Immigration follow-up

Once again the value of the Internet and this blog in particular is to be applauded. A valued correspondent from Australia has been able to shed light on my last entry entitled 'Immigration', and indeed has been able to add to it. First, an addition: she observes that a J. McIlhagga, born 1870 in Belfast worked his passage from London to Melbourne and Sydney as a carpenter on the crew of the ship Warrigal arriving 30th December 1904. I have a James who was a Carpenter, but he was born in 1865 and emigrated to Canada. As crew 'J' may not have stayed in Australia, but returned to Britain as crew. I have added him to a new Index of Migration references that I have started.

Next she comments on 'Mr. McIlhagga' in my second paragraph who arrived at London in 1898. He was in fact a 'J. McIlhagga' on the ship Peninsula which may have departed from Sydney, but he boarded the ship at Bombay, India. He was single and English. The only J. McIlhagga of whom I know who could claim to be English was John, born 1879 in Liverpool. He was in fact a great-uncle of mine and I have to say that I know nothing about him, except that he was indeed, and remained, single. He could well have found his way to India! The only other possible clan reference to India that I have found is a much earlier one, to Ellen McHago married to Charles Johnson, also in Bombay. Ellen's father was a James, but he clearly cannot be the single Englishman travelling in 1898. Incidentally three other people boarded the Peninsula at Bombay, but I do not think they give us a clue to the identity of 'J. McIlhagga'. They were a Mr. Long and two nurses in the employ of a Mrs. Waddell.

Finally my correspondent comments on James McIlhagga and his wife arriving Liverpool 1898. Apparently James was listed as a farmer on the ship Parisian which docked first at Liverpool and then a week later at Londonderry, Ireland. James was 37 and his wife 35, giving him a birth year of 1861. However my friend observes that they may have returned to Canada (St. John's) five months later, departing Londonderry on 7th April 1899 on the ship Mongolian where they are again James McIlhagga, farmer and Mrs. McIlhagga, wife. This time their ages are given as 34 and 30, making James' birth year 1865. If these rather than their 1898 travel dates are correct, it gives us the strong possibility that James was the son of James McIlhagga and Jane Maitland of Ballyportery, County Antrim. Father James was a farmer so it was possible that when his son emigrated he continued life as a farmer, though I have to record that the 1901 Census of Canada lists him as a Carpenter. He later became a Building Contractor and then Inspector of School Buildings in Sarnia, Lambton, Ontario. James was born in 1865 and in 1889 he married Alwilda Breault from Seymour, Northumberland, Ontario. After they returned to Canada they had two children, Wilda and William James.

'Immigration' - Travel home

A good number of the members of our clan emigrated to distant places, in particular Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Some never returned to their native soil, even for a brief visit, though some did. The internet site has just allowed free access for a limited period to its 'Immigration and Travel' records, which include thirty seven journeys, by ship, between 1878 and 1960 by clan members. Seven were from Australia, seven from the USA, one from South Africa and twenty-two from Canada. Twenty -three journeys landed at English ports and fourteen at Scottish ports.

1898 saw the earliest recorded journeys, and it was a 'bumper' year with one man from Sydney, Australia and four people from Montreal, Canada. I really do not know who the man was who arrived from Sydney on 26th August 1898, in London. The passenger list simply says Mr. McIlhagga. The only male know to me who went to Australia who was born earlier than 1898 was John McIlhagger (born 1883), though to the best of my knowledge he didn't emigrate until 1909. The four people who boarded a ship in Montreal are also a mystery. They appear to be two couples arriving in Liverpool a week apart, on 12th November and the 19th november 1898. However both couples are Jas. McIlhagga (born about 1861) and Mrs. McIlhagga (born about 1863). Surely there is a mistake in these records and there is but one couple who arrived on either the 12th or the 19th. Who they were, again I do not know, as I have no record of births or a marriage which fits with their dates.

In December 1903 J. McIlhagger returned to Southampton, England, from South Africa. His estimated birth year was 1878, so he was about 25. I hope this is a mis-spelling of the surname. I have written twice about a 'John' returning from the Boar War. On 20th Feb 2010 I noted that he was John McIlhagga. On 4th Jan this year I thought he might be John G. McIlhagger from Belfast. Six weeks later (25th Feb.) I changed my mind when I realised that John Hutchison McIlhagga who died in the First World War had served previously in the Imperial Yeomanry in the Second Boar War which ended in 1902. I think he must be the 'J. McIlhagger' who arrived in Southampton in 1903. Admittedly 'JH' was born in 1880, but a two year discrepancy on Army documents is not unusual.

