A large CONDREN tree

St. Andrew's Roman Catholic church in Westland Row, Dublin. Built in 1832-7, James Patrick CONDREN and Mary Jane SHIEL were married here in 1861, and three of their children were baptised here.

One of the largest CONDR*N family trees I have reconstructed stretches from origins in Dublin and Co. Wicklow to London and even to Australia and the USA.

James George CONDREN (born in Dublin about 1833) and his wife Mary Jane SHIEL (or SHEIL, born in Dublin about 1834) have nearly fifty descendants bearing the CONDREN name that I am aware of. In particular they had at least eight children, born between 1861 and 1877, the first four born in or near Dublin and the last four in London.

There is some confusion amongst trees of this family on the web, and an incorrect identification of James's father as "Richard CONDREN". This error apparently arises from the assumption that James George CONDREN is one and the same as an 8-year old James CONDREN who appears in the 1841 census for Hulme near Manchester.

But thanks to the people at churchrecords.irishgenealogy.ie who have made numerous Dublin marriages and baptisms freely available on their website, we can now definitively identify James George CONDREN and Mary Jane SHIEL as the couple who got married at St. Andrew's, Dublin, on 7 January, 1861. Mary Jane's father is recorded as Patrick SHEIL, and James George's father is recorded as George CONDRAN. From the relatively rarity of the name George CONDR*N, we can tentatively identify James George CONDREN's parents as George CONRAN and Mary MORGAN, who got married in the Roman Catholic parish of Dunlavin, Co. Wicklow, in 1832. A George CONDRON and a Mary MORGAN had a son James baptised at St. Mary's, Dublin, in 1833. Given the usual variety of spellings in records of this period, I think these are the same people.

So, we have George and Mary (MORGAN) CONDREN, and in the next generation James George and Mary Jane (SHIEL) CONDREN. James and Mary had four children in Ireland (Mary Ellen in 1861, Rosanne in 1863 and George Stratford in 1864, all baptised at St. Andrew's, Dublin; and James Patrick in 1866, baptised in Rathmines near Dublin). They then moved to London, where they had a further four children (Richard Martin in 1868 and Catherine Frances in 1871 in Stockwell; William Joseph in 1875 and Margaret Josephine in 1877 in Wimbledon).

Eldest son, George Stratford CONDREN, married Emily Elizabeth NORTH in 1885, and they had seven children: George Stratford junior (1885), Emily Frances (1887), Ellen Louisa (1892), John (also called Jack, 1893), William James (1898), Alice Ruth (1901) and Ebenezer James (1904). All these births were registered in the Lambeth district of south London. All seven children got married in and around London: George Stratford junior to Edith Florence GEORGE, Emily Frances to Alfred SEGROTT, Ellen Louisa to Frederick NORRIS, Jack to Rose FOSTER, William James to Christina Frances LOWER, Alice Ruth to George SMITH, and Ebenezer James to Gladys Ivy LAWN. As discussed in this blog back in 2008, George Stratford senior fell foul of the law, was found guilty of stealing while employed in the Post-office, and was sentenced at the Old Bailey in April 1887 to five years' penal servitude.

A second son, James Patrick CONDREN married firstly Louisa MARTIN (who died in 1889) in 1886, and secondly Rose Mary DUNN in 1892, each time in St. Mary's, Lambeth, London. The latter marriage produced one son, Leslie Arthur CONDREN (1892).

Another son, William Joseph CONDREN, who also went under the name of William Stratford CONDREN,  married Caroline Matilda MISKIN in 1900 at St. John's, Newington, London. They had nine children: William Joseph ("Con", 1900), Caroline May (1902), George Stratford (1905), James Richard (1905), Lilian Alice (1907), Maud (1908), Kathleen (1911), Richard John (1913), and Margaret (1915).

Where the name "Stratford" which recurs in several family members comes from, I do not know. Do you? If so, please let me know! And, as usual, I would welcome any corrections to the above or further information, particularly from family members. E-mail condran[AT]one-name.org (replace "[AT]" with "@") or leave a comment below.

And finally, do you know of any CONDR*N family spread over more than three continents? If so, I'd like to hear from you!