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Looking for Information on Lawsons from Derrynoose

ArmaghDerrynoose (Armagh)

Hello Everyone,

My third great grandfather was William Lawson, born in Ireland in 1823. We are not certain where in Ireland he was born, we know that he showed up in Canada in 1846 and married Anne Gorman in Quebec in 1846. In the marriage record, his father is listed as Thomas Lawson and his mother listed as Mary. The marriage register states that his father was deceased at the time of his marriage, so all that we know about Thomas Lawson is that he died before 1846. Five family members have taken the DNA test at ancestry.com and we have some interesting matches in Australia and New Zealand that seem to tie us to Lawsons in Derrynoose. I have searched the Griffiths Valuation, the Tithe Apploment Books, and the Index of Flax Growers and I do find Lawsons on all of the lists in Derrynoose, but I do not know if they are my Lawsons. From DNA matches, there appears to be a Jane Lawson and an Anne Lawson from Derrynoose. It looks like they end up in Australia and New Zealand respectively. It appears that the parents of these Lawson women were a Thomas and Mary Lawson like my William and they are all born within a few years of each other. It appears that Anne Lawson married, went to Scotland, and then to New Zealand - and took her mother with her. It appears that Mary Lawson was a widow by 1851 as she is in the census in Scotland, which makes me wonder if Anne and Jane are siblings of my William? I am wondering if there might be any record of Thomas Lawson's death? Or any record of his life for that matter, I would love to know how many children he had and their names, but I know that is asking a lot! I have tried searching lots of different ways, but I can't find information. I have put all of our DNA up on Gedmatch our numbers are:

A022410
A656219
A354394
A835720
A009917

I am wondering if we are related to anyone in present day Derrynoose? Or are we related to anyone else who has an ancestral connection? I would like very much to know where my Lawson family is from. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance,

Lisa Schmidt

IrelandXO member

3 replies

You haven’t said what denomination your family was. If Church of Ireland Derrynoose has the following records:

Baptisms, 1710-46, with gaps, and 1822-70;

marriages, 1712-43, 1825-9 and 1835-45; burials,

1835-1939; vestry minutes, 1709-12, 1720-50, 1756

and 1811-1958; confirmations, 1833-79, with gaps; list

of emigrants to America and Scotland, 1840-c.1855.

There’s a copy in PRONI, the public record office in Belfast. A personal visit is required to view them.

1st Keady Presbyterian has records from 1838 (again held in PRONI).

Statutory death registration only started in Ireland in 1864 so you won’t get a death certificate for Thomas if he died in the 1840s. The only denomination that routinely kept burial records then was the Church of Ireland, so if he was of another denomination there is unlikely to be a record unless he happens to have a gravestone. Only the wealthy could afford gravestones in the 1800s and the majority of the population were buried without one.

4 Lawson farms in Derrynoose in 1825. None headed by a Thomas Lawson, though there was a widow Lawson, so we don’t know her husband’s name:

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/armagh/tithe-applotments/derrynoose-parish.php#.Wp-t9hR2ug0

I see 1 Lawson in the current phone book (postcode BT60) plus some others that are on the electoral register and are pay to view. https://www.ukphonebook.com

 

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you for the information Elwyn, I appreciate it.  I am not sure what denomination they were.  There is a record of marriage in Quebec for William Lawson and Anne Gorman, so I had thought they were Catholic because it was in the Catholic church.  I am not certain though because the DNA match that lead me to search Derrynoose has a marriage record for Anne Lawson in the Presbyterian church at Derrynoose.  Maybe they were Presbyterian??  I was a little surprised to see that record because my grandmother was a devout Catholic and it's hard for me to even imagine that some of her ancestors might not have been, but who knows?

I did look at the Tithe Applotment register for 1825 and saw the widow Lawson as well, that's what prompted me to make the post.  I wish I could make the trip to Belfast to view the rocords that you mentioned, but I don't think that's going to happen any time soon.  If I win the lottery...  : )

I know that I have DNA matches still in Ireland today.  I have seen a few Irish e-mail addresses in my matches on Gedmatch.  I was hoping that maybe I might get lucky if I shared my DNA kit numbers.  I had talked to someone a while ago that was helping people connect to relatives in Ireland and the US, so I hoped there might be some interest.  This man told me pretty much what you did though about records.  I think they probably don't exists and I'm pretty sure there's no headstone as we're still not wealthy, but the DNA can connect us.

Thank you again for your help!

 

IrelandXO member

HI Lisa My name is Glenice Taylor from Sydney Australa...and yes my gggrandmother was in fact Ann Lawson from Derrynoos Northern Island.  She was born in 1821 in Derrynoos..married John Moncrieff then moved to Scotland....my ggrndfather was their oldest son also named John Moncrieff.  Anns (Annie) Lawsons parents were Thomas Lawson and Mary Polly Forsyth as fas as i can ascertain.  They all appear to be Miners.  I think John Moncrieff must have been killed in a mining accident. After which my ggrnadfather John moved with almomost  to the family from Scotland to New Zealand. Annie died in New Zealand.   John (my ggrandfather) moved from New Zealand to Australia with his wife and family together with his younger brother Thomas.  They were working at the mines in Wallsend..the boys were working together and John died from injuries recieved in an accident.   Thomas went back to New Zealand.  To cut a long story short...My DNA Gedmatch No A903122.  I am  on Ancestry and have an extensive family tree there "Lowe Family Tree' if you follow Ann Lawson or John Moncrieff on my tree this story will unfold for you.  My Grandmother was Presbetirian and that part of Ireland was at that time Scotish/Irish mix.  My guess is that John was Prebeterian and she was perhaps  R Catholic

Cheers for now would like to know if we are related  Glenice

 

 

 

 

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