Sarah Hanna Kennedy wife of George Boyle Hanna

[Elwyn Soutter]

Quote: "The fact that the vast majority of the family are Presbyterian has been a saving grace for much of my research too. Also was starting to believe the family originated in Scotland."

If the family were Presbyterian, and from Co. Antrim, then it's pretty reasonable to assume that at some point in the past their ancestors came from Scotland. However that could be as far back as the Hamilton Montgomery settlement in 1606. It was largely the Scots who brought Presbyterianism to Ireland and around Ballymena in particular the numbers of families of Scots origins is very high.

[GreenEyes4u]

Hello again!

I did go to Ireland last year; but was only able to spend time in the south where my maternal grandfather is from. I've no doubt that the Hanna's are related. Below I have included a quote from the will of John Hanna, one of my relatives and obviously yours.

"I, John Hanna of Kildrum Kills in the County of Antrim, Bleacher and Dyer hereby revoke all testamentary dispositions made by me and declare this to be my last will which I make this twenty-fifth day of April one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five. I appoint my brothers, Robert Hanna and George Boyle Hanna to be the executors of this my will. I bequeath to my wife Sophia Mary Hanna an annuity of fifty pounds for her life..."

[Gortraney]

Hello again!

I did go to Ireland last year; but was only able to spend time in the south where my maternal grandfather is from. I've no doubt that the Hanna's are related. Below I have included a quote from the will of John Hanna, one of my relatives and obviously yours.

"I, John Hanna of Kildrum Kills in the County of Antrim, Bleacher and Dyer hereby revoke all testamentary dispositions made by me and declare this to be my last will which I make this twenty-fifth day of April one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five. I appoint my brothers, Robert Hanna and George Boyle Hanna to be the executors of this my will. I bequeath to my wife Sophia Mary Hanna an annuity of fifty pounds for her life..."

Hello again! 

This is DEFINITELY my branch of the Hanna's, so all I have to do now is work my way back and try to slot in where you are.

The John and Robert mentioned in your quote with my George Boyle Hanna were some of the children of John Hanna (1801-1874) and Jane Boyle (c.1805-1875). There was also son called William, who I am assuming reading between the gaps was possibly a Downs Syndrome child, and four sisters. 

I think half the difficulty is each generation used the names of the generation which preceded them to name their children, often naming a new baby with the exact same name as a baby who had died. William, John, Robert and Samuel all seem to be frequently recurring Hanna names.

So if we go back to John Hanna (1801-1874) I currently know he had at least three brothers; Robert and Samuel, who I don't know much about beyond their names, and William ((1794-1864) who married a Jane Cathcart (1805-1869) and had at least 4 daughters and six sons (a William who died young, another William, a Robert, a John, a Samuel and a Joseph). See what I mean about the names? THANKS ANCESTORS!

Going back another generation I know John (1801-1874) and William's (1794-1864) father was yet another John Hanna (c1772-1810) who married an unknown Johnston. This John again had at least 4 brothers and  3 sisters. From what I can glean the brothers were Samuel, Robert, William and Joseph and the sisters were Margaret, Jane and Anna. Joseph married a Nancy McCrory and that's all I know about him. William (c1774-1824) married a Susan Longbridge and had at least three sons he named-wait for it!-Robert, William and Samuel. Robert died young (c1773-1775) but probably the best known member of this generation of the family was the Reverend Samuel Hanna (1771-1852) who was the first moderator of the reformed Presbyterian Church in Ireland; he married a Martha Gemmel and they had at least 3 sons and 4 daughters. Want to guess what he named the boys?

I can go back a generation to John Hanna's (c1772-1810) father Robert Hanna (c1742-c1810) and mother Jane McCrory, so if you can figure out where you slot in I would LOVE to piece it all together with what you have. I've become obsessed with the Hanna family and at some point would like to put all the info together in a book. I'm hoping to go 'up the country' in the next few months to do some research so anything you can add would be so very gratefully recieved! If you like we can swap email addresses and take it from there 

Trish


 

[GreenEyes4u]

Hi Trish!

