RootsChat.Com
Ireland (Historical Counties) => Ireland => Derry (Londonderry) => Topic started by: joemcl on Tuesday 26 April 11 18:45 BST (UK)
-
Hi folks,
I'm a new member......this is my first post.
I wonder if anyone can help me with my Ancestry search.I seem to have hit a brick wall.
My problem is that my Ancestors were illiterate so any docs i have has a different Surname spelling and birth dates and ages vary too!
My family name is Mclaney,I believe my Ancestors name could be Mcelhinney,my guess is that they are either from Derry or Donegal.....not 100% on this
Thomas Mcelhinney arrived in Glasgow sometime between 1850-55.
I know he married in 1856 in Glasgow to Catherine Owens from Cavan....he was 23yrs she was 19yrs...According to the marriage cert Thomas was a widower.
I don't know his first wife's details at all but i do know that they had a son John Mcelhinney who was born Derry....he died in England 1936 age 83yrs which would make his birth date abt1853.
I've tried searching online but can't find a John with a father called Thomas.
According to Thos wedding cert....his parents were John Mcelheney and Agnes Mitchell.
Any help would be much appreciated,Joe Mclaney,Glasgow.
-
1796 Index to Flaxgrowers Bounty shows 1 Thomas McElhinney in Donegal (same spelling).
McElhinney Thomas Raphoe Donegal 1 wheel
-
Welcome to Rootschat.
The first problem is that civil registration of births started in 1864- too late to get a birth certificate for son John Mcelhinney born c1853.
Next problem is that registration of Catholic marriages also started in 1864 (too late for the first marriage)- however, registration of non-Catholic marriages began in 1845 (this includes Registry Office marriages).
To find Irish ancestors for such an early period you need to see if church records exist.
Have a look at Introduction to Irish Records (http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,442233.0.html) and My Ancestor came from Ireland - where do I start? (http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,498742.0.html).
-
Thanks folks.....I never expected a reply so soon! :)
-
IFHF has a record of a JOSEPH McElhinney b.1851 Long Tower RC church Derry with father Thomas.
-
Hello Familyroutes,
many thanks for the info......i'll check them out.
I'm planning on making the pilgrimage in the near future with a visit to Belfast,Derry and Donegal to see if i can unearth my Ancestors.
It's so difficult tracing them without knowing the Townland etc....I've pretty much exhausted my online search so any help or advice in where to start would be extremley welcome!
A re-cap on the info i do have -
the family are Roman Catholic believed to be from Donegal/Derry
My 4 X Gr Grandfather - John Mcelheney wife: Agnes Mitchell
My 3 x Gr Grandfather - Thomas Mcelheney born Derry abt 1833 wife unknown
his son: John Mcelheney was born Derry abt 1851-53
Thomas moved to Glasgow sometime after John was born where he married Catherine Owens from Cavan in 1856...marriage cert shows that Thos was a widower,his father John deceased but his mother Agnes was still living. I'm unable to find a death Cert for her...tried from 1856 onwards
My biggest challenge has been the varying Surname spellings and birth dates.
Mcelheney,Mcelhinney,Mcelhoney, Maleny etc..
many thanks for looking,Joe.
-
familysearch http://pilot.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start has a record of the death of :
Agnes M'Elhinney in the registration district of Letterkenny Co Donegal in the 1st quarter of 1886.
Her estimated DOB is 1796 and age at death was 90
Volume Number: 2
Page Number: 151
Also this site may of interest to you
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~donegal/mcelhinneyresources.htm
This is interesting... http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~donegal/Aghanunshingv.htm
John McIlhenny and James Mitchell both living in the townland of Loughnagin ... one of James' plots is next to one of John's.
You'll find them here...http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml
-
Hey Familyroutes, that's fantastic....looks promising,thank you very much!
-
Joe, my 3 x gt grandfather was John McElhinney.
I'm descended through his son William born about 1832.
My John was married to Nancy Mitchell according to William's death cert.
If Nancy and Agnes are one and the same, then your Thomas and my William were brothers.
I've had the same problems as you tracing the family and I've had versions of the name you wouldn't believe.
My gt grandfather Alexander was married in St Johnstown, Donegal which is in All Saints parish and that's just opposite Aghanunshin across Lough Swilly.
As for the references to Derry, I've come across this too but its too vague to help. Look how close the two parishes are to the next county and Derry city for that matter.
Happy to share more if it helps.
Denis McElhinney ex-pat Scot.
-
Hey Denis,thanks for getting in touch.
I would love to think your Nancy Mitchell is my Agnes Mitchell,it would end an age of frustration for me!!
Where do we go from here?
I know Derry/Donegal were once linked so it would not be impossible for births,deaths or marriages to have taken place in either.
Anyway,this gives me a new line of search....if there's anything i can do to assist you in your search please don't hesitate to get in touch.
I'm really excited by your post,probably won't sleep tonight!
Joe Mclaney.
-
Hi Denis,don't know if this is significant or not but i looked up the names Agnes/Nancy and found that Nancy is used as a pet name for women called Agnes!
Did any of your Ancestors move to Glasgow or anywhere in the UK for that matter or did they remain in Ireland?
Any info we have could be valuable in trying to link our Ancestors...I'd love to think this was the break i've been searching for.
Cheers for now,Joe.
-
Nice to receive your quick reply.
Yes my family moved to Glagow and we have an extensive history in Cowcaddens.
