SECOMBE SECCOMBE Census 1851 Portaferry. Co Down

[Jean M]

Hi searchers

Would much appreciate a hand to locate the SECOMBE (SECCOMBE)family who were at Coastguard station at Portaferry?

Thomas SECOMBE, his wife and
their son Andrew SECOMBE b. Oct 1846

There may also be a William SECOMBE

Gt grandfather, Andrew SECOMBE became a  Coastguard at Burghead, Aberdeen, married in 1875  appears in 1881 UK  census.

If there is a link to a local  "History of Coastguards" that would help too!

Hope I am not asking too much
best wishes

Jean M





 

[BallyaltikilliganG]

Jean I was hoping to help you with your Secombe and Portaferry quest., but quickly found limitations to my quest. For example I didn’t find any irish Secombe references on three good websites ie Caora, Ros Davies, or UHF.  Then from familysearch.com (which includes some variants like Seccomb, Seccombe,) there are
James Marriage: Of, Cloonconra, Mayo, Ireland  with 1 Ancestral File
Frances 1881 British Census / Sussex Female   Birth: <1808> Sligo, Ireland
Henrietta 1881 British Census / Devon Daur   Gender: Female   Birth: <1867> Ireland
William 1881 British Census / Devon Son   Gender: Male   Birth: <1869> Ireland
Lizzie 1881 British Census / Suffolk Wife   Gender: Female   Birth: <1853> Ireland
Over in Canada  are Matches:
Jane 1881 Canadian Census / OntarioFemale   Birth: <1846> Ireland
 In the International Genealogical Index - British Isles
Henrietta: Female Birth: 04 JAN 1867 , Cork, Ireland
William: Male Birth: 12 OCT 1868 , Cork, Ireland
Josiah Male Birth: About 1825 , , Ireland
Josiah: Male Marriage: About 1850 , , Ireland
I didn’t look any of these up although they might be promising at this stage, if you haven’t seen these before.

So I moved onto Coast Guards, unlike lighthouses and lightships coming under one umbrella ie
The Commissioners of Irish Lights, 16 Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin 2. With publications eg Beam: The Journal of the Irish Lighthouse Service (periodical publication, now annual). Before I leave the irish lights there are good articles about the Royal National Lifeboat Institution  and crew members who have come from Portaferry . Portaferry Crew.
PortaferryFle...http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/ireland
Portaferry Fleet Blue Peter V proceeds from Blue Peter TV Appeal 19...
http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/ireland
Portaferry History 1980 An inshore lifeboat (ILB) station was establi...
http://www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/ireland

 I continued a hunt for Coastguards and suddenly found COASTGUARDS OF YESTERYEAR
The coast Guard are manned by the two governments,  the Portaferry Coast Guard currently being HM Coast Guard.  Do look up Source http://www.coastguardsofyesteryear.org/guestlog8.html
name: Brian Widdicombe Date: 31 Oct 2000 Delighted to come across your attractive site which has whetted my genealogy interests again. My ancestors were coastguards around Portaferry and the Ards Penninsula N.I. at the turn of the last century. I would be interested in any information you may hold re how to trace them as I'm a bit stuck at the moment!
name: John Doyle  Date: 02 Feb 2004  Looking for any information re Charles McCullen who I know was stationed in Portaferry, County Down in the 1880's (possibly earlier). Wife Catherine nee Carson. Daughter Jane Maria McCullen married in Dublin in 1908 - Charles listed as a Chief Officer. Witnessed by J McCullen who I believe to be brother of Jane but no evidence yet.

Then I spotted another reference
http://www.downcountymuseum.com/publications/ds2002/pg45.asp
He then joined the Revenue Coast Guard Service, and after passing his medical and other tests was posted to the Coast Guard Station at Bangor, Donaghadee District, Co Down in February 1838 as a boatman. Shortly afterwards he was transferred to Portaferry, Co Down where his daughter Margaret Ann was born in November 1839. A second daughter, Catherine, was also born there. In November 1844 he was promoted to the position of commissioned boatman and transferred to Killard, Co Down, where my grandfather James Coree was born in June 1846. He had two further children before 1854 and died in Killard in 1870.

The coast guard Station could be listed in Strangford Lough: an archaeological survey of the maritime cultural landscape. By Thomas McErlean, Rosemary McConkey and Wes Forsythe. (Belfast, the Blackstaff Press in association with the Environment and Heritage Service (2002). xxvi, 689 pp, 302 illustrations (mostly colour). ISBN 0-85640-723-2. Hardback, £25.

 So That’s all I can offer. Good luck Jim

[Jean M]

Hello Jim,

Your interest and pronto reply is very much appreciated.   I had looked at some of the general pages on Ards Peninsular and Strangford Lough which have provided a lot of useful background material.

I was not entirely sure if there had been a Census taken in 1851?  Do you happen to know if that was so? 

The surname matches for others researching may bring a reward in time. 

Most of the references on your list are 'brand new to me'  but with luck they may have the necessary clues to take my search onward.

The community life at Portaferry and similar places must have been centred around the village, chapel,  pub, quayside and ferry station and I imagine  that continuity applies today.

All the  ferrymen,  fishermen, coastguards, and lighthouse keepers were key members and would have known the area like the back of their hand.   Their unstinting service  to those at sea is beyond price.

Many, many thanks for taking time to search for the pages you have forwarded.  I am looking forward to the search and I will let you know of any significant results for the SECOMBE ancestor.

best wishes
Jean M

[Christopher]

Hello Jean,

There is no remaining Census for 1851. The nearest you will get is Griffiths Valuation of Ireland 1848 to 1864.

There is a Portaferry Community Website and a Forum where you could post a message. They have not got
a genealogy board or a history board on their site at the moment. I have to post them a message as I have created a link to their site on another website where I am a regular poster so I'll ask them about the possibility
of a genealogy board. I'm a believer in the potential of local websites and had this point proved when I got a message from someone who told me she had posted on such a site and they had found a living descendent of the ancestor she was seeking. 

Best wishes with your search,

Chris

[Jean M]

Hello Chris,

Thank you for sending the note for Griffiths Valuation and the link to the Portaferry Community website.  I shall give them a try.   I am supporter of local sites too. 

Through Rootschat and WWW I am in touch with newly found Seccombe descendants in North Queensland. Thrilling to find the shared ancestry and our information and photographs can fly to and fro at such speed. Both amazing and exciting for dedicated researchers.

Good wishes
Jean M