Hello everyone,
As you'll see this is a long shot, but this seems like the best place to try.
I am looking for details about a relative, born Mary Ann WHITE on 3 July 1889 in Killydonnelly, Rasharkin. She was an illegitimate child. No father is listed on her birth certificate and her mother is listed as Lizzie White.
I believe this 1901 census form is hers:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai000286530/As I interpret it, her mother is Lizzie White (born about 1861), whose father is William White (born about 1826). These family members are also listed in the 1911 census at
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/reels/nai001370868/. In both of these forms, the family was living in Killycowan, Dunminning. Other family members listed include Agnes White, Magee or Maggie White, John White, and Thomas White.
A marriage between Lizzie White and James Steele is listed here:
http://cullybackeyhistory.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CULLYBACKEY-PEOPLE-MARRIED-IN-BALLYMENA-REGISTRARS-OFFICE.pdfbut this would be inconsistent with the census forms. No-one with her precise name or date of birth is listed in the school registers on that site.
Because of the very common names involved and the lack of marriage records, it may be impossible to track these people. She had a complicated family history. She was married in Glasgow in 1910 to John Mooney aka Moonie, who died in 1916. She then married George Benney (an Australian soldier) in Wiltshire in 1918, then migrated to Australia in 1920. She had ten children in all.
On her second marriage certificate she stated that her father was William White. I am assuming that she was using her grandfather's name for convenience.
She often used the surname Whyte and the given name May.
I have done a DNA test and have found various people who I cannot trace an obvious link to. Mostly they are people of Northern Irish origin who migrated to America.
I am hoping to identify more of her ancestors. The online searches I've done are just too inconclusive even for speculation. So, if this rings a bell for anyone, or if anyone can suggest some further records to look up, please contact me.
Thanks!
