Gardner & miskimmin in Co Down

Ann-Marie,

I can’t find a townland named Ballycairn in Co Down but there is a Ballycarn in the parish of Drumbo. Might be an area to research. John Miskimmin’s 1861 birth certificate on Scotlandspeople has his parents marriage as “1840 October 5th, Ballykane, Co. Down.” Drumbo Presbyterian church is called Ballycairn, so in theory that might be worth investigating. Unfortunately they have no records earlier than 1860 so possibly a dead end. There is also a Ballykine in the parish of Dromara. That's another possibility.

You ask whether the names are Scottish or Irish. According to MacLysaght’s “The Surnames of Ireland” Gardiner is both English and Scottish (but not Irish). He is less helpful with Miskillen etc which he has as a variation of Mac Skimmins and Cummins.

The area around Doagh, Co Antrim was very heavily settled by Scots. 95% of the population there in the 1800s were Scots.

Looking at the 1901 census of Co Down, there were 103 Miskimmins (various spellings). Without exception all were Protestant with Presbyterians dominating. That tends to point to Scottish origins.

Tradition was to marry in the bride’s denomination. You say Mary Miskimmons married in Glasgow. What denomination? (It’ll be on the certificate). I’d suspect it’ll be Church of Scotland and if so, that tells you the family were Presbyterians and likely therefore of Scottish origins in the first place. They probably moved to Co Down in the 1600s.

Presbyterianism was created in Scotland in the mid 1500s and brought to Ireland by Scots settlers in the 1600s (some 200,000 came that century). Counties Down and Antrim were particularly heavily settled by the Scots.