McIlhagan and McIlhagar

In my FamilySearch trawl there were just two McIlhagans. Both, however, are errors for other name variants. The first is the marriage of Jane in 1846. This should have been transcribed as Jane McIlhagar (see below) who married William Witherspoon on 11th April 1846. The second was the baptism in 1870 of Mary. This should have been transcribed as Mary, daughter of John McIlhagger and Mary Jane (Hull) on 9th October 1870 in Ballymena. Mary emigrated to Australia, married Jacob Heiniger in Queensland and had twelve children there.

Ireland Marriages, 1619-1898 records three events in the first half of the 19th Century for the surname McIlhagar. Two of them were marriages performed at the Presbyterian Church in Broughshane. Given that a large McIlhagga family lived in Ballycloughan, Broughshane, we have the possibility of cousins living close by. The earliest event however was of Jane McIlhagar marrying William Witherspoon on 11th April 1846 at Kirkinriola, Ballymena, Co. Antrim. Unfortunately no parents' names are noted. The second is a year later on 21st March 1847 of Eliza McIlhagar, daughter of James, a farmer, to Robert son of Robert McCarley. The marriage place is given as Racavan, which is a Civil Parish. In fact it was at Broughshane. Interestingly we know of another clan-McCarley marriage living at or near Broughshane. We know this from the parents names in the Baptism Register of the Presbyterian Church. They are John McIlhago or McElhager (born 1788) and Jenie or Jenny or Jane McCarley (born 1790). The dates mean that Jenny/Jane was probably the sister of Robert. I have already written about John and Jane in an earlier blog. They were part of the family which emigrated to Jamestown, Pensylvania. The third marriage, also at Broughshane, was on 25th August 1847 of Mary, daughter of William McIlhagar (also spelled McIlhaggar) to John son of Robert Auld. We know of one other Auld reference, connected to our Maxwell's Walls families. Margaret Auld married Paul Burney in 1874. Was this John and Mary (nee McIlhagar)'s daughter? I'm afraid that at present I do not have family trees into which I can fit Witherspoon, McCarley or Auld. Yet more research!