James Croskery & Ellen Jennings

Jilly:

Hello again!

The RC parish for Inch civil parish would be Crossgar. The parish register is not available online on the NLI site, however, Roots Ireland has baptisms from 1837-1899. I searched for children of John Croskery and two records came up. One in 1839 and the other in 1845. Unfortunately, no names were shown for the children and the mother's name was not shown.Presumably, the register does not have the name of the child or the mother's name.Strange!

I did find an 1842 baptismal record in Crossgar for an Elizabeth Croskery and no mother's name was shown.

Roger McDonnell

Name:Elizabeth CroskeryDate of Birth:
Date of Baptism:12-Dec-1842Address:QuintugherParish/District:CROSSGAR (KILMORE)Gender:FemaleCountyCo. Down
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Father:James Croskery

You might try the Catholic parish regesters at the NLI , its on line and free. some are hard to read,if the parish is not there they usually tell you where they are,Best Myles Brady.     thats the National Library of Ireland Just put in NLI and you should get it.

Sorry, should have said use the Map ,its handy

Thanks again Roger. These Irish family members are not easy to locate prior to them all leaving for New Zealand. I've one more couple to enquire about and will post the information later.

Jilly smith I live in New Zealand i am a desendant of  James Croskery and Ellen Jane nee Jennings, my email is deniseturnbull609@gmail.com, i would like any information that you have Birth cert Marriage certs, thanks

Hi  Jilly, havent seen this in awhile, its not an easy one, the Crossgar records only go back to 1837 I think,  which will give you James birth , but it cant take you back any further although you would know his mothers christian name, The church up the road from that, ( so to speak) is Ballynahinch and Dromore,there are a good few( Croskeries) there. There is a birth of an Anne to a John Croskery and Margaret Lundy 12/4/1835 .  In the marriage of James and Ellen when they give their fathers names it would appear that they are still alive,at least they dont say that they are dead. so maybe their deaths appear in the Civil records. There is also another Marriage in the same Reg. office of a female Croskery with her Father John also, but she gives his occupation as a Dealer ?  Best Myles

Hello Jilly,

I looked up James Croskery and Ellen Jennings marriage #97 in Downpatrick, dated 30 January 1864 at https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/. The record says James' father is James Croskery not John as you have stated. 

I found when looking for my great grandmother Martha Tennyson and her sister's births that the transcriptions were incorrect for some of their records, these have since been corrected after I noted them to irishgenealogy. Some of the transcriptions for Tennyson were Tennison, Fennison, Jennison. You need to sometimes look at every record in order to find your family.

Hope this helps.

Tennyson girl

Fair play to you Tennysongirl, I looked at that and didnt notice.  M

I also looked at this record and see that this marriage did not take place in a church, but rather in the Registrar's office.

This is an interesting fact and one wonders why the couple opted for this .  Could it be that the bride and groom were of different religions.?

This is important for your search, Jilly.

Prior to 1864, we have to rely on parish records for evidence of possible baptism of our ancestors.

You may need to widen out your search, then for the baptism of James or Ellen beyond Catholic records.

Hopefully, you will have clues from your ancestors ' lives  in Glasgow and New Zealand as to their respective religions. 

Carmel 

Hi Jilly,  Could I ask you about the Baptism of Ellen Jane that you have for 1840. Ive searched for it of no avail.  The records concerned seems to be held by Roots Ire.  The reason I ask is if you found them yourself then they should be available somewhere. There was no sign of Johns death after 1864 nor any other of the same family getting married. Was she an only child. Sorry , Questions ,Questions    Best

Hi Jilly,  Here I go again, You state in your origional enquiry that your Grandmother was Ellen Jennings,  surely it was Ellen Croskery ?

Hi Jilly, its ok it is Croskery, That was a large family they had, dont bother about my last query I got the answers.  Myles

Baptism of Ellen Jane referenced is on familysearch.org

Ellen's marriage certificate gives her specific place of origin as Ballygally in the parish of Inch.

If you search Griffith's Valuation you will see John Jennings as a tenant at Ballygally in 1863

This may very well be Ellen Jane's father.

I wouldl suggest that death records, registered in the town of Downpatrick be searched for the death of John Jennings from 1864 onwards. If any of them have the address Ballygally, then you could be fairly happy this is Ellen Jane's father.  You would get his age, marrital status , and if you are lucky, an informant may be a relative.

