The Toomey Name Game

My Toomey family has not made research into this line very easy. The first known ancestor is Anthony Toomey; his son is Mark and the next generation is where all the trouble begins. Mark named two of his sons Mark and Mark Anthony and both of these boys lived into adulthood.

Mark Toomey’s grandchildren include three Mark Anthony Toomey’s and one Mark Toomey. There are several other Mark Anthony’s but these come from Mark’s daughters so they have different surnames. The next generation has two Mark Anthony Toomey’s and two Mark Toomey’s and so the naming practice goes. In my database I have five Mark and nine Mark Anthony Toomey’s and most of them were born in the mid to late 19th century.

At least I know that if I come across a Mark or Mark Anthony Toomey the chances that they are connected to my family is good. The problem comes in differentiating between them in the records such as city directories. This is where the next family link comes into play. A lot of the Toomey men were solicitors. So it is not that easy to figure out which Mark Anthony Toomey Solicitor is the one I am researching in the city directory.

Now I sit with my list of Mark and Mark Anthony Toomey’s with their dates of birth and death and their address, if the address can be found on civil registration records and directly linked to them. Every one is noted and I try to see if they can fit into any of the information currently relating to them.

This problem is one that keeps growing but it not insurmountable. It just takes a little patience and a lot of detail work to make sure the information is connected to the right Mark or Mark Anthony Toomey. Thank goodness the family did not start using Anthony or Anthony Mark as names or we could be in a lot more trouble.

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