Connor Marriages

[dunturk]

Hi Malshie

I cant seem to reply to your pm. I'm new to this site. I think I have to post a couple more public posts before i can pm you. I am going to send another public post today so should be ok after that.

I have only recently got into the family tree and there are a few uncles that i need to speak to get more detail of the connor family. Most of what I have done has been on-line backed up by my own knowledge of the family.

I am guessing that James and Catherine's father was called John. I havent obtained birth cert but if you check online at Public Records Office Northern Ireland, they have wills extracts and for a John Connor, they have the following;

Title:
Forename: John
Surname: Connor
Alt Surname:
Date Of Death: 19/04/1885
Date Of Grant: 20/11/1891
Effects: Effects £65
Registry: Belfast


Full Abstract:
Letters of Administration (with the Will annexed) of the personal estate of John Connor late of Drumnaguoile County Down Farmer who died 19 April 1885 at same place were granted at Belfast to James Connor of Drumnaguoile Farmer the surviving Residuary Legatee in Remainder.

Drumnaquoile townland is just beside Dunturk and i think this James may have been my greatgrandfather as by this stage all his siblings, including Catherine would have left to go England or America. Maybe James was the eldest son or had the most interest in the land? Unfortunately we dont have any today!

I dont want to bore everyone with our history and will send you more info (including picture when i can pm) but the other lead i am working on is that we are descended from a group of (presumably) brothers called Nogher (Nogher, O'Connor and Connor are all anglicized versions of the original Irish, O'Conchobair). If you check the freeholders records in the PRONI site you will see James, Charles, Patrick and Edward Nogher are all freeholders in drumnaquoile between 1813 and 1821. My guess is that one of these men is James and Catherine's grandfather, or even greatgrandfather.

I didnt think James my grandfather James had any sibling but the 1901 census for dunturk,drumanquiole and drumaroad is online and there is a Bernard mentioned who was 10 in 1901 (James was 15) but i have no other info on him at present.

PS there is a very good website on Drumaroad at www.drumaroad.com which gives lots of background on the area where our ancestors lived, up to date info as well as photos of drumaroad chapel etc.

will pm soon

best wishes

dunturk

[dunturk]

Hi Malshie

Forgot to say there is another excellent website on Drumaroad and Clanvaraghan at www.drumaroadhistory.com - it was down for a while but seems to be up and running again. The site is brilliant for anyone with an interest in mid-down. Go into Drumaroad in the index on left hand side and you can even see some of the gravestone inscriptions for drumaroad and clanvaraghan graveyards. You will see a lot of info on the savage family - a very common name in drumaroad area. My grandfather James married two savage sisters (I know that doesnt sound right but you know what I mean!) both sisters - second being my father's mother - died very young.


happy hunting!

dunturk

[Malshie]

Hi Dunturk

I shall send you another pm to see if you have any luck in replying.

Note that you have just got into researching the family, be warned it is very addictive!

Interesting about the Will extract you found for John Connor. Like you say I dont want to bore other posters so I shall answer that one in my pm.
With regard to your grandfather James, I also thought he had no siblings but I suppose we shall find out more in our research!

Regards
Malshie

[Irish Geordie]

Hi Malshie and Dunturk,

I've already 'met' Malshie but I'm glad to meet you Dunturk.

My great grandmother was Margaret Connor, married to James Clark from Cavan, here on Tyneside in 1869. I've been doing some work on Patrick Connor 1846-1931 recently and hope to receive some memorial images from Rapid City South Dakota soon.

I must say it's great to make an 'Irish' connection at last.

Irish Geordie

[ReJen]

Hello dunturk, Malshie and everyone,
I have found the birth record of my relative Ellen Connor in the Drumnaquoile parish register, daughter of James Connor and Catherine Johnson, born in 1868.
James (b.1836) and his brother Patrick Connor (b.1839) were from Drumnaquoile.
James and Ellen were married in Whitehaven in 1866, had their first child in Cumberland, then Ellen was born in Drumnaquoile and the rest of the children were born in Cumberland.
I was wondering if these Connors fit in at all with any of your Connor family? I'd love to find the parents of James and Patrick, and any siblings.
The sponsors recorded on Ellen's record were Edward and Margaret Connor, would you know anything about these people? They appear on other records in the register, too.
I'd be glad for any help,
Kind regards, ReJen

[Jon_ni]

ReJen
Dunturk & Malshie typed their comments in 2009. Malshie was online March this year but dunturk only ever made the 3 comments above & last logged on in 2015.

Drumanaquoile Townland, Civil Parish of Kilmegan. Castlewellan R.C Parish (baptism registers only from 1859) or Drumaroad (baptisms and marriages from 1853). Ellen baptised in Castlewellan 25 Sep 1868 & born 25 Sep 1868 to James and Catherine Connor nee Johnson.
https://registers.nli.ie//registers/vtls000633134#page/41/mode/1up
https://irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/birth_returns/births_1868/03423/2255800.pdf

Four R.C churches fell under Kilmegan: Castlewellan, Dundrum (later joined with Ballykinler to form Tyrella), Aughlisnafin and Clanvaraghan/Clonvaraghan
https://townlands.ie/down/kinelarty/kilmegan/seaforde/drumanaquoile
https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0404
https://rosdavies.com/PHOTOSwords/KilmeganAll.htm

James and Ellen were married in Whitehaven in 1866

Their father's names and occupations were?

