Robert Sherrard married Mary Buchanan

[Christine Lyttleton]

This is a photo of James Buchanan's wife Mary McGuire.  It may well have been taken in 1876 at their wedding.  I am not certain.  Mary is quite young here.

In the group photo of the Buchanans on the back verandah (porch), the older couple seated on the wicker chairs with the children are Jane and James' brother William Buchanan (with beard) and his wife Emma Buchanan.  I can't identify the others. They are children and grandchildren of William and Emma.

In the family group of the Buchanans standing in front of the house where there is a boy seated on a horse, I cannot positively identify anyone in the group.  This is the house of William and Emma Buchanan's son Ernest Samuel Buchanan. However, the smaller man who is standing second from the right and who is holding the hand of the child looks uncannily like Jane and William's brother James Buchanan.  It is very possible that it is James.

[Christine Lyttleton]

This photo was taken in Beaufort at the house of James Buchanan's brother William Buchanan.  The house is across the street from William's Blacksmith's shop.
Standing on the balcony are James Buchanan's wife Mary Buchanan and one of their smaller child -either Herbert or Augusta. I don't know which child it is.  Standing in the light frock (dress) at the side of the house is James and Mary's daughter Nancy Jane.
The photo  was most likely taken in about 1893, not 1900.   

[kingskerswell]

Christine,
             I would be wary of jumping to conclusions about Buchanan relationships. As well as "my Buchanans" in Magheramore there are two other households of Buchanans in 1858, William and Archibald and I do not know of a relationship between them. I said that there was a distant relationship but I have not done much research on the family.

Regards

[captainbeecher]

-Birth Catherine Kane (Cairns) 4 March 1823, baptised 10 March 1823, Parish/District Glendermott (Church of Ireland, Father James Kane, mother Margaret McShane

-Marriage James Buchanan, Slaghtmanus to Catherine Kane, Listress, on 31 October 1851.  Father of James given as James Buchanan, Weaver. Father of Catherine, given as Michael.  James gives his profession as Smith (Blacksmith)

Hi Christine. I'm curious about this info as Catherine's birth record points to James Kane but her marriage record points to Michael Kane? I'm also curious that if both records state her name was Kane, where the Cairns surname comes in? Also James' father here is recorded as James and not William.

Sorry to sound a bit like a cross examiner but while researching the Sherrard family I came across lots of Slaughtmanus 19th century family who all had the same names and I sometimes linked on the basis of assumptions that I later would find to be wrong when checking documentary evidence. Years later it has led me to always double check any information that I'm not certain about.

And don't worry about any roots chat etiquette about posting regarding the Buchanans here. This thread after all is as much about Mary's family as Robert Sherrards. 

[Christine Lyttleton]

Thank you very much to cousins captainbeecher and kingskerswell for their information and scrutiny of what I write.  I appreciate this.

We had never known Catherine Cain (Cairns) as Catherine Kane.  I have cousins here who are in their 80s and remember a lot about James' life in Australia, as much information had been passed down by their parents and grandparents.  When I started to try to find out things in Ireland, I had information about Catherine from her death certificate.  Catherine's death certificate states that she was born in Limerick, but married in Londonderry. The informant is her brother-in-law William Buchanan.  You must realise that they had thick Northern Irish accents and the the Registrar of the death was James Johnston who was either English or Australian.  In Beaufort where William lived, it was always understood that he came from a place in Londonderry called Slothmanis. On the back of James Buchanan's son Herbert's marriage certificate it is written that James came from Strathmanis Island.  From these two names, interpreted incorrectly by people in the 1800s with an Australian accent and no knowledge of Ireland,  I finally located Slaghtmanus, Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Limerick troubled me.  There was a great religious and geographical divide between Protestant and Catholic Ireland.  Catherine with a 'C' is the Protestant spelling of the name Katherine.  Used with a 'K' means Katherine is usually a Catholic name.  The surname Kane is also a predominantly Catholic name.  This didn't look correct to me.  The Buchanans were such staunch Protestants up until about 1960 that marriage to a Catholic caused serious problems and had severe consequences. There were several instances of this that I know of.  I am so pleased this is not the case today. 

I could never find Catherine in Limerick.  What would a Protestant be doing in Limerick?  I thought it unlikely also that James would be traipsing around the countryside looking for a wife. When he moved to Stawell in the 1890s, James called himself a Blacksmith. I also knew that Catherine was older than James.  Her immigration record puts her DOB at around 1818. 

On this behavioural basis, and, as I couldn't find Catherine under Kane in Limerick, I started searching for Catherine in Lower Cumber. I located a copy of the Census in 1831 and saw that there was a Cairns family in Listress - right around the corner from Slaghtmanus and Highmoor.  I then found her, and then found the marriage record for Catherine and James.  It is very true that the names of their fathers do not match. However, the Cairns family in Listress has James Cairns, and a James is listed as a father on the marriage certificate.  There are always inconsistencies in names on certificates due to the level of literacy and who in the family uses which name, in order to identify themselves separately from another member of the family using another name.  Many family names are also accidentally transposed on Certificates.  In the Buchanan family in Australia, there are several generations of men who have the names William James, or James William.

