Power

Hi there,

Thank you very much for your query. Have you thought of the possibility that your Power ancestor might have been in military service? It could be worth checking to see if he fought in the American Revolution. Perhaps John Power's father fought. If so, consider checking The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (contains information on both men and women who fought between 1774 and 1783) at: www.dar.org/natsociety/pi_lookup.cfm

Do you know what religion your ancestor was? This might help narrow down some 18th century documents.

Keep checking the IRO website, and hopefully someone from the Waterford community will come up with some more helpful ideas.

Kind regards,

Sinead Cooney

Hello there

Regarding your search for the origins of John Power of Virginia I reckon you are in the right place in the Waterford website.  Waterford, in the sunny south east of Ireland is the ancestral home of the Powers and the surname is four times more common than any other surname in Waterford.   

Robert Power and his family came to Waterford c.1170 with the Norman Invasion. They built a castle at Dunhill or 'Donaile' as it was then, on top of a dramatic outcrop of rock with a view of the sea.  The castle was eventually sacked by Cromwell's forces in 1649 but it remains an imposing ruin to this day. (I live 'a stone's throw' from the castle) Four branches of the family built castles all of which still stand in one shape or another.  One branch of the Power family built a castle at Curraghmore. Amazingly that family still live at Curraghmore 800 years later (The Marquis of Waterford).

It would at this stage be difficult to connect John Power of Virginia to a particular family in Waterford.  However were you to visit us here in Waterford you would be given a warm welcome and I can safely say you would be 'among your own'.

I note that the surname Power / Poor / DePaor has been in Virginia since the 17th Century.  One Samson Power was witness to a will of a Peter Hobson in 1697.

Hope this is of interest to you

Tony

Hi Tony,

Thank you for your response.  It is probably a little late in life to get to Waterford but just hearing from some one there with some Power information makes me think I did just drop in  for a moment..

Best wishes,

Bill Power

I think that my g/g/grandfather Timothy FITZGERALD,b. about1785 came from Waterford. I have heard that the family were related to the POWER family. I have been searching for Timothy and his first marriage for may years and hope that I might find some information here.

Any connections?

Kind regards,

Mary

Hi Mary,  I have never come across the name
Fitzgerald in my searching.  Sorry I can't be of help.

Good luck and beest wishes,

Bill Power

Hi everyone,

I am trying to track down my gr gr grandparents, Maria (1812-1885) & Francis Power (????-????) who lived in Portlaw up to the late 1840s before migrating to Barton-upon Irewell in England.

What we know...or think we know:

Maria was born circa 1812 (birth date range taken from different documents allows for 1811 through to 1815)

We "think" Maria's maiden name was McLean or McClean.

Francis' date of birth is unknown as is his place of birth, as is his place of death.

He does not appear in any of the English Census records; however the 1851 census states that Maria (who is now living in Barton-upon Irewell) is married to a labourer (he is not listed in this record).

Judging by the birth date of their oldest known child (John), they would have been married circa 1832.

The children were all baptised as Protestants in either Portlaw or Waterford.

Quite a number of the children later migrated to New Zealand; my gr grandmother (Elizabeth Power) being one of them. She and her brother migrated to New Zealand in the early 1870s.

I would love to hear from anyone who may have further details to help me track down this part of my FT.

We hope to travel to Waterford & Portlaw in 2013.

Regards

John Kingston

Sydney, Australia

Hello there John 'Kingo57' and greetings from Waterford

I did a quick search on the www.rootsireland.ie website and am happy to report that I found the marriage record of your ancestors Francis Power and Mary MacLean dated 1832 in the records of Clonegam Church of Ireland parish in Waterford.  Unfortunately I didn't find any baptisms of their children.  To find out further details check out the website

The town of Portlaw is within the catchment area of Clonegam parish.  Clonegam church is adjacent to Curraghmore estate, the home of the Marquis of Waterford and his family for over 800 years and the church and adjoining graveyard are closely associated with the family.  Originally the family were Power but following the Cromwellian period c.1650 Catherine Power married a Beresford and that name has carried forward to the present Lord Waterford.

Clonegam church which was built in 1742 is now very rarely used and is in a somewhat tired state.  However it is nonetheless strikingly picturesque in its setting and several of the monuments to the Beresford family within the church are very beautiful.  A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of been given a tour of the church by Lord Waterford, who holds the key.  If you are coming to Waterford later this year I insist you visit both Curraghmore Estate and Clonegam church!!

Hope the above is of interest and help to you

Tony Hennessy  waterfordorigins@gmail.com