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McConnel Family

I am trying to research my ancestors, The McConnel family but I am wondering about information handed down verbally and information Ive obtain online. My ancester Alexander Ainsley Clark McConnell was born in Ireland in 1837 in parish of Antrim but his brother William born a year later in 1938 was born in the parish of Armagh. Their father John McConnell was also born in Armagh Parish in 1786 (I have not yet found which parish John's wife Mary Clark was born).
The family says our family came from Ballymena and refer to an area mentioned in a letter called Honey Hill. Im wondering if Honey Hill is some other Hill and the Honey is a misinterpretation of the written word.

Is Antrim near Armagh and the birth could have happened while visiting?

I wonder if I could have the wrong McConnell? The name John, Kerwood and Alexander seem to be popular in each generation of our family up until my great grandfather, John Kerwood. If these are common names in Ireland I could be looking at the wrong person Alexander?

Another thing that adds to my confusion is my grandmother had an Aunt who lived in Ireland her whole life and my grandmother wasnt born til 1918 and her grandfather Alexander left Ireland with his parents in 1842, so any Aunt would have to be very very old yet letters from her were mailed in the 1960s from Ballymena. There is also family lore that Emmeline Johnson who married Alexanders son was born in Ireland but all records indicate she was born in Canada and their marriage took place in Canada.

I would be interested in anyone else's opinion on any of this. I am also curious about the places Ballymena, Antrim Parish, Honey Hill and Armagh Paris, are they places that would have been close enough for families to be connected with more than one area and travel between them likely in the first part of the 1800s?

Shannon

2 replies

Shannon,

There is nowhere in or near Ballymena named Honey Hill but there is Harryville which is quite near the centre of town. Possibly Harryville has been corrupted into Honey Hill. Harryville is in the parish of Ballyclug. Today it’s a commercial estate on the banks of the Braid River. In the 1840s it was the location of several water powered linen mills together with workers houses.

You say that Alexander was born in the parish of Antrim. That’s about 12 miles south of Ballymena. Armagh is about 60 miles beyond that.  So a significant journey in 1838.  Not impossible but a major undertaking, involving an overnight stop. (The railway reached both Ballymena & Armagh in 1848. After that it would have been a simpler and quicker journey but until then quite a trek, and not a journey many would make routinely). I’d be cautious about accepting that the precise birth details you have for Alexander & William are accurate. 

I looked in the 1901 Irish census. There were 200 people named John McConnel(l), 30 named Alexander and none named Kerwood.

What’s the evidence for the births in Antrim & Armagh? Birth registration didn’t start in Ireland till 1864 so you won’t find birth certificates. However you might find baptisms, but it’s important to know that a lot of the likely records are not on-line. Have you found baptisms or other documents with those places of birth? 

Could anyone have mixed the parish of Antrim up with the county of Antrim? Likewise for Armagh?  Many folk do mix them up.

If you have evidence that Alexander was born in the parish of Antrim, then you could check the records there. (Not every church has records for the 1830s but there are certainly some for Ballymena, Antrim & the city of Armagh. They are held in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. You need to go in person – or get a researcher to go – to look them up. From the names I’d guess the family was Presbyterian or Church of Ireland (and probably of Scottish origins).  

Antrim 1st Presbyterian church has records from the 1600s, Antrim Church of Ireland from the 1600s, Ballymena Church of Ireland from 1789, Ballymena 1st Presbyterian from 1812, the 2nd from 1813, West Church from 1829.  1st Armagh Presbyterian has records from 1707, 2nd Armagh from 1825 & 3rd Armagh 1837.

What’s the name and address of the person who mailed letters from Ballymena in the 1960s? Perhaps we can work backwards from that?

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Thanks for responding. The dates of birth and place come from Census records once they arrived in Canada and it also indicated place of birth. It is quite possible that they meant County vs Parish as census records were often written down by someone other than person mentioned. Some information I got from marriage and death certificates in Canada. I had an aunt visit Ireland and do some research but all i have is names, dates, places but no sources as no one can find them since she passed. I will try looking at parish records, etc soon once the holidays are over.
The letter I mentioned is part of the documents that we cant find but im still hoping it will turn up.

Shannon

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