The John and Margaret (Maiden Name likely Meehan) Brennan Family: An Analysis of John's origins in Foughill, County Roscommon, Ireland and his Journey Through Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Burton Upon Trent, Staffordshire and finally to Huddersfield, Yorkshire England
John Brennan was born about 1859 in Foughill, a Townland in Castlereagh Barony, Kilkeevin Civil Parish, County Roscommon, Ireland. Foughill was a townland of 527 acres when the Griffith's Valuation was conducted in the mid 19th century. The 1911 England Census for John in Huddersfield, Yorkshire England indicates that he was born in Foughill, Ireland, wife Maggie in Burton on Trent, Staffordshire, three children in Nottingham (John Henry, Mary Cecelia and Annie) and sons William, Thomas and James in Huddersfield. Niece Cecelia Meehan is living with them.
The amazing research compiled on the Irish in England by great authors like Donald Macraid, Roger Swift, Donald E Jordan Junior, Sheridan Gilley, Kevin O'Connor, John Belchem, Frank Boyce and L. W. Brady among others seems to support repeated migration trails from certain counties in Ireland to certain places in England. The Brennan families that I have traced thus far in Huddersfield (18) hail from the Connacht Counties of Mayo, Roscommon, Galway and Sligo.
It is my objective to try to see if there was a common ancestral trail followed from specific parishes in these counties to the same places in West Yorkshire, England such as Huddersfield, Leeds, Bradford and Halifax Yorkshire and other counties with substantial Irish immigrants from Mayo and Roscommon as well. I am hoping to link the Brennan families in the Mayo/Roscommon Microfilm records with families I identify in the england census records with the help of other genealogists so that we might find out how we are all connected! Microfilm research in Mayo/Roscommon church records has shown me how limited many of the earlier records are. I believe that this path may be the best hope many of us have for actually finding our Townlands of origin in Mayo and Roscommon.
I would love to hear from other researchers who feel they are descendents of the Mayo and Roscommon Brennan families who settled in (or passed through) Yorkshire West Riding Parishes like Huddersfield, Leeds, Halifax, Bradford and Wakefield so that we might work together to discover how these families are connected and their specific origins in Ireland! This will most definitely be a work in progress and all findings I speculate on would have to be proven for accuracy with GRO of England marriage records, church baptismal records and death records among other genealogical records. Please use this information with that caveat in mind so that nothing is assumed and no stones are left unturned to assure it's your family and the connection is accurate.
Research Observations: The big question is where is the marriage record for John Brennan and Margaret Meehan (if that truly is her maiden name)? They appear to have been married in 1885. A Margaret Meehan age 6 is living with her parents on New Street, District 5 of the 1871 Burton Upon Trent Census and again on High Street age 16 in the Burton on Trent Census as a Domestic Servant. After a fairly exhaustive search of the Free BMD I am unable to locate a marriage record for them in England. Of interest is that Thomas Boyle and his family (whose parents witnessed my second great grandparents marriage in 1849 at St Patrick's Church, Huddersfield) is on the same census page as John and Maggie in 1891 on Windsor Court (the same Court my grandparents lived on).
| Census Yr, District or other Record | Address | Name | Age | Born | Occupation; Misc. Info. | Marital Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free BMD England Birth Index- Nottingham (Possible birth record for son John) | Brannan, John Henry born quarter ending September 1885 Nottingham | Volume 7b, Page 829 | ||||
| Free BMD England Birth Index Nottingham (Possible Birth record for daughter Mary Cecelia) | Brannan, Mary Cecelia born quarter ending March 1887 Nottingham | Volume 7b, Page 351 | ||||
| Free BMD England Birth Index Nottingham (Possible birth record for Daughter Maggie) | Brennan, Maggie born quarter ending March 1889 Nottingham | Volume 7b, Page 349 | ||||
| Free BMD England Birth Index Nottingham (Possible birth record for Daughter Annie) | Brennan, Annie born quarter ending March 1890 Nottingham | Volume 7b; Page 360 | ||||