The websites linked by dunturk no longer exist, but a 325 page pdf history of Drumaroad (Loughinisland) is viewable on https://www.scribd.com/document/372222067/History-of-a-County-Down-Townland-Drumaroad

The 1885 Will/Probate Calendar entry transcribed above for John Connor (aged 76), late of Drumnaguoile, though an Adminstation had the Will annexed - so that is now viewable on PRONI's website and names his wife/mistress as Anne, two sons Charles and James, daughters Margaret & Nancy. A Daniel Connor renounced his executorship & sounds like Charles had died before 1891.
https://irishgenealogy.ie/view/?record_id=cide-6693095 Anne died 1889 aged 80.

Half a dozen other John Connors died of a similar age in Downpatrick District 1880's. Also in Clough Sub-District was John Connor from Dunturk aged 77 in 1886 and a John Connor aged 92 died in Drumanaquoile 1902 registered by son John.

Bear in mind in 2009 neither IrishGen nor GRONI websites existed, even the old annual/quarterly indexes to civil BMD's were not online on Ancestry or Familysearch yet, just indexes on subscription sites Emerald Ancestors and Ancestryireland.com (forerunner of Ulster Historical Foundation and RootsIreland). It is clear from Malshie's page 1 comments he did not have all the paper certs then so some aspects/relationships may need revised.
Reply 7 refers to other associated posts by Malshie - click on his name to access, circa page 14 & 15.

[Kiltaglassan]

From kingskerswell's comments in reply #1-

2 Jul 1889 James Connor married Ellen McCullough in Drumaroad R.C. Church, Loughinisland, Downpatrick.

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1889/10740/5915941.pdf
Fathers Patt Connor and Samuel? McCullough, both farmers.

11 May 1874 Henry Leneghan (sic) married Mary Connor in Castlewellan R.C. Church, Kilmegan, Downpatrick.

https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/files/civil/marriage_returns/marriages_1874/11236/8119602.pdf
Fathers Matthew Leneghan a carpenter, and Patrick Connor a farmer.

[Malshie]

Afternoon Jon- ni

Thank you for your message re O’Connor/Connor.
I haven’t been on Rootschat for a very long time.

James Connor and Ellen McCullough were “Dunturk” family line.

James Connor was born in 1851 son of Patrick Connor and Catherine McMullan.
I am sorry I have no information on Ellen.
James and Ellen McCullough had a son James born 1886 in Drumnaquoile, I am not aware they had more children.

Sorry I cannot help with ‘your Ellen’ appears to have a different surname i.e. Ellen Connor daughter of James Connor and Catherine Johnson.

Good luck with your research

[ReJen]

Hello, and thanks for taking the time to reply,

I made an error in my post above - Reply #13.
I wrote:

James and Ellen were married in Whitehaven in 1866

What I meant to write was:
James and CATHERINE were married in Cleator Moor (Whitehaven District) in 1866.
Oops, sorry for any confusion. I am a bit embarrassed!

Yes, Jon_ni, that is the record for Ellen Connor's birth that I was referring to.
Thank you for the links to the local area, it takes a while to become familiar with a new area, I find.

The record for James and Catherine's marriage is from the Cumbria FHS PeopleFinder and states:
CONNOR   Jacobum   1866 marriage   Spouse Catharinam Johnson Cleator Moor – St.Mary's Cumberland 1866-11-01 - Parish Register [transcribed by CFHS]
So it doesn't list parents.

I have found out from a later census that Catherine Connor née Johnson was from Wexford. So I'm working on the theory its the two brothers - James Connor (b. 1836) and his younger brother Patrick (b. 1839) (who were on the 1871 census when the family were in Cleator Moor), came from Drumnaquoile area.
I think James and Catherine came back to Co. Down to visit or stay and had their second child there.

Their first child, Patrick Connor (born 1867 Cleator) wasn't with the family in the 1871 census, but was
in the 1881 census, so I think there's a possibility he was with family in Co. Down in his younger years.

So, in terms of my search for the two brothers James Connor (b. 1836) and Patrick (b. 1839), it was simply to see if anyone had potential match ups on their tree.
I realise the parish records don't stretch back that far, but I thought it was worth a shot.

I've come to realise that this excellent forum had the potential for members to reach out to members past, and also members in the future, so who knows?

The websites linked by dunturk can be viewed on the Wayback Machine if that is useful to anyone:
https://web.archive.org/web/20060118220452/http://www.drumaroad.com/index2.asp
https://web.archive.org/web/20130303101108/https://www.drumaroadhistory.com/

With kind regards, rejen