Sunday, May 11, 2014

Allen Blog- Hugh's Story- Part 2- Hugh's Childhood Family



                                         
                                              Hugh Allen


                                    Hugh’s Childhood Family

 My mother’s grandfather, Hugh Allen, was born in Ireland on 3 March, 1834.[1]  His parents, Richard Allen and Margaret Sweeney, had been married in Summerhill Parish, County Meath, in 1825. (The Parish registry below shows Rich Allen and Mag Sweeney and their witnesses.)
2










Hugh grew up in a family of ten children. His eldest sister was Mary, born the year after his parents’ marriage, and eight years older than Hugh. There is little doubt that Mary bore many of the household chores and helped with caring for her nine younger siblings- this was a pattern that existed in the family into my mother’s own upbringing- the girls helped with the inside house work and the boys helped with the outside farm work. Hugh had two older brothers- Franklin (also known as “Frank” or “Francis”) who was five years older, and John, who was just a year older than Hugh. Just a year after Hugh’s birth his younger brother Patrick was born, followed by the birth of four more brothers over the next ten years- Peter, Richard, Thomas, and Edward. This household of eight boys was no doubt a crucial help with the daily farm chores but they also probably consumed a good deal of the product- a challenge during the famine years to come. Finally, in 1847 a baby sister was born- Catherine.3 This was the last child to whom Margaret would give birth.

Date of Baptism
 name
Place
Sponsors
1826
28 May
Mary Allen
Summerhill, Meath
John Reely
Mary Murran
1829
3 February
Franklin C “Francis” Allen
Dangan Parish, Summerhill, Meath
Peter Allen
Mary McCann
1833
20 May
John Allen
Summerhill, Meath
Patrick Gugerly
Rose Maran
1834
3 March (birth)
Hugh Allen
Summerhill, Meath

1835
5 June
Patrick Allen
Summerhill, Meath
Jane
1837
28 June
Peter Allen
Summerhill, Meath
Pat Sweeney
Cate McCan
1839
15 Sept
Richard Allen
Summerhill, Meath
Richard Ruley
Honor Corcoran
1841
22 Nov
Thomas Allen
Dangan Parish, Summerhill, Meath
Thomas McCan
Christine Fitzsimons
1844
4 March
Edward Allen
Summerhill, Meath
Patrick Ruley
Catharine Ruley
21 May 1847
Catherine Allen
Summerhill, Meath
Thomas Murns
Ellen Sweeney

Records of baptisms of the children of Richard Allen and Margaret Sweeney- here we see that they were baptized in the church at Dangan, Parish of Summerhill.

Francis 1829


Thomas 1841


(Similar parish records were available for the other children of Richard Allen and Margaret Sweeney- all but Hugh!)




1- Family History Notebooks

2- Ireland, Selections of Catholic Parish Marriages and Banns 1742-1884 (Ancestry.com)

3- Ireland, Select Catholic Birth and Baptism Registers, 1763-1912



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