May I float a few queries to the experts out there? I now have amassed a large amount of data about our family in Cork, including the names and place where most of them lived. But NOT ALL of the data is certain..... My questions are; When considering lists of baptismal sponsors or Godparents - is it safe to assume that these would all be relations? Or might they be neighbours? If one is considering a family name where, say, there were only a handful of people with the same surname in a parish of only 400 people, how likely are these same-name families to be related to each other? The places that I am researching are very small and rural, did most of the inhabitants stay put around the parish - or did they travel? I am talking about the 1830 - 1900 period. If there is an occurrence of one person ( male ) leasing land and buildings in the Griffith's Valuation, and another person ( female ) renting say, a house and garden from them on the same plot, how likely would it be that they were in some way related? I have been told that this is very likely. Your thoughts on these matters would be very welcome, Mary

Mary I see that this mail has gone to Kerry, Cork and Wexford so each of those people on these lists are going to have different ideas for sure but for what its worth probably an ice cream these are mine based on transcribing registers and researching Wexford Wicklow Dublin Carlow and half of Ireland - or is that the all of Ireland ? Godparents are listed in the original RC registers and perhaps they may well be just that from either side of the family Sponsors are just that they could be a sister, a brother a neighbour or the parish clerk, or simply a person they may know via such a place as even a workhouse. I cant tell you enough that if they are rural they travelled to markets boy meets girl she might have been from another county, girl meets boy she may have been from the same town but farms married farms to increase land mass, Old men married young wives to do this, the parish priest was more likely to be the marriage broker in such a marriage The of course there is the single mother in a single mother situation in a workhouse or nuns home for wayward girls , the farmer came to pick a wife and he inherited some other mans child. Sometimes the bride to be was housed with the boys family and should fall pregnant the wedding was just hastened. Well even if they were rural there was oft the son or daughter who joined the ministry, or joined the army they most certainly left the family fold and went on to other counties, even other countries. > If there is an occurrence of one person ( male ) leasing land and > buildings in the Griffith's Valuation, and another person ( female ) > renting say, a house and garden from them on the same plot, how likely > would it be that they were in some way related? I have been told that > this is very likely. I would agree to this they most likely were related even by the common name only, some families for instance BYRNE family name does not always relate to another family of that name. Cara