I'm using this blog as a "scribble pad" tonight for some note-taking and to organize my thoughts. I've been focused lately on my brick walls. Lately, I have been doing some digging into some records on rootsireland.ie which is a site that has some, but not all records, for Ireland. I wanted to put what I've found together here, and hopefully it'll lead to further info down the road. The person of emphasis for this post is James Hurst.
Quick recap of known facts about James Hurst:
B. 1 Sept 1832 in County Mayo (census gives a range of years between 1832-1840, but this is the birth date given on his death record).
Immigrated: ca. 1862 according to census (haven't found a manifest to support, yet)
Parents: Michael Hurst & Catherine O'Neill
Possible other relatives? I've found no evidence of siblings of his having come with him to the U.S., or at least not to Dane Co., Wisconsin. I've been told also that his parents lived and died in Ireland. However, the 1880 census lists two nieces living with him, both having been born in Ireland. Mary, born ca. 1859 and Bridget born ca. 1864.
Something interesting I've noticed naming patterns. There are many versions of this but the most common convention I've found is:
Sons
1st son was named after the father's father
2nd son was named after the mother's father
3rd son was named after the father
4th son was named after the father's eldest brother
5th son was named after the mother's eldest brother
Daughters
1st daughter was named after the mother's mother
2nd daughter was named after the father's mother
3rd daughter was named after the mother
4th daughter was named after the mother's eldest sister
5th daughter was named after the father's eldest sister
(source: http://www.igp-web.com/cork/Naming.html)
If I compare this to the kids of James Hurst and his wife, Mary Ann Walsh, I see some sort of pattern:
Children, in order of birth:
1) Catherine Ann Hurst (presumably named after James' mom, Catherine O'Neill)
2) Bridget Ann Hurst (named after Mary Ann's mom, Bridget Welsch)
3) Ellen Maria Hurst (??? see below...; Maria possibly naming her after mother Mary Ann Walsh)
4) Adeline Mary Hurst (?? Ellen died as a baby before Adeline was born; perhaps Mary again for her mother?)
5) Ella Monica Hurst (??)
6) Michael John Hurst (presumably named after both of their fathers, Michael Hurst and John Walsh)
7) Henry Leo Patrick Hurst (??)
8) James Sylvester Hurst (named for his father, James)
9) Thomas Vincent Hurst (??)
10) Joseph Parker Hurst (??)
The downfall of this formula is I do not have a confirmed list of all siblings of Mary Ann Walsh nor of James Hurst. I do, however, know that James likely had a sister who married a man by the name of Rice. Looking at the "pattern" compared to the actual known names, there seems to be somewhat of a pattern but backwards in a way as far as which parent's father's name was given to a child first. The third of each gender does appear to be named after the parent of the corresponding gender. Beyond that there are a bunch of names that look unfamiliar- likely because of lack of info on siblings.
So, I took to the records. As I mentioned, the records are incomplete.. it seems that for most areas of Co. Mayo, the earliest records either start in 1840 or 1864 (of those that are online- I am not sure, but hoping that older records still exist somewhere). I thought, though, that maybe by that time period, there might be a record of deaths for either of Jameses parents, considering they both supposedly stayed in Ireland and died there.
I found an interesting death rec for a Catherine Hurst d. 17 Feb 1881 in Druminahaha, Islandeady district, Co. Mayo. She is listed as a widow, aged 68, and the informant is the "householder" named Ellen Rice, of Druminahaha. Hmm.. Hurst and Rice on the same record, in Co. Mayo. Could Ellen be Catherine's daughter? Maybe.. but wouldn't the "Relationship" field state daughter instead of householder? Perhaps being the householder was a more important notation. But the name Ellen.. that's the name of the third daughter of James and Mary Ann (Walsh) Hurst.. and the pattern was somewhat backward, so could Ellen by James' older sister? I can't get caught up in the "naming pattern" since that is not 100% reliable.
Is this record definitely James' mother and sister? It could be, but it could also NOT be. I don't have enough evidence.
