hi, in early 1800 there were only 76 SHANKS in the whole of Ireland, 2 in Antrim,12 in Armagh,48 in Down, the latter being the most populated part of the "North" at that time. They are believed to be English or Scots, depending what you read. Dromore is a village next to Lurgan, a few miles away. When i researched the archives or the Church of Laterday Saints in Belfast,on microfish, i found 4 families of Shanks in the Lurgan Area, only one was Catholic.
That organisation made records of all births marriages and deaths no matter what religion People were and have very complete records. The Brownlow Family, were granted all the land that the modern town of Craigavon, most of the land south of Lough Neagh and created Lurgan, where weavers, tanners and farming allowed the father and later son to build a Castle with a lake. Very impressive for a little inland town. Shanks is a very common name in Aye,Scotland and the Regiments have lots of the family recorded in Service. there are lots of books to get the idea of how the towns grew before you get to the point where food, religion and work sent people packing and off to far off shores. Just a side note,1661-62 Restoration of Charles II, sent a lot of Quakers to the north of Ireland, so we end up with a lot of meeting house for them where they started and kept their records. My book Parish Registers,Historic Treasures,F X Mc Corry,Page 108 of Sacred Landscapes and Human Endeavour in South-West Antrim, shows a map of over 100 families who worked the Lough and their travels. My point regarding the above is Lurgan and the Brownlow family left a big footprint and we are fortunate to have a lot of recorded history built around the township,Armagh Down and Antrim where you can find what made them the special people they became. i have 226 on my tree, so far, and have found the Parish Clerk a great help, and the records office in Roscommon the best place for Certificates to confirm what you thought as a fact, Jim
