McIlhagga births and baptisms

In addition to the Civil Registration lists of Births, Ancestry.co.uk has access to an independent list entitled 'Ireland Births and Baptisms 1620-1911', presumably made up from Church Registers. Its McIlhagga entries clearly duplicate some of the Civil Registration lists for both M'Ilhagga and McIlhagga. However, in addition it gives a full date of birth (not only year), the name of the child's father and its mother's maiden name, and the area in which the child was baptised. So, the list below reads as follows: Given name(s), date of birth (day/month/year), father's given name(s), mother's maiden name, District/Parish of Registration and Baptism (if in brackets no information about baptism). In all cases the name of the infant and the father is McIlhagga:

Margaret Jane, 26.9.1868, George+Eliza Ann Robinson, Belfast;
John, 7.9.1868, John+Eliza McCullough, Connor;
William, 13.12.1868, Nathaniel Owens+Henrietta Wilson, Belfast;
[male], 18.6.1870, John+Eliza McCullough, Connor;
James Wilson, 7.2.1871, Nathaniel Owens +Henrietta Wilson, Belfast;
Samuel, 18.5.1871, Samuel+Elizabeth Glass, Belfast;
[female], 10.4.1872, Henry+Agnes Gardner, Connor;
[female], 3.8.1873, John+Eliza McCullough, Connor;
Eliza Ann. 5.4.1875, George+Eliza Ann Robinson, Belfast;
Maggie Meneilly, 17.5.1875, William John+Mary Meneilly, Doagh;
[male], 16.4.1875, John+Eliza McCullough, Connor;
Andrew, 21.5.1875, Eliza Ann McIlhagga, Galgorm;
John, 12.5.1875, Samuel+Eliza Glass, Belfast;
Mary Jane, 19.2.1879, Eliza Ann McIlhagga, (Slatt);
David, 6.1.1879, George+Mary Jane Boyd, (Belfast);
William John, 19.2.1879, Eliza Ann McIlhagga, (Slatt);
Andrew, 21.5.1875, Eliza Ann McIlhagga, (Antrim).

You will note that in four cases above there is no father's name. That is because it is not known. The mother's name is McIlhagga. This list also has a number of entries where the mother's name is McIlhagga and the father is known because the couple are married. In all these cases the surname of the infant is that of the father. These entries are as follows:

William John, 15.10.1867, William John McCleary+Nancy McIlhagga, Broughshane;
Mathew, 21.1.1870, Mathew McDowell+Eliza McIlhagga, Ballymena;
James, 23.7.1874, Mathew McDowell+Eliza McIlhagga, Ballymena;
Sarah, 12.5.1874, John Francey+Rachel McIlhagga, Connor;
[male], 16.5.1875, William Gibb+Mary McIlhagga, Belfast;
Margaret, 9.9.1869, John Hill+Margaret McIlhagga, Ballymena;
Crawford, 10.6.1874, John Hill+Margaret McIlhagga, Ballymena;
Sarah, 2.3.1874, John Hinton+Ellen McIlhagga, Belfast;
Letitia Jane, 2.2.1879, John Johnston+Jane McIlhagga, (Antrim);
Thomas, 1.10.1868, Robert Linton+Ann McIlhagga, Ballymena,
Agnes, 16.9.1867, Robert Linton+Ann McIlhagga, Ballymena,
Woodrow, 2.5.1875, Robert Linton+Ann McIlhagga, Ballymena;
David, 21.1.1871, Samuel Sloan+Margaret McIlhagga, Ahoghill;
David, 19.9.1867, Robert Whiteside+Esther McIlhagga, Broughshane;
John, 17.1.1870, Robert Whiteside+Esther McIlhagga, Broughshane;
[male], 11.6.1869, Samuel Winning+Maria McIlhagga, Antrim.

McIlhagga births

On 17th October I listed all the M'Ilhagga births to be found in Ancestry.co.uk. I will now show the parallel list, covering the same years, from 'Ireland, Civil Registration Births Index, 1864-1958', for the spelling McIlhagga. Again I will print in italics those that were new to me or about which I have some uncertainty as to their family tree. There is one at the beginning which has no date, for Jeanie, Ballymena 1-64. From other sources I know that the date is Jul-Sep 1919.

John, 1865, Antrim 1-7;
Mary, 1866, Ballymena 6-144;
William 1866, Ballymena 6-153;
John, 1868, Antrim 11-11;
Hannah, 1870, Antrim 16-28;
Henrietta, 1870, Belfast 6-304;
[male], 1870, Antrim 11-7;
William, 1870, Belfast 6-348;
[female], 1872, Antrim 1-10;
[female], 1872, Antrim 6-8;
Jane, 1872, Belfast 11-283;
Samuel, 1872, Belfast 16-303;
John, 1874, Belfast 11-262;
Mary, 1874, Ballymena 16-118;
Andrew, 1875, Ballymena 6-131;
Eliza Ann, 1875, Belfast 6-286;
John, 1875, Belfast 6-364;
Maggie M., 1875, Antrim 6-16;
[male], 1875, Antrim 6-6; 
Eliza, Jul-Sep 1878, Ballymena 1-125;
[female], Jul-Sep 1878, Antrim 1-7;
Harry, Oct-Dec 1878, Belfast 1-328;
Annie, Oct-Dec 1880, Ballymena 1-100;
Elizabeth Woods, Oct-Dec 1880, Belfast 1-311;
James Spence, Oct-Dec 1880, Ballymena 1-97;
Nathaniel Owens, Oct-Dec 1908, Belfast 1-173;
Agnes McClurkin, Jan-Mar 1909, Ballymena 1-73;
John, Jul-Sep 1909, Coleraine 1-477;
Robert Dunlop, Jan-Mar 1909, Ballymoney 1-111;
Violet Agnes Jul-Sep 1909, Belfast 1-357;
Elizabeth, Oct-Dec 1910, Ballymena 1-66;
Minnie, Jan-Mar 1910, Ballymena 1-75;
Richard, Jul-Sep 1910, Belfast 1-217;
Samuel, Jan-Mar 1910, Belfast 1-181;
John, Apr-Jun 1911, Ballymoney 1-116;
Robert, Apr-Jun 1911, Belfast 1-179;
Samuel, Apr-Jun 1911, Coleraine 1-514;
William, Apr-Jun 1911, Ballymoney 1-116;
William Hugh, Jan-Mar 1911, Belfast 1-233;
Elizabeth, Oct-Dec 1912, Ballymena 1-65;
Daniel Boyd, Apr-Jun 1913, Belfast 1-253;
John, Apr-Jun 1913, Belfast 1-267;
Samuel John, Apr-Jun 1913, Ballymena 1-70;
Annie, Apr-Jun 1914, Ballymoney 1-111;
[female], Oct-Dec 1914, Belfast 1-124;
John, Oct-Dec 1914, Ballymena 1-68;
[female], Jul-Sep 1915, Belfast 1-214;
William, Jul-Sep 1915, Ballymena 1-66;
George, Jan-Mar 1916, Belfast 1-396;
James, Apr-Jun 1916, Belfast 1-177;
Robert Carroll, Jul-Sep 1916, Ballymena 1-61;
Thomas, Apr-Jun 1916, Ballymena 1-63;
Elizabeth, Jan-Mar 1917, Belfast 1-183;
Margaret, Apr-Jun 1917, Belfast 1-370;
Thomas, Apr-Jun 1917, Ballymena 1-63;
Andrew, Apr-Jun 1918, Ballymena 1-67;
Jeanie, Jul-Sep 1919, Ballymena 1-64;
Annie Patricia, Jul-Sep 1920, Ballymena 1-71;
Martha Ann, Jan-Mar 1920, Belfast 1-172;
William, Jul-Sep 1920, Ballymena 1-71;
Clarke, Oct-Dec 1921. Ballymena 1-63;
Harold Browne, Apr-Jun 1921, Lisburn 1-653;
Margaret, Apr-Jun 1921, Belfast 1-265;
Elizabeth, Apr-Jun 1934, Belfast;
Reginald, Apr-Jun 1934, Dublin North 2-321;
Samuel, Jul-Sep 1935, Dublin North 2-315;
Richard, Apr-Jun 1939, Dublin North 2-303;
Jean P., Apr-Jun 1940, Dublin South 2-585;
Richard N., Apr-Jun 1943, Dublin South 2-606;
George E., Apr-Jun 1945, Dublin South 2-829.