Unfortunately no specific address was given for James on his marriage record.

Neither of the witnesses to the marriage appear to be relatives Simpson and Bassett, but of course Mary Bassett, if she was married, could of course be a relative.

Hi Jilly,   Look  no questions, (my joke )   Ellen Janes birth  is  16/9/.1840 as you said,  the only Marriage of a John Jennings to a Sarah that I could find was in Inch Marriages for 27/10/1843   ( and it seems that Ellen was an only child.)  on page 233 marriages  Inch  John Jennings to Sarah Fitzsimmons he was a Carrier  from Ballynacraig,   when I checked back the only Sarah Fitzsimons was born in 1806 28/1/1806 page 174 Births Inch. Sarah Fitzsimons to John Fitzsimons and Eliza Gibson of Ballynacraig. A possible reason why no other children.   I do think also that the Hugh Jennings  having children in Inch about Ellens time may have been a brotherr of Johns,  also Ellen and James had a Hugh in their children.   As to the Croskery  family,  I dont think you need look any further than Inch. James birth eludes me for the moment but Im sure its there somewhere,  But there are a good few Croskeries back in the 1790s and the early 1800s . 1795 17th May a James  to William Croskery and Rachel Cochrane of Maghercranmoney  poss James Father  page 166 Births and many more, well a few.   There more Bassets in Inch than Jennings ,  her witness may even been a cousin.   I have the feeling that Elvis has left the building and we may be talking to ourselves,  however I enjoyed the search   Myles

 Bad grammer   may even have been a cousin.

Hi     Carmel thanks for the pointer,  Ive been using Family Search since before they opened on line twenty years ago, but thats the first time I found a complete roll on line ,and Im wondering  if there are others. Its a godsend for people of Inch and Dromore.  I took a few notes for your records if you want them, as you lose a lot of time sorting                                                       Roll No 496723      Dromara Presb. church county Down.  Births.....   Page 5 to 129   From 1810  to 1873     Marriages...... Page 130 to 153    From 1817 to 1845              Inch Baptisms.....    Page 158 to 226  from 1767 to 1882       Marriages ......       Page 227 to 243     From 1764 to 1926          Burials     Page 244 to 259    From 1768 to1872                                                                Dromore   Reg. of Births    Page 265 to 397       Marriages     Page 398 to 426     and Burials   Page 427 to 490                           Pages 494 to end   Audrain county Missouri                   Myles                          

Thank you to all the post re James and Ellen Croskery my 3x great grandparents.

My original post was 2017 since then I have concentrated on other lines of my family, two others from Ireland and they have been been as difficult as my  the Croskery/Jennings ancestors.

I Have sited both James and Ellen's death certificates at the Papakura Courthouse on 05 October 1989.

Place of Registration : Papakura

When Died : 18 October 1907   

 Name  and Surname : Ellen Croskery

Occupation : House wife     Sex & age : F  64 

Cause of Death : Senile Decay

Medical Attendant : EA Bewes

Father's name : John Jennings  Occupation : Poultry Dealer.   

Mother's name : Sarah Jennings

Where born : County Downpatrick Ireland.  Where married : Downpatrick Ireland     

To Whom Married :  James Croskery.  Age Married  : 20years

Ages and sex Liv. Iss.   M : 32, 34, 38, 42, 46      F ;  42, 40, 38, 36, 29

How long in NZ : 42 years

Where buried : Papakura.  Denomination :  Presbyterian

Informat : James Croskery : Husband.   21 October !907

Place of Registration : Papakura

When died : 15 September 1919

James Croskery  Occupation : Farmer     Sex & Age  M  76years

Cause of Death : Senility Bronchitis                        Medical  Attendant : AWP Brookfield

Father's name : Unknown.   Mother's Name : Unknown

To Whom Married : Ellen Jane Jennings.   Age Married : 21Years

Age and Sex Liv. Iss.   M : 36, 38, 42, 46.         F40, 48, 50, 52, 54

Where born :County Down Ireland     Where married : County Down

When buried : 17 September 1919    Where buried  Papakure   Denomination ; Presbyterian

Informant : A. Richardson : Undertaker

Marriage certificate : Unable to upload

Registrar's District of Downpatrick  1864 Marriage solemized in the Registrar's Office in the Parish of Downpatrickin the County of Down. No. 97, 30 January 1864, James Croskery Inch, Parish of Inch. Ellen Jennings Ballygally Parish of Inch. Fathers, John   Croskery - Labourer  John Jennings - Labourer. Marriage solemized between James Croskery & Ellen Jennings (her mark)  In the Presence of us, James Simpson (his mark), Mary Bassett.       John Marshall 30 January 1864

It was in a Registrar's Office not a church

I will look at the other information given, thanks for your time in posting replies.  

