My Old Ohio Home

1908 postcard, Lizzie Boyd to William Boyd

On July 21, 1908, a postcard was sent to William Boyd of Edendoit, Pomeroy, County Tyrone, Ireland, from his daughter Elizabeth in Philadelphia. It read:

Dear Father,
I hope this will find you all well at home as we are all here. We were all in Joe's on last Sunday and had a very nice day and thought of you all. Love to all.
From your loving daughter,
Elizabeth

What can we learn about Elizabeth "Lizzie" Boyd and her family?

The Emigrants

Let's start with Lizzie's voyage to America. She left Londonderry, Ireland, early in March 1907 aboard the SS Furnessia with her older brother Thomas, and arrived in New York on March 13, 1907. Their destination was their brother Joseph's home at 1911 Annin Street, Philadelphia. (Joseph had arrived with his sister Mary Jane "Minnie" Boyd in April 1906, headed for the home of their uncle, Robert Carrick, on Old York Road, Philadelphia.) Eventually all of the eight Boyd children emigrated to Philadelphia between 1906 and 1923.

I didn't find Elizabeth Boyd in the 1910 census, but I'm pretty sure that in 1920 she was working as a servant in the Elmer Glendwinning household in Philadelphia. She married Charles Burst about 1921 and had two children. She died in 1984.

Here is quick look at the other children, all in the Philadelphia area:

• Thomas died November 22, 1967. I don't know if he married or not.
• Joseph Boyd and Sarah Greeley had three children before Sarah's death in 1923. Joseph, with three children under 11, married Hannah Naye two years later. Joseph, Sarah and Hannah are all buried in Northwood Cemetery, Philadelphia.
• Mary Jane Boyd married John Crozier in early 1910 and raised a family of three in Philadelphia.
• Robert arrived last, in 1923, eventually married a woman named Annie, and died in May 1985.
• I found the least information about George. He died sometime after he registered for the draft in 1942.
• Eleanor and Florence never married and both died in the Philadelphia area in 1987.

The Boyds

Meanwhile back in Ireland, the 1911 Census shows us William Boyd, age 62, and his wife Sarah Carrick, 60, occupying house 22 in Edendoit, Pomeroy Parish, Tyrone. With them are three children: Robert, George, and Florence. The Boyds had been in Edendoit since 1891, previously living in Creeve Townland, also in County Tyrone.

William's father, Thomas, may have been in Moree Townland before that, from at least 1860 (Griffith's Valuation) to 1868, at which point he appears to have moved to Creeve. At his death in 1876 the farm in Creeve passes to a Mary Boyd, possibly his wife, who held it until 1891, when the family moved to Edendoit. Even earlier, there is a William Boyd in Moree on the Tithe Applotment Lists, taken in 1825, who may be Thomas's father.

The Carricks

Sarah Carrick was born about 1861, likely in Drumconor Townland, County Tyrone, the oldest known daughter of Charles Carrick and Mary Jane Twinam. Her siblings include Robert as mentioned above, William John (b 1860), Mary Jane (b February 1863),(footnote)All the information on this site about Elizabeth Carrick came from the Little Web Site at myheritage.com, as well as from corresponding information at familysearch.org, provided by the same researcher. an unnamed son (b 1864), Elizabeth (b April 1866), and an earlier Robert (b 1868, d 1869).

The Carricks had been in Drumconor since at least 1860 when Charles' father William is listed on Griffith's Valuation. But I didn't find them there on the Tithe Applotment Lists, which were taken in Drumconor in 1825. When William died in 1867, his wife Mary Jane took over the farm; it passed to their son William John at her death in 1882.

I've requested the marriage record of Mary Jane Twinam and Charles Carrick (February 21, 1856, Seagoe Parish) from the GRO. When I receive it, I will update this article. I hope to track the Twinam family back a little farther.

Updated January 2019

The marriage record of Charles Carrick and Mary Jane Twinam reads as follows:

Marriage solemnized at the parish church in the Parish of Seagoe, County Armagh
21 February 1856
Charles Carrick, 25, bachelor, farmer, residence: Drumconnor Townland, of Desertcrate [Desertcreat] Diocese of Armagh. father: William Carrick, a farmer.
Mary Twinam, 22, spinster, farmer, residence: Lylo Townland of Seagoe. father: Leonard Twinam, a farmer.
witnesses: William Ward, John Walker

Which tells us a few things. First, that the Carricks were in Drumconor Townland in 1856, but more importantly, that Mary Jane Twinam's family was from Lylo Townland.

There were two men named Leonard Twinain on the Tithe Applotment Books of Armagh, taken in 1834:

Twinain, Leonard - Townland: Knocknamenagh
Twinain, Leond. - Townland: Lylo

Based on the marriage record, Mary Jane's father is the one in Lylo.

To trace back the family any further, a person would need to look at the parish records for the Church of Ireland in Seagoe Parish for baptism records of Mary Jane and her siblings, a marriage record for her parents, etc. These parish records are available for research at PRONI in Belfast. One reference says there is a limited coverage of these records on rootsireland.ie.

Conclusion

This was the first postal cover I've worked on that was sent from America back to Ireland, usually it is the other way around. That made it much easier, obviously, to find the place of origin for the Boyds. Detailed sources and more information on the Boyds and Carricks are in the Other Families tree on this site.