Irish Connections — Making Sense of it All

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to be in Dublin and even more fortunate to have been given a private consultation with a genealogist associated with the Irish Family History Centre. As it was only a 30-minute consultation, we had to get to the heart of things pdq. While the information he had at the ready was designed for a more novice genealogist, he skipped to the more complex areas of research and challenged me to think about my research and methodologies in a broader, more historical point of view. As a history professor at a Dublin college, he spoke my language.

Cut to two weeks later, after I have had a chance to unpack (I’m mostly done) and let his advice percolate in my brain. I circled back to my husband’s second great-grandfather, Richard McCormick whose headstone provided the only clue to his origins: “Born Belmullet, Co. Mayo Ireland Oct. 26, 1820.”[1]

As anyone knows when researching an immigrant ancestor, the name of their hometown is key. Until you find precisely where they came from, your search is much harder and maybe even impossible. However, just because you know a placename, especially one in Ireland, you still must be extra careful. As an example, “Belmullet” is a townland, a town, a Poor Law Union district, and a registration district (all in County Mayo).[2]

Having been down this path previously, I knew that I wouldn’t find McCormick ancestors in either the townland or town of Belmullet. As I reviewed the records of the time, it appears that the name “Belmullet” was also regularly used to describe the entire “Mullet” peninsula in Mayo.

The Mullet peninsula is located up at the top west corner of County Mayo, along the north Atlantic coast. Approximately 15 miles long and 7 miles at its widest (980 ft. at its narrowest), it is a windswept landscape with no trees and few hills. For record/research purposes, the Civil Parish of Kilmore encompasses the entirety of the Mullet. Making my focus somewhat easier.

I’ll cut to the chase: Using my new-found point of view, I located “Cormack” and “McCormack” family members living in the townlands of Divish and Elly in the Kilmore Parish.

First, the 1834 Tithe Applotment[3] records show three Cormack men living together on about 37 acres in Divish, namely George, Dillon, and Thomas.[4] That had me intrigued: Richard’s middle name was Dillon and he named his sons Thomas and George. Traditional naming patterns amongst the Irish in the 1700-1900s show a regular use of ancestors’ names for one’s children.[5] Given the timeframe, it seems likely that these men were either Richard’s father and/or uncles.

The next set of land records for Kilmore Parish (the Griffith’s Valuation[6]) do not show these three. Rather:

1853 – Francis McCormack – Occupying two acres in the townland of Elly, next to Divish.[7]
1853 – Catherine McCormack – Occupying a portion of 60 acres in the townland of Divish.[8]
1855 – Arthur McCormack – Occupying six acres of land in Elly.
1855 - Samuel C. McCormack – Owning and occupying land in several townlands and on an island.
1855 – Simon McCormack – Occupying 36 acres with two other men in the townland of Ballymacsherron.
1855 – Bridget McCormack – Occupying a small plot in the village of Binghamstown. [9]

Arthur immediately caught my eye since he was of an age where he could have been a contemporary of Richard’s and Richard named one of his sons Arthur. Of course, just having similar names does not a family make. But my gut told me to take a little bitty chance and link Arthur as Richard’s brother to my tree.

The payoff was more than I anticipated.

It took about 24-hours for Ancestry’s algorithms to work their magic, but the next day I found eleven DNA matches to Bruce through this McCormack family. All are in the 9-22 cMs range of shared DNA, putting them in the 4th Cousin or 3rd Cousin once or twice removed.

To be honest, I hadn’t expected to find DNA cousins. I was just looking for possible family members in a certain place and time. This added benefit solidified what I found in the paper records and gives me much more to explore and share!

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[1] Find A Grave, database with images (http://www.findagrave.com : accessed 19 September 2023, memorial 74889316, Richard McCormick (1820-1900), Calvary Cemetery. Parsons, Kansas; gravestone photograph by “Tammi.”

[2] “Belmullet,” General Alphabetical Index to the Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baronies (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1984), 149.

[3] Compiled between 1823 and 1839, the Tithe Applotment determined the tax paid to the Church of Ireland by occupiers of agricultural holding over one acre. “The Tithe Applotment Books,” Genealogy, The National Archies of Ireland (http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/home.jsp : accessed 20 September 2023).

[4] Ireland, Land Commission, Tithe Applotment Books And Indexes: Kilmore, p. 10, Cormack entries; “Tithe Applotment Books, 1823-1837,” digital image, National Archives of Ireland (http://titheapplotmentbooks.nationalarchives.ie/search/tab/results.jsp?surname=cormack&firstname=&county=Mayo&parish=&townland=Divish&search=Search : accessed 17 September 2023).

[5] “Irish Naming Conventions and Baptism Traditions,” Ireland Reaching Out (https://www.irelandxo.com/ireland-xo/news/irish-naming-conventions-and-baptism-traditions?utm_source=Ireland+Reaching+Out+-+Full+Database&utm_campaign=6433d4e5fb-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_namingpatterns&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-3ed2ea7131-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&ct=t(EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_namingpatterns) : accessed 17 September 2023).

[6] “Griffith’s Valuation is the name widely given to the Primary Valuation of Ireland, a property tax survey carried out in the mid-nineteenth century under the supervision of Sir Richard Griffith. The survey involved the detailed valuation of every taxable piece of agricultural or built property on the island of Ireland and was published county-by-county between the years 1847 and 1864.” “what is Griffith’s Valuation, Ask About Ireland, (https://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/irish-genealogy/what-is-griffiths-valuati/ : accessed 21 September 2023).

[7] Ireland Valuation Office, Tenure Book, County Mayo, Barony of Erris, Parish of Kilmore, Townland of Elly, Francis McCormack, occupier, November 1852; digital image, Find My Past (https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=IRE%2FCENSUS%2F1821-51%2F007246777%2F00904&parentid=IRE%2FCENSUS%2FVALUEBOOKS%2F469036 : accessed 19 September 2023).

[8] Ireland Valuation Office, Tenure Book, County Mayo, Barony of Erris, Parish of Kilmore, Townland of Divish, Catharine McCormack, occupier, November 1853( Find My Past (https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=IRE%2FCENSUS%2F1821-51%2F007246777%2F00919&parentid=IRE%2FCENSUS%2FVALUEBOOKS%2F469116 : accessed 17 September 2023).

[9] Richard Griffith, General Valuation of Rateable Property in Ireland … Union of Belmullet … County of Mayo (Dublin: Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, 1861), McCormack, Kilmore Parish; digital images, Ask About Ireland (https://griffith.askaboutireland.ie : accessed 17 September 2023).