In 1907 'S. McIlhagga' travelled from Montreal, Canada, to Liverpool, England arriving on the 8th July. There is a passenger record of 'Saml. McIlhagga' leaving Londonderry, Ireland, in 1899 for Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was then 30, so was born about 1869. The only Samuel I have in my Birth Index born in 1869 died as an infant. The next 'nearest' was born on 25th April 1871 to Samuel and Elizabeth (nee Glass) McIlhagga of Belfast. He was baptised at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church. I have to admit that I do not know what happened to him, and it could well be that it was he who emigrated to Canada.

We now come to two women who may have been travelling alone (I haven't paid to see the full passenger lists), namely Lucy McIlhagga, from New York, USA, arriving Glasgow, Scotland on 3rd July 1910 and Lizzie McIlhaggs, from Montreal, arriving Glasgow on 27th August 1911. Lucy may have been the daughter of William Gage McIlhagga and Jane Todd, born 7th August 1895, who therefore in 1910 would have been only 15. There is no record of this family emigrating so it is possible that Lucy went to the USA on a short visit, possibly to see relatives. Certainly she is at home in Belfast a year later when she is listed on the 1911 Census as an Office Girl, and living with her parents. Who Lizzie McIlhaggs was, I'm afraid I do not know. On an Emigration passenger list there is a Saml. McIlhaggs, aged 22, born Ireland, who disembarked from the ship Victoria on 14th July 1906. He is on a list published by the Nanaimo, Canada, Family History Society. Lizzie could have been a sibling, and she might just be the Lizzie McIlhaggo, aged 25 who went out to Quebec, arriving on the 22nd May 1909 on the ship Manitoba.

I will continue the list of 'returnees' in a future blog.

A Shipwreck

I don't think the earliest northern Irish newspaper, The Belfast Newsletter, is on-line, though as part of an academic project Dr. John C. Greene of Louisiana has supervised the compilation of an Index, the result of which is that some 'abstracts' are on-line. I'm not quite sure what all the symbols they used signify, but two extracts exist relevant to our clan. The first has the code ID 185206 from the Newsletter of 4-8 August 1786, page 3, viz.: 'port news arrived 2... $ Mary = McIlhago + Malaga'. I think this means that at an unnamed Irish port the ship called Mary had arrived on the 2nd of August, captained by her Master whose surname was McIlhago. A first thought about Malaga is that she may have come from the Costa del Sol on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, but I think this unlikely. Maybe a second ship called 'Malaga' was accompanying 'Mary'.

Was the McIlhago, Robert born about 1770 in Irvine, Ayrshire, who we know was a Sea Captain? Surely a teenager of 16, who may indeed have 'gone to sea' would not have been a ship's master in 1786! I wonder whether it could have been Robert's father? I have postulated, in an attempted reconstruction of the Ayrshire clan family in the 18th Century that Robert (born about 1770) might indeed have had a father named Robert who might have been born about 1745, who therefore in 1786 would have been 41 and may well have been a ship's master. I based my conjecture on the simple possibility that the first son is often called after his paternal grandfather and Robert (born about 1770) certainly had a first son Robert in 1789. Other than this possible reference in the Belfast Newsletter, at present we know nothing else about 'grandfather Robert'.

The second reference is most interesting, with new information for us. It is news from the paper published on 8th December 1797. It has the code DOC ID 278650 and is found on page 2. The abstract reads as follows: 'Drogheda 6 $ Industry + Irvine = McElhago master vessel wrecked + Drogheda! Bar + Clogher! Head sloop $ Jenny. crew drowned interred St. Peter's Church-yard + Brabazon, Wallop + Rath praise humane exertions'. I take it that on 6th December 1797 Captain McElhago was sailing his sloop Jenny in to the River Boyne at Drogheda when his vessel was wrecked with all hands lost. They all, including the master, were buried in the church-yard of St. Peter's Church of Ireland, Drogheda. It is extremely unlikely, given the circumstances, that the grave(s) would have been marked in any permanent way, and unfortunately there are no paper records, as St. Peter's registers are missing from the end of 1782 to the beginning of 1803.

