eleanor, not Ellen as likely reported by Michael, or Nelly as found on the census. I assumed that was the correct record because the name Qualter isn't very common. Also there were no Qualter families living near the Mullen family townland. A sponsor was named Ruane. Ruane is a surname associated with the Mullen family which was another clue this was the correct marriage entry.
I then assumed the couple married in the bride's parish as is common. I found a birth record for a Nelly Qualter in Tuam in 1812. This matches the name of Patrick's wife recorded in the 1851 Census extract. Her father's name was Michael, she had a son named Michael. Her father being named Michael is probably why she named another son by that name after the first Michael died. Her mother's name was Mary Finigan. Now I have the names of my 4th great-grandparents.
I then decided to look for her death record to see what name was recorded on that. I found her death record and she is recorded as Eleanor, which supports the marriage record.
The online civil registration death records don't go back into the 1760s when Eleanor died. I used the site RootsIreland to see a transcript of the death record to make sure I was ordering the correct record. The townland recorded in the transcript confirmed which one would be the right one to order a copy of.
When I looked at the transcript for the birth record of Eleanor/Nelly her name was recorded as Helen even though the church birth record clearly states her name is Nelly. I believe someone thought they were being helpful by replacing the nickname with a formal name. They guessed wrong at the given name however.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to trace the family back any farther because the Mullen parish in Milltown has many missing church records.
The Ordnance Survey of Ireland
Maps based on the 1830s and 1840s Ordnance survey were produced until new surveys were undertaken. Maps based on those coordinates were produced for the valuations of property for tax purposes, such as the first one, Griffith's Valuation. Periodic revaluations were done and maps were made for notations of changes of ownership or property lines. These notations were handwritten by valuation office workers. The location of the buildings, however, would be from the 1830s to the 1840s. Some areas were resurveyed sooner as I will explain later.
I'm interested in knowing when changes in the structures on my Mullen family property occurred. For that reason I wanted to nail down when resurveys were made. A resurvey of our family's property and structures didn't occur until the 1890s, with another survey around 1913.
The circa 1839 map is a mystery. I'm curious about whether there were two houses on the property at the time the 1839 survey was made. There is a structure marked with a lowercase "b", which would indicate a house. There is no corresponding "a" structure, and the building near the current house isn't marked with a letter at all. Was the structure near the present house actually an outbuilding? I don't think so because it would be far from the structure marked like a house. Usually farm buildings were close to the house. The structure marked "b" has a fence around the front. I could use another map of the early structures to clear this up.
A list of resurvey dates can be found on this pdf from Trinity College Dublin titled "The Six Inch Ordnance Maps of Ireland (1:10,560)."
The original survey began in Northern Ireland. A decision was made soon after the start of the survey to include field lines in the survey maps. The surveyors had to resurvey some areas to include the field lines. For that reason some areas have two early maps.
The first ordnance maps in Northern Ireland were made as early as 1832. These maps have no field lines. The resurvey with field lines took place a number of years later and as late as 1862. Below you can see examples of the early and later maps. The maps below show some changes in the structures and landscapes in the decades between the first and second surveys. I'm sorry that my family's area in Galway didn't need to be resurveyed a decade or two after the original survey. It would answer some of my questions.
There were many ordnance survey maps produced for different purposes and also for sale to the general public. Salesmen were sent around the country selling the maps. By 1857 200,000 maps were reported to have been sold. The resurvey maps produced in the 1890s were advertised for sale in local newspapers.
What I've learned by studying these maps is structures on farms were frequently replaced. The old stone cottages fell out of favor because they were associated with poverty. When visiting Ireland today you do see old stone houses, but many have been torn down to make way for more modern structures. Most people today do appreciate the old cottages and are restoring them.
I'm hoping more of these maps will eventually appear online.