Family History Research

Hello, I was wondering if you could help me with some family history research?

I'm trying to trace my great, great grandparents, Patrick Rogers and Mary Grey/Gray.
I can't seem to find anything about them so far, other than Patrick being an Engineer. But I believe they were Irish.

They apparently went to Liverpool from Ireland on a business trip. While there, Mary Grey bore my great grandmother Mary Anne (or Annie) Rogers 1916, and shortly returned to Ireland. Mary Anne Rogers grew up somewhere on Falls Road in Belfast.

In 1940, she and my great grandfather Michael Joseph Houten married in Greenock, Scotland, at St Patrick's, a Roman Catholic Church. They seemed to live in Greenock, though I can't quite make out the address properly on the document attached, 12 ____ Avenue, Greenock. At this point in time, Mary's parents were stated to be deceased.

Mary was a Domestic Servant and Michael was a Builder, Labourer.
Michael Joseph Houten was born in Carrow Reagh in 1915 to parents James Houten and Mary Doherty.

If you can find anything about them, particularly Patrick Rogers and Mary Grey/Gray, I would be very grateful.
I have exhausted my searches online and am unsure where to search next.

Kind regards,

Catherine Egan

Hi Catherine,

Happy New Year! It's lovely to hear that you already put so much effort into researching your family tree.

Do you have an estimate of the year of birth of your great, great-grandparents?  After 1865, the parish and church records transitioned towards civil records, so this is more likely where you should look. You can have a look at county-based genealogy centers through this page.  I'd suggest checking out the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) in particular since your great-grandmother grew up in Belfast.

Have you tried looking up their names on the John Grenham website? 

Best of luck and let us know how it goes! Hopefully other members will come up with leads or suggestions.

Cheers,
Antoine

My great grandmother Margaret Mary Coleman. Was born in Ireland in 1840.  She left to go to America probably as a child or in her teenage years . How I know this ,because she married a Dennis  Moylan also from Kanturk in Co Cork. They married in a place called Worcester Massachusetts  in 1995. .She came from Ireland that is all it says. Her mothers maiden name was Mary Bowen,and her father's name was Robert Coleman . Both lived in Ireland.I was fostered out in 1940 and never knew ,anything ,until I did  a DNA. .Please if anyone could give me information before it's too late , it would be very much appreciated.

Hi Collette,

Thanks for the post about finding some information about Margaret Mary Coleman. As she was born before 1864, the records would be church/parish records, so the only place to start would be with the National Library of Ireland online records. The records are based on the area in which she would have come from, so without the parish, it will be a tricky journey. Irish Genealogy is another handy website for searching both civil and parish records. You mentioned her husband, Dennis Moylan, came from Kanturk, County Cork, it may be they were from the same area, and either travelled together or met once in America. Perhaps try the Catholic Parish of Kanturk records to find him and possibly Margaret too.

The surname Coleman is popular around Cork and Dublin in particular, so again, records might be available for Margaret. It will be a tricky task without a specific area to focus on; you may also find the census records at the National Archives another source.

Best of luck,
Martin