reynolds family

George & Agnes were married in 1847 in the local Register Office (possibly because they may have been Brethren):

https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1847/09333/5379643.pdf

George’s townland (address) was Ballyknock which is where Walter was born in 1868.

Griffiths Valuation for 1864 lists George Reynolds on plot 3 in Ballyknock which was a house, and 7 acres. A Patrick Reynolds lived next door on plot 4 with 3 quarters of an acre. Perhaps a relative?

Plot 3 today is up a lane off the modern Lany Rd, beside Tim Allen motorcycles.  Looking at the property today on Google Earth I’d say the original buildings your ancestors lived in have been demolished and replaced by a modern house. But you would need to call up to check for yourself.  The buildings on plot 4 seem to be gone altogether.

http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml

Family in 1901 by which time George senior had moved to Moira:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Moira/Moira_Town/…

1911, back in Ballyknock:

http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Down/Moira/Ballyknock/…

Probate abstracts from the PRONI website:

Probate of the Will of George Reynolds late of Moira County Down Farmer who died 26 April 1903 granted at Belfast to George Reynolds Merchant Tailor.

George left his estate to his son George.

 

Joanne,

Explanation of Brethren here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Brethren

In Ireland they generally don’t like to be referred to as Plymouth Brethren. If they have to be designated anything, most prefer to be called simply Brethren. Without getting bogged down in the details, many people have been attracted to the denomination because it offered a stricter interpretation of the bible than in the Church of Ireland or Presbyterian doctrines. 

You’ll see from the 1911 census that 4 of the Reynolds household were Brethren then.

Brethren don’t have a Minister or anyone qualified to conduct a religious marriage service, and so get married in a Register Office. Some Register Office services in Ireland may because of the couple being of mixed denomination, but being Brethren is another category too.

Walter’s birth certificate seems to tie him fairly firmly to Co Down. His father was born in Co Down too and the family appear to have live dint hat area steadily from the 1840s onwards and they were still there in 1901. I think Walter’s story of being born in Wigan is probably inaccurate. It is possible he went to England to work in the coal mines (many people from Ireland did that) before he emigrated but he doesn’t appear to have been born there.

There was a John Reynolds farming in Ballyknock in 1833. Possibly George’s father? Anyway it shows the fmaily were well settled in that area. Consequently it;s very unlikely that one of their children would be born in Wigan. 

http://www.irishgenealogyhub.com/down/tithe-applotment-books/moira-parish.php 

Possibly the Ellis Island passenger born in Wigan isn't your Walter. Many migrants went to the US via Canada (as it was cheaper) and entered across the land border. Did Walter naturalise in the US? If so, does his application record where and when he first arrived in the US? (They often do).