So, I looked further to see if I could find any "Ellen Hurst" in this area, marrying a man by the name of Rice. I didn't find a marriage record. But, I found a lot of birth and baptismal records for children of a John Rice/Ryce and his wife Elen/Ellen HURST, in Islandeady. Importantly, they have two kids specifically who might be matches for the nieces listed as living with James Hurst in 1880 in Wisconsin. Here are, in order, the births/baptisms I found, for kids born to John Rice and Ellen Hurst (all the same unless otherwise noted):
1) James Ryce bap 8 Aug 1858 Islandeady RC parish, Co. Mayo, sponsors
Peter Gavin and Mary
O'Neal
2) **Mary Ryce bap. 4 Sep
1859 Islandeady RC Parish, Co. Mayo, sponsors Owen Lawless & Barbara Flyn [sic]
3) Bridget Rice bap. 23 Nov 1861 Islandeady RC parish, Co. Mayo, sponsors
James Hurst and Mary McNealy
3) **Bridget Rice bap. 28 Nov 1862 Islandeady RC parish, Co. Mayo, sponsors Patrick Hurst and Cecelia Stephens
4) Catherine Rice b. 12 Feb 1865 Derrycooraun, Islandeady District, Co. Mayo
5) Ellen Rice b. 27 May 1867 Driminaha, Islandeady District, Co. Mayo
6) Honor Rice (female) b. 4 Sept 1869 Driminaha, Islandeady District, Co. Mayo
-(same person) Honor Rice b. 5 Sept 1869 Islandeady RC parish, Co. Mayo (address Derecourane); sponsors Edward Gillen & Bridget Mulloy
7) Michael Rice b. 2 Nov 1871 Driminaha, Islandeady District, Co. Mayo
-(same person) Michael Rice bap. 24 Oct 1871 Islandeady RC parish, Co. Mayo (address Derecoraun); sponsors Michael Gibbons & Catherine
O'Neal
8) Anne Rice b. 9 Dec 1873 Driminaha, Islandeady District, Co. Mayo
9) John Rice b. 31 Dec 1875 Driminahaha, Islandeady district, Co. Mayo parents John Rice and Ellen Hart [possibly a transcription error- address & other info match).
-(same person, presumably dates mixed up?) John Rice bap. 17 Dec 1875 Islandeady RC parish, Co.
Mayo; parents John Ryce & Ellen Hurst; sponsors Thomas Ryce & Bridget Mylott
-(a record for this same birth, found on familysearch.org lists John Rice's birthplace as Drimenahaha)
10) Patrick Rice b. 10 Jun 1878 Derrycowran, Islandeady district, Co. Mayo. (only found this one on familysearch.org)
11) Margaret Rice b. 26 Aug 1880 Driminahaha, Islandeady district, Co. Mayo. (only found this one on Familysearch.org)
Specific point: Common places mentioned: Derrycooraun, Derrycourane, and Drumminahaha are all within (according to a map) a quarter mile or less of one another. They are slightly north of the town of Islandeady.
Important highlights:
1) A sponsor named James Hurst in 1861 and no other year. My James Hurst supposedly immigrated around 1862.
2) The two girls of the same age (Mary, b. 1859) and similar age (Bridget, b. 1862) as the girls listed as nieces of James Hurst in 1880 in Wisconsin
3) The family names of the sponsors- quite a few Rices, several O'Neals and a couple of Hursts (Patrick and James).
4) The name Peter Gavin. My grandmother (whose great-grandfather is James Hurst) matched, on DNA testing, within ~4th cousin range of a woman whose great-great-grandfather's name was Richard Gavin of the Castlebar, Co. Mayo area. Richard's wife's name is Eleanor Rice. Richard was baptised in 1861 in... Islandeady RC parish, Co. Mayo, and his parents were Thomas Gavin and Cecily Cauly; sponsors James Ryce and Mary Gavin. Thomas and Cecily were married 31 Jan 1857 in Islandeady RC parish, Co. Mayo, sponsors James Ryce and Barbara Scoot.
So, is there some sort of tie between this James Ryce and John Ryce/Rice? Is there a tie between these Gavins, Peter and Thomas, and my Hursts? Is Ellen Hurst above the sister of my James Hurst? I don't have enough info to prove this yet but it's looking pretty promising.
