Hello! I am researching my 4th great grandparents James McDonald and Catherine Grady who I've found a marriage register for in Maryborough 18 Oct 1836.
My 3rd great grandfather was born in Heath, Maryborough, Queens Co. in 1858, his name is Timothy McDonald and he moved to New Jersey, US sometime before his marriage in 1881. His brother James also lived in NJ and married, as well as their sister Jane who lived in NYC. I have not researched Jane or James yet - all I know is they were witness to Timothy's marriage and their addresses were present.
The children I have found in parish registers so far are:
Patrick McDonald Bap. 7 Aug 1837 Maryborough
Mary Anne McDonald Bap. 19 May 1839 Ballydavis
Catherine McDonald Bap. 6 Feb 1842 Maryborough
John McDonald Bap. 15 Jul 1844 Maryborough
James McDonald Bap. 9 Aug 1846 Maryborough
John McDonald Bap. 22 Jun 1851 Heath
Jane McDonald Bap. 10 Oct 1852 Maryborough
Joseph McDonald Bap. 17 Jun 1855 Ballydavis
Timothy McDonald Bap. 17 Jan 1858 Heath
Mary McDonald Bap. 2 Jun 1861 Ballydavis
I'm hoping to find some other descendants from James and Catherine, find out more about the area, and understand more about Irish genealogy.
I have some DNA matches to another McDonald tree from Mayborough and I was hoping to go back another generation to find the link between them but I am unsure of how to do this because the Irish registers do not report the parents names of the bride and groom. How does one go about this?
Are sponsors of children usually family memebers or friends?
I have not yet looked up any census or land records, if there are any (I'm not sure).
I also have trouble looking for emigration records, so many have the same name and I'm not sure if those that I know of came to the US came alone or together. If they came directly to NY or Massachusetts? I have yet to find a reliable record.
Thank you for your help and I hope this helps someone else researching the same tree! :)
Sara McDonald