Seeking McEntyre and Lynch family information

Maria,

There is a parish called Lavey in Co Cavan, so I suspect that is what Thomas meant. Within that parish there is also a townland of the same name, so I can?t immediately say whether he meant the townland or the parish. Here?s a list of all the townlands within Lavey parish, together with their size in acres:

Aghadreenagh             499            

Beaghy                           454            

Bogesky                           305            

Cargagh                           1,038            

Carricknaveddan             160            

Corracarrow                           165            

Corragho                           331            

Corrawillin                           79            

Cuttragh                           179            

Derryglen                           216            

Drumestagh                           182            

Drumgora                           177            

Drumhillagh                           181            

Drumhirk                           370            

Drummanbane             247            

Drummanduff                           406                        

Drumnaveagh                           399            

Feaugh                           179            

Gortnakillew                           212            

Greaghnagee                           114            

Grellagh                           344            

Killyconnan                           216            

Killygrogan                           341            

Kilnavar                           184            

Knockanoark                           288            

Knocknagillagh              71            

Lateever                           231            

Lattagloghan                           604            

Lavey                                       458            

Leiter                                       164            

Lisaderg                           198            

Moher                                       590            

Mullymagowan             544            

Stravicnabo                537

You don?t say what denomination Thomas was, but if he was RC, as seems likely, then unfortunately the parish records only start in 1867, so you won?t find his baptism. You might find other McEntyres though. I am not sure if the parish records are on line. Rootsireland has a lot of Cavan records but there is no list of which parishes they have on their site for that particular county. There are copies in PRONI (the public record office), Belfast, also the National Library in Dublin and the originals should still be with the parish. All those involve a personal visit to search the records.

Here?s the inhabitants of Lavey townland in 1911 (no McEntyres). However there may be others in the parish. You would need to check each townland to see:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Cavan/Cuttragh/Lavey/

Looking at the 1901 census there were 84 McIntyres and 53 McEntyres in the county. (The spellings are interchangeable and you should not assume any records would always spell your ancestors with an E).

Lynch is very common in the county with nearly 2000 of them in the 1901 census. They'll be harder to trace.

In the statutory records (which start in 1864), births, deaths and marriages in the parish of Lavey would all be registered in Cavan town. I looked at deaths for John McEntyre/McIntyre in the period 1864 to 1900, for anyone old enough to be Thomas?s father John. I found just 2:

John McIntyre died 1870 est year of birth 1790, regd Cavan town 1870 Vol 3, page 85.

John M?Intyre died 1883, est year of birth 1799, regd Cavan town Apr ? Jun 1883 Vol 3, page 85.

If you ordered those two death certificates they will contain the deceased?s townland, which will give you  a lead on 2 places where people named John McEntyre lived. If you have no other leads, you might find that helpful as a place to start.

You can order a photocopy from GRO Roscommon for ?4 per certificate. Put the place, year, quarter (where there is one), volume & page number on the application form (anywhere). Don?t worry about leaving some boxes blank. You don?t need to fill them all in if you have the reference details. http://www.groireland.ie/ You have to post or fax the form to them but they will e-mail the copy certificate to you if you wish. Tick the relevant box on the form.

Another avenue would be to check the local graveyards but be aware that only wealthier people afford a gravestone, and so the majority of the population were buried with no gravestone. And the RC church doesn?t keep burial records.

You should also check Griffiths Valuation for Lavey parish to see if any McIntyre/McEntyre households are listed there (ie mid 1850s). The site is down at present, so I can?t immediately tell you whether there are any:

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml

You can use the map facility on Griffiths to see where each townland and where each individual property is located. There is a modern map which you can overlay onto the contemporaneous map, by using a slider bar in the top rh corner of the map screen.

Elwyn

Maria, Do contact Cavan Genealogy, they are your best option, they have fees for family searches & will advise you whatit will cost for the various options they have for you.

Cavan Genealogy,

1st floor,

Johnston Central Library,
Farnham Street,
Cavan Town,
County Cavan.
Tel: +353 (0)49 4361094
Fax: +353 (0)49 433149  email cavangenealogy@eircom.net

They also have a partial 1821 Census, which luckily includes the parish of Lavey, it is a large parish ( which is a religious and civil area) within that area, it is further divided into townlands and if they are listed would help you narrow down your search.

Regards Carmel

Thank you to  both Elwyn and Carmel. You have given me a lot to get on with. I meet with family tomorrow for lunch so will see what additional information I can glean from them also.

I guess the good thing  is that wherever Thomas came from in your county, he made a wonderful start again in NZ and has left us with a wonderful legacy -  a strong united family who are are doing well. Thomas is real credit to Ireland and the family he left behind

kind regards

maria