McIvors and Camerons, early 1800s and back, Bracky area

[SteveMcIver]

Hi,
My great-grandfather John McIver was born in Bracky in 1845. His father and mother were John McIvor, born 1811, and Ann Cameron McIvor, born 1823. Most of the family emigrated to the Philadelphia area of the U.S.; my great-grandfather joined the British Army and later settled in Sheffield, England. Here's where I'm at, research-wise:
-- I'm hoping to learn more about John McIvor (1811) of Bracky. The family were apparently members of the Drumnakilly Church of Ireland, and those records were destroyed in 1922.
-- John (1811) married an Ann Cameron. There aren't many Cameron families near Bracky -- does anyone have a potential family for Ann? (Incidentally, how far did folks tend to travel in those days to find a spouse?)
-- John (1811) named his oldest son William. Under the naming traditions of the time, that may mean his father was William McIvor. There's at least one William in the area, in nearby Sixmilecross. Does anyone have any insight into a William McIvor born, say, around 1790 in or near Bracky?
I've tried the usual sources -- Ancestry, FindMyPast, RootsIreland, Griffiths, tithes, Irish public records (census, wills, births/deaths/marriages) and I seem to be at a dead end.

[shanreagh]

There is an 88 year old William who dies in Pomeroy on 22/12/1872. The informant was Mary McIvor.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1872/020721/7270068.pdf

I am not sure where Pomeroy is in relation to Bracky.

You don't say when the family moved, often it was precipitated by the death of a parent.

Other places to look are Family Search.
I always look at the census too. Even though many of the family may have moved there is usally someone left behind. 

What I do is to look at the 1901/11 censuses and sort by age and look at the oldest and try to fit them into the wider family.  When going back to these early records it is always good to wide  ie not try a linear approach.  This means trying to identify siblings of John McIvo/er.  Then follow them in the hope that one of them may identify their parent.

Also look for all the spellings of McIver.  Spelling was fairly fluid on those days when people had to rely on others entering their names on official registers and also the accent could be difficult for some.

Finally the Irish naming tradition is useful for identifying other members, although some Irish did not stick to it slavishly.

I have done a spread sheet of the children of an ancestor and then alongside each child i put where the name had come from (mother/father's side) and then looked at the naming pattern to see who this may represent.
My families are CoI/Presbyterian and they do not seem to follow the pattern all the time with some deviations for a well thought of teacher & a Vicar. 

[Kiltaglassan]

I am not sure where Pomeroy is in relation to Bracky.

The village of Pomeroy is about 10 miles due east of Bracky townland.

https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/4678992#map=12/54.5920/-7.0299

[SteveMcIver]

Well, the age, geography and name for that William McIvor death record would certainly fit. And I see he's a laborer -- no landed gentry in my branch of the McIvers, I suspect. Let me see if I can find any evidence to tie him to the family.