Meeke/Meek from Northern Ireland to New Zealand

[Fresh Fields]

Hello Maggie.

I'm pleased that you had success. It's a tip that is often mentioned but just as often overlooked. Not only should one use the likes of Goggle but also one should learn the tricks/procedures available to narrow down the search field. Otherwise it's hard to see the desired tree in the forest of results.

The other two are to check the search field offered by the site you are on, to see if the subject has been discussed before, and also to click on the poster's username, and check their previous posts if they have not been active for a while. You may find a previous post like this one now, where it is obvious that a third party has an alternative method of contact and may be prepaired to on forward a message for you.

Best of luck.

- Alan.

[Conshon]

First posted 2009



Hi
I have found further information out about James Meeke/Meek.  Mother Margaret Jane Craig, father James Meeke, married 28 February 1891. Surprisingly there were two.  The first James Meek was born on the 22/11/1891 but died shortly afterwards.   Margaret then gave birth again to another son on the 27/10/1892 and again called him James    I believe James emigrated to New Zealand.... but I just cannot find any records of his departure from Ireland.  Any further help would be gratefully accepted.  Happy New Year everyone xo   

Maggie

Hi Maggie;
This is my first post here and I realise that your post is a few years old now but it rings a few bells for me.
I have recently started researching the Meeke name, as I'm one now living in Australia, and my mother told me that some of my father's family moved to New Zealand hence my presence here.
My father, Thomas, was from Antrim, his father was a James Meeke married to a Susan McKeown and his grandfather was also a James married to a Maggie Jane Sinclair rather than Craig but I wasn't able to verify that surname via marriage records so it may be wrong.
Emerald Ancestors has a marriage record in 1891 for a Margaret Jane Craig and a John Meek, with no end 'E' but that's common.
One of the messages I got from a relative in Northern Ireland actually noted that some old family documents that she saw refer to my great grandfather as James and some as John so it looks like we're talking about the same family.
Hope you get this message: John

[maggieblue]

Hi

The record you found on Emerald Ancestors is that of my Great Grandfather & Mother.  His father was Robert, who married Martha Nicholl.  Thomas is a name that runs in the family.   Meek[Meeke] are the same, and is how it was spelt by persons as it sounded.   In my records there are both spellings. I have several Thomas's in my tree, but they are mid 20th century.  I also have several James'. what date of birth do you have for your James Meeke married to McKeown?  Send me your email address by PM and we can communicate that way.

Maggie

[Janette]

Hi John,

You will need to have 2 more posts to be able to use the PM system,even a smilie face will do

http://www.rootschat.com/help/pms.php

Cheers Janette

[Conshon]

Hi Maggie;
Most of the data I have is through two of my cousins, one is living in Hawaii now, but the other is still living in Northern Ireland and she emailed me what she mostly has read as notations in family bibles, seeing documents held by relatives plus a bit of on-line research of her own.

My marriage data for James Meeke and Susan McKeown however is from Emerald Ancestors which shows them being married in the Billy Church of Ireland on 24/9/1913 in Coleraine.
They also show a Margaret Jane Meeke marrying a William John Downs on 22/11/1911 at Benvarden Presbyterian Church in Ballymoney so I suspect that she is a relative as my father and his four brothers, Henry, John, Samuel and William James lived on Benvarden Estate at one time as children and the name 'Benvarden' pops up all over the place as you'll see below.

I still need to consolidate a lot of my data but the email extract below contains the details of death notices that my cousin obtained from a family member (note her comment about the James/John confusion):

Died at Ballymoney Infirmary on Monday 15th June 1925 SUSAN MCKEOWN (our Grandmother) aged 33 years dearly beloved wife of JAMES MEEKE (our Grandfather)
Her remains will be removed from her late residence Beardiville for internment in Billy Church Yard on Wednesday 17th June.
(this information differs slightly from the information I got from a family bible but as the notes are from official notices at the time I think would be more reliable as the entries in the bible were all i think from memory) Your father is also buried in Billy.
 
Died at her Residence Benvarden on Friday 1st May 1925 MARGARET JANE SINCLAIR(our Great Grandmother)  age?? dearly beloved wife of JAMES MEEKE (our Great Grandfather)
Her remains will be removed for internment in Derrykeighan Burying ground on Monday 4th May.
 
Died at his fathers residence Benvarden on Saturday 22nd March 1924 PATRICK MEEKE (I think he would have been our grandfathers brother) Aged 16 years.
The remains of my dearly beloved son will be removed for internment in Derrykeighan Burying ground on Monday 24th at three o'clock.signed JAMES MEEKE (our Great Grandfather)
 
Died at his residence Benvarden on Friday 7th December 1923 JOHN MEEKE aged 25 years.
His remains will be removed for internment in Derrykeighan Buring Ground on Sunday 9th at the hour of 3pm = signed James Meeke Senior.
I find it very strange that no mention is made of beloved son or fathers residence so this will probably take a little more research to confirm exact relationship.  I think his father was also called John and lived on Benvarden Estate so James Senior was probably his uncle
 
I am also not really happy with the entry for Patrick as i have also seen a publication which says that his father was JOHN Meeke.

As far as recent Thomases go my father Thomas was born in 1914 and died 1987 and my brother Thomas James was born about 1951 (I actually don't know the exact year).

When I get three posts up I will be able to send you a login to my family tree on MyHeritage.com via a PM.


Cheers; John

[Conshon]

 

[Micheleannex]

Hi I saw you where looking for Meeks , my mum is a meek , my grandfather is William meek , and my grea great grandfather is also William meek from ahoghill/portglenone area
Michèle

[Ally-rose1904]

Hi Dawn,

I’m hoping you can help me.

My grandmother was also an illegitimate child of Alfred Meeks (but not with susette, with a 17 year old who died 12 days after my nan was born, Alfred was 27 at the time) in 1932, so born shortly after your cousin.

My nan passed away in 2009 and we did not know any of this prior to her passing, I’m not even sure that she knew. We have since done DNA and matched to lots of his family who unfortunately don’t know anything about him as all his siblings have passed away now. We also ordered my nans child welfare records which name Alfred as the father.

We have been researching him for 3 years and have kept hitting dead ends.

Any help would be amazing.

Thank you,
Ally.

 

Hi Maggie
I don't know your Meek/Meeks family but you did ask for any family with that name.

Here's a list of coincidences:
My cousin (who's now dead) was an illegitimate son of Alfred Meeks and Susette Montgomery , born in Sydney NSW in 1927.
Our Montgomery family came from your current home town, back in 1840.
One of the sons married into the Blue family (Billy Blue's granddaughter Mary Ann) and I note you have Blue in your RC name.
Alfred Meeks's father - whose name I can't remember just now - is listed on a certificate as being born in the USA - would have been sometime in the 1800s.

Stranger than fiction, as they say

      

Dawn M

[Skoosh]

Try Fred Meek in Texas who concentrates on Irish Meeks. Irish Genealogy etc.

Bests,
Skoosh.