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Brown1777,

Thanks for the info on pvt. William Lawrence - do you know if WWI Irish Military Records are available online? I have been searching, but no luck so far.

Thanks,
Holly

Hi Aghadowey,

Wow. You have just added to and taken my tree back so much further! Unbelievable! Why didn’t I find this website earlier?? You have been so amazingly helpful… I can’t wait to start working on these new names and information!

I always thought my Lawrence family was from Coleraine, but it looks as though I should be looking for Ballylaggan instead! Ignorantly, I believed these places were basically one in the same, as by Canadian distance standards, Coleraine and Ballylagan are fairly close. So just to be clear, Ballylagan is a small area that lies to the east of Curragh Road to the west bank of the Lower River Bann, and west of the city Ballymoney? I just want to make sure I’m looking at the right place on a map. The townlands.ie site is very helpful, thanks for that link. Do you know of any way to tell which properties the Lawrence families may have occupied in that area?

Do you think that the graveyard at the Ballylagan Reformed Presbyterian Church is likely where most of them would have been buried, even though there may be a lack of headstones present today? I wonder if transcription/burial records are out there somewhere...

In regard to Susanna Lawrence (Gray)’s death date of 20 Oct 1927, do you know where I could find a source reference/death record for this?

In regard to James Gray Lawrence and Elizabeth Allen’s children, I was surprised to learn of two children I never knew existed, so I did a little more homework. I knew of David (b. 1908) and Esther (b. 1911) both born in Ireland and they also had two more children later born in Canada – Susanna Mae (b. 1922) and William James Allen (b. 1924). William or “Al” as we called him, was my grandfather. All of these children are gone now, all buried in Canada. With such a big gap between Esther’s 1911 birth and Susanna Mae’s in 1922, I would not be shocked if there were other children. However, Canadian Passenger Records lists James Gray Lawrence, with wife Elizabeth, son David and daughter Essie arriving in Canada on 28 May 1913. The family is also found in Canadian Census records in 1916.

So in regard to William (b. 1917) and Samuel James (b. 1918), I notice on William and Samuel James’ death records, the informant is listed as “Esther Lawrence, mother” – do you think that this could be the wife of one of James’ brothers rather than Elizabeth/Lizzie Lawrence? I was thinking maybe the wife of David Lawrence (b. 1893), Esther Crawford?

Anyways, sorry for all that blabber, I’m just really excited with all of this information. Thanks again for your help! 

Holly

Hello everyone,

I am new to RootsChat and researching my Irish ancestors. I realize the last post was from 3+ years ago now, but the information in this thread is of interest to me, as I am trying to find details of my second great grandfather’s family. I am looking for any information and would love to chat with any family members of David Lawrence, b. about 1865, location unknown but likely around Coleraine.

I know nothing about David’s origins, apart from his father’s name – which was also David Lawrence. David married Susanna Gray in Feb 1887 in Ballylagan/Coleraine. Susanna Gray was the daughter of James Gray (about 1832-1912) and Rachel Mitchell (about 1832-1919). I have no further information on her parents.

David and Susanna’s children were:
-   James Gray (b. 5 Mar 1889 in Ballylagan, d. 13 Mar 1976 in Eriksdale, Manitoba Canada) James was my great grandfather and as far as I know, the only Lawrence from this family to immigrate to Canada, which he did between 1911-1913.
-   David (b. 25 Mar 1893 in Ballylagan)
-   William (b. 29 Apr 1895 in Ballylagan)
-   Thomas (b. 15 Apr 1900 in Ballylagan)
-   Samuel (b. 24 Aug 1902 in Ballylagan)
-   Rachel (b. 8 Apr 1905 in Ballylagan)
-   George (b. 23 May 1907 in Ballylagan)
-   John Mitchell (b. 23 Dec 1910 in Ballylagan)

The 1911 Census also indicates there was another unknown child born, but died prior to 1911. I have no other information on these children – where they lived, who they married, when they died, etc. All of this information was gathered from James and Susanna’s marriage record, the children’s birth records, the 1901 and 1911 Ireland Census forms.

I was wondering if there is any connection to the previously mentioned Alexander Lawrence (b. 23 Feb 1840) from Coleraine (mentioned by bnl), the William Lawrence from Ballylagan (mentioned by biffdog) or the multiple Lawrence families in the 1832 Census (mentioned by cyclamen). Any clues, connections or other possible sources would be greatly helpful.

Thanks,
Holly Lawrence