For years, John McMullan's descendents have been told that he was born in 1740 in Tralee, Kerry County, Ireland. A couple of years ago, I found some information showing that John may have been born in 1743 which would fit better with his age at the time of his service to the Continental Army and his marriage to Theodosia Beasley. Some records show that he was born in Dublin instead of Tralee and if he was born in Tralee, the family moved to Dublin very shortly after his birth. We have also been told that John and his brothers worked in the shipyards in Dublin and that is where John eventually got on a boat to come to America.
While searching genealogical records for John's father, Patrick McMullan, I came across the birth record for John. It is from St. Cathernine's Parish in Dublin and John's birth is recorded as August 13, 1743!
As I began to look into this, I found a St. Catherine's Church which is an Anglican Church in Dublin and thought that is where this record came from. I sent it to an official at the church and found out that this record is from St. Catherine's Parish in Dublin, a Catholic Parish, which is just around the corner. The building that is at that location now is not the same building where John was baptized. More information can be found below:
Parish of St. Catherine of Alexandria
St. Catherine's Church, Dublin (Roman Catholic)
St. Catherine's Church - Dublin, Ireland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Catherine%27s_Church,_Dublin_(Church_of_Ireland)
St. Catherine's church is affiliated with the Church of Ireland which is an Anglican church. We have always felt that John was not Catholic. It appears now that he was but he had children and other descendents who were protestant.
No birth records have been found yet of John's birth but he surely would have been born shortly before his baptsim date of August 13, 1743. I inquired of the Church of Ireland as to when a child would have typically been baptized after birth in the mid 18th century. This is the letter I received back:
From: Susan Hood <susan.hood@rcbdub.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2020 4:18 AM
To: jay@jaymc.com
Subject: Reply to query
Dear Jay,
Thank you for your enquiry. Normally given the fragility of life in 18th-century Ireland, baptism took place a few days or weeks after birth so I would be very certain the child in the question was in its first year!
With kind regards,
Susan Hood
Dr Susan Hood
Librarian & Archivist
Church of Ireland RCB Library
Braemor Park, Churchtown
Dublin 14
Tel. +353 1 492 3979
Website http://www.library.ireland.anglican.org/
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After sending Dr. Hood a copy of John's baptism record, she told me it was not a record from the Church of Ireland but was probably Catholic. It seems that she is correct and John was baptized at the St. Catherine's Parish in Dublin instead.
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