Donegore - Bryson-Wilson

[Gilby]

Anne, your Ferguson family does not feature in the Ferguson book(s) but they are well accounted for in the First Donegore church records.

You great grandfather William John Ferguson was born on the 4th July 1854 and baptised on the 31st August 1854.  As you suspected his parents were Francis Ferguson and Mary Scott.

Francis and Mary married in 1849:

Belfast Newsletter 10 Feb 1849
On the 8th inst., in Donegore Presbyterian Church, by the Re. S. S. Allison, Mr. Francis Ferguson, jun., Holestone, to Miss Mary Scott, eldest daughter of William Scott, Esq., of same place.

The church records have Francis as being of Upper Holestone and Mary of Lower Holestone.  Again according to the church records, Francis was born on the 22nd May 1825 and baptised on the 2nd June 1825.  Parents Francis Ferguson and Agnes Gawn.

Francis senior, of Holestone, married Agnes Gawn of Ballyvoy (aka Ballywee) on the 10th May 1821.  Unfortunately their fathers’ names are not recorded, so that’s as far as I’ve been able to get on that Ferguson line.

Have you by any chance had a male member of your Ferguson family y-DNA tested?  I’m pretty sure there has already been some testing of these Ferguson families, so the results might show which of the Fourmileburn Ferguson families Francis belonged to.

[AnneFerguson]

Thanks everyone, all helpful. Our family burial plot is Donegore St Johns C of I and I will be visiting there in September. Would anyone know if there is a grave index for this churchground? I also think 1st Donegore Presbyterian may hold some keys to the mystery as both Francis Jnr and Francis Snr appear to have been married there  (according to Gawn family tree) and I would very much like to obtain the book mentioned earlier in this thread. The name Mary Scott reappears again in later generations, as one of William John's daughters was Mary Scott so that adds a bit more weight to the case. I am only beginning to research this. Although there is a general belief with some in my family that my Ferguson links are back to the John Ferguson/E Gilliland line, I do not see any evidence for this. At an initial glance at the Clan Ferguson records 1885 the Francis F in that lineage lived in Glasgow and so does not fit. I haven't found the Supplemental yet on line but will keep looking. I will also try to contact Billy/William Gawn. All assistance appreciated, Anne

[AnneFerguson]

Thanks Gilby, that confirms what I thought. My father Frank recently had yDNA testing and I have submitted results to the Ferguson project, and am awaiting results. Thanks so much for your information. I will also follow up on headstones when I am in Northern Ireland, though I have such limited time.  Do you think all the Fergusons came from Four Mile burn and Ferguson's Land? I have also checked the Hearth Money Rolls and there are Fergusons at Holestone. A good map of the old parishes and townlands would be helpful if you can suggest anything. I am an overseas member of the Linen Hall library. Most grateful for your help, Anne

[Gilby]

Anne,

Good to hear your Dad got the yDNA test done.  Hopefully he matches someone that has already been tested.

The best maps are the Griffiths Valuation maps which you can view for free here:

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/

Just search something (I pick a county and click search) then click on the Map View option.  You can overlay a modern map (including satellite imagery) over the old map (which dates to around 1860-1880 I think).

You can also see the c1830s ordnance survey map for free on the OSI website using their Geohive viewer.

[Gilby]

I have photographs of your Ferguson headstones at Donegore by the way.  If you want to send me your email address (by private message) I can send them to you.  Your family is buried just down the hill from the side entrance to the church.

I would also surmise that Francis Ferguson was quite likely a descendant of John Ferguson and Ellen Gilliland – but I don’t know where he fits in.  Maybe the connections is even further back.  The Francis John Ferguson you mentioned was probably born in Belfast – he just died in Glasgow.

My Ferguson family is the one detailed in “Note B” in the Supplements book.  Apparently one descendant of William Shaw Ferguson believed his family to have come from Crumlin and to have had no connection to the Fergusons already living in the Parkgate area.  However, the submitter than says he had strong evidence to suggest that William Shaw Ferguson was elder son of Adam Ferguson.

