James McILVENNY and his wife Martha can first be found in the 1871 census (RG10, piece 5113, folio 91, page 7) with their son, 4-month-old Michael. By 1881, son James had arrived. James (Snr) hails from Ireland, whilst Martha is from Longbenton, in the North Shields area of Northumberland. I have searched high and low for a marriage for these two, but to no avail. Using the GRO, I thought to check out the births of the boys to discover Martha's maiden name. No luck. The transcriptions for the maiden name for Martha are: Michael (McVaney) December Q, 1870, Tynemouth, 10b, 161 - WOOLD James (McIlvaney) June Q, 1872, Tynemouth, 10b, 165 - WALL Whilst I realise that ordering the two birth certificates may help, I was also wondering if the Top Dog super sleuths could also lend a hand. It does not help that the name McILVENNY can appear in many and varied ways... Thanks,
You little cracker! Thank you! Hall, Woold, Wall - yep, the writing is probably appalling on the certificates.
Ah yes, there's a baptism on FMP: Martha Hall daughter of John & Eleanor. Baptised Longbenton 30 June 1844.
Of course I missed this... everything was happening in the Tynemouth RD. Never thought to check elsewhere.... doh!
