Family History

Report

on

the Family

oF

JOHN UPTON

IN

county limerick

THE SEARCH FOR

JOHN UPTON

My Great Grand Father, John Upton was born in Ardagh parish between the years 1850 and 1855 and his parents were probably William Upton and Catherine Dunworth. John married Bridget Keane and they had children William, Thomas ,Mary, John, James, Catherine, Margaret and Bridget Upton born between the years 1883 and 1900. The aim of this research was to locate the baptismal record of John Upton and determine conclusively the names of his parents.

I began the search by looking for the baptismal record of John Upton in the Roman Catholic parish of Ardagh however in order to be comprehensive in the search, I also searched throughout the extant records of the sixty-one Roman Catholic parishes of Limerick city and county within the Dioceses of Limerick, Killaloe and Cashel and Emly. Civil birth records in Ireland only date from 1864 so we are reliant on church records of baptisms before that year.

When trying to locate a baptismal record, it is necessary to broaden the search period to at least five or ten years because from experience we find that the suggested year of birth is often incorrect. In the nineteenth century, people were often unsure of their age and year of birth and when they gave the information in subsequent official records such as census returns and death records the ages were often guessed at. The figure was frequently rounded up and there was also a ‘creeping error’ where the age became even less accurate as the individual became older.

In addition to this, illiteracy and human error could affect the accuracy of all information given on nineteenth century records and in particular the names of the individuals involved. In the mid-nineteenth century, approximately half of the population could read or write. It would appear that the recorder of the information (the priest for church records) did not ask the family to spell the names but simply guessed as to the correct spelling because we frequently see variations in surname spellings within the records of one family. Therefore alternative and incorrect spellings of surnames and indeed Christian names need to be taken account of in any search.

The surname Upton could be alternatively spelled on occasion as Upten, Upthon or Hupton. Dunworth would have been a variation of Donarty and other synonyms of this surname would include Dunford, Dunfort and possibly Damfort and Davenport.¹

Taking into consideration these issues, I searched for the baptismal record of John Upton, or any possible variation of that name, throughout Limerick from 1848 to 1858. During that period I found three boys of the name John Upton on record in Limerick however only one was baptised in the parish of Ardagh.His parents were William Upton and Catherine Dunworth, although recorded as variations of those names. Further research on John Upton confirms that he was the son of William Upton, for example I have located the civil marriage record of John Upton and Bridget Keane which provides details on the fathers of the bride and groom. Based on the details of this record and other sources which will be discussed below I am confident that this is the correct Upton family in Ardagh.

In addition to the baptismal record of my great grandfather John Upton, there are records for two siblings and the marriage of their parents William Upton and Catherine Dunworth/Dunford/Damfort. The Initial Report which follows will provide you with these details of the marriage and issue of my great great grandparents William Upton and Catherine Dunworth/ Dunford. Generally what is provided in the Initial Report are the details of marriage and issue of one generation of a family, however as I had some of the information on the family of William and Catherine Upton, in addition I am outlining the details on the marriage of John Upton to Bridget Keane.

REPORT ON

THE UPTON FAMILY

The Marriage and Issue of

William Upton & Catherine Dunford/Dunworth

The church marriage record provides the names of the bride and the groom, the date they were married and of course the parish in which they were wed. It also gives the names of the witnesses to the marriage, usually two individuals. Sometimes the priest signed the entry and occasionally an address was given for the bride or groom or both.

The marriage of William Upton and Catherine Dunford took place on Sunday 26^th February 1843 in the Roman Catholic parish of Ardagh in the Diocese of Limerick in County Limerick.² I have checked the original register, and can confirm that the names of the bride and the groom were recorded and spelled as given above. A large proportion of marriages would take place in February as it was traditionally a popular month just prior to the six weeks of Lent. During the Lenten period, couples were disinclined to marry in respect of a custom dating from ancient times.

The witnesses to the marriage were named as John Condon and Robert Upton. Fr. Daniel McCoy celebrated the wedding as he was the parish priest of Ardagh parish from 1842 to 1847. Interestingly the marriage record stated that William Upton was from Newcastle West while Catherine Dunford was from Ardagh parish.

There is no corresponding civil marriage record for William Upton and Catherine Dunford as the legal obligation for Catholics to register marriages with the government only began in 1864.

In a search of the parish registers of Limerick from 1843 to 1865, I found baptismal records for three children born to William Upton and Catherine Dunford (or any variations of those names). All of the children were baptised in the parish of Ardagh between 1846 and 1853. Unfortunately the baptismal register of Ardagh parish only dates from 1845 so it is quite possible that additional children were born to the Upton family before that year.

