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Topic: Kirk/McClenaghan/Boyd in Newtownards c1860s/70s (Read 589 times)
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jmkprime
RootsChat Extra
Posts: 2
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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My great-great grandparents moved from Newtownards, County Down to Glasgow in the 1870s. Moving from the advanced Scottish records system at Scotland's People (*everything* is scanned an online) to the fractured semi-commercialised wild west of Irish genealogy has been something of a culture shock.
I'm searching for James Kirk and Ellen Jane McClenahan who were married in Newtownards in 1871. James would have been born around 1845 and Ellen around 1849, but the ages are fairly unreliable. Much of the information I have comes second hand from their Scottish death certificates and it may not have been "recalled" that accurately by their children.
Ellen's father was a blacksmith who I believe is the James McClenaghan who is shown renting a forge in the 1860s Valuation books. Her mother was also called Ellen and moved to Glasgow with them. I'm really hampered by the spelling of her surname in the Scottish documentation. I've seen it listed as McClenahan, M'Clenahan, McLenaghan, and almost every possible variant of each. At one point the name is listed as McAulay, but that may be a real family connection.
James Kirk's father is William Kirk and was a mason's labourer. I've really hit a brick wall with him. His wife may have been called Martha Skillen, but I've not yet found a reliable match. James was married previously to an Annie or Agnes Boyd in 1866. From the IGI I think they had twins Agnes and Martha. However, the twins and his wife died in 1867 and I'm not entirely sure why.
I love to hear from any body who finds any of the above familiar or has run into these names during their own research.
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Kirk, McClenaghan, McLenaghan, McLenahan, Boyd, Skillen, Newtownards
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akanex2
RootsChat Senior
Posts: 263
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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Firstly, I assume you have copies of the Newtowards marriage certificates. Here are the details from the Emerald Ancestors (pay) website:
Date of Marriage 12 Jul 1871
Groom Name james KIRK
Bride Name ellen jane MCCLENAHAN
Church St Marks Church of Ireland
Parish Newtownards
Civil District Newtownards
County Down
and for the 1866 one:-
Date of Marriage 28 Apr 1866
Groom Name james KIRK
Bride Name agnes BOYD
Church Newtownards Civil Registrars Office
Parish Newtownards
Civil District Newtownards
County Down
From the (free) search of the Ancestry Ireland website we can see Ellen's father was definitely James, but 2 James Kirks were married in the right place in that year and 3 were married in 1866. William is the only father's name common to both years:-
Surname Firstname Year Fathers Firstname county
KIRK JAMES 1866 WILLIAM Down
KIRK JAMES 1866 JAMES Down
KIRK JAMES 1866 JAMES Down
BOYD AGNES 1866 HUGH Down
KIRK JAMES 1871 WILLIAM Down
KIRK JAMES 1871 ROBERT Down
MCCLENAHAN ELLEN JANE 1871 JAMES Down
If you need certificates, phone Newtownards Council and ask for the Registrar they will give you details of the marriage (provided you can supply exact date and place of marriage) for a small fee - it was £3 or £4 the last time I got details from them, but I had called in person.
There is no James McClenaghan (any spelling) on Emerald Ancestors marrying in the Newtownards area early enough to be Ellen's father, but one William Kirk marriage is just possible:-
Date of Marriage 20 Jun 1846
Groom Name william KIRK
Bride Name ann HARVEY
Church Newtownards First Presbyterian Church
Parish Newtownards
Civil District Newtownards
County Down
Surname Firstname Year Fathers Firstname county
KIRK WILLIAM 1846 JOHN Down
HARVEY ANN 1846 JOHN Down
As civil registration (of Non-Catholic marriages) started in 1845, any other matches will have to come from church records, as will births before 1864.
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jmkprime
RootsChat Extra
Posts: 2
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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Thank you both for your replies. I took a look at Ros's fantastic sight, but I found myself going from no leads to too many leads - there are almost too many Williams and James in Newtownards. I think I'm going to have to collate every single scrap of information on the dozens of Kirks in Newtownards and see if I can reconstruct all of their trees. It nothing else it should eliminate some of the potential candidates.
The William Kirk and Ann Harvey connection looks possible, but I've noticed on ancestry.com that somebody else is "claiming" that William as the ancestor of a particular family of Kirks. It would make him a middle class "wealth wool merchant" whereas the one I was looking for is a working class "mason's labourer."
Something I came across after posting was the IGI pilot project to put the indexes of births, deaths and marriages online. These aren't they usual scraggy IGI listing, but are the actual GRO indexes (similar to FreeBMD in England and Wales). You have to scroll down to find the Ireland part, but I found it to be quite interesting.
http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html
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Kirk, McClenaghan, McLenaghan, McLenahan, Boyd, Skillen, Newtownards
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BallyaltikilliganG
RootsChat Veteran
Posts: 850
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I applaud your idea of sketching up the Newtownards lines.
I do have a feeling that the Kirks of Newtownards have had some research
NIFHS Genealogy Search Engine produces Kirk sources at least 50 items but doesnt list what I think I remember
Try www.ulsterancestry.com/ and its search engine
try Belfast Forum and its search engine
I may be thinking of a website called Caora which has been suspended for a year or more
There are Kirk family trees in volumes 3p220 Keady, volume 6p80N Momfield?, volume 14p189, volume 17N in the Blackwood Family history manuscript trees in the LinenHall library, Belfast. I have no way of knowing if the Newtownards line is connected in any way. I suggest you ask them for photocopying estimates if they think your knowledge relevant and you should be prepared to pay a fee for copying, post and packing, and perhaps some staff time and overheads. However if the material is really relevant when you get it, I suggest a further donation to this unique library that is always needing extra funds . Linen Hall Library,17 Donegall Square North, Belfast BT15GB, Northern Ireland, Telephone: +44 (0)28 9032 1707, Fax: +44 (0)28 9043 8586, Email: <irish.reference[at]linenhall.com>.replace the [AT] with the symbol please
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Gracey Gracie Gracy Grassy Greacy
worldwide
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jaguarxjs
RootsChat Pioneer
Posts: 1
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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My great great uncle was William Kirk of Newtownards.
I have photos of his gravestone in Movilla Cemetery, as well as as much pertinent information as I could find.
I attempted to attach photos of the stone on my earlier reply, but it didn't go through.
If would like to connect via normal email, I could send what I have (including a Gedcom file).
Perhaps we echange notes.
Thanks
Ian R. Kirk
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Bushie1
RootsChat Pioneer
Posts: 1
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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I also have a connection to William Kirk through his sister Jane. William who married Ann Harvey was a weaver, at the time of his marriage anyways, and Ann was a sewer. Both lived in North Street Newtownards. I had been in contact with the ancestry person and we have agreed that his connection was not this william and ann. William's father was John Kirk also a weaver. If you think this William is your connection I have some more information on them as well as some info on his siblings.
Cheers and good luck in your searching.
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