James Dillon of Co Armagh

[thomas2sam]

I am trying to research the Irish details of my G-G-grandfather James Dillon & his family.

His death certificate shows James died 10/10/1905 at Parramatta (NSW, Aust.) aged 81 years, his parents as Thomas Dillon & Nancy Stuothers (or is that Stothers?), he was born Armagh, Ireland, aged 25 when he married & that he had been in NSW for 42 years at his death.  The marriage record showed he married Jane Wilson at the Parish Church, Parish of Drumcree 23/10/1849, that James resided in Canagola (sic) & Jane resided in Derryneskin (sic).    James Dillon, Thomas Dillon & Samuel Wilson (Jane's father) were all farmers.  The witnesses were Samual Wilson & John Mercer.

I have seen his birth year shown by some people as 1823 but other details suggest 1823-25.  And his mother has also been shown as Anne Stothers.

I believe James & Jane had five children when they left Ireland & another daughter, Elizabeth, was born at sea.  Two more daughters were born in NSW.

I have a record of a James & Jane Dillon with children Samuel, Mary, Margaret J & Ann E departing Greenock, Scotland 23/5/1863 for Brisbane, Qld, Australia onboard the SS Saldanha as part of an immigration scheme.  Four children were recorded, not five.  Their forth child, Martha, was not listed with the family but there was a Martha Dillon listed separately on the same voyage who may have been the missing child.  The names of these five children match my family.  There was not a reference to Elizabeth, perhaps because she was so young.  I also have a passenger list that suggests the family subsequently traveled from Brisbane to Sydney onboard SS Urara Nov/Dec 1863.

Does anyone have any other information on James Dillon, his family & his life in Ireland?  Does anyone know how & why he when to Greenock, Scotland before travelling to Australia?  Does anyone have any further information on Thomas Dillon, his wife & their ancesters?  What about the birth details of his children Samuel, Mary, Margaret J, Martha & Ann E or the details for Elizabeth who was born at sea?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Thomas2sam

[Milliepede]

I have a record of a James & Jane Dillon with children Samuel, Mary, Margaret J & Ann E departing Greenock, Scotland 23/5/1863 for Brisbane, Qld, Australia onboard the SS Saldanha as part of an immigration scheme.

Does it give ages for the children please or do you know when/where they were born?

[shanreagh]

They would have gone to Greenock to catch the ship that took them to Australia.  Others may have gone to Liverpool, Portsmouth, London etc.  Just depended here the shipping line was based and where its ships left from.  As the trip from Ireland to Scotland was internal travel you may/will not find travel details. 

Suggest that a couple of good places to look are:
Family search https://www.familysearch.org/search/
https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/


Anne/Nancy are interchangeable   Nancy is often 'short' for Anne.

[shanreagh]

Might be Cannagola Beg or Cannagola More

Derryneskan

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/how-to-trace-your-irish-family-history-a-step-by-step-guide-1.3423973

https://www.johngrenham.com/c_parish/c_parish_main.php?civilparishid=371&county=Armagh&civilparish=Drumcree

Griffiths Valuation is a valuable source of information.  you can search for Wilsons, Mercers and Dillons & Stothers in and around Drumcree eg Cannagola & Derryneskan

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/

To search in Ireland it is essential to have information about the townland that your ancestors came from, you have that with the refs to Drumcree, Cannagola and Derryneskan.  Also essential is to know if they were Roman Catholic or Protestant.  The Marriage certificate should tell you this. 

Irish had their own naming patterns but, being Irish, sometimes did not follow them slavishly

The Irish naming pattern is as follows:

1st son is named after the father’s father.
2nd son is named after the mother’s father.
3rd son is named after the father.
4th son is named after the father’s eldest brother.
 

1st daughter is named after the mother’s mother.
2nd daughter is named after the father’s mother.
3rd daughter is named after the mother.
4th daughter is named after the mother’s eldest sister.

[Kiltaglassan]

Welcome to RootsChat, Thomas2sam 

Adding to Shanreagh's comments-

Might be Cannagola Beg or Cannagola More

Derryneskan

Cannagola Beg
https://www.townlands.ie/armagh/oneilland-west/drumcree/breagh/cannagola-beg/
Cannagola Mor
https://www.townlands.ie/armagh/oneilland-west/drumcree/breagh/cannagola-mor/
Derryneskan
https://www.townlands.ie/armagh/oneilland-west/drumcree/drumcree/derryneskan/

KG

[thomas2sam]

Hi Milliepede, shanreagh & Kiltaglassan,

Thank you for all the replies. I will add some more info where I can.

