Saturday 26 June 2010

McIlhaggar and Galgorm

One of the forms of the clan name, McIlhaggar, was in surprisingly frequent use in the 19th Century. I have 21 births and 23 marriages in my records. Today it has virtually disappeared. A number of examples involve the simple dropping of the final 'r'. An interesting known example is that of Miss McIlhagga(r) - she was either Margaret or Mary who married John Fullerton. I say Margaret or Mary because I have an AncestryIreland marriage record for Margaret McIlhagga to John Fullerton on 8th January 1782 and then just 23 days later on 31st January the birth of Mary Ann to John Fullerton and Mary McIlhaggar. It may of course be that Margaret and Mary were sisters and that both records are accurate, though I have no evidence of this. The marriage was in Connor Church of Ireland, the bride's father being James and the marriage witness Eliza Ann McIlhagga. I also have another marriage in Connor Church of Ireland with a father James, of Eliza Ann McIlhaggi (sic) to William Buchanan, on 12th April 1890. It seems probable that Eliza Ann was Margaret (and/or Mary)'s younger sister.

Now it is interesting that Mary Ann Fullerton's baptism took place at 145 Galgorm, County Antrim, Ireland. Galgorm was a townland in the countryside outside the town of Ballymena. Seven of the fifteen McIlhaggars on the new FamilySearch website are located in Galgorm, and there is certainly an association between some of them. This can be assumed from four baptisms, of William, Samuel and Agnes the children of Jane McIlhaggar and Thomas Francey; and Jane the daughter of Rachael McIlhaggar and John Francey. Clearly Jane and Rachel were probably sisters and almost certainly Thomas and John Francey were cousins - they had different fathers. This McIlhaggar clan family can at present be dated back to the marriage in about 1830 between Francis McIlhaggar and Nancy Fletcher. To some degree I dealt with this family on 8th November last when I was looking at the unusual name of Francis. However, for completeness I will repeat here some of what I then wrote.

Francis and Nancy appear to have had at least five children, though there is a gap between numbers three and four. The eldest was Mary Jane (born 1831) who married William Devlin on 27th August 1861 in Kirkinriola, Ballymena. The second daughter was Rachael (born 1836) who married John Francey on 12th July 1858 in Ballymena and who as we have seen had a daughter Jane in 1872 in Galgorm. Third came Jane who married Thomas Francey on 12th April 1859 in Connor Presbyterian Meeting House and had three children, William (1865), Samuel (1870) and Agnes (1872). Then after a gap of eleven years came William (born 1850) who in 1872 married Mary Jane Bell in Ballymena. They had seven children, the first in Ballymena but the rest in Scotland, three in Pollockshaws, one in Paisley and two in Carmyle.

John Bell McIlhaggar, first child of William and Mary (nee Bell), was born in Ballymena and in 1899 married Ann Clyde. They had six children (William, John, David Clyde, Robert Bell, Frank and Mary Jane Bell). Agnes, eldest daughter, was born in 1875 in Pollockshaws and in 1896 married John Brown. They had two sons (William and John). Martha Bell was born 1878 in Pollockshaws and in 1901 married Dugald Ballantyne. They had five children (Mary, Margaret, Martha, Agnes and John). Robert Bell, second son, was born 1880 in Pollockshaws and married Marion Dalrymple and had a daughter Isabel. Next Francis was born in 1886 in Paisley and in 1910 married Janet Mason. They had four children (Janet Mason, Mary Bell, William and Jeanie Mason). It is a granddaughter in Scotland from this marriage from whom my main information comes about this clan family and I am very grateful to her. The sixth child of William and Mary Jane McIlhaggar was Sarah Bell. She married John McPhee and had five children (John, William Haddow, Edward, Mary Bell and Margaret Marshall). Sarah Bell McIlhaggar married twice, the second time to John Young. The seventh and last child of William and Mary Jane was Jane who in 1910 married James Skelton McIvor. They had six children (Mary Jane Bell Haddow, Robert, Jean Skelton, Agnes, William and James).

Finally, the fifth and last child of Francis and Nancy (nee Fletcher) McIlhaggar was Elizabeth born in 1853 in Ballymuckvea, County Antrim, Ireland.

3 comments:

  1. The sixth child of William and Mary Jane McIlhaggar was Sarah Bell. She married John McPhee and had five children (John, William Haddow, Edward, Mary Bell and Margaret Marshall). Sarah Bell McIlhaggar married twice, the second time to John Young.
    The oldest son of Sarah Bell McIlhaggar McPhee was John McPhee and he had one son, William Haddow McPhee had 3 sons, Edward was single and Margaret had two daughters and a son. All of the grandchildren of Sarah Bell were born in Scotland.

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  2. Hello Anonymous! Thank you so much for the information. If you would like to write to me direct, click on 'Sagairt' among the 'followers' above and send me an email.

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  3. Thank you for the extra information which is published under the item 'Another piece in a Jigsaw?'

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