Woagh, be wary of Doagh!
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Civil registration in Ireland was organised by Civil Registration Districts.
One of these was "Antrim".
Within these CRDs there were sub-divisions called Registrar's Districts.
The "Antrim" CRD was composed of six RDs:
Viz. Antrim, Connor, Crumlin, Doagh, Randalstown & Templepatrick.
Each RD was designated to handle a certain number of townlands in their "local" vicinity.
The "Doagh" RD covered 35 townlands lying within 5 parishes:
Parish Townland
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Ballycor Ballycor
Ballycor Ballyeaston
Ballylinny Ballycalket
Ballylinny Ballyearl
Ballylinny Ballygallagh
Ballylinny Ballyhowne
Ballylinny Ballylinny
Ballylinny Bruslee
Ballylinny Carntall
Ballylinny Grange of Ballywalter
Ballylinny Kingsbog
Ballylinny Lisnalinchy
Ballylinny Straidnahanna
Ballynure Ballyclare
Grange of Doagh Ballyclare
Grange of Doagh Coggrey
Grange of Doagh Doagh
Grange of Doagh Kilbride
Kilbride Ballybracken
Kilbride Ballyhamage
Kilbride Ballywee
Kilbride Burnside
Kilbride Crawfordsland
Kilbride Douglasland
Kilbride Drumadarragh
Kilbride Duncansland
Kilbride Fiftyacres
Kilbride Holestone
Kilbride Kilbride
Kilbride Loonburn
Kilbride M’Vickersland
Kilbride Moss-side
Kilbride Owensland
Kilbride Strawpark
Kilbride Walkmill
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To complicate it even further, I think (though not 100% sure) that the "Doagh" RD Office was physically located in Ballyclare town!
[Probably in the Town Hall.]
Ballyclare town lies mostly within the townland of Ballyclare, which straddles the border between the parishes of "The Grange of Doagh" and "Ballynure".
Copies of the records from the local Registrar Districts (RDs) were sent up to the offices of their parent Civil Registration Districts (CRDs).
Thus marriages involving folks from any of those 35 townlands (listed above) would have been required to be registered at the "Doagh" RD, who would then have copied up to the "Antrim" CRD (who would then have copied them up for inclusion in to the master sets in Dublin).
Sadly, it is common to see BMD records listed as supporting evidence for family histories indicating that the events had happened actually at "Doagh, Antrim, Ireland".
[Such is particularly prevalent on the LDS presentations.
Many people accept them as gospel.
Still, good for the present-day tourist trade to Doagh village!
The village only had 289 inhabitants in 1881.]
The indication simply of RD (e.g. "Doagh") & CRD (e.g. "Antrim") is therefore not very diagnosticas to where the participants might have resided.
It can be plain misleading if not well designated/explained.
Ref:
http://www.from-ireland.net/antrim-townlands-antrim-1855/You really need to get hold of the "Where Resident" field, out of either the Civil or Church records, in order to tie them down.
Was the record a church record?
[Sounds like it was, as you mention "Ballyclare".]
If so, which denomination?
[This can help tie down location sometimes.
Note: Attendees at the RC church in Ballyclare came from a wide geography.]
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I had a quick scan of the Country Antrim 1888 Directory, restricting my search to:
Doagh (village) P.141
Ballyclare (town) P.110
Ballyeaston (village) P.112
Ballynure (village) P113
No matches on HARRISON or CARAHER for Publican/Spirit_Grocer or farmers.
Indeed, HARRISON was very scarce.
However, a Wm. J. HARSON was listed as a farmer in Dunturkey townland near to Ballynure (village).
Ref:
COUNTY ANTRIM
One Hundred Years Ago
A GUIDE AND DIRECTORY 1888
George Henry BASSETT
The Friar's Bush Press 1989
ISBN 0 946 872 17 1
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You should also consider searching on other spelling variations which occur in the records:
HARRISON
HARISON
HARISSON
HARRESON
HARRISSON
Advice gathered from
http://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/N.B. There, I found a John HARRISON, formerly of Belfast, being buried on 22-NOV-1860 at Clontarf (CoI), Dublin.
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A "block printer" might have worked at a Newspaper.
[Ballyclare had a huge paper mill, but not aware that they printed anything there ...]
Alternatively, it might have been a role at a Calico Printing operation.
[Unsophisticated printing on to low quality cotton fabric.]
However, there was also a huge flax-mill at Coggrey just next to Ballyclare ...
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All the best onward!
Capt Jock
