The Caffrey Family of Lancashire and Roscommon, IrelandResearch began on the Caffrey family on the basis that Bernadette Caffrey, born ca 1934 to 1935, was the mother of Michael Peter Gregory, and the daughter of Thomas Caffrey, born in Blackburn, Lancashire. Thomas was the son of Thomas Edward Caffrey and the name might have been Caffery or McCaffrey in previous generations.

The first task was to find the birth certificate of Bernadette Caffrey. It was found that she was born on 13 April 1934 in 77, Daisy Lane, Blackburn:

BirthRegistration District BlackburnSub-District Blackburn NorthernCounty of Blackburn

13 April 1934 Bernadette [Vernadette] dau of Thomas Edward Caffrey Cotton Mule Spinner [of] 77 Daisy Lane, Blackburn [&] Elizabeth Caffrey formerly Ashworth

The next search was for the marriage of Thomas Edward Caffrey and Elizabeth Ashworth. Bernadette1 was the fourth child of the marriage, with elder siblings James,2 Ellen3 and Thomas.4 The search for the marriage certificate therefore was a long one, as the couple married in 1915:

Photograph of Bernadette (known as ‘Bernice’), taken in Blackburn in 1979

MarriageSt Alban’s Catholic ChurchDistrict of BlackburnCounties of Lancaster and Blackburn

20 Nov 1915 Thomas Edward Caffrey 24 Bachelor Private 1st/4th East Lancashire Regiment (Cotton

Spinner) [of] 44 John Street, Blackburn [son of] Thomas Caffrey Cotton Mill Engine Tenter &Elizabeth Ashworth 21 years Spinster Cotton Ring Spinner [of] 40 John Street Blackburn [dau] of Richard Ashworth (deceased) Unknown

Roman Catholics by CertificateWitnesses: William Francis Chappell (Sgt), Margaret Chappell

Elizabeth Ashworth’s father’s name was Richard, and he was no longer living5. He had probably been dead for a long time, since Elizabeth did not know what his occupation had been. Thomas Edward was serving with the East Lancashires in the First World War6 but his peacetime occupation was in the cotton industry, as were the occupation of his father and his bride. Both bride and groom lived in the same street, a few doors away from each other.

The Lancashire Family History Society undertook in 2003-2004 a transcription project of Catholic Church records in the Blackburn area. The record of Thomas and Elizabeth’s marriage was found during this process, and it was possible to obtain the Christian name of Elizabeth’s mother:

1 Bernadette died in 1999 of lung cancer.2 Died in c.1976. James was enlisted in WW2 in the Pioneer Corps, but his peacetime occupation was in the cotton mills. He was known as ‘Jimmy’. He never became married, and had no children.3 Born in Blackburn, 1 Aug 1929. Died in 2001. Ellen, known as ‘Nellie’ was never married and had no children. She was a cotton mill worker.4 Died in c.2002. Thomas left a surviving wife, Agnes and adopted son, Martin Caffrey (born c. 1966).5 In fact, further research on the Ashworth family has shown that Richard could not possibly have been Elizabeth’s biological father, as he died 11 months before she was born. See: Gregory, M.P., (2008), “The Ashworth, Bond and Beck Families”, Personal Family History Report.6 A researcher was commissioned to trace the military service of Thomas Edward, Private, 1915, 1st/4th East Lancashires. The East Lanc’s Regiment served in 1915 in Gallipoli, then saw action until 1919 on the Western Front, participating in most major battles. It was unlikely Thomas Edward saw action in Gallipoli, as he was still in England in November 1915. He probably shipped to the Western front soon after his marriage.

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MarriageSt Alban’s RC Church Registers, Blackburn20 November 1915Thomas Edward Caffrey [son of] Thomas and Helen and Elizabeth Ashworth [dau of] Richard and Margaret AliceWitnesses: William Francis and Margaret Chappell

From his age on the marriage certificate, Thomas Edward Caffrey was born in 1890/1, and on searching the quarterly indexes it was found that he was born in July 1891. As on his marriage certificate, his father’s name was given as plain Thomas, not Thomas Edward:

BirthRegistration District BlackburnSub-district WittonCounties of Blackburn and Lancaster

15 July 1891Thomas Edward [son of] Thomas Caffrey

Grinder in a Cotton Mill [&] Ellen Caffrey formerly Ferdinand7 [of] 8 Aspden Street, Livesey

Photograph of Elizabeth Caffrey (Ashworth), Ellen (known as ‘Nellie’) Caffrey and Thomas(‘Tommy’) Caffrey, taken in 1979, Blackburn

Livesey is three miles south west of Blackburn. Now that the name of Thomas Edward Caffrey’s mother was known, it was possible to search for the marriage of Thomas Caffrey and Ellen Ferdinand. Before March 1912

the quarterly marriage indexes do not cross-reference brides and grooms, who are listed alphabetically under their respective surnames. The only information given in the indexes is the name of the bride or groom, the registration district and the reference number. To locate a particular marriage it is therefore necessary to check the various entries for the two names until a matching pair is found. In this case, the relevant match was found and the marriage certificate was obtained:

MarriageSt Mary’s Catholic Church, IslingtonDistrict of BlackburnCounty of Lancaster

10 Apr 1887 Thomas Caffery [X] 22 years Bachelor Cotton grinder [of] 23 Mosley Street Blackburn [son of] Thomas Caffery Cotton Spinner & Ellen Ferdinand 23 years Spinster Cotton Rover [of] 30 Infirmary Street Blackburn [dau of] James Ferdinand Cotton Spinner

Roman Catholics by Certificate Witnesses: John Sutcliffe, Anne Ferdinand

The family was still firmly entrenched in the cotton industry, and Thomas’ surname was here spelled Caffery: since he was unable to sign his name, he would have had no say in the matter. Ellen Ferdinand, however, was able to write hers. One of the witnesses was presumably a relative of hers. It was also found that Thomas Caffery/Caffrey was the son of another Thomas Caffery/Caffrey. (Right: Photograph of 30, Infirmary Street, taken in 2003)

At this stage, the research moved onto the census returns. The British 1881 census has been indexed full by surname and, using this index, it was possible to identify Thomas Caffrey senior living

7 See: Debrett (2003), “The Ferdinand Family”, Report No 6435D, Debrett Ancestry Research Ltd, December 2003, UK. This report is supplemented by additional notes in Gregory, M.P., (2008), “The Ferdinand Family of Blackburn, January 2004, Personal Family History Report.

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in Blackburn with his son Thomas, who was not yet married. Thomas senior, who was a widower, had not yet entered the cotton industry but was working as a general labourer, and he was born in Ireland. Two other children were living at home and, from the gap in the ages, it could be guessed that there were several more children born between Thomas and Mary A, and who had left home by 1881. The entry in the actual census was checked, as sometimes the index is found to contain errors:

Census 3 April 1881BlackburnRG 11 4182 fol 20 page 34

Entry 171: 4 Union StreetOccupation Where born

Thomas CaffreyHead W 44 General Labourer IrelandThomas CaffreySon U 17 Cotton Piecer Blackburn,

Lanc’sMary A Caffrey Dau 9 Scholar

Blackburn, Lanc’sMargaret A Caffrey Dau 7 Scholar

Blackburn, Lanc’s

The family’s address in 1881 was 4 Union Street, Blackburn; this address was searched in the unindexed 1871 census returns, but the family was not living there, nor in the rest of the surrounding enumeration district (the district into which the area was divided for the purpose of the census administration). The street listed as ‘Back of Union Street’ was also tried, and the surrounding enumeration district, but again with negative results.

