I am trying to determine whether my great-great-grandmother Bridget Frances Gibbons was born in Killimorbologue. She emigrated to the US in the 1860s, married Patrick Quilty of Co. Waterford and settled in the Boston area. She was born in 1841-1845--US records vary on her birth year. Her US marriage record and death record state that her father's name was Owen V Gibbons and that her mother was Honora Coughlin. It appears, however, that her first son with respect to whom she had "naming rights" (after her husband's side was honored) was named William Hyacinth Quilty. Her next son was named Owen Vincent Quilty. I have always wondered why she gave precedence to the name William over the name of her father Owen.
I have found a Killimor RC Parish baptismal record for a Bridget Gibbons, baptised June 20, 1841, mother Honora Coghlan and father William Gibbons. The birth is recorded as illegitimate. There is another Killimor RC Parish record of the same date that is identical to the first record in all respects, except that the surnames of Bridget and the father are shown as Coghlan. On both records the sponsors are Edward Donohoe and Bridget Nevin.
These baptismal records match my ancestor in all respects, except for the forename of her father, which according to the records was William and not Owen.
If in fact these baptismal records do relate to my Bridget, then the only thing I can think of is that William Gibbons but that she was raised by a man named Owen Gibbons. I have found several Owen Gibbonses in Killimorbologue parish in the 1840s and 1850s. I have not found any who were married to a woman named Honora, but then that's not disqualifying if Owen was not Bridget's biological father.
Any insights or leads that you can provide to help me resolve this mystery would be very gratefully recieved. I have just about ruled out all of the other Owen Gibbonses I have found in other parts of Ireland, so this may be my last chance to track down Bridget's Irish origins.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Bob Kenney
Sunday 11th May 2014, 09:11PM
Message Board Replies
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Hello Bob,
As you know many children were called after their grandparents on their baptismal certificates. However there were times when you may have three generations in the family called i.e.William. Parents had done their duty to the grandparents by officially naming their child after them, but then the child was often actually called something else. This has happened right up to the 1960 and 1970's. After that period most people just started calling their children whatever name they choose.
I personally have an aunt Esther who was baptised Alice . The name Alice goes back generations of her family but nobody knows her as Alice. This has caused much confusion when she is travelling on her passport and in hospital etc. My own brother (born in the early 1960's) is officially called John Gerard after our two grandfathers but has always been known as Garry.
I would trust the baptismal record and believe that he was christened William but called Owen. This happened very frequently.
Kind regards,
Anne Dennehy
Monday 12th May 2014, 10:48AM -
Thank you so much, Anne. My experience is mostly in US research, and I have encountered some disparities in the 19th century US between names in birth/baptismal records and names actually used. But somehow it never occurred to me that "William Gibbons" and "Owen Gibbons" might be the same person. In the US, the most common form of name disparity is use of a middle name instead of a formal first name--for example my grandfather was "Frank Kenney" though he was baptized "Edward Francis Kenney". "William Gibbons" might have been "William Owen Gibbons" and might have gone by "Owen"--though the fact that Bridget named a son "William Hyacinth" and then the next one "Owen Vincent" makes me think that the "middle name disparity" was not what was going on here.
Of course, the name disparity issue is just one more thing that makes finding the Irish baptismal records of our ancestors so chancy and difficult. For all I know the woman I think of as Bridget Frances Gibbons may have been baptized under another forename and middle name!
Again, I really appreciate your prompt and useful response. I will continue to scour Killimorbologue sources for references to Bridget, Honora, William and Owen.
Best regards,
Bob
Monday 12th May 2014, 03:49PM -
Thank you so much, Anne. My experience is mostly in US research, and I have encountered some disparities in the 19th century US between names in birth/baptismal records and names actually used. But somehow it never occurred to me that "William Gibbons" and "Owen Gibbons" might be the same person. In the US, the most common form of name disparity is use of a middle name instead of a formal first name--for example my grandfather was "Frank Kenney" though he was baptized "Edward Francis Kenney". "William Gibbons" might have been "William Owen Gibbons" and might have gone by "Owen"--though the fact that Bridget named a son "William Hyacinth" and then the next one "Owen Vincent" makes me think that the "middle name disparity" was not what was going on here.
Of course, the name disparity issue is just one more thing that makes finding the Irish baptismal records of our ancestors so chancy and difficult. For all I know the woman I think of as Bridget Frances Gibbons may have been baptized under another forename and middle name!
Again, I really appreciate your prompt and useful response. I will continue to scour Killimorbologue sources for references to Bridget, Honora, William and Owen.
Best regards,
Bob
Monday 12th May 2014, 03:50PM