The baptismal register provides us with the names of the children and of course indicates the parish in which they were born. It also provides the names of the parents and godparents and the dates of the baptisms. The baptism was traditionally celebrated only a few days after the birth of the child. In an age of high infant mortality it was seen as a matter of urgency to have the child baptised into the faith soon after birth.

Sometimes the baptismal record also provides us with an address for the family, a street in urban areas or a townland in rural areas. Townlands are the smallest rural subdivision within a parish. They consist of a small number of farms and have an average size of 350 acres. They have ancient names referring to topographical or man made features on the landscape or they can be named after a family or clan surname which would have been prominent in the area.

The original baptismal register has been checked and the names and details are given below as recorded. On the records the name for the children’s father was given as William Upton or Hupton and their mother was variously recorded as Catherine Dunworth, Damfort or Dunford. As explained, it is quite common to see variations in the spellings of names on baptismal records particularly so for the mother as she did not attend the baptism in the church. Because she had recently given birth it was considered inappropriate for her to visit the church until she had attended a ceremony known as ‘being churched’.

What follows are the recorded details on the children of William Upton and Catherine Dunford in Limerick.

Name of Child	Baptismal Record in Ardagh Roman Catholic Parish
John Upton3	Date of baptism: Tuesday 16th June 1846. Parents named as William Upton and Catherine Dunworth. Godparents: Maurice (Mauritio) Enright and Joanna Dunworth. Family address: Ballynabearna.4 Priest: Rev. Robert Mulcahy, curate of Ardagh from 1844 to 1846. (contd. overleaf)
Name of Child	Baptismal Record in Ardagh Roman Catholic Parish
John Upton	Date of baptism: Saturday 28th September 1850. Parents named as William Upton and Catherine Damfort. Godparents: Michael Heffernan and Margaret Crimmin. Family address: Not recorded. Priest: Rev. William Toomy, curate of Ardagh, 1850 to 1851.
Mary Upton	Date of baptism: Sunday 27th March 1853. Parents named as William Upton and Catherine Dunford. Godparents: Andrew and Ellen Dunford. Family address: Old Mill.5 Priest: Rev. Richard Liston, parish priest of Ardagh, 1853 to 1863.

As John and his siblings were born before the start of civil registration in 1864, there are no corresponding civil birth records for these children. The additional information provided on birth records would be an occupation for the father of the children. Nevertheless further research on William Upton indicates that he worked as a carpenter, which will be discussed further below.

As there are baptismal records for two boys of the name John Upton, born to William and Catherine Upton, we can surmise that John born in 1846 died as a child and that my great grandfather was named in his memory. Infant mortality affected many families in nineteenth century Ireland due to the poor general standard of health care and living conditions at the time. Families living in urban areas and of the labouring class were more susceptible to the risk.

The Marriage of

John Upton and Bridget Keane

The marriage of John Upton and Bridget Keane took place on Thursday 22^nd April 1880 in the Roman Catholic parish of Dromcolliher to the south of Ardagh. Significantly the bride and groom were both stated to be from Ardagh and it is quite unusual for the marriage not to have taken place in the bride’s parish. The witnesses to the marriage were Phillip McAuliffe and Mary Naughton. Fr. James L. Roche celebrated the marriage as parish priest of Dromcolliher from 1877 to 1891.

The civil registration of Catholic marriages began in Ireland in January 1864 and so there is a corresponding civil record of the marriage of John Upton and Bridget Keane which provides some additional information. Civil marriage records can state the ages, occupations and addresses for the bride and groom. They can also record the names and occupations of the fathers of the marrying couple.

The civil record of the marriage of John Upton and Bridget Keane dates to Saturday 29^th May 1880. John Upton was stated to be a twenty-seven year old bachelor carpenter from Old Mill, Ardagh. John’s father was named as William Upton, also a carpenter by occupation. Bridget Keane was a twenty-seven year old spinster farmer from Ballinlahane.⁶ Bridget’s father was Thomas Keane and he was a farmer. The marriage certificate was signed by the priest Fr. Roche, by the bride and the groom and by the witness Mary Naughton. The second witness Phillip McAuliffe could not write and so signed the record with an ‘x’.