I am very happy to leave it open that I may be wrong about Catherine's birth certificate.  It is interesting that the birth certificate for James and Catherine's son, little William James Buchanan, predates their marriage. On little William's immigration record in early 1853, his age is given as three, and his birth record states he was born in 1849. What can be the reason for James and Catherine having a baby out of wedlock, particularly when the Presbyterian church have been so strongly against baptism for illegitimate children? (mind you, it is lovely to know that we are a normal family. James' daughter Augusta had a baby at 14 in Stawell)  Maybe there wasn't a Minister in Slaghtmanus at the time.  I don't know. There is a great history in Australia of couples in the bush just getting on with it and baptising the children in a couple of years' time when the  Minister finally rode into town.

I will post this and keep going.  It may be getting too long.



 

[aghadowey]

Have to disagree with a few assumptions in your post 

There was a great religious and geographical divide between Protestant and Catholic Ireland. Catherine with a 'C' is the Protestant spelling of the name Katherine.  Used with a 'K' means Katherine is usually a Catholic name.  The surname Kane is also a predominantly Catholic name.  This didn't look correct to me.  The Buchanans were such staunch Protestants up until about 1960 that marriage to a Catholic caused serious problems and had severe consequences. There were several instances of this that I know of.  I am so pleased this is not the case today.
Actually, there was intermarriage between Catholics and Protestants and while the families may not have approved or been happy about it the marriage didn't always cause great problems. Catherine and Katherine are used interchangeably by all religions in Ireland and Kane is often found as a 'Protestant' name so one cannot really make such assumptions.
Some Presbyterian families would not have been happy with a marriage to a member of the Church of Ireland. Indeed in earlier times a ceremony performed by a Catholic priest would have been preferred to one by a C. of I. rector as Presbyterians as a group were persecuted by the Established Church.

What can be the reason for James and Catherine having a baby out of wedlock, particularly when the Presbyterian church have been so strongly against baptism for illegitimate children? (mind you, it is lovely to know that we are a normal family. James' daughter Augusta had a baby at 14 in Stawell)  Maybe there wasn't a Minister in Slaghtmanus at the time.  I don't know.
The Presbyterian church itself had no ban against the baptism of illegitimate children and Presbyterian registers are filled with entries for children with either no father named, illegitimate written under father's name or a note to the effect that X was the reported father of the child.
Parental disapproval was sometimes a cause for delaying a marriage but was as often for reasons nothing to do with religion (age of the couple, dislike of other family due to education, social status or occupation are just some of them).
It's doubtful that there would not have been a minister available for any length of time- if there was a vacancy it would have been filled within the Presbytery.

[Christine Lyttleton]

Thank you aghadowey for your perspective.  It is important to read these comments. 
Whilst I very well remember here that Catherine was always used for Protestants and Katherine for Catholics, you may certainly have an entirely different perspective.  They are both lovely spellings of the name.
I also remember only some years back a great controversy in the Presbyterian Church in Scotland when a Minister refused to baptise an illegitimate child.  It made the press over here and was widely condemned. I am glad you have not had the same experiences. 

[aghadowey]

It has always been the case that individual ministers may have been more disapproving of the baptism of illegitimate children or other matters.  Quite often in church registers there will be lots of illegitimate children baptised (and indeed marriages for couples not normally attending that church) which is probably explained by that particular minister being more understanding. I know of one local Presbyterian minister who seems to have insisted upon putting a father's name in the register (not one entry during his time is without a named father but I have also noticed many unmarried girls belonging to his congregation who chose to baptise their children in neighbouring churches.

Whilst I very well remember here that Catherine was always used for Protestants and Katherine for Catholics, you may certainly have an entirely different perspective.
Not really 'my perspective' but fact.
If you search the 1901 census with just the first name 'Katherine' there are 2474 results. Narrowing down the results to only include Catholics there are 1957- which indicates 517 non-Catholic Katherines.
Do the same search for 'Catherine' and there are 86051- 78022 Catholics and 7979 non-Catholics.
Back to searching for 'Katherine' in 1901- only 48 in total in Co. Londonderry but 2644 for 'Catherine' which just shows that Catherine was more common than Katherine in this area.

[Christine Lyttleton]

Thank you aghadowey for these statistics. 
You are excellent in your research and analysis. I had not meant to offend anyone.  I was explaining my method of how I came to find Catherine Kane in Listress, with the only information being Catherine Cane, born in Limerick.  I believe it would have been the interpretation of the Londonderry accent which provided the name of Limerick.  Very few people in Australia would have heard of Listress.  James was not at all happy that Catherine had left him.  Catherine died in difficult circumstances.
It is excellent to have your analyses. I tend to be more intuitive, based on what I know of the family. 
I have attached the land claims of James Buchanan, and a Robert and George Buchanan at Trewalla near Beaufort.  I believe that the Robert is indeed a relative, and most likely James' brother. I don't think the George Buchanan is a relative, although I have no factual evidence.  There were so many Buchanans in the Beaufort and Ballarat areas due to the gold rush of the time.  George has never been a name in the family.