William McCrea and Ann Hunter

[TMcCrea]

Searching for the birthplace Annie McCrea (1847-1940) who was the daughter of William McCrea and Ann Hunter per her marriage record of 1866. Annie was born in Northern Ireland, lived in Lanarkshire, Scotland where she married John Adair. Other info on the marriage record was that Annie's father was a farmer and she worked in a paper mill. Annie and John Adair immediately emigrated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where they lived out the rest of their lives.

Given my DNA match to Annie, she could be a sibling, or cousin, of my great grandfather, William McCrea ( 1846-1915) who was born in Ballynure. He was married to Agnes Blair and lived in Ballyclare.

Any info about Annie's birth place and her parents is appreciated.

[Elwyn Soutter]

Birth registration didn’t start in Ireland till 1864 so for someone born in 1847 you need to rely on church records. Do you know what denomination Annie was? (Tradition was to marry in the brides church, so that may be a clue). Most of the surviving church records for that area are in PRONI (the public record office). They are not on-line and a personal visit is required to view them. (For Ballyclare the parishes to focus on are Donegore and Doagh (Grange of).

There were paper mills in Ballyclare which opened sometime in the 1800s, so perhaps she had worked that at some time, which could explain her also working in a paper mill in Scotland.

http://downmemorylane.me.uk/Ballyclare%20N1.htm

[TMcCrea]

Elwyn,

My McCrea family in Ballyclare was Presbyterian. Annie went to Scotland and worked in the paper mill in
Kevindale (Glasgow). The marriage record says that she was married in the Govan, South Street Church of Scotland.

Years ago I was in contact with a lady who lived in Belfast, she would look up things for me when she visited PRONI. Unfortunately, I have found only a couple of people who are researching the McCrea family. There are McCreas on Facebook in Ballyclare, all young and not interested in family history.

[Elwyn Soutter]

Church of Scotland is Presbyterian so that fits with your understanding of her denomination.

Presbyterians in Ireland don’t use the parish system and so which church you attended was a matter of personal preference, and not always the closest to where you lived. The nearest to Ballyclare are Donegore 1st Presbyterian (records from about 1802); Ballyclare Non Subscribing Presbyterian has records from 1839 and Ballyclare Presbyterian’s don’t start till 1857, save for their burials which start in 1817. Their records are all in PRONI. I think Donegore 1st has also put their records on a CD so you may be able to get that from the church.