The name Tighe is of Irish origin. It is an anglicised version of the Irish Gaelic name "Ó Taidhg" or "Ó Tadhg," which means "descendant of Tadhg". Tadhg is an Irish name that has been used for centuries and is of uncertain origin but is thought to mean "poet" or "philosopher."

We have yet to fill in the detail for this branch of our family. In recent times, we have made connections through DNA testing however this is the lesser known side of our family.

Owen is our ancestor with which records become reliable. Owen first appears as Owen Tye in a marriage record to Catherine Herrick, dated the 13th November 1862 in St Patrick's Church, Liverpool. His parents are listed as Thomas and Catherine, residence Staffordshire, however listed as both dead. Owen's address is listed as 1 Russell Street and Catherine is 28 Russell Street.

Owen and Catherine appear next in the  1871 census. This is where we can see that Owen's birthplace is Ireland and that he would have been born in 1833. 

When searching for Owen's parents in Staffordshire, there is a what appears to be a match in the 1851 census from Newcastle-under-Lyme. On this record Thomas is a whitesmith, 42, born in Ireland and Catherine is 52, born in Budgmeen, Cheshire, England. They also reside with another son by the name of Michael aged 15. 

Records further back for this family seem to be a little bit harder to trace. There is a Thomas Tighy in the 1841 census, a blacksmith aged 30, also at the household is Kate Tighy aged 35. There are however four children at the household, Mary, John Elizabeth and Michael, however all with the surname Parr. It's hard to be sure if this is the same family, but there are links with some of the names and Thomas's occupation.

When looking at Irish records, There is a military record which matches Thomas, stating he is from Oldcastle, co Meath. The record states that Thomas served in the 45 foot soldiers regiment. The 45th (Nottinghamshire) (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1741. The regiment saw action during Father Le Loutre's War, the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War as well as the Peninsular War, the First Anglo-Burmese War and the Xhosa Wars. The record does not state which conflict Thomas was involved in. It does however, state that his complexion was swarthy.

Less than 23 miles from Oldcastle, in Mullingar, Westmeath, we have found birth records for a Eugene and Michael with parents Thomas Tighe and Catherine Cuffe. This corresponds with our Owen Tighe (Eugene being an anglicised version of Owen or Eoghin) born in 1829 which is only a few years out from the age estimated by the census records. The birth record for Michael matches the 1851 census perfectly, with 1837 as his birth date. There is also a Mary Tighe with Thomas and Catherine as parents born here in 1832. 

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Back to Liverpool where Owen and wife Catherine are starting their family, in the 1871 census they are parents to Martin, Patrick and Mary. By the 1881 census, they are parents to two more children, Catherine and Owen. They live at 35 Blundell Street.

We know that Patrick and Owen had children, and that their lines continue today. Recently we made touch with one of Patrick's descendants who has appeared as DNA match on ancestry. Incidentally, he was already known to the family through social circles, a huge coincidence five generations on.

Our line continued through Martin Tighe born 1863. Sometime not long after the 1881 census, Martin married Mary Ellen Robinson / De La Cruz. Mary Ellen has two very different maiden names. This is becuase we don't have the marriage record for the couple but we do have the baptismal records for their children, Mary Ellen interchanges between the two names on the baptismal records. We are unsure why. Their children were: 

• Mary Catherine Tighe 1884 - 1946

• Ann Tighe 1886 - 1887

• Catherine Tighe 1887 - 1890

• Ellen Jane Tighe 1890 - 1940

• Catherine Anne Tighe 1893 - 1964

• Elizabeth Tighe 1895 - 1895

As you can see from the dates above, sadly only three of the children grew to be adults. Mary, Ellen and Catherine (Annie). 

In the 1891 census, the family are living at 18 Dickenson Street.

This is nearly where the Tighe name ends in this branch of the tree. All three daughters married. Ellen married Arthur Fell, Catherine (Annie) married Charles George Chan and Mary married John Clarke.

Two years before Mary married John Clarke, Mary had a son, Martin Morales Tighe born 1906. Sadly Martin only passed away in 1922 at fifteen years old, from tetanus.