Ballentine - Ballymena and Belfast

[LindaBoyle]

Daniel and his father were carpenters and as I have been researching Larne  around the 1874 onwards there are alot of families in the area that had servants I saw on one census a Ballantine family in Kilwaughter had servants

[aghadowey]

Having servants wasn't always the same as it is now. Many, many families employed farm servants, house maids, etc. but it doesn't mean that they were well-to-do. My great-grandmother's family were farmers and they always employed someone to help work the housework- usually a Catholic girl who didn't mind working on the Sabbath to prepare meals.
Houston Ballantine in 1901 census had a female servant-
https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Kilwaughter/Headwood/995100/
In 1901 same servant in the household-
https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Antrim/Kilwaughter/Headwood/195167/
His house had 2 rooms- the female servant may or may not have been is a relationship with him-
https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai001559638/

You would be better concentrating on finding Daniel's birth so you can start tracing his mother. Baptism, school records, newspaper articles, etc. might help find details of his earlier life before first marriage.

[LindaBoyle]

Ok thanks