Looking for my gggggrandmother's roots in Ireland - Margaret was a servant of all works and was arrested for theft in Tipperary, and transported. - her birth year has been registered as 1798, 1800, 1808 - she must have been only just pregnant when arrested but the "father" has never been named (suspicious?)- she was Transported for life to Australia in 1827 on board The Elizabeth and gave birth to a daughter who died, probably from her inability to feed, at four weeks. Unlike most of the other women convicts on board the ship, Margaret was never disorderly (being delicate) and never got into trouble with the law again. She married John McFarlan (fellow convict now free) in 1832 and lived in Sydney - she was to have 6 more children - Bridget, Margaret, Patrick, John, Thomas and Mary. Margaret burned to death after her petticoats caught fire when taking a kettle of clothes off the fire. My search ends in a brick wall in Tipperary - could anyone help me, recognise the name or family? Be grateful for your help - thanks
Monday 22nd Apr 2013, 08:00AM
Message Board Replies
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Hi,
Thank you for your message. What a tragic end to Margaret?s life.
It may be difficult to find information on Margaret without more information as most Irish records sources are based on specific locations usually a parish.
Have you tried looking on search sites such as www.familysearch.org and www.rootsireland.ie (You have to pay to use the latter site)
I did a search for MacRedmond in Griffith?s Valuation. This is a property valuation survey that was carried out in Ireland 1848-1864. Although this is after Margaret?s transportation it is possible that family left behind were in the area. No results came back for Tipperary however one did when I changed the spelling to McRedmond:
It could be possible that this Bridget is related to Margaret as McRedmond was not a very popular surname in Ireland:
http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/surname/index.cfm?fuseaction=Go.&Surname=McRedmond&UserID=
I also tried searching for Margaret in the National Archives Transportation database but could find no record , which isn?t unusual as not all records survive. However if you would like to search yourself here is the link:
http://findingaids.nationalarchives.ie/index.php?category=18&subcategory=147
It may also be an idea to look at newspaper archives as the story of Margaret?s theft was probably covered. Here are some links:
http://www.igp-web.com/IGPArchives/ire/tipperary/news.htm
http://www.nli.ie/en/catalogues-and-databases-printed-newspapers.aspx
http://www.irishnewsarchive.com/
Some other websites that you may find helpful are:
The National Archives of Ireland http://www.nationalarchives.ie/genealogy1/genealogy-records/introduction/
South Tipperary County Archives: http://www.southtipparchives.ie/
Genealogy links: http://www.genealogylinks.net/uk/ireland/tipperary/index.html
I hope that some of this is helpful and that you are able to narrow down a parish for Margaret. Once you have done this more avenues of research will open up to you.Remember to post any new information that you find as the more information you post, the more likely it is that one of our volunteers will be able to advise or assist you. Also include information concerning which sources you may have already used so others may further your search.
Kind regards,
Genealogy Support
Wednesday 29th May 2013, 12:34PM