A search was made for the birth of Thomas Caffrey or Caffery, born between 1863 and 1865 in Blackburn, the son of Thomas Caffrey, and he was found to have been born in 1865. The surname here was spelled Caffry:

BirthRegistration District BlackburnSub-district BlackburnCounty of Lancaster

1 Feb 1865 Thomas [son of] Thomas Caffry Labourer in a Foundry [&] Margaret Caffry formerly Taylor8 [X] [of] 4 Sharples Street, Blackburn

Thomas was working in a foundry in 1865 and his wife Margaret, whose maiden name was Taylor, was illiterate. It was hoped that the couple might have married in England. There was no indication that they had children earlier than Thomas, and so the quarterly marriage indexes were searched back from the March quarter of 1865 to the March quarter of 1855 for a marriage of Thomas Caffry/Caffery/Caffrey and Margaret Taylor. If the 1881 census was accurate, Thomas was born in 1836/7, and so he was fairly unlikely to have married earlier than 1855. There were no Thomas Caffrey (etc) marriages in Blackburn in this period, although there were several Margaret Taylor marriages, the name being a common one.

Before extending this search, another attempt was made to find the family in earlier census returns, since this would help to narrow down the date of the marriage. There was a new address for the family in 1865 (4 Sharples Street, Blackburn), and so this address was tried in both 1861 and 1871, searching the surrounding enumeration districts in both years, but the result was negative (however, see below). Thomas Caffrey was found however, by a descendant and amateur family history researcher, in the 1861 Census in George Street West 9, and he was indicated as having been born in Roscommon, Ireland. There is a surname index to Blackburn for the 1851 census and so this was also consulted.

Two Caffray households were found, one of which included a Thomas aged 21, born in Ireland, but this was a little earlier than would have been expected for the ancestor.

Census 30 March 1851BlackburnHO 107 2259 ED 8 fol 380vEntry 140: 37 Eccles Street Occupation Where bornJohn Caffray Head M 60 Butcher IrelandHannah Caffray Wife M 59 IrelandThomas CaffraySon Un 21 Spinner cotton IrelandCatherine Caffray Dau Un 18 Frame Tenter Haslingden,

Lanc’sHannah Caffray Dau 14 Cotton Weaver Haslingden, Lanc’s

8 See: Gregory, M.P., (2008), “The Taylor Family of Blackburn” , Personal Family History Report.9 This needs to be verified.

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+ 4 lodgers

The other Caffray household was next door, and so was almost certainly related. This consisted of a 27-year-old labourer at the Gas Works, Michael Caffray, born in Ireland, with a wife Bridget (22, born Ireland) and children Bridget (3) and James (1), both born in Blackburn. It could be speculated that Michael was the son of John and Hannah Caffray, although of course he might have been more distantly related.

Since Thomas Caffrey was born in Ireland he and Margaret Taylor might of course have married there. Unfortunately, there are no records of Catholic marriages in Ireland prior to 1864, but since their oldest known son Thomas was born in 1865 it was still worth trying the first two years of civil registration. There was, however, no relevant marriage from when records began up to the end of 1865.

It was decided to extend the search for the marriage of Thomas and Margaret in English civil registration records back to 1851, since Thomas’ age might have been given inaccurately in the 1881 census and he might have been older than thought. This search was rewarded with the following:

MarriageThe Parish Church of BlackburnCounty of Lancaster

3 June 1854 Thomas Caffery 19 Bachelor Labourer [of] Blackburn [son of] John Caffery ?Turner&Margaret Taylor [X] 19 Spinster [of] Blackburn [dau of] John Taylor Brick maker

After BannsWitnesses: James Gifford, John Pilkington

The occupation of Thomas’ father appears to read ‘Turner’ but might read ‘Furrier’ or ‘tinner’ (see below). Unfortunately, no specific address is given. Both bride and groom gave their ages as 19; Thomas’s age in the 1881 census implies a slightly later birth date and so he might have been as young as 17; his parents had probably been left behind in Ireland and the two witnesses were not apparently related. Margaret Taylor was indicated as English, born in Blackburn.

Research from the Ferdinand study found that Thomas Caffrey and Ellen Ferdinand had a large family, including the grandfather of Michael Gregory, Thomas Edward, born in 1891:

Census 31 March 1901PRO Ref RG 13 3916 page 14Blackburn, All Saints Parish14 Pomfret Street

Occupation Where bornThomas Caffrey10 Head M 34 Cotton Mill StokerBlackburnEllen d[itt]o Wife M 34 doJames do Son S 15 doMaggie do Daur 11 doThomas11 do Son 9 doWillie do Son 7 doRobert do Son 5 doNicolas do Son 1 doMary A Daur 6 mo doMary Ferdinan [sic] Mother Wid 51 Ireland

At this point, research on the Caffrey Family of Blackburn was halted, but further work is feasible. The birth certificate for Mary Ann Caffery (etc) born 1871/2 could yield more details, assuming her birth was registered. This might include an address for the family in the 1871 census. Although there was no requirement to state the exact birthplace in Ireland, another census might provide this.

10 All of Thomas Caffrey’s sons would have been old enough to serve in WW1. It might be useful to search for and obtain their war service records if available. Family story is that Thomas (grandfather of Michael Gregory) had a number of brothers killed in WW1, although there is only one Caffrey (Matthias) listed on any of the Blackburn, Darwen or Greater Accrington Rolls of Honour. 11 Michael Gregory’s grandfather.

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A second stage of research on the Caffrey line was aimed at a) attempting to find John Caffrey and b) to locate other family members in the 1800’s.

Using the 1837online.com service12, it is possible to search, retrieve, store and print the Births, Marriages and Deaths Index for England. All births indexed between January 1870 and December 1900 were searched under the Caffrey/Caffery/Caffry names. It was interesting to note that other variations of the name appear regularly. These included: Caffaray (quite often in the far north of England), Caffrie (an isolated instance in Blackburn, which could be a transcriptional error) and Caffray (already referred to in findings in previous searches), Cafferey, Caffrae and Cafferry. There is also a strong Cafferty line in Blackburn through the late 1800’s; but there is no evidence yet to suggest a family linkage. It was decided initially to seek confirmation of siblings of Thomas Edward Caffrey. It was felt that these would be probably, although not necessarily, located in Blackburn. 41 entries were found in the Index for Caffrey/Caffery/Caffrie names, as follows:

EVENT QTR YEAR FORENAME SURNAME

DISTRICT VOL PAGE

Birth OND 1870 Honora Caffrey Blackburn 8a 310Birth JFM 1871 Patrick Caffrey Blackburn 8e 316Birth AMJ 1872 John Caffrey Blackburn 8c 333Birth JAS 1872 Mary Ann Caffrey Blackburn 8c 401Birth OND 1872 Andrew Caffrey Blackburn 8e 331Birth JAS 1873 Ellen Caffrey Blackburn 8a 359Birth OND 1873 Joseph Caffrey Blackburn 8e 321Birth OND 1873 Margaret Ann Caffrey Blackburn 8e 351Birth JFM 1874 Elizabeth Ann Caffrey Blackburn 8e 327Birth AMJ 1874 Thomas Caffrie Blackburn 8e 390Birth OND 1874 Mary Alice Caffrey Blackburn 8e 398Birth JFM 1875 Margaret Hannah Caffrey Blackburn 8e 412Birth JAS 1875 Thomas Caffery Blackburn 8e 352Birth JFM 1876 James Caffrey Blackburn 8c 412Birth JFM 1877 Mary Jane Caffery Blackburn 8e 389Birth AMJ 1878 Mary Jane Caffrey Blackburn 8e 390Birth JAS 1878 John Thomas Caffrey Blackburn 8e 453Birth JAS 1879 Catherine Caffrey Blackburn 8c 383Birth JAS 1879 John Caffrey Blackburn 8e 356Birth AMJ 1880 Andrew Caffrey Blackburn 8a 428Birth AMJ 1880 Nancy Alice Caffrey Blackburn 8e 380Birth OND 1881 Thomas Caffrey Blackburn 8a 401Birth OND 1883 Lily Caffrey Blackburn 8a 400Birth OND 1884 John Taylor Caffrey Blackburn 8e 383Birth JAS 1886 Thomas Edward Caffrey Blackburn 8c 423Birth AMJ 1887 Thomas Caffrey Blackburn 8c 435Birth JFM 1888 Elisabeth Caffrey Blackburn 8e 419Birth AMJ 1888 Jeremiah Caffrey Blackburn 8a 442Birth OND 1889 Margaret Ellen Caffrey Blackburn 8a 477Birth JAS 1890 Catherine Caffrey Blackburn 8c 421Birth JFM 1891 Margaret Ellen Caffrey Blackburn 8c 424Birth JAS 1891 Thomas

