Crow(e) and Hastings family

Judy,

There is a Griffith's Valuation (1852) record for MIchael Crowe as a tenant in Errina, Kiltenanlea Civil Parish, Clare. The baptismal records for the RC diocese of Doonass and Truagh where the townland of Errina is located do not begin until 1851.

Regards,

Hello Judy,

To add to the information that Carolyn kindly provided, the following link will take you to the Griffiths Valuation page for Errina, Civil Parish of Kiltenanlea, where Michael Crowe is recorded: https://tinyurl.com/4s2whcnx

Before going over the record with you, it's useful to know a little of the background of Griffiths Valuation. This was an Irish property tax record enumerated in the 32 counties of Ireland between 1847 and 1864. The valuation for Errina was completed by the year 1852, as Carolyn had mentioned.

Unlike a census, Griffiths Valuation did not enumerate individual members of a family, such as husband, wife, and children in a household residence. Those named in the valuation were individuals who paid to lease property, such as land, houses, and outbuildings. Each person who paid to lease the property was called an “Occupier.” The other person listed in Griffiths Valuation was the person who owned the property, or who worked as the middleman collecting the rent on Gale Day for the owner. This middleman was called the “Immediate Lessor.”

You can search Griffiths Valuation transcriptions and original copies for free at the Ask About Ireland website link at: http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml

On the Griffiths Valuation page for Errina, you'll see the number and letter combination, 5A, to the left of Michael Crowe's name. The 5A represents the location of Michael's property in Errina on a Griffiths Valuation Map, which I'll have more about later.

Griffiths Valuation shows that Michael had leased two different properties from an Immediate Lessor named John Beehan Brady. One property consisted of over 3 acres of land valued at 2 Pounds and 15 Shillings. The second property consisted of a house, office, and over 6 acres of land. The land was valued at 4 Pounds and 18 Shillings. The house and offices were valued at 1 Pound and 4 Shillings. The total valuation for both leases was 11 Pounds and 15 Shillings. Michael would have been required to pay a percentage of the value toward the tax.

An office in Griffiths Valuation can refer to an outbuilding such as a barn, stable, blacksmith shop, piggery, etc.

To access the Griffiths Valuation map for Errina, go to: https://i2.paste.pics/NI7AM.png

Map Reference 5A is toward the top right of the map. To the east of 5A are map references 3A and 4, and to the east of 3A and 4 is the River Shannon. Just north of Michael's Crowe's property at 5A is the "Canal." This was the Limerick-Killaloe Canal. Barges traveled the canal until 1930. You can read more about the canal at the County Clare Heritage Office link at: https://tinyurl.com/2azyf68w

I didn’t find anyone with the Surname Hastings leasing property in Errina, or in any other townland within the Civil Parish of Kiltenanlea in Griffiths Valuation.

This doesn’t mean that there were no Hastings living in Erriana in 1852, as only those occupiers who paid to lease property were recorded in Griffiths Valuation.

But I did find a Hastings as well as Michael Crowe in an even older record than Griffiths Valuation. This record has come to be known as the Tithe Applotment Books. The Tithe Applotment Books are free to search at the National Archives of Ireland link at:
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp

The tithe applotments took place in the 32 counties of Ireland from 1823 to 1837, and required farmers to pay a portion of their income toward the upkeep of the established Church of Ireland. The tithe applotments for “Erina,” Civil Parish of Kiltenanlea, County Clare, are from the year 1824, and show that John Hastings and Ml (Michael) Crowe had leased farmland together in Erina.

To access the Tithe Applotment Books for Erina, go to:
http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/reels/tab//004625687/00…

After you enlarge the image and scroll down a bit, you’ll see that John Hastings and Michael Crowe are number 119 on the left-hand page. The left-hand page shows they had leased 5 acres of 1st Class Land, and 26 acres of 2nd Class Land. The right-hand page shows they had leased 5 acres of 3rd Class Land, for a total of 36 acres of land. The amount oof tithes they were charged was 3 Pounds, 4 Shillings, and 8 Pence.

Class of land refers to the quality of the soil for growing crops such as wheat and oats, with 1st Class Land being the best for growing.

It appears that the owner of the property that John Hastings and Michael Crowe leased in Erina, was Wm Moffitt Esq., of South Frederick Street, Dublin.

John Hastings may have been Catherine Hasting Crowe’s father, though it’s also possible he was her brother or uncle.

