Mccumstie & Ellen wallace

Dates please.

Sandra,

Regarding whether Hugh was born in Scotland, obviously that’s quite possible. On the other hand It’s worth knowing that Belfast and Co Antrim were heavily settled by Scots settlers in the 1600s and that by the early 1800s most of the population of Belfast were of Scots origins, though not necessarily Scottish born. What denomination was Hugh, do you know? That can be a clue as to family origins in the Belfast area.

Legett/Legat etc is equally Scottish. There were 15 in the county in the 1901 census, and all but one were Presbyterian. Presbyterianism generally indicates Scots roots.

I assume the couple must have married sometime between 1830 and their departure in 1841. Many of the Scottish marriage records for that period are on-line. (Scotlandspeople site).  I did search them for this marriage but did not find it in Scotland. (There was an Isabella Leggat who married Hugh Conn in Kilwinning, Ayrshire on 14.6.1845. That was the closest).

I am struggling a bit with Hugh’s surname. McCumstie is not a name found in Ireland (or in Scotland). Searching all Scottish records from 1513 to 2024 there isn’t a single McCumstie. The Irish record span isn’t as great, but taking births, deaths and marriages 1845 - 1921, there isn’t a single one there either.  I think the name has got garbled with time. Nearest I can see is McComisky. There’s plenty of those in Belfast and Co Antrim generally. And many of them were Presbyterian, though some were RC too.

In Ireland, births, deaths & RC marriages were not recorded in official statutory records till 1864. Non RC marriages eg Presbyterian were registered from 1845.  Prior to that we rely on church records and so knowing the denomination becomes important. Not all the pre 1845 records are on-line and not all churches records have survived. If you think they married in Belfast it may be a matter of getting a researcher to go through all the records in PRONI (the public record office) in Belfast.

I searched the Irish death records 1864 to 1900 for Archibald Leggett and his wife Isabella but did not find them anywhere in Ireland. Presumably they died pre 1864, in which case there may be no record.

Possibly DNA testing may be a way of matching with others who have additional information about where the family originate. Family Tree DNA reportedly has more people with Ulster roots than any other company. That obviously increases the chances of finding a match. If you have already tested your DNA with Ancestry, My Heritage or 23&Me you can upload your DNA results to Family Tree DNA for free and then join the North of Ireland Family History Society DNA Project. Simple instructions on how to do this can be found here:

https://www.nifhs.org/dna/uploading-your-dna/

Re the separate enquiries about ancestors from Waterford, Tipperary and Cork, I would advise you to re-post those message son the relevant counties boards as our experts in those areas are more likely to be able to help you.