Help with 'mystery' Bible

[aghadowey]

Old Bible in our house for many years has been a mystery- not sure where if came from, how it ended up with us, etc.

From the Bible records and various newspaper & vital records I have been trying to put together a better picture of these families.

Dr. William Armstrong (d.14 Aug.1860) m.(14 Nov.1829 Aughavea Church by Rev. James Haire) to Frances Haire. 1829-1840 living at Foyle St., Derry. 1858 living at Collooney.
Frances Haire dau. of Hamilton Haire, Glassdrummond, grand-dau. of James Haire, Nutfield, Fermanagh.
Children:
1. 'first child born before its timeMarch 1830.'
2. Frances Mary Armstrong (see below).
3. William Thomas Armstrong (11 Feb.1833 Derry-22 Nov.1837 Foyle St., Derry).
4. Florence Cole Armstrong (4 Jan.1836 Derry-30 Nov.1837 Foyle St., Derry).
5. William Armstrong (13 Oct.1839-16 Apr.1875).
6. James Armstrong (b.17 Mar.1840 Foyle St., Derry).
7. Florence C. Armstrong (b.17 Mar.1845?).

Frances Mary Armstrong (b.14 Jan.1832) m.(23 Feb.1858 Collooney Church) to Thomas Hamilton 'of constabulary,' son of late Lt. Thomas Hamilton, R.N.
1866- sub inspector constabulary, Cork.
Dec.1868- Bellevue Terrace, Cork.
June 1870- Maryborough, Queens Co.
I have found 7 children:
1. Maude Hamilton (b.21 Jan.1859).
2. Mary Florence Miller Hamilton (b.21 __ 1860).
3. Thomas Hume Hamilton (b.12 June 1867 Cork). d.1915 Belfast district
4. Gertrude Aimee Hamilton (b.13 Dec.1868 Cork). died 1871
5. Claude John Cole Hamilton (b.23 June 1870 Maryborough).
6. Florence Gertrude Hamilton (b.17 June 1871 Maryborough).
7. Rhoda Clara Hamilton (b.21 Oct.1873 Maryborough). married 1903 Coleraine (Londonderry) district to William J.K. McMurray

In the Bible is another entry: Thomas Armstrong departed this life July 3d 1846... I placed his son Thos. with Morgan ___ in July 1849- to lodge and feed him- he is now 4 years and four months old. June 15th 1850. Jane Phibbs
It is my intention with the blessing of my heavenly Father to educate him in the protestant faith, and if spared to apprentice him at a proper age to a trade.- Jane Phibbs- June 15th 1850.

Note- found newspaper obituary for Dr. Thomas Armstrong, Collooney, died 3 July 1846, aged 38.

I think Dr. William Armstrong and Dr. Thomas Armstrong, both of Collooney, were probably related.

Can anyone help me find more details? It would be wonderful to find some relatives of these people.
 

[Christopher]

3. William Thomas Armstrong (11 Feb.1833 Derry-22 Nov.1837 Foyle St., Derry).
4. Florence Cole Armstrong (4 Jan.1836 Derry-30 Nov.1837 Foyle St., Derry).
5. William Armstrong (13 Oct.1839-16 Apr.1875).
7. Florence C. Armstrong (b.17 Mar.1845?).

Hiya aghadowey,

The four children, shown above, of Dr William and Frances Armstrong are interesting. I wonder what caused the death of the two children in 1837.  Possibly an epidemic in Derry? The two christian names were then used again in the family which makes me wonder if Dr William's father may have been William and either his mother or his wife's mother was named Florence. I also suspect that there are families named Cole, Hume and Miller in the tree.

Christopher

[RonnieG]

Aghadowey,

Ancestry lists five Thomas Hamiltons enlisting in the RIC. It states their county of origin, their age at enlistment and the year of enlistment.

1869, 21, Cavan
1841, 21, Down (married)
1843, 22, Fermanagh
1857, 25, Donegal
1887, 20, Cork

As it was a requirement that all contables serve at least seven years before marrying the man from Down would not have married prior to 1848.

RonnieG

[Fermaniard]

My wife is related to this family.

Frances Haire is the brother of Revd. Hamilton Haire, from whom she is descended.

Frances Haire's parents are Hamilton Haire (1774- December 1844) and Frances Newburgh (November 9, 1767)-(April 30, 1821)

The reason why "Cole" appears regularly in this family as a second Christian name is that Frances Newburgh is descended from the Coles of Enniskillen.  That descent comes from the marriage of Frances Newburgh's grandfather, Arthur Newburgh to Florence Cole, daughter of Sir John Cole and Florence Wrey.  Sir John Cole built Florencecourt, Fermanagh, which is today owned by the National Trust. 

I can also provide you with names of more descendants of Rhoda Clara Hamilton and William John Kirkpatrick Murray.  They had at least three children: Theodore McMurray, Wan Armstrong McMurray and Dermot Hume Hamilton McMurray.  Theodore McMurray married Rodni Lafontaine.  They had a daughter *.  Wan Armstrong McMurray married F.E. Evangeline Ellis.  They had 3 known children: *

[aghadowey]

What a lovely surprise to get your message and welcome to Rootschat.

As I mentioned at the start, it's a complete mystery as to why this Bible was in the family home although all the evidence seems to say that there's no connection with our family.

I've been to Castle Coole but didn't know the Coles had any connection to the Haire family.

Since my original post I think I found more family details but will have to get out that file to check. Will post more details later.

[aghadowey]

Rhoda Clara Hamilton married 1903 William John K. McMurray (born c1857 Canada). In 1911 they lived in Portrush, Co. Antrim. Son Theodore born c1904 and son Ivan Armstrong born 1905.

Dr. William Armstrong (13 Oct.1839-16 Apr.1875) married Emma Barker. Two daughters: Emma Frances (18 Jan.1874) and Wilhelmina (22 June 1875). I may have found a photo of Wilhelmina.

Canon James Armstrong (born 17 May 1840-30 Apr.1928). 1911 living at Castlerock, Co. Londonderry with niece Frances Anna Mary Maud Hamilton and nephew Thomas Hume Hamilton.

Have lots more details which I can send offline- once you've made 3 posts you can use PM (Personal Message) system to exchange email addresses, etc.

[Fermaniard]

Thank you for that. 

I notice that there are a few McMurrays living in PortStewart (the next door town to Portrush).  I wonder...

I look forward to receiving further information, after I have written my third post!

[aghadowey]

The McMurray boys went to Campbell College, Belfast (details on Lennon Wylie website) but father born in Canada according to census.

http://www.lennonwylie.co.uk/CampbellCollegeRegister2.htm

[Fermaniard]

There is a baseball player from Canada with the name Melville Cole Arrmstrong.  I wonder if that is more than just co-incidence


 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cole_Armstrong