Some more Census 'Strays'

A few 'strays' in Censuses who might easily be missed, including the two people I mentioned yesterday:

1861 Scotland:
Margaret Mc Hagger, 17 (b.1844 Ireland), Sailcloth Weaver, staying with the Wade family, 11 Main Street, Greenock, sister-in-law to Robert Wade, sister to Jane Wade and Aunt to Agnes, Robert and William;

1901 England:
Catherine S. McHaggan, 19 (b.1882 Scotland), Telegraph Learner, Boarder in Pendleton, Salford, Lancashire;

1901 Scotland:
Agnes Mc Haggart, 46 (b.1855 Govan), Barleyhill, Gl(sic) Govan Head, Falkirk, Stirlingshire;
Alexander Mc Haggart, 26 (b.1875 Greenah [Greenock?]), son, Labourer;

John McHaggie, 41 (b.1860 Glasgow), Boilermaker, 20 Cross St., Partick, Govan;
Lizzie McHaggie, 39 (b.1862 England);
Robert McHaggie, 17 (b.1884 Partick), Apprentice Ship Plater;
Lizzie McHaggie, 16 (b.1885 Partick), Laundress;
Alice McHaggie, 14 (b.1887 Partick). Laundress;
John McHaggie, 12 (b.1889 Partick), Scholar;
Minnie McHaggie, 10 (b.1891 Partick), Scholar;
James McHaggie, 7 (b.1894 Partick), Scholar;
Agnes McHaggie, 5 (b.1896 Partick);
Mary McHaggie 3 (b.1898 Partick);
Allan McHaggie 10 months (b.1900 Partick).

Mc_Hagart and Mc_Haggart

Here's an example of trying to think of all the possible variants of our name, though surely this is a 'deviant' version. In Ancestry.co.uk I searched for Mc Hagart (gap between Mc and H...) and only one result appeared, a family in the 1871 Scottish Census at 14 St. Andrew Street, Greenock East. As I hadn't got them in my Census Index I started to enter them - there were parents and five children. Just the two youngest had been born in Greenock, Scotland, all the rest in Ireland. (Would that they had put place names, and not just 'Ireland'!). My first thought was that, with the exception of the two youngest, I could start a 'virtual' 1861 Irish Census! Then it dawned on me that I was entering five of the nine children of none other than my own great-great-uncle born in Ballycloughan! This was a family that spelled their surname, to my knowledge, eight different ways, maybe because they lacked the schooling in a 'normal' or 'inherited' spelling. John was a Labourer, though by 1890 Mary his wife appeared to be operating as a self-employed Grocer!

They must have moved from County Antrim to Greenock about 1860, between the births of Elizabeth and Mary, by which time their eldest child Ann Jane must have 'left home', though it is probable that she too moved to Scotland for it is there that she had married the year before. The seven in the 1871 Census are:

John, 42, Labourer, born Ireland;
Mary, 38, wife, born Ireland;
Agnes, 17, Factory Girl, born Ireland;
Margaret, 14, Factory Girl, born Ireland;
Elizabeth, 11, Scholar, born Ireland;
Mary, 8, Scholar, born Greenock;
Janet, 5, Scholar, born Greenock.

A question remains: is the Agnes Mc_Haggart, who is in the 1901 Census for Scotland, and is the only example of this double 'g' spelling, the same Agnes as above in the 1871 Census? She was born 1855, aged 46, said to be born in Govan and living in 1901 at Barleyhill, Gl(stet). Govan Head, Falkirk, Stirlingshire. Living with her was Alexander, aged 26, born 'Greenah' (Greenock?), a Labourer. Ah, no! I have just realised that the Agnes in the 1871 Census died in 1900! So I'm afraid I do not know where this second Agnes and her son Alexander fit in!

Two more queries

Still working through the Ireland, Births and Baptisms, 1620-1911, I have two more queries. One is raised by the birth of James Clarke on 27th September 1879 in Lislaban (Lisburn?) to Joseph Clarke and Nancy McIlhagga. Oddly the record adds that Nancy is the daughter of Jane McIlhagga. Why does it give a grandmother's name as well as the mother's? There is a Nancy, daughter of James and Jane McIlhagga (nee Maitland) of Ballyportery, Co. Antrim. I have had a tentative date of 1870 for the birth of this Nancy but this cannot be so if I have the right family. If James was Joseph and Nancy's first child we can assume they were married 1878/9 which would give Nancy a birth year of say 1860 at the latest. This in turn would have made Nancy the eldest child of James and Jane and probably born before their marriage. We have a birth date of 25 May 1840 for James and in all probability Jane was about the same age. Perhaps this is the reason for the note about Jane as the grandmother at the birth of James Clarke.

Another problem. I reported recently on the birth to John Fullerton and Mary McIlhaggar of Mary Ann in 1872 at Galgorm, Ballymena. I now have the birth of John to the same couple on 28th August 1879. The problem is that at present I have John married to Margaret daughter of James McIlhagga and Mary Ann Gard(i)ner, with a marriage date of 8th January 1872 at Connor Church of Ireland. Could Margaret have died and John have married her younger sister Mary who was born 8th September 1851?

Another Problem

Two days ago I described a problem to me of a name on the Ireland, Births and Baptisms Index. Here's a second one. Mary was born on 3 June 1866 and given the surname McIlhagga. Her mother was Sarah Rea but no father is named. We may assume he was a McIlhagga. Mary was baptised at Broughshane, I assume in the First Presbyterian Church (where all the McIlhaggas were baptised, though it could have been in the Church of Ireland or even the Second Presbyterian Church). I wonder if I can find her father's name? There is no later marriage or death record that fits. Did Ireland have the equivalent of Bastardy Bonds which named the father so that he would pay towards the upbringing of the child? There is no Mary of the right date in the major McIlhagga family in Ballycloughan, Broughshane (mine). So where do I go from here? There is one Mary McIlhagga of the right age in the 1901 Census, living in Newtonards Road, Pottinger, Down, who was a Confectioner and who had a younger sister Elizabeth living with her, but I have no evidence that she was the daughter of Sarah Rea.