Jilly

OOps Have checked the original marriage certificate and James'  father is James Croskery. The copy is incorrect.

Jilly

Hi Jilly,    Thanks for that, but I think most of us had worked that out except the ages which would have been handy.                           Its a real pity that you found it difficult,   its usually very interesting,at least I always  find it so. As to the James Father, it didnt really come up to James or a John as there were no Croskeries in those years in Inch , although I think I found a James to a James with a possible wrong name  spelling.  Ill look in my notes...  Myles

Ah, and there is the answer right there in the information you have just given, Jilly

The burial records for your ancestors indicate that they were Presbyterian.

This possibly explains why they married in the Registry office.It is likely that Ellen was Catholic by birth, as you have noted a baptismal record for her.  But what you indicate from NZ records is that the couple were Presbyterian at the time of their burial. 

The marriage record, dating to 1864 states that both James and Ellen were from the parish of Inch.  What it doesnt say is what religion either party was.

  So, you need to track down Presyberian records for the parish of Inch.  Presbyterian Historical Society hold records in Belfast. Whilst a great deal of Presbyterian records are online on rootsireland , they do not appear to include Inch. 

When you say you posted in 2017 and have since moved on from this branch, that puzzles me as I  only responded to this because I was emailed in the last few weeks about your query.  

As to whether research is difficult or not, local knowledge is, in my opinion, always needed, as it can be  hard to appreciate the complexities of local archives and record sets. When I discovered my great aunt had sailed for New Zealand I hired a professsional genealogist to help me navigate my way around the many record sets.  It was very rewarding and although my great aunt and her daughter had both died by the time I tracked them down, relatives were traced and I learnt all about my ancestor's life so far away from home. 

Hi I found this record.  I don't know if it of any help. Bina

Name:James Croskery Baptism Age:0 Event Type: Baptism

Birth Date:1840 Baptism Date: 6 Nov 1840 Baptism Place: Down, Ballynahinch and Dunmore, Ireland Diocese: Dromore

Father: John Croskery
Mother: Croskery
 

Hi I found this record.  I don't know if it of any help. Bina

Name:James Croskery Baptism Age:0 Event Type: Baptism

Birth Date:1840 Baptism Date: 6 Nov 1840 Baptism Place: Down, Ballynahinch and Dunmore, Ireland Diocese: Dromore

Father: John Croskery
Mother: Croskery
 

Hi I found this record.  I don't know if it of any help. Bina

Name:James Croskery Baptism Age:0 Event Type: Baptism

Birth Date:1840 Baptism Date: 6 Nov 1840 Baptism Place: Down, Ballynahinch and Dunmore, Ireland Diocese: Dromore

Father: John Croskery
Mother: Croskery
 

Hi I found this record.  I don't know if it of any help. Bina

Name:James Croskery Baptism Age:0 Event Type: Baptism

Birth Date:1840 Baptism Date: 6 Nov 1840 Baptism Place: Down, Ballynahinch and Dunmore, Ireland Diocese: Dromore

Father: John Croskery
Mother: Croskery
 

Hi I found this record.  I don't know if it of any help. Bina

Name:James Croskery Baptism Age:0 Event Type: Baptism

Birth Date:1840 Baptism Date: 6 Nov 1840 Baptism Place: Down, Ballynahinch and Dunmore, Ireland Diocese: Dromore

Father: John Croskery
Mother: Croskery
 

Hi,   and thats what I believe in , someone from New Zealaand coming up with a record in Ballynahinch Ireland. There's a sort of debate whether his Father was James or John Bina, but your in the right time and area, its up to Jilly what she deecides as she cant go back with that side of the family until she does get the right James.   Well found       Myles

Just looking , theres a few Ballynahinch's  all over Ireland and  Dunmores, but you did say Down