Fr. Roche registered the marriage in the Registrar’s District of Feenagh and stated that the marriage took place in the Roman Catholic Church of Dromcolliher.⁷ The Registrar’s District was the area overseen by the Registrar who was the person responsible for recording births, deaths and marriages for the government. It was the legal obligation of the public to register the details and fines were payable for non-registration. In rural areas the Registrar’s District was usually named after the market town or village where the Registrar was based, a central location where the public could come to provide the required information, in this case the village of Feenagh to the north of Dromcolliher.⁸

Although it was the legal obligation of the bride and the groom to register the marriage, it was generally the officiating priest who notified the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. He would fill out a pre-printed certificate with the relevant details and was to forward it to the Registrar within three days of the marriage. However in this case the marriage was not registered until late May 1880 and so it would appear that Fr. Roche altered the date of the marriage in order to avoid the fine of a late registration.

FURTHER RESEARCH

ON

THE UPTON FAMILY

Church and Civil Records

Early Research on the Upton Family

The next step in the research was to try to trace the previous generation of the Upton family. As indicated above, with any research in the early nineteenth century, there is a near complete reliance on church records; the civil registration of births, deaths and marriages only began in Ireland in 1864 and all census returns prior to 1901 were destroyed intentionally or accidentally. Unfortunately as you have seen, the starting dates for many of the parish registers of county Limerick are quite late; they average between 1820 and 1840 with one as early as 1777 but another as late as 1853.⁹ Each register was held locally in the custody of the parish priest; there was no central deposit for the records and so many early registers have been lost or accidentally destroyed. In fact there was no church obligation for the parish priest to keep a register. There are also significant gaps in the surviving registers where years of records have been lost.

An earlier generation of the Upton family may have been of the protestant faith and so it should be noted that a significant proportion of Church of Ireland records have also been lost. Church of Ireland registers dating to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were of the Established Church and therefore kept in the Public Records Office in Dublin as public records. Unfortunately these were some of the many records destroyed in the P.R.O. at the Four Courts Dublin in 1922 during the Irish Civil War. As a result only eight Church of Ireland parishes in Limerick have baptismal, marriage or burial records surviving before 1800.¹⁰

The marriage record of William Upton indicated that he was from the parish of Newcastle West and further research suggests that he was born around the year 1800. Unfortunately the Roman Catholic parish of Newcastle West only has surviving baptismal records dating from 1815 while Church of Ireland records date from 1842 so there can be no surviving record of the birth of William Upton to confirm the names of his parents. In the Roman Catholic baptismal register of Newcastle West from 1815 to 1820 there were four children of the name Upton on record each born to separate Upton families but there is nothing to indicate that any of these families are relevant to this research.

It is suggested from oral family history that William Upton may have had a brother Frank Upton who married Catherine Nolan. According to the Upton Pedigree, that I received from Sr. Julia Upton, Francis was the son of Edward Upton and Mary Dunworthy and he had a brother Robert Upton. I have carried out further research on Francis Upton and Robert Upton and can confirm that both worked as carpenters in the parish of Ardagh. These connections to the Upton Pedigree, suggested by different sources, certainly appear to indicate that William was a brother of Francis and Robert Upton and therefore the son of Edward Upton.

Unfortunately however due to the lack of surviving church records, for the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, I cannot state this conclusively. In addition to the church records, I also considered the biographical notices of births, deaths and marriages from newspapers in the Limerick area. There are searchable indexes dating from the latter half of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century.¹¹ As you might expect, it was the higher classes of society who were typically referred to the newspapers and as the family of Edward Upton, as outlined in the Upton Pedigree, were landed gentry such individuals could be on record. However despite a search I found no reference to Edward Upton in the newspapers of Limerick.

According to the Upton Pedigree, Edward Upton father of Francis and Robert Upton was baptised at Rathronan. Rathronan was a Church of Ireland parish and the ruins of Rathronan Church of Ireland Church are found today in the townland of Glenville within Ardagh Roman Catholic parish.¹² Church of Ireland baptismal records for Rathronan parish only date from 1813 and I can confirm that from that date onwards there were no references to the surname Upton in the register.

Looking again at the Upton Pedigree, it is interesting to note that Edward Upton had a son William resulting from his first marriage, to Honora Usher. Unfortunately there is no evidence of this son William Upton in the surviving church records or biographical notices of Limerick. The reference to Newcastle West on the pedigree chart is of interest as my great great grandfather William was stated to be from this parish on his marriage record. It is possible that William Upton who married a lady of the name Graham was my ancestor and that he later married Catherine Dunworth. Alternatively my great great grandfather may have been an unknown son of Edward Upton and Mary Dunworthy; this seems more plausible as my great great grandfather William was Roman Catholic.

Looking at the Upton Pedigree and the surviving church records of Limerick (Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland) the earliest evidence of the family of Edward Upton on record relates to the children of Francis Upton and Catherine Nolan. I found baptismal records for two children born to Francis Upton and Catherine Nolan in Limerick. However the remaining children listed in the Upton Pedigree and the marriage of Francis and Catherine are not on record due to the lack of surviving registers in the relevant parish.