| Free BMD England Birth Index Huddersfield (Possible Birth record for Son William) | Brennan, William born quarter ending December 1895 Huddersfield | Volume 9a, Page 303 | ||||
| Free BMD England Birth Index Huddersfield (2 Possible Birth records for son Thomas) | Brennan, Tom born quarter ending September 1898 Huddersfield | Volume 9a, Page 316 or Thomas Brennan born the same quarter 9a, 329; | ||||
| Free BMD England Birth Index Huddersfield (2 possible birth records for James) | Brannan, James born quarter ending September 1901 Huddersfield | Volume 9a, Page 336 or James Stephen Brennan 9a, 287 same quarter | ||||
| 1891 England Census Yorkshire Huddersfield District 22 | 9 Windsor Court | Brennan, John, Head | 32 | Ireland | General Laborer | M |
| 1891 England Census Huddersfield District 22 | 9 Windsor Court | Brennan, Maggie, Wife | 25 | Burton On Trent, Staffordshire, England | M | |
| 1891 England Census Huddersfield District 22 | 9 Windsor Court | Brennan, John, Son | 5 | Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England | ||
| 1891 England Census Huddersfield District 22 | 9 Windsor Court | Brennan, Mary, Daughter | 4 | Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England | ||
| 1891 England Census Huddersfield District 22 | 9 Windsor Court | Brennan, Maggie, Daughter | 2? | Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England | ||
| 1891 England Census Huddersfield District 22 | 9 Windsor Court | Brennan, Anne, Daughter | 1 | Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England | ||
| 1901 England Census Yorkshire Huddersfield District 8 | 67 Dock Street | Brennan, John, Head | 40 | Roscommon, Ireland | Mason's Laborer | M |
| 1901 England Census Huddersfield District 8 | 67 Dock Street | Brenann, Margaret, Wife | 35 | Burton On Trent, Staffordshire, England | M | |
| 1901 England Census Huddersfield District 8 | 67 Dock Street | Brennan, John L, Son | 15 | Nottingham, England | Cotton Doffer | U |
| 1901 England Census Huddersfield District 8 | 67 Dock Street | Brennan, Mary C, Daughter | 14 | Nottingham, England | Woolen Doffer Worker | U |
| 1901 England Census Huddersfield, District 8 | 67 Dock Street | Brennan, Maggie, Daughter | 12 | Nottingham, England | U | |
| 1901 England Census Huddersfield District 8 | 67 Dock Street | Brennan, Annie, Daughter | 11 | Nottingham, England | U | |
| 1901 England Census Huddersfield District 8 | 67 Dock Street | Brennan, Thomas, Son | 5 | Huddersfield, England | U | |
| 1901 England Census Huddersfield District 8 | 67 Dock Street | Brennan, James, Son | 2 | Huddersfield, England | U | |
| 1901 England Census Huddersfield District 8 | 67 Dock Street | Brennan, William, Son | 1 | Huddersfield, England | U | |
| 1911 England Census Yorkshire Huddersfield District 5 | 71 Dock Street | Brennan, John, Head | 52 | Foughill, Ireland | Mason's Laborer- Builder | M; 26 years with 11 children, 4 died |
| 1911 England Census Huddersfield District 5 | 71 Dock Street | Brennan, Maggie, Wife | 46 | Burton On Trent, Staffordshire, England | M; 26 years with 11 children 4 died | |
| 1911 England Census Huddersfield District 5 | 71 Dock Street | Brennan, John Henry, Son | 25 | Nottingham, England | Mason's Laborer | U |
| 1911 England Census Huddersfield District 5 | 71 Dock Street | Brennan, Mary Cecelia, Daughter | 24 | Nottingham, England | Worsted Winder Cloth Frame Worker | U |
| 1911 England Census Huddersfield District 5 | 71 Dock Street | Brennan, Annie, Daughter | 21 | Nottingham, England | Worsted Refiner- Waster? Blender Machine | U |
| 1911 England Census Huddersfield District 5 | 71 Dock Street | Brennan, William, Son | 16 | Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England | Apprentice in Iron Foundry | U |
| 1911 England Census Huddersfield District 5 | 71 Dock Street | Brennan, Thomas, Son | 12 | Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England | School | |
| 1911 England Census Huddersfield District 5 | 71 Dock Street | Brennan, James, Son | 10 | Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England | School | |
| 1911 England Census Huddersfield District 5 | 71 Dock Street | Meehan, Cecelia, Niece | 19 | Stockport, Cheshire, England | Domestic Servant | U |
| Free BMD England Death Index Huddersfield (Possible death record for Margaret?) | Brennan, Margaret died at age 75 quarter ending June 1940 Huddersfield | Volume 9a, Page 935 | ||||
| Free BMD England Death Index- Huddersfield (Possible Death record for John) | Brennan, John age 93 died quarter ending March 1952 Huddersfield | Volume 2b; Page 828 |