Never let anyone tell you there isn't a little magic and mystery in research.
Last week I shared with you finds made in the revision books of the Valuation Office in Dublin that allowed me to confirm the provenance of Warblestown House, a home that has been in our family for over 150 years. On that research day I went to the office with a list in hand, and specific goals in mind about exactly what I hoped to accomplish. Some of the items were crossed off my list, and some of those goals were met, but then I got distracted.
It was late afternoon, and the office was very quiet, when a deep sigh of frustration bellowed out of the lungs of an elderly gentleman who was sitting at a table behind me, doing research of his own. 'I know the feeling behind that sort of sigh', I said out loud before thinking, adding that I hoped the sound of my camera wasn't disturbing him, since I had been taking photographs shortly before his sigh sounded out. 'No, no, not a t'all', he graciously replied, in a voice that sounded so familiar I nearly fell off my chair when I spun around to see him. Just for a moment I felt as though I was there with my late father, and it was his voice I had heard.
When I had sufficiently recovered myself, we made introductions and struck up a conversation. Tom told me he had been searching in the revision books of the Pembroke West district in Dublin City for the record of a family home. Tom was frustrated because what he had been told — by a cousin even older than him — and what the records revealed were at odds with one another. We chatted for a bit, and then Tom decided to pack it in, talk to his cousin, and try again another day.
Back in 2014, I had searched in exactly the same district as Tom, but in the books of later years, as part of the research included in the post 'Within these walls, the life of a family: 80 years on Gordon Street, Ringsend'. I had found the valuation record confirming that in 1923 my maternal grandparents Patrick Ball and Mary Fitzpatrick Ball were tenants in 69 Gordon Street, Dublin. Beyond the record I had been seeking, I sought out nothing else for Gordon Street at that time.
According to the information I had initially found, in 1923 Patrick Ball was the tenant of Patrick Moran, paying £8 rent for the house at number 69 Gordon Street. Previous tenants are listed as Thomas Sturgeon in 1922, and James Donnelly in 1921. Also, the Irish census shows that James Donnelly and his family were the denizens of 69 Gordon Street in 1911.
Here's the magic and the mystery:
As my fellow researcher Tom approached the service desk to hand in the volume of 1909/1910, and settle out his research costs before leaving for the day, suddenly I felt as though my father was giving me a push and telling me I needed to look at that revision book. I scurried over to the desk and asked if I might have it before they returned it to storage, and they obliged me.
Not focussed on a specific find, I decided to browse through the volume. As I settled on one of the pages for Gordon Street, I came upon a surprising entry.
In the 1910 book, Patrick Ball is listed as the occupier of 69 Gordon Street.
Patrick Ball on Gordon Street in 1910? 'Who is this 'Patrick Ball?', I wondered.
In 1909, I believe, my maternal grandfather Patrick Ball was living with his parents and siblings on Fishamble Street in Dublin. His father, my great-grandfather Francis Ball (son of my 2nd great-grandfather Patrick Ball), died in the infirmary of the South Dublin Union Workhouse, and although Francis' death registration records the place of death as the workhouse, it gives the family address in 1909 as Fishamble Street. (see The Certificate read 'Place of Death: The Workhouse'). The workhouse register shows the Fishamble Street address, and Stafford Street in Dublin as Francis' last addresses, prior to the workhouse infirmary. The Stafford Street address also appears in the record of the Glasnevin burial register.
The census of Ireland shows that in 1911 my grandfather Patrick Ball was living with his siblings, Christopher and Mary, and their widowed mother Jane in Stafford Street, Dublin. Based on the records of Francis Ball, it appears the family moved there in 1909.
Questions, questions, questions:
Is the Patrick Ball living at 69 Gordon Street in 1910 my maternal grandfather?
OR
Is it possible that this Patrick Ball is my 2nd great-grandfather, father of Francis Ball, and my Patrick Ball's grandfather?
(After the fact edit — insert knock on the head here — 2nd great-grandfather Patrick Ball died in 1884, so he could not have been resident in Gordon Street in 1910, at least not in corporeal form.)
OR
Is this Patrick Ball not connected to me at all?
Is it possible that in 1909 my grandfather Patrick Ball was living with his family in Fishamble Street, and then moved to Stafford Street later in 1909, and then in 1910 was the tenant of 69 Gordon Street? Did he move back to Stafford Street in 1911, only to move back into 69 Gordon Street thirteen years later, in 1923, with his wife and baby son in tow? I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
Is it possible? Yes, it is in the realm of possibility, but is it probable?
Is it more likely than not that the Patrick Ball who lived at 69 Gordon Street in 1910 and the Patrick Ball who lived there in 1923 are one in the same?