Once again, we must ask the question, is this master Robert McElhago born about 1770? I think we must answer that in all probability it is, despite the fact that he would only have been about 27, quite young to have had a Master's ticket. Until now we have not had a death date for Robert. All we have known is that he died before 1820, the year his wife is listed in a town census as a widow. We do know that between 1789 and 1796 Robert and his wife Elizabeth (nee Jamieson) had four children, Robert, James, Samuel and a second Robert. In my attempted reconstruction of this family's 'tree' I have been assuming (hoping!) that I could add two other children, John (born about 1800) and Margaret (born 1803), but I now think this is not possible! The identification of Master McElhago as Robert is surely confirmed by the reference in the newspaper to Irvine, which is where Robert and his family lived. The last paper reference to 'praise humane exertions' was I imagine lauding a rescue attempt to save the crew, which was, tragically, unsuccessful.

Polio in Winnipeg

On 17th March last year I wrote a blog about 'Winnipeg's Navy' and followed it by one on its one time Commander, Liston Burns McIlhagga (Senior). On page 120 of the book entitled Winnipeg's Navy there is a significant quote from Liston when he was Commanding Officer of Chippawa. It concerns the 'Aid to Victims of the 1953 Polio Epidemic in Canada'. It concludes the following extract from that book and is one of many 'lights' that can be shed on the life and career of a remarkable man:

'In the early 1950s, a polio epidemic affected many Canadians. In fact, on a per capita basis, the polio epidemic in Manitoba was said to be among the world’s worst. In Manitoba, there were 2,345 cases and 86 deaths. Most of the survivors suffered from paralysis in some form. Some very slightly, and others to a degree that they spent many months attached to an “iron lung”.

The Manitoban response to this disease was magnificent. Doctors and nurses strove unceasingly to care for the victims. Citizens and organizations responded spontaneously with donations of money and supplies. Everybody banded together to fight polio.

One of the difficulties that arose was an acute shortage of nurses. Along with the other services, the Navy responded to the challenge by sending teams of medical nurses from both coasts. Over a period of four months navy nurses played a most important part, working long hours and often with the most difficult cases. CHIPPAWA felt pride in the Navy’s contribution to the fight against polio.

In the latter days of the epidemic, it was thought that water therapy was also necessary to treat recovering patients. A large-scale heated pool was needed for this treatment. Commander F. H. Pinfold generously offered the use of the CHIPPAWA pool.............

The value of the water therapy project was obvious. The improvement in both the patients’ physical and mental conditions was seen by all. Also, extremely important, was the good will that came from this effort. Press, radio, TV, and newsreels carried the story to all parts of the world. Nothing but good came from such a heart-warming presentation of a most worthy cause.

The effort on the part of CHIPPAWA personnel to carry through their part in this program was considerable. It was a tribute to the hard work of all concerned, that the aid to the polio victims was carried out without disruption to the training schedule, and a minimum of conflict with normal ship’s routine.

As the Commanding Officer, Commander Liston McIlhagga, made the comment, “This is a job for which this division is perhaps uniquely equipped. We accept challenge of this fact and, as long as the Navy in Winnipeg is required to play this special role in the life of the community, we will fulfil it to the utmost.”'

Kelly's Directory

Recently I visited a friend on Merseyside and to my delight she had a Kelly's Directory for 1946 for Liverpool and its environs. There were two McIlhagga entries, the first for my father confirming the address we lived at in Wallasey, 41 Claremount Road. Although I would have been a young teenager at the time I'm sure I wasn't aware of the other clan name, a Mrs. Margaret McIlhagga living about ten miles away at 3 Kinross Road, Waterloo, Liverpool 22. According to my Family Tree there is only one person she could have been, my great aunt by marriage. Margaret Abiah Jones had married my great uncle Crawford in 1905 in St. Alban's Church, Bevington, Liverpool and they had two children, Mary in 1906 and William Crawford in 1909. Sadly William Crawford died when he was 6 weeks old. Mary lived to marry a C.W. Stubbs. I'm afraid I know nothing of their subsequent history. Margaret's husband Crawford died in 1926 at the age of 55. Margaret lived on to the great age of 81 and died in Crosby, Liverpool on 23rd March 1957 at the same address as shown in the 1946 Kelly's Directory.

Crawford was the third son of Crawford and Elizabeth McIlhagga. After he married Margaret they lived at 63 Summer Seat, Exchange, Liverpool, which was where they had the two children. Margaret was the daughter of a Cooper, Richard William Jones. The witnesses at their marriage were a couple called Quayle. About ten years ago I had a message from a descendant of the Jones family to say that the Dowling/Joneses recall visiting the McIlhaggas on a regular basis in Mould Street, which presumably was in the 1900s when they lived in Mould Street, which is where Crawford died. He was a Railway Clerk, a job he had had for over twenty years.

