Drain/Draine in Co. Antrim

[dsdrane]

Hello.

I am tracing Drain(e) ancestors in Co. Antrim.  Unfortunately, I have more questions than answers.

My gr-gr-grandfather was born abt. 1865/6 somewhere in Co. Antrim and later emigrated to the US.  He worked in Chicago as a horseshoer and died there at the very young age of 28 in 1894.

His first-born son was named Henry John, so there is a good chance John's father was also named "Henry".

He married a Catholic Irishwoman in Chicago, and his son was raised Catholic, so can only assume he was, as well.

Someone in his recent memory must have used O'Drain or Adrain because it is a persistent belief among the very few descendants alive today.

Also, in Chicago at the time was another John Drain, b. 1864, Belfast, son of Patrick and Sarah (Devlin) Drain...a Patrick Draine, b. 1856/8, Ballymena, son of Henry/Harry and Lucinda (McMullan) Draine...James O. Draine (presumably O'Draine), b. abt. 1869, possibly son of George and Hanna (McAuley) Draine of Newhill, Ballymoney [other possibilities:  John & Mary (Gribben), John & Susan (Lundy) and Francis].

I know for a fact that "my" John and the "other" John knew each other; they even briefly roomed together.  I do not have any confirmation on whether "my" John knew or was even aware of Patrick or James.  I assume so, but I have no proof.

The two strongest possibilities at the moment:

1.  John is a brother of Patrick Draine, son of Henry and Lucinda.  I can find no record listing a John, however there is a gap in the line of children where he could be...also one of Patrick's sons (like John's) was named "Henry J."

2.  There is a record of a son born in 1865 in Ballymena to George and Hanna.  The LDS records the son's name as "George", but the UHF records it as "John".  The date works, but the father as "George" doesn't quite make sense.

Any information or suggestions will be gratefully received.

[BallyaltikilliganG]

a good resource for about 1860 is
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?or reduce it by tailpieces, then search under Drain just as one spelling and co antrim , you find lots of them. The first 3 on my results were  3 John Drain's all in parish of drummaul, the middle one is entered as Drain, John O. This possible candidate for the O'Drain's oral or otherwise history, could also be an Oliver etc. .  I didnt look for Henry.  The resource requires an understanding of civil parish and townland and can be a brickwall for some. Next try all the spellings known, keeping an eye on first names throughout
good luck jiml

[dsdrane]

I'm familiar with all the Drain names listed in Griffith's, however I've never seen them presented in such a helpful manner.  The map feature, especially, is brilliant!  Thank you for your response and passing along this site...I'll certainly mine it for all it's worth.

Having been used to being the only Drain/Drane in my town growing up, I remember being shocked at how many Drains there were in Griffith's Valuation when I first looked years ago.  Given Irish patronymics and the fact that my John's oldest son was named Henry John, I've focussed on a "Henry" as the best candidate to be John's father, with a "John" as second-best.  Does that sound about right to everybody?

Another question:  my John worked as a horseshoer once in Chicago.  Are there areas of Antrim that were known for blacksmiths/shoers or is this too general a trade not to be in every hamlet?

[aghadowey]

Don't assume that his father was named Henry just because his son was called by that name.
In 1800s there were blacksmiths all over the country so that doesn't really help find a location in Ireland.

[dsdrane]

Understood...and thanks.

The only reason I give a little more weight to "Henry" as a name is that John's second son was named Martin after his maternal grandfather.  If John and his wife followed patronymic tradition with the second son, it's not unreasonable to think they might have done so with the first son.

That said, I've been doing this long enough to know you never know!   

[Elwyn Soutter]

Did John Drain naturalise as a US citizen? If so do those records happen to have his exact place of birth?

When he died, did he live a will (perhaps mentioning relatives in Ireland)?

In another post about exactly the same problem I saw that someone had found the place of birth in Ireland from a US savings bank account. Evidently when the account was opened they had put the exact location on the application form and this has survived. I have no idea how feasible it is to pursue that line for your relative, but it apparently worked for someone else facing your problem.


Elwyn

[dsdrane]

Did John Drain naturalise as a US citizen? If so do those records happen to have his exact place of birth?

When he died, did he live a will (perhaps mentioning relatives in Ireland)?

In another post about exactly the same problem I saw that someone had found the place of birth in Ireland from a US savings bank account. Evidently when the account was opened they had put the exact location on the application form and this has survived. I have no idea how feasible it is to pursue that line for your relative, but it apparently worked for someone else facing your problem.

Elwyn...excellent ideas, all.

He did, in fact, naturalize, but I was informed years ago that the paperwork from 1892 no longer exists/was lost.  I do have a reference to his filing his "intention to naturalize" in a different court the year before, so I will try to check that.

Considering he died at age 28, I doubt he had a will, but I honestly had never even thought of looking.  Worth a try!

Finally, a savings account is another long shot (he was poor and young), but, like the will, is certainly worth a bit of investigation.

I appreciate the suggestions...thank you!

[BallyaltikilliganG]

Have you seen this fee paying website with free simple index
  http://www.ancestryireland.com/quis
DRAIN    JOHN     born 1865    son of John    Co Antrim
DRAIN    JOHN     born1865    son of GEORGE    Co Antrim
its abit late but I see you did know

[dsdrane]

Indeed, the George you mention ("Adrain" in the LDS records) is a top contender to be John's father.

The other record also has merit, in that the birth in Coleraine is illegitimate (a reasonable contributing factor for emigrating??); however the record shows the baby as "Robert John".  This doesn't disqualify, of course, but I have seen nothing yet that corroborates an added "Robert" in my John's name.

I believe George may have had another son or two come to America, so I'm currently working to see if I can make a connection with my John....