Ohio Families

John Rourke of Ballintur Townland, County Down, Ireland was baptized on January 19, 1827, likely at home or at Killowen Chapel. He was the son of James Roarke and Nancy Colgan. The sponsors at his baptism were Patrick Doran and Mary Colgan. John’s sister Margaret had been baptized in 1822 and his brother Edward in 1824.[1]When Griffith’s Valuation of Ballintur was taken in 1863, there was no James Rourke in the area, so John’s father had probably died. Instead there is a listing for John’s brother Edward.

I had suspected that John Rourke was living in Edward’s household at the time. The Valuation Revision Books, now at the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI) website seem to confirm that theory.

The first Valuation Revision Book in 1865 shows Edward as tenant on the family property, renting from the Trustees of the Kilmorey Estate. The ‘house, office, and land’ for parcels 23A, 23B, 23C, 23D, 23Ea were valued at 18 Pounds, 15 Shillings.[2]

In 1867 the valuation was split almost equally between Edward and John, with each section valued at a little over 9 Pounds. John Rourke married in 1866. In 1873 it seems that he and Edward split the land between them. John leased parcels 23C and 23Ec, and Edward got 23D and 23Ea.

In 1881 the ownership of the land came into the hands of the Earl of Kilmorney and in 1882 John and Edward Rourke are listed as paying him the judicial rent.[3] In 1883 the value was revised upward slightly. Not much changed regarding the land after that.

A letter from a Peter Doran of Ballintur, dated Dec 28th 1883, to his [unnamed] brother, presumably in America says: “i sold Magee and John Rourke 10 hundred of straw at 2 shillings per hundred”.[4] This could be our John Rourke, as he was the only one by that name in Ballintur. Of course Mr Doran might have taken his wheat farther afield and sold it to a different John Rourke.

As mentioned, John Rourke and Ellen Rogers were married in 1871. The date was October 1, and the location was most likely Killowen Chapel. The priest was named Daniel Mallon and the witnesses were James Magee and Mary Rourke. The record also states that John was a farmer in Ballintur at the time of the marriage, and his father’s name was James. Ellen was of Ballincurry, and her father’s name was William.[5] Witnesses at a marriage are usually close friends and relatives, so John might have had a sister Mary. On the other hand, Ellen Rogers may have had a good friend named Mary Rourke. John and Ellen had four children: James born November 10, 1872; William (January 23, 1874); John (about 1877); and Elizabeth (March 7, 1878).[6] James and William emigrated to the Newburgh section of Cleveland, Ohio.[7] John and Elizabeth remained in Ireland.

The oldest census that has survived is from 1901. John Rourke and his nephew Edward are enumerated after each other in households two and three in Ballintur Townland. John’s age is given as 72 and his wife Ellen’s as 64. Their son John was listed as 24 and their daughter Elizabeth as 20. They were all Roman Catholic, born in County Down. They could all read and write.Their home was a private dwelling with three outbuildings: a stable, a coach house, and a fowl house. The walls were made of either brick or stone and the roof was thatch. There were two rooms in the home, and two windows on the front of the house. This type of house was rated as a third class dwelling. There were four classes and fourth was the lowest.[8]In 1911 the family was still in Ballintur. They had added a cow house to the property, and the elder John had gone deaf. The census information includes the fact that the family spoke only English, and no Irish. Despite the new cow house, the dwelling was still third class.[9]

In 1913 Irish land reform came to Ballintur. The entries in the Revision Book for that year shows that all the property in the Townland was now held “in fee”. This is the legal term for the common form of land ownership we are most familiar with in the British Isles and America.The record for 1913 says that the parcel of land previously rented by John Rourke was now owned by a John Rourke. I don’t know if this is the elder John or his son, since I don’t know when John or his wife Ellen died. There is a record in the Kilkeel District Civil Registration Index of a John Rourke dying in the 1st quarter of 1913 at the age of 85. This could be him. And there is a record in the Kilkeel District Civil Registration Index of an Eilen Rourke dying in the 1st quarter of 1918 at the age of 75. This could be her.

