Allen Bell, b.1840/41 Crumlin, Co Antrim

[Gilby]

1833 – Tithe Applotment Book
Ballymacrevin [Ballymacrevan, Ballinderry]
1. John Gawley
2. William Thompson
3. John Bell & Conway Fitzgerald
4. Joseph Patterson
5. Conway Fitzgerald or Richd Bell
6. Josh & Robt Patterson

Here’s a link to the 1851 census record, for reference:
http://census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1851/Antrim/Upper_Massereene/Ballinderry/Ballymacraven/28/

Note Arthur Bell farmed the land with Mr. Fitzgerald, suggesting they were joint tenants.

Ballinderry Church of Ireland Baptisms (on Rootsireland, from UHF):
Rebecca Bell - 4th Mar 1827 - parents John Bell and Susanna
Arthur Bell - 22nd Jul 1828 - parents John Bell and Susanna
Conway Bell - 11th Oct 1829 - parents John Bell and Susanna
Conway Bell - 5th Nov 1830 - parents John Bell and Susanna
James Bell - 1st Jun 1835 - parents John Bell and Susanna
Dolway Bell - 21st Apr 1836 - parents John Bell and Susannah

A Conway Bell of Aghnadarragh married Margaret McNeece of Pigeontown in Glenavy CoI in 1817 (UHF).  There was a will proved in 1805 for a Conway Fitzgerald of Glenavy, so the Conway name goes back a few generations.

[SpudKiwi]

SpudKiwi,

Do you have the full ROD reference for the two deeds you mentioned?

Sorry, I dont know what a ROD reference is, but the PRONI reference is T956/126.

FYI Susanna Oakman Shubridge, wife of James Shubridge, died May 12 1838 aged 28. Belfast Newsletter May 18 1838 pg 2.

[corinthian]

Thanks Gilby, it's beginning to make a bit more sense now.   George seems to have been the eldest child of John and Susannah Bell. William Bell died in 1845, when he would have been aged about 19. Unsure why George was named as the guardian of the children as father, John, did not die until 1845, unless John was incapacitated.

I believe my Conway Bell emigrated to USA and died 23/02/1905, aged 75 years, 3 months and 26 days, (should be 74 years). Conway is recorded as single. Place of death recorded both as Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, USA and Pittsburgh City, Pennsylvania. COD was Uremic Poisoning. Was buried 24/02/1905 at Woodland Cemetery in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Parents recorded as James, (should be John), and Susannah Bell.

[Kiltaglassan]

Was buried 24/02/1905 at Woodland Cemetery in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio.

FindaGrave
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98812694/conway-bell

[corinthian]

Thanks for the link. I have had another look at the Chancery Record and I don't now think it states that William is deceased it is a date: 5th December 1845. Maybe the Bill was amended because William had reached his majority??   

[Gilby]

SpudKiwi,

Do you have the full ROD reference for the two deeds you mentioned?

Sorry, I dont know what a ROD reference is, but the PRONI reference is T956/126.

FYI Susanna Oakman Shubridge, wife of James Shubridge, died May 12 1838 aged 28. Belfast Newsletter May 18 1838 pg 2.

Ah, I've spent too much time looking at the Registry of Deeds (ROD) recently, so I assumed that's where you got it from!  Thanks for the PRONI reference and the notice of Susanna's death.

[Gilby]

The Chancery case showed I was missing some baptisms, so I have updated my list…

Ballinderry Church of Ireland Baptisms (on Rootsireland, from UHF):
William Bell - 19th Mar 1826 - parents John Bell and Susan
Rebecca Bell - 4th Mar 1827 - parents John Bell and Susanna
Arthur Bell - 22nd Ju 1828 - parents John Bell and Susanna
Conway Bell - 11th Oct 1829 - parents John Bell and Susanna
Conway Bell - 5th Nov 1830 - parents John Bell and Susanna
Ezekiel Bell - 27th May 1832 - parents John Bell and Susan
Juliana Bell - 16th Feb 1834 - parents John Bell and Susan
James Bell - 1st Jun 1835 - parents John Bell and Susanna
Dolway Bell - 21st Apr 1836 - parents John Bell and Susannah
Edwin John Bell - 16th May 1839 - parents John Bell and ___

“Ezekiel” must be “Elizth” in the Chancery Bill.  Do we have a 3rd source to confirm which name is correct?

[Gilby]

Hi Corinthian,

I think the bill being amended on 31st Dec 1845 was just the plaintiff’s response to the defendants’ answer a few weeks earlier.

I’m not sure this can be taken as evidence that George Bell was an older sibling.  He might have been John’s brother or some other relation.

It is possible that the reference in the census to John Bell dying in “Spring 1846” is an error, and it should have been “Spring 1845”.  That would fit with the Chancery Bill being lodged in August 1845.

How do you know William Bell died in 1845?

I think it is possible that the William Bell in the 1845 bill is not the same William Bell who was baptised in 1826.  It would seem strange for him to be described as an infant when his younger siblings Rebecca, Arthur and Conway were not.

Is the Conway Bell who died in 1905 your ancestor?

Gilby

[SpudKiwi]

In the Glenavy Church burial records:
1845 March 16, John Bell of Ballinderry, aged 47
1845 March 30, John Bell of Ballyvorally, aged 93
1845 April 4, John Bell of Agnadaragh, aged 92
(it was a bad time to be named John Bell)

PRONI Pre-1858 Wills and Admons:
1845 John Bell, Ballymacrevan, Ballinderry - index only, will has not survived.
1846 John Bell, Glenavy - index only, will has not survived.

The Glenavy Church records have no John Bells being buried in 1846, but there is a conspicuous absence of any burials at all of anyone for the entire month of November.