Henry Dodd (bef. 1836 - 1927)

Born before 1836 in Knockanillaun, County Mayo, Ireland

Husband of Mary (O'Hora) Dodd — married 27 Feb 1870 in Ardagh, County Mayo, Ireland

Descendants

Died 9 Oct 1927 after age 91 in Rathbal, Knockanillaun, County Mayo, Ireland

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Biography

Henry Dodd was born in the townland of Rathbal in the parish of Ballysakeery, Ballina, County Mayo. He was the son of John Dodds and Mary Gillespie. His year of birth is not recorded, but he was probably born about 1835.

In the late 1840s, the height of the Famine in North Mayo, his mother, brother and sister emigrated to Iowa, where his uncles Anthony and Edward Gillespie were already established. There is no record of his father in US or later Irish records, so it is likely that he died before they left. Henry is not recorded with the family in the 1850 US Census, so it is likely that he remained in Ireland.

Griffith's Valuation records Henry Dodds in Rathbal in 1856, occupying the holding marked 22a (land, house and office)^[1]. He also has land in Bunaneraghtish^[2], which adjoins his Rathbal holding.

This appears to be the same Henry Dodd who died in Rathbal in 1927: the Valuation Office Revision Books record no change in tenancy/ownership from the original valuation in 1856 until after his death. In 1931 the land at Bunaneraghtish is transferred to Eugene Dodd, husband of his granddaughter Mary Patricia; in 1932 both the Bunaneraghtish and Rathbal holdings are transferred to William Bourke^[3].

Henry Dodds is recorded as the father of an illegitimate child, John, born on 24 April 1866 in Slieveclaur, a sub-townland of Rathbal; the mother is recorded as Mary Munnelly. He did not marry Mary Munnelly as he is recorded as a bachelor in his marriage register entry in 1870. There is no subsequent definitive record of John or his mother and it is not known if he used the name Dodds or Munnelly.

He married Mina O'Hora of Bunaneraghtish on 27 February 1870 in Ardagh Church; witnesses are recorded as Michael Alinchin and Catherine O'Hora^[4]. They had 10 daughters: Lizzie, Mary, Nellie, Lucy, Hannah, Bea, Maggie, Catherine, Úna and Sarah Ann.

He is recorded in the 1901 Census in Rathbal with his wife and 7 of their daughters^[5]; Catherine had died in 1890 aged 3 and Mary and Nellie are enumerated in Oldcastle, County Meath. In 1911 he is recorded with his wife and 2 of their daughters^[6]; Lizzie, Mary, Maggie and Úna are enumerated in Dublin; Nellie is enumerated in Clonmel, and Lucy and Bea have emigrated to America.

He died in Rathbal on 9 October 1927^[7]. His burial location is not recorded.

Research Notes

• Birth: age at death is recorded as 80 in 1927, but being born in 1847 would make him too young to be a landholder in 1856, when he is recorded in Griffith's. The 1901 Census and 1911 Census put his year of birth as 1847 and 1842 respectively, and he is recorded as of "full age" on marriage in 1870. His brother William was born about 1843 and his sister Maria in 1845, so it is likely that Henry was the oldest (or oldest surviving) child and was left behind to look after his grandparents, which was a common feature of Famine emigration.
• Name: earlier records - Griffith's, marriage and the births of his 8 oldest children - use the spelling Dodds; in later records - the births of his 3 youngest children and the 1901 and 1911 Census - the spelling Dodd is used. Henry himself could not write, so it may be that the change from Dodds to Dodd was down to how the name was recorded by clerks. His death register entry records his surname as Dodd, and this is the spelling also used by his daughters.
  
  There is no connection between the Dodd/Dodds family of Rathbal and the two other Dodd families recorded in Ballina town and in Nure, Knockanillaun at the same time. The Ballina and Nure families originated in Riverstown, County Sligo, but coincidentally Henry Dodd's granddaughter married into the Nure family.

Sources

1. ↑ Griffith's Valuation. Ireland. Rathbal, Parish of Ballysakeery, Poor Law Union of Ballina, Barony of Tirawley, County Mayo. 1856. Henry Dodds. Holding 22a (land, house & office). National Library of Ireland, Dublin. AskAboutIreland: Griffith's Valuation.
2. ↑ Griffith's Valuation. Ireland. Bunaneraghtish, Parish of Ardagh, Poor Law Union of Ballina, Barony of Tirawley, County Mayo. 1856. Henry Dodds. Holding 1 (land). National Library of Ireland, Dublin. AskAboutIreland: Griffith's Valuation.
3. ↑ Valuation Office Revision Books. Ireland. County Mayo. Valuation Office, Dublin.
4. ↑ Marriage Registers. Ireland. Ballina Registration District, County Mayo. 27 February 1870. Henry Dodds and Mary O'Hora. Group ID 2736008. Vol 4, p29, 27. General Register Office, Dublin. IrishGenealogy.ie: Register Image.
5. ↑ Census Returns. Ireland. Rathbal, Fortland DED, County Mayo. 31 March 1901. House 10. Henry Dodd. National Archives of Ireland, Dublin. National Archives: Census Page.
6. ↑ Census Returns. Ireland. Rathbal, Fortland DED, County Mayo. 2 April 1911. House 10. Henry Dodd. National Archives of Ireland, Dublin. National Archives: Census Page.
7. ↑ Death Registers. Ireland. Ballina Registration District, County Mayo. 9 October 1927. Henry Dodd. Group ID 1685693. Vol 4, p9, 211. General Register Office, Dublin. IrishGenealogy.ie: Register Image.