The Thomas Smyth Town Clerk family of Mullingar

Hi Maolruanaigh:

Thanks for your post.  It sounds as if the newspaper archives may be of assistance to you.  If you have already checked Roots Ireland, it may be no harm to check the NLI parish registers as often, the transcriptions on Roots Ireland can be incorrect. 

You are probably familir with the Civil Registration,, and with the births, marriages and deaths after 1864, this might offer some assistance. The link is here:  https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/

Trade directories might be useful for you as well.  They are available on FindMyPast and also Shane Wilson's website at:  https://www.swilson.info/

I have passed this query to someone in that area who may be able to assist with further information.

All the best,

Jane

Thanks Jane! I will check out those additional ideas. Either records are missing or I have stumbled upon a family secret. Would appreciate if your contact might have additional insight.

I have checked the Irish newspaper archive and British archive..and the obituary doesn't mention his birth date. I guess at some stage I need to get over to Ireland. He is buried in walshetown cemetery maybe his year of birth is on the gravestone if It is still legible

Hi Maolruanaidh: The Walshetown Cemetery records are available online at this link:  https://www.walshestowncemetery.com/blank

There is also a very good local historian in the library in Mullingar.  Her name is Gretta Connell and she may be able to assist you through the library link which is here:  library@westmeathcoco.ie.

If you need any further assistance, please let me know.  

All the best,  

Jane

Hi Maolruanaidh,

I'm not sure if the year of birth, c.1883 for your great grandfather John is taken from the 1911 Census or maybe his death certificate, but I have found a baptism for a John Smyth in Mullingar born 1st January and baptised 16th January, 1876 with parents Thomas Smyth and Ellen Darcy. I found it through Find My Past by entering John Smyth, born Mullingar with father Thomas. I tried it with Ellen Darcy as mother first but it didn't come up. As legibility is not great, her surname was mis-transcribed as 'Durry' in one record and 'Durey' in another. 1876 as a year of birth would appear to fit better with Ellen's age, although that varies between the 1901 Census and the death record.

You've probably checked the Walshestown records for Thomas (d.1900) and Ellen (d.1909), unfortunately they are not listed so it's most likely that the headstone (assuming there was one) was not legible when the transcriptions which was back in 2001, I think. 

Baptism of John, 1876: (6th entry)

https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls000635199#page/61/mode/1up

No sign of a death record or entry in the Calendar of Wills for Thomas d.1900.

Hope this helps,

Mary

,,

Civil Registration of birth for John Smith (as opposed to Smyth), born 1st January 1876 at Harbour St., Mullingar to parents Thomas Smith (clerk) and Ellen Smith, formerly Darcy:-

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1876/03067/2124509.pdf

Mary

Thanks Jane for the helpful email address and for the link to the Walshetown cemetery website. Unfortunately, as Mary notes he does not seem to be listed there. 

Mary thanks a lot for digging out these documents! Much appreciated. This is definitely him. His 90-year-old daughter is still alive and she confirmed that he was born on 1 January. It appears that in the 1901 census he was living in Galway. Another jigsaw piece! 

I guess I need to keep digging and hoping that I can find a DOB for Thomas at some stage. The records in Westmeath seem to be more complete than in other parts of the countries so might have some success in going back a few generations from him. 

Thanks again 

Maolruanaidh,

Thanks for the update, I was delighted to find the baptismal and birth records for your great-grandfather, John. It never crossed my mind in finding an 1876 birth record for John that he might have a son or daughter living so that was a great surprise, and an added bonus that his daughter was able to verify the date of birth as being 1st January. I had seen the census record for Galway and noticed that in that record there was another Westmeath lodger, a Patrick Flynn, aged 16. I checked out his birth registration in case that he might have mother's maiden name or informant with the name of D'arcy or Smyth, but his mother's maiden name was Coyne. Patrick was from Hightown (Coralstown) which is quite close to Killucan where there were a lot of D'arcys listed in the Griffith's Valuation, so there may have been some connection. I was just wondering if Thomas's death notice gave his age?

Thanks a lot Mary. Especially for going to trouble of checking Patrick Flynn - an angle I never thought of - and a new idea that I must use in the future. 

Unfortunately in the couple of newspaper articles that I found there was no mention or reference to his age. Thomas Bernard his first son is an unusual name. I am wondering whether it was a reference to his father or grandfather. Or perhaps his mothers family. I saw a record for a Thomas Smyth born in 1828 in Killucan. But there are so many Thomas Smyths from Westmeath that it could be any of them.