Irish in Ormskirk

[Barbara B]

Does anyone know why there were so many Irish families in Ormskirk during the 19th and early 20th century? I suspect it may have been due to the agricultural work but just wondered if there was any other industry around.
I am researching the Scahill family - John, born Ireland 1831 and wife Ann, born Ireland 1834. Any suggestions as to how to get further back? All their children were born in Ormskirk and all census returns just say 'Ireland' so I don't even know where they came from. I have looked on the Irish censuses to see if I can trace the name and most of the Scahills come from Mayo. It's needle in a haystack at the moment. Any help gratefully received.
Thanks in advance
Barbara

[MaryA]

Hi Barbara, I believe you would be right, Ormskirk and its surroundings are still quite agricultural and would have been so in the early 19th Century, checking the censuses for the time doesn't show a great deal of other industry. I imagine our Irish ancestors would have been involved in occupations that they would have been familiar with before leaving home and so many gravitated to farming.

You would be looking at Parish Registers at the time of their marriage, rather than civil registration, which began much later in Ireland than in England. Your first step needs to be a birth certificate for one of the children so that you know Ann's maiden name.

[Barbara B]

Mary, thank you so much for that. I don't know why I didn't think of something so obvious! Must be old age. I'll give it a go.
Once again many thanks
Barbara

[Hilary]

Very conveniently the births for the Ormskirk Registration district on http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk give mother's maiden name I suspect that John Scahill's wife's maiden name is Johnson or Johnson.

In the 1881 living next to John is a Patrick Cahill who I suspect is John's brother. Often Irish farm labourers would come over for a season and then go home and the next year come back with a relative and decide to stay. Patrick appears to have married an Ann Stanton in 1866. That marriage certificate would give you his father's name who I suspect is also John's father as well. Even better would be if they married at the RC church as you might get mother's maiden name as well. The RC church in Ormskirk is St Anne's and according to my old hand list for registers at Lancashire Record Office their registers after 1845 are still at the church.

I've had a look at Lancashire Archives site and they have St Anne's register. I seem to remember you have family locally maybe send them up to get a copy of Patrick's marriage!!!!!!!

[Barbara B]

I did take a look at the Lancs BMD site in the faint hope that John and Ann had married in Ormskirk but no such luck. Didn't think to look at births - not my day for bright ideas! Thanks Hilary for getting me a bit further along the road. I'm really impressed you remembered I had connections in Ormskirk! In fact I lived there myself for a long time and St Anne's was my parish church. I went to the primary school as well. No family there now but they're not far away.
I've now got a couple of avenues to investigate so I'll turn my attention to the archives.
Many thanks to you and Mary.
Barbara

[Vincent Townsend]

Hello Barbara, I've just seen your post and I wonder if this is any help. My g-grandmother was Margery Johnson and married Peter Clarke in St Anne's, Ormskirk in 1858 and lived in Aughton Street. She was from Mayo, as were most of the Ormskirk Irish. Her father was recorded on the marriage certificate as Charles Johnson (deceased) but that's all I've been able to find out about her. A lot of Mayo people came over for annual harvest and many settled there after the famine. A lot of them found work on the Liverpool - Ormskirk railway which was completed around 1848, as well as farmwork. Most Mayo people appear to have come from Westport.

[MaryA]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Thank you for jumping straight in with some help, Barbara is a member of the Society as well as the forum so I hope she will be along soon to reply to you herself.

[Blue70]

My cousin's ancestors were from County Mayo they settled in Lydiate and Downholland in the 1870s/80s. The Cox and Grogan families. The Grogans were from Knock, County Mayo famous for the religious Shrine. There was great concern in the west of Ireland c1879 that the people would suffer as much as they did in the Great Famine but thankfully a tragedy of a similar scale to the Great Famine was averted:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Famine_(1879)


Blue

[Barbara B]

Hello Vincent
Thank you very much for the additional information. I wonder if there is a connection between the Scahills and the Clarkes through the Johnsons? It's been a while since I've done any research in that area but your message has spurred me on to take a fresh look. Most of the Irish seem to have lived in the courts on Aughton Street. As you'd expect they've long been demolished.
I see you live in Scarborough - another branch of my family, the Sedmans were from that area. It's a small world!
Thanks Blue for the historical background.
Barbara

[DaveY]

Barbara, I think the John and Ann you are looking at, might be the same John and Ann that are my great great grandparents. My Mum's Mum was a Scahill, and her line goes back through John and Ann. If you like I can share where I am up to with my family tree, and see if it helps. My ggf John Scahill was born in Luorrough, Shrule, County Mayo. Regards, Dave

[MaryA]

Welcome to the group DaveY, I'm sure Barbara will reply quite soon.

[Barbara B]

Hi Dave
I'd be very interested to see your Scahill tree. Did your Mum's Mum live in Ormskirk?
Cheers
Barbara

[DaveY]

Hi Barbara

Thank you for the reply

Yes, we all did! Me, my Mum, her Mum, all born in Ormskirk ...

Most of my Mum's side, including her Dad's, seems to have come from Ireland originally. My Ancestry DNA came back as me 51% Irish, my Mum's came back as 93% Irish! (I know it's only a guide)

I am keen to learn anything I can about them, and the times they had in Ormskirk, and in the case of my Mum's Dad side it was up the road in Burscough and Lathom.

I will send an invite from the Ancestry tree as it stands now, which includes my Mum and Dad's sides. I'll see if I can get your email address from the member list first... (don't want to use this public forum if I can help it)

Best regards

Dave