Unfortunately there is no evidence of the marriage or issue of Robert Upton and Mary Ahern again due to the limitations of church records. The Upton Pedigree indicates that William C. Upton who later married Mary Barrett and emigrated to the U.S. was the son of Francis Upton however my research suggests that he was in fact the son of Robert Upton; although Francis Upton did also have a son William.

For the above paragraph, the records seem to be wrong. Francis Upton was married to Mary Ahern, not Robert.

I have located the marriage record of William Upton and Mary Barrett and the baptismal records of seven children born to him. It is suggested from family lore that William C. Upton was a first cousin of my great grandfather John Upton and although the church records are not available to confirm this I would be inclined to agree with Mr. Heffernan’s information that they were related because of the common occupation in the family and the proximity of their homes.

Research on the Family of Catherine Dunworth/Dunford

Unfortunately as with the Upton family, early research on Catherine Dunford/Dunworth is hindered due to the lack of surviving church records. As mentioned above, the baptismal registers of Ardagh parish only date from 1845 so there can be no surviving baptismal record available for your great great grandmother Catherine.

I did note that there was a man of the name Dunworth living in the same townland of Ballynabearna in the latter half of the nineteenth century and in fact my great grandfather John Upton took over the lease of his property at the time of his death. I would suggest that this man was a brother of Catherine Dunworth and therefore the uncle of my great grandfather John. I found the marriage record of Catherine’s brother and baptismal records of four children born to him.

The Children of William Upton and Catherine Dunworth

The next step in the research was to carry out subsequent searches for the children of William and Catherine Upton. As explained John Upton born in 1846 would have died before 1850 but as there are no death records in Ireland until 1864 I cannot search for further information on his death.

I can confirm that I found the marriage record of John’s sister Mary Upton born in 1853 and baptismal records for eight children born to her. I searched for possible marriages of additional unrecorded children of William Upton who may have been born in Ardagh before 1845 but this proved negative in the area.

Further Research on Bridget Keane

Based on the details on Bridget Keane from her marriage record I searched for and found her baptismal record. I also found records for five siblings and the marriage record of her parents.

Death Records

The civil registration of the death of an individual became obligatory under the 1863 Act for the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Prior to this, there are no death records and as the Catholic Church generally did not maintain burial records it is very difficult to trace the death of an individual before 1864. The details given on the death record include the name of the deceased, gender, marital status, occupation and age at last birthday. The date, place and cause of death are also provided.There is access to death records for all of Limerick city and county from 1864 to approximately 1911.

I searched for and found the death records of John Upton’s parents, William and Catherine Upton. I also found that of Francis Upton but there is no record of his brother Robert who appears to have died in the early years of civil registration when the deaths of many went unrecorded.

Gravestones when found can provide valuable insight into a family history. However the death record does not state where the deceased was buried and as mentioned the Catholic Church did not keep burial records in the nineteenth century. Therefore determining where an individual is buried is open to conjecture and having success in locating a graveyard and gravestone for an ancestor can be difficult. There are numerous obstacles to locating a gravestone. In fact the vast majority of people in the nineteenth century could not afford to have gravestones erected. Many inscriptions have been lost due to weather erosion. Furthermore unless the inscriptions from a graveyard have been transcribed and indexed, locating an ancestor’s burial place is a matter of visiting the graveyards in the area. Gravestone inscriptions for Ardagh graveyard have been transcribed but in a search of the listings I found no reference to the surnames Upton, Dunworth or Keane.

Property Valuation Records

Land and House Valuation Records

Nineteenth and early twentieth century property valuation records include the Tithe Applotment Books of the 1820s and 1830s, Griffith’s Valuation of 1850 to 1852 and the Cancelled Books of Griffith’s Valuation dating from 1858 into the twentieth century.

Tithe Applotment Books

The earliest land valuation records that we can employ are the Tithe Applotment Books, which date from 1824 to 1835 in Limerick. These records were an assessment by the Church of Ireland of the value that could be placed on land so that a church tax, known as the tithe, could be charged on the farmer. The tax charged was one-tenth of the farming income and was used for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland clergy. At the time, the Church of Ireland was the established church recognised by the crown so all land was subject to the tax, even that farmed by Catholics and this led to considerable tension during the period.

It should be noted however that only land was included in this survey and not houses. Therefore it is not a list of all householders in Limerick but rather a list of landholders, farmers with considerable holdings, and so it completely excludes Limerick city and the county towns. Furthermore many rural dwellers in pre-famine Ireland were landless labourers and therefore not relevant to this survey.