Death Certified

This morning I received a certified copy of the Death Entry, registered in the District of Broughshane, Ballymena, for my Great-great-grandfather William. I already knew from the (Scottish) death record of his eldest son William in 1889 that his father was deceased before that date. I also knew from the Griffith Valuation Continuation Books that he was still resident at Ballycloughan in 1879. So I had narrowed down the date of his death and when I looked at the Civil Registrations there was only one entry that filled the criteria. I now know that he died on 7th July 1882 at Ballycloughan, in the civil parish of Skerry. What else does the Entry tell me?

First, that in 1882 the townland was spelled Ballycloughan, not Ballycloghan as I have also seen it. Second, that our surname was spelled McIlhagga and not any of the several variants which have appeared over the years. Next, that William's 'condition' was 'married'. This I have to question. By 1882 I'm sure he was a 'Widower', though I can well believe that 'married' was reported to the Registrar. I will have to try and get a firm reference to the death of his wife Agnes. William's age is given as 87 which means he was born in 1795 and, as he died on 7th July, that his birth was between 1st January and 7th July. This of course assumes that he and his family really knew how old he was. I have wondered for some time whether he could have been the William born to James and Sarah McIlhagar, baptised on 29th June 1798 at St. Anne's, Belfast. That would have made him 84.

Next, his occupation is given as 'Weaver'. He was a Weaver on the 1851 Census for Antrim, though at times his occupation has been stated as 'Farmer'. I'm sure that if 'small-holding' was a secondary job, Weaving was his main occupation. The certified cause of death was 'Disease of the heart, 5 years. Dropsy 3 months'. The signature of the person certifying this is only half included and is unreadable. The space for the 'Signature, Qualification and Residence of Informant' has all been completed by the Registrar. J.R. Piettson (?), so the name Nancy McCleery has 'made her mark' with it. Either Nancy could not write or, as was often the case, she was reluctant to do so. I have seen her surname spelled both McCleary and McCleery. She was 'Daughter of deceased in attendance during last illness'.

Nancy was William's second youngest daughter who would have been about 41 years old. She had married William John McCleery in 1863 and by 1882 had had four sons. Most of William's other seven children had moved away to Scotland, and one to Australia. Nancy's place of residence was given as Broughshane, the town 'just down the road' from Ballycloughan. Finally we have the date of registration of the death, the fourteenth of July, a full week after William had died. We may presume therefore that he was buried on or after the 14th July 1882.

A double problem

As I move on from the M'Ilhagga indexes in Ancestry.co.uk to McIlhagga I find there are two sources for births, first 'Ireland, Births and Baptisms 1620-1911', and second 'Ireland, Civil Registrations Birth Index, 1864-1958'. I have immediately hit a problem. The oldest name in both sources appears to be the same, John 1865, born Connor, Registered Antrim.The first Index tells me the father is John and the mother is Eliza McCullough. In fact I have a double problem. For this couple I already have a son William G. born on 30 Jan 1865 (the Index gives me John born 31 Jan 1865), and I also have a John born September 1868. Were there two Eliza McCulloughs who married two John McIlhaggas about the same time, who both had a son John? Eliza's surname does get spelled two slightly different ways, McCulloch and McCullough. What the second index tells me is that there were certainly two Johns born, one in 1865 and one in 1868, both registered in Antrim District. (The second source doesn't give parents' names). One possibility is that the first John was a twin of William G and died, and that he was 'replaced' by a John born three years later! I suppose light will dawn at some stage.

Good Detective Work

Publishing the Irish BMDs for M'Ilhagga has produced two positive bits of research which is very pleasing. The first, and the more 'adventurous' comes from a correspondent who is researching the family line which includes Robert born in Ballee in 1859 who married Margaret Craig. My correspondent is a great-granddaughter in Australia. Robert and Margaret had ten or eleven children, her grandfather Robert James being (I think) number five. And she has wondered for some time about his sister known as Minnie who was a year or two older.

Now the name 'Minnie' is a diminutive, but of what? When I published the M'Ilhagga births my friend wrote to say that she could definitely place one person on the list, namely Joseph born 1899 as one of the eleven McIlhagga-Craig children. She also suspected that Minnie (aged 17 on the 1901 Census) was Mary born 1833 and registered in the Ballymena District. When I then published the M'Ilhagga marriage list she decided to take a closer look at the marriage of Thomas Flack to Mary M'Ilhagga, a couple that I had not been able to place in a Family Tree.

There were some doubts because there seemed to be several errors on the Marriage Record. In the 1901 Census Thomas Flack lived in Valentine Street, not Ballentine as recorded. Mary was said to be living at 4 Agamor Street, though the family address was 5 Azamor Street. Was the Registrar hard of hearing? But worst of all, Mary's father was recorded as William, not Robert! However there were some positive pointers. The Flacks had two children, and the addresses linked to the Census. The mother on one was Mary McIlhagga and on the other was Minnie McIlhagga, with a Registrar's note that Minnie=Mary; and the informant was the same person for the two births.

I commented that the wrong father's name (William for Robert) was probably the Registrar's mistake after he had already correctly written William for Thomas's father. Also Mary would have been born between 1883 (if she was 21 at marriage) and 1886 (if the Census age was right). However, a wife often knocked two or three years off her age so that she didn't appear older than her husband on a Census form. In fact on the 1911 Census all three Flack adults knocked 2-3 years off the ages given in 1901! And there are sufficient occupation and address links to be confident in saying that Minnie and Mary were the same person, and that the Flacks belong to the Robert McIlhagga/Margaret Craig family tree. A good piece of detective work!

The second piece of detective work? I'm waiting for a death certificate to arrive through the post, so -another time!

M'Ilhagga deaths

Between 1872 and 1809 Ancestry.co.uk has recorded 60 M'Ilhagga deaths of which 45 were new to me. These 60 people were born between 1784 and 1907. An initial analysis by splitting the deaths into four periods is very interesting. 19 people born between 1784 and 1840 had an average age of 70 years, ranging from 60 to 90. And incidentally the oldest person was born at the earliest date. In the second period, those born between 1840 and 1854, we have 12 deaths with an average age of 45, with a range of 32 to 60. What a drop, from 70 to 45! But greater surprises are to come. The third period is for those born between 1859 and 1881. There were 16 deaths with an average age of 16, with a range from 0 to 29. Finally in the period from 1881 to 1907 there were 13 deaths with an average age of under 2! The 13 had an age range of 0 to 7. 70 to 45 to 16 to 2. That must be a commentary on the kind of society in which people were living over a period of 123 years, from a totally rural society to a predominantly industrial one.

