Robert Gregg

[StevieP]

What is known of Robert Gregg is essentially as follows:

Robert Hugh Gregg born abt 1883 in possibly Ballymena but almost certainly in Co.Antrim
He married Ellen Gregg in 1902 and had 12 children with her:

John Connor Gregg B: 17 March 1903
Jean Gregg B:23 September 1904
Minnie Gregg B: 12 November 1905
Robert Gregg B:2 August 1907
James Gregg B: 10 December 1909
Priscilla Gregg B:12 May 1911
Ellen Gregg B: 7 August 1917
Margaret Gregg B: 7 August 1917 Died in 1918
Kathleen Gregg B: 13 July 1919
Margaret Gregg B: abt March 1921

There are also possibly 2 brothers who I have possibly located named Thomas and William but the link is tenuous at best and is attributed mostly through word of mouth. They supposedly died in World War Two.

When Ellen died in 1924 at age 41 of Tuberculosis, the following children moved to somewhere in England which is widely attributed to be Pontefract, Yorkshire:

Minnie- married Jonathan Morrow
Margaret
Kathleen- married name Hoare

Robert then married again to an unknown woman and had two more children:

Brian Gregg
Margaret Gregg (meaning there were two living children named Margaret)

Other than the names of his children, nothing is known of Robert's life prior to 1901 or after 1924

[scotmum]

How certain are you that the Belfast death was your Robert Gregg? Did that Robert have middle name Hugh?

[StevieP]

I am certain of the 1972 death in Belfast. Additionally, the informant was John C Gregg which is the first child listed. Again, I believe he was the only child to have remained in contact with him for the whole of his life.

[scotmum]

And did the death mention a middle name or initial for Robert?

[StevieP]

After investing in the birth certificate for Robert Hugh that was born in Ballymena I have discovered it is not the Robert that I am searching for. The Robert Hugh that was born in Ballymena on 5th March 1883 is the child of William Gregg and Elizabeth Steele.

[scotmum]

At this stage, it is as good to rule out a possibility, so your investment was not wasted and you can update your ancestry tree accordingly.

Now, any further clues on Robert's father from the marriage record and did Robert sign his name or make his mark ( I ask, as if the latter, you would have to consider the possibility that his father was incorrectly entered as 'Robert', but this was not realised if Robert himself couldn't read)? And again, what address/townland was given.

[StevieP]

I have purchased Robert and Ellen's marriage certificate online and have just read that Robert's father, Robert Snr, was dead at the time of their marriage. This information was not present on the register that I viewed when I went directly to Gracehill. The name on the certificate is clearly Robert for the father.

It further states that he was of full age when he was married in 1902 when he married Ellen and his residence was in Corbally, Ahoghill.

[scotmum]

His townland at marriage strengthens the probability that he was, therefore, the same Robert that was working as a servant in 1901 for John Gillespie.

I had thought this family, in nearby Killyless, may also be worth checking further, as the head of the household is widowed:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Ballyconnelly/Killyless/924641/

whilst it is transcribed as Grigg, the original has no dot above the 'i' and is more than likely 'Gregg'. However, the 1911, as Gregg, suggests she only had 5 children, and all five are accounted for in the 1901. Checking Griffiths Revision books suggests her husband may have been a Daniel.

There is another Gregg household in the townland, but the head is an Alexander. Another neighbouring townland, Loan, also has Gregg households, but the heads there are Williams.

If your Robert was from the Ballymena area, based on his age and approx birth year of 1883/4, there is only one potential Robert senior death between then and 1908. It being a Robert who died in 1898 aged 48. However, the lack of any obvious birth index entry for your Robert in the area could make it difficult to link the two. Still, if you haven't already, always worth checking the 1898 death.

[StevieP]

The 1898 death is not correct either, the Robert Gregg in question is a bachelor... Robert Gregg is a mystery! He's the only one I cannot find any trace of before 1900 and after 1924 there are only snippets of information until his death in 1972. I will take some time to look at the Grigg family you mentioned, I had only searched for Gregg variations with an "e" at the end.