Philip O'Brien

I am looking for any information on my 3rd great grandfather, Philip O'Brien, born on 15 (or maybe 18) August 1826, in Cork (possibly Galway?). 

He arrived in South Africa some time between 1847 and 1850 as a young single man. I believe he was possibly a carpenter. He met his wife in South Africa, a woman called Geertruida Elisabeth Younger and they had 11 children. Some of Philip's offspring fought in the Boer War against the English, whilst others perished in one of the concentration camps. 
My own great grandfather, also Philip, survived the camp as a 12 year old and later on fathered my grandmother. 

I would love to find some irish records on him and confirmation of who his parents were. I think they might have been Thomas O'Brien and Mary Murphy. 

I also believe that his brother went to Africa too, whilst his sister went to Australia. His brother, however, went back to Ireland. Philip died in South Africa in 1903.

I am really struggling to find any Irish records on him and I am really hoping somebody can point me in the right direction. Why did he go to Africa? Did he choose South Africa? I believe there was no mass migration to South Africa from Ireland during that period. Did he leave because of the famine? Who was his sister? (The one who went to Australia - I now live in Australia too). 

Any help will be much appreciated. I am going to Ireland for Christmas and I would love to go to the town/city where Philip is from and connect with my Irish roots and show my children where they come from.

Hi Philip,

It would be helpful to know the children's names, in order to establish naming patterns that were prevalent with the Irish. Why do you think his parents were Thomas and Mary Murphy?  It seems the first child would be after his father or Patrick? 

He most likely was enlisted by the English to go fight and establish some of the first towns there. The wars, 9 of them, called the Xhosa Wars. They preceded the Boer War. I find no military records, however, listing Philip O'Brien. Did he have a middle name? They would have enlisted to fight as it provided income. It would be worth going through the military records of the time. 

I'm not sure this is much help. I did find your Ancestry file and looked to see your research, but if you could expand the siblings and children, it would help you establish the naming patterns.  First Boy, Father's father's name, Second, her Father's name, first girl, after the mother's mother etc etc. Include any children that died as well. 

Let us know how you are tracking and if we can add anything to the research! 

Ginger 
timetraveltours.com

Hi Vasti, 

It's so exciting that you are visiting us this Christmas, and it would be lovely if you could find out more about your roots on the island. :)

As Ginger already mentions, along with the other very helpful information about the Boer War, it would be great if you knew some of the names of Philip's children. This gives us more to pinpoint him on. 

Before 1864 records were kept in the form of church and parish records; while some of these have regrettably been lost over the years, all the surviving records have been sorted into county-based genealogical centres. Once we know where he might be from, we can inquire at the genealogy centres in that county for more information as well. :)

What do you have planned for your time here during Christmas? I'm always happy to provide you with more tips and suggestions for this wonderful time of year as well.

Thank you so much. We are going to spend some time in County Mayo with my in-laws. 

I am going to do some more research and see if I can find out more about Philip. 
 I really appreciate your help. Hopefully I can give an update soon.
Some tips would be handy :-) 

Hi Ginger,

Thank you for the tips. I never knew about the way the Irish named their children. I did notice that some of the names even include the mother's maiden name as a middle name.

I think Philip's parents were Thomas and Mary because I got that information from a 4th cousin. Philip is a forefather for her too. She doesn't have any documents to proof this.

I am going to search for Philip's other children. I can see that will help a lot.

I really appreciate your help.

Hi Vasti, 

Thanks so much for your reply! Spending Christmas in Mayo sounds absolutely wonderful. I always try to make a stop at Westport when I'm in the area. :) Will you be exploring the county, as well as other areas while you're here? 

There are quite a few Christmas markets on the island, and you can read more about it in this other thread. How long will you be staying on the island? 

I hope you're able to find out more about Philip with the help of Ginger's tips, and we're always here if there is anything you need! 

No problem! Happy to help! You can email me offline info@timetraveltours.com   I'm in Mayo doing research work. :-) 

The naming patterns are very important and really the only clue as to who might belong to whom!  Let us know how you do! 

Ginger

Here's a good explanation for naming patterns. 

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Ireland_Names_Personal 

Happy Hunting! 
Ginger