John Alexander Stewart dob 14 AUG 1874 Antrim, Ireland (possibly Balleymoney)

[aghadowey]

I did find a marriage for a Charles Stewart (son of Andrew) to Jane Shirley/Shirlow (daughter of Robert in Ballymoney registration district but it was 5 Jan.1865 and they had at least 3 children-
1. Margaret born 13 Apr,1865 (mother- Shirlow)
2. Charles born 22 Dec.1869 Dervock district (mother- Shirlow)
3. James born 5 Apr.1872 (mother- Shirley)

[kalviewdrive]

Hello aghadowey,
Thank you so much for your diligence in searching for my family.
That is indeed interesting information that you have found. It is the most promising information since I found the brothers on the passenger list coming to Canada.  I'm wondering if perhaps the names/ages of the brothers have been transposed when they registered with the shipping company. Worse things have been known to happen with census reports and the likes, and I'm fairly certain that given the circumstances of the boys' lives, not much attention was given to them.
Where would I be able to get access to the record for the marriage and the children's births, as I would like to have a copy, if it is possible. I am hoping to have my nephew who is a direct male descendant of John A do a DNA Y-chromosome test., with results eventually leading us to long-lost relatives. We have had serendipitous experiences in several instances in our research for other branches of the family and hope for the same to happen here.
Thank you so very much for your help.

[kingskerswell]

Hi,
   The marriage in 1865 took place in Ballymoney Civil Registrars Office where the bride's name was SHIRLOW.

Regards

[aghadowey]

Still searching for details on the Stewarts but should add that Shirley and Shirlow can be used for the same family. There were lots of Shirleys in Aghadowey Parish (I 'collect' them) but the Dervock district birth for Charles in 1872 puts that particular Stewart family on the other side of Ballymoney.

[kalviewdrive]

Thank you, kingskerswell, for the information. I've added it to my cache of information. There is so much information that it is taking some time to filter through.

[kalviewdrive]

Thank you again, aghadowey, for all your input. Another gold star to add to your collection! I must acquaint myself with the geography of the Ballymoney area.  This is my first foray into Irish research, and I'm not at all familiar with the customs of the time and country .Do you think that the family would have moved around? From what I see from my research in England,  most of families in the countryside at this time stayed fairly close to where they were born, and it was only after WWI that families starting moving away.

[aghadowey]

Farmers tend to stay in the same place but labourers do move about frequently sometimes. Ballymoney isn't far from me (my children were all born there) and Dervock is a village/area a few miles north.

Often relatives or neighbours looked after young orphaned children or ones old enough were sent out to work but I did research a family where 3 of the boys were sent to Canada as Home Children- there were about 10 children, elder daughter was killed in a tragic accident, mother and then father died soon after. An uncle took one of the girls but had a large family of his own and the rest of the family were scattered about.

It may be that it was decided the two boys would have a better life in Canada.

[kalviewdrive]

So many of the Home Children had truly miserable lives in Canada with many types of abuse, but many of them had good experiences, all depending on the family that they went too. I was so young when my grandfather died that I can really only remember two times of being in the same room as he was. He was a kind and sweet man, from what my older cousin said, and to me that means that the family he came to in Canada treated him well. I don't know about Charles though, as the family lost contact with him when my grandfather died. When he enlisted for WWI his occupation was as a blacksmith. He helped build the railroad across the western parts of Canada and over the Rocky Mountains, so he must have been a strong man - I can only remember him as being of small stature, but he was into his 80s by then.
I do so appreciate all the help that you have given me with the information. In the genealogical research area, a helping hand is always greatly appreciated, and in turn one is able to help others. Thank you again.

[aghadowey]

Had a go at searching for Charles Stewart in Ontario (1891, 1901, 1911 census) but haven't pinned him down yet. Wonder is he was still in Brampton area in 1921 (census not yet indexed).