My take on it is that William Shaw Ferguson was actually a younger son (I have found dates which suggest he was younger than Adam of Ballywee) and that when a descendant said he thought his family was unrelated he may have been talking about Adam Ferguson of Fourmileburn as having come from Crumlin. 

[lmgnz]

Just to note that there is another Gawn marriage to Bryson. On the Gawnfamilystory site there is a transcription of the Kilbride headstone of James Gawn, copied in part below:

Also to the erector James Gawn who  died 8th December  1816 aged 50 years

Also James Gawn, son of the erector died 28th December 1835, aged 34 years.

Also grandson, James Bryson, died 19th march 1850, aged 22yrs.

This grandson James Bryson was the son of Robert Bryson and Eleanor Gawn. I have just tracked his brother John Alexander Gawn b 1825 to Canada where he died in Ottawa in 1895, leaving a wife, Mary nee Gamble, two sons and 4 daughters, including a daughter Eleanor Gawn Bryson.

[AnneFerguson]

Thanks Gilby I have sent you a PM and would be very pleased to see photographs of the headstones at Donegore. I believe the family were all Presbyterian, and may have been buried at C of I as perhaps the other churches were built later, but I am not sure. Anne

[Gilby]

I’ve just been looking back at the first post here.  Presumably the will of John Bryson (written 1836?) survives – in America?  Has anyone seen it, or know if it is online anywhere?  I’m curious to know what it says about the son James (i.e. is there any evidence he had a family).

I’ve also just examined my notes to see if I have any James Brysons of the right period, and there are these two newspaper notices which may or may not be relevant:

Belfast Commercial Chronicle   , 12 Mar 1825   
On the 4th instant, Miss Jemima, third daughter of Mr. John Swan, of Killealy, in the parish of Killead, to Mr. James Bryson, of Drumall, in the county Antrim.

Belfast Newsletter, 31 Jul 1835   
By the Rev. Alex. Bryson, Seceding Minister, Charles Bryson, Esq. Ballybracken, to Margaret, eldest daughter to James Bryson, Esq. Cove-lodge.

There’s also these First Donegore marriages:

James Brison, Ballybracken, to Anne McConnel, Ballyvoy = 19th Jan 1829
James Brison, Holestone, to Martha Anne McConnell, Ballywee = 5th Jul 1831

[Gilby]

Also, Ballywee is sometimes called Ballyvoy.  And the townland is split across two parishes.  Both of which makes it a little more confusing.

I’m coming to the conclusion that it is not as simple as Ballywee = Ballyvoy.  Certainly a lot of people in Ballywee seem to also be of Ballyvoy, but there’s also people of “Duncansland, Ballyvoy” and I’ve just found this on placenamesni.org:

“The townland of Walkmill is named from a mill which still stands on the west bank of the Doagh River and appears to be the feature which is referred to as a ‘Fulling Mill’ in the Confirmation of the Chichester Patents in 1669 (Confirm. Chichester Pats 131) where it is stated to be in the townland of Ballyboy alias Ballyvoy. The latter is clearly to be identified with a now-obsolete townland which is referred to as Ballyvoy in the Ordnance Survey Memoir of 1836 (OSM xxix 154) and which appears to have included the modern townland of Walkmill, along with the neighbouring townlands of Burnside, Douglasland and Owensland. The name Ballyvoy may derive from Irish Béal Átha Buí ‘mouth of the yellow ford’ or Baile Átha Buí ‘townland of the yellow ford’, referring to a ford on the Doagh River here.”

So I think the old townland of Ballyvoy (which would have been pretty huge) probably included Walkmill, Burnside, Owensland, Douglasland, Duncansland, the Kilbride (eastern) part of Ballywee, and presumably Moss-side and Strawpark in between.

I don’t know why some families continued to use the name Ballyvoy while their neighbours adopted the new townland names.  All very confusing.