EdwardCaffrey

Blackburn 8e 495

Birth JFM 1892 Lily Caffrey Blackburn 8e 425Birth OND 1892 Nicholas Caffrey Blackburn 8c 418Birth OND 1893 William Caffrey Blackburn 8a 466Birth AMJ 1895 John Caffrey Blackburn 8c 444Birth OND 1895 Robert Caffrey Blackburn 8e 876Birth JFM 1896 Thomas Caffrey Blackburn 8a 849Birth AMJ 1897 Matthias Caffery Blackburn 8e 417Birth JAS 1898 Nicholas Caffrey Blackburn 8e 426

12 It should be noted that the 1837online.com database was complied from microfiche copies of the Births, Marriages and Deaths Index, and not all transcriptions are clear. They should be therefore checked against the original index prior to copies of certificates being ordered.

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Birth OND 1900 Mary Ann Caffrey Blackburn 8e 391

From the above, all of the siblings of Thomas Edward in the 1901 census were found in Blackburn, except his elder brother James who was indicated to have been born ca 1885. These included Margaret Ellen (born 1891), William (born 1893), Robert (born 1895), Nicholas (born 1898) and Mary Ann (born 1900). Matthias Caffrey (see above, born in 1897) is noted in the Roll of Honour for Blackburn as having died in the Great War. This Matthias is in fact the son of Nicholas Caffrey, a brother of Thomas Caffrey, the great grandfather of Michael Gregory.

Four James Caffery/Caffreys were found:

Registration of BirthJames Caffery born in Hartlepool in April qtr 1884, 10a, 176James Caffrey born in Nottingham in December qtr 1885, 7b, 311James Caffery born in Sunderland in September qtr 1886, 10a, 664James Caffrey born in Liverpool in April qtr, 1887, 8b, 112

One of the above could conceivably be the James being searched for, and birth certificates would need to be obtained to verify this.

The search also confirmed the births of Mary Ann Caffrey (born Blackburn 1872, Jan qtr, vol 8c, page 401) and Margaret Ann Caffrey (born Blackburn 1873, Dec qtr, vol 8e, page 351).

Next, a search was made for the death of Margaret Taylor (Caffrey). An entry was discovered for a Margaret Caffrey who died in Blackburn. The death was reported in the BMD Index for the January quarter of 1879, ref 8e, 205. The death certificate may provide further clues on her birth.

Following this, a further search was made of the BMD Index using the 1837online.com service. This was for the years January 1837 to December 1869. The purpose was to try and ascertain the approximate period of time when Caffrey/Caffery families first began appearing in the Blackburn area. This data would help in subsequent research to put together the Caffrey (etc) family connections in Blackburn through the 1880’s and early 1900’s. The results are indicated below:

EVENT

QTR YEAR

FORENAME INITIALS

SURNAME DISTRICT VOL PAGE

Birth OND 1846 Hannah Caffrey Blackburn XXI 17Birth JAS 1847 Bridget Caffrey Blackburn XXI 19Birth JAS 1848 Mary Caffrey Blackburn XXI 36Birth OND 1849 James Caffrey Blackburn 21 37Birth JFM 1852 John Caffrey Blackburn 8e 250Birth JFM 1854 Patrick Caffrey Blackburn 8c 260Birth JAS 1855 Thomas Caffrey Blackburn 8e 293Birth AMJ 1856 John Edward Caffry Blackburn 8e 269Birth OND 1857 Hannah Caffrey Blackburn 8e 264Birth JFM 1859 Mary Caffrey Blackburn 8e 278Birth JFM 1860 Catherine Caffrey Blackburn 8e 321Birth JFM 1860 John Caffry Blackburn 8e 281Birth AMJ 1860 Mary Caftery (sic

Caffery)Blackburn 8e 385

Birth JFM 1861 Mary Caffry Blackburn 8c 297Birth AMJ 1861 Ann Caffry Blackburn 8e 338Birth OND 1862 Lewis

BernardCaffrey Blackburn 8e 297

Birth AMJ 1863 Elizabeth Caffry Blackburn 8e 341Birth OND 1863 Michael Caffry Blackburn 8e 253Birth JFM 1865 Thomas Caffry Blackburn 8e 328Birth AMJ 1865 Michael Caffrey Blackburn 8e 313Birth OND 1865 John Caffry Blackburn 8e 270Birth AMJ 1866 James J Caffry Blackburn 8e 297Birth AMJ 1867 Mary Ann Caffery Blackburn 8c 339Birth AMJ 1868 Margaret

AgnesCaffrey Blackburn 8c 325

Birth JAS 1868 Mary Caffery Blackburn 8e 373Birth JFM 1869 Bridget Caffrey Blackburn 8e 365

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From the above, it can be noted that the Caffray and Caffrey naming is interchangingly recorded. The Bridget and James Caffreys recorded in 1847 and 1849 respectively were most likely the children of Michael Caffray identified earlier in this report.13

Unless there was a clear place of origin in Ireland of Thomas Caffrey, there was little hope of identifying him in Irish records. Irish civil registration began later than in England and Wales. Protestant marriages were registered from 1845, but other births, marriages and deaths were only registered from 1864 onwards. The majority of nineteenth century census returns for Ireland were destroyed, so unless a specific place of origin is known, it is difficult to identify the origins of an emigrant from Ireland at this period. Although English census returns usually stated “Ireland” as a place of birth rather than a specific place, they do occasionally provide a specific place. Therefore to find Thomas Caffrey, it was deemed appropriate to look for him in other census returns.

To find another address for the family near a census date, a search was made in the civil registration records for the birth of Thomas and Margaret’s daughter Mary A Caffrey, who was born (according to the 1881 census) in about 1871/72 in Blackburn. The correct entry was found and the certificate obtained:

BirthRegistration District BlackburnSub-district BlackburnCounty of Lancaster

12 Sept 1872 Mary Ann [dau of] Thomas Caffrey Labourer in a Cotton Factory [&] Margaret Caffrey (X) formerly Taylor [of] 62 George Street West, Blackburn

The birth was registered by Margaret Caffrey, who was unable to write her name. Thomas was working in a cotton factory in 1872, giving him a common occupation with the Thomas Caffrey found in the 1851 census; but the other factors still argued against this being one and the same man.

This provided a new address (62 George Street West) and on searching this street in the 1871 census the family was found at No 44:

Census 2 April 1871Public Record Office Ref: RG 10 4179 fol 113v, entry 19944 George Street West

Occupation Where bornThomas CaffreyHead Mar 36 Labourer in factory IrelandMargaret Caffrey Wife Mar 36 BlackburnJohn E Caffrey Son Un 16 Cotton spinner BlackburnThomas CaffreySon 6 Scholar BlackburnPatrick Caffrey Son 3 mo BlackburnNicholas Caffrey Son 8 Scholar Blackburn

This provided the names of three further children (John E, Nicholas and Patrick) of Thomas and Margaret, and identified Margaret as a native of Blackburn. The age given for both Thomas and Margaret tallied with those given on their marriage certificate, indicating a birth date of around 1834/5. However, there was still no birth place for Thomas in Ireland. Therefore, the same procedure was used with the birth of Nicholas Caffrey in 1862/3. Again, it was found that Margaret had registered the birth:

BirthRegistration District BlackburnSub-district BlackburnCounty of Lancaster

21 May 1863 Nicholas [son of] Thomas Caffry Cotton factory Worker & Margaret Caffry (X) formerly Taylor [of] 21 Stout Street, Blackburn

The family was living in Stout Street, Blackburn in 1863 and the different spelling of the surname was noted; since Margaret was illiterate, this was not surprising. However, this time when the 1861 census returns were examined, the family was not found, nor where they found in the surrounding enumeration district.14

13 Could John, the father of Michael, also be the father of Thomas Caffrey?14 However, see below. They were found at George St West by a descendant and amateur family history researcher, although the original record has not been verified.