A Google Map shows that “Errina,” County Clare, is 21.6 miles east of Shannon Airport by the shortest route: https://tinyurl.com/352cczha

Errina is near the border with County Tipperary. There isn’t a Google Street View for Errina, but this Google Street View shows a road just west of Errina: https://tinyurl.com/mup9ct86

The nearest Catholic Church where your ancestors may have worshipped is in Cloonlara, which is in the Catholic Parish of Doonass & Trugh. In some records this parish is spelled Dooness & Truagh. The church in Cloonlara is Called St. Senan’s. A Google Map shows that St. Senan’s Catholic Church is 2.2 miles west of Errina, by the shortest route: https://tinyurl.com/5c2sp3tv

Here is a Google Street View of St. Senan’s Catholic Church: https://tinyurl.com/2p87ps62

The six Crowe children who emigrated to Victoria, Australia, prior to 1860 would not have attended St. Senan’s Church however. According to the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland website, the construction of St. Senan’s in Cloonlara took place in 1870.

For more information and a slide presentation of the exterior of the church, go to the Buildings of Ireland link at: https://tinyurl.com/27avrvh7

I suspected that St. Senan’s had replaced an older church in Cloonlara. To find out if this were the case, I accessed an Ordnance Survey Map of Cloonlara from circa 1840. The map shows there was an R.C. Chapel in Cloonlara, next to the National School. The Ordnance Survey Map of Cloonlara comes from the GeoHive website: https://i2.paste.pics/NIXL9.png

The R.C. Chapel and the National School are located toward the bottom center of the map. I don’t know how old this church structure was before it was replaced.

Carolyn mentioned in her reply that the parish registers for the Doonass & Trugh begin in 1851. The National Library of Ireland website link shows that baptisms for the parish are available from 27 July 1851 to 11 March 1881.

Marriages are available from 6 September 1851 to 31 July 1883. To see the availability of the Doonass & Truagh parish registers and a map of the parish and surrounding Catholic parishes, go to:
https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0771

I next wanted to see if there were any Crowe or Hastings families living in Errina, according to the 1901 Ireland census.

I didn’t find any Crowe family members in the 1901 census in Errina, but I did find that 45 year old Agricultural Labourer, Peter Hastings, his 32 year old wife Kate, and their four children were the, “Residents of a house 1 in Errina (Kiltenanlea, Clare).”

House 1 is not the street number of the house but is likely the first house in Errina the enumerator stopped by to collect the census from the Hastings family. Enumerators were usually local constables.

The 1901 census was take on Sunday evening, 31 March.

The 1901 census transcription for the Hastings’ family at the following link, comes from the National Archives of Ireland website:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Clare/Kiltenanlea/Erri…

Once the transcription appears, click on “Show all information” to view the full census page.

For a copy of the original 1901 census for the Hastings family, go to:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000483188/

If you scroll down to the bottom right of the census page you can see Peter Hastings’ signature. To his left is the signature of the enumerator, who was Constable Patrick Murphy.

By the 1911 Ireland census, 56 year old General Labourer, Peter Hastings, his 40 year old wife Kate, and eight of the children were the “Residents of a house 2 in Errina (Kiltenanlea, Clare).” Between 1901 and 1911, Peter and Kate added another 4 children to the household.

The 1911 census was taken on Sunday evening, 2 April.

See the 1911 census transcription: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Clare/Kiltenanlea/Erri…

After you tick the box, “Show all information,” you’ll see on the census line for Kate Hastings that she and Peter had been married for 16 years, and in that time had 10 children born, with 8 children still living. These are the 8 children in the household, with the youngest being Francis. You won’t see an age for Francis. This is an indication that he was less than a year old. A copy of the original census will tell you what his age was.

Also if you compare Peter’s age of 45 in the 1901 census with his age of 56 in the 1911 census, and Kate’s age of 40 in the 1911 census with her age of 32 in the 1901 census, you’ll see their ages do not add up precisely over the 10 year period between the census enumerations.

But, if you compare the ages of the four oldest children in the 1901 census, with the same four oldest children in the 1911 census, you’ll see the ages do add up. This shows that the two Hastings children who died were not in either the 1901 or 1911 census with the parents and siblings.

A copy of the original 1911 census for the Hastings family can be found at: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai001792910/

The 1911 census shows that Peter and Kate were married for 16 years, which places their year of marriage in 1895. If they were married after 2 April, they would have been married for 17 years (1894) as of 1911.

I looked for their marriage at the free irishgenealogy.ie website for the years 1894 and 1895, but didn’t find it. Because years of marriage, like ages, are not always accurate in the 1911 census, I expanded the search for their marriage from 1885 to 1893, but didn’t find it.

Marriages recorded by Catholic priests in Ireland were sent to the registrar for recording. In the case of Peter and Kate, the priest may not have forwarded their marriage to the registrar, or the marriage may have been lost, or the registrar may have failed to record it.