An addendum:
Griffiths Valuation for Derrycooraun, Islandeady Parish, shows many of these names of those on the baptismal records, living close together:
Thomas, John, and Austin Gavin; Mylott, Lawless, Gibbons, Malley (Mulloy), James Rice, John Rice
I can't quite add everything to my genealogy because it's not all connected yet, so I'm going to add more records here as I find them:
| Name: | Ellen Gavin |
| Event Date: | 25 Aug 1945 |
| Event Place: | Chicago, Cook, Illinois |
| Gender: | Female |
| Age: | 71 |
| Birth Year (Estimated): | 1874 |
| Birth Date: | 12 May 1874 |
| Birthplace: | Co. Mayo, Ireland |
| Father's Name: | John Rice |
| Father's Birthplace: | Co. Mayo, Ireland |
| Mother's Name: | Ellen Hurst |
| Mother's Birthplace: | Co. Mayo, Ireland |
| Occupation: | housework |
| Residence Place: | Chicago, Cook, Illinois |
| Spouse's Name: | Richard Gavin |
| Burial Date: | 29 Aug 1945 |
| Burial Place: | Proviso Township, Cook, Illinois |
| Cemetery: | Mt. Carmel |
Digital Folder Number: 4152319 , Image Number: 1454 , GS Film number: 1983367 , Reference ID: rn 24257
(for Ellen, all census records indicate she was born ca. 1868-1869. Her death rec is the only one that mentions 1874. She therefore fits with the Ellen mentioned at the top as being born in Druminahaha).
Find a grave for Ellen:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=107219630&ref=acom
I found this, not sure if this is the right Mary or not?
| Name: | Mary Boyd |
| Event Type: | Death |
| Event Date: | 12 Sep 1913 |
| Event Place: | , Cook, Illinois, United States |
| Address: | 1905 Burling St. |
| Gender: | Female |
| Age: | 51 |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Ethnicity: | American |
| Race: | White |
| Occupation: | Housewife |
| Birth Date: | 18 Dec 1861 |
| Birthplace: | Ireland |
| Burial Date: | 14 Sep 1913 |
| Cemetery: | St. Boniface |
| Father's Name: | John Rice |
| Father's Birthplace: | Ireland |
| Mother's Name: | Ellen Hurst |
| Mother's Birthplace: | Ireland |
| Record Number: | 925 |
| Source Reference: | cn 25503 |
GS Film Number: 1287710 , Digital Folder Number: 004005103 , Image Number: 00930
James Hurst possible nephew of my James Hurst.
| Name: | James Hurst |
| Event Date: | 30 Dec 1923 |
| Event Place: | Chicago, Cook, Illinois |
| Gender: | Male |
| Age: | 55 |
| Birth Year (Estimated): | 1868 |
| Birth Date: | 01 Mar 1868 |
| Birthplace: | Co. Mayo, Ireland |
| Father's Name: | Patrick Hurst |
| Father's Birthplace: | Co. Mayo, Ireland |
| Mother's Name: | Ellen Corcoran |
| Mother's Birthplace: | Co. Mayo, Ireland |
| Residence Place: | Chicago, Cook, Illinois |
| Spouse's Name: | Rose Dunn Hurst |
| Burial Date: | 04 Jan 1924 |
| Cemetery: | Mt. Carmel |
Digital Folder Number: 4205897 , Image Number: 1049 , GS Film number: 1877424 , Reference ID: rn 33464
Michael Hurst possible nephew of my James Hurst
Digital Folder Number: 4153211 , Image Number: 267 , GS Film number: 1892231
Church recs from Holy Name Cathedral, State St., Chicago, Illinois.
| Name: | Michael Hurst |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
| Event Date: | 14 Feb 1893 |
| Event Place: | Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States |
| Gender: | Male |
| Spouse's Name: | Mary Ruane |
| Spouse's Gender: | Female |
| Name: | Richard Gavin |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
| Event Date: | 25 Jun 1890 |
| Event Place: | Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States |
| Gender: | Male |
| Spouse's Name: | Ellen Rice |
| Spouse's Gender: | Female |
Naturalization record of Michael Hurst, with a witness of James Ryce:
