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| Aghanlish former National School built in 1885 very close to the farm where Rodger lived |
I know
very little about my second great grandfather Rodger McGowan. A baptism record
for his daughter Mary Anne McGowan, my great grandmother, provides his name and
that of his wife Catheline Garry. Based on Mary’s birth I estimate that Rodger
was born about 1820 but I have not found any records to substantiate this date.
I know
that Rodger was Irish – most likely born and died in Ireland. Irish records are
hard to come by and the name McGowan is a very common name in Rossinver Parish where
he lived. In fact, it is by far the most common surname of the top ten surnames
in that parish. Fortunately, there are very few Rodgers, and the only other
Roger spelled his name without the “d”.The land that Rodger farmed is lot 22 in
the middle of this plot map
Rodger and Catheline likely married around 1845 because they had a son John McGowan[1] that was born about 1846. My great grandmother Mary Anne was born February 6, 1851. You can read more about her from my blog poste dated August 9, 2015. Mary had a younger sister Catherine “Kate” McGowan[2] born in June of 1853, and my second cousin Sue Tucker shows two additional girls born in 1852 and 1854.
Catheline
Garry was the daughter of John Garry and his wife Catheline. Daughter Catheline
was baptized on December 4, 1829 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Dublin,
Ireland.[3]
So, I
know that my ancestor was living in Aghanlish townland in 1856 when the
Griffiths valuation was recorded[4].
At that time, the family was living on Lot 22 and Rodger was identified as the
farmer. He held the lease in common with Owen McGuire who was a cottager.
Rodger’s portion of the land contained his house, plus one or more outbuildings
for his animals, pasture and some land for crops that he grew. Owen’s portion
had his house and a vegetable garden.This Google screen shot shows the west half of Rodger's
farm where the house was
Rodger
and Owen leased their land from a landlord named Loftus A. Tottenbam. Records
show that the taxable annual valuation of the land was ten shillings and the
buildings had the same value. The total valuation of taxable property was one
pound – which seems remarkably little.
Aghanlish
townland was in the Rossinver civil parish and the church parish of Kinlough.
Kinlough is part of Leitrim County which is in the barony of Rosclogher and the
poor union of Ballyshannon. All of this is similar to our neighborhood, city,
county, state and country designations except Ireland is much smaller than the
United States. According to Google Ireland is six times smaller than the State
of California – so the divisions are quite small. The townland of Aghanlish is
982 acres.Aghanlish landscape found on Google
Other
McGowans living in Aghanlish when Griffith’s valuation was done include Daniel
McGowan, Thomas McGowan, a Mary McGowan (not my grandmother), Bartholomew
McGowan and Francis McGowan. Some or all may or may not be related to our
Rodger McGowan.
I have
not found a death record, nor any other information about Rodger. Maybe publishing
this blog post will spark some other researcher to find more about this
ancestor.The page of the Griffiths Valuation that lists Rodger
He is the 19th entryThe small square below 23A was Rodger's house
on Lot 22. This map shows the National school.
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| The red outline shows the location of Aghanlish and its proximity to Lough Melvin |
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| Historic map of Kinlough showing the location of the Catholic Church |
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| Map of Ireland showing the location of Kinlough - the small area in red |
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[1]
Source is the Ancestry tree of Sue Tucker.
[2]
Source is the 1900 census.
[3]
Irish Catholic Parish Registers 1655-1915, Register of children baptized at the
Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary’s Parish, Dublin.
[4]
Valuation of Tenements, Parish of Rossinver, Townland of Aghanlish. Rodger is
the 19th person listed on Lot 22.
