RootsChat.Com

Hi Babzi,
Thanks for getting back. This is certainly the same Catherine. if you have access to Ancestry, the tree and images are at http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/76184891/person/32343309651 (I've just added some guessed links based on your John Macauley Carrick reference: the links i am sure of are the Catherine and John Leetch records downwards. My main interest is in the Leetch connection).

The additional information i have relates to John Irwin (a date of birth which makes a link to Gateshead) adn some additional information about the military record of Catherine Irwin's husband John Dwyer Kelly (a methodist minister, WW1 major and chaplain: his diaries are in the Irish national archive PRONI. I haven't seen these, but selections are currently being serialised on a PRONI blog).

The photos some from a family collection, presumably via Edith Isabel Irwin who ended up in Liverpool where my direct family comes from (I have more, but many are not identifiable as specific people). My aunt may know more.

If you don't have access to Ancestry, I could email the details/photos

Peter

Just added date of death for William Holmes Ferguson (1937) and residence for John Paul Ferguson and his mother in 1937 (in Coventry)

I’m trying to trace the Leetch/Ferguson from the Ballymena area (more specifically, Cullybackey).

I’ve started to map this on ancestry.com:
http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/76184891/family?cfpid=32343267142

The known tree starts with John Leetch, born 20 Sep 1771 probably in Cullybackey.  He died around 1840). His wife was Elizabeth, born 1776 in Ballycraigy, died 17 July 1831 in Ballymena  (probably lived in Sagard, Dublin towards end of life, and was buried in Clondalkin, Dublin)

(John was possibly the son of Wiliam Leetch (1743-1800) and Mary (1749-81), of Cullybackey (buried in Old Chirchyard, Ahoghill))

John and Elizabeth had 9 children (probably in Ballymena).

One daughter, Mary Ann Leetch (born 10 Oct 1809, died 1883 in Liverpool) married a John Ferguson (born 1810, presumably from somewhere near Ballymena).  They spent some time in Dublin before emigrating to Hudson City, New York in 1848. At least one of their three children (Samuel Leetch Ferguson) later returned to live in Liverpool.

My interest is in the possibility of going further back in time for the Antrim families.  Any ideas now to start? Would the story mostly be guesswork before 1760?

[I’ve also tried mapping on Ancestry the various Leetch/Leech/Leitch/etc lines in the Ballymena area, which presumably interconnect at some point, but it’s seems to be a confusing story!]

Hi,
Just found your post while searching for the Banana King. If you are still interested in this, I've been building up my family tree on Ancestry.com and have posted some photos and notes on John Paul (Jack) Ferguson. If you have access to the website, the record is at:

http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/76184891/person/32362370599

I believe that his father (WH) was the Banana King, in the fruit business based at least partly in Merthyr. I think Jack was a well known technical illustrator for Autocar magazine (a "cutaway" artist). There's an article on his work at: http://www.motoringart.info/pdf/Ferguson%20John.pdf
(also copied into ancestry record)

Peter