Staniforth family (Lighthouse Keepers)

Natonstan

I've been researching the Staniforth surname for the past year and being Irish on both lines I was shocked to find the surname being present on the 1901 Irish census and what is interesting, is it seems to have quite a story behind it with most of the men being Lighthouse keepers around the country, here they are in 1901:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Galway/Inishmore/Inisher/1375867/

Now I've managed to find quite a lot of birth, deaths and marriages through the Irish Genealogy website, Samuels wife was born Williams, and Samuels father appears to be Henry Staniforth who married in Kilrush. Henry Staniforths wife dies in 1905. But what is interesting is Samuel Staniforths son Henry Staniforth (Also known as Harry), I came across this news article:
https://www.pressreader.com/ireland/the-kerryman-north-kerry/20161012/281822873313879
And also this story:
http://www.lighthousedigest.com/Digest/StoryPage.cfm?StoryKey=1402

I also found Harry/Henry's gravestone: http://www.igp-web.com/Kerry/kylemore/staniforthhm.jpg

Does anyone else have any way of looking for information on Henry's grandfather Henry Staniforth, Ideally I am looking for the ancestor that moved from England to Ireland in the first place, Henry's wife Ellen (Maiden name unknown) dies in Kilrush Dec 1905 age 81 meaning she would have been born c 1824, but other than a marriage record that had no record scanned with it (I did get the marriage year 1851), I can't find anything about Henry himself.

Thomas from Presence

Probably the most straightforward thing to do would be to pull Henry Staniforth's marriage cert which would give you at least his father's name and occupation. Ellen's surname is calculated to be Connell by the matching system on ancestry:

Name: Henry Staniforth
Date of Registration: 1851
Registration district: Kilrush, Ireland
Volume: 6
Page Number: 367

Given how early the registration date is and also the lack of any Staniforths in Ireland in any of the early records, I would guess this was an Anglican/COI wedding (guess!) and I'm sure that it will reveal Henry Staniforth senior as the first in the country.

If this turns out to be the case then the search goes to another country. Given the name is clearly English that is where I would start but remember English names does not an Englishman make. In any case, I found a Henry Staniforth in the 1841 English census whose father was Samuel (common naming pattern) so if you pull the marriage cert and find Henry's dad is also Samuel I imagine a little bit of focus on this family might reveal the connection.

Name: Henry Staniforth
Age: 17
Estimated birth year: abt 1824
Gender: Male
Where born: Yorkshire, England
Civil Parish: Sheffield
Hundred: Strafforth and Tickhill (South Division)
County/Island: Yorkshire
Country: England

pedroeibar1

The Commissioners of Irish Lights (the equivalent of the British Trinity House) in Dun Laoghaire have excellent archives/records and certainly would be worth a contact. Lighthouse families were 'special' in that they regularly intermarried, sons succeeded fathers, sometimes a widow was kept on. I think the Coastal Terrace address was for Coastguard men rather than Keepers. Many of the new entrants in the 19thc were ex Royal Navy. There is a good book by a former keeper, Gerald Butler, an interesting read.