After noting that of 60 deaths 45 were new to me, I went back to my own Clan Births Index to see whether I could identify any of the 45 from Ancestry's Birth Registrations. Sadly I could only identify a probable six, though I am able to add one more from recent correspondence with a friend in Australia. She positively identified one person in the birth index, who is also in the death index. She also made a 'possible' identification of a second birth. The deaths I can (or think I can) identify I have typed in italics. The rest are new to me. Again, the end figures, following the Registration District, are the volume and page numbers:

Henry 90, 1784-1874 Ballymena 16-76;
Elizabeth 84, 1788-1872 Antrim 6-6;
William 87, 1795-1882 (Jul-Sep) Ballymena 1-77;
Martha 75, 1798-1873 Ballymena 16-70;
Nancy 86, 1798-1884 (Jul-Sep) Ballymena 1-65;
Samuel 84, 1805-1889 (Jan-Mar) Ballymena 1-80;
Robert 80, 1806-1886 (Jan-Mar) Ballymena 1-92;
Catherine 65, 1811-1876, Larne 6-468;
William 79, 1812-1891 (Oct-Dec), Ballymena 1-74;
Agnes Stevenson 84, 1814-1898 (Oct-Dec), Antrim 1-16;
Mary 66, 1818-1884 (Jan-Mar), Belfast 1-223;
Samuel 70, 1818-1888 (Jan-Mar), Ballymena 1-98;
Mary Ann 71, 18221-1892 (Jan-Mar), Ballymena 1-110;
Henry 62, 1824-1886 (Jan-Mar), Antrim 1-5;
James 70, 1824-1894 (Jan-Mar), Belfast 1-278;
Agnes 60, 1827-1887 (Jan-Mar), Antrim 1-5;
Francis 60, 1834-1894 (Apr-Jun), Ballymena 1-65;
Nathaniel O. 71, 1834-1905 (Jul-Sep), Belfast 1-128;
Letitia 60, 1840-1900 (Jul-Sep), Belfast 1-279;
William 36, 1840-1876, Ballymena 11-81;
George 41, 1841-1882 (Oct-Dec), Belfast 1-174;
Jenny 35, 1841-1876, Ballymena 1-109;
John Wilson 55, 1841-1896 (Apr-Jun), Antrim 1-5;
Mary 55, 1844-1899 (Jan-Mar), Ballymena 1-81;
John 57, 1845-1902 (Jan-Mar), Ballymena 1-72;
William James 46, 1846-1892 (Jan-Mar), Antrim 1-9;
John 60, 1847-1907 (Jul-Sep), Belfast 1-127;
Margaret 37, 1850-1887 (Jul-Sep), Belfast 1-153;
Ruth 49, 1852-1901 (Apr-Jun), Belfast 1-367;
Lizzie 32, 1853-1885 (Oct-Dec), Belfast 1-185;
Archibald 44, 1854-1898 (Apr-Jun), Antrim 1-5;
Lizzie 26, 1859-1885 (Jan-Mar), Antrim 1-6;
Samuel 25, 1861-1886 (Jan-Mar), Antrim 1-7;
John 20, 1862-1882 (Jan-Mar), Antrim 1-6;
James 19, 1867-1886 (Jul-Sep), Antrim 1-5;
Eliza Jane 26, 1869-1895 (Apr-Jun), Ballymoney 1-105;
Margaret Jane 17, 1869-1886 (Oct-Dec), Antrim 1-5;
Eliza 18, 1872-1890 (Apr-Jun), Ballymena 1-74;
James 6, 1872-1878 (Oct-Dec), Ballymena 1-88;
Lizzie Ann 7, 1875-1882 (Jul-Sep), Belfast 1-161;
Nancy 29, 1875-1904 (Jan-Mar), Ballymena 1-78;
Wilson 15, 1875-1890 (Oct-Dec), Belfast 1-176;
Ellen 0, 1876-1876, Belfast 16-167;
Robert 8, 1876-1884 (Jul-Sep), Belfast 1-158;
Rebecca 0, 1878-1878 (Oct-Dec), Belfast 1-224;
Sarah Mary 18, 1878-1896 (Jul-Sep), Antrim 1-15;
Daniel 24, 1881-1905 (Apr-Jun), Belfast 1-214;
Ruth 1, 1881-1882 (Oct-Dec), Belfast 1-174;
Margaret 2, 1882-1884 (Oct-Dec), Ballymena 1-77;
Margaret 0, 1890-1890 (Jan-Mar), Ballymena 1-105;
Samuel 5, 1891-1896 (Oct-Dec), Antrim 1-16;
Eliza Jane 0, 1895-1895 (Apr-Jun), Ballymoney 1-106;
Mary 0, 1896-1896 (Jan-Mar), Ballymena 1-79;
Archibald 1, 1898-1899 (Jan-Mar), Antrim 1-7;
John H.W. 1, 1898-1899 (Jan-Mar), Ballymoney 1-113;
Joseph 2, 1899-1901 (Oct-Dec), Belfast 1-272;
Matilda 7, 1899-1906 (Jan-Mar), Belfast 1-181;
Ruth 2, 1902-1904 (Jan-Mar), Belfast 1-260;
Daniel 1, 1906-1907 (Oct-Dec), Belfast 1-145;
Jane 0, 1907-1907 (Jan-Mar), Ballymoney 1-116.

M'Ilhagga marriages

In my last blog I listed 79 M'Ilhagga births that can be found in Ancestry.co.uk. Over half of them were new to me. Not so with the marriages. Below I list 38 M'Ilhagga marriages between 1865 and 1907. One was new to me! (in italics) Admittedly ten I cannot at present fit in to Family Trees, but the others I can. The Ireland Civil Registrations give a name, year or quarter when registered, the registration district, volume and page numbers. From other sources I have added the name of the spouse in nearly all cases:

Nancy Betty 1865, Antrim 16-42; Alexander Brownlees;
William 1868 Ballymena 1-167; Jenny Stewart;
Ann Eliza 1872 Ballymena 16-163; Hugh Kelly;
Jane 1872 Ballymena 11-156; James Boyd;
Margaret 1872 Antrim 1-3; John Fullerton;
May 1872 Antrim 1-3; John Fullerton;
William 1872 Ballymena 6-171; Mary Jane Bell;
Robert 1876 Ballymena 6-139; Margaret Craig;
William James 1877 Belfast 16-389; Ruth Woods;
William, Apr-Jun 1878 Ballymena 1-157; Mary Spence;
George, Jan-Mar 1879 Belfast 1-415; Lizzie Patterson;
Archy, Apr-Jun 1885 Ballymena 1-159; Agnes Jamieson;
Maggie, Apr-Jun 1885 Ballymena 1-160; James Strain;
Hannah, Oct-Dec 1890 Belfast 1-400; Robert Killips;
William Gage, Apr-Jun 1890 Belfast 1-441; Jane Todd;
Daniel, Jan-Mar 1891 Ballymoney 1-173; Annie Eliza Wright;
John, Oct-Dec 1892 Belfast 1-451; Ann Kerr;
Margaret, Jan-Mar 1892 Ballymena 1-93; Robert Colvin;
John, Jul-Sep 1893 Belfast 1-260; Isabella M'Kay;
Jane, Apr-Jun 1895 Belfast 1-281; James Steele;
Agnes, Jul-Sep 1896 Belfast 1-407; Thomas Sinclair;
Rebecca, Oct-Dec 1901 Belfast 1-393; Charles Kennett;
Daniel, Apr-Jun 1902 Belfast 1-427; Harriet Jane M'Aughtry;
Elizabeth, Oct-Dec 1902 Belfast 1-452; Patrick Wm. Orr;
Margaret, Apr-Jun 1902 Antrim 1-25; William Kerr;
William, Apr-Jun 1902 Antrim 1-1; Mary Anne Boyd;
William John, Jul-Sep 1902 Belfast 1-437; Jane Burgess Anderson;
James Spence, Jan-Mar 1903 Bellymena 1-114; Agnes Wilson;
Matilda Jane, Jul-Sep 1903 Belfast 1-367; Robert Dalzell;
William Hugh, Jan-Mar 1903 Belfast 1-497; Maggie Boyd;
Maggie, Jul-Sep 1904 Ballymoney 1-198; John Taylor Elliott;
Mary, Jul-Sep 1904 Belfast 1-370; Thos Flack;
Robert, Jan-Mar 1904 Belfast 1-290; Eliza Jane Eston;
James S, Oct-Dec 1905 Ballymena 1-119; Besse M'Grillis;
Andrew, Jul-Sep 1906 Ballymena 1-113; Lizzie Todd;
Elizabeth Woods, Oct-Dec 1907 Belfast 1-353; (see below);
Margaret Woods, Jul-Sep 1907 Belfast 1-347; (see below);
James Wilson, Oct-Dec 1907 Belfast 1-305; Sarah Jane Hoy.

