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« on: Monday 29 September 08 00:26 BST (UK) »
I think Elizabeth could well be the sister of my gt gt grandfather, David Kane of Dundonald, Co Down. David and his siblings were baptised in Dundonald Presbyterian Church where the records go back to 1678. Unfortunately I find no Kanes in them until Sarah, daughter of Robert and Mary Kane of Ballylisbredan is baptised in 1820 (there is a gap in the records immediately prior to 1819 which may have contained information on the marriage of her parents or the births of older children). Robert and Mary have further children baptised in 1822 (Robert) and 1825 (William John) before David was baptised in 1831. In between is the following entry:
Born 14 Jan 1829; Baptised 16 Jan 1829; Elizabeth, daughter of John Kane of Ballylisbredan and Mary Cooper, his wife.
It is clear from the records that the entries for this period were originally recorded on loose leaves (some still in register) before being written into the book in batches and I wondered if a mistake had been made in writing up Elizabeth’s father’s name since no other Kane family appears in the records in this period. None of the other Kane entries in this generation give the mothers maiden name. Working on the theory that Elizabeth could be David’s sister, I have been searching for her marriage certificate to find out what name it gave for her father, but with no success.
Ballykeel townland in Holywood parish actually borders on Dundonald parish and David’s eldest brother Robert was living there in 1853 when he married Jane Swaine. Several Jeffreys families are also recorded living in Ballykeel in the early 1860s in Griffith Valuation along with Swaines suggesting Kanes, Swaines and Jeffreys were neighbours in the 1850s and perhaps before.
I expect from the details in your post that you have seen Ros Davies Co Down website which has loads of information on the family.
Where did the family end up? If Elizabeth died in Scotland, her death certificate could have good info on her parents names. I assume the 1853 marriage has no additional information since it predates registration in Scotland?