Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

Hello all,

Hope someone can help me with this "small" problem.
I have found a distant relative in 1871 in what looks like,Nunnery ,Mount ?,West Derby,Liverpool,
Ellen Theresa Feeny,born 1854,Liverpool.
RG10/3841,District 12,pages 14-18,
The head of the page gives a Sister of Mercy.
It looks like she may have taken Holy Orders,and became a Nun,or was this a Mother to be home.
What if any records would be available and were would I look.
I cannot find her after 1871,and wonder what name she would have taken.
Many thanks Tsumi

Hi T from T
Have you got her baptism?
born 11.2.1854 bapt 26.2.1854
father James mother Mary O'Connor
at St Patricks.
I don't know if this is your lass but there is a confirmation in Anc##
1871, lots of women of all ages.
Looks like Nuns were their godparents??
St Oswalds District.
I'd really like someone to do another look up to help here.
Mother listed as Margareta Appleton, I'm not sure if this is transcribed correctly or if she is a sponsor??
Tina

The date is 1st October, 1871 so this would have taken place after the census, if that means anything to Tsumi's search.

Ellena Teresa Feeny age 17 Confirmation name Maria Agnes,
"Nomina Patrinorum" Margareta Appleton.

I think you are right, it would be a sponsor wouldn't it.


As a PS - Baptism godparents were Thomas Hewit and Maria Boyle.

If you look at the description of the Enumerator's walk it includes

"Convent in Mount Vernon Street"

Hi T and Mary,

I did get her what looks like Confirmation in Ances....but I couldn,t make out, also, about the Godparents,and further what I am puzzled about is ,would she be in the St Oswald Parish to get Confirmed if she had lived in another Parish before then.
Hope I am making sense,you can probably guess I am sailing in for me, unchartered waters.
Many thanks
Cheers Tsumi

Thanks very much Mary for your helpful input.
Tina

Added 46/48 Mt Vernon
Convent of the Sisters of Mercy
Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy

Hi T and Mary,
I wonder did she have Nun,s as her Godparents,was/ is that the norm in the Church,and she did herself become a Nun,that I guess that could possibly be the end of my search.

Once again many thanks to you ,for all your help, and I am a bit further on with my quest and knowledge about Ellen Theresa.
Cheers Tsumi

Lo again T,
You've got her sibs in 1881?

Tina

Hi T,
Yes I followed the sib,s through 1881 +, but Ellen Theresa,was a problem,and funny enough a namesake of her,s was sent to Canada as a British Home Child,in1916,but that,s another story.

Many thanks once again.

Tsumi

Just conjecture, I don't know anything for sure.

When I was confirmed we had somebody to "sponsor" us, although I remember that if some of my schoolfriends didn't have an older person of the right religion to stand for them then an older sister or brother of another child, or even a teacher would do the job. So, unlike godparents at a baptism, Margareta Appleton may not be any connection at all however, would she have used her full name if she was a nun and not "Sister Margareta"?

My suspicions are that the confirmations were just done in bulk, possibly St Oswalds was a central church for an area that would have been covered for the service. I'm thinking this because of the range of ages of those on the same page, possibly other novices who needed to have all the sacraments before they could be accepted.

tsumi wrote:Hi T,
sent to Canada as a British Home Child,in1916,but that,s another story.

I suspect this might be one that we will read someday in the Journal?

Hi Mary,
It sounds very likley what you say and it would make sense,it,s a pity Margareta Appleton hasn,t an age,so I could chase her up,so would she have been over a certain age to be a sponser.
I found a similar thing with a cousin of Ellen,s in 1907,and the sponser,s name was very unusal,but as luck would have it, there were three people in Liverpool all with the same name, so ...........
As a coincidence it was the same name as a friends daughter,s,Christian and Surname name, wild goose chases spring to mind.
It is very much appreciated all the help you have given me and thank you.
Tsumi

Again only remembering my own - which was also RC - we were 10/11 and at short notice I remember my friend's sister being asked to stand in, she was probably only about 14 herself but it would seem that she was accepted ok. It was more of an honorary role with no expected responsibility to go with it, unlikel baptisms.

Hi folks
Someone like Margareta probably sponsored a lot of young girls who were thinking of taking the orders. Perhaps a wealthy member of the parish who took an interest?
Here is the link for 1881 census, haven't had time to scroll through yet.
RG11/3701/11/18
Jane F Gibson is the Mother Superior.

Tina

Added: the Sisters list their "real" names.
Next door are all the young lasses, laundress, maids etc.
No sign of Ellen

Hi T,

Thanks very much for the link and all your help,I think it very likely that Ellen took her vows and then maybe served abroad,would her name be then Sister Maria Agnes .
I had another rellie who became a Missionary and found her much easier to trace, this was in Canada, she was a Grand niece of Ellen,s,but I have to admit born much later.
Once again a big thank you
Tsumi

There's probably a 50/50 chance of the confirmation name being the one she took as her nun's name, The service may have just been confirmation, however it could just as easily have been one of the steps of her official acceptance into the nunnery.

I think without access to any of the records we would be wrong to make the assumption for certain, however there would be no harm in checking out any you came across to see if they fitted "for size".

Hi Mary,

Yes I think you are right in all you say, and will have a look through all the available census and do a few permutation,s see what that brings up.

I had just been talking with someone else about this and she said what name would they use to be buried under,or even in the later census,I would have thought "Sister or Mother"etc.

Many thanks for all your imputs and help.
Tsumi

Hi T and Mary
It's a tough one.
If she stayed with the order, Ellen could have been sent anywhere in her learning years.
I doubt by 1881 she would have been a fully fledged Nun.
She may have left the order & got married.
Look, anything is possible.

Tina

Hi T and M,
So it,s back for me to the knashing of teeth,But I am a bit further on with where she could be,so I will have to look further afield in other Country,s Census,but with the way things go ,she probably went to China,or another far away place.
It,s what makes it all so interesting and once you start with our hobby, can,t stop.

Many thanks for all the inputs and time.
Tsumi

Hi T
Don't forget downunder!!
First sisters arrived here in 1846.
They went to the very north of the state to care for the tribal people.
It took nearly 5 years before they got the go ahead from Rome to wear light weight clothing. Can you image those habits in 46c heat
They are still up there to this day.
Wonderful caring women.
Back to the drawing board!!
Tina

ps Have you looked in GRU?

Hi Tina,

Thanks for the update on the Sisters in Australia,and I hadn,t looked as yet there,but two things have happened, my Ances.. has run out,I will renew it but, the computer is booked into rehab for the next few days,seems a hacker has got into my MSN account,GGGGGRRRRRRRRRRR.
So am using my mob to access my email,s ect.
Many thanks as always for all your help and vast knowledge.

Tsumi