NB: Elizabeth Woods M'Ilhagga and Margaret Woods M'Ilhagga are both recorded twice! One married Samuel Balance Knox and the other Hugh Rankin Torrens Wilson. I an not sure from the records which was which, though I think Margaret became a Knox and Elizabeth a Wilson.

M'Ilhagga births

When searching Ancestry.co.uk clearly most Births Marriages and Deaths (BMDs) would be revealed when using our commonest spellings McIlhagga, McIlhagger, McIlhaga, &c. And surely if the Mc became M', that is just a writing convention and the BMDs produced would duplicate what I already knew. Not a bit of it! Here, for a start, are the Births registered with the surname spelling M'Ilhagga. I have listed in ordinary type those I already had in my clan Birth Index. Those in italics were new to me. The place name is the Registration District and the figures give the volume and page number should anyone wish to apply for a birth certificate from the General Register Office. You will note that all the references are in Ulster:

John 1868 Antrim 11-11;
Margaret Jane 1868 Belfast 16-263;
William 1868 Belfast 16-253;
Ellen 1876 Belfast 6-293;
Andrew 1877 Ballymena 16-118;
(female) 1877 Antrim 6-10;
Martha 1877 Ballymoney 11-161;
Matilda Jane 1877 Ballymena 11-136;
Mary Jane, Jan-Mar 1879 Ballymena 1-135;
William, Jul-Sep 1879 Ballymena 1-107;
William John, Jan-Mar 1879, Ballymena 1-135;
Clarke Atkinson, Apr-Jun 1881, Ballymena 1-101;
John, Apr-Jun 1881, Belfast 1-320;
Margaret, Apr-Jun 1882, Ballymena 1-121;
Samuel, Oct-Dec 1882, Belfast 1-238;
Margaret Woods, Jul-Sep 1883, Belfast 1-305;
Mary, Jul-Sep 1883, Ballymena 1-110;
William, Jul-Sep 1883, Ballymena 1-108;
Robert, Jan-Mar 1885, Belfast 1-254;
Robert James, Apr-Jun 1885, Ballymena 1-116;
William, Jul-Sep 1885, Antrim 1-6;  
Andrew, Oct-Dec 1886. Ballymena 1-111;
Annie, Apr-Jun, 1886, Ballymena 1-113;
Eleanor, Jan-Mar 1886, Belfast 1-230;
Jane, Jul-Sep 1887, Antrim 1-7;
John, Apr-Jun 1887, Ballymena 1-109;
Margaret, Jul-Sep 1889, Ballymena 1-95;
Robert, Jul-Sep 1889, Ballymena 1-102;
Thomas, Jul-Sep 1889, Ballymena 1-97;
Lizzie, Oct-Dec 1890, Belfast 1-356;
Margaret, Apr-Jun 1890, Ballymena 1-85;
Robert, Jan-Mar 1890, Antrim 1-5;
Samuel, Oct-Dec 1890, Ballymena 1-93;
Samuel, Apr-Jun 1891, Belfast 1-275;
Maggie, Jan-Mar 1892, Antrim 106;
John, Jul-Sep 1893, Belfast 1-268;
John, Apr-Jun 1894, Antrim 1-6;
John Jul-Sep 1894, Ballymena 1-96;
Robert Wright Oct-Dec 1894, Ballymoney 1-109;
Eliza Jane Apr-Jun 1895, Ballymoney 1-130;
Lucy, Jul-Sep 1895, Belfast 1-247;
Mary, Oct-Dec 1895, Ballymena 1-77;
Andrew, Apr-Jun 1896, Ballymena 1-98;
James, Apr-Jun 1896, Ballymoney 1-127;
Nathaniel, Jan-Mar 1896, Antrim 1-8;
Jane, Jan-Mar 1897, Ballymena, 1-101; 
John Houston W, Oct-Dec 1897, Ballymoney 1-112;
Sarah, Apr-Jun 1897, Belfast 1-245;
Archibald, Apr-Jun 1898, Antrim 1-6;
Matilda, Oct-Dec 1898, Belfast 1-361;
George, Jan-Mar 1899, Belfast 1-393;
John, Jul-Sep 1899, Belfast 1-366;
Joseph, Oct-Dec 1899, Ballymena 1-74;
Samuel Wright, Jul-Sep 1899, Ballymoney 1-115;
Joseph, Oct-Dec 1900, Ballymoney 1-101;
William John, Oct-Dec 1900, Ballymoney 1-99;
Martha, Jul-Sep 1902, Ballymoney 1-119;
Daniel, Jan-Mar 1903, Ballymoney 1-121;
Jane, Oct-Dec 1903, Belfast 1-252;
John, Jan-Mar 1903, Belfast 1-205;
Samuel James Jul-Sep 1903, Belfast 1-407;
James. Oct-Dec 1904, Ballymoney 1-113;
Jane Wilson, Jan-Mar 1904, Belfast 1-852;
William Gage, Jan-Mar 1904, Belfast 1-359;
William Robert, Apr-Jun 1904, Belfast 1-176;
Esther, Oct-Dec 1905, Belfast 1-258;
Robert Jul-Sep 1905, Belfast 1-366;
William John, Jan-Mar 1905, Belfast 1-403;
Daniel, Jul-Sep 1906, Belfast 1-200;
Elizabeth Ann, Jul-Sep 1906, Belfast 1-242; 
Henry, Oct-Dec 1906. Belfast 1-230;
Jane, Oct-Dec 1906, Ballymoney 1-111;
Mary Ann, Oct-Dec 1906, Coleraine 1-480;
Mary Young, Jan-Mar 1906, Ballymoney 1-117;
Albert Hugh, Oct-Dec 1907, Ballymoney 1-114;
Andrew, Apr-Jun 1907, Ballymena 1-77;
David Reavey, Jun-Sep 1907, Belfast 1-388;
William, Oct-Dec 1907, Coleraine 1-579;
Samuel Jul-Sep 1908, Belfast 1-196. 

One-Offs

There are a few one-offs to me found in Ancestry.co.uk. The first three found concern marriage.

John McIlhagor, 1851 Ballymena 2-103, spouse Mary Stewart. John was in fact son of William and Agnes (nee McCosh) for Ballycloughan, County Antrim and this family (mine!) usually used the spelling McIlhagga. They were married at the 1st Presbyterian Church, Broughshane on 15th July 1851.

