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Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Down => Topic started by: pagenie on Sunday 17 April 05 02:41 BST (UK)
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Does anyone have any information concerning the Roy (Rea) surname in County Down? My ancestors were Robert Roy and his wife, Margaret A. ?. Robert was born about 1805. His parents were John and Margaret Roy.
Before immigrating to the USA (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), the couple had two children:
Sarah (b. abt 1840) and Robert John (b. abt. 1844).
The closest guess I have to their location in Down would be the
Dromore or Dromara vicinity.
Any suggestions for research would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Carol ???
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Carol, the principle Rea settlement in Down was in and around Drumskee and Edentroory, where my family lived during the 17th and 18th centuries. Later in the 18th century, some of my line went to Newry.
I'm a direct descendant of William Rea of Drumskee (1680-1785) and I believe his father and probably his grandfather also lived in County Down. There were Reas on the 1631 Muster Roll of County Down, taken at Bangor.
I have several Robert Reas in my database, a few born in County Down, but none born around 1805, that I know of.
My line moved to Newry from Drumskee sometime in the 1700s and they emmigrated from Newry to Pennsylvania in 1774, settling in Mifflin County, then Franklin County. They had cousins living in Cumberland and Bedford Counties, also.
My emmigrant ancestor's brother Samuel emmigrated earlier, perhaps before 1750. He had a brother named Robert, born in Drumskee between 1735 and 1740 and I don't know anything about his descendants, but he could have emmigrated, as well and might have had a son or a grandson named Robert. His brother Matthew (my g-g-g-g-grandfather) also had a son named Robert, who, in turn, named a son Robert, so it's a fairly common name in my family during that period. I mention Samuel's line as one of his descendants (maybe several) wound up in Pittsburgh, including Samuel Rea, the President of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Anyway, if you're searching Dromore, Drumskee and Edentroory are the most likely places.
Gary Rea
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Thank you, Gary. I will center my searching on those locations.
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You're welcome, Carol. Let me know if you need any further help.
Gary
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I went back to some census returns and was remembering that my Robert Roy's age was not also reported as the same in each year.
Would you please check your records for :
Robert Roy - b. 1810
Robert J. Roy - b 1836
Sarah Roy - b. 1842
I know that they were in Down. Robert's death certificate states that county for his birthplace and lists his parents as John and Margaret Roy.
I would appreciate any help.
Carol
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I have noticed in one census year that Robert, the father, was listed as "J" for John.
I wonder if he was named "John Robert"?
His son was Robert John.
This makes it more confusing!
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Well, I couldn't find access to any County Down census records, but I did find the following on
http://www.caora.net/find.php:
James Roy, Down, Flax Grants 1796, Down
William Roy, Downpatrick, Bridge Street, Down, 1901 Census, Downpatrick Urban Division
Thomas Roy " "
John Roy, Kinallen, Dromore Parish, Tithes 1834
There are other Roys listed, also.
Gary
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Gary,
Yes, I have seen all of these records. I just can't
seem to find out how to narrow them down to the specific information I need to locate my particular family. Can you help?
The census records to which I have referred are from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Year of immigration was 1847.
Thanks for your interest,
Carol
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1850 census of Pittsburg:
Robert Roy, age 45, occupation: laborer, Ward No. 6, Dwelling type: residential, Place of birth: Ireland
Margaret, 40
Sarah, 10
Robert, 6
Eliza, 3
William, 0
This is the only Robert Roy family found.
Gary
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Yes, the Eliza listed was my great-grandmother,
Elizabeth. She was born during the immigration voyage in 1847.
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Bingo! ;D
Gary
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I have copies of all of the Pittsburgh census returns
from 1850 to 1930.
My problem is that I cannot pinpoint a place in Down from where the family immigrated.
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Right. That's why I posted the earlier data, from County Down. They may not be the particular Roys you're looking for, but they help to indicate where your Robert Roy was most likely from, as they could have been brothers or cousins, or one of them might even be Robert's father. In this case, the search suggests Dromore Parish or Downpatrick. It's a place to look, anyway. Since you know they immigrated in 1847, I'd try checking the census of County Down for the nearest year prior to 1847, if there is any existing. I can't seem to find that right now, though, but, the last of the men on the list I posted earlier (John Roy, Kinallen, Dromore Parish, Tithes 1834) indicates yet another place to look, in Kinallen, Dromore Parish. It's not unlikely that Robert lived nearby. I don't know if there is a census for prior to 1847 that is still extant, so you may have to look in other records, like the tithe lists, parish records, etc. But, at least now you have a target area to search.
Gary
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There's a scarcity of Census records in Ireland ... There are a couple of Substitute Census items that might be worth a look ... the Irish Flax Growers List, 1796 and Griffiths Valuation - Down 1863-64. These are both on John Hayes www.failteromhat.com website
Christopher
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Dear Gary and Carol
I think that the John Roy, Kinallen, Dromore Parish, Tithes 1834 may be part of my tree. I have James Roy 1833 son of John Roy and Esther Flanneghan married to my 2nd great grandaunt Rebecca Clark in Greenock, Scotland in 1859. The birth record for James in Dromore states his mother is Esther Branaghan but it's really close. I just need to confirm the birth of his sister Catherine in about 1838 as she married Rebecca Clark's brother James Clark and they are my 2nd great grandparents. So if anyone has a Catherine Roy born in this parish could you please let me know. I was unable to located James Roy and Rebecca Clark in the UK after the birth of their third child Mary Ann Roy in 1872 so perhaps they went to USA. Kindest regards Valster