Author Topic: Neill family - British Columbia and No. Ireland  (Read 3280 times)

Offline sallyharding

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Re: Neill family - British Columbia and No. Ireland
« Reply #9 on: Wednesday 26 July 17 16:42 BST (UK) »
Wow!  I've barely had time to digest the first round of info!  You are incredible!  The little bit that I read about Isabella, I don't think she's mine.  A lot of names in common, but the dates aren't matching up with my names.

I can't wait to look thru the new info!  Thank you so so much for all of this!!!

Offline neillscion

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Re: Neill family - British Columbia and No. Ireland
« Reply #10 on: Wednesday 20 December 17 20:17 GMT (UK) »
Sally

My great grandfather, James Neill 1839-1918/19, was a brother of Samuel Neill 1842-1909. Their parents were Samuel Neill and Sarah, married 23.4.1832.  Sarah's father was Hugh Martin of Ballymacreeley.

James Neill married Alice Jane Lawther, nee Jackson, and their children were my grandmother Mary Agnes, Alexander and George Robert. My mother was born at the Neill family homestead and moved to the Curragh, Ballygeegan when she was 4. Presumably this family rented a farm there which passed to my mother's brother George Robert.

The Neill family home was the Glen farm, Ballymorran. There is a plaque on the cottage dating it 1702. It is thought that the family occupied the farm since then (when they are thought to have moved there from the Killyleagh area) until Ellen Jane's death. The cottage is now owned by Gordon Flinn grandson of Davy Flinn who married Ellen Jane. Davy was a widower when he married Ellen Jane and they did not have any children.

My grandmother was therefore a cousin of Hugh, Ellen Jane, Edwin, David, Isabella, known as Bella, etc.

I think Edwin must have returned from Canada and is buried at Killinchy Presbyterin Church. His children that I know of were 1)Margaret who married Hector Dempster and had a son Neill David, all three deceased; 2)Edwin, died 1960, who also married a Margaret, died 1996. I don't know if they had children.

Bella also went to Canada but returned home following an accident working in a laundry and lived with Ellen Jane and Davy.

In 1862 the farm consisted of 27 acres and was rented from John Cleland for £25 per year.

David and Bella did not marry.

I live at Castle Espie about 6 miles from the Neill homestead.

Regards

George Harper (a very distant cousin)

Offline sallyharding

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Re: Neill family - British Columbia and No. Ireland
« Reply #11 on: Thursday 21 December 17 21:11 GMT (UK) »
All I can keep thinking is "WOW"! 

Hello cousin George!  it's wonderful to meet you!

I had made an educated guess that James was Samuel's brother, so it's great to have that confirmed.  I had figured out that Samuel and Sarah were their parents.  I also have a Thomas Neill (1845-?) and a Grace Neill (1857-?) as brother and sister to James and Samuel, but they are only guesses.  Do you know of any other siblings?

I recognized George Robert's name as a witness at Ellen Jane's marriage!  I have Mary Agnes marrying George Magee Alexander and them having Ann Elizabeth Grace, Edward and Georgie.  If any of that is correct, was your mom Ann?

What I've learned about Edwin was that he and Maggie (Margaret) went to Vancouver BC Canada with my grandparents Hugh and Rosa about 1910.  At that time, Hugh and Rosa (they were married at the Strand Presbyterian Church in Belfast in 1907) had Samuel and Henrietta, and Edwin and Maggie had Christina.  Edwin and Maggie returned to Ireland about 1915 and Hugh and Rosa in 1916.  Edwin and Maggie had a son Edwin Jr in Canada.  Edwin was a tailor and Hugh was a shoemaker.  I think Edwin worked with/apprenticed with Maggie's dad. Hugh and Rosa stuck around to have several more children (12 in total), then returned to Vancouver BC around 1919.  That's where my dad was born in 1923.  In 1929, they moved down to California.  Hugh was killed in a farming accident in 1932.

