The Story of Patrick O'Donnell (Daniel)

This week I'm attempting to tell the story of my maternal Great Great Great Grandfather, Patrick O'Donnell (1770/80-?), but there will be a lot of holes and uncertainties in the telling.

Even the beginning of his story is scant on details ... Patrick O'Donnell, or Patrick Daniel as he would have been called in the early 19th century Ireland because of the anglicization of the family surname; was born sometime in the late 1700s.  I know nothing at all about his place of birth or where he grew up; or indeed who his parents were.

As anyone who attempts researching Irish ancestors living in the pre-Famine/Great Hunger period knows, finding records and solid facts before 1845-1852 is very difficult, unless you're lucky enough to have an oral family history passed on by your ancestors' families, or indeed precious written records kept by family members.

The census records of 1821/1831/1841/1851 were all destroyed back in 1922, when fire broke out during the Civil War in the Four Courts building in Dublin where they were all stored. Wills dating back to the 16th century, along with more than 1000 parish registers were also destroyed in the same fire. The Census Records for 1861/1871/1881/1891 were actually turned into pulp by the Government in support of the war effort for the 1914-1918 war.  Beggars belief really, doesn't it!!!

Civil registrations of births, deaths and marriages in Ireland didn't begin until around 1864.

There is a lot of information that can be found in the surviving Catholic Parish registers from 1800 onwards though, easily accessible through the National Library of Ireland.

However, there are many years of missing records and it appears that the Priests added information about baptisms and marriages routinely, and rarely kept death registers. 

I am lucky enough to have family who have passed on information about my O'Donnell ancestors dating back to my Great Great Grandfather, John, born in Ireland in 1813.  Before John however, the information gets a little sketchy.  There was also some confusion amongst family members about just who were the parents of our Great Great Grandfather John.

Variations in names can also provide challenges when researching Irish ancestors.  The family name 'O'Donnell' was anglicised back in the early 19th century, and thankfully my relatives made me aware of this fact and knew that the ancestors would have been recorded as 'Daniel'.  I could have spent years of my life on research that led nowhere without this valuable information.

Family knowledge provided me with a place of birth for my Great Great Grandfather John, and possible names of his parents, so I began a search of Catholic Parish registers to track down actual records.

Eventually I came across a baptism entry that matched the details given to me orally about my 2x Great Grandfather - place of birth, and the names of my Great Great Great Grandparents - Patrick Daniel (O'Donnell) and Margaret Rafter.

So finally there was evidence that my Great Great Great Grandfather was indeed Patrick Daniel (O'Donnell).  His wife (my Great Great Great Grandmother) was Margaret Rafter, and they were living in the townland of Ballyhenebry in County Kilkenny.

At this point I will mention this week's prompt for the '52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge' - Taxes.  This prompt reminded me that for those of us researching Irish ancestors, the records known as 'Tithe Applotment Books' provide another valuable source of information from the pre-Famine/Great Hunger period.  Now technically tithes and taxes are not the same, but both certainly seem to become the burden of the less fortunate, and the tithe really did seem to be a form of religious tax!

The Tithe Applotment Book records were compiled between 1823 and 1838, and were essentially land surveys designed to determine the amount of tithe that was payable by landholders, who had agricultural holdings larger than one acre.  These tithes were enforced on the Roman Catholic majority in order to provide for the upkeep of the established state church, the Church of Ireland, and its clergy. So, unlike the taxes we are familiar with now, the payments went to the Church, not the Government.

Whilst Title Applotment Book records are not particularly comprehensive, (they only provide the name of the occupier of the land, but not the names of the family members living in the home), they do at least provide confirmation of the names of landholders for most of Ireland during this period.  So ... would I be able to find evidence that would confirm a Patrick Daniel was indeed working a landholding in Ballyhenebry after the birth of my great great grandfather?

Yes, the 1828 record shows that there was indeed a Patrick Daniel renting land in Ballyhenebry, in the civil parish of Ooning (Owning).  So, 15 years after the birth of my great great grandfather, there was one lonesome Patrick Daniel in the same townland.  Hoping my 3x great grandfather had a holding larger than 1 acre, I made the assumption that this was my ancestor.

Baptism records for Patrick and Margaret's children born after my great great grandfather, all showed 'Ballyhenebry' as the address for their parents, and oral family history placed them all in that particular townland.

It appears from the 1828 Tithe Applotment Book record that Patrick had a holding of 18 acres, which was certainly not the largest in the townland (that was 76 acres), but neither was it the smallest (which was just over 1 acre).  I wonder if Patrick's farm was providing a comfortable enough living for the family?

Other Tithe Applotment Book records from 1828 indicate that there were more Daniels living and renting farmholdings in the neighbouring civil parish of Fiddown.  There was a John Daniel in the townland of Sandpits; a Patrick and James Daniel in Templeorum; and another Patrick Daniel in Ashtowne.  Were they possible relatives ... father, uncles, brothers?

Had my great great great grandfather originally lived in the parish of Fiddown and then moved when he married Margaret?  The 1828 Tithe Applotment Book Record shown above indicates that there was a John and Richard Rafter also living in Ballyhenebry at that time, and it's highly likely they were relatives of my great great great grandmother.

It seems at this point in time, I have exhausted the avenues of research, so I am only able to put together a bare-bones story for my Great Great Great Grandfather.  Here goes ...

Patrick O'Donnell was probably born between 1770-1780, possibly in the civil parish of Fiddown, County Kilkenny.  During this period, Captain Cook was busy claiming Australia for Britain (1770); the War of Indepenedence raged in America (1775-1783); and Watts built his steam engine (1776).

Patrick married Margaret Rafter in the early 1800s, judging by the birth years of the children I've been able to find records for.  I haven't as yet found a record for my great great great grandparents' marriage though.

Whilst searching for baptism records for children born to a Patrick Daniel and Margaret Rafter, I've come across a possible seven children born over fourteen years.  That spread indicates to me that there's every likelihood there were other children born, but whether or not they survived infancy is all conjecture at this point.

It appears that a daughter Margaret was born in 1805.

Twins, John and Mary were born the following year in 1806.

A son Michael was possibly born around 1810.  According to oral family history, he was the family member that stayed on the farm at Ballyhenebry.

It seems that at least one of the twins died, because in 1813 my Great Great Grandfather was born, and he was also named John. 

Brigid was apparently born in 1815, according to oral family history.  I have not yet been able to find a record of her birth or baptism.

Then a son William was born in 1820.

All of Patrick's and Margaret's children appear to have been born in Ballyhenebry, so it's likely that's where Patrick and his wife remained for the rest of their lives.

I did not find any record of a Patrick Daniel on the Tithe Applotment Book records after 1828 in the County of Kilkenny, so perhaps that means my great great great grandfather had died sometime in the 1830s.  If that were so, then he would have passed away around the age of 50.



Special Note to any family members:  If you have memories to add, photos or information to share, can I graciously ask that you do so.  Please use the comments box below or email me.  It may prove to be invaluable to the story and provide future generations with something to truly treasure.