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Messages - glenmornan

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1
World War One / Re: royal field artillery
« on: Sunday 03 May 15 11:59 BST (UK)  »
My grandfather, Corporal Charles Walker, service number 109070, enlisted in the RFA at Maryhill Barracks, Glasgow, on 29th October1915. He was assigned to 6 Depot RFA (Maryhill Barracks) from 2/11/1915, and subsequently posted to 33rd reserve battery RFA, which appears to have been based at Redford Barracks, Edinburgh. He does not seem to be in the above photo, however. He appears to have been there until 1/2/1916, when he was posted to D (Howitzer) Battery of the 177th Brigade, RFA. That unit was part of the 16th (Irish) Division at the Battle of Messines.

I am currently trying to research more, but my grandfather's service record shows he was in France from 1/2/1916 until 17/10/1918. He was discharged on 18/12/1918 at Duddingston, Edinburgh. He also had a cousin, John Walker Chalmers, a driver, who served alongside him, but I cannot trace his service record.

2
Tyrone / Re: GORML(E)Y // McGONAGLE // BOYLE - Leckpatrick, Strabane, Co. Tyrone
« on: Sunday 28 April 13 13:19 BST (UK)  »
Hello again,

We swopped a few e-mails over the last couple of years re our McGonagle side, and I think I've now worked out what the situation is. You mention that your William was from the townland of Keenaghan. I now believe that my great great grandfather, Edward McGonagle, was from the nearby townland Silverhill. Griffiths Valuation shows a William and Edward McGonagle as neighbours at Keenaghan, with quite a few acres between them. However, I am inclined to rule that Edward out as being my relative, as when he married he was living with his bride to be's family. He was more likely to have been the one shown in Griffiths at Silverhill with just over an acre.

My Edward married Ann Hegarty from the adjacent townland of Holyhill in 1865, and their eldest son, William Hegarty McGonagle, born 1865, was my great grandfather. William married a Bridget Carrick from Castlefinn, Co. Donegal, in 1895, and my grandfather, Michael McGonagle, was born in Strabane town in 1898 at 6 Factory Row, Strabane. His father, William, was a bread server in Strabane at that time. There does not appear to be any connection with families named Gormley or Boyle.

My Edward McGonagle was still alive in 1911 when he is shown in the Irish Census as living at Drumgauty, north of Strabane near to the Derry Road. His wife, Ann Hegarty, died sometime between 1901 and 1911, and from memory Edward died in 1913, presumably at Drumgauty in County Tyrone.

Hope this explains the issue with our possible McGonagle connection. We do not seem to be related to the same William McGonagle. With all those Williams and Edwards it is a bit of a nightmare, and I'm still not absolutely sure if I have the correct Edward in Griffiths Valuation. To make matters worse I know that Edward's father was yet another William McGonagle!

3
Armagh / Re: BOYLE family DRUMGASK/TIRSOGUE
« on: Monday 07 November 11 13:11 GMT (UK)  »
Hi,

Thanks very much for your reply, but I've since discovered that the John Boyle I mentioned in Tirsogue wasn't "our" John Boyle, who appears to have died in Drumgask or elsewhere in the Lurgan area before the Famine. His widow and her family, including my great great grandmother, Elizabeth Boyle, came over to Scotland some time in the 1840s. Elizabeth was definitely born in Drumgask, as were one or two others, but her youngest brother Isaac is simply recorded as having been born in Lurgan. 

At a guess they would have probably been related to the family who rented out the house to your John McConnell in Tirsogue, but I cannot be sure about that.

Thanks anyway for taking the time and trouble to reply.

John W

4
Armagh / Re: BOYLE family DRUMGASK/TIRSOGUE
« on: Monday 14 February 11 21:35 GMT (UK)  »
On the subject of spelling it just occurred to me that the surname "Purdie" is the Scottish spelling. The surname is, or was, almost exclusively spelt "Purdy" in Ireland.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to mention other websites, but on one that I use, which charges 5 Euro per guess plus £1 Sterling bank charge, there are a fair number of persons named John Purdy who married in various Ulster counties from about 1858 onwards. At a guess your Neal Purdie would have been born about that time. Unfortunately the only real method is to make notes of the years and counties of both parties to the wedding. Then you must play Russian roulette and try a lucky dip at 5 Euro a shot. With a surname like Walker I'd have been better spending the money on drink, as I reckon I found every Walker in Ulster except any of my family. However, you never know, as Purdy is not too common. The same site also has details of a gravestone inscription referring to a Neal Purdy, who died in County Derry in 1931. Problem you are going to have is with the name Elizabeth Boyle, as in some townlands, there was one in almost every other house.

