So, now that I had found the names of my Irish great-grandparents, using their daughter Mary's (second) marriage certificate and her death certificate, I was then able to find John and Nora's marriage certificate on irishgenealogy.ie. The Irish government has generously digitized thousands of vital records for family historians, at no charge. They continue to upload more as of this writing.
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| Civil marriage record for John Sullivan and Hanora McDonnell retrieved from irishgenalogy.ie. |
With the information on this document, we can learn more about John and Nora, and see them as the real people that they were, living in a certain place, at a certain time.
John was 24 years old when he marriied "Hanora", 19 years old, on October 30, 1870. He was living in "Upper Ballingarry" as was Nora. He was a "labourer" and she was a "farmer's daughter."
Maurice Walsh and Owen McCarthy witnessed the marriage, and they, as well as the bride and groom, signed the document with their "marks," the X's that you see, instead of signatures. Father Timothy McDonnell, the priest who performed the marriage, who was probably a relative of Nora's, was able to put his signature on the document. I am guessing that a priest was required to attend rigorous schooling which included handwriting.
It's curious that both witnesses were male. Why didn't Nora have a friend, a sister, even her mother, attend as her witness?
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