The Mystery of Mary Sinnamon

Patrick McAtamney and Mary Sinnamond were married at St. Patrick’s Church in Aghacommon, Seagoe Parish, Co Armagh on 9th October, 1889.

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Patrick was age 19, a weaver from the townland of Kilvergan. He was the son of William McAtamney, a labourer.

Mary said she was of “full age” (she wasn’t), a servant from Kilvergan. Her father was George Sinnamond (dead), a weaver.

An entry in the Seagoe Parish baptisms register reveals that Mary converted from Methodist to Roman Catholic on the day of her marriage to Patrick.

Patrick is noted in the marriage record as having signed his name, and Mary as having made "her mark." It would have been unusual in 1889 for a Methodist to be illiterate.

Patrick and Mary moved their family from Kilvergan to Lurgan, and then to Glasgow (apparently via Hartlepool) as the weaving trade died out. They had three children in Kilvergan, eight in Lurgan, and one more in Glasgow.

Patrick & Mary McAtamney circa 1918

When Mary died in 1922, Patrick gave the name of her father as John Sinnamon, a farmer (deceased), and her mother as Mary Fulton. Her age at death was 46, making her 14 at the time of the marriage (both ages are probably incorrect).

Obviously, Patrick could have been wrong. He likely never met Mary’s father, who was already dead at the time of their marriage.

Or was he? As a Methodist, Mary’s father may have disapproved of her underage marriage to a Catholic. Mary may have misstated his name and mortal status, along with her age.

On the other hand, Patrick and Mary weren’t (ahem) obliged to marry quickly. Their first child, Isabella, was born 9 months and 20 days after the wedding.

Moreover, the fact that Mary was illiterate and a servant supports the idea that her father had died while she was young. It’s quite likely that she was not from Kilvergan.

Unfortunately, very few Methodist records are available online, and there is no trace of George or John Sinnamon, or of Mary Fulton. 

For an added twist, Mary’s eldest son, Thomas James, referred to his mother on more than one occasion as Mary Chambers. There’s no trace of her either.

I recently took an Ancestry Autosomal DNA test, and matched with 3rd and 4th cousins who are descended from the Sinnamon family. Their distant ancestors are:

• Benjamin James Sinnamon, born 6th March 1836 in Portadown, Co. Armagh.

• Rachel Sinnamon, born 1853 in Tartaraghan, Co. Armagh.

Their more recent Sinnamon ancestors are from Ballyfodrin and Cornamucklagh in Drumcree Parish, which is adjacent to Seagoe Parish.

During my recent trip to Ireland, I spent a day at the Public Records Office (PRONI) in Belfast, sifting though Methodist registers from around Lurgan. I found nothing.

Mary’s birth is a veritable “brick wall.”