McIlhagga - Woods

A correspondent in Australia has identified two of the people in my PRONI Wills Index (15 Jul 2010) as siblings. They are James Wood who died 1929 and Dorothea Crawford who died 1942. The probate of both Wills was granted to Harry McIlhagga. This was Harry who married Sara Laura Browne, and whose mother was Ruth Woods, another sister of James and Dorothea. Harry had two sisters, Elizabeth and Margaret, both of whom were given Woods as a second name. Harry's father was William James McIlhagga, son of William. The 'naming pattern' was followed for William James's first daughter (Elizabeth). We know this from the 1911 Census. So in all probability the 'naming pattern' was followed for his second daughter (Margaret). This would mean that Harry's grandfather, William, was possibly married to a Margaret. Unfortunately at this time this possibility doesn't give us a firm identification of this family. If it did, we could probably make a link to the wider clan family.

High Society!

I think it has been a rare thing for a McIlhagga to move in 'high society', so it was with interest that I noted the entry in my last blog, that probate of a will had been granted to Robert McIlhagga, merchant, by one James Sloan, alias Crawford, 'gentleman'. It so happens that I have recently acquired a book with a few McIlhagga references which fits the theme. This blog entry is really an addendum to the one I wrote on 23rd January last year entitled Performance, Phantom and Poetry. The phantom reference was in an experimental piece of short-story fiction set in the west coast of Ireland and included a character called Phelim McIlhagga. The book I have just acquired, to add incidentally to the clan archive, is also set on the west coast of Ireland, in County Connaught, and also has a McIlhagga character. It is a substantial hard-back of some 430 pages describing itself as a 'Romantic Novel'. It is entitled Maeve , the huntress by James Reynolds who is/was apparently an artist as well as an author. It was published in 1952 by Farrar, Straus and Young, Inc, 101 Fifth avenue, New York. It is the story of twins, Maeve and Mark, coming of age in Irish upper-class society, of which I myself saw a little in the 1950s when I was a student at Trinity College, Dublin.

The first reference comes in chapter 5 (page 62) devoted to the twins' 18th birthday dinner, preceding the evening ball, 'At dinner Maeve and Mark sat side by side at the middle of the long table... Mark had Fanny McIlhagga on his right. Kinky-haired Fanny chatted away on all manner of topics, from how she had at last learned to knit without dropping stitches "like scandal", to trying to pin Mark down to a date when he and Maeve would come on a yachting holiday. "Maeve will love to come, so you must", she pressed.

Fanny could accent every fifth word even with her mouth full of spring lamb, so Mark paid not too much attention to Fanny's strident voice. He was guaging the attractions of the women at the table, with the problem of his choice of partner for the first dance in mind.'

Fanny next appears, equally incidentally, 220 pages further on, when Maeve has been showing her American visitor some of the grand houses of Ireland: '"Dromore". answered Maeve () that's lovely in summer. The gardens along the Shannon are like some I saw in Italy. And then the view of the Ballyhoura Hills covered with red and pink rhododendron. I often visited there when my roommate from the Academy, Fanny McIlhagga, was home'.

The final reference comes as part of a guest list at an engagement party for Maeve and her American fiance from Virginia, 'Old schoolmate Fanny McIlhagga, beaued by Shaun Bellow drove over in a gig'.

It is intriguing to think where an author gets the names of his characters from. Fanny McIlhagga is only a minor one who appears fleetingly and incidentally, with a name quite incidental to the story's context. The story's setting is the Catholic Republic of Ireland. McIlhagga is found primarily in the Protestant North. Admittedly there are a couple of instances in the south, one of a police sergeant in Galway (McIlhagger) and one of a horse-breeder in Dublin (McIlhagga), both of which 'fit' the novel's 'scenary', so it is possible that an American author who had done his research well, might have come across 'McIlhagga' in the South. However there is no known 'Fanny', north or south, and no known daughter who went to a private academy in Dublin. Intriguingly the one 'Frances' we have is found in Virginia, USA, with the right dates for an author born in 1891 and publishing in 1950, though with a variant of the clan name unlikely to have been known to originate as McIlhagga. Frances A. McHagg lived from 1857 to 28th January 1925, and may have been related to three McHaggs to be found in the 1881 English Census, Mary (born 1843). John (1851) and Peter (1856). Frances is recorded in the International Genealogical Index. Her father was Thomas who married Letisha Bishop. Frances married a Thomas Bishop on 10th March 1874 in Scott County, Virginia.