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Just in case there was any reference to Thomas Caffrey’s birth or baptism on any of the databases released on the Internet by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which, however, has poor coverage of Ireland, for largely religious reasons), a search was made of the online indexes to these sources (which include the International Genealogical Index 15

(IGI) for the birth and baptism of Thomas Caffrey, son of John, between 1830 and 1840, but the result was negative.

Attention was now turned to the Grandfather of Michael Gregory – Thomas Edward Caffrey. Oral family history indicated that Thomas Edward had served as a soldier during the First World War (WW1). It was known from his marriage certificate in November 1915 that Thomas was a Private in the 1st/4th East Lancashire regiment.

The 1st/4th East Lancashire Regiment (East Lanc’s) spent almost all of 1915 at Gallipoli, so the date of his marriage was interesting. However, the battalion was augmented by 281 Other Ranks on 23rd July 1915 and he may have been one of those who married just before leaving the UK. Or he may have travelled with another unit to join the 1st/4th East Lanc’s at any time in 1915. The battalion left Gallipoli late in 1915 and were on the Western Front by March 1917, so there were plenty of opportunities for Thomas, to be wounded, gassed, taken prisoner or be awarded a Mention in Despatches. According to oral family tradition, all of these had happened to Thomas.

The search commenced for his WW1 records by looking for him in the Medal Index Cards (MIC). These are a virtual 100% complete record of all men who saw active service during the First World War. They give name, regiment, rank, regimental number and medal entitlement. They are normally marked with any relevant details such as KIA (killed in action), discharged, prisoner of war etc. The T and Thomas Caffreys were searched, but there was none that showed him as serving in the 1st/4th East Lancashire Regt. It may be the case that Thomas enlisted into the East Lancashire, trained with them and even embarked to a theatre of war with them. However, it was not uncommon on disembarkation to be transferred into another regiment, and if this was the case, then the East Lancashire will not show on his MIC. Just in case of an administrative error, the spelling of Caffery was checked, but again, there was not one who served in the East Lancashires. The relevant entries were copied and where it has been possible to locate a service record, the MIC’s are annotated. He certainly served as a soldier in WW1 as Michael Gregory recalls family photographs of him in uniform, and recollects seeing some of his wounds, including 3 fingers of his left hand shot off, a metal plate in his elbow and scars on his head; he would also have red skin at times on his chest area which was supposedly the results of chlorine gassing. He was a very quiet man at home, usually retiring to his local pub in the afternoons.

 WO 363/C11, WO 363/ (Mis-sorts)20WO 364/2822, 4914, 5528 & 5803

It is not known how many men served as soldiers (other ranks) in the First World War, as most of their service records were destroyed by enemy bombing in 1940: a good guess is about 6-7 million. About 2.8 million service records either survived the bombing (WO 363) or were reconstructed from pension records (WO 364). As a result, there is about a 40% chance of finding the service records of a particular soldier.

Both WO 363 and WO 364 are about soldiers who were discharged between 1914 and 1920. They therefore include regular soldiers signed up for 22 years, who may have enlisted as early as 1892. They will not include the discharge papers of regular soldiers who continued in the army after 1920, or who transferred to one of the other services, taking their service record with them.

WO 364 is the smaller of the two classes, but the records are all in the PRO, and they are alphabetically arranged. They relate to • discharges on medical and associated grounds• discharges of regular soldiers at the end of their period of service Regular soldiers were awarded a pension: men who signed up for the duration were instead given a gratuity on demobilisation, and will not be found here, unless they received a pension on medical grounds. The records include those of men who died after the award of a pension.

The other class, WO 363, is known as the 'burnt documents' that survived the bombing in 1940. They consist of about 25% of the original total. This class is arranged by first letter of surname, but after that it is not in a proper alphabetical order. If the soldier was killed in action, died of wounds or disease, was executed or demobilised, his records will be held here.

Knowing Thomas’ date of birth enabled these records to be searched. Of the surviving records for Thomas Caffrey’s, none corresponded with his date of birth, but it was possible to discount these men from the MIC records.  GALLANTRY AWARDS and MENTION IN DISPATCHES The practice of mentioning subordinates in dispatches from commanders at sea, or in the field, is of long standing. Originally it was a device for bringing the services of deserving officers to the attention of higher authority, but was

15 The IGI is an index to baptisms and marriages compiled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon Church) from a combination of Parish Registers and family information. While neither are complete nor wholly accurate, it serves as a useful guide to the original records.

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largely confined to formation and unit commanders. It seems that Sir Charles Napier was the first to make mention of men below commissioned rank. The actual form of mention varied from a mere list of names to a description of the individual services performed. Where the latter was the basis of an award, or of promotion in rank, it sometimes took the form of what now would be regarded as a citation.

Prior to WWI every recipient of the DSO and the CSC was mentioned and almost every recipient of the DCM, although few were accompanied by a citation. A very large number of mentions were made during WW1 and it became increasingly difficult, except in the case of small operations, to describe the services performed. For this reason the vast majority of military dispatches merely gave lists of names, although naval dispatches tended to be more informative. While it cannot be said that the percentage of mentions received by military personnel (about 2.3% of the total number of troops under arms) deprecated the value of the distinction, it became evident that it was losing favour in the eyes of the recipients. The main causes were:

1. The custom of the French and Belgian Armies to award a Croix de Guerre in respect of a ‘citation’ in the orders of certain commands.

2. The natural desire of the recipient to wear some specific proof of recognition of his services.

3. To a lesser degree, the unofficial introduction of Corps and Divisional gallantry certificates, when the individual services did not attain the standard required for a decoration. Such services did notnecessarily also gain a mention in dispatches but nevertheless received a degree of local recognition.

Accordingly in 1919 King George V approved a special certificate to be given to all persons mentioned in WW1 dispatches in the Services, the Indian, Dominion, and Egyptian Forces, as well as certain recognised societies and organisations, and other civilians of both sexes serving with the Forces. Even then this was not thought to be entirely satisfactory and in 1920 it was decided that a multiple-leaved bronze oak leaf emblem should be worn on the ribbon of the Allied Victory Medal, by all those entitled to that medal, to denote a WW1 mention. Only one emblem was to be worn irrespective of the number of times an individual had been mentioned. The emblem was issued in two sizes. The larger is approximately 1 3/8 inch long by 3/8 inch at its widest, being for wear when the medal itself is worn; the smaller is approximately 1 inch long by ¼ inch at its widest, being for wear when the ribbon alone is worn. Both issues are secured to the ribbon by ‘bend over’ pins fixed to the back of the emblem, although some strikes have pinholes for sewing to the ribbon or coat. The larger emblem, worn with the medal, was affixed to the centre of the ribbon at an angle of 60 degrees from the inside edge of the ribbon, with the leaves pointing upwards, stem to the right. The smaller emblem was worn, when the wearer was in service dress, horizontally across the ribbon, with the stalk furthest from the shoulder. In the rare cases when the recipient of a ‘mention in dispatches’ did not receive the Allied Victory Medal, or the British War Medal, the emblem is worn on the jacket. The award of this emblem ceased as from 10 August 1920.