The next is particularly interesting as it is from the record of Marriage Banns in Paris, France, 1860-1902. It records the name of Marie Sudour who was to marry a man with the surname M'Ilhague. But when or where I know not. There is one Scottish record of John McIlhague marrying Isabella McCallum. They had a daughter Jean in 1824 in Dundonald, Ayrshire, so could be related to our clan there. Isabella had a brother Alexander who married Elizabeth McElhago, daughter of James McElhago and Jane Harvey.

Third we have David G. McIllhaggow (also McIllHaggow) in a published Family Tree on Ancestry, who was born about 1700 and married Janet G. Murdock on 16 February 1725 in Dalmellington, Ayrshire. The 'G' in Janet's name is new to me. This was David's first marriage. He was I think born in 1702. He and Janet had a daughter Janet in 1732. His second marriage was to Elizabeth Dunbar on 22 March 1740 also in Dalmellington, presumably after the death of Janet. They were to have two children, William and Mary. It is possible that William migrated to Ulster and founded the family in Maxwell's Walls, County Antrim, as William McIllhago. He was born in 1743.

McIlhago & M'Ilhago

Ancestry.co.uk records the name McIlhago 12 times in total in the 1841, 1891 and 1901 Censuses of Scotland, most of which I had recorded except for George and Isabella at 5 Chapel Bank, New Monkland, Lanark in 1841 when George was a Brick Labourer before he went into the Railway Police Force. A male birth is recorded in 1868 in Belfast under both McIlhago and M'Ilhago, though the spelling that the parents, Samuel and Grace (nee Marrs) usually used was McIlhaga. There are also five McIlhago and three M'Ilhago marriages, all in Ireland, as follows:

1849 Margaret McIlhago, Ballymena 2-61, to George McClean,
1850 Eliza McIlhago, Ballymena 2-87, spouse unknown,
1857 Henry McIlhago, Antrim 1-195, to Agnes Gard(i)ner,
1858 Rachel McIlhago, Ballymena 2-79, to John Francey,
1868 Mary M'Ilhago, Ballymena 16-181, spouse unknown,
1872 Ellen M'Ilhago, Belfast 1-413, to John Hinton,
1873 Jane McIlhago, Belfast 11-366, spouse unknown,
1877 James M'Ilhago, Belfast 1-263, spouse unknown.

One death is recorded, that of Sarah M'Ilhago aged 83 in Ballymena (6-110) which interestingly gives us a birth year of 1781. I have no record of a Sarah born in that year, though of course she may have married into the clan. Finally there were a couple of McIlhago Migration references in 1956, arriving at Greenock, Scotland from Montreal, presumably a visit 'home' by Harry (63) and Sarah (61); also a couple of McIlhago names in the Glasgow Phone Books from 1954 to 1975.

Larne

In my last blog I said I was surprised to find four death registrations in Larne. The town of Larne is of course one of the ports on the east coast of County Antrim and so one of the nearest places to Scotland. Hence it should not be surprising to find some early references to our clan there.

In addition to the 17th Century Hearth Tax charged to three men at Cogry, near to Ballynure and Ballyclare, about ten miles inland, the earliest clan reference is to the man we know from several Indentures as 'James, Senior'. He was probably born about 1755 and may have lived in Larne until at least 1835 when he was 80. Our earliest mention of him is on 16 June 1786 when he is described in a house lease as a Bleacher. He was renting a house and garden in Larne from John White for £8.11.0 p.a. His name is spelled McElhago, a familiar spelling in 18th Century Ayrshire. Two further leases in 1786 and 1795 find James letting properties to other people, a farmer and a shoemaker, while he himself moved to Islandmagee. He may or may not have stayed there, or he may have moved between Islandmagee and Larne, for there are two further references, I presume to the same man, unless they be to his son James Junior. In 1824 he is in Pigott's Directory of Larne where he is a Publican in New Town. Then in 1834 he appears as James McIlhaggo in the Larne Tithe Applotment Book in Larne Parks Middle Division. We think he had three sons, James, Samuel and William, all of whom also farmed on Islandmagee.

The next person we find in Larne is George McIlhaggo who is also in the same Tithe Applotment Book of 1834 in Anteville, the West Division of Larne Parks. Someone paying tithes in 1834 must have been born at least around the beginning of the century, which is indeed confirmed for us by the first of the four Larne death registrations. George M'Ilhaggo's death was registered in the Jan-Mar quarter of 1880 when he was 76, making his year of birth 1804. There is also a George in the 1861 Griffith Evaluation for Larne, when in Newton Street, Townparks he was paying £11.10.0 for land and buildings, namely a house, office, yard and garden. He is recorded as George McIlhaigh, a spelling when admittedly opens the question of whether he was the same George.

I must add here that I have two possible references to another George in 1866, whom I believe to be George born 1841 to William and Margaret McIlhaggo/a of Maxwell's Walls. The first is to the grant of a house and small garden in January, recorded in a Griffiths continuation book about which I wrote on 11 August. This was a couple of months before his marriage to Elizabeth Ann Robinson, which is my second reference for they were married in Raloo Presbyterian Church in Larne. Surely we cannot identify with our first Larne George or he would have been 62 when he married and this would have pushed his father's date of birth much too early.

The next two people whose deaths were registered in Larne were I believe married. They are William John born 1812 who died age 83 in 1895. Mary Jane, born 1828 died age 66 in 1894. I think they are they couple I wrote about on 2 July 2011 and who lived in Ballygallough/Ballygallagh, Ballyclare. On 1 July this year I also suggested he might be the William the farmer who subscribed to the building of Ballyclare Presbyterian Church. Were William and George brothers? They were born within eight years of each other. William John and Mary Jane had a son whom they named William James. Why did they use the second name James? Was it after his grandfather or great-grandfather? If so, was this the James who had died about 1835? We know that James Senior had three sons, James Junior, Samuel and William born 1782 who was a farmer in Ballytober, Islandmagee. He had a daughter Sarah in 1808. Could she have come between a son George in 1804 and a son William John in 1812?

I have reached a point where I think it is justified to speculate! I do not know what happened to William son of James and I do not know where William father of George came from and I do not know where William John father of William James came from, though as I've said I think he might have been the farmer who contributed to Ballyclare Church. My 'speculation' brings them all together. James seems to have had three sons, James, Samuel and William. Perhaps William had three children, George, Sarah and William John. William John and Mary Jane had three children, Mary Jane, Jenny and William James. William James married Mary McNeillly on 15 Mar 1875 at Mountpottinger Presbyterian Church, Belfast. They had a daughter Margaret in about 1877. Did they also have a daughter Agnes, who is the fourth Larne death registered when Agnes was 26 in 1898, so born in 1872? Incidentally this 'speculation' also brings together Larne, Islandmagee and Ballyclare.

There remain two more people on the Larne horizon who need more research in order to fit them into an known pattern. Wm. McHagger is in the 1861 Griffith Valuation in Clementshill, Ballynure, where he is renting a house and garden for 15/-. Second is Mary Elizabeth M'Ilhaggy whose marriage was registered in Larne (1-673) in 1884. I wonder who they were?