Originally the assumption was the family had sailed from Ireland to Sydney but I couldn't find passenger list showing them.  Eventually I followed a chat page about another person's ancestor & found a Dillon family that included the parents & most of the children on SS Saldanha that sailed to Brisbane (Qld) in 1863.  I then looked for a ship sailing from Brisbane to Sydney & again found a James & Mrs Dillon with 5 children in a passenger list.  Combined with the sailing dates, I assume these passenger lists do refer to my ancestors.

Samuel, Mary, Margaret, Martha & Ann(ie) were born in Ireland - most likely Co Armagh.  By calculation, Samuel was born 1850-1852, thought more likely to be 1851-1852.  Ancestry has a posting showing he was born 21 Oct 1852 but this date is questionable - he would have been 11 days short of his 53rd birthday - his age as shown on his father's death certificate & based on information credited to him.  From the ages on this death certificate, there was approx 2 years between each of the children.  Plus Elizabeth (Lizzie) was born at sea & 2 daughters, Jane & Sarah, were born when they were farming at Broughton Vale NSW.

Because of the immigration details I found, I guessed they may have travelled from Co Armagh to Greenock under an arrangement with Bain & Co.  I will follow up on links supplied shortly.  The names Nancy & Ann being interchangeable is news - thanks......& yes, I have skipped some of the background reading I should have done!

The Irish naming patterns are very interesting but perhaps not followed by the Dillons?  Jane's parents were Samuel Wilson & Margaret Shannon & James' parents were Thomas Dillon & Nancy/Ann/Anne Stothers(?).  But they did incorporate the names Samuel, Margaret, Ann & Jane among their children's names.  Incidentally Margaret's second name was Jane.

Unfortunately the Church marriage record does not show their religion. However, I can assume the Dillons were Methodists as this was the religion the family subsequently followed.

I did notice the older spellings for Cannagola (Beg/More) & Derryneskan but chose to use the spellings from the marriage record.  Currently I am think the Dillons were from Cannagola Beg because Cannagola More may have had a different name in 1849. Do you know if this is the case?

Do any of you know if the Parish Church Drumcree holds any of their records that may include the Dillon family or have a contact in the church for me to check?  I am after first-hand records where I can.

Again, thank you for your help & for the links for me to check.

thomas2sam

[Kiltaglassan]

I did notice the older spellings for Cannagola (Beg/More) & Derryneskan but chose to use the spellings from the marriage record.  Currently I am think the Dillons were from Cannagola Beg because Cannagola More may have had a different name in 1849. Do you know if this is the case?

Various spellings of the townland in the 1800's.
http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=9983

KG

[aghadowey]

The marriage record showed he married Jane Wilson at the Parish Church, Parish of Drumcree 23/10/1849, that James resided in Canagola (sic) & Jane resided in Derryneskin (sic).    James Dillon, Thomas Dillon & Samuel Wilson (Jane's father) were all farmers.  The witnesses were Samual Wilson & John Mercer.
Marriage was in Drumcree Parish Church (Church of Ireland)-
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1849/09373/5394712.pdf

Unfortunately the Church marriage record does not show their religion. However, I can assume the Dillons were Methodists as this was the religion the family subsequently followed.
Marriages usually take place in bride's church but there are exceptions.

Do any of you know if the Parish Church Drumcree holds any of their records that may include the Dillon family or have a contact in the church for me to check?  I am after first-hand records where I can.
PRONI's Guide to Church Records-
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/proni-guide-church-records
DERRYALL METHODIST CHURCH, CO. ARMAGH [see under DRUMCREE]
DERRYANVIL METHODIST CHURCH, CO. ARMAGH [see under DRUMCREE]
Both church records are in local custody (i.e. the church) with baptisms starting 1830.
Page 204 of the Guide lists other churches in Drumcree Civil Parish.

[aghadowey]

Martha Dillon, daughter of a Thomas Dillon, married 1848 in same church to Henry Robinson- one of the witnesses a James Dillon-
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1848/09353/5386852.pdf

Martha Robinson died 1865 in Lurgan district (age 36 so born c1829 which would make her under age as in 1848 marriage). Irish Genealogy don't have image available yet but FamilySearch have extract-
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL7P-DHCY

This could be her husband Henry Robinson marrying again-
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1866/11542/8245117.pdf