There is another lady on here who has Hanna ancestry as well and is from Belfast. My personal email is (*) . I have a tree on ancestry. I'll review tonight to see what can be found. 

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[millorange]

I know that this is a really old post - - but I am related to the John Hanna (4x great grandfather) who started the John Hanna and Co Linen Co and have considerable information on the line - - -I do have a tree on ancestry but it is a private tree - though I am willing to share with interested family members - ancestry name catherinehale1 . . .and of course interested in learning new information I dont have!!!

[heathermt]

Dear Gortraney,

I am writing this on behalf Peggy Clampit.  Peggy is the granddaughter of Sophia Mary Hanna who married Robert McIlwaine.  Can you please send me a message as Peggy would like to correspond with you via email.

Peggy is very keen to learn more about her family and is hoping that you might be able to help her with some more information.

Kind regards,
Heather

[kingskerswell]

Heather,
           As this is your first post, welcome to Rootschat. However to use the Personal Message (PM) system on this site you have to make another couple of posts.

Regards

[aaid]

Hi

I've just come across this thread while researching this line myself and I think I can shed some light.

Sarah Kennedy's father as noted was Robert Kennedy from Carnraughts.  He was married twice.  His first wife was Ellen Ross and they were married on 17 Feb 1852 at Rasharkin.  Ellen Ross died on 15 Nov 1878 and remarried a Sarah Dysart on 21 Dec 1880 in Finvoy.

I believe that his parents were Josias and Sarah Kennedy, unfortunately I don't have a maiden name.   My source for this is the will of a Josias Kennedy - also of Carnraughts - who was born abt 1811 and died on 5 Jan 1896 in Kildrum.   Josias was married to an Elizabeth Johnston and it appears that they were childless as he makes various bequests to nieces and nephews including Sarah Kennedy.   This will is available on the PRONI Will Calendars site.

On his wedding certificate to Eliza on 12 Mar 1853 in Ballymena he gives his father as Josias Kennedy.

Interestingly George Boyle Hanna's brother Robert, married a Mary Jane Kennedy on 4 Dec 1863 in Antrim.  Mary Jane was a first cousin of Sarah - her father was William Kennedy, Robert's brother and she was also a beneficiary of Josias's will.

I have an interest in this as my 4xGreat Grandparents were a John Hanna and Joice Kennedy from Cromkill - which is obviously very close.   The younger Josias was one of the executors of John Hanna's will.   I'm working to establish whether or not Josias and Joice Kennedy were related, I suspect first cousins, which would explain this.  I also have a couple of DNA matches to descendants of the older Josias Kennedy which adds some credence to this.

[Juliaka]

I too have just come across this site. I think there may be a connection to my family, but a bit earlier than the persons mentioned so far. My gt gt grandparents were Robert Henry and Jane Kennedy of Kildrum; Jane's sister, Margaret Kennedy, was married to James Arthur and lived nearby at Kells. Jane died quite young around the time of the birth of her third child in 1830. Margaret lived for many years and produced a large family including the well known Rev William Arthur, many descendants now in USA. The Kennedy sisters parentage is not known but they claim descent from the Earls of Cassilis. I estimate that they were born around 1795-1800. I have a copy of the gravestone transcriptions from St Saviour's C of I, Connor, which include the following, plus a number of family members, including Hannas, in each grave:
John Kennedy of Lisnevanagh, born c 1780
Josias Kennedy of Carnaught, born c 1770, died 6 Feb 1838
William Kennedy, born c 1695, died 9 Apr 1756,
William Kennedy of Slatt, born c 1756, died 19 Aug 1837
William Kennedy of Carnaught (late Ballymena), born c 1812, died 29 Aug 1851.

If Jane and Margaret were from any of the above patriarchs, the most likely seems to be Josias, but neither gave that name to one of their sons - more popular names were William, James, John, David. Any suggestions appreciated. Julia.