I'm not so sure about that likelihood.
More research is definitely in order, but I do like a good mystery.
Thanks Dad for being on my mind that day, and giving me a push!
©irisheyesjg2015.
Last week I shared with you finds made in the revision books of the Valuation Office in Dublin that allowed me to confirm the provenance of Warblestown House, a home that has been in our family for over 150 years. On that research day I went to the office with a list in hand, and specific goals in mind about exactly what I hoped to accomplish. Some of the items were crossed off my list, and some of those goals were met, but then I got distracted.
It was late afternoon, and the office was very quiet, when a deep sigh of frustration bellowed out of the lungs of an elderly gentleman who was sitting at a table behind me, doing research of his own. 'I know the feeling behind that sort of sigh', I said out loud before thinking, adding that I hoped the sound of my camera wasn't disturbing him, since I had been taking photographs shortly before his sigh sounded out. 'No, no, not a t'all', he graciously replied, in a voice that sounded so familiar I nearly fell off my chair when I spun around to see him. Just for a moment I felt as though I was there with my late father, and it was his voice I had heard.
When I had sufficiently recovered myself, we made introductions and struck up a conversation. Tom told me he had been searching in the revision books of the Pembroke West district in Dublin City for the record of a family home. Tom was frustrated because what he had been told — by a cousin even older than him — and what the records revealed were at odds with one another. We chatted for a bit, and then Tom decided to pack it in, talk to his cousin, and try again another day.
Back in 2014, I had searched in exactly the same district as Tom, but in the books of later years, as part of the research included in the post 'Within these walls, the life of a family: 80 years on Gordon Street, Ringsend'. I had found the valuation record confirming that in 1923 my maternal grandparents Patrick Ball and Mary Fitzpatrick Ball were tenants in 69 Gordon Street, Dublin. Beyond the record I had been seeking, I sought out nothing else for Gordon Street at that time.
According to the information I had initially found, in 1923 Patrick Ball was the tenant of Patrick Moran, paying £8 rent for the house at number 69 Gordon Street. Previous tenants are listed as Thomas Sturgeon in 1922, and James Donnelly in 1921. Also, the Irish census shows that James Donnelly and his family were the denizens of 69 Gordon Street in 1911.
69 Gordon Street, Ringsend, Dublin: Immediate Lessor: Patrick Moran, Occupiers: James Donnelly, revised to Thomas Sturgeon, 1922, revised to Patrick Ball, 1923. |
As my fellow researcher Tom approached the service desk to hand in the volume of 1909/1910, and settle out his research costs before leaving for the day, suddenly I felt as though my father was giving me a push and telling me I needed to look at that revision book. I scurried over to the desk and asked if I might have it before they returned it to storage, and they obliged me.
Not focussed on a specific find, I decided to browse through the volume. As I settled on one of the pages for Gordon Street, I came upon a surprising entry.
In the 1910 book, Patrick Ball is listed as the occupier of 69 Gordon Street.
Patrick Ball on Gordon Street in 1910? 'Who is this 'Patrick Ball?', I wondered.
In the 1910 book, Patrick Ball is listed as the occupier of 69 Gordon Street. Click on image to view larger version. |
The census of Ireland shows that in 1911 my grandfather Patrick Ball was living with his siblings, Christopher and Mary, and their widowed mother Jane in Stafford Street, Dublin. Based on the records of Francis Ball, it appears the family moved there in 1909.
Questions, questions, questions:
Is the Patrick Ball living at 69 Gordon Street in 1910 my maternal grandfather?
OR
Is it possible that this Patrick Ball is my 2nd great-grandfather, father of Francis Ball, and my Patrick Ball's grandfather?
(After the fact edit — insert knock on the head here — 2nd great-grandfather Patrick Ball died in 1884, so he could not have been resident in Gordon Street in 1910, at least not in corporeal form.)
OR
Is this Patrick Ball not connected to me at all?
Is it possible that in 1909 my grandfather Patrick Ball was living with his family in Fishamble Street, and then moved to Stafford Street later in 1909, and then in 1910 was the tenant of 69 Gordon Street? Did he move back to Stafford Street in 1911, only to move back into 69 Gordon Street thirteen years later, in 1923, with his wife and baby son in tow? I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
Is it possible? Yes, it is in the realm of possibility, but is it probable?
Is it more likely than not that the Patrick Ball who lived at 69 Gordon Street in 1910 and the Patrick Ball who lived there in 1923 are one in the same?
I'm not so sure about that likelihood.
More research is definitely in order, but I do like a good mystery.
Thanks Dad for being on my mind that day, and giving me a push!
The tome of Pembroke West revisions, 1909-1910. |