Brief history

Brief History of Patrick and Bridget McIntyre

Patrick McIntyre (c1831-1901) married Bridget Stevens (c1829-1908) on March 3, 1851 in St. Attracta’s Roman Catholic Church, Toulestrane, County Sligo, Ireland. They had eleven known children. The first five were born in Ireland: Edward (1852-1931); Bartholomew (1854-1924); Mary (1856-1934); Dominick (c1860-1932); and Catherine (1861-1914). Patrick, his wife and five children, left Ireland in 1863 sailing on the SS Orient into New York harbor and finally settling in San Francisco, California where the last six children were born: John Dunn (1864-a1908); Elizabeth (1867-1869); William (1869-1879); James (1871-1874); Thomas (c1874-a1931); and Ellen (1879-1963). Patrick and Bridget homesteaded in Oregon in the 1880s. Patrick died in 1901 and Bridget died in 1908. They are both buried in Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Portland, Oregon.

Patrick's parents, Edward (c1805/6-1881) and Ann McIntyre (c1803/07-1889), both born in Ireland, also came to the US settling in the San Francisco area. From the records, it appears Edward and Ann came a few years before Patrick.


Saturday, August 30, 2014

Lislea, County Sligo, in 1825

The Tithe Applotment Books record the results of a unique land survey taken to determine the amount of tax payable by landholders to the Church of Ireland. This data set represents a virtual census for pre-Famine Ireland. 

The image below is from a microfilm of the original hand written book viewed at the Montreal Public Library in 1998. The front page from the section for Kilmacteige Parish is dated November 1, 1825. Note there are three McIntyres on the list for Leslea (Lislea). 
  • Patrick McEntire occupied 14 Irish acres and the land was taxed at 14 shillings
  • James McIntire occupied 1 Irish acre, 2 perches and the land was taxed at 1 shilling, 6 pence
  • John McEntire occupied 11 Irish acres, 3 rods and the land was taxed at 11 shillings
The note to the right of all the land in Lislea reads:

"Eleven Pounds seven shillings and nine pence the sum applotted on two hundred and eight acres and three perches in the Townland of Lislea as annexed."

From this document, it appears there were 26 heads of household/land occupiers living in Lislea in 1825. They are listed on lines 302 - 327 below. If you double click on the image it will enlarge.

Edward McIntyre (c1806-1881), father of Patrick (1831-1901), would have been approximately 19 years old in 1825 and not very likely to be the occupier of a parcel of land. Could one of these individuals, Patrick, James or John, be the father of Edward?  



Irish Mile vs Statute Mile
  1. An Irish acre is a unit of area historically used in Ireland, Yorkshire, and regions bordering the Solway Firth. One Irish acre is equal to about .66 hectares (1.6 acres) (196⁄121) acre, 6600 square meters, or 70,560 square feet. Source: Wikipedia, accessed August 30, 2014.
  2. Table of Constants
    1 Statute Mile = 1760 Yards
    1 Irish Mile = 2240 Yards
    11 Irish Miles = 14 Statute Miles
    1 Statute Acre = 4840 SQ. Yards
    1 Irish Acre = 7840 SQ. Yards
    121 Irish Acres = 196 Statute Acres
Source: Ordinance Survey Ireland, http://www.osi.ie/Education/Secondary-Schools/Teacher-Resources/Conversions-(1).aspx, accessed August 30, 2014


British Pound, Shilling vs American Dollar

In 1825, one British pound was equivalent to 93 British pounds in 2013. Source: http://safalra.com/other/historical-uk-inflation-price-conversion/

There were 20 shillings to a pound, so one 1825 shilling would be worth 93/20 or $4.65 today. As an example in the above, Patrick paid 14 shillings or the equivalent of 14x4.65 = $65.10 in taxes for his 14 Irish acres.



Information on the Tithe Applotment

Background
The money so raised was for the upkeep of the Church of Ireland, the established church until 1869. The word tithe comes from the Latin for a tenth part, and refers to the custom of paying a tenth of one's earnings to the church. Originally this offering was in kind, but as money increasingly became the determinant of social and economic dealings, the tithe came to be paid similarly. Following the Composition Act of 1823, which decreed that tithes be paid in money, a valuation survey was carried out of each civil parish in Ireland to determine how much each landholder should pay. Over the next fifteen years this survey listed all landholders in a parish.
Assessing the Tithe
The survey was conducted by those who stood to gain from tithes, namely personnel of the Church of Ireland, usually members of the select vestry or apploters appointed by them 'to regulate and sub-divide'. The applotment enumerated each landholder in a parish, with details such as name of townland, size of holding, land-quality and types of crops. The amount of tithe payable by each landholder was based on all of these factors and calculated by a formula using the average price of wheat and oats from 1816-23. Most parishes had at least one tithe survey during from 1820-38 while some had two. Some parts of the country were exempt from paying tithe, among them glebe lands (land occupied by established clergymen), granges (land which in pre-Reformation times had belonged to a monastery) and all towns.
Opposition to Tithes
All this was eminently logical and scientific except for one rather serious snag; the tithe was to be paid by everyone, not just members of the Church of Ireland. Therefore, it was deeply unpopular with Catholics and Presbyterians who had their own clergy and who resented having to support a rival denomination whose members enjoyed more social and economic privileges than they. Furthermore, Catholics and Presbyterians between them outnumbered the established church, the latter being the preserve of those with social and political power. Not surprisingly there were instances of violent resistance, and numerous outbreaks of agrarian unrest in the 1830s were dubbed the 'tithe war'.
The End of Tithes
Tithes were payable directly to the Protestant minister, but collection was often difficult as people held out against the indignity and the financial burden. It should be remembered that all landholders had to pay tithe, and the majority of these were impoverished tenants already faced with heavy rents payable to their landlord. From 1838 on, the tithe was amalgamated with the land-rent and collected by landlords, who then passed on the church's share. This had the double effect of removing the trouble of collection from ministers and also of making payment more likely, given that non-payment of dues to the landlord could lead to eviction. Resentment against tithes festered as one of the ills associated with Ireland's ramshackle landlord system until the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1869. Thereafter this denomination had to raise its own finance in the manner of other churches.
Exceptions
In total the Tithe Applotment Books comprise some 2,000 hand-written volumes of varying degrees of legibility. Even allowing for the exemption of town-dwellers and landless labourers from the survey, it still constitutes the nearest to a census of pre-Famine Ireland that we have - especially in light of the absence of formal census data from this period. As mentioned above, however, it is not comprehensive and some parts of the country were not surveyed. It should not be assumed that these 'exceptions' from the tithe survey were due to parishes being overlooked since there are usually explanations as to why they were tithe-free. In some cases there are no tithe books because a certain parish did not exist, or was part of another parish, at the time of the survey. There were also some parishes outside parochial jurisdiction, such as the above-mentioned granges, while glebe lands and all towns were also exempt. Details of exceptions are provided below. (1)

