More of a roundabout, than a brick wall

[Colin.smith]

Hello & Happy New Year
 I have been looking at my mother’s side of the family for a short while now and thankfully I have not had too much trouble locating information using Scotland’s People genealogy website. Now I’m looking in Ireland it’s a different story, I just keep going around in circles. Proni & Groni are helpful but limited I’ve actually found irishgenealogy.ie a far better, quicker site to navigate around but sadly I’m going nowhere fast locating birth records/baptisms for both my great granddad Patrick Steele, born 1849? & Mary Jane (Mc Lean) Steele, born 1858? my great grandmother. I believe both were brought up in the county of Antrim, region of Ballycastle within the parish of Ballintoy. They were married at Ballintoy parish church on the 2nd of June 1876, they had 5 children each were baptized in the same Ballintoy parish church. The only other information I have is Patrick’s father was called Alexander Steele, and mother Annie (Kane) Steele, Mary’s father was James Mc Lean and mother Ann (Cain) Mc Lean. This information seems a little suspect but since I’ve not been doing this long I’ve bitten all my nails and started to rock myself back and forwards whilst resting my chin on my hand. I’m now stumped and in need of assistance, please if anyone can point me in the right direction I would be very grateful.

thank you Colin

[Johnf04]

Civil registration started in Ireland in 1864 (Protestant marriages were recorded from 1845), so before then you have to rely on church records. There are transcriptions of parish records available here:
https://www.emeraldancestors.com/

[Sinann]

Have you looked at the marriage cert?
Mary Jane's father's name looks like John Brown but she's a spinster and a minor
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1876/11165/8090351.pdf

They have also used different spelling for her surname also appears which might help find her.
It's also possible as she was working as a servant she might not be from that parish, girls sometimes moved away from their home area for work and didn't marry in their home parish. Just a possibility though.

Isabella my also be a sister so worth watching our for.

[Colin.smith]

much obliged John, Sinann
I have had another look but alas nothing, there's something not right about these two. I've kind of got used to the misspelling, reading the hand writing etc but this is a puzzle. I think i will pull the handbrake on and have a break from it, as its doing my head in.

thanks Colin

[FaulknerFive96]

Hi there, I have James Steele who married Catherine (McCaw?) in 1825, they are recorded in the 1841 Census in Ballintoy along with their 8 children.  They are Protestant so I don't know if you know their denomination as the name Patrick normally goes with the Catholic faith.