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Mary

I am looking for a Mary (Bank) born in 1800 at Priesthill, Arquin down, Ireland.  She was a maid-in-waiting and fell in love with a footman by the name of Michael Farrell who was born arpimd 1800 in Ireland.  He died in 1842 in Whitlet, Ayrshire, Scotland or Kilmornock. 

Mary told her family that the couple was disowned by their families and that she watch her own burial procession.  They had a child that was born on Jan 27 1850 in Drumadee Ireland. All other children were born in Ayr Scotland.  Their first child Susanna was forn on 23 of Feb. 1829 in Ayr scotland.  

There is a possiblility that Mary's name was change since the family buried her.  

I have my DNA in Ancestrey  and My Heritage accounts.  I have noticed that I have connected to Susanna Farrell ( Born 23 Feb 1829 and Death March 3 1910 she was married to a John Ferguson born in Sep. 27 1846) , Michael Farrell ( born 1842 Ayr and Died 1928 Married to Janet McLinnes} and Mary Farrell  1835 in Drumadee one record show her birth in 1828 She married a James Dixon in Jan. 27, 1850 and moved to the United States around 1865) through DNA .  The problem is we have no idea if Mary and Michael had any siblings that we could connect too.  

Mary mirgranted to the United States in 1865 but return to Scotland sometime before 1870.  She died on September 23 1880 at the age of 78 at the Railway at Wellington Bridge, Kilmornock, Scotland when she was hit by a train.  I do have her death certificate and the parents names are not on it.  

Anyone that could help me to fine our lost relatives in Ireland it would be greatly appreciated.  My grandfather searched for the family for years and felt sad when he past away at the age of 94 that he never found his connections to Ireland.  My mother picked up on the search and died in 2010 and now the processes has been truned over to me.  With DNA and so many ways to conncect with people I am hoping to find this connection.  

 

spenich4@yahoo.com

9 replies

Mary,

I am slightly confused by some of your information.  You say that Michael died in 1842 but that the couple had a child in 1850. Presumably one of those years is incorrect?

There is a parish of Ardquin in Co Down. There is nowhere called Priesthill in it so far as I am aware, but there is a townland called Priest Town, so perhaps that’s where she/they came from.  It’s a mile or two north of Portaferry on the Ards peninsula.

I assume the family was RC. Priest Town is in the RC parish of Ballyphillip. Unfortunately they have no records earlier than 1843, so there’s not going to be any relevant records around the time of Mary’s birth.

You mention a child born in Drumadee, Ireland in January 1850.  I have not been able to locate anywhere of that name in Ireland, let alone in Co. Down. What’s the source of that information, and what’s the child’s name?

I found this reference to a William Farrell of Ardquin who redecorated Portaferry House in 1820. That was the only reference I could find to either surname in that aprishs:

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~rosdavies/genealogy/SURNAMES/F/Fa.htm

Map with Priest Hill here:

http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~rosdavies/genealogy/PLACENAMES/OPQ.htm

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hello Mary,

I have gathered information on Mary and Family. I had almost completed inputing it onto the computert when I went for a Cup of Tea came back and pressed the wrong key and there it goes right oot the Winda). LoL. 

If you are interested I can send you Copies of the Registers that I have collected (that would be easier for me) as I'm a 2 Finger typer and like ma tea. LoL.
My E-mail address is maryfitz2014@yahoo.ca.  Just let me know.          Stay Safe

All the Best

Peter
 

maryfitz2014@y…

Hello Mary,

 

maryfitz2014@y…

Hello Mary,  

maryfitz2014@y…

Hello Mary,  

maryfitz2014@y…

Hello Mary,  

I hope that this information has uploaded as I'm not too familiar on how it works on this Site. I believe this is Mary Banks and Michael Farrell. Mary their Daughter was Born in Ireland. I found a Mary Farrell that was Born in Ireland 1822 to a Mary and Michael Farrell possibly their Daughter? The spelling of their names vary but that happens. (Accents & No computers) LoL.

All the Best

Peter

maryfitz2014@y…

I can't offer any leads to Mary Bank's origins in Ireland. These are just some comments on what information has been given. 

If that 1841 census is the correct family, there was a Mary aged 15, born Ireland. That would put her year of birth around 1826.

A few caveats with that census:

It was Old Monklands which is in the county of Lanarkshire. 

Relationships of people in a household  were not stated.

Census enumerators in 1841 were instructed to round down ages of adults (anyone 15 or over) to a multiple of 5. A person recorded as age 15 could have been between 15 and 19. 

 

1861 census. Susan Ferguson's place of birth was Saint Quivox, same as 3 of her children. Saint Quivox parish included Whitletts, (now part of the town of Ayr), mentioned as a possible place of death of Michael. As a point of interest, if the Farrell family was Catholic, they would have been among the earliest parishioners of  St. Margaret's church in Ayr,opened in 1827, the first R.C. church in Ayrshire since the Reformation, and now the cathedral of Galloway Diocese.

As Mary's family was opposed to the marriage and according to her, so was Michael's, I suspect they were different religious denominations. 

Mary may have been trespassing on the railway for the purpose of collecting fallen pieces of coal when she was hit by a train.  

 

questor37@gmail.com

Hi there

I too am trying to track down the history on this albeit haven't probably looked as much as yourself. I am on ancestry dna. My great great grandma was Mary Ferels from Kilmarnock. Her mum would have been Janet Mcginnis and father Michael Ferrels (the spelling seems to change between birth certs but the dates all match up. 
 

I'll try and connect on ancestry dna as I have the birth certificate of mary Ferels to show this. 
 

 

Angela Macintosh

Sorry sent before meant to. My name is Angela Macintosh. 

Angela Macintosh

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