From at least the mid-nineteenth century, the Upton family appear to have worked as carpenters so William Upton’s father may not have had lands. I can confirm that Edward Upton was not listed throughout Limerick in the Tithe Books. There were three men of the name Upton farming in Ardagh and Newcastle West in the late 1820s but they refer to the individuals listed at Glenastar and Ashgrove in the Upton Pedigree.

Griffith’s Primary Valuation

The next valuation record to consider is Griffith’s Primary Valuation Survey which was compiled in Limerick between 1850 and 1852. It sought a value for every house and piece of land in order to calculate a property tax known in Ireland as the ‘rate’. The rate was the nineteenth century solution to poverty in Ireland and Britain. The tax paid for the maintenance of the workhouse, where the destitute poor from the surrounding area known as the poor law union, were sent.

Griffith’s Valuation is a more comprehensive source of information than the Tithe Applotment Books as it lists the head of every house as well as every farm i.e. the main occupier responsible for paying rent on the property. Griffith’s Valuation names the tenant or main occupier and the lessor from whom he/she was renting the property. It also gives a brief description of the property, its acreage and rateable value. However it should be noted that if an individual was not the head of a household or not paying rent on a property, there would be no reference to him in Griffith’s Valuation and we often find that labouring families went unrecorded.

There was a tenant of the name William Upton recorded in Griffith’s Primary Valuation at Ballynabearna and at separate plots, one with land and another renting a house and garden. Certainly the tenant with land does not refer to my great great grandfather William but this farmer is listed on the Upton Pedigree as the grandson of Edward’s brother John Upton. The tenant William Upton renting the house and garden could be my great great grandfather however subsequent property records which will be discussed below do not suggest this. In the townland of Ballynabearna I also found a tenant named Danford in a neighbouring plot and you will remember I mentioned above that he was probably the brother of Catherine Upton née Dunworth. In addition, Robert Upton was recorded in Griffith’s Valuation as a tenant but in the village of Ardagh.

Updates to Griffith’s Valuation

The Updates to Griffith’s Valuation, also known as the Cancelled Books were compiled by government officials to revise the original information on householders provided in the primary valuation. We have access to these records from the late 1850s to the early 1900s. Through these records, we can see what happened to a particular family over a continuous period of time; whether they remained in the townland and who inherited the lease of the property over time. These records can be difficult to read on microfilm copy but following the original plot number for the family’s holding given in Griffith’s Primary Valuation we can establish when the property changed hands, estimate as to when family members died and confirm who remained in the townland.

My great great grandfather William Upton was listed in the Cancelled Books for Ballynabearna but only from the early 1860s which leads me to suspect that he was not the same tenant listed in the Primary Valuation. It is interesting to note that William Upton was renting his property from the descendants of John Upton, brother of Edward as outlined in the Upton Pedigree. We have access to the Cancelled Books for Ballynabearna up to the late 1930s and I can confirm that my great grandfather John Upton took over the lease from his father (confirming their relationship) and the Upton family remained at the same property until at least 1937. It is also possible to trace Robert Upton and Francis Upton in the Cancelled Books for Ardagh.

Census Records

The 1901 Census

As you are perhaps aware, the 1901 Census is the earliest surviving census in Ireland with returns for each household and details provided on each individual present. All previous censuses were destroyed; some in the fire at the Public Record Office in the Four Courts, Dublin during the Civil War of 1922 (those dating from 1821 to 1851) and some were deliberately destroyed by government order (those dating from 1861 to 1891). Only statistical information remains for each census completed every ten years from 1821 to 1891.

As you know from the Upton household at Ballynabearna, the 1901 Census provides details on each member of the household and on the building in which the family were living. We have computerised the census returns for Limerick city and county for 1901 and can therefore search for specific individuals within any household. I have also located John Upton’s sister Mary Upton living with her family at the time of the 1901 Census.

The 1911 Census

The next available Census dates to 1911. These census returns provide the same type of information on the household as that given in 1901 and in addition they state how long the head of the household had been married and how many children were born to him or her. Unlike the 1901 Census, these records have not been computerised by our office to date. However I have found my great grandfather John Upton and his family in Ardagh parish in the 1911 Census.

Appendices

Map of the Roman Catholic parishes of Limerick showing Ardagh, Dromcolliher and Newcastle West to the west of the county.

Map of the Roman Catholic parish of Ardagh.

Copy of Discovery Series #64 showing Old mill Bridge and Ballynabearna.

Map of the Roman Catholic parish of Dromcolliher.

Details on the Church of Ireland records of Limerick Diocese.