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Pre-1864 deaths

Civil registration of deaths in Ireland began in 1864 (England & Wales, 1837; Scotland 1855). Thus finding deaths before 1864 requires some lateral thinking. Newspapers provide a most useful source in this regard but like wills generally only record the more affluent of society. Workhouse registers also provide an important source of pre-1864 deaths, as do church registers where they exist. The Will Calendars at the PRONI contain surviving wills from 1858 and give the date of death and probate for the deceased. The search functions allows flexibility to search the dates of death, and example, below is a list of all the wills relating to Newtownlimavady from those deceased 1858-1864.  NAME AND DATE OF DEATH Alexander, James 16 Jan 1861 Allison, Robert 8 Jun 1862 Boyle, Edward 10 Aug 1861 Cairns, William 28 Mar 1859 Craig, Alexander 12 Nov 1862 Doherty, William 18 Apr 1860 Hamilton, Elizabeth 13 Jul 1858 Holmes, Catherine 13 Oct 1858 McCurry, Mary 20 Jan 1859 McLaughlin, James 26...
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A search for the Sherrif family of Aghanloo

 In St Paul's cemetery on the island of Barbados there is a memorial that records the death of Thomas Sheriff (1780-1846) a native of the parish of Aghanloo in Co. Derry. Large white marble standing against mausoleum:— Sacred to | The Memory Of | THOMAS SHERIFF, | Born at Aghanloo | in the County of | Londonderry Ireland, | on the 14th of Novr 1780, and for 46 | Years, a resident in this Island | Died 29th July 1846, | leaving a Widow to | whom he had been | endeared by 38 Years of conjugal | affection and four | Sons to | mourn his irreparable loss | ALSO | HENRIETTA SHERIFF | Granddaughter of the above Born 30th Aug. | 1816 | Died May 8th 1847 | Likewise | of | JANE SHERIFF | Relict of the above born | Scotland on the | 6th December 1786 | Died on the 2nd July 1854 | Aged 67 Years and 7 Months | ALSO | Chas. John Walker Sheriff | Died January 20th 1867 | Aged 56 Years | & | Chas. Eugene Douglas Sheriff | SOLICITOR | his Son. | Died 16th Feby. | 1888 | Aged 31 Years. The surn...
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Follow the Landlord

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As I have mentioned before the key to researching ancestors in Ireland is location - townland, parish, county. For those with farming ancestors who held leases it is important to know the history of the townland, who was the landlord and what estate did it belong to? Take for example Isaac Watson whom we find in the townland of Glenkeen in the parish of Glendermott (or Clondermott) in county Derry. Griffiths valuation of tenements reveals a lot about Isaac Watson.   Isaac Watson number 10 in Glenkeen held a farm of some 23 acres from his landlord Henry Stacy Skipton (rateable value of £12-10sh). In addition he himself was a landlord renting 3 houses to John Bradley, Robert Thompson and Edward Jervis. His landlord, Henry Stacy Skipton, was from a prominent county Derry family and his ancestor was Alexander Skipton who had purchased the townland of Glenkeen in the early 17th century, however, he was murdered in 1624 by an O'Cahan over a disputed lease. The Rev Alexander Skipton (c1...
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FOUR LIMAVADY BROTHERS FOUR POSTMEN

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FOUR LIMAVADY BROTHERS - FOUR POSTMEN 130 YEARS ACCUMULATED YEARS OF  POSTAL SERVICE OVER 600,000 ACCUMULATED MILES Below is a photograph of my great, great grandgather George Forrest who was born in 1839 (the Year of the Big Wind) in the parish of Balteagh a rural hinterland of Limavady. His family moved into the town shortly after the Great Famine, where he resided until his death in 1912.  George had five sons and five daughers by his wife Ann Jane Mullan. Four of his sons became postmen in Limavady.  I was able to track down their service records for the Post Office in the Public Records Office, Belfast (reference GPO/5). THE FOUR POSTMEN BROTHERS -  1. George Forrest junior (1874-1895) died in 1895, aged 21 of TB and his death certificate gave his occupation as post-boy. His death was also recorded in the Coleraine Chronicle. Coleraine Chronicle 20 July 1895 2. John Forrest (1869-1953)  John Forrest was a rural auxiliary based in Limavady and he served Gla...
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The importance of parish histories - Cumber parish

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  KINCULBRACK IN UPPER CUMBER PARISH Kinculbrack in Upper Cumber parish is a townaland close to the village of Claudy containing 576 acres. Kinculbrack borders the following other townlands: Ballymaclanigan to the north; Binn to the west; Claudy to the west; Dungorkin to the west; Gortilea to the north; Killycor to the south  and Mulderg to the east. The Rev John Rutherford B.A  wrote a history, 'Cumber Presbyterian Church and Parish' published by James Calhoun, of the L'Derry Sentinel, 1939. He appears to have had access to primary source material that was subsequently destroyed in the explosive fire in Dublin, 1922. Included in the appendix are freeholders' registers 1761-1781 & 1796. I have used Kinculbrack as an example but the freehold registers' cover most of the townlands in Cumber parish. Below are the freeholders' returns for Kinculbrack in chronological order by surname. It reveals the importance of locating published family and parish histories ...
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Where is Knockanduns?

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The placename Knockanduns appears several times in the registers of Ballykelly and Bovevagh Presbyterian Presbyterian churches both near the town of Limavady. Bovevagh Presbyterian register of baptisms: Born 27 Aug 1823 baptised 10 Sept 1823 Mary Anne dau of John Taggart & Mary Ann Whiteside of Knockanduns Born 6 Aug 1824 baptised 18 Aug 1824 James son of Joseph Gallagher & Rose Robison of Knockanduns Ballykelly Presbyterian register of marriages  August 3 1811 Mathew Gray of Bevedagh married to Charlot Cairns of Ballynarg – Mr Gray certificated for Mathew and Thomas Cairns father of Charlott for her – said Thomas with Joseph Patton of Knockanduns other witness.  Bovevagh Presbyterian marriage register  Married 6 July 1824 Samuel Patten of Knockanduns to Ann Douglas (dau of William Douglas) of Boigh. Knockanduns is not listed as an official townland for the Roe valley area. I consulted the Ordnance Survey Memoirs Index of townland names (published by the Institu...
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Arctic Ireland 1740-1741

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Climate fluctuations have a great impact on human history and society. The Medieval Warm period lasted c1750AD to 1300AD to be followed by a period known as the Little Ice Age c1300-1850. The former is always preferable to the latter as illustrated by a little known event of Irish History known as the Great Frost of 1740-1741. The Great Frost The Great Frost began on the  last day of 1739. Rivers and lakes, including Lough Neagh, froze over, mills ground to a halt and travel was restricted.  Devastating Impact:  The cold led to the total crop failure of crops resulting in famine and starvation, paticularly amongst the poorer classes resulting in massive spike in deaths. The famine lasted 21 months. The impact of this extreme weather event has been well documented in David Dickson's book Arctic Ireland (unfortunately now out of print).
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