I’ve been able to put together some information about several of these names, but I have a horrible suspicion that I may be mixing two or more different families together (the number of Stephen Gilberts makes life difficult).
[Stephen Gilbert and family were from a village called Aghagallon in south Antrim, next door to the village of Aghalee and near the Armagh towns of Lurgan and Portadown. ‘Soldierstown’ refers to a church near Aghalee.]
Jonathan – The Jonathan we’re looking for was apparently a doctor. According to the Lurgan directory there was a Jonathan Gilbert, surgeon and apothecary, working from Church Square/Market Street in 1852, 1856 and 1861. He appears to be absent in 1840 and 1865. There is a record of a Jonathan Gilbert (“Lurgan, M.D.) in the Soldierstown church records as having died in 1864 aged 44. Annoyingly there’s a will of another Jonathan Gilbert (physician) of “Lurgan, County Armagh … who died 26th February 1867 … granted to Eliza Gilbert of Lurgan … widow of said deceased”. (It may be possible that these two were the same person? Either way I haven’t found anything to link him with my people.)
Sarah, Frances, Sally?? – I don’t know where the names of Sarah and Frances come from. I did find a Sally Gilbert, daughter of Stephen Gilbert, who married Robert Gilbert, son of Thomas Gilbert in Aghalee on 21st November 1855 though. There’s nothing to say her father is the right Stephen though.
William John – I know plenty about this guy. He was born in 1822 and died in 1880. He married Ellen Orr Killen in 1851 at Ballyeaston church (which is very close to where my family now lives, incidentally). There’s still the problem of his 10 children but I’ll get on to that later.
Margaret Anne – She was born in about 1818 (not 1826 as above) and died in 1903. In 1826 she married Meredith Rountree of Rountree Hill, County Armagh. They emigrated to New Zealand in 1865/66. There’s plenty of discussion about her and her descendants on another thread on this site, but the only evidence I have to link her to my family is her mention in the will of her brother Stephen Gilbert (presumably she was the only one of his siblings to outlive him).
Eliza Jane – I’ve been given two completely different dates for her DOB – 1819 and 1834. On the 5th May 1852 an Eliza Jane “daughter of the late Stephen Gilbert”, married James Gilbert, a merchant of Portadown. So she was either rather young or rather old when she married. The IGI has a Sarah Gilbert born to James Gilbert and Eliza Jane on 6th August 1858.
Stephen – Now this is the interesting one. One of my sources thinks he was born in 1814 and died in infancy in 1816 (there is indeed a Stephen Gilbert born to Stephen Gilbert and Ann Jane on 14th February 1814), and another thinks he was born in 1830 and lived till 1902. It is possible they called the first son Stephen (as was the family custom) and they later called another son by the same name. Or maybe they were the same person and the birth date of 1830 is completely spurious. I’ve got plenty of information about a Stephen Gilbert who evidently lived beyond the age of 2. On 3rd April 1857, in Soldierstown church, Stephen Gilbert of Aghagallon married Sarah Anne, only daughter of the late Mr Edward Bell. They had a son in 1818 called Edward who died aged 6 in 1864. The will of Stephen Gilbert says he was the younger brother of William J. Gilbert, apparently - I haven’t seen the full thing, and I can’t read the writing anyway. In the will he mentions his wife Sarah Ann, sister Margaret Anne Rountree (N.Z.), nieces Annie Price, Minnie Weir, Janie Gilbert, Eleanor Gilbert and Edward Killen (N.Z.). The residue was to be divided between William, Stephen and Henry Gilbert. Most of these names match the names I have for William John’s children, thus making it fairly certain that this Stephen, and Margaret Anne, were indeed children of Stephen and Anne Gilbert.