Hello,
Looking for possible connections to my 3x GG's David McWilliamd and wife Ellen (nee unknown)
David (1792-1857) and his wife Ellen (1794-1875) emigrated to the US in 1829 along with their children, and resided in Ohio.
David/Ellen's grave states that he was from Balanaserinem, County Derry. Can someone confirm that this is really Ballynascreen....?
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/86935224/david-mcwilliams
Trish,
The name could be Ballynascreen. (There certainly isn’t anywhere in the county called Balanaserinem).
This is the only McWilliams family in Ballynascreen in the 1831 census. They were RC and lived in the townland of Owenreagh.:
By the 1901 census there were 2 farms there side by side. Presumably related:
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Sixtowns/Owenreagh/1544579/
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Londonderry/Sixtowns/Owenreagh/1544580/
Only the O’Hagans were there in 1911 (Mary O’Hagan’s maiden name was McWilliams).
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Londonderry/The_Six_Towns/Owenreagh/610715/
The baptism records for Ballynascreen don’t start till 1836, so you are not going to find any record of his birth, if that’s where he came from. Likewise of his marriage (marriage records start in 1834) or of their childrens births in Ireland. A DNA test with the O’Hagans might be about the only way of finding if there’s a connection, assuming they are still there, and willing.
Elwyn,
Thank you very much for confirming that there isn't a Balanaserinem. That's quite the typo for a carver. I'll check the links you provided for possible family in the area in 1831, and check my DNA thru-lines.
Trish