The finding of an ancestor and a nickname
by Jamee Ryan Carlin
It all started with a piece of paper signed by a parish priest in 1935. Without it, I could not have identified my great grandfather’s brothers and sisters, nor where they lived. It was very frustrating, my great grandparents were only 3 times removed from our generation
All I knew for sure was that my great grandfather’s name was Laurence (Lawrence) Ryan, his parents were John Ryan and Mary Gleeson of County Tipperary and he had siblings. Anyone familiar with the Ryans of Tipperary knows there were many John Ryans and Mary Gleesons and that in the mid-1800s there were almost as many Ryans in Tipperary as there were in the rest of Ireland combined.
It all started with a piece of paper signed by a parish priest in 1935. Without it, I could not have identified my great grandfather’s brothers and sisters, nor where they lived. It was very frustrating, my great grandparents were only 3 times removed from our generation
All I knew for sure was that my great grandfather’s name was Laurence (Lawrence) Ryan, his parents were John Ryan and Mary Gleeson of County Tipperary and he had siblings. Anyone familiar with the Ryans of Tipperary knows there were many John Ryans and Mary Gleesons and that in the mid-1800s there were almost as many Ryans in Tipperary as there were in the rest of Ireland combined.
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| Lawrence Ryan and his Grandchildren |
In 1935, my great grandfather, aged 94 and unsure of the date of his baptism, wrote the parish of Ballinahinch where he was baptized. He received a note back, on lined paper, with a seal and signature from the parish priest stating he was baptized on 29 June 1843 in the Ballinahinch Catholic Church. This paper was unearthed and shared by one of my cousins in the early 2000s and after years of picking other’s brains, I finally had my first solid clue.
In 1989, the same cousin wrote the Nenagh District Heritage Society. The Society confirmed there was a Laurence Ryan born of John Ryan and Mary Gleason and baptized in 1843. In addition, they stated, he had a brother named Owen, baptized 1845 with the address listed as Ballikinlalee. Furthermore, there was a Laurence Ryan in the Ballikinlalee Tithe Applotment List, ca. 1828 who, the society conjectured, may have been his grandfather, since it was the practice to name the first born after the father’s father.
This was all the information the society had at the time and I did not see this document until late 2019 when a first cousin, once removed, received a copy, contacted me and shared it. By then I knew that Laurence Ryan was not the firstborn nor was he only one of two children but one of five or six, maybe more. And possibly, just possibly, there were some half-siblings. Ah … the wonders of modern technology!
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| The note from the Parish Priest in 1935 (also called Laurence Ryan) |
Once vital information became available online for use in genealogy, facilitating research, I discovered that Laurence’s parents John Ryan and Mary Gleeson married on 7 Feb 1836 in Newport Parish, County Tipperary. Their witnesses were Tim Ryan and Patrick Hogan. I also discovered that Laurence’s (b. 1843) siblings were: Patrick (b. 1837), Timothy (b. 1838), Patrick (b. 1839, indicating the first Patrick had died prior to the second), Margaret (b. 1844) and Owen (b. 1845). Owen’s baptism record was a key find as it noted the Ryan’s address in County Tipperary, Ballikinlalee, a little townland located about 22km SW of Nenagh.
In 1845, a Valuation Office House Book for Ballykinlalee listed a John Ryan (Mathew), lot 10, Patrick Ryan (Mathew), Lot 8 in addition to a Michael Ryan, (Long), lot 6. The Poor Law Union Burial Rate Books of 22 Feb. 1845 also listed these individuals in addition to a Timothy Ryan, Laurence Ryan and a William Gleeson who, hopefully, will tie into my search for Mary Gleeson, John’s wife. Another exciting discovery is the presence of a John McNamara, lot 7. One of the sponsors for John’s son Patrick (b. 1829) was an “Ony” McNamara.
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| House Book 1845 (Valuation Office) |
The House Valuation in Ballykinlalee was performed on Thursday, 30 Oct. 1845, only three days prior to the baptism of John’s youngest son Owen on Sunday, 2 Nov 1845. The hand written records included another piece of critical information, our Ryan family nickname. This discovery was only recent and very exciting. As noted above, John Ryan was listed with the nickname of Mathew (Matt).
Quick reviews of the Poor Law Union Burial Rate Books of 1946 and 1847 confirm John Ryan’s continued presence in Ballykinlalee but he disappears from the records in 1848. Working backwards, John appears in the Tithe Applotment records of 1837, holding land in common with Timothy Ryan (also noted in the Poor Rate Book of 1845). The 1837 record includes Laurence Ryan and William Gleeson. A John Ryan also appears in the 1827 Tithe Applotment records with a Laurence, Samuel and an unnamed Ryan.
While researching other records I located traces of Ryans in Ballykinlalee, back to at least 1641. In 1641, Connor & Owen, “O’Mulryan[s] (Ryan[s]) of Owney and Owneybeg, Barony of Owney and Ara” Parish of Kilcomenty are noted as proprietors of land in “Ballykinloghlogh” with a grant being given to a Henry Prittie and John Wood for much of the acreage. 1 A later accounting entry in the 1886 Calendar of Treasury Books included the notation regarding “part of the lands of Ballykinloghie” which had been granted on “16 Jun 1666 to Pat. Allen, gent.” 2
I hope someday, with the aid of DNA and haplogroups to be able to determine if the seventeenth century Ryans in Ballykinlalee were distant ancestors but for now I am so very happy to have made the breakthrough noted above and am looking forward to learning more and especially being able to devote more time to my great great grandmother, Mary Gleeson.
Jamee Ryan Carlin
Feb 2020
Sources
1. (Citation: “Records of Four Tipperary Septs: the O'Kennedys, O'Dwyers, O'Mulryans, O'Meaghers”, Dr. Martin Callanan, L.R.C.P. & S.I, (O'Gorman Printinghouse, 1938), out of print. http://www.igp- web.com/tipperary/septs/omulryans.htm {accessed 19 Sep 1919].)
2. (Citation: ‘Entry Book: February 1686,1-5’, in Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume 8, 1685-1689, ed. William A Shaw (London, 1923), pp. 546-572. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-treasury-books/vol8/pp546-572 [accessed 19 Sep 1919].)
