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McCutcheon, early 1800s

DownNewtownards (Down)

Just joining this parish group after reading an article about IrelandXO in the Irish Times.

My 2nd greatgrandmother is Jane McCutcheon, daughter of John and Sarah (maiden name unknown) who emigrated to the U.S. through the port of New York in 1834, along with 3 other children -- Robert, Mary Anne and Isabella a.k.a. Annabella. My first record of them in the U.S. is in Pittsburgh in the 1840 census.

I do not have one shred of evidence about them in Ireland. The reason that I am searching in Newtownards is that there were other McCutcheons in Pittsburgh about that time who came from Ballywatticock (sometimes written Ballywitticock). Best known are William and Robert McCutcheon, who were wholesale grocers. Socially and in business, their names are often seen in conjunction with members of the Dalzell family, also from this area of County Down. John McCutcheon was listed as a blacksmith in the 1834 list of arriving passengers.

That's it. I wonder if there is a broad family study of the McCutcheon surname, or some locally archived records that might be helpful. Birth dates for John and Sarah were probably around 1800 or very shortly thereafter, with a marriage in the early 1820s, based on the 1826 birth date of their oldest child Robert.

Any and all insights and suggestions will be very welcome.

Jay Shock / Pittsburgh USA

Jay Shock

5 replies

Jay,

Statutory birth registration only started in Ireland in 1864, so you won’t find birth certificates for the children nor a marriage certificate for the parents. Prior to that you need to rely on church baptism and marriage records, where they exist.

You don’t say what denomination John was. If Church of Ireland (ie Episcopalian) then the Newtownards baptism records for the period you are interested in were destroyed in the 1922 fire in Dublin. If Presbyterian there are several possible churches , Newtownards Non Subscribing Presbyterian church has records from 1827, Ballyblack Presbyterian from 1821, Newtownards 1st from 1831 and Newtownards 2nd from 1832. If RC, there are no records earlier than 1864. That area of Co. Down was overwhelmingly Presbyterian and that seems the likeliest denomination to me (indicating they are descendants of Scots who settled in the area in the 1600s).

So far as I can tell none of the Presbyterian records are on-line. The churches usually hold the originals but there are also copies in PRONI, the public record office, in Belfast. Their copies are not on-line and so a personal visit is required to access them. If you are unable to go there yourself, you may need to employ a researcher.

http://www.proni.gov.uk/guide_to_church_records.pdf

Researchers in the PRONI area: http://sgni.net

I notice a John & Andrew McCutcheon farming in Ballywatticock in Griffiths Valuation in 1863. The family is still there in the 1901 census. They were Presbyterian:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Newtownards/Bally…

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. You might want to try them or, if you have already tested, you can transfer your results to them for no fee.

The North of Ireland Family History Society is running an Ulster DNA project and can offer FTDNA testing kits at a reduced price.  http://www.nifhs.org (Go to DNA project on the website).

 

 

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Thanks, Elwyn, for the long and thoughtful answer. I did neglect to mention that they were Presbyterian, and I expect to find them having come from Scotland if I can get back far enough.

I especially appreciate your listing the specific potential churches, and will put them on my research list.  I hope to arrange a research trip during 2019, perhaps as early as April or May, and plan to spend multiple days at PRONI.

I have uploaded my DNA test results to FTDNA, and I did join the NIFHS project there. Having said that, I have been a passive participant, as I am frankly not very clear about how to use the site. If you have advcie about what I might be doing to be more proactive there, I would appreciate it.

Best wishes,

Jay

Jay Shock

Jay,

If you are going to spend time in PRONI you may find it helpful to know that Thursdays are late opening days. It remains open to 9pm on Thursdays. Take your passport or drivers licence for your first visit, as photo id is required to get your Readers ticket. (Takes 2 minutes).

I am not an expert on DNA. But Martin McDowell is. If you e-mail Martin at the NIFHS, he will gladly answer your questions about DNA and getting the best from it. (He & I are colleagues in the NIFHS so you can tell him I suggested you contact him).

Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘IrelandXO Volunteer

Hi Jay

Fast forward a few years. My ancestry comes through McCutcheons of Newtownards.I had my DNA tested originally with Ancestry where I have two DNA matches and My Heritage where I have one match.FTDNA no matches!

Maybe it is just the luck of the draw?

 

Rob

rwhaite82@gmail.com

Hi, Rob

That is an unbelievably low rate of matches, especially on FTDNA, which seems to have a lot of Northern Ireland coverage.  But I too have no better theory than "luck of the draw".

Jay

 

Jay Shock

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