Source: The Tithe Applotment Books of Ireland, 1823-1838: www.genealogy.com accessed August 29, 2014.

Note: I have copied this blog to the www.mcintyreginty.blogspot.com site as either Patrick, James or John should be Michael McIntyre's father as well.

Friday, August 29, 2014

Bridge at La Toma, El Salvador

Bartolo McIntire, Engineer

Bartolo/Bartholomew McIntire (1854-1924), son of Patrick and Bridget, was an engineer and builder of bridges in Central America, in particular, El Salvador. The bridge at La Toma pictured below was designed by Bartolo and built in the early part of the 20th century.

La Toma was a recreational place with a pool about 30 kilometers away from San Salvador heading north near the properties of the Melendez Family. In that area, there were (and still are) sugar cane plantations. The Melendez Family was a very powerful family in El Salvador with two of its members holding the office of President.  

Bartolo and the Melendez family worked closely together on many projects in El Salvador.

Bridge at La Toma, El Salvador


Reverse side of photo

The text reads:

Puente "La Toma" sobre el río Acelhuate, jurisdicción de Guazapa, San Salvador, construido bajo la dirección del señor Ingeniero Don Bartolo McIntire
Concepción R. de McIntire,  S S junio 14/910

Bridge "La Toma" over the Acelhuate River, jurisdiction of Guazapa, San Salvador, built under the direction of the Engineer Bartolo McIntire 
Concepción R. de McIntire, San Salvador, June 14, 1910

Concepción was the wife of Bartolo.

Sal Bigone, while going through the family "trunk," came across the photo above and graciously shares it with the family. Thank you Sal.  And, a big thank you to Juan José Morales and Patricia Morales Tijerino for transcribing and translating the note on the back of the photo as well as providing some additional commentary.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Death notices for Edward and Ann McIntyre, Parents of Patrick McIntyre

We have pretty good proof that Edward and Ann McIntyre are the parents of Patrick McIntyre. See the post on this blog considering the reasons why at: Possible Parents of Patrick McIntyre? It seems so.

Death notice for Edward McIntyre




MCINTYRE - In this city, March 2, Edward McIntyre, a native of Ireland, aged 75 years.
Source: The San Francisco Examiner, March 4, 1881, page 4.

Death notice for Ann McIntire



MCINTIRE - In this city, February 28, Ann, beloved mother of Patrick McIntire, a native of Ireland, aged 86 years.
Source: The San Francisco Examiner, March 1, 1889, page 5.

Possible Parents of Patrick McIntyre? It seems so.

When Patrick and Bridget's daughter Elizabeth died at 2 years of age in 1869, Patrick bought several graves in Calvary Cemetery, San Francisco, California.  Around 1940, Calvary Cemetery, as were other cemeteries in the city of San Francisco, was emptied to make way for the growth of the city.  Many of the graves in Calvary Cemetery were moved to Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, a suburb of San Francisco.

The remains in the graves that Patrick McIntyre purchased were also removed to Holy Cross in 1940.  In some of the graves little more than dust was found.  The nature of the find when the Calvary graves were dug up, was recorded on "Removal Record" cards.  Many of these cards have been scanned and are viewable on the San Francisco Genealogy website along with images of the original burial register book.

In searching the site, in addition to locating the Removal Records for Elizabeth (2) and William (10) and possibly son James (3), two adults were recorded.








Could Ed and Annie be the parents of Patrick McIntyre? YES!  The argument for:
  • They are obviously related somehow to Patrick, given they share the same last name and are buried in the same plot as Patrick's children. 
  • Given the ages listed, Ed would have been born circa 1806-1807 and Annie would have been born circa 1807-1808, certainly old enough to have a son born in 1831, the believed birth year of Patrick. 
  • From San Francisco City Directories (1861-1883) Edward and Patrick both lived at the corner of Larkin and Francisco between 1863 and 1879.
  • The Irish naming pattern is to name the first son after the Father's Father.  Patrick's oldest son is named Edward. 
  • Ann is listed as the mother of Patrick McIntyre in her death notice dated March 1, 1889 in the San Francisco Examiner.
  • Edward is listed as "married" in the Register of Interments, Calvary Cemetery, San Francisco, California, March 2, 1881.
  • Ann is listed as "widow" in the Register of Interments, Calvary Cemetery, San Francisco, California, February 28, 1889.
Although none of the individual points above is proof that Edward and Annie are the parents of Patrick, the collective information, so far, supports the idea.

Information updated August 21, 2014.