Ireland BMD Registrations for M'Ilhaggo

One of the resources used by Ancestry.co.uk is Ireland's Death Registrations. Although in my own clan Deaths Index I already had quite a lot of people using the surname spelling McIlhaggo, when I searched for the references to M'Ilhaggo I was surprised to receive no fewer than another 14, all quite early, indeed one going back to the 18th Century. The second surprise was that four of them were registered in Larne, where I have very few 'vital statistics'. Here they are (the figures are volume number followed by page number):

Mary 82 (born about 1785); died 1867 Antrim 1-6;
George 76 (bc 1804); died Jan-Mar 1880 Larne 1-553;
William John 83 (bc 1812); died Jan-Mar 1895 Larne 1-537;
Nathaniel 64 (bc 1821); died Jul-Sep 1885 Belfast 1-181;
Mary Jane 66 (bc 1828); died Apr-Jun 1894 Larne 1-483;
Elizabeth 40 (bc 1836); died 1876 Belfast 6-268;
Eliza Ann 37 (bc 1840); died 1877 Belfast 11-153;
Rebecca 40 (bc 1852); died Oct-Dec 1892 Belfast 1-196;
Hannah 1 (b 1866); died 1867 Antrim 1-6;
Samuel 1 (b 1866); died 1867 Belfast 16-220;
Susan 0 (b 1867); died 1867 Belfast 16-220;
Agnes 26 (bc 1872); died Oct-Dec 1898 Larne 1-455;
George 0 (b 1880); died Apr-Jun 1880 Belfast 1-232;
Samuel James 0 (b 1880); died Apr-Jun 1880 Belfast 1-236.

In the Civil Registrations there were also 10 M'Ilhaggo Births, all of which I found I had already recorded, except for the registration volumes and pages, which are as follows (names of parents last from my own Index):

Susan 1868 Belfast 16-323; Samuel + Elizabeth (nee) Glass;
William Gage 1876 Antrim 6-5; Henry + Agnes Gardiner;
Robert 1877 Belfast 11-297; John + Margaret Douglass;
Daniel Jul-Sep 1880 Belfast 1-254; John + Margaret Douglass;
Ruth Jan-Mar 1881 Belfast 1-260; George + Elizabeth Patterson;
Wilson Jan-Mar 1881 Belfast 1-252; James + Rebecca Johnson;
Nathaniel Jan-Mar 1883 Belfast 1-264; James + Rebecca Johnson;
Agnes Jan-Mar 1892 Belfast 1-232; William + Jane Todd;
Ruth Jan-Mar 1902 Belfast 1-258; Samuel Robinson + Jane McNeice;
James Boyd Apr-Jun 1908 Belfast 1-254; William Hugh + Maggie Boyd.

Lastly under M'Ilhaggo I found 7 Marriage Registrations, six of which I had recorded fully in my Indexes, as follows:

Margaret 1867 Ballymena 16-181; spouse Samuel Sloan;
Ellen 1868 Ballymena 1-161; spouse Robert Scroggy;
Maria 1868 Antrim 6-45; spouse Samuel Winning;
John 1870 Antrim 1-35; spouse Margaret Douglass;
Margaret Jan-Mar 1879 Belfast 1-318; spouse Samuel Walker;
John Jul-Sep 1901 Ballymena 1-111; spouse Margaret Tuff.

I think I can put all these into Family Trees. However one last marriage I cannot place, that of Samuel, Jul-Sep 1883, Belfast 1-307. 'Ancestry' has a way of suggesting the possible name of a spouse by showing the whole Register page. In Samuel's case it showed three possibilities, Sarah Maloney, Agnes McCabe or Julia McCracken. I wonder which one was his wife?

Poll Books

At the last meeting of the Family History Group that I attend one member brought a Poll Book. Most people had never seen one. They were produced between the late 1600s and the late 1800s. They contained lists of all the people who had voted in a particular election with their address and, what is more, how they voted. In order to have your name recorded in a poll book, and of course able to vote, you had to own either a house or a piece of land, and you had to have actually voted.

Most clan members that we have come across were tenants and not owners. However two men did vote and were listed in the Belfast Poll Book of 1868, so must have owned the property where they lived. This book probably records the by-election on 22 November 1866 when Hugh Cairns, Conservative, resigned as Lord Justice of Appeal of England and Wales. He was replaced by Charles Lanyon, Conservative. George M'Ilhaggo of 24 Kilarney Street, Belfast, voted in Ann's Ward and Nathaniel M'Ilhaggo of 3 Meadow Street voted in Dock Ward. As yet I do not know for which party each cast their vote.

Hinton / Hilton

On 22 November 2010, 6 May 2011 and 21 September 2011 I reported on a family in which there was a marriage between Ellen McIlhage or McIlhaggo and William John Hinton. I also recorded that they had had seven children. In searching the McIlhaggo births in Ancestry.co.uk I have come across two more births for this couple, despite the fact that Ancestry seems to have mistranscribed the name Hinton to Hilton for one of them and given the father an extra middle name for the other.

The first is Elizabeth born in Belfast on 4 Sep 1878. The second is Mary, born in Belfast on 17 June 1880. Also as their first born on 15 December 1872 I had to record the birth of an unnamed female. According to Ancestry's records this date has three unnamed females, so I have to conclude that this was probably the birth of triplets who did not survive. In Mary's case the father's name is recorded as John Hilton and in Elizabeth's as John Hill Hinton!

McIllhagga reprise

Over the past couple of years I have noted half a dozen uses of the spelling McIllhagga and in particular I wrote about it on 16 May 2010. Each resource we use will of course vary in its use of our different spellings and each will make different errors in their transcriptions. For these reasons I have recently been noting how different spellings occur in Ancestry.co.uk. Nearly all are the same as in other sources such as findmypast, but for completeness I will now list the 'double l' versions, most of which are McIllhagga and all or most of which may go back to original sources:

McIllhaga:
Birth of Christopher John Maddocks, in February 1984, Stockport, Lancashire, England, Vol. 39 p.1334. Mother's maiden surname, McIllhaga.

M'Illhaga:
New York Passenger Lists. Joan aged 31, born in Greenock about 1888, travelled from Glasgow to New York, arriving 2 Nov 1919 on board the Columbia. She was a Domestic (Servant) going to Calgary, Alberta, Canada (where as Johanna McIlhagga she married). She gave her brother as William at Abels Terrace, Hamilton Road, Motherwell, Scotland.

McIllhagga:
Australia Electoral Rolls: 1954 - John in Swan, Western Australia; 1972 - Basil and Coralie Patricia in Stirling, Western Australia.
Deaths in Australia: 1883 Margaret Gillespie, nee McIllhagga; 1951 Agnes Scott, nee McIllhagga.
New South Wales Directories: 1925, Robert; 1926, R.

England Marriages: Elizabeth M.J. to Eric A. Harding, July-Sep 1958, Birkenhead, Cheshire; Jennifer to Andrew D. Holmes, July 1989, Sheffield, Yorkshire.

Canada Marriage: John Hutchison to Mary Ellen Kennedy, 16 Feb 1910 at Daly, Manitoba;
In Canadian Military: William, Joseph and Thomas.

USA, Death: Bessie Lowrie Young, nee McIllhagga, died 1940;
Public Records: Shawn A. McIllhagga.

