The Prolificacy of Eugene

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic church was constructed in Aghacommon from 1829 to 1832, following Catholic Emancipation, and registers from 1836 onward recorded baptisms, marriages, and burials.

Like many young couples of their time, Eugene McAtamney and his wife Betty (née Hennan) were frequent visitors to the chapel.

Catherine 1842

There's no record of Eugene's and Betty's marriage. It was common for couples to marry at the bride's home parish, and Betty may have come from elsewhere. It's also possible that they married prior to the start of Seagoe marriage registration.

Over the years, Eugene and Betty baptised ten children:

1. William 1837
2. Henry 1839
3. Catherine 1842
4. Elisa 1844*
5. Thomas 1846
6. Eleanor 1849
7. James 1851
8. Elisabeth 1854
9. Eugene 1856
10. Francis 1858

Betty died in 1864, shortly after civil registration was introduced in Ireland. Her death record indicates that she died of a fever at 50 years old (born about 1814). Her Rank or Profession was "Wife of Eugene McAtaminy" and present at her death was their daughter Catherine.

Eugene remarried in 1868. The civil record of his marriage to Mary Ann Walsh describes him as aged 50 (born about 1818), a widower and a farmer. His father was William, also a farmer. The father of the bride, Arthur Walsh, was a long-term neigbour at Aghacommon. Eugene's daughter Catherine made her mark as a witness.

Over the years, Eugene and Mary Ann registered and/or baptised another ten children:

1. Arthur 1869*
2. John 1870*
3. John 1872
4. Mary Ann 1875
5. Patrick 1878-1878
6. Margaret 1879
7. Charlotte 1882
8. Alice 1885
9. Arthur 1887-1889
10. Ellen 1891

When Ellen was born in 1891, her eldest brother William was aged about 54.

Eugene died in 1892 of Bronchitis and Apolexy. His age was recorded as 58, although he was probably about 74.

Mary Ann remarried about a year later, but died of Bronchitis herself in 1895. This 1901 census shows her youngest children scattered amongst their older siblings and other relatives.

It goes without saying that Eugene wins the McAtamney Prize for Most Prolific.

The children marked with an asterisk (*) in both these lists did not appear in later parish or civil records (marriages, deaths, burials, or births of their own children). And of course, the reuse of a name means that a child had died.

It was not customary to hold funerals for children - they were simply buried in the family plot at the cemetery - so burial records typically don't exist for them, even into the 20th century.

And in the early days of the start of civil registration, it was not uncommon for parents to skip civil registration of children who died, although baptism was of the utmost importance. Registration of children who lived was frequently delayed, and the records are full of children who were ostensibly baptised days before they were born.

Aghacommon 1819

Freeholders' Registers

We know from the Freeholders’ Registers between 1813 and 1826 that Felix and William McAtamney held leases in Aghacommon, and that Felix died in about 1825.

The registers also mention Phelemy and John McAtamney, and may possibly refer to William Jr.

A later Freeholders' Register mentioned a lease dated September 29th, 1835, held by Thomas McAtamney who would, presumably, have been an adult.

Parish Registers

St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic church in Aghacommon from kept Parish Registers from 1836 onward, which included marriages of people named McAtamney who would have been born around 1819.

• Catherine, born 1812, who married John McAlinden in 1839.
• Patrick, born about 1816, who married Catherine O'Neill in 1837.
• William, born about 1816, who married Isabella Carvill in 1840.
• Jane, born about 1817, who married John McGinnis in 1838.
• Mary Ann, born about 1817, who married James Rooney in 1838.
• Eugene, born 1818, who married Betty Hennan before 1836.
• John, born about 1819, who married Sally Hendran in 1840.
• Margaret, born about 1820, who married John Savage in 1841.

To approximate the year of birth, we assume that people were of "full age" (i.e., 21 or older) at the time of their marriage. In some cases, we have civil death records that give the age at death.

The burials register includes several people named McAtamney who would probably have been around in 1819.

• Peggy (Margaret), who was buried in 1837.
• Harry (Henry), who was buried in 1841.
• Jane, who was buried in 1843.
• Sally, who was buried on 17th May 1847.
• Thomas, who was buried on 5th December 1847.

The register did not record ages, but we can assume these people would have been adults, as it was not customary to hold funerals for children.

The Parish Registers also recorded sponsors or witnesses, and include a few McAtamney names:

• Margaret, at the 1841 baptism of Margaret, daughter of John & Sally Hendran.
• Bernard, at the 1843 baptism of Jacob Mark Rooney.

Again, we assume these people would have been of "full age" and born at least 21 years prior to these events.

At first glance, one might infer that Margaret was the same woman who married John Savage; however, the baptism took place on 6th November, 1841 while the marriage took place on 8th January, and Margaret McAtamney became Margaret Savage.

Connecting the Dots

Betty Hennan died in 1864, and Eugene remarried in 1868. From the civil record of his marriage to Mary Ann Walsh, we know not only his age, but the name of his father, William, a farmer in Aghacommon. It's reasonable to conclude that this was the William mentioned in the Freeholders' Registers.

It is tempting to implicate William in every birth in Aghacommon around that time, but there were other McAtamney men in the townland: Felix and Phelemy were mentioned in the Freeholders' Registers, as was John who possibly assumed Felix's lease; they may have been William's brothers. The same goes for Henry, who died in 1841.

Later records shed light on the family relationships. The consanguineous marriage of Eugene's daughter Catherine to John's son Felix makes it clear they were at least cousins, if not double cousins. From this, we can infer that William was also John's father, and that John was one of the people listed in William's 1826 lease.

The other people mentioned in the lease were William and Phelemy. William may have been referring to himself, but it would have been odd - and inconsistent - to list himself second. The reader is welcome to infer that William was another of William's sons.

As for Phelemy, there's really no indication of who he was. The same goes for Felix, who may have been William's father or his brother, and all of the remaining names in the Parish Registers. As we continue to research, perhaps we'll uncover more information about these people.