Matthew GREER of Sligo, Ireland - son of Archibald GREER

Matthew GREER was probably born in Scotland around 1816. The first we know of him was having a child in Scotland. But he later lived in Ireland and it is certainly possible that these Greers were living in Ireland but Matthew had moved to Scotland for some reason and then moved back.

William GREER was born c 1849 in Scotland according to his death certificate. William's mother was Jane BURKARD and his father was Matthew GREER.

Next thing I know, Matthew is a widower, living in Sligo, Ireland and getting married again. (I assume that Jane had died but there certainly are other possibilities.)

On 23 Feb 1854, he married Ruth ALLINGHAM of Glencar in the parish church of Glenlough, Co Leitrim. He is listed as a shoemaker on the certificate. His residence is Sligo. He is listed as a widower. His father is listed as Archibald GREER. Ruth's father is Thomas ALLINGHAM a farmer in Glencar. Glencar lake straddles the Sligo / Leitrim border. It is close to the road from Sligo to Manorhamilton.

Unfortunately the marriage certificate just listed both Matthew and Ruth as being of full age. So I have nothing that indicates when Ruth was born. And only an estimate of Matthew's birth year from his a death certificate.

I have a death certificate for Matthew who died 29 Jan 1875 which gives his age as 58. On the certificate his residence is Ballinode, Sligo and his occupation is letter carrier. Both that residence and occupation are also found in birth certificates of his children.

The known children and birth dates are: John (c 1860), Jane or Jennie (c 1861), Elizabeth or Lizzie (16 Oct 1862), Letitia (27 April 1866), Sarah (30 March 1868), Ruth (14 Jan 1870), Rebecca (29 Aug 1872) Matthew (24 Sept 1874).

I’d love to hear from anyone who think they may be connected to this family or has answers for either of these questions:

1. Leticia’s 1866 birth certificate gives place of residence as Ballinode Cottage in the Parish of Calry. Has anyone heard of Ballinode cottage?

2. The child Matthew birth certificate shows a residence of Rath Quarter, Sligo but the death cert of the father is 4 months later and shows a residence of Ballinode. Looking at a map of Sligo it looks like these 2 places are close together but not the same.
Is it more likely that: they lived in Ballinode for the births from 1866-1872, moved to Rath Quarter for the 1874 birth and then back to Ballinode; OR the places were very close together and Ballinode and Rath Quarter may have been used for the same place?

Irish deeds

If you have ancestors who may have owned or leased property in Ireland you may want to check out the Registry of Deeds Index Project. There are over 70,000 records indexed now and more to come. The index is searchable by name, location, and various other ways. This is a real resource for those of us with an interest in Irish genealogy.

Free Immigration Collection at Ancestry

Periodically Ancestry allows free access to part of their records for a limited time. This week (thought Sept 5), you will find free access to their Immigration Collection. Have a look.

Irish Gleanings

I ran across a new website today called Irish Gleanings at http://sites.google.com/site/irishgleanings/.

It is extracted information from hundreds of Irish migrants derived from US State Department records at the US National Archives.  You might find a place or date on that elusive ancestor.

The site is well worth a look and I have add a link to it to my Irish Genealogy links page at http://www.jackreidy.com/genealogy/irishlinks.htm

My Book Addiction: Review: Gideon's Sword by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

My Book Addiction: Review: Gideon's Sword by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Surnames

I updated my Irish Surname Page which is at:
http://www.jackreidy.com/genealogy/surnames.htm

I update this page regularly during the year as I  run across new pages.  If you are interested in a specific surname (or Irish surnames in general), it may be worth your time to check the page now and then.

Jack

Reidy of Rock Island Illinois

I was looking for something else in Footnote (about my Reidys) and ran into this record in the 1860 census.No relation that I know of but thought it might help someone.



address: Moline, Rock Island Illinois


                         

Name	sex	age	born	occupation
Martin Reidy	m	35	Ireland	?? Carriage Maker
Marcella	f	35	Ireland	wife
John	m	8	NY ?
Ann	f	5	Do
James	m	3	Ill
Elizabeth	f	1	Do