Is the Glen Farm near the Ballymorran Cottages?  From the 1901 and 1911 censuses, I figured out Samuel and Susannah were living at/near there.  It looks like it's at the intersection of Ballymorran Rd and Quaterland Rd?  I love Google maps!  In looking at the Google street views, I can easily imagine what it must have looked like back in the early 1900's.

1702!  Wow!  I've suspected for a long time that our Neill's originally came from Scotland, but doubt there would ever be a way to prove or disprove it.

I didn't come to have this much interest in family history until after my dad and his brothers and sisters had passed away, but other than the occasional mention of Grandma Rosa's sister Agnes, no other family members were ever talked about.  I guess Grandpa Hugh dying so young must have severed a lot of contacts to those left in Ireland.  It's so frustrating to see cousins who have died in the last 30 years or so that I've only just now learned about!

And I've always wondered why they trekked all the way to Vancouver BC!  Especially with young children!  I can't imagine doing it today on an airplane, much less by boat and how did they get from the east coast of Canada to the west coast?  When Hugh and Rosa came to California, one of the forms they filled out had to be signed by a friend or family member and it was signed by "Cousin - John Neill".  I found a John Neill, son of Thomas Neill (maybe brother to James and Samuel) who did pass away in a suburb of Vancouver and he would be a cousin and I've found a John Neill from Northern Ireland in the Canadian census, but haven't been able to confirm they are the same person.

I guess I've rambled enough.  Thank you so so much for finding this post and reaching out!  I had hoped to find far flung cousins still living, but didn't expect it would really happen.  I'm trying to put together what info I've gathered into a family tree on Ancestry and if you're interested in seeing it, let me know.  I'm happy to share!


Offline neillscion

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Re: Neill family - British Columbia and No. Ireland
« Reply #12 on: Thursday 28 December 17 20:54 GMT (UK) »
Sally

I too only became interested in family history only after my father passed away. When my brotheres and I were clearing the house we found a lot of family history stuff which I took away to go through at my leisure. Not much concerned the Neill family but it did contain a magazine, Irish Family Links, Vol:2 No's 9&10, Jan/May 1987. The editors of this magazine (published by the Irish Heritage Association) were husband and wife Kathleen and Don Neill. It contains an article on Don's family history. Don's full name was Samuel Donaldson Neill; his parents were Samuel (Sam) Neill born 16.8.1896-2.4.1978 and Florence Margaret Ethel Jamesina Donaldson. Don's grandparents were Samuel Neill 5.12.1869-1.12.1912 and Margaret Jane Hanna. Samuel was a son of Samuel Neill and Susanna Brown and was born at Ballymorran but moved to work in the Dunmurry area.

The Samual who died 1912 actually drowned in the Pitt River at Hammond BC where he had gone to investigate the possibilities of emigrating; he had left his wife and family at home in Dunmurry.

Children that i know of Samuel Neill and Sarah Martin married 23.4.1832; Hugh, Mary, Jane b 27.12.1837, James b 26.12.1839, Samuel and Sarah twins b 21.6.1841, Thomas Osborne b 9.4.1843, Isabella b 6.7.1846 and Grace b 25.12.1853.

Samuel 21.6.1841-17.3.1909 married Susanna Brown (daughter of Hugh Brown) ans had the following children; Isabella (called Bella) d 18.2.1940, Hugh 15.1.1868-9.2.1871,Samuel, Alexander 9.7.1871-19.7.1882, Ellen Jane 4.2.1875-17.8.1946, Robert James b 24.12.1878, David Ruthmore b 16.1.1880, Alex(ander)15,7,1882-18.11.1910, Hugh b 15.11.1884, Daniel Edwin b 18.4.1887.

The children of Samuel Neill and Margaret Jane Hanna; Richard Butler b 13.8.1894 married Anna Brownlee of Belfast and emigrated to Toyota New Jersey, Samuel, David emigrated to Canada (Geraltown Ontario), Lily (Elizabeth) Madge married William Ward of Cavan and they were living Hillsborough in 1978.

