Samuel Houston Marriage - McCoy/M'Corry/McCloy?

[Jet Carson]

Hi folks,

I'm looking for a marriage for Samuel Houston to, I believe, Margaret McCoy.

I have nothing to go on for Samuel, but Margaret is on the 1901 census in Belfast, widowed and aged 64.  Living with son Joseph and his family.  They are Roman Catholic.

Joseph (and twin brother Samuel) were born on the 9th January 1866 in St Patrick's district of Belfast and it is from this record I have his father as Samuel and Margaret's maiden name of McCoy.  It it is noted on the record that father Samuel is a protestant.

This is where I get unstuck as I can't find a marriage for Samuel Houston and Margaret McCoy. I'm not even sure whether it would be a religious or civil ceremony, but looking at online Civil Registration Index shows a possible entry for marriage of Samuel Houston to Margaret M'Corry in 1867.  Could this be mine and there's a transcription error in one of the records?  If it is though then surely the birth record for Joseph would state that he was illegitimate given this is a year after his birth?  Also I've actually no guarantee that Samuel married Margaret there are three other possible names on the index page so I assume I would need to apply for the certificate to find out?

In an attempt to clarify whether Margaret's surname is McCoy or M'Corry I have searched for her birth, given that she is 64 in 1901.  It states on the census she is born in Antrim  The closest entry I can find is for a Margaret McCloy born 2nd November 1836 in Rosemary Street Church, Belfast.  I've checked and this is a Presbyterian church so I don't think this could be my Margaret.

If anyone can suggest my next move, or if anyone else has information on any of these, it would be most welcome!

[Elwyn Soutter]

Statutory recording of births only started in Ireland in 1864 so you won’t find a birth certificate for Margaret. You might find her baptism but only if the record has survived. Nor are all baptism records on-line.

If Margaret baptised the children into the RC faith, which is what I infer from the information that her husband Samuel was Protestant, and she was RC in 1901, then she’s not likely to be the Presbyterian birth that you have located for 1836.

If the marriage was RC (as seems likely) and was before 1864 then it won’t appear in the statutory records, as RC marriages were only recorded from that year onwards. You would need to rely on church records, but again not all are on-line. I assume you have tried the usual on-line sites. Unless you have an idea which church they married in it could be tricky. You would probably have to check through the records in PRONI, for both the baptism and the marriage. St Patricks, St Peter’s, St Malachy’s or Ballymacarrett are probably the most likely for the dates you have given.

[dathai]

There is a marriage in Belfast 15 Jan 1858
for Samuel Huston son of Robert to Margaret McKay dtr of William

[dathai]

most likely wrong as a birth recorded from them in Oct 1865 at Hospital,Belfast , which is only four months before birth of Samuel.

[Jet Carson]

Thanks both for the info.

I've tried various sites with no joy - PRONI is likely the best option but I take it a visit will be necessary.  Thanks Elwyn for the list of likely church records to look for - I'm not familiar with Belfast at all so that's useful!

[Elwyn Soutter]

Jet,

PRONI’s website lists all the RC churches in Belfast. There are quite a few but not that many existed in the early 1800s so that narrows the field a bit for Mgt’s baptism. There are a few more by the time of her marriage, but still manageable.

There were quite a few churches in Belfast whose records were lost due to German bombing in WW2. (PRONI have a list). So the relevant records could have been lost.

Yes, a personal visit is probably required. PRONI will do straightforward searches for you (for a fee) eg for a given baptism at a given church on a given date. However, as I understand it, they won’t do trawling searches, where you don’t know the location or a reasonably precise date. You would obviously need to speak to them about that, both to confirm my view, and to clarify any costs, but I think that either a personal visit or a visit by a researcher on your behalf is probably necessary.


Elwyn

[Jet Carson]

Elwyn,

thanks again, appreciated.