Help with surname variations please

[debi-robo]

Hello, I really hope someone can help me out here,

I have an ancestor who was born 1831/32 Enniskillen, Fermanagh, but i am not sure if i have the correct surname

The first record i have for him is his marriage which took place in 1857 Perthshire, Scotland.

On his marriage certificate and first sons birth his name is recorded as William MCKIVLIN.
On the rest of his children's birth certificates it gradually changes from McKivlin to McKelvie
McKivlin > McKilvin > McKelvin > McKilvie > McKelvie

William was the son of Patrick McKivlin and Bridget Goldie (Gouldie), Patrick is recorded as dead on Williams 1857 marriage certificate, Bridget is not.
I have tried looking for Bridget in Scotland with no luck so assume she must have stayed in Ireland.

The surname MCKELVIE has carried on but i am now wondering whether this was Williams real surname or just the Scottish Registrar's interpretation of a strong Irish accent.

is it possible that the surname could have indeed been MCILVEEN or something similar
I am really not sure if i am just barking up the wrong tree here but the variations in the surname have been niggling away at me.

I would really appreciate other thoughts on this subject, Thank you!

Debbie

[RonnieG]

Debbie,

I have had a look at Griffiths Valuation on Origins for you. You may know that Griffiths was a property survey taken in the whole of Ireland c.1855.

It can be a helpful source of locations of surnames sometimes and I think this is one of those times.

It is also important to remember that the same person can have more than one hit, if for instance he is renting land from more than one landlord.

The name McIlveen gave me 51 hits, all in Ulster, mostly Antrim but interestingly, none in Fermanagh.

The name McElvin gave me far fewer hits, only 10 and 8 of those were in Fermanagh.

Judging by the names and locations, the 8 hits in Fermanagh refer to only 3 men, John, Matthew and Patrick  and they all lived in the same parish of Aghavea.

I think it would make sense to concentrate your search on this parish first.

RonnieG

[RonnieG]

Debbie,

This link will give you something about Aghavea.

http://www.rootsweb.com/~nirfer/aghavea_parish.htm

RonnieG

[Lady Macbeth]

Hi,
don't know if it's relevant but I have found a Bridget McKelvin in Griffiths in Donegal in Inishmacsaint civil parish which is on the border with Co Fermanagh.  Just thought I'd mention it in case the census was carried out when the father had died and the head of household would be Bridget.  I hope this isn't a red herring but sometimes you have to eliminate all other possibilities to find the right answer.  Good luck
Lesley

[debi-robo]

Ronnie G and Lady beth

Thank you both so much, you have both given me very good options.

I am very interested in Patrick McElvin in Aghavea, Fermanagh

and Bridget McKelvin looks very promising also, i know Patrick was dead by 1857.

What is very interesting is that i have Inchmacsaint as the possible origins for my Tracey ancestor's.

I have John Tracey married in Fermanagh and migrated to Glasgow late 1870's.
John Tracey had a son also John Tracey born 1876 Glasgow.

William McKelvie married in Perthshire then moved on to Glasgow, Williams youngest daughter Catherine was born 1879 Glasgow.

John Tracey married Catherine McKelvie in 1898, they lived 1 street away from each other throughout childhood.

I once read that very often you get several family's from same area in Ireland living beside one another after migration.

If someone was born and married in Inchmacsaint would Enniskillen be the nearest large town and therefore likely to be where the event was registered ?

Sorry if this is going on a bit, Thanks again
Debbie

[RonnieG]

Debbie,

Apparently Inishmacsaint is actually in Fermanagh too!

http://www.ireland.com/ancestor/fuses/townlands/index.cfm?fuseaction=TownlandsInCivil&civilparishid=963&civilparish=Inishmacsaint&citycounty=Fermanagh

This link will bring you to a map of the parishes in Fermanagh with Inishmacsaint highlighted.

As you will see it appears to border Co. Donegal and it is not unusual for parishes to cross county lines

RonnieG

[debi-robo]

Ronnie these links are fantastic !

The last one clearly shows Inishmacsaint as being within the Poor Law Union of Enniskillen, Fermanagh.

I have a really good feeling that this is the correct townland.

It all looks very promising, thank you so much for all your help.

i don't want to push my luck here but do you know if there is any Poor Law Records survived for Northern Ireland ? and would these be similar to Scottish records ?
Just wondering after reading Poor Law union

Thanks again
Debbie

[Christopher]

Hello Debbie,

In 1838 the Poor Law was introduced to Ireland. The country was divided into 137 Poor Law Unions. The PLUs were usually centred on a market town where a workhouse was built. These were managed by a Board of Guardians. The Boards were composed of elected representatives (ratepayers in each union plus ex officio members including JPs). The Guardians records tend to be very underused but are a good source of information for family historians and genealogists as well as people with an interest in local history. It's worthwhile looking at the indoor registers of the workhouse, the outdoor relief registers, the dispensary records and the records of births in the workhouse. Surviving records of the Boards for Northern Ireland are in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland at Balmoral Avenue in Belfast.

This link contains the references to the Board of Guardians records at PRONI.

Chris 

[debi-robo]

Thank you Christopher

I feel as though i am finally getting somewhere with my Irish ancestors, need to start planning a trip to Belfast soon.

I have noticed on Glasgow Poor records that the applicant was sometimes referred to the parish of their birth for relief, there is an entry in the Glasgow records for William McKelvie but unfortunately the book had suffered some water damage at some point and the pages relevant to William were unreadable, i was so excited too as the information contained was probably priceless.

Thanks again
Debbie