Gillan Gillen Gillon

[griogair]

Hello,
I have the same problem as many other people researching their Scottish-Irish family history as I have hit a brick wall (several times) in trying to trace my Irish ancestors who came to Scotland in the 1840s. The first record I have of my great x3 grandfather Patrick Gillan (also written as Gillon and Gillen) is in the 1851 census for Duntocher, Dunbartonshire, Scotland where he is stated as being born in Ireland - there is no further information given in any subsequent censuses - or any other official documents - as to town/county/province of origin. He was born around 1833 and died in 1877. He and nearly all of his male family members were involved in ironstone and coal mining in Garscadden, a purpose built mining village in Dunbartonshire, although when he first moved to Scotland he was an agricultural labourer. His parents were Thomas Gillan and Catherine Duffy, both born in Ireland. I know this surname is most common in counties Antrim, Derry, Donegal and Sligo but apart from that I don't really have much more to go on. I have a bit of an idea in my head that he came over from County Antrim but I am unsure now whether someone told me that or whether it was just an original assumption of my own. I realise that this is a familiar problem due to the loss of many Irish records but I was just wondering if anyone may have any ideas on where I could go from here as I'm really stuck on where to go now. I would love to find out where my Gillans originated from. Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Griogair

[annclare]

This may be a complete red herring!! rootsireland.ie (subscription site) has two church baptisms for a Mary Killian bapt Mar (no day given) 1839 and John Killian 15 Mar 1843 in Ferbane Co.Offaly. Parents Thomas Killian and Catherine Duffy. Do you have names of Patrick's siblings?

annclare

[griogair]

Many thanks for your response, Annclare. That's very interesting. I thought I had siblings for Patrick but it's actually his father's siblings I have, John Gillan (born c. 1805) and Mary Gillan (c. 1823) and possibly a Peter Gillan. I don't seem to have siblings for Patrick.

I'd never thought of my Gillans coming from further south in Ireland. I wonder if there was much emigration from Offaly to Glasgow and surrounding area? The different spellings of the name don't help either!

[Zebrakat]

I'm looking to the Gillan/Gillen/Gillon family tree also, I wonder if it is the same tree. I am trying to trace a Laurance, Parents are John/Mary back to Ireland and I can't find them.

[griogair]

Hi Zebrakat,

I hadn't come across the name Laurance Gillan before but after reading your post in the Ayrshire thread and seeing Old/New Kilpatrick mentioned there could well be some sort of link. Trying to find the link could be quite tricky though. My earliest Gillan ancestor to come to Scotland was Patrick Gillan b. 1831 (parents Thomas Gillan - Catherine Duffy) sometime before the 1851 census. I'm unsure where in Ireland they originated. Some Gillans had settled in Duntocher (Old Kilpatrick parish) for about 20 years before Patrick came over (from the 1820s) and many Gillans later moved to the purpose built mining village of Garscadden (New Kilpatrick) after around 1860ish. Most seem to be involved in coal/ironstone mining at some point. I've just started trying to catalogue all of the Gillans in the Old and New Kilpatrick parishes as there seems to be a family link between most of them. I'm hoping some clue may pop up as to the origins of my Gillans in Ireland. I'll let you know if I come across anything.

[Elwyn Soutter]

Might be worth checking for Poor Law/Workhouse records. Many people born in Ireland who moved to Scotland claimed under the Poor Law (the equivalent of today's social security). If they did, their case files usually noted their parish of origin in Ireland. (This was because for recent arrivals they could be returned to that parish). The records often also contain details of next of kin. Interesting in its own right too. I am not sure where Dunbartonshire Poor Law records are kept. But it might be worth searching for them because if any of these families did claim, it may answer your question as to their origins.

[Zebrakat]

Hi Zebrakat,

I hadn't come across the name Laurance Gillan before but after reading your post in the Ayrshire thread and seeing Old/New Kilpatrick mentioned there could well be some sort of link. Trying to find the link could be quite tricky though. My earliest Gillan ancestor to come to Scotland was Patrick Gillan b. 1831 (parents Thomas Gillan - Catherine Duffy) sometime before the 1851 census. I'm unsure where in Ireland they originated. Some Gillans had settled in Duntocher (Old Kilpatrick parish) for about 20 years before Patrick came over (from the 1820s) and many Gillans later moved to the purpose built mining village of Garscadden (New Kilpatrick) after around 1860ish. Most seem to be involved in coal/ironstone mining at some point. I've just started trying to catalogue all of the Gillans in the Old and New Kilpatrick parishes as there seems to be a family link between most of them. I'm hoping some clue may pop up as to the origins of my Gillans in Ireland. I'll let you know if I come across anything.

Thank you, I will keep you updated too. I'm sure they will be a link.

[Zebrakat]

Might be worth checking for Poor Law/Workhouse records. Many people born in Ireland who moved to Scotland claimed under the Poor Law (the equivalent of today's social security). If they did, their case files usually noted their parish of origin in Ireland. (This was because for recent arrivals they could be returned to that parish). The records often also contain details of next of kin. Interesting in its own right too. I am not sure where Dunbartonshire Poor Law records are kept. But it might be worth searching for them because if any of these families did claim, it may answer your question as to their origins.

Thank you, I will defo try this. 😄

[griogair]

Thanks, Elwyn. That is very helpful. Just seen that Dunbartonshire Poor Law records are held at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. I'll definitely look them up the next time I'm in Glasgow.