Is there anyone out there researching McNeill or McNeil families from Moyraverty? There is one particular family I am trying to trace but I would guess that the McNeills of Moyraverty would all be related one way or another.
My grandmother was born Edith McNeill / McNeil in August 1890 (as far as we know). Her father was Robert McNeil a weaver according to her marriage certificate. I don't know the name of her mother but it might have been Letitia. Robert was killed in a hunting accident on Boxing Day, possibly 1892, when Edith was two years old. Her mother, and baby sister, Agnes died a couple of years later and Edith was brought up by two aunts in Moyraverty.
I can't find her birth certificate or one for Agnes, even with the help of a researcher. I can't find the birth, marriage or death of her parents, however, with the help of a kind researcher in the US, I did find Edith in the 1901 census:
Sarah McNeil 35 and Esther 28 both cambric weavers and Edith niece 11
They lived next door to another aunt and her husband: Alexander Uprichard 50 and Lizzie 40. Alexander was also a weaver.
Alexander and Lizzie were married on 21st January 1878, from the marriage certificate I was able to find out that her father was John McNeil, a weaver, and that they were from Moyraverty, Parish of Knocknamuckley.
The same lady who helped me with the census information found a John and Mary McNeill of Moyraverty who had Mary Jane 1849, John 1852, Sarah 1857, Esther 1862 Thomas 1865 and Malcolm 1867. I haven't been able to find a family with an Elizabeth, Sarah, Esther and Robert in it.
I would be very grateful for any help or suggestions
Thanks