Greetings to all , from a new member today . I will be travelling to Co. Tyrone in two weeks , and am asking : is there any County Genealogy Centres here that I could visit ? i am particularly researching around the Townlands areas Edenagon and Galbally . Thanks to any help .
dongibson,
The short answer is no. Most records for Northern Ireland are kept centrally in PRONI in Belfast so that’s where most folk go to do their research if the records are not on-line. There’s fairly limited local records in the various counties and so that limits what a local group could do.
Do you have any specific aims when you visit? Perhaps we can help?
Hi Don,
It's helpful to find as much info as possible before getting to Ireland. Let us know what you would like researched and we'll try to assist you. And have a wonderful trip.
There are 3 separate townlands in Tyrone named Galbally but I suspect the one you are interested in is in the parish of Dromore. Edenagon which you have also mentioned is adjacent. The modern Galbally Rd runs through the middle of both townlands.
Edenagon is 223 acres. In the 1911 census there were 6 houses there and a population of 28:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Tyrone/Trillick/Edenagon/
Galbally is 390 acres. In the 1911 census there were 11 homes and a population of 56.
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Tyrone/Trillick/Galbally/
There were a couple of blacksmiths and someone who worked on the railways but most of the population were engaged in farming.
Thank you kindly Elwyn and Patricia for your replies and info .
I am arriving (for my 3rd. visit) August 20th. to visit the area in Co. Tyrone, of Dromore Parish , Townland Edenagon , as that is where my ggf Wm. John Gibson and ggm Eliza (Somerville) farmed . Most of the Gibson family left for Canada by 1904 , except for one son Edward (Ned) and one daughter Annie (m. Hilliard) who remained in nearby Trillick . One family story was that someone did work for the railroad then . I've never been able to determine if there are any related Gibson or Somerville ancestors still remaining in the area .
From recent land records findings , I believe that I have identified a particular farmland they worked in Edenagon , and hope that I am able to get close to see it with the permission of and without bothering the present landowner .
I also hope to see more about the area , and maybe meet any knowledgeable local residents who might be interested in sharing the history of the people and this area .
In previous visits I have been so warmly welcomed , met such kind people that have actually invited me into their homes , and enjoyed everything about this beautiful country . I am proud to have Irish heritage and excited to be returning again .
Thanks to any comments, suggestions, or information .
dongibson.
I can see from the 1901 census that William John Gibson’s landlord in Edenagon was James Chambers. Griffiths Valuation shows JAmes Chamber’s farm to be plot 1 in the townland. So possibly William John’s house was on that farm. (It isn’t listed in the Valuation records). His occupation in 1901 was farm labourer not farmer. So he likely worked on the landlord’s farm.
William’ Johns house had 3 rooms and 3 windows at the front. The roof was thatch or wood (most likely thatch).
The Valuation revision records (on the PRONI website) do show William John acquiring plot 3 in Edenagon in 1904. That was an 18 acre farm. He wasn’t farming there very long as his name was deleted in 1905.
Plot 1 today is on the B46 Galbally Rd. Looking at it on a satellite image, I can see that it is no longer a functioning farm but there is a modern house there up a short lane with some outbuildings. Knock on the door and see who lives there. They may know of Gibsons in the area. Plot 3 is still farmland and I can see what looks to be a derelict building where the farmhouse is shown on the older maps. It’s down a dead end lane off the Aghnamoe Rd. It looks as though you could get a car up to it though.
William John was Church of Ireland so so might enquire at Dromore church of Ireland whether there are any Gibsons in the congregation today.
Wow Elwyn !! That's great info , that reassures me that I am on the right track about Wm. John Gibson's 1904 farm land of Plot 3 in Edenagon . The main road back in 1904 , no longer today passes by the property line , as the Galbally Road B46 has been rerouted to the west . By the Google satelite maps , I wasn't sure if I could get a vehicle across anyone's property up to the farm plot to see , and I very concerned about being bothersome or trespassing . William appears to only hold the Plot 3 land for a year , which seems odd , but he did travel back and forth to Canada several times from 1899 to 1904 . Why I don't know .
I didn't understand any records that Wm. J. Gibson was farming on Plot 1 in Edenagon , but I am thankful you can identify that . He had to be farming somewhere there for many years because all his childrens births between 1866 to 1887 were recorded living in Edenagon and Galbally .
During my first 2 trips to these lands , I did stop both times at the Holy Trinity Church near Dromore . On the first trip , the Reverend Desmond Newman took me inside and showed me the original old record book with my ggf Wm. Gibsons marriage recording . On the second trip , the Reverend James Boyd invited me into his rectory for tea and gave me pictures of the church built when the marriage happened and of the reverend who married them . No Gibson's were a part of the congregation either visit .
I am now trying to determine where an address is in Trillick where the daughter Annie that remained and moved to . I can't find a 21 Brunt Terrace there .