Allied Victory Medal 1914-19

There is an index to this award, but Thomas was not listed. Of the 30 Medal Index cards found in the name of Caffery/Caffrey, it was not possible to identify Thomas Edward on any of them. The WO 363/C11 records were returned to in order to copy the service record of a suggestion that Thomas Caffrey who might have served in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers (RDF), number 23076 (there was a similarity in age). The quality of the microfilm is particularly poor. This record shows him serving in the 5th RDF, and disembarking in Salonika on 17th March 1917. He served with the 5th

Battalion from 23rd August 1917, until he was wounded on the 19th October 1918. His next-of-kin is shown as his mother, Catherine Caffrey. Clearly, this is not Thomas Edward as the latter’s mother was Ellen. A second record of a Thomas Caffrey who was taken prisoner-of-war whilst serving with the 12 th Lancers, does not have a surviving service record, so no further details could be obtained. Copies of the medal rolls from WO 329/8 and WO 329/2396 were taken, but sadly, these do not give any personal information.

Therefore, it is not possible to verify Thomas’ military service. He is likely to have fought and indeed, oral family history notes him as serving in France, where he was supposedly taken as a POW and escaped, was shot twice (in his hand and elbow), and gassed. What is known, however, is that he survived WW1 dying at almost 80 years of age in 1971.

During 2003/04, the Lancashire Family History Society began a project to transcribe the Roman Catholic Church records in Blackburn. From this, it was possible to discover that Robert Caffrey, a brother of Thomas Edward Caffrey, Michael Gregory’s grandfather, had married in 1920:

MarriageSt Alban’s RC Church Registers, BlackburnRobert Caffrey [son of] Thomas and Helen and Margaret Coyle [dau of] Peter and Mary [Coyle] Witnesses: Nicholas F. Caffrey and Margaret Chappell

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It was interesting to note that the witnesses were Robert’s younger brother, Nicholas and Margaret Chappell. The latter had also been a witness at the wedding of Thomas Edward Caffrey and Elizabeth Ashworth in 1915. It could be possible that she is the Margaret Ellen (nee Caffrey) born in 1891, and the elder sister of Thomas. This could be checked from marriage records.

The following additional information was noted from the transcriptions made by the Blackburn Family History Society:

St Albans Marriages 1856-1879 25 Sep 1859 John Ryan (father Thomas) and Bridget Caffrey (father John)                   Witnesses Patrick O'Hara and Bridget Carogan

09 Jan 1858  Patrick Garty (father Lawrence) and Mary Caffrey (father John)                    Witnesses Wm Garty and Ann Kelly  St Albans Marriages 1903-1922 06 Aug 1904 John Cafferty (John and Cecilia) and Mary Ann Holden (Thomas and Alice)                   Witnesses Michael and Mary Cafferty

23 Sept 1918 James Cafferty (Thomas and Margaret) and Mary Walmsley (Edgar and Helen)                    Witnesses Michael Cafferty and Ann Walmsley

20 Nov 1915  Thomas Edward Caffrey (Thomas and Helen) and Elizabeth Ashworth (Richard & Margt Alice)                    Witnesses William Francis and Margaret Chappell

02 Oct 1920  Robert Caffrey (Thomas and Helen) and Margaret Coyle (Peter and Mary)                    Witnesses Nicholas F Caffrey and Margt Chappell

Josephs R.C. Audley Blackburn Baptisms 19 July to 17 April 1892 Caffrey Joseph birth 1st Jan 1886 baptism 10th Jan 1886 Mother Mary                       Godfather Patrick Caffrey Godmother Ann Garner St Josephs R.C. Audley Blackburn 15 February 1917 to 5 August 1931 Marriage19 March 1921 John Caffery (father Nicholas) and Mary Jane Crook (father John)witnesses Thomas Moore and Margaret Foster St Albans Blackburn 1893-1920BaptismsSurname  Birth              Baptism      Given Name   Father   Mother      Nee          GodparentsCafferty  24 Jul 1905    30 Jul 1905    Ann              Michael  Agnes       Airey         James and Ann  CaffertyCafferty  22 Jul 1895    23 Jul 1905  Auqustine     John       Mary Ann Holden      Michael and Mary CaffertyCafferty 28 Sept 1895  29 Sept 1895 Catherine                  Mary                          William Knowles and Hannah Fletcher  Cafferty 18 Jun 1904    19 Jun 1904  Cecilia         Michael  Agnes       Airey          John and Mary CaffertyCafferty 28 Jul 1908       2 Aug 1908 Cecilia         James     Sara          Waring      John and Mary CaffertyCafferty 22 Jan 1913      9 Feb 1913  Helen          John        Helen        Henrys     Patrick and Mary ClareCafferty  24 Aug 1911  10 Sept 1911  Margaret       John        Helen          Henry       Thomas Pilkington and Catherine ClareCafferty  30 Jan  1913    2 Feb  1913   Augustine     James    Sara           Waring       James Lyons  and Cecilia CaffertyCafferty  10 Aug 1908   16 Aug 1908   Leo              John        Mary Ann   Holden       James Cafferty and Selina HoldenCafferty  27 Mar  1908  01 April 1906  William        James    Sara Ann    Wareing      Augustine Lyons and Helen CaffertyCaffery   06 Jan   1906  13 Sept 1906  John                           Mary Alice                 Helen CafferyCaffery  16 Feb   1910   27 Feb 1910   Jane            John       Helen          Henry         Thomas and Jane McGuinn   St Albans Marriages 1856-1879 23 Feb 1878 George Stones (father Thomas) and Catherine Cafferty (father Michael) 

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                   Witnesses Frederick Dawson and Mary Cafferty  ?  Jul  1872   Michael Wallace (father Peter) and Margaret Cafferty (father Michael)                     Witnesses John Cafferty and Alice A Wallace07 Dec 1861 Thomas Brannan (father James) and Helen Caffery (father John)                 Witnesses John Fizmaurice and Cath. Law

09 May 1863 John Fitzmorris (father Patrick) and Ann Caffrey (father John)                Witnesses John Murray and Bridget Welsh   

Contact was made in 2004 with a family history researcher who was a distant cousin of Michael Gregory. Her research indicated the deaths of some of the ancestors of Michael Gregory, and the marriage of Nicholas Caffrey born in 1862. The details are as follows:

Nicholas Caffrey born 1863 Married Catherine Moore BlackburnNicholas Caffrey born 1863 Died 1907 BlackburnThomas Caffrey born 1865 Died 1935 Blackburn

In addition, she indicated that Thomas Caffrey (son of John Caffrey), born in 1834 in Ireland was born in Roscommon 16. If this can be verified, it opens a potential opportunity to further explore the Caffrey line in Ireland. She also found a John Caffrey age 56 years living at 12, Friday Street, Blackburn in 1861. His occupation was given as Tinner, which she thinks is the same occupation as Thomas’ father; and believes this John was Thomas’ father, although this has not been proven.

The Caffrey family was found in the 1891 census living at 8 Appen Street, Blackburn. It was noted that the entries spelled the name Caffery:

Census April 1891Public Record Office Ref: RG12/3418 folio 128 Appen Street, Blackburn

Occupation Where bornThomas CafferyHead Mar 25 Cotton Winder BlackburnHelen Caffery Wife Mar 25 Cotton Carder BlackburnJames Caffrey Son Un 5 BlackburnMargaret E Caffery Dau Un 2Blackburn

Clearly, at this time, Michael Gregory’s grandfather, Thomas Caffrey, had not yet been born. Both Thomas and his sister Margaret (Maggie) were listed in the 1901 census (see above).

