advice on how to proceed please!

[kevin connaughton]

Dear Friends,can anyone help?I have located my gggrandfathers marriage in Ardcarn+Tumna 1845 and the baptism of his first born in the same place in 1846 but cant find his baptism as yet.His name was Patrick Connaughton and he married Catherine McGee(above),the only evidence i have of his birth is on the 1851 English census in Stalybridge,Cheshire,where he states he is 30yrs old(therefore c1820,also on that census he states he is from Boyle,Ireland..Is there anyone here who has access to Boyle baptisms for this period or knows where i can see them..His mothers/fathers name was not on the entry of his wedding so i have no clues there..Any advice would be welcome on how best to proceed and also much appreciated..Thanks and regards Kevin

[kevin connaughton]

Ed,many thanks for your information and help,hopefully one of the Patrick Connaughtons c1820 will turn out to be mine,very good chance they will i think..Not sure about the Catherine McGees as she says on every census in England that she was born in Dublin!!Then again her ages on each census differ wildly,maybe she was trying to hide something??Ed,have you or anyone else heard the theory about Irish birth names,wherethe first born male is named after the fathers father,second born male after the mothers father and third after the father..First born female after the mothers mother,second female after the fathers mother and the third after the mother??Is this just an old wives tale or was it true and if so how steadfastly was it adhered to??By the way Ed on the 1851 census i mentioned in Stalybridge lodging in the same house as Patrick and Catherine was a Anthony and Catherine Gaffney both in there early twenties from Ireland..Thanks again Ed,any other advice on how to proceed would be most welcome(from anyone)Regards Kevin.

[kevin connaughton]

Thanks again Ed,didnt know that about the fourth son..The Peter Conaughton/Mary Tivneen marriage is interesting and the birth of thier son Patrick 1820 more so..Thats the main reason i asked about the naming pattern,as my Patrick & Catherine didnt name any of thier offspring Peter or Mary..There is evidence though that they followed it as both thier third son and daughter were named after themselves..If they followed the pattern to the letter then Patricks parents would have been called John and Winifred and Catherines Michael and Sarah..Interestingly there is a marriage of a John Conaghton&Winifred Higgins(12th January 1811,RC,Boyle,Roscommon) on the IGI,alas the only baptism i have managed to find with them as parents was to a Sarah 16th April 1820..Incidentally Patrick/Catherines fourth son was named Hugh,so maybe Patricks eldest brother was a Hugh..All maybes really,clutching at straws..Anyone suggest any other angles i coud approach this???Regards Kevin

[kevin connaughton]

Ed,thanks for the new information,much appreciated..I know its the proverbial needle in an haystack but hopefully i can find it..Your right about the different spellings of the name,from 1850 to present day i have about ten different variations on certificates and other records..Ive also done some research on the name in the Irish Annals and the name appears there as far back as the ninth century(O Connachtain)..Is the Vital records index you mention the second edition version(50126000)?Is it worth ordering?Wondering if the witnesses & sponsors may give us some clues,does it give that info on the disc?Also looked for them on shipping lists between June 1846(first born in Ardcarn)and September1849(2nd son born Stalybridge,Lancashire),but had no luck there..It maybe that Patrick and Catherine didnt follow the naming pattern,thier children certainly didnt.Once again Ed,many thanks for your time and effort..Regards Kevin.