Ireland, Birth: Robert, Oct-Dec 1941 in Dublin South, Vol.2, p.511; (Mother: Robinson).

Scotland, Phone Books, Glasgow 1972: R. McIllhagga.

Migration and Movement Records:
Thomas, from Liverpool, England, aged 13 (born about 1896) arrived Quebec, Canada on 28 May 1909 on ship Corsican;
Six records for R(obert), born Belfast, an Able Seaman, as follows:
From Suva to Sydney, arrived 26 Dec 1917 age 29 (b.1888) on Atua;
from Brisbane to Sydney, arrived 5 May 1918 age 29 (b.1889) on Gabo;
from Rockhampton to Sydney, arrived 24 May 1918, on Gabo;
from Vancouver to Sydney, arrived 18 Mar 1919 age 30 on Niagara;
from Sydney to Honolulu, arrived 9 Feb 1919 on Niagara;
from Vancouver to Honolulu, arrived 28 Feb 1919 on Niagara.

Divorce Revealed

Archie and Minnie

Just occasionally surprising new information arrives on my desk, usually from readers of this blog and this week has seen such a piece. A 'descendant relation' of a McNabb family got in touch. In the 18th Century the McNabbs were in the Isle of Islay, Argyll, Scotland and at the beginning of the 19th Century emigrated to Ontario, Canada. Andrew Donald and Violet McNabbs (the Scots way to show that both husband and wife had the same surname, McNabb) had two daughters, Minnie and Millie. My correspondent is the great nephew to Minnie who married Archibald Duncan McIlhagga in June 1912 in Canada. He was 30 and she was 20. The above photograph is of the couple, I would think soon after their marriage. On the back is written "Irish Bobby Archibald Duncan McIlhagga born in Belfast, Ireland. RC Army R. 1896-1961 and Maru Isabell (Min)". I have permission to reproduce the photo.

Part of the new information is the photograph itself which has come down through the McNabb family. We have always known that Minnie, whose full name was Mary Isabella, predeceased Archie. She died in 1961 and he in 1968. It is not surprising therefore that his death certificate, from West Vancouver, says he was a widower. What has recently come to light and is new information for us, is that Minnie died not in Canada but in Auburn, Washington, USA. She is buried in Hillcrest Burial Park there, and her death record states that at the time she was married to John Maggert. We must therefore conclude that she and Archie divorced and that she remarried, which indeed she did on 2nd March 1931 in Whatcom County, Washington. She was then forty one. To the best of our knowledge she had no children with either Archie or John.

Mate James McElhago

Mate's Ticket

I have found, on Findmypast.co.uk, a Mate's Register Ticket for a James McElhago born at Irvine, Ayr, on 22nd November 1822. His height was 5'10 3/4", fresh complexion, brown hair and hazel eyes. He had a scar on his left eye. He first went to sea as an apprentice in 1835, when he would have been 13. The Ticket was issued at London on 6 April 1846 when he was 24 and says that he could write. It says that when unemployed he resided at Irvine.

But where does James fit in to the Ayrshire Family Tree? In attempting to reconstruct that tree I have six children listed for Robert McElhago and Elizabeth Jamieson of Irvine. They were born between 1789 and 1803. Clearly one of their sons could have had a child in 1822. Their third son James married Jane Harvey and had children between 1821 and 1837 so could well have had James in 1822. Their fourth son was Robert born 1796 who may have married and had a son Robert in 1821, who married Elizabeth Boyd. Robert was also a seaman and could well have had a sibling James born 1822. A third possibility is that both Robert and James could have been sons of James and Jane. Perhaps this is the most likely scenario.

MacIlhagger and M'Ilhagger

In Ancestry.co.uk there are 292 references to the McIlhagger spelling of our surname all of which I have entered in the Indexes I have compiled. In addition there are two references to MacIlhagger and nine to M'Ilhagger, some of which may be repeats of the more usual spelling, but I include them here for completeness so that they can be found if they do not appear elsewhere.

The two MacIlhagger references are in the 1906 Canada Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, as follows:

John, Assiniboia West, Saskatchewan, born about 1878;
Archie, Assiniboia West, Saskatchewan, born about 1881.

Under the spelling M'Ilhagger there are five marriages and four births, all in Ireland and all Civil Registrations, as follows:

Marriages:
Mary Ann, registered 1867, Ballymena, Vol.16, page 109;
John, registered 1870, Belfast, Vol.1, page 417; spouse Mary Jane Hull;
George, registered 1876, Belfast, Vol.16, page 485, spouse Mary Jane Boyd;
David, registered Jul-Sep 1906, Belfast, Vol.1, p 320, spouse Elizabeth Louisa Sherwood;
William John, registered Apr-Jun 1908, Vol.1, p.447, spouse Eleanor M'Arthur [?]. 

Births:
Martha, registered 1876, Belfast, Vol.16, p 301;
Samuel Robert, registered Oct-Dec 1884, Ballinasloe, Vol.4, p.27;
Henry Joseph, registered Apr-Jun 1886, Ballinasloe, Vol.4, p.33;
Mary Kathleen, registered Jul-Sep 1887, BAllinasloe, Vol.4, p.33.

McIlhaggar

In Ancestry.co.uk there are 14 references to the McIlhaggar spelling of our name. When I wrote my blog on 12 September I included this spelling in its title. There I should have used Mc Ilhaggar with a space between Mc and I. Inevitably Ancestry has recorded some items twice under both Mc Ilhaggar and McIlhaggar! This applies to the marriages of Elizabeth and Esther both in 1851. Of the rest, seven of the references are to births where in all cases McIlhaggar is given as the maiden name of the mother. An interesting thing is that all seven are registered in Galgorm, Antrim. I presume this was the address of the registration office, rather than all seven babies having arrived in a Galgorm maternity unit! They are as follows:

Barr, male, born 10 Jan 1868, Galgorm, Antrim;
  Father: Matthew Barr;
  Mother: Matilda McIlhaggar;

Samuel Francey, born 4 Mar 1870, Galgorm, Antrim;
  Father: Thomas Francey;
  Mother Jane McIlhaggar;

William Francy, born 7 May 1865, Galgorm, Antrim;
  Father: Thomas Francy;
  Mother Jane McIlhaggar;

Agnes Francy, born 16 Aug 1872, Galgorm, Antrim;
  Father: Thomas Francy;
  Mother: Jane McIlhaggar;

Jane Francy, born 13 Jan 1872, Galgorm, Antrim;
  Father: John Francy;
  Mother: Rachael McIlhaggar;

Mary Ann Fullerton, born 31 Jan 1872, Galgorm, Antrim;
  Father: John Fullerton;
  Mother: Mary McIlhaggar;

Robert Witherspoon, born 11 Apr 1865, Galgorm, Antrim;
  Father: William Witherspoon;
  Mother Jane McIlhaggar.

I know where to fit numbers two to five in my clan Family Trees (all in that originating in Connor Parish) but am uncertain about the other three. Concerning the Fullerton birth I am confused. I have a marriage of John Fullerton to Margaret McIlhagga on 8 Jan 1872 at Connor Church of Ireland. This could well relate to a birth on 31 January 1872. Mary Ann was certainly the name of John's mother-in-law so it looks like the right family, and Margaret did have a sister Mary. So is the mother's name wrong on the birth record of Mary Ann?