Mullholland family from Co Down / Belfast

Marissa B,

Yes the Irish naming pattern was used in Northern Ireland in the early 1800s. (it was widespread across Scotland as well as Ireland). Not every family followed that tradition though, and there are other reasons why you cannot rely too heavily on it.  If a child died and their name was later re-used for a subsequent child (as was very common), then the apparent order of the childrens names may not reflect the naming tradition. And of course if 2 parents or grandparents have the same forename that can create problems too. Do you really want to name 2 children with the same forename?  First wife dies, father re-marries and has more children by his second wife. That throws a spanner in the works too. There are many things that make it unsafe to rely on other than as a general hint.

Mulholland is a very common surname in Co. Down. In the 1901 census there were 467 in the county, of whom 55 were all named Mary. So the name Mary Mulholland would have been equally common in the 1820s. (More common actually as the population had shrunk dramatically by 1901 due to famine and emigration). So you have to know the parents names to have any real chance of locating the right family. Normally that information is in marriage and death certificates. Perhaps also naturalisation papers. Have you exhausted those, not only for Mary but Margaret, Arthur & Michael?

The other thing to know is that not all Irish parishes have RC baptism records for the 1820s. They have either been lost or were just never kept. This will not be an easy search.

You mention a family who were “in the textile/weaving industry.” Practically every labouring family in Ulster did a bit of weaving in the early 1800s. The whole population was engaged in it.  It was home weaving (using portable looms) and provided top up income when there was no work required on farms, notably during the winter months. However throughout the 1800s, water powered mills were gradually introduced which made home weaving uneconomic. By 1850, Belfast had 50 such mills.  Increased mechanisation on farms also reduced the need for farm labourers. All these changes were factors in a family’s decision to emigrate.