Any connection to Mitchell or Walsh families Randalstown Drummaul Antrim c1830

[therave]

Will check with historical societies as recommended and post any result so as not to keep other readers hanging!  Thanks again for your insight and willingness to share. 

[lmgnz]

I do not seem to have any Mitchel connections in either my Henry or Gawn famillies but both sets of ancestors had adjacent farms in Dunsilly.  They were however Presbyterian or Church of Ireland.

On modern maps you should be able to find the Dunsilly Roundabout which I think crosses one of the farms in my family. My impression is that there would not have been many houses in the area.

It was not unusual for a woman to return to her mother's home for the birth of her first child, so it does look as if Selina's parents were living in Dunsilly in 1835.

Cheers

Linda

[therave]

Thanks so much Linda!  I have been thinking that the Mitchells were not Catholic, but that is really just a feeling.  There are no obvious Mitchells listed as sponsors at any of the Walsh childrens' baptisms and I've been unsuccessful linking Mitchell females to the non-Walsh sponsors.

Have seen COI, Presbyterian, Moravian, Methodist, and only a very few RC Mitchells in the Antrim and Ballymena area.  Leaning toward Presbyterian at the moment.

Believe Lina Mitchell's father was named John as a son was named John Mitchell Walsh. Have you seen any land records for John Mitchell in Dunsilly, or any Mitchell for that matter?  The names Robert and George could also be connected.  It may be coincidence but there was a Robert and a George Mitchell seen on two street directories living on the same streets James Walsh, son of Lina Mitchell and John Walsh, had listed on his childrens' birth registrations (Belfast).  Just putting it out there!

Have you read the book Living in Dunsilly: A History of the Donnan Family in Antrim?  Was wondering if it might be worth the investment.

Again, I really appreciate your response.  Will keep the Henrys and Gawns in mind while I search.   

[Elwyn Soutter]

I am not an expert on RC marriage law but my understanding is that whilst civil law in Ireland allowed mixed marriages from 1792 in the Church of Ireland, under RC Canon Law priests weren’t allowed to conduct them until some time in the 1830s. I’d expect both parties to the 1834 marriage to have been RC.

Regarding land records, you need to know what profession the Mitchells and Walshs each had. If they were farmers, they’d be leasing from the O’Neill estate, and their records for 1829 and 1831 are in PRONI (T1024/1 & 2) . However I don’t see either surname in the 1834 tithe applotment records (which would list most farmers). See: http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/antrim/tithe-applotments/drummaul-parish.php#.WEX6ThR2ug0

So I’d reckon that the families were labourers or servants, in which case they’d just be leasing from a local farmer, or lodging with someone. In either event there aren’t likely to be any paper records for that sort of arrangement. (What occupations are shown for the Dunsilly and Milltown residents, on any relevant marriage or death certificates?)

[lmgnz]

I have been looking through my notes from Revaluations etc for Dunsilly but I don't actually have a complete list of the farmers, just the names that interested me.

My 4x gt grandfather Thomas Gawn appears to have moved to Dunsilly from Donegore upon his  marriage c1795 to 2nd wife Martha Maxwell. The inference is that the farm belonged to her family.  Thomas' daughter from his first marriage, Elizabeth (Betty) Gawn born c1794 married another Dunsilly farmer, William Millar. Their son Thomas Millar married another local, Ann Jane Sterrit.

Martha nee Maxwell may have married another local farmer Andrew Fletcher, after Thomas died in 1822.  The marriage was at Mill Row (?) Presbyterian Church in Antrim.

Other names I have noted in the revaluations are Ferguson , Whiteside and Greene.

Cheers

Linda

[Antrimite]

Hi, there is an old grave yard in Milltown itself.  A lot of the headstones are gone completely and the remaining ones can just about be made out.  I have photos of Drumal as I work for the local Council and we maintain these cemeteries.

[Mo37]

Can the graveyard opposite Milltown church in the middle of Antrim be accessed. I am related to the Stirrett family from Dunsilly. I know there are Stirrett graves in Milltown Churchyard but I'd like to take a look at the the graveyard opposite but it seems to be locked and securely fenced.
Mo

[Mo37]

I think it might be Millrow church - not Milltown. Sorry!
Mo

[Antrimite]

Hi, yes just jump over the wall. None of the cemeteries have caretakers, its the Council grass cutting teams that have keys or the very rare time there will be a funeral.  If it is the old cemetery that you are talking about in the centre of the town, you can climb over or else ring the Council and arrange to have a look around.   They should be ok about it.