Now that an Irish connection had been established, the origins of the name caffrey were researched. The website www.araltus.com provides a useful summary of the Caffrey Coat of Arms and an explanation of the origin of the name. The name derives from McCaffrey. The McCaffrey’s are a branch of the MacGuires or Maguires of Fermanagh. The townland of Ballyrnacaffrey near Fivemiletown on the Tyrone border marks their homeland. The great majority of persons of the name today belong to families located in Fermanagh and Tyrone; a little further south in Cavan and North Meath there are a considerable number of Caffreys, ie the same surname but with the prefix Mac dropped. In Irish it is Mac Gafraidh (son of Godfrey). At one time this was anglicized MacGoffrey by some families which migrated from Fermanagh to Roscommon; and that of course is phonetically more correct than MacCaffrey. The name is derived from Gafraidh son of Don Carrach, first Prince of Maguire (1264-1303). From Gafraidh’s brothers continue the line of Maguire and also the families of MacGrath and MacAuley of Ulster.

By the close of the twelfth century, the Maguires were rulers of County Fermanagh in Ulster. The Mag Uidhir (uidhir means pale), had their fortress strategically placed at the gateway to Ulster, Upper and Lower Lough Erne. It has since passed through many centuries well preserved. The Maguires have been prominent in Fermanagh since at least AD 956 and are closely connected with the O’Neill kings of Ulster and with the O’Donnells. Although the princely Maguires have long since vanished, the summit of Culceagh Mountain, near Swanlinbar, and the hill of Cornashee, near Lisnaskea, are still associated with the ceremonial inaugurations which were held there for their chieftains. Towards the close of the thirteenth century, with the installation of Don Maguire (whose son, Gafraidh was progenitor of the Caffreys), the family began to feature in the records. Cathal MacManus Maguire (1439-98), a chief of the MacManus sept of the Maguires, was both a learned historian and a bishop. He was born on an island in Lough Erne, and, according to the Four Masters, he compiled the Invaluable Annals of Munster, which preceded their own great work.

Following the devastations by the armies of Cromwell and William of Orange, the Irish landed aristocracy, including the majority of the Maguires and their clansmen, MacCaffrey, MacManus, etc. fled, in 1691, with the “wild geese” to France and Austria. A regiment of infantry in James II’s army had been commanded by a Maguire, Baron of Enniskillen. James II also paid £2,190 a year “for our secret service” to Dominick Maguire. The best known of the Caffreys was Rev. James MacCaffrey (died 1875), the ecclesiastical historian, who was born in County Tyrone.

16 Apparently, this information was gained from the 1861 census, George St West, Blackburn11

One hundred years ago the Caffrey name remained most populous in the Counties Fermanagh and Tyrone. Two centuries earlier MacCaffrey had remained a principal name of County Fermanagh. The name here on its traditional lands has retained the prefix Mac for the most part. The name is found as Caffrey, however, in Dublin, Meath and Cavan in the 1890 index. Several are found among the fighting men of Corcoran’s Irish Legion and Meagher’s Irish Brigade of civil war fame in the USA. The Mayo name MacCafferky called MacCafforty, has occasionally been corrupted to MacCaffrey. This is MacEachmharcaigh in Irish, formed from the word “each” a steed and “marcach” a rider. MacCafferty, also from the old spelling of Mac Eachmharcaigh, has also kept its ‘Mac’ prefix, except in County Cavan where Cafferty is numerous. This also has been corrupted to MacCaffrey and Caffrey.

In Heraldry terms, the Caffreys bore the arms of Maguire, which are Vert a white horse fully caparisoned thereon a knight in complete armour on his helmet a plume of ostrich feathers his right hand brandishing a sword all proper:

Coat of Arms of the Caffrey Clan

Returning to more recent relatives, the military record of one of Michael Gregory’s great uncles – Nicholas Caffrey – was found in the ‘burnt records’ in the National Archives. He is described as the son of Thomas Caffrey and his place of residence was 44 John Street, Blackburn (the same house in which Michael Gregory’s grandfather was living in 1915). He signed up with the Lancashire Fusiliers on 2 June 1915, aged 19 years and 11 months, confirming his birth ca 1895/96. His army registration number was 36526. His record is not very detailed. He was in the 18 th Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers. At his attestation, his occupation was spinner and he described himself as unmarried. He was 5’ ½” tall. He survived the war, being discharged on 20 December 1918. He described his next of kin as Thomas Caffrey of the same address. He was posted to France on 29 January 1916 and discharged on 20 December 1918 as no longer physically fit for war service. He had spent some time at Ellerstein Military Hospital, clearly having been injured during his war service.

In previous research, it had not been possible to trace the military record of Michael Gregory’s grandfather, Thomas Caffrey. At his marriage in 1915, he had indicated he was a soldier in the 1/4 th East Lancashire Regiment. From family stories, it was known he had been a POW during WWI, but that he had escaped. In 2006, a database of WWI POW’s was placed online on the Internet.17 A record was found of Thomas Caffrey, a Private in the King’s Own Lancaster’s, (page 70-71). These pages refer to the location of the original report on Interviews in the publications of the Committee on the Treatment of British Prisoners of War, held at the National Archives in Series WO161. Thomas Caffrey was found in WO/161/98. It was not clear from the report, however, if this might be the grandfather of Michael Gregory as no biographical detail was given.

Nicholas Caffrey, referred to earlier in this report – a brother of Michael Gregory’s great grandfather – was found in various records. In the 1901 Census he was discovered living with his family in Blackburn.

Census 190129 Sharples Street, BlackburnSt Luke Ward

17 “Behind the Wire”; a database of 1914-18 Prisoners of War (POW’s).12

Occupation Place of birthNicholas Caffery 38 Hd M Worker BlackburnCatherine Caffery 38 W M Cotton worker BlackburnMary A Caffery 18 Dau S Cotton worker BlackburnLily Caffery 15 Dau S Cotton worker BlackburnCatherine Caffery 12 Dau S Cotton worker BlackburnNicholas Caffery 9 Son S BlackburnJohn Caffery 6 Son BlackburnMatthias Caffery 4 Son BlackburnBridget Moore 60 Moth in Law Widow Ireland

Nicholas’ wife’s maiden name was therefore likely to have been Catherine Moore. A marriage of Nicholas Caffery and Catherine Moore was found in the BMD Index for Apr, May, Jun 1901. A copy of the marriage certificate may yield further family clues.

Likely candidates for Bridget and Catherine were found in the 1881 Census.Census 18811 Union Street, BlackburnSt Peter Ward

Occupation Place of birthBridget Moore 40 Hd Wid Cotton winder IrelandCatherine Moore 19 Dau S Cotton worker BlackburnMary E Moore 13 Dau Scholar Blackburn

The family was found again in the 1871 Census.

Census 18712 Hargreaves Lane, BlackburnSt Peter Ward

Bridget Moore 30 Hd Wid No trade IrelandCatherine Moore 10 Dau LancashireMary Ellen Moore 3 Dau LancashireThomas Moore 30 Brother Unm Labourer in mill Ireland

The names and ages fit well. If they are the correct family, then the father of Catherine Moore will have died somewhere between 1868 and 1871 and a search for this can be made in the BMD Index. Thomas Moore will have been Bridget’s brother-in-law.

Nicholas Caffrey and his family were also found in the 1891 Census. They were living at 17 Union Street, Blackburn.