Hope the above is of some help to you.

5
Armagh / Re: BOYLE family DRUMGASK/TIRSOGUE
« on: Monday 14 February 11 21:01 GMT (UK)  »
As Aghadowey has pointed out, unless you know your family's religion and parish or townland where they lived, then you are in the proverbial needle and haystack situation. My Walker ancestors, who are believed to have fled to Ireland about 1685 as Scottish  Covenanter refugees, were to be found all over south west County Antrim, particularly near to the border with north east Armagh, where our Boyles lived. Our Boyle family were Roman Catholic, but had intermarried with Presbyterian families at various times.

Also, despite the fact that I had precise knowledge of my mother's McGonagle family in Glenmornan, County Tyrone, I had a devil of a job identifying which branch or sept of the McGonagles were my direct line. Fortunately, I found most of them on various websites, but it took many months of sorting out who was who. Problem is that in the era subject of your research each family tended to only use a handful of very common first names, with generation after generation having identical names. I also had the additional problem caused by the multitude of "English" Walkers in Ulster.

After about 18 months of research I still couldn't tie any of my Walker family down to any Townland whatsoever, and to preserve my sanity, I simply gave up. Anything before 1864 simply cannot be done without considerable further information.

Good luck with your quest, and I presume you already know that the first name you have referred to as "Neal" is usually spelt "Neil" in Scotland.

6
Cavan / Re: Henry Richmond
« on: Sunday 29 August 10 21:24 BST (UK)  »
The Henry Richmond you are looking for was born somewhere in Ireland about 1827 to John Richmond and Janet Henderson. Henry had a brother Wiiliam John Richmond, born in 1834. William John was married at the very early age of 17 to an Anne Jane Chambers at First Ballymena Presbyterian Church on 15th November 1851. At that time William was an agricultural labourer living in Broughshane, County Antrim, and Anne Chambers lived in Crebilly, Antrim. Both brothers ended up in Chapelton, Lanarkshire, working as iron miners.

John Richmond was born about 1800 and Janet Henderson was born about 1801.

My g g g grandfather, Thomas Walker, married a Martha Richmond somewhere in Ireland between 1820 and 1830, but I am still trying to find them. I also have Irish ancestors in Counties Tyrone, Armagh, and Donegal, which I have been able to trace.

7
Armagh / BOYLE family DRUMGASK/TIRSOGUE
« on: Friday 27 August 10 17:48 BST (UK)  »
Hi,

My g g grandmother was Elizabeth Boyle, born 5/3/1829 in Drumgask (Seagoe). She had three younger brothers, James (1831), William (1836), and Isaac (1842).There may have been more siblings and by the time Isaac was born the family had moved to Tirsogue (Tiersogue, Shankill, Lurgan Rural). Elizabeth's father was John Boyle, a tenant farmer, and her mother was Margaret Levingston. John was still alive and had a farm tenancy in Tirsogue at Griffith Valuation. He also had a sub-tenant, John McConnell. 

All of the Boyles mentioned above, except John and Margaret, moved to Scotland where the males worked as coalminers in Lanarkshire. Elizabeth married a James Smith some time before 1851 and the marriage would have taken place in Ireland. James was killed in 1862 in a mining accident in Scotland, and Elizabeth re-married my g g grandfather, Charles Walker. Charles was also born in Ireland, but his birthplace remains unknown despite extensive research.

Does anyone have any further info on any of the people referred to above? I would be very much obliged to here from anyone who has researched them or who has any knowledge of them whatsoever.

8
Antrim Completed Look up Requests / Re: Drummaul Parish Register - Walker
« on: Friday 02 July 10 21:34 BST (UK)  »
Thanks for your further advice and info. I'll arrange a trip to Belfast soon and hopefully arrange to view the microfilm.

Jind regards,

John Walker (haven't worked out how to close the thread)

9
Antrim Completed Look up Requests / Re: Drummaul Parish Register - Walker
« on: Thursday 01 July 10 23:55 BST (UK)  »
Do you know whether I could I contact Coleraine Library by e-mail and try to get further with my original enquiry?

I was "thrown" off scent to Drummaul by the fact that Reverend William O'Neill owned land in both Broughshane and Drummaul

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