I also don’t know how long their son John lived and remained in Ballintur. Their daughter Elizabeth survived her brother James’ death in 1959 and was named in his death notice. She might be the family member who received my aunt Theresa O’Rourke in the late 1950′s or early 1960′s when she visited Ireland. If so, I think Elizabeth was still living on the family’s property or nearby, since Theresa said the land ran down to the Irish Sea. There are O’Rourke children in some school photos from the 1890′s to the 1920′s on the Killowen History Society website. Some of them may be John and Ellen Rourke’s grandchildren. Some may be Edward and Rose (Fagan) Rourke’s grandchildren. Or, just as easily, they may be from other Rourke families in the area.

Footnotes
1. Kilbroney Church Records, transcribed and emailed by Deidre McEvoy.
2. Images of the Valuation Revision Books, at the Public Records of Northern Ireland (PRONI) website.
3. Return of judicial rents fixed by Sub-Commissions and Civil Bill Courts, notified to Irish Land Commission, September – November 1882, Kilkeel, County Down, transcribed at Raymond’s County Down Website.
4. “Peter Doran, Ballintur, [Co Down?] to ‘Dear Brother’” at the Irish Emigration Database, http://ied.dippam.ac.uk/records/26775
5. Kilbroney Church records (see note 1); Ireland Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958, at familysearch.org.
6. for James and Elizabeth’s births: from filmed records in the International Genealogical Index at familysearch.org. For William: family information, Social Security Death Index. For John: estimated from censuses.
7. See the articles on this site entitled William O’Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland and James O’Rourke, Killowen to Cleveland.
8. 1901 Census images at http://census.nationalarchives.ie for Ballintur Townland, Kilbroney Parish, Killowen District Electoral Division in South Down, Co. Down. (Poor Law Union: Kilkeel).
9. 1911 Census images at http://census.nationalarchives.ie for Ballintur Townland, Kilbroney Parish, Killowen District Electoral Division in South Down, Co. Down. (Poor Law Union: Kilkeel).

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1901 Census images at http://census.nationalarchives.ie
In kilbroney civil parish, Ballintur.
Districts, largest to smallest: Down/South Down/Kilkeel/Killowen/Ballintur

Hsld Name Relation to Head Rel Age Sex Occupation Married? P.O.B.
2 John Rourke Head RC 72 M Farmer M Down
Ellen Rourke Wife RC 64 F Housekeeper M Down
John Rourke Son RC 24 M Farmers Son S Down
Elizabeth Rourke Dau RC 20 F Farmers Daughter S Down

all could read & write

John owned the home.
It was a private dwelling with three out buildings, a stable, a coach house, and a fowl house.
The walls were brick or stone, the roof was thatch.
There were two rooms in the home, and two windows on the front of the house. This all made it
a 3rd class dwelling (on a scale of 1 to 4, with 4 being the lowest.)

John's nephew Edward Rourke was next door, household #3. Thomas Rourke (relation not yet known) was in household #16.

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1911 Census from http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/
Residents of house number 3 in Ballintur (Killowen, Down)
Surname Forename Age Sex
Rourke John 83 Male, farmer, Deaf.
Rourke Ellen 72 Female
Rourke John 30 Male
Rourke Elizabeth 24 Female

John and his wife Ellen were living in the third household enumerated in Ballintur Townland, Kilbroney Parish, Killowen District Electoral Division in South Down, Co. Down. (Poor Law Union: Kilkeel).
John was 83 and Ellen was 72. John was a farmer, and had gone deaf. Their children John, age 30, and Elizabeth, age 24, were with them. Both were single. All in the household were Roman Catholic, and all could read and write. They were all born in County Down and could speak English only (no Irish).
They lived in a private dwelling which John (the father) owned. The walls were stone, brick or concrete, and the roof was thatched, wooden, or some other perishable material. The home had two rooms, with two windows on the front. This made it a third-class home for the census records. On the property was also a stable, a coach house, a cow house and a fowl house.
The first two houses enumerated were owned by Edward Rourke. He rented the first to a Joseph Wright and his family, and lived in the second with two brothers and two sisters. All were single. There was a Thomas Rourke, Francis O'Rourke, Sloans and Fearons on the same page, and other Rourke/O'Rourkes in other townlands in Down.
Source: Images of the 1911 Irish Census, online at www.census.nationalarchives.ie, including reports of homes and buildings.