Michael Murray of Galway

Hello Marilyn,

I have searched www.rootsireland.ie for Michael Murray but the three records that I found are years later than 1810 or so.

I then went to www.irishgenealogy.ie which deals with 5 counties not covered by rootsireland.  I found the bap record of a Michael Murray, born in 1820, father Dennis Murray , mother Jude Carthy.  This was in the district of Cork and Ross.

I'm wondering on what information you are basing your Galway search on?  Were the family born there? Or did they live there at some point?  Or was Galway given as last place of residence?   It's strange that you can find no trace of Michael in Galway.

Just a thought,

Anne Dennehy

Hello Marilyn,

Thank you for your reply and all the information contained therein.  Somehow your reply came to my email account, so I would advise you to repost all this information here on the ireland xo site.  Many people read the posts and you never know when someone can help.

So when you read this, make sure you are logged in, and then click on the green subject bar and type the name Murray, then click further down and write all your information.   If you are copying and pasting your information (instead of having to rewrite it all again) then click on the far right icon with the w and paste in that box.

Will take another look at this end, but keep an open mind at all times.

Most people who emigrated were illiterate and undocumented.  They didn't know how to spell their names and hadn't a clue as to what age they were.  At the port of arrival their names were recorded phonetically, their ages were only guessed, and this is the information that followed them for the rest of their lives.

The proof of this occured in 1909 when the old age pension was introduced into ireland.  People had to prove their ages and were forced to go through baptismal records to establish when they were born.  That is why there is such HUGE discrepancies between ages in the 1901 census and the 1911 census of Ireland.  Dates were found to be out by many many years in some cases.

That is why you have to keep a very open mind regarding census records, tombstone inscriptions and newspaper articles etc,.

Anne

Hi Anne
I have sent this through the website reply.  I had some difficulty replying last time so I intentionally clicked on your Email.  

The information I have taken from copies of Michael's marriage & childrens' 
birth certificates is that:
1850 Michael married Margaret McGee in Melbourne, Victoria
1854 Aged 36yrs Born in Connaught, Ireland
1856 Aged 40yrs Born in Co. Galway, Ireland
1857 Aged 42yrs Born in Galway
1861 Aged 45yrs Born in Co. Connaught, Ireland
1891 Aged 82yrs Death Certificate. Born Ireland, lived 50yrs in the colony 
(Victoria). Father Denis Murray.

1. Michael was not always present when births were registered. Margaret was 
illiterate & probably couldn't count.
2. Michael's age varies from 1809 to 1818.
3. Most probably his children verified his Death Cert so could be more 
accurate than the childrens' birth certificates
4. Each document asks "How Long in the Colony?". In 1850 Australia had 4 
colonies so the Death Certificate may only be a record of how long Michael 
had lived in Victoria - possibility that he lived in another colony 
previously but came to Victoria when he was 32yrs old.
5. His death certificate states 40 yrs married which makes him 42yrs old when 
he married in Melbourne. Could be a late age for that period to be marrying 
so may have been married previously (in Ireland?).

Thank you Anne for taking an interest and assisting me.  It gets very 
confusing when there is conflicting information.  At the end of the day he 
could well have been born in 1820 but I really can't be sure. His newspaper 
obituary stated he was 72yrs old so that would put his birth around 1820.

Regards
Marilyn