Thanks a million for the help you have given me . I truly appreciate your time .
hello again Elwyn . I couldn't find these records you mentioned . Is it possible you could direct me to that info ?
" I can see from the 1901 census that William John Gibson’s landlord in Edenagon was James Chambers. Griffiths Valuation shows JAmes Chamber’s farm to be plot 1 in the townland. So possibly William John’s house was on that farm. (It isn’t listed in the Valuation records). His occupation in 1901 was farm labourer not farmer. So he likely worked on the landlord’s farm."
dongibson,
My interpretation of the records is that William was mostly a farm labourer, rather than a farmer. If you look at his 1865 marriage certificate he was a servant; Mary’s birth in 1866 a labourer, Sarah’s birth in 1883, farm labourer and the 1901 census also has him as a farm labourer (not a farmer). They are very different occupations. The farmer normally owns/rents the farm, the labourer just works on it and is often provided with a cottage to live in as part of the deal. William appears to have been a farm labourer until around 1904 when he briefly had his own farm (plot 3 in Edenagon). I didn’t say that William farmed plot 1. I said that his landlord was Chambers who farmed plot 1 so I’d suspect William had a cottage on that farm. That Chambers was his landlord is shown on the census, in the house and building return. Mary Somerville also had a cottage there which again is not in the Valuation revision records. I think she was Eliza Gibson (nee Somerville)’s mother. Death certificate here. Eliza was the informant.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_retu…
Labourer’s cottages were sometimes listed in Griffiths but if they were of too low a value it wasn’t worth it. I do not see William in Galbally or Edenagon before 1904 so suspect his cottage was of too low value to be listed. (And will not still be standing today. It will either have fallen down or been cleared away).
I notice that a Neville Gibson & Charlton Gibson both had farms in Galbally. Relations perhaps? It’s possible William lodged with them but as a married man with children he is more likely to have had his own cottage. William’s father was a farmer (according to the 1865 marriage) but it’s not clear to me where he lived.
So the only building linked to your William that is probably still standing is likely to be the ruin on plot 3. I agree the roads have changed over the years. That was common but there still looks to be access to plot 3 up that dead end lane. Presumably whoever farms the land today still needs access, and I think you can probably drive up it. If not you can certainly walk. Unless it’s fenced off or gated you won’t need permission, and you won’t get shot. (This is not America).
You ask where I got the information I referred to. The information about William’s cottage in 1901 is from the 1901 census. If you look at the House & building return on the census it gives you the extra information I mentioned. You can do the same thing for plot 3 in Edenagon (William’s farm). He was replaced by John McCrossan and in 1911 his family is listed.
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Tyrone/Trillick/Edenagon/869842/
The house & building return tells you the walls were made of stone, the roof was wood or thatch; 4 rooms in the house and 2 windows at the front. The outbuildings return tells you there was a stable, cow house, dairy, piggery, fowl house & a shed.
The Valuation Revision records (which take Griffiths forward up to 1929) are on the PRONI website. Plot 3 was still owned by John McCrossan in 1929 when the records stop. According to the PRONI wills site, John McCrossan died in 1941 and was still living in Edenagon then. Probate abstract here (again from the PRONI wills site):
McCrossan John of Edenagon Dromore county Tyrone farmer died 24 February 1941 Administration Londonderry 14 January to Annie Agnes Smith married woman. Effects £155 10s.
The 1901 census tells you that Eliza Sommerville had a sister Maggie. She appears to have marred Joseph Lambert:
ihttps://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_re…
They were still there in 1911:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Tyrone/Trillick/Galbally/869845/
You mentioned a family story that someone worked for the railroad. It may be a complete coincidence but I noticed these Lamberts who all worked on the railway and who might be related. (Lambert is not a common name in Tyrone. Just 20 in the 1911 census).
Probate abstract (PRONI wills site): Lambert John of Drumskinney Dromore county Tyrone retired station master died 17 March 1942 Probate Londonderry 26 January to William Thomas Lambert and Richard Lambert railway clerks. Effects £414 0s. 11d.
The will itself is not on-line but can be viewed free at PRONI.
The railway from Enniskillen to Omagh went through Galbally as you probably know and Dromore Road station, Drumskinney, was just half a mile away. So I’d be quite surprised if the retired Lambert stationmaster at Drumskinney wasn’t a relation. (Latterly in the 1940s and 1950s, there was a railcar stop in Galbally itself, where you could flag the train down if you wanted to board). The line close din 1957. Source - Johnson's Atlas & Gazetteer of the railways of Ireland.
This could well be John Lambert the stationmaster in the 1911 census, then living in Co Louth but born in Tyrone:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Meath/Duleek/Commons/709425/
His marriage in 1899 when he was a porter at Irvinestown station.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_re…
Wow ! What great info that I wouldn't have understood reading those records . It also helps connect some loose facts that I had , and some old family stories . I can't wait to get back there and see the land and maybe the old home , (without having to take a bullet proof vest as you reassured me ! LOL ).