Memories ... January 14

In Remembrance

(For my 'Family Anniversaries' page)

Today is the anniversary of the passing of my maternal great great grandmother, Susan Muldowney / Downey or Downie.  

I'm still not sure which surname is the one that would have been on her baptism record or indeed would have the been the actual family name of her father.

I've told Susan's story before, with as many of the known facts I was able to uncover.  If interested, you can read that by following this link - The Story of Susan Muldowney / Downey or Downie  

That previous post covers some of the story from her wedding day in 1865, in Scotland, to the day she passed away in 1919, in Queensland, Australia.

There are however still a few pieces of the puzzle missing:

• I'm still unsure of Susan's exact date of birth.  

Her 1919 death certificate listed her age as 69, which means she wold have been born around 1850.   Of course this information would have been provided by the informant, her son Thomas, and he may not have been in possession of correct information.

Her 1865 marriage certificate stated she was 22, which means she would have been born around 1843.  

The 1871 England Census lists her age as 27 and her birth year as 1844.

The 1881 England Census lists her age as 39 and her birth year as 1842.

The 1887 passenger list from the assisted immigration records listed her age as 37, which puts her birth date back to 1850.

In the end, I plumped for 1842, just because .... well, just because!

• It's also interesting to note that the age she would have been on her wedding day is different on various records.

On her death certificate it was stated she was 18 years old when she married, but on the marriage registration it was noted she was 22 years old.  According to the date of birth surmised from her death certificate, she would have actually been 15!  Who knows!!

• I have also not yet been able to find a record of Susan's baptism in Ireland despite the fact that the names of her mother and father were listed on her marriage certificate.  

Her place of birth was recorded as Leitrim on the 1887 passenger list, but was then recorded as Roscommon on her death certificate.  I've researched as far as I can in both counties at this point in time, but without success.

• Finally, there's the issue of her maiden name.  
  

On the marriage registration document her name was recorded as Susan Downie.  Her parents were listed as Patrick Downie (labourer) and Elizabeth Downie, formerly Reynolds.

On her death certificate the names of her parents are missing.

On both her sons' Michael's and Matthew's death certificates, and her daughter Margaret's death certificate, her surname was recorded as Muldowney.  Margaret's marriage certificate however, had her mother's maiden name recorded as Muldowney. Her daughter Elizabeth's death certificate had her mother's maiden name recorded as Downey, but Elizabeth's marriage certificate had her mother's maiden name recorded as Muldowney just like Margaret!

The assumption I have gone with is - her maiden name was anglicised a little when she was living in Scotland and England, but then once she was settled into her life in Australia, her family started using what may have been the original spelling of her maiden name in Ireland when she was a child.