This is unfortunate, as civil registration marriage records traditionally record the bride’s maiden name as well as the names of the fathers of the groom and bride.

The birth records for any of Peter and Kate’s 10 children, will tell you what Kate’s maiden name was. I looked for the birth record of Peter and Kate’s youngest child Francis. The copy of the original 1911 census shows he was 5 months old, which would place his year and month of birth in November of 1910.

I found the child’s birth record under the first name of “Frank,” rather than Francis. Francis Hastings was born in “Erinagh,” on November 1, 1910. His father Peter Hastings is a “Labourer,” residing in Erinagh. Frank’s mother is Kate Hastings, formerly Sherry. Peter reported Frank’s birth to the registrar, Joseph Humphreys, who recorded the birth in the Limerick Registration District on January 6, 1911. Frank’s birth is number 60 in the birth register, which you can access after following the prompts at: https://tinyurl.com/6u88j5j6

Erinagh is an alternate spelling for Errina.

The 1911 census shows that two children of Peter and Kate Hastings had died. I found the death records for the two children at the irishgenealogy.ie website.

Kate Hastings died in Erinagh on February 16, 1903 at the age of 6 months. She was a “Labourer’s daughter.” The cause of death was “Bronchitis 3 days.” The person who reported her death to the registrar was her mother Kate, of Erinagh. The registrar, John Coffee Ryan, recorded Kate’s death in the Limerick Registration District on August 13, 1903. Kate’s death is number 361 in the register: https://tinyurl.com/39dj2eht

The other Hastings child who died was Patrick. He died in Erinagh on February 24, 1908 at the age of 1 month. He was a Labourer’s son.” The cause of death was “debility from birth.” Patrick’s mother Katie Hastings of Erinagh reported the death to the registrar, John Coffee Ryan, who recorded Patrick’s death in the Limerick Registration District on June 26, 1908. Patrick’s death is number 112 in the register:
https://tinyurl.com/ufwt8ab7

Going back in time I wanted to see if there was a Doonass & Truagh baptism record for Peter Hastings. From his age recorded in the 1901 and 1911 census returns, Peter would have been born in the 1850s.
There won’t be a civil registration birth record for Peter, as the Irish government didn’t record births, marriages, and deaths for all religious denominations until 1864.

This means I had to see if there was a baptism record for him.

I located Peter’s Doonass & Truagh Catholic Parish baptism record at the National Library of Ireland website. He was baptized on July 2, 1854. His parents were Martin Hastings and Mary Dwyer. His godparents were Wm (William) Dwyer and Mary Dwyer. See his baptism record at: https://tinyurl.com/2jwa53j9

To the right of godmother Mary Dwyer’s name is the name of the town where Peter Hastings and his parents Martin and Mary were living at the time of the baptism. The name of the town looks like “Curraghquale,” but I could find no townland by this name in the Catholic Parish of Doonass & Truagh or in the Civil Parish of Kiltenanlea.

The priest who baptized Peter was the Rev. R. Kennedy.

I next found the civil registration death record for the person I believe to be Peter Hasting’s father, Martin. Martin Hastings died in Errinagh on June 14, 1895 at the age of 80. At the time of death he was a “Widower,” who had been “Labourer.” The cause of death was “Senile Decay.” The person who was present at the death and who reported the death to the registrar was Martin’s daughter-in-law, Kate Hastings, of Errinagh. This Kate Hastings would be the wife of Martin’s son, Peter. The registrar, John Coffee Ryan recorded Martin’s death in the Limerick Registration District on November 1, 1895. Martin’s death is the first one recorded in the register at number 425: https://tinyurl.com/2thsvr7t

I then discovered that Martin’s wife, Mary Hastings, died exactly four months before her husband. She died on February 14, 1895 at the age of 90. She died in Errinagh. She had been a “Labourer’s Wife.” The cause of death was “Senile decay.” Her daughter-in-law, Kate Hastings of Errinagh, was present at the death, and reported the death to the registrar, John Coffee Ryan. He recorded the death in the Limerick Registration District on November 1, 1895, which is the same date he recorded Martin’s death in the Limerick Registration District. Mary’s death is the last entry in the register at number 424: https://tinyurl.com/mrmun399

All of the Hastings you see in this reply were likely related to Catherine Hastings, who married Michael Crowe.

With Kind Regards,

Dave Boylan

SOURCES

Reply from Carolyn, Monday 24 April 2023
Ask About Ireland: Griffiths Valuation
National Archives of Ireland: Tithe Applotment Books
Google Maps
Google Street Views
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage/Buildings of Ireland
GeoHive: Ordnance Survey Maps
National Library of Ireland
National Archives of Ireland: 1901 and 1911 Ireland Census Returns
irishgenealogy.ie