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McCullough

Armagh

Looking for a needle in a haystack. My great grandfather Thomas McCullough was born 1813 in Armagh and emigrated to Canada in 1840. I have very little info on him other than the fact that he was a farmer , a Conservative and a Weslyan Methodist. I am trying to find out more about his lineage but know it will be a long shot since I have so little info. When he left Ireland he was single as he married here in Canada. I also wonder if his mother or sister left Ireland with him or sometime after as one of the Canadian census has and older woman named Nancy McCullough born in 1799 living with him.
Any help appreciated.
Carol McCullough

bensyd@bell.net

2 replies

Carol,

Thomas was probably a member of the Church of Ireland when he was in Ireland. Methodism hadn’t got going as a separate denomination here when he was born. (The earliest Methodist baptisms are from around 1819 onwards, but due to a general reluctance to split with the Church of Ireland many Irish Methodists continued to use the Church of Ireland for baptism and marriages for many years after that. It was 1870 before most Methodists used their own churches for these events.)

You can search the surviving Church of Ireland baptism records to see if you can find one that fits. I assume you have his parents’ names from his marriage or death certificate as you will need that to be certain you have the right baptism. There are 28 parishes in Co Armagh. Not all have records for 1812 (some were lost in the 1921 fire in Dublin) but for those that do, there are copies in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast. They are not on-line and a personal visit is required to view them.

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Thank you Elwyn for your info regarding church records. Unfortunately I do not know his parents names. I have yet to find any documentation with names listed. I also don't have a death certificate only a date listed in a historical book in local library. I have tried immigration records but in 1840 immigration records are almost non existent. The only other thing I had to go on was a Canadian census record which listed a woman named Nancy McCullough who was at the time in her 70's but it listed her birth date at 1799. So doing the math she was either his mother but she would have been probably too young since Thomas was supposedly born in 1813. So thinking maybe an older sister or other female relative who came to help with the children. Anyway I. Will have to keep digging. Thanks again. Carol Ann

bensyd@bell.net

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