Mail me your address at (*) and I'll get in touch this evening.
Denis
(*) Moderator Comment: e-mail removed in accordance with RootsChat policy,
to avoid spamming and other abuses.
Please use the Personal Message (PM) system for exchanging personal data.
New members must make at least three postings before being allowed to use the PM facility.
See Help-Page: http://www.rootschat.com/help/pms.php
-
Hi Everyone,
New to this group but have been tracing my family tree on and off for years. Always seem to hit a wall when it comes to my McElhinney's. I saw this post tonight (well 3am) and thought maybe there is a glimmer of hope... could we be connected?
My GT GT Grandfather was Robert McElhinney.
His death certificate says he was born in 1845 in Londonderry.
Sometime between 1845 and 1868 he moved to Springburn Scotland where he married Margaret Miller (formerly Pollock) on 31/10/1868. Margaret was born in Maryhill around 1847.
Between 1873 and 1879 he emigrated to Australia with Margaret and a couple of kids.
His daughter Mary Ellen's birth cert states Robert Snr was born in Donegal and was 36 in 1883.
I know everyone seemed to use the top 10 baby names but thought I would throw out the children's names just to see if they fit a pattern LOL
Unknown Female ?
Jane b c1871 (Springburn Scotland)
Thomas b c1873 (Springburn Scotland)
Robert b 1875 (?)
Walter George b 1879 (Aus)
Elizabeth b 1881 (Aus)
Mary Ellen b 1883 (Aus)
John P Harboard b 1886 (Aus)
Any chance any of you have a Robert in your tree? Any ideas on how I could find out how he got to Scotland and who with? Any assistance would be appreciated. I had planned a trip to Donegal in May 20 but COVID delayed my plans. At least it gives me another 12 months for more research.
Thanks in advance
Jo
Australia
-
Welcome to Rootschat :)
Ireland was part of the U.K. so no records were kept of people traveling from Ireland to Scotland, England and Wales. Travelling back and forth between Ireland and Scotland was very common.
You probably would have mentioned if this is the case but does Robert McElhinney's death certificate (or any other documents) give any indication of what his parents' names were?
-
Hi,
Thanks for the warm welcome and the quick response.
The only thing Robert's death certificate says is
Fathers Name McElhinney - Farm Stewart
Mothers Name Johnston
The death certificate information was provided by his youngest son. Buried in the Presbyterian cemetery.
Jo
-
Hello Jo
Unfortunately it doesn't look like your McElhinney's are related to mine. None of the forenames are on my tree and I don't have any real connection with Derry.
It's interesting you mention Maryhill in Glasgow because I used to live there and am aware that McElhinney's lived there throughout the 20th Century. I took a look at some of them via Valuation Rolls and BMD's on Scotlands People but there was no connection to my family.
McElhinney is a name from mainly North and North East Donegal.
Good hunting
Denis McElhinney
-
...... he moved to Springburn Scotland where he married Margaret Miller (formerly Pollock) on 31/10/1868. Margaret was born in Maryhill around 1847.
The marriage certificate will give the names of both his parents.
POLLOCK, MARGARET
MCILHINEY, ROBERT
1868
622/2 51
Springburn
Here is one I made earlier, his parents are Thomas McElhiney and Mary CAMPBELL.
https://postimg.cc/rdxbYcbP
...... Margaret Miller (formerly Pollock)
Margaret was a spinster when she married, where does MILLER come from?
POLLOCK, MARGARET
WALTER POLLOCK/JEAN STARK
FR3055
CHILD 3
31/08/1842
622/
110 383
Barony
Children:
MCILHINNEY, JANE POLLOCK
1870
622/2 35
Springburn
Perhaps this is the unknown female:
MCELHINNEY, MARY CAMPBELL
1871
622/2 461
Springburn
Two possibles for Thomas:
MCELHINEY, THOMAS
1873
622/2 438
Springburn
MCELHINNEY, THOMAS
1873
622/2 486
Springburn
I cannot see Robert in Springburn. I searched using M*l*h*n*Y in the surname field.
https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/advanced-search
If you are using Ancestry the 1871 census has been transcribed as 'Robt McEllhring' - Robert, Margaret and Jane aged 1. I cannot find them indexed for this census on SP. They also have a Mary McEl.... with them, aged 19, born Ireland.
Between 1873 and 1879 he emigrated to Australia with Margaret and a couple of kids.
They arrived into NSW on the Star of India on 16 June 1876. One part of the passenger list says they are from Lancashire, but the other says Lanarkshire. Their parents names are given, Thomas and Mary of Donegal and Walter POLLOCK of Lanarkshire - these match the marriage cert.
Image here, they have not included the second part of the manifest:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01pns/
Debra :)
-
Thanks Bikerboy.
-
Hi Debra,
Thank you so much. I had a look at the Certificate you provided. I had not seen that before.
The Miller came from her marriage and death certificate extracts.
copyright image removed
-
Hi again Debra,
I'm not really good with this Rootschat thing. lol I'll try posting the right certificate now... Margaret McElhinney's death cert and her daughter Mary's Birth Cert.
I can't really read the Marriage certificate. Is there an occupation for Margaret Pollock?
Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Jo
copyright image removed
-
One more attempt...
copyright image removed
-
I can't really read the Marriage certificate. Is there an occupation for Margaret Pollock?
copyright image removed
Mill Worker