McIlhagga H - I

The FamilySearch Beta Internet site has three 'H' McIlhagga references, the first of which is the marriage of Harry in Lisburn, County Down, Ireland, in the quarter Jan-Mar 1920. This is all the information given by the Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958. From other sources I know that this was the marriage of Harry the son of William James McIlhagga and Ruth Woods, to Sara Laura Browne, the daughter of Samuel Browne, a Farmer, which took place on 11th February 1920 at Legacurry House, Drumbo, according to a Presbyterian rite. Mabel Browne signed as a witness. Was she Sara's mother or a sibling? Harry was born in the October-December quarter of 1878 in Belfast, so he was 42 when he married. In the 1901 Census he was called a Manager. At his marriage he was called an Invoice Clerk. Evidence from Telephone Directories indicates that he may have died in 1961. William James' father was also William, who would I think have been born about 1830.

The second 'H' is Harriet Jane McIlhagga who married in Belfast in the Oct-Dec quarter of 1909. This is a particularly interesting marriage, to William Robert Girvin, on 3rd November 1909, at Trinity Church of Ireland Belfast, for Harriet Jane was a widow. Her maiden name was McAughtrey. She had previously married Daniel McIlhagga on 12th April 1902 at Frederick Street Methodist Church. Simply on the evidence of date, it is possible that this Daniel was the son of John McIlhagga and Margaret Douglas of Templepatrick. He was born on 31st July 1880 so would have been 21 when he married Harriet Jane and would have died when he was 28.

The third 'H' is Henrietta McIlhagga who was born and died in 1870. The FamilySearch record gives us a death date of 6th August in County Antrim. This is certainly the Henrietta whose birth date was 15th February in Belfast. The additional information given is that she was a 'Merchant's child'. This merchant was Nathaniel Owens McIlhagga who was married to Henrietta Wilson. Baby Henrietta was their second child after William who had been born two years previously. Their third child, James Wilson, was born just twelve months after Henrietta.

There are three 'I' records, all related. The earliest is the death in Kimberley, British Columbia, Canada, on 26th September 1944 of Isabel Bates, nee McIlhagga. She was born on 10th April 1897 in Greenock Scotland, to James McIlhagga and Johanna McCulloch. She was we believe registered Isabella McFady McIlhagga. Her marriage to Hugh G. Bates is new information. The next record is the fact that they had a daughter, Isabel Gallagher, born 12th August 1921 at Gleichen, Alberta, Canada, who married John Duff Leith and who died aged 49 on 16th April 1971 at Trail, British Columbia. The third record is that Hugh Gallagher Bates was born on 21st December 1888 in Dublin, Ireland and died on the 26th September 1973 aged 84 at Kimberley, British Columbia. He was the son of Thomas and Isobel Bates. He had remained a widow for 29 years.