Ireland! ...Where Do I Start? .....

Keatley · Post by **Keatley** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 8:49 pm

Hi,

I'm at a total dead end and would appreciate ANY help or guide lines,tips or pointers...anything!!

Where do I start looking for my Irish ancestors when I don't even know the county(never mind the town/city) they left to start a new life in Scotland?

My Gt Grandfather Thomas George Keatley, born in Ireland in 1862, came to Hutchesontown,Lanark, between 1881 and 1885.(He was not recorded on the 1881 census, and married Barbara Yuille Hutcheson in 1885)

Although he was present for the 1891 Census, he was not recorded, unlike the rest of his family, on the 1901Census.

He was shown on the 1881 census as born in Ireland.

Is there any other way at all to find his place/town of birth?
No clues on his marriage or death cert, and I have found him on the Glasgow 1913/14 Valuation Rolls, but again no help....have I missed anything?

I know a lot of Irish records were destroyed, but where do i start without even an Irish County!

From his death cert. his father is shown as John Keatley(Farmer) and his mother as Esther Bates

I have found a few John Keatley's on The Griffith's Valuation but how do I know its my Gt. Gt. Grandfather?

I have been tracing my family tree for about 12 months now,by using the SP site, and have done really well going back 7 generations...but this line is the main reason I started in the first place.The frustration over this period has been torture!

(I recently posted this on the census forum, as it originally related to that subject...but I think it belongs in here)

Thanks for reading this post,
Paul Keatley

IanS · Post by **IanS** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 9:38 pm

Hi Paul, Can I ask who were the witnesses at Thomas wedding in 1885?

Also, the following could well be coincidence but I think the Ramelton area of Donegal could be worth a look as another child to the following couple was registered in Ramelton.

JOHN BATES
Male

Event(s):
Birth: 25 SEP 1864 , Donegal, Ireland

Parents:
Father: SAML. BATES Family
Mother: ELLEN CHEATLEY

Another search on G.V crossreferencing Keatley/ Bates and Cheatley/ Bates might be worthwhile.

I wouldn't rule out the Artrea Keatleys and Bates either.

Map Site for Donegal

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com ... lMain.html

Do a 'google' for Ramelton Presbyterian Churches and it shoud throw up an address and telephone no. to contact. These records started early but are not all online.

It's a starting point!

Keatley · Post by **Keatley** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 10:52 pm

Ian,
Thanks very much for the reply.

I went to check the witnesses at Thomas wedding in 1885, and it looks like and B Haughey and J Winning

However the surname on the wedding cert is spelt without a 'e' as in Keatly(not Keatley) ...This is very clear on his name and the names of his parents.(but Thomas has not signed the cert and later on his childrens birth cert. he clearley signs Keatley with the exception of the first born that also looks like it has no 'e')

All there 7 children were named 'Keatley'....so which spelling is correct?

Thanks,
Paul

Keatley · Post by **Keatley** » Wed Jun 22, 2005 11:12 pm

Ian,

The only child I could never find was James Alexander Keatley(4th born 1891)...I've just now found him! registered as a Keatly...and the cert this time signed by his mother spelling the surname the same(minus the 'e')

The more I think about this the more it looks like the surname changed with his arrival in Scotland....what do you think?

Paul

IanS · Post by **IanS** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:00 am

Hi Paul, What were the first 3 childrens names?

In answer to your question, I think it probabley changed a few times even before they crossed the water. Even Keetly/ey , keightley etc. Have a look at the following page from Lindels Donegal site. Here I think your Bates are Beats!

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com ... xlist1.htm

IanS · Post by **IanS** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:10 am

Meant to say, did you notice that there were no Keatleys on the flax list only Cheatlys , Cheatleys and Chateleys. All the spellings would probably sound the same anyway. It wasn't that important.

Keatley · Post by **Keatley** » Thu Jun 23, 2005 9:23 pm

Ian,

Thanks for the links to these sites, I never know they existed.

How do you rate my chances of accurately finding my Irish connection?

It looks like its become a name spelling lottery!

The only family history talk i can recall about the Keatley line, was from my father before he died, that 'they' were driven out of Ireland because they were Orangemen.

The Childrens names are ...

Thomas George Keatley(named after father)

John Hutcheson Keatley(named after father's father and 2nd name after
mother's father)

Esther Bates Keatley(named after Father's mother)

James Alexander Keatley

Henry McGregor Keatley(McGregor from his mothers brothers inlawas.. John McGregor of Finnart..shipyard owner Glasgow)

William Robertson Keatley(my Grandfather)

Crawford Keatley

I remember finding and writing down details of a child (I'm sure it was claimed murdered) in Newtonards called James Henry Keatley(1864-1878) but can no longer find the link.... Thomas named his 5th and 6th children James and Henry...maybe nothing but you never know

Thanks again,
Paul

tishgibbons · Post by **tishgibbons** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 3:45 pm

Hi Paul,

I don't know about your chances of finding your Irish relatives as I'm based in Ireland and I have a lot of trouble trying to find my own. However, let me see if I can help. Firstly I did a Google on Keatley and I find that county Kildare seems to be where most of them are currently. I then went to www.ireland.com - this is the website of "The Irish Times" but if you choose 'Ancestors' from the left hand column, it will offer you the opportunity of searching where names were in the 19th century valuations. When I put in Keatley, surprise, surprise, up comes County Kildare as the county with 10 out of 22 occurrences. I then searched to see how frequent Keatley and Bates occurred and it was only in Belfast and Derry that the two surnames occurred together.

From this and what you said about their being run out of Ireland for being Orangemen, then I would say you should start your search in County Kildare (they would not have been run out of Belfast or Derry!). You could contact one of the local family history centres but they are pricey - I was horrified the other day when I travelled to county Westmeath and before I could say a word I saw a sign on the counter saying "30 Euro for a 30 minute consultation with a genealogist" !! I just left. I'd rather dig around in graveyards than pay that. If you're not based in Ireland then you don't have much choice but also try contacting the Gilbert Library, Pearse St., Dublin 2. They have indexes and maybe someone there would look it up for you. I live too far from both Kildare and Dublin to be of any use to you.

Regards,

Tish

Keatley · Post by **Keatley** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 11:13 pm

Hi Tish,

After months of banging my head against a wall, I invested in a family historian, but very reasonable rates.

This is what I have so far...

This is the only Esther Bates marrying in Ireland between 1845 and 1862.( included a search for Esther as a middle name.)

5th February 1858
Marriage took place in 2nd Raymoghy Presbyterian Church in Errity, Parish of Raymoghy, Co Donegal.

George Keatley - Of Age - Bachelor - Labourer - Residence at time of marriage: Manor Cunningham - Father: Abraham Keatley, Mason
Married
Esther Arthur - Of Age - Widow - Labourer - Residence at time of marriage: Manor Cunningham - Father: William Bates, Labourer

Both signed X his/her mark
Witnesses: Leslie Chittick and Wm Squire

As you can see Esther was a widow and her father was William Bates. George Keatley appears in the town of Manor Cunningham in Griffith's Valuation - as does Esther Arthur.

So the search continues!

Paul

tishgibbons · Post by **tishgibbons** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 11:02 am

Paul,

That's great progress altogether! Do you mind my asking who the historian is and what kind of rates they are charging?

Tish