St Columb and Long Tower

[anne_p]

I don't want to throw any spanners into the works but, how sure are you that James Campbell was born/baptised in Derry.?

My own ancestry takes me to the same church, in a similar time period.
I have  marriages and subsequent baptisms, all in Longtower, but I have come to the conclusion that the couple were not born there.
My gg grandmother bc 1839, married in Longtower in 1856. She died in Derry 1867.
I can even place her father in Derry at this time, but their place of birth is not recorded anywhere as her father died in 1884.
From her father's will, I located a sister who was born circa 1851 and like you, I can find no baptism for either daughter
The sister also married in Derry, was widowed and later moved to Scotland where she remarried.
 She appears on one census return only.

I am now at a complete loss because her place of birth is given as... Glasgow!

Ringading,
Just a thought but....
What was your James Campbell's occupation?

[Ringading]

Hi there,

At this stage of the game I am in the process of elimination. If I can demonstrate what I mean, by listing what I have as concrete facts. James Campbell was married at the Longtower in 1868. All of his children were baptised at the Longtower, and he died in 1890 in Londonderry and is buried in the city cemetery. His obituary in the londonderry journal reads ' man of this city'
Information gleaned from the city cemetery states his parents were James and Mary Campbell (ironically) his age at death was 39 and he was survived by his widow, Mary Campbell (nee Macaleer)
As mentioned previously, the other anomaly was. that written in the margin next to his name was Magherafelt.
In the opinion of the receptionist at the cemetery, this,  could be referring to his birthplace. However, I have looked at the catholic baptism in Magherafelt for this era  and found no listing.So if I can eliminate Londonderry, I will then pursue the  possibility of another denomination,unlikely as it seems. Possibly Presbyterian, or church of Ireland. Unlike your ancestors, he did not travel, this was a man who had a large family, and appears to have been in bad health for sometime, given the nature of his passing. It was after he had died that the family dispersed to various places, but then I know where and when this happened.
According to his marriage cert, he was a boot closer.This was an apprenticeship level of shoemaker, at his death, he is listed as a cordwainer, this confirms he had obtained his papers as a tradesman.

I hope this gives a clearer picture for you
again thank you so much for your interest and comments on this.

[aghadowey]

The details from the records of Derry City Cemetery are a fantastic resource but the information, like that on death certificates, depends on the knowledge of the informant. It could easily be that the place of birth refers to someplace near but not that near to Magherafelt or that the names of one or both parents are incorrect.

[Bannerman]

As mentioned previously, the other anomaly was. that written in the margin next to his name was Magherafelt.
In the opinion of the receptionist at the cemetery, this,  could be referring to his birthplace. However, I have looked at the catholic baptism in Magherafelt for this era  and found no listing.

Hi there Ringading

Had a look at Bill McAfee's 1831 heads of household census returns and there are two James Campbell listed for Magherafelt - one in the townland of Magherafelt and the second in the townland of Aghagaskin.

Unfortunately or otherwise there are three James Campbell listed for Templemore - one for Artillery Lane, Londonderry and two for the townland of Whitehouse, Templemore.

Regards

[Ringading]

Hi Bannerman.
I did know about the one in Artillery Lane, but given the time difference, 1831, my thoughts were, that if they are connected it would have to be my G.Grandfathers grandfather. But how to link them in, there in the problem.
I didn't know about the others, that's fantastic, thank you, I will now endeavour to do some research on them.I must appear pedantic in my search for a baptismal cert for G.Grandfather, but the logic is that if I can find one, I might be able to see if there were any other children born of this union to cross  reference to make sure I am on the right trail.
Again, many thanks
Ringading.

[familyroutes]

Have you tried using some of his children's names, with parents James and Mary.It was the custom to name children after grandparents and then parents but,when those ran out, uncle's and aunt's names were often thrown into the mix!!

[Ringading]

Hi familyroutes,
Thank you for your comments, the only difficulty with what you suggest..... using  James Campbell's children's names, to cross reference with James and Mary , is the commonality of the names James and Mary Campbell, there are literally hundreds to choose from.

If one of them had been given an unusual name, this might have been easier to accomplish.

regards
Ringading