Letitia Hayes (abt. 1820)

Born about 1820 in Ireland [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Derek Allen [send private message]

Biography

Believed to have married a man named Wheeler. I have found no official record of either her or her marriage and the only record is as below. In fact I am coming to the conclusion that the notice in The Standard may be suspect in several ways. The fact is that it only records six children whilst the Weldon family record lists twelve with no mention of a Letitia. Nonetheless, it is probable that a Letitia did exist in the family somewhere - the Dublin Marriage License index records a William and Letitia Marsh marrying in the city in 1803 which may perhaps suggest how this uncommon name arrived in the Hayes family, William Marsh later acted as godfather to Alicia Hayes. Added to this, my great grandmother, ostensibly her niece also bore the name.

A thought occurs to me that, as the information emanates entirely from Annie Boyd's head, the married name may in fact have been Whelan - much more common in Ireland and particularly in Dun Laoghaire.

The estimated date fills a gap in the run of children produced by Edward and Rebecca.

It is however, also possible that the announcement in the Standard (which presumably came from Annie Boyd's memory) mistakes the name Letitia for Henrietta, Edward and Rebecca Hayes's sixth child. The announcement trots out their first five children (excluding Thomas who is believed to have died young) and the mysterious Letitia. Henrietta would have been the next in line, while the final five children are ignored completely.

Sources

The Standard, 16 June 1891

Dublin Probate and Marriage License Index

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Derek Allen for starting this profile.

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