Matthius Heery

What did the census for 1861 show?

Matthius Heery was our great‑great‑grandfather, born soon after the start of the nineteenth century.  He was registered as 55 years of age in 1861, but at this time ages in the census were rounded up or down to the nearest five. (His death certificate, which we were subsequently able to trace, states that he was 60 years of age when he was buried on 14 December 1862, giving a date of birth of 1802.)  His place of birth was registered as Kilskyre, Ireland.  His name in the census return is clearly written as 'Matthius' although in subsequent records he is called 'Matthew'.  We call him 'Matthius' because it helps to distinguish him from all the other Matthew Heerys.            

Mostly the census‑taker simply entered 'Ireland' in the column headed 'Place of birth', but fortunately for us this census‑taker was a bit more conscientious and wrote in 'Kilskyre'.

Matthius was a dock labourer. He is described as a 'widower' in the census, but we have been unable to discover when his wife, Mary Kelly, died, nor anything else about her other than that she came from Meath.   He probably came over to Liverpool some time around 1855/56. His address is recorded as '281 Vauxhall Road' where he lived with his son, James, (our great‑grandfather), and his married daughter, Catherine. We estimate the date, because Catherine Simons, married to Michael Simons, then had two children who had been born in Liverpool in 1857 and 1859. Both Catherine, 30 years of age in 1861, and Michael, 40 years of age, were born in Kilskyre. Michael Simons is the 'Head of the Household', Matthius is his 'father-in-law' and James and his family are 'lodgers'.  The Simons family are recorded elsewhere as 'Fitzsimons' and this subsequently is the name they use.

His father (?)

Inquiries in Kilskyre have so far not turned up any birth, marriage or death certificates. But we have found a Michael Heery, paying tithes there between 1824 and 1830, which at least puts him in the frame as possibly our great‑great‑great-grandfather. Sr Catherine Farrelly, Daughter of Charity, whose mother is a Fitzsimons from Kilskyre, has provided some very interesting photographs, but has not been able to discover any connections with our Heerys.  Another researcher in the USA has also discovered a Michael Heery who he thinks was born in about 1876, but no evidence is available to support the supposition.

His son James

On 9 January, 1859 our great‑grandfather, James, married Mary Lee, who was then aged 22.  Her parents came from Castlebar, but the census says that she and James both came from Kilskyre.  Different records suggest different dates for James's birth, but he died in October 1880, aged 47 years, which if it is accurate means that he was born in 1833.  She married again, her next door neighbour named Flanagan from Vauxhall Road, and lived until March 1914.  James and Mary had ten children. Three died in infancy ‑ Matthew, Julia, and Helen.  Hugh died at the age of 26, at the beginning of 1898, unmarried.  James, head of the household in the 1881 census, was born in 1864, and is recorded in Gores' street directories and in the 1881 census as the head of the household in 281 Vauxhall Road.  We have no trace of him after 1884. We suspect he went to America. This leaves the five we know well. Mary, the oldest survivor, died December 1899; Charles, Matthew, Patrick and John, the brothers, survived well into the twentieth century.