The Neill homestead, i think it was called Glenbrook farm, is located where the Ballymorran Road bends at a right angle away from the coast and the house is in the angle. Ballymorran Cottages are on the other side of the road. Quartelands Road joins the Ballymorran Road about 50 yards from the right angle bend.

Mary Agnes and George Aleaxander's children were Edward b 1917, Alice Jane (my mother) 4.2.1921-25.3.2013, Georgie (died aged about 15 after falling from a wall) and Annabeth (Anna Elizabeth Grace) 1924-2011. Edward had a son Ian and daughters Joan(Morris), Helen (Hammond) and Helen. Annabeth's children are Marilyn (Marshall), Andra (Martin) and Vivienne.

Other Neill cousins that I know of who are still alive; Rosemary Dowling (her grandmother Sara Neill and my grandmother were cousins, but who her parents were I don't know. Sara had three sisters who became Mrs Lambe (2 un-married grand daughters still alive in the South of England), Mrs Gold, family died out, and Mrs Monteith. There are some Monteiths still living but I don't know them. Annie Garret may be a great grand daughter of Thomas Osborne Neill. Thomas Osborne married Margaret Lyons 11.1.1868, their children; Thomas b 26.4.1870, John b 6.2.1872, James b 14.3.1874,Grace b 28.8.1876, Hugh Stevenson b 23.1.79, Sarah Jane b 8.12.1881, Robert Martin b 1.4.1884, Margaret b 10.10.1886.

A lot of the info is from the Irish Family Links, Jan/May 1987. I don't know if it is still available but I could copy and forward if you like.

Seasons greetings (belatedly)

Regards

Cousin George


Offline sallyharding

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Re: Neill family - British Columbia and No. Ireland
« Reply #13 on: Monday 15 January 18 21:32 GMT (UK) »
Happy New Year!   I hope 2018 is good to you and yours!

Thank you so much for all of this information! I wish I had as much to share with you.  I don't think I'll ever forget seeing the 1901 Irish census with my grandfather's family because so many of the names were familiar, it was like looking at a list of my aunts and uncles.

I would love a copy of the article!  My email is Removed  Let me know if you need my address.  I do have a picture of my grandfather Hugh if you'd like it.  It's the only one I've ever seen of him.  I think it was taken in the early 1900's - like 1910-1920, but it's only a guess from the style of his collar.

Hugh and Rosa had a total of 12 kids.  Samuel (Sept 23, 1908 Ireland-May 13, 1984 Rhode Island US), Henrietta (Jan 28, 1910 Comber Ireland - Nov 8, 1993 California US), Rosanna Evelyn (Feb 1, 1912 Vancouver BC - July 12, 1999 California US), Susannah (1914 Vancouver BC- Nov 6, 1927 Vancouver BC), David (Jan 12, 1916 Ballyskeah Ireland- June 7, 1985 Washington state US), Hugh (Jan 12, 1916 - Nov 28, 1916 Ballyskeagh Ireland), Hugh (Feb 21, 1918 Ballyskeagh Ireland - Sept 17, 2000 California US), Thomas William (Feb 21, 1918 Ballyskeagh Ireland - Aug 13, 1954 California US), Albert (July 27, 1919 Vancouver BC - Nov 28, 1946 Brittania Beach BC), Irene (June 22, 1922 Vancouver BC - August 24, 1997 California US), Lorna Agnes (Feb 16, 1925 Vancouver BC - Nov 4, 2002 California US), Joseph Azar (Sept 14, 1923 Vancouver BC - Dec 17, 2004 California US).  Joe was my dad.  He came about his not so Irish name from a man his dad worked with in Vancouver.

Have you come across the last name Fitzsimons in looking at the Neills?  That was my grandmother's maiden name.  She was born in West Derby, near Liverpool England, but her parents and other siblings I've found were born in Northern Ireland.  Haven't a clue why they trekked over to England to have her.  I ask because I found a tiny news article about David Rathmore Neill where he crashed a motorcycle and with him were the "Fitzsimons kids".  That's all the article says about them.  I think the article was from the 1920's.  David was knocked unconscious, but taken home and recovered.  I haven't found any kids from Rosa's siblings that would have fit the description of "the Fitzsimons kids".

