Stewarts of Londonderry

[Elwyn Soutter]

That’s a good find and does suggest the family may have been living there in the early 1850s. The townland was Craignageeragh which is about halfway between Portglenone and Ahoghill village. On the modern Craignageeragh Rd. It’s about 6 or 7 miles from Moneystaghan Ellis.

The choice of church does usually indicate the bride’s denomination. St Colmanell’s is Church of Ireland (Episcopalian). So it looks as though the Stewarts were Church of Ireland. St Colmanell’s is in use to this day. It’s baptism and marriage records start in 1811, and burials in 1821.

According to my guide to Church of Ireland records, the church doesn’t have the old records. They have given them to PRONI in Belfast. They are not on-line so you need to get someone to go there for you to look them up.

I looked in Griffiths for Craignageeragh in 1862 but there were no Stewart households listed then. Nor any in the 1901 census of the townland. So it looks as though those still in Ireland had moved on by 1862. I mentioned previously that labourers often moved around to follow available work and your family clearly followed that pattern.

Both Nancy Courteney and Dorothy Stewart thought that the family were in Co. Londonderry in 1851. They both list Innisrush as the family residence then (with Dorothy adding some others). Neither mentions Ahoghill, which makes me think that the family must have lived in Co. Derry for a period of time. Whether they originated there I can’t say. I haven’t seen any census information that tells us for certain. The Jones family are there in the 1831 census but it’s unclear whether your Stewarts were also there, and crucially whether they were born there.

The 1911 Scottish census often contains a specific place of birth (as opposed to just Ireland). Always worth checking that for Dorothy and any siblings alive there that year.

If the Stewart family had moved to the Ahoghill area, then a death would be registered in Ballymena. I had a look at the records for the period 1864 – 1873. I saw about 8 John Stewarts in the indexes in their 60s or 70s, who could be your family. There were 2 Janes. None of those certificate sis viewable free yet. The only way to find out whether they might be your family would be to pay to view them on the GRONI site, which costs £2.50 a time.

[jen5525]

Hi Elwyn,

Thanks so much. I was very excited by the find of Mary Ann Stewart.  I found an addition birth, Jean,  in 1859 for her and husband Thomas in Dundee Scotland, indexed as Curtney.  Child was not in 1861 census and there is a death recorded in 1860 for the child.  I was able to find Thomas and son James (but not Mary Ann or Nancy) in 1871 census.

After much hunting, I did find Nancy's death (remember I had the 1851 census extraction request for her in 1920ish where she was living in Dundee).  Found her death in 1928 under Agnes Courtney (single) with the correct parents.  Found James' marriage in 1881 with correct parents, neither listed as deceased.  So, went on a mad hunt for Mary Ann, but could find absolutely no trace of her.  Finally thought to search for Thomas Courtney's death.  Found it in 1893.  Listed him as widower of Mary Ann Stewart and of Bridget O'Neil.  Hmm.  So checked when he married Bridget.  Marriage found in 1861!!  Ok, so Mary Ann is in 1861 census and then he marries Bridget the same year.  Can't find a death for Mary Ann under Stewart/Courtney (and variants) in Scotland that would fit. I can find no trace of Nancy/Agnes in 1871 as well.  She'd have been around 16/17 years old.  they only thought I have is that perhaps Mary Ann and Nancy/Agnes traveled back to Ireland in 1861, where Mary Ann died and Nancy stayed with family before coming back?  She re-appears in the 1881 census and has had a daughter age 5 months.  Child is born out of marriage (father is listed on the birth record, James McLaughlan); they remain together with the father, and she has several other children.  I have her in 1881, 1891, and 1901.  Downloaded her 1911 census and she's living with 2 of her children and her partner (though she is listed as a boarder).  none of my  1911 Scotland Census' list more than "ireland" for place of birth .  I would also love to know where Nancy was in 1871!

will continue to play around with the databases and see if I can find more

thanks again and Happy New Year!

[shanreagh]

And just to confuse things possibly...Nancy is often a diminutive of Ann/e.

[Elwyn Soutter]

And just to confuse things possibly...Nancy is often a diminutive of Ann/e.

I agree. Nancy, Ann & Agnes are all interchangeable in both Ireland and Scotland.

[Elwyn Soutter]

I assume that Thomas Courtney said he was a widower when he remarried, so that puts the date of Mary Ann’s death firmly into 1861 only, unless he wasn’t telling the truth. I agree I can’t see it in Scotland, let alone in Dundee.

Most people who died in Dundee then were buried in the Howff cemetery. (I have a couple of relatives there myself). I think those records may be on-line somewhere, though I am not sure. If you put a query on a Scottish board here, I am sure someone will know. So you could check for an 1861 burial there for Mary Ann.

Death registration didn’t start till 1864 in Ireland so if Mary Ann happened to die back in Ireland in 1861, there’s no death certificate to search for. If she died in Ahoghill then she might be in the COI burial records but that will require a trip to PRONI to check. She doesn’t appear to have a gravestone in the Ahoghill area. Those gravestones are all on-line on the Braid site and I don't see one for her.

http://thebraid.com/genealogy.aspx

Tracing Nancy in 1871, if she was in Ireland would be very difficult as the 1871 Irish census was destroyed and I can’t think of any other records she might be in.  She’d be too old for school attendance records.

[strawberries]

I noticed Tamlaght O'Crilly and Innisrush come up in this thread.

My local churchyard, Tamlaght O'Crilly Lower (near Innisrush) has several Stewarts in the graveyard.

See:    https://www.oneirishrover.com/tamlaght-graveyard/

[jen5525]

Thanks so much!  Somehow I'd completely missed this post about the graveyard.  Will check out the link! 

[scotmum]

https://www.fdca.org.uk/Howff_Burials.html

[jen5525]

 came up with another 1851 census extraction request and Nancy Courtney came up.  Her parents were Thomas Courtney and Mary Ann Stewart!  And...on the form, it lists the head of household as John & Jane Stewart!!!!  In Tamlaght O'Crilly.

found 2 additional extracts for Nancy Courtney.  Not sure if I'm reading it correctly but the last one (attached) doesn't appear to state that the family wasn't found like the other records had.  Of course I could be wrong and just overly hopeful...