Census 189117 Union Street, BlackburnSt Peter Ward

Nicholas Caffery 29 Hd M Cotton spinner BlackburnCatherine “ 29 W M Dof weaver BlackburnThomas Hy “ 11 Son Scholar BlackburnMary Agnes “ 8 D Scholar BlackburnLily “ 5 D Scholar BlackburnCatherine “ 2 D BlackburnMargaret Ellen “ 5 mnth D Blackburn

Although by 1914, Nicholas would have been elderly to serve in the theatre of war, the burnt records were searched. This was rewarded by finding his record of service. He was called up to the Royal Defence Corps, No. 36526. He was 52 years and 5 months at his attestation in 1916. He was enlisted on 18 September 1916 and demobilised on 16 March 1919. His residence was given as 29 Sharples Street, Blackburn. He gave his wife’s name as Catherine Caffery, formerly Moore. Their wedding took place in Blackburn in March 1887 at St Mary’s Church. His occupation prior to enlistment was given as Street Mason. The record indicated he had served with the 1 st Battalion of the North Lancashire Regiment. He was with the 15th Brigade in India and the 12th Brigade in South Africa. His children were given as:

Nicholas Caffery b. Nov 1888John Caffery b. April 1890Matthias Caffery b. April 1892Kate Caffery b. Dec 1894Agnes Caffery b. Apr 1896

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Lilly Caffery b. Jan 1878

The Muster Records for the 1st Battalion Loyal Northern Lancashire Regiment were searched to see if he could be traced. He was found in WO16/2851. These records extended from February 1884 to 31 March 1886. His regimental number was 3198. In January 1884 it was noted that the troop were sailing on board HMS Sirapis (?) from 15 January to 7 July 1884. Nicholas’ rank was private. He appeared again in the muster for September 1886 but not in 1887 or 1888. In the burnt record details, there appears a reference that he served 4 years and 264 days in the regular army. Perhaps he had left by the end of 1886, meaning he would have joined up sometime around 1881/1882. A search was made for his discharge papers at the National Archives for the years 1880-1899 and 1900 onwards. These are held in the Series WO97 and boxes 2437, 2438, 4476 and 6328 were thoroughly searched, but his papers were not found.

Returning to Thomas Caffrey, Michael Gregory’s grandfather. One brother, Nicholas had been enlisted in 1912 prior to WW1. Another brother was found when researching the burnt records held at the National Archives. This was William Caffrey. He was a private in the Lancashire Fusiliers, Regimental no. 63670. He transferred to the reserve on 16 February 1919. His height was 5’ 0”. He was aged 19 in 1912. His pre-war occupation was given as cotton spinner. He weighed 118lbs at his attestation examination. He had contracted malaria at Salonika and was hospitalized in 1918. His address was given as 44, John Street, Blackburn. His year of birth was given as 1895. He was transferred into the Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, No.2066. He embarked at Alexandria on 28 November 1915 and arrived at Salonica on 3 December 1915, serving there until 25 May 1918. He rejoined the 11 th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers on 16 August 1918 and was wounded by gas 11 days later, following which on 5 September 1918 he was returned to England.

Matthias Caffery, referred to above, the son of Nicholas and Catherine, also served in WW1, and unfortunately was killed. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website lists him as recorded on Panel 42/43 on the Pozieres Memorial, Somme:

Matthias CafferyPrivate, East Lanc’s Regt4th BattalionAge 20Died 21 March 1918Service No 200515Son of Nicholas and Catherine Caffery of 29, Sharples Street, BlackburnAlso served at the Dardanelles

His war medal card was also found and he was awarded the Victory Medal and Star.

In 2006, Michael Gregory was contacted through the GenesReunited website by Agnes Caffrey, the widow of Thomas Caffrey, Michael Gregory’s uncle. Their son Martin had married Tracey Swindlehurst (b. 1967) and they had three children, Luke (b.1997), Matthew (b.2001) and Joseph (b.2004). Unfortunately, Agnes had not retained any older Caffrey photographs, which are believed to have been given to a neighbour following the death of Ellen Caffrey around 2003.

In July 2007, contact was made with a living relative, Esther Steel (nee Leslie) who shares a common set of ancestors with Michael Gregory. These are their great great grandparents, Thomas Caffrey and Margaret Taylor, indicated in the genealogical chart below. Esther Steel had a photograph (reproduced below) of her grandfather Thomas Leslie (2nd from the right in the picture), and it is believed the other members of the group are some of his cousins, one of whom (2 nd on the left of the picture) could possibly be Michael Gregory’s grandfather, Thomas Caffrey, although this is not proven.

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Attention returned to the Caffrey family in 2009, hoping to find details of his Irish ancestry. Thomas Caffrey and Margaret Taylor were known to have married on the 3rd June 1854 in Blackburn. Thomas was the son of John Caffrey, whose occupation was probably a turner, but might have been a furrier. It was known that Thomas was born in Ireland but no more specific birthplace had been recorded.

A distant cousin was believed to have found Thomas and Ellen Caffrey in the 1861 census, living at George Street West, Blackburn. Thomas had then stated that he had been born in Roscommon. In fact, Thomas and Margaret were found to be living at William Henry Street, Blackburn (RG9/3094, fol. 92, p. 23). Thomas’s occupation was a bobbin carrier in a cotton mill. His age appears to be 26, which would agree with the following census of 1871, when he was said to be aged 36. His age in 1881 was 44. In order to confirm that the correct couple had been located, a copy of the birth certificate of their oldest child, John Edward, aged 5 on the census, was obtained. He was the only child who was alive in 1861. Reference was found to the registration of the birth of this child on FreeBMD in the June quarter of 1856 (Blackburn 8e 269).

John Edward Caffrey was born on the 2nd March 1856 at 62 King Street, Blackburn. His father was Thomas, a cotton piecer, and his mother was Ellen, formerly Taylor. This confirmed that Thomas Caffrey believed that he had been born in Roscommon around 1834 to 1837.

A possible entry for Thomas had also been found in 1851, before his marriage to Ellen. He was then said to be aged 21, which was rather older than would be expected. This Thomas was the son of John Caffray, a 60 year-old butcher. Both father and son were born in Ireland, as was John’s wife, Hannah. Two younger children, aged 18 and 14, had been born in Lancashire, placing this family’s arrival in England somewhere between 1829 and 1833. This family were found to be living in Turner’s Square, Blackburn in 1841 (HO107/502/22, fol. 38, p. 30). No child called Thomas was present.

No other Thomas Caffrey with a father called John could be found in 1851. It is possible, of course, that Michael Gregory’s ancestors had not yet arrived in England by that time.

In 1861, another John Caffrey was living in Blackburn, at 12 Friday Street (RG9/3097, fols. 115 & 116, pp. 20 & 21). This man was a 56 year-old tinner, born in Ireland. He was a widower. His children, all born in Ireland, were aged 18, 16 and 13. This family must therefore have been in Ireland until at least 1847/8. John would have been born around 1804/5.

A search was made on FreeBMD for the death of any John Caffrey (including variants) in Blackburn from 1851 onwards. Only two were found who, by their ages, could be either the butcher or the tinner:

Mar 1866 John Caffry 64 8e 237Sep 1868 John Caffrey 66 8e 250

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Copies of both certificates were ordered. John Caffry, aged 64, died in Blackburn Union Workhouse on the 11 th January 1866. He was described as an outdoor labourer. The cause of his death was dementia and paralysis and the informant was David Cuthbert. This man might be the father of Michael Gregory’s ancestor, Thomas. His age was slightly older than the man found in Friday Street in 1861.

John Caffrey, the butcher, died on the 6th September 1868 at 83 Penny Street. His death was caused by general debility and the informant was Michael Caffrey of 25 Lucknow Street.

Thomas Caffrey could not be found in the 1891 census in Blackburn. A probable death was found for him in the June quarter of 1887, aged 52 (Blackburn 8e 273).

In order to investigate the possibility of finding the Caffrey family in Roscommon, before they came to England, a search was made of Griffith’s Valuation. There are entries for 70 John Caffreys, using the exact spelling of the surname. They lived mainly in the counties of Meath, Dublin and Cavan. None was found in Co. Roscommon.

