Elliott & Davison of Lissan/Cookstown

[Lewis21]

Hi all,

Having a bit of a struggle making any inroads on my ancestors from the border area between Tyrone and Derry. Their names were James Elliott, a labourer, and his wife Margaret, a servant, (née Davison). They were married in 1846 at Lissan Church of Ireland church, both stated as residing in the townland of Muff, and the fathers' names were Jack Elliott (a mason) and Samuel Davison (a farmer).

They appear a couple of years later in the (luckily!) digitised registers for Derryloran in Cookstown, where all their sons were baptised. I know that James died in Cookstown in 1868 aged 48, and shortly thereafter the family went to England, though I can find no record of Margaret whatsoever after then, beyond her being the informant for her husband's death.

My issue is that I can't seem to get back any further than that marriage certificate. There are a few Samuel Davisons as well as other Davisons in the parish and surrounding areas, who I feel sure must be connected one way or another. The marriage was witnessed by Thomas Davison and Sarah Davison. I wonder is there any way to access Lissan parish registers without physically going to PRONI? Frustratingly there seems to be nothing out there that I can find.

Additionally I find the name Jack Elliott really curious, is this a nickname for John, and if so why not put that? Is the fact he was a mason and not a farmer or labourer significant? Certainly I can't find a single other record relating to a Jack Elliott in Ireland. I don't really know the local area at all aside from looking at maps but there don't appear to be many other Elliotts around either, so I wonder if he came from somewhere else.
 
I appreciate going beyond this period in Ireland can be a bit of a needle in a haystack, but any pointers from a fresh pair of eyes as to what I may be missing or any local knowledge that might help would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Lewis

[Elwyn Soutter]

Lewis,

Jack & John are interchangeable in Ireland (and elsewhere) and it’s common to see both used. There are many other examples such as Sally & Sarah, Henry & Harry, Edward & Edmund, Robin & Robert, Ellen & Helen and so on.

Labourers can be tricky to trace because they sometimes moved around to follow the available work, so wouldn’t necessarily be baptised where they later married. Masons are even worse because they frequently moved across Ireland for a new work project. They might stay in one place for a year or two, building a new church for example, and then move to a new job 100 miles away.

My guide to Church of Ireland parish records does not show the Lissan records to be on-line anywhere. The originals are held by the parish and there’s a copy in PRONI. They are the only 2 sources at present.

Bear in mind that tradition was to marry in the bride’s church, so though Lissan may be where the bride attended, it doesn’t follow that her husband did, nor was even of that denomination. Tracing back before 1845 can be challenging.  Lissan’s records do at least go back to the 1750s so some hope there.

I searched the Lissan tithe applotment records (which should list nearly all farmers) in 1827 but did not see a Samuel Davi(d)son. There was at least 1 widow Davidson in Drumrott. That could be Samuel’s widow. Otherwise maybe Margaret’s father lived in a different parish? The one comforting thing about farmers is they tended to stay put. Farmers normally didn’t move around from farm, to farm the way labourers did.

https://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/tyrone/tithe-applotment-books/parish-of-lissan.php