Hugh (my grandfather) died in 1932 from a farming accident.  They had a farm in central California (town named Reedly) and he was trying to get a bull to mate a cow and the bull gored him.  His son Hugh and I think Hugh's twin Tommy were there and pulled him out of the pen and got him home.  My aunt Renee (Irene) told me that she remembered hearing him groaning in pain for several days before (in her words) someone came and took him to the hospital, where he died.  That left Rosa with a lot of kids to raise!  Samuel and Etta (Henrietta) had already gone out on their own.  Lynn (Rosanna Evelyn) dropped out of school to help Rosa.  David was always a wanderer and not home much (my dad told me once that the kids would be walking to school and they would turn left, while David just kept walking straight and they wouldn't see him again for months).  Hugh, Tommy and Albert helped out a lot, but Albert I think got into a lot of trouble.  He did serve time in prison for theft and robbery in the 1940's before being killed in a mining accident in BC.  Renee, Lorna and my dad were the youngest.  Surprisingly few kids from all of those Neill's.  I have two brothers (David and Michael) and a sister (Valerie) from my dad's first marriage.  Renee had a son and daughter.  Hugh had a son and daughter.  Sam had one son.  Lorna had one son.

My brother Dave and I are hoping to make a trip to Ireland next year.  It's something I've always wanted to do and now finding all this family really makes me want to go.

Do you use Ancestry.com?  If you do, my tree is called "Neill - Harding family tree".  I'm slowly putting the documents I'm finding on individual records and linking to what others have put up.  I found the image of James Neill's headstone that I've attached.  It was taken in 2001 in Crossgar.

Take care!
Sally

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Offline neillscion

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Re: Neill family - British Columbia and No. Ireland
« Reply #14 on: Tuesday 13 February 18 19:25 GMT (UK) »
Sally

Sorry for taking so long to replay but I had to call in my daughter and son in law to assist in scanning document and getting it in a format to send. Unfortunately your email address has now been removed. It was there first time I looked at your reply. My email is Removed

Fitzsimmons is not a name that I have come across in relation to the Neills.

Do you have any more information on Ellen and James Neill from the headstone?

If you come to Ireland I will gladly show you around.

Regards

George

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Offline sallyharding

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Re: Neill family - British Columbia and No. Ireland
« Reply #15 on: Tuesday 13 February 18 22:36 GMT (UK) »
I hadn't gotten an email that you had replied!  Email was Removed.  No spaces between  the first 3 parts of course, I'm just trying to trick the system into not deleting it.

I found the article about David R.'s motorcycle crash.  Unfortunately I wasn't smart enough to write down the date and can't find the site where I found it right now, but I believe it happened in the 1920's.  Unfortunately it won't let me attach it....

What I have in my tree (and this is all from Ancestry, I haven't done the extra research to verify) is that James (1874-1926) was the son of Thomas Neill (1834-?) and Margaret Lyons (1846-1908).  Thomas was the son of Samuel Neill and Sarah Martin.  Ellen (1864-1936) was Ellen Eliza Shields.  Two of their sons were Alexander (1903-1978) and Hugh (1905-1958).

And I've been too lazy to download my picture of Hugh, but one of these days....

I've just shared my family tree on Ancestry with you.  If you need help navigating, just let me know!  I don't know where it will open for you, so if you see a bunch of names you don't recognize, there's a search option in the upper right and search for one of the Neill's you know.  The tree has my Neill's, my mom's family and my husband's family, so there's a lot of bodies in it.  ;)  For James from the tombstone, there's his obit and WWI service record.  There's also a picture of Ellen Shields.

Thank you again so much for all of this!  And I look forward to hopefully meeting you next year!
Sally