One householder with the surname of Cafferty was found in Roscommon. This was Patrick Cafferty of Aghaderry townland in the civil parish of Tibohine. Tibohine contains the Catholic parishes of Lisacull and Loughglynn. The LDS Family History Library in London holds a film which includes baptisms at Loughglynn from 6 th July 1829 to 24th November 1840 (0989753). A search was made up to the end of 1837, looking for any Caffrey entries, but in particular, any Thomas or any child of John. There were no Caffrey entries at all. There were a number of entries relating to families called Cafferty but none was for a child called Thomas and none had a father named John.

The parish appears to have been known later as Loughglynn and Lisacull and it was possible to search, on the same film, for deaths from 14th January 1850 to 18th Jun 1854. No Caffrey was found.

Report dated: 19 November 2009

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Sources Consulted

English and Welsh Civil RegistrationOffice for National Statistics, London

Birth Bernadette Caffrey 1934Marriage Thomas Edward Caffrey and Elizabeth Ashworth 1915Birth Thomas Edward Caffrey 1891Marriage Thomas Caffrey and Ellen Ferdinand 1887Birth Thomas Caffrey 1865Marriage of Thomas Caffrey and Margaret Taylor 1854Birth Mary Ann Caffrey 1872Nicholas Caffry 1863

Irish Civil RegistrationCustom House, Dublin

Search for marriage Thomas Caffrey and Margaret Taylor 1864-1865

Census ReturnsPublic Record Office, London

1911 Census On line1901 Census 14, Pomfret Street, Blackburn; 29 Sharples Street, Blackburn1891 Census 8, Aspden Street, Blackburn; 17 Union Street, Blackburn1881 Census British National Index1881 Census 4 Union Street, Blackburn; 1 Union Street, Blackburn1871 Census 4 Union Street, Blackburn and rest of Enumeration District 73

Back of Union Street, Blackburn and rest of Enumeration District 14George Street West, Blackburn; 2 Hargreaves Lane, Blackburn4 Sharples Street, Blackburn and rest of Enumeration District 14

1861 Census 4 Sharples Street, Blackburn and rest of Enumeration District 45Stout Street, Blackburn and rest of ED 5

1851 Census Surname Index Blackburn (HO 107 2258, 2259)1851 Census 37, Eccles Street, Blackburn

36 Eccles Street, Blackburn

WO 363/C11WO 363/C11 WO 363/ (Mis-sorts)20WO 364/2822, 4914, 5528 & 5803

Miscellaneous sources consulted

www.1837online.comTranscription of Blackburn Roman Catholic Church Records by the Lancashire Family History Society, 2004www.araltus.com : Origins of the Caffrey name

National Archives“Behind the Wire” database of British WWI POW’s, Series WO161/98: POW interview with Thomas Caffrey, King’s Own Lancaster Regiment, WWI

‘Burnt Paper Series’, National Archives, Service Records: Nicholas Caffrey, Lancashire Fusiliers William Caffrey, Royal Fusiliers

BMD Index1846-1900 Births of Caffrey/Caffery

Commonwealth War Graves CommissionMatthias Caffery of the East Lanc’s Regiment

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The Caffrey Family of Blackburn and Relationship of Michael Gregory to the Caffrey Line

John Caffrey = [---?---]b. ca 1815Turner (1854)

Thomas Caffrey = Margaret Taylor See: Taylor Family Thomas Moore [?] Moore = Bridget [?]b. ca 1836 (Roscommon, b. ca 1834 History Report b. ca 1840

b. ca 1841 (Ireland)Ireland) m. 3 June 1854 (Blackburn) (Ireland)Labourer of Blackburn d. ca 1878 in Blackburn(1854)Foundry Labourer of 4 Sharples Street, Blackburn,(1865General Labourer of 4 Union St, Blackburn(1881)Cotton grinder (1887)

Thomas Caffrey = Ellen Ferdinand Mary Ann John Caffrey Nicholas Caffery = Catherine Mooreb. 1 Feb, 1865 dau of James Ferdinand b. ca 1871 Thomas Caffrey b. 1862 (Blackburn) b. 1865Living atSharples Cotton spinner Margaret Ann Hugh Caffery 29 Sharples St, (Blackburn)St, Blackburn (1881) b. ca 1863/7 b. 1873 William Caffery Blackburn m. 1887Cotton piecer m. 10 Apr 1887 at (Blackburn) (1916-19) St Mary’s ChurchCoton grinder of St Mary’s RC See below Street Mason Blackburn21 Mosley St, (Blackburn) Private in NorthernBlackburn (1887) Cotton rover of 30, See Ferdinand Family Lancashire RegtCotton mill engine Infirmary St, Blackburn History Report (ca 1881-86)Tenter (1915) (1887) Defence Force d. 1935 (Blackburn) (1915)

9

Thomas Edward Caffrey = Elizabeth Ashworth James Caffrey Margaret Ellen Mary A Joseph Bolton = Maryb. 15 July 1891 (Livesey, dau of Richard Ashworth b.1886 (Blackburn) b. ca 1889 b.1889 b. ca 1902 b. ca 1896Blackburn) b. 1893 (Blackpool) William Caffrey (Blackburn) LillyPrivate 1st/4th East m. 20 Nov 1915 b. ca 1895 Mary A b.1898Lanc’s Regt St Alban’s RC (Blackburn) b. ca 1900 Catherine(cotton spinner) of 44, (Blackburn) Private in Lancashire (Blackburn) b.1894John St, Blackburn Cotton spinner of Fusiliers 1912-19 Nicholas Caffrey(1915) 40, John St, Blackburn Living at 44 John St, b. ca 1888Cotton mule spinner (1915) Blackburn (1912/1919) John CaffreyOf 77, Daisy Lane, Robert Caffrey b.1890Blackburn (1934) b. ca 1895 (Blackburn) Thomas Caffreyd. 1971 (Blackburn) See Ashworth, Bond & Beck Nicholas Caffrey b. ca 1890

Family History Report b. ca 1895 (Blackburn) MargaretPrivate Lanc’s Fusiliers Agnes(1914-1918) Matthias CaffreyLiving at 44 John St, b.1892Blackburn, (1915) Killed in WW1 (1918)

James Caffrey Malcolm Peter Gregory = Bernadette Caffrey Thomas Caffrey = Agnes Boltond. 1976 b. 1935 b. 13 Apr 1934 b.1932 b.1933Cotton Mill Worker (Blackburn) (Blackburn)Ellen m. 21 Jul 1956 d. ca 2002b. 1 Aug 1929 St Peter RC(Blackburn) Blackburnd. 2003 (Blackburn) Cotton doffer ofCotton spinner 12, Beaumaris Avenue,

Blackburn (1956) d. 2001 (Blackburn

Michael Peter Gregory Martin Caffrey = Tracey Swindlehurst

b.1957 (Blackburn) See Gregory Family b. 1966 b.1967History ReportAnd GenealogyChart No 2

Luke Caffrey Matthew Caffrey Joseph Caffrey b.1997 b.2001 b.2004

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Genealogy ChartNo 2

Esther Leslie: 3rd Cousin Hourglass tree

H o urg la ss Tree o f E sther Leslie

E s th erL es lie1 9 6 6 -

T h o m a sL es lie1 9 2 9 - 1 9 9 8

T h o m a sL es lie1 8 9 6 -

M ich a elL es lie1 8 7 4 -

M a rg a ret A n nC a ffrey1 8 7 3 -

T h o m a sC a ffrey1 8 3 4 -

J o h nC a ffrey1 8 1 5 -

U n kn o wnU n kn o wn

M a rg a retT a ylo r1 8 3 4 - 1 8 7 8

J o h nT a ylo r1 8 1 3 -

Ha n n a hB ra m ley1 8 1 4 -

E s th erFis h wick1 8 9 6 - 1 9 6 6

J a m esFis h wick1 8 6 7 -

M a ry A n nS h o rro ck1 8 6 7 -

M a rg a retM a ws o n1 9 3 2 -

E s th erL es lie1 9 6 6 -

Go rd o nS teel1 9 6 0 -

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