Wilsons (Culfeightrin / Ballycastle in County Antrim)

[KrisWilson]

I am wondering if anyone can help fill in some of the gaps in my family tree for the Wilsons originating from Culfeightrin/Ballycastle in County Antrim.

They moved from Ireland to Scotland between 1869 and 1881 where they show up in a census in Coylton, Ayrshire. I have been trying to source records of passengers between those locations and dates but not sure where to look.

I have gathered as much as I can in terms of records in Scotland but I’m finding tracing more records in Ireland pretty difficult.

Here is the breakdown of what I have learned from the birth/marriage/death records I have found, I have underlined what is missing:

x3 Great Grandparents:

John Wilson (Name found in Sons Marriage and Death Cert)
Occupation: Miller (From sons Marriage Cert)
Born: (Still searching for birth record)
Married: Elizabeth Wylie Year:
Died: (Still searching for death record)

Elizabeth Wylie (Name found in Sons Marriage and Death Cert)
Born: (Still searching for birth record)
Married: John Wilson Year:
Died: (Still searching for death record)

————

x2 Great Grandparents:

William Wilson
Occupation: Coal Miner
Born: Est. 1851 (Still searching for birth record)
Married: Martha Welsh on 26 Jan 1869, Ballycastle, Culfeightrin, County Antrim
Residence at Marriage: Ballyreagh, Culfeightrin, County Antrim
Died: 6 Jul 1911, Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland

Martha Welsh
Born: Est. 1851 (Still searching for birth record)
Married: William Wilson on 26 Jan 1869, Ballycastle, Culfeightrin, County Antrim
Residence at Marriage: Drumnakeel, Culfeightrin, County Antrim
Died: 4 Sep 1932, Twechar, Dumbartonshire, Scotland

Travelled to Scotland between 1869 and 1881 where they show up in a census in Coylton, Ayrshire. Are there ship records to search between those dates between Antrim and Coylton, Ayrshire? Does anyone have an idea of which ports they would have departed and arrived?

————

Great Grandparents:

Alexander Wilson
Occupation: Coal Miner
Born: 5 Jul 1883 Coylton, Ayrshire, Scotland
Married: Fannie Henry: 6 Sep 1924, Glasgow, Scotland
Death: 6 May 1973, Kilsyth, Stirling, Scotland

Fannie Henry
Born: 29 Nov 1888 Manhattan, New York, USA
Married: Alexander Wilson: 6 Sep 1924, Glasgow, Scotland
Died: 1 Mar 1967, 133 Balornock Road, Glasgow

————

Any help would be much appreciated I have it all on a family tree on Ancestry that I can share (Wasn’t sure about the rules for posting the link on here!)

Thanks for taking the time to read through,
Kris

[eileenwilson]

There will be no passenger records going back and forth between Ireland and Scotland (quite a short distance really).  Also, birth registrations were not recorded until 1864 so you would need to find a baptism.  The marriage indicates William was of "full age" so he was 21 giving a birth year closer to 1843.  William's residence is given as Ballynagh, Parish of Culfeighton and she was 18 (so born around 1851) and resident of Drumnakeel, also Parish of Culfeighton:

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1869/11407/8188729.pdf

https://www.townlands.ie/antrim/cary/culfeightrin/glenmakeeran/drumnakeel/

There is an Edward Walsh (sic) in Drumnakeel in Griffiths, but not seeing a Wilson in Culfeighton that fits (only one entry) so William may have been from elsewhere:

https://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/antrim/griffiths-valuation/parish-of-culfeightrin.php

[Kiltaglassan]

Welcome to RootsChat 
 
As eileenwilson said, Ireland was part of the UK, so no records were kept of people travelling from Ireland to Scotland, England and Wales. Travelling back and forth between Ireland and Scotland was very common.

See https://www.irish-genealogy-toolkit.com/Irish-immigration-to-Britain.html

Culfeightrin civil parish
https://www.townlands.ie/antrim/culfeightrin/

[gaffy]

Looking at that 1869 civil marriage registration,  I see Ballyreagh, which could be Ballyreagh Lower (bordering Drumnakeel), or Ballyreagh Upper (also in the immediate vicinity).

[gaffy]

Looking at that 1869 civil marriage registration,  I see Ballyreagh, which could be Ballyreagh Lower (bordering Drumnakeel), or Ballyreagh Upper (also in the immediate vicinity).

From the Belfast News-Letter of 27 April 1868:

TENDERS WANTED, FOR THE ERECTION, of THIRTY WORKERS' HOUSES at BALLYREAGH, near Ballycastle, Co. Antrim.  Plans, &c., may be seen on applying to Mr. GRAY, Ballycastle Mines.

So I'm thinking that it's almost certainly Ballyreagh in that marriage registration and that William Wilson may not have been from that townland, nor possibly the wider general area, and may have been there simply for the work.

[Kiltaglassan]

Further to gaffy's finds, here's some information about Ballycastle coalfield-

https://nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/coal-mining-in-the-british-isles/ireland/ballycastle/

[aghadowey]

Marriages usually take place in the bride's church (in the case of the 1869 marriage Church of Ireland) but the Wilsons, wherever they were from, could have been another denomination so keep that in mind when searching for church records.

[KrisWilson]

Thank you all for your responses! It’s great to get perspective as I have been working in a bubble with all of this. Here are my replies below:

eileenwilson:
Thanks, that’s great info to know makes sense now why I couldn’t trace any passenger records. That is also good to know that it is only baptisms before 1864.

The record you listed for Williams marriage is where I gathered some of the information above.

I have also traced some of the Welsh/Walsh family and I think the Edward in the Griffiths is correct thanks for finding that. I have no idea where the Wilsons are in the Griffiths but as others are saying they may not have been local to Culfeighton.

Kiltaglassan:
Thank you for the information on the passenger lists and Ballycastle coalfield, that’s great to know where they could have been based as miners.

gaffy:
I was also under the assumption it was either upper or lower Ballyreagh listed in the marriage, that’s an amazing find about the worker houses in Ballyreagh. Do you know if there were records for these workers houses?

aghadowey:
I didn’t know that about the brides church, thanks. That is a good point on denomination, from the records I have of the Wilsons in Scotland, I have found records of Martha Welsh and William Wilson marked as Protestant. Am I right in thinking the Wilsons will be harder to trace if that is the case?

[aghadowey]

You can trace properties in Northern Ireland in the Valuation Revision Books which start from the printed version of Griffith's Valuation until c1930. PRONI has the images online (free)-
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/information-and-services/search-archives-online/valuation-revision-books

I have found records of Martha Welsh and William Wilson marked as Protestant. Am I right in thinking the Wilsons will be harder to trace if that is the case?

What denomination? The problem with tracing the Wilsons at the moment is that you don't have an exact location or denomination to start looking to see what church records might survive (not all that do are online or even microfilmed at PRONI, some are still in local custody). Here's PRONI's Guide to Church Records which is a good stating point-
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/publications/proni-guide-church-records

I think the townland of Ballyreagh was clarified for you earlier because you called in Ballycleagh in your original post.