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Brady, john & Sarah ONeill 1852

AntrimDuneane (Antrim)

I’d like to share info about an ancestor born in Duneane, Co Antrim, and ask for help in finding any further information about their family/ ancestors. Any help on this would be much appreciated.

Name: Henry Brady, son of John Brady and Sarah O’Neill
Baptised 8 May 1852, Duneane (Catholic Church), Antrim, Ireland (sponsor: Sarah Magee)
Source: Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655 - 1915 (I found this online via the Ancestry.com and Roots Ireland websites)

A couple of years ago, I had my DNA checked via Ancestry.com - this suggests ancestry in the area just north & north east of Lough Neagh, incl. the Duneane area - but whether this is through Sarah O’Neill alone, or through both John Brady and Sarah O’Neill, I don’t known.

I can find no further information about Sarah O’Neill.

However, sometime ago I chanced on the genealogy (since misplaced) of a (20th or 21st) Brady family with Duneane roots, and was struck by the similarity of given names: both that family and mine contained ‘James Joseph Brady’, ‘Kathleen Brady’, and ‘John Brady’.

A few years after Henry’s baptism, the John Brady family (or surviving members thereof) moved to Lisburn, Co Antrim, and farmed in the Old Warren, Lisburn, area.

In 1888, civil proceedings were taken against Henry Brady to evict him from his Lisburn (Old Warren) land (the landlord claimed Henry had no title to the lease, the case dragged on to 1891 when it was decided in favour of Henry Brady).

A newspaper report of this case details the land in question, mentioning that this included a specific field (of area 1acre and 1rood) claimed by Henry Brady, which had earlier been farmed by his grandfather. 
       Source: Lisburn Standard, Sat 29 December 1888, page??, column 1: report entitled ‘Chief Land Commission, Dublin, 21st Dec 1888, Richard Wallace landlord, Henry Brady tenant’ - Newspaper Archives UK

The info given enables this field (area: 1a 1r) to be identified on Griffith’s Valuation (1862, for the Lisburn area) as field 7b, farmed by one ‘William Brady senior’, who also had a house in 54 Longstone St, Lisburn in 1862.

This therefore suggests that ‘William Brady’ = father of John Brady & grandfather of Henry Brady.

HOWEVER: Although in Griffith’s valuation called ‘William Brady senior’, to distinguish him from a ‘William Brady junior’ neighbour, it would seem the two William’s were not connected: they were at most half-a-generation apart in age, with Wm Brady junior being the son of one David Brady - so, likely two different families.

I do not know where William Brady ‘senior’ came from - he may or may not have been a William Brady mentioned in Tithe Applotment records of 1834, but does not appear in the Lisburn 1819 directory. He may well have ‘migrated’ into Lisburn from elsewhere, as Lisburn was a burgeoning area in the 1800s. 

So - the Duneane link = John Brady & Sarah O’Neill, and their son Henry, baptised 8 May 1852 in the Catholic Church there. 

Hopefully these details will be of use!
 

MaureenN

6 replies

Maureen,

How sure are you that the Henry Brady born in Duneane is the same Henry who farmed in Lisburn? If the Lisburn Henry’s grandfather had been farming land in that area, you would expect the family to have been there continuously. Perhaps the Duneane Henry is a different family?

There are no RC baptism records for the Lisburn area earlier than 1925.  Perhaps a search on Ancestry has thrown up a family in Duneane (where there are records for the 1800s) but your family is actually from Lisburn?

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hi,

not sure at all! About the only info I have is that the family moved into the Lisburn area in the early-to-mid 1800s, they're definitely there by 1862 and probably at least from the late 1850s if not before, and that one of them was Henry Brady, born c.1850-1852, whose father was John. There doesn't seem to be any relationship that I can find out between them and the Brady's known to be in Lisburn in 1819. 
There is an older-generation William in the 'Lisburn' family, but he could be either father or brother to John Brady

Maureen 

 

 

 

 

 

MaureenN

The Valuation revision records on the PRONI site show Henry Brady acquiring plot 8a in Old Warren in 1881 (just over 1 acre) from William Brady who had till then held 3 acres. It was split with a Robert Lappin taking the rest.  Henry ceased to be tenant in 1893 when Alex Patterson took over.

Not sure if this is your family but marriage of Henry Brady (born c 1833) of Longstone to Eliza McKee on 20.10.1854 at Lisburn register Office (so possibly a mixed denomination marriage).

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1854/09473/5433033.pdf

Henry’s father was James Brady, weaver. That Henry & Eliza had at least 3 children:

Edward 27.11.1864; Hugh 20.4.1867 & John  22.8.1869. All born at Chapel Hill, Lisburn. Father was a weaver and mill worker.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hi, many thanks for this (I'm new at this, just discovering what sources there are). I've now found a newspaper article mentioning the c.1acre plot (8A) you mention in Old Warren - it describes eviction proceedings taken against Henry Brady in 1888-1891, from this and other land in Low Warren, on the grounds he did not have correct title to the lease (it was eventually decided in Henry's favour). The newspaper report mentioned that this particular plot (it gives the area) was taken over by Henry from his cousin, and that it had been farmed successively over the years by Henry's cousin, uncle, and grandfather. Tracking backwards on the Valuation revision records (again, only 'discovered' how to search these a couple of days ago, so your info helped!), William Brady had earlier taken over plot 8 from Henry Brady (presumably, 'our' Henry's uncle) who in turn had taken it over in 1863 from John Brady (presumably 'our' Henry's grandfather, and father of his own father John). Beyond that, there are more than one John Brady in Lisburn, including a John senior and junior who lived near each other in 1819, but as that John junior is not sub-letting from John senior, I don't think they were related (also, both men would have been adults in 1819, and John senior died in 1862 - one could *just* have been father to the other, but only if he married very young indeed. Are there any other sources of Lisburn records that you know of I could check?

 

 

MaureenN

No I can’t really suggest any other records you could look at. What you have mentioned does make confirm a family history in the Lisburn area and makes me think your Henry was probably born there, and not in Duneane. You won’t find a record of his baptism because Lisburn parish (Blaris) doesn’t have any records for the 1800s. Statutory records for births, deaths and marriages only started in 1864. Without any parish records before that, you are pretty well stuck.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Thanks, anyway! Your interest is appreciated,

Maureen

 

MaureenN

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