Some Notes on Trying to Trace Ann Mills

In about 1799 my direct ancestor, John Bowles of Ballickmoyler, married Ann Mills. I haven't found where their first three children were born but from 1808 to 1817 their children's baptisms are recorded at the church at Dunleckney in south county Carlow. In 1818 they left Ireland to emigrate to Canada and settled in Quebec City. See The Bowles Family of Quebec City

In Ireland a marriage ceremony was usually held where the bride lived so I have been trying to find out where Ann Mills came from in order to locate their marriage registration and perhaps other information about her family and what the Bowles connection to that place might be.

However, Mills references in that area have been very hard to find.

The most likely references are:

A death record at the Killabban-Castletown church which the Bowles of Ballickmoyler attended:

Jonathan Mills of Cloyda at age 103 buried Aug. 19, 1821

Cloydagh, also called Cloydy or Clogrennan, is about 4 or 5 miles south of Ballickmoyler and has it's own Church of Ireland church (built 1803 and is the third C. of I. church currently in Killeshin parish along with Castletown and Mayo) so for Jonathan to have been buried at Castletown he probably had some relatives there. Perhaps he was Ann Mills' Grandfather. Ann would have emigrated to Canada before Jonathan died so there may have been other Mills in the Ballickmoyler area as well in 1821. The 1850's Griffith's Valuation does not list any Mills at either Cloyda, Castletown or Ballickmoyler. The GV does show an Arthur Mills who is one of the primary land owners for the town of Ballytarsna, co. Carlow which is another link to the Bowles as another of the towns associated with the Feltus family. John Bowles' brother Joseph married a Jane Feltus. Ballytarsna is about another 5 miles SE of Cloydagh.

The Killabban-Castletown Church registry also mentions a Robert Mills, a policeman at Ballickmoyler in 1835:

John Charleton Mills baptised Sept. 27, 1835 and Robert Mills baptised Dec. 11, 1836 and died Feb. 12, 1837. Both the sons of Robert Mills, a policeman of Ballickmoyler and his wife Margaret. Margaret Mills of Ballickmoyler died Dec. 23, 1836 at age 29 (after delivering son Robert above who also only lived for a short time).

This Robert Mills would have been a generation after Ann. There was also a Robert Mills in co. Carlow who would have been in the same generation as Ann. He was born in Limerick ~ 1762 and served in the Carlow Militia from 1